Read John 14:1-4 and Revelation 21:21-22:5 to start.

Where do you live? I don’t mean in Montague or Three Rivers or eastern PEI. I mean do you live in a house or an apartment or a yurt or a van down by the river? We all live somewhere, whether we own it or rent it or maybe our parents own it. Most everyone here is not in their first home, apart maybe from those who are very young. My previous house we were there for a bit more than seven years, and we’ve been in our current house for almost six years now. Bob and Marg, they owned that house for 29 years before we bought it from them. Will we own it that for long? Who knows, but I have my doubts. We’re not likely to catch my grandmother, she had lived in the same house for 80 years when she passed away in 2020.

The places where we live now, though, those are all fairly temporary. Now, six years or seven years or 29 or even 80 years might not sound temporary, but it’s not exactly permanent, is it? Especially not when compared with eternity.

We put a lot of attention and effort into our temporary lodgings here. Folks spend vast sums of money and put countless hours into purchasing, repairing, maintaining, expanding, beautifying, and of course cleaning our homes and properties. Of course, unless you want to live in a hovel, it demands a certain amount of attention to keep a home in a reasonable state, but for some people it’s one of their main concerns, one of the main demands on their time and attention. It’s nice to have a beautiful home, but for however long you’re going to live there, how much effort will it take?

You might think that this is a sermon about how to invest your time in this life with a focus on eternity, and certainly that is a worthwhile subject. You’ve probably heard more than one sermon on that in the past, I know it’s certainly something that I’ve talked about in the past, and likely will again in the future. However, that’s not my primary topic for this morning. I do want to speak about eternity, though. We think a lot about eternity, we like to imagine what it will be like, but it can stretch the imagination, and frankly, it can hurt your head if you think about it too hard.

Now, if you have a good memory, you might recall that I spoke a sermon last year on the topic of eternal life and what it will look like. I don’t want to run over the exact same ground again, and I’m not planning on that, although I did read at least a few of those verses from John chapter 14 last time as well.

When it comes to the topic of eternal life, I’m speaking most specifically to the believers here this morning. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, then you are promised eternal life in heaven with Him. This is central to the message of salvation. After all, your soul is going to be around forever, it doesn’t wink out of existence when you die.

Atheists would dearly like to believe that, that is, after all, the easy way out. If everything is over and done once your heart stops beating, then there are no lasting consequences for what we have done in this life, but it’s not something that the human mind is readily able to accept. That’s because it isn’t true, and deep down we all know it. We know that right is right and wrong is wrong, even if we get a bit muddled and confused about which is which sometimes. We know that there are consequences to our choices, potentially good or bad. The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote that we have eternity in our hearts, we know that there is something beyond this life.

That something is not like the Hindus or Buddhists say, they claim that you reincarnate and come back as someone else or something else, until finally you get it right and end up in either paradise or non-existence, depending on what flavour you subscribe to. Not sure that non-existence is a good long term goal, in any case, that just brings us back around to atheism by the scenic route, but I digress. I could go through further issues with any number of additional world religions, but that’s not really my intent for this morning either. My point is that it’s important to remember it’s this life and only this life, you don’t get a second go around. It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgement.

You go somewhere. Your soul, it’s forever. It’s going to go somewhere, you are going to go somewhere, your soul is going to continue to exist somewhere. Somewhere good or somewhere bad. Up or down. Heaven or hell. It’s one or the other, not some place in between. There is no limbo, no purgatory, no holding station. No door number three.

I don’t know about you, but eternal life sounds like the obvious preferred choice. If you’re here this morning listening, I probably don’t need to convince you of that, but sometimes the reminder might be welcome.

If you have concerns about the state of your eternal soul and where you are going to end up, please come and talk to me after the meeting, or if not me, talk to someone, please. This is too important to ignore. Your soul is of too much value to not bring this up, not to have assurance about it.

For those of us who are confident about eternity, those who are sure about where we are going, we likely have some thoughts about what to expect. That being said, we don’t always have a clear idea of what eternity will look like. There are some silly clichés such as everyone sitting on a cloud with a harp, hopefully you are not expecting that. It’s not terribly Biblical. Now, if you’re talking about the New Jerusalem, the crystal sea, the streets of gold, that has a far more solid basis.

One frequently repeated idea is the concept of having a mansion in heaven. There’s a considerable number of songs which mention that idea, some of which we sing here from time to time. “Victory in Jesus” mentions a mansion, as does “Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul” to name a few. Some are even more on the nose, such as “I’ve Got a Mansion Just Over the Hilltop.” When I went looking for examples I found one called “Mansions in Heaven” by John Mellencamp. It’s a familiar idea, to be sure. And I’m sorry to say, it’s wrong.

Now, you might be saying wait a minute, we read about that a few minutes ago. After all, this idea is based largely upon John 14:2, where Christ says to the disciples that in His Father’s house are many mansions, which is how it reads in the KJV, and in a number of other translations. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Maybe you have imagined that heaven will look like some sort of estate with rolling grounds, a large house, and then down the way a little distance there is another, similar house, and then another, and another, and so on. Maybe you picture something palatial with grand columns out front, a big front step, seven bedrooms, a big balcony, the sort of stereotypical place where we imagine that the ultra-wealthy would live. Or maybe you picture something ultra-modern with an angled roofline and way too much marble with a huge swimming pool out back, I don’t know. Different people have different ideas of what a mansion should look like. I’m not sure what your idea might be, but it’s probably time to rethink it.

In many other translations, it says instead that there are many rooms in my Father’s house, rather than mansions. The original Greek word is monē (mon-AY) from the root word meno (MEN-oh) and it means a place to stay, or the act of abiding somewhere. The second word there, a place, the Greek word is topos (TOP-os), means a location or a spot. In my Father’s house there are many places to stay, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a spot for you.

There are some people who complain about modern translations and say that the translators have taken away our promised mansions, but that was never really the case. Christ did not tell His disciples that everyone was getting a big house with a big yard and a three chariot garage. And why would He? That does not even make sense when you think about it. And my idea of an ideal house might be different from yours, and I’m sure it would be completely different from what the disciples would have thought, should they have expected large houses. The more you think about it, the more odd that thought becomes. But we do like the idea of having it, don’t we? Sometimes we think of heaven as being not so different from an earthly paradise, and mansions are what we associate with that here. But heaven is not going to be like that at all.

The notion of wealth and mansions and that sort of existence is very much tied to our ideas of what is ideal in this life, what we think success should look like. We want to live in big, fancy houses, just as we want to drive nice cars, wear expensive clothes, have lots of nice stuff and all of that. That is the dream of many, many people, and the idea that if they can’t have all of it in this life, then they can get something even better in the next, that is enticing for folks. That is enticing to our human nature, that covetous, greedy, proud and selfish old human nature that wants and wants and wants. We assume that what we want in this life is what we will get in eternity, but that is not the case at all, especially if what we want in this life is self-serving and unimportant.

Christ did not promise His disciples big fancy houses. Why would He? Keep in mind, that’s not even what they wanted, they had forsaken many of the comforts of this world which they already had to follow Him. There was no luxury to be found in the company of Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, it was the people, in particular the religious people, who were noticeably wealthy and powerful, who often received the harshest criticism from the Lord. John 14:2 is not about manor houses in eternity. It’s about having a place in the Father’s house, a place reserved, a place prepared by the Son of God Himself.

When we read it that way, it changes how we imagine it. Christ told the disciples that there were many places to stay in His Father’s house, that there was plenty of space, and that He would prepare a place for them. By extension, that includes you and me and anyone who trusts, follows, and believes in Christ. The Father’s house is not limited or small. There’s room for everyone.

I want to reassure you that there is no housing crisis in heaven. Here on the earth, we certainly are hearing a lot about that at the moment. In a lot of places, that’s nothing new, and frankly, it’s probably been a low to mid-grade issue in this part of the world for a very long time, but it’s a larger concern here and now than it has been in the recent past. I imagine that after the Second World War there might have been a similar crisis. We hear so much about that now, people are worried about where they will live, if they will find a place, or at least a place that they can afford.

In eternity, that’s not a concern. There is no waiting list, no sketchy landlords, no need to worry about mortgage rates or rent increases or renovictions. There’s room for everyone. Christ told the disciples this very specifically, there are many places to abide.

Not only is there space, there is space reserved. In Matthew chapter 25, the parable of the sheep and the goats is probably familiar, but I’ll read a few verses from there. Matthew 25:31-34 (31) When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: (32)  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: (33)  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. (34)  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

I’ll stop there. Listen to what Christ says to those on His right hand: Come and inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you. Not prepared for the last five minutes either, but this is a realm that has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This is not some sort of slapdash final hour find a spot in general seating type of arrangement; this has been in the works since the start of time as we know it. No matter what your housing status is at the moment, that should be a reassurance to you. Our earthly homes are temporary at best. Hereafter, they are already taken care of, and taken care of by the Saviour personally. That sounds like a pretty amazing offer to me.

Does this mean that I know what heaven is going to look like, what my place, what your place will resemble? No, I’m afraid not. We don’t know this, not specifically. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t know, I can’t tell you that, and no one else can either. But I can tell you this: it’s really not all that important.

If we trust Christ to save our souls, if we trust that He has a place for us, then surely we can trust that it will be a good and suitable eternal abode? If we trust the Father to hold us in His power and keep us safe for all eternity, and if we believe that God so loved the world that He sent the Son to redeem us, and that if the Son so loved us enough to die for us, while we were yet sinners, mind you, then we should trust that He has good things in store for us. He didn’t save us from our sins because he wants to stuff us into a leaky canvas tent or the heavenly equivalent of a fleabag motel for all eternity. I’m quite confident that there no leaky tents or cheap motels in heaven. But that doesn’t mean that we should expect to spend eternity in the house from Fresh Prince of Bel Air or the Beverly Hillbillies, either.

Christ has a place for us, a place reserved for us. Why would it matter what it looks like?

If you have had your heart set on this particular vision of heaven, I trust that this will not be too disappointing. It’s not that I want to burst your bubble, although I have been told that I have a tendency to do that. It’s that we should refocus on what actually matters. It’s not what heaven looks like that’s important. It’s not about the high ceilings or the floor space or the fancy decor. There are streets of gold, but so what? Would you buy a house because you are impressed by the pavement on the road out front? It’s not about the beauty or the shine. It’s about the company.

Let me ask you this, in the here and now, where would you rather be? In a fancy and impressive building all by yourself, or perhaps with two or three hundred strangers, or in a simple cabin, or on a beach, or even out in a field, with a person or people that you love, and that love you? Is that a question that even needs to be asked? I know my answer, and I know it’s true from my own experience.  

Unfortunately, the question does need to be asked, because we do like fancy things. Or at least the idea of fancy things. If your first thought is to go for the luxury, well, how quickly would you tire of it? How many people who have great wealth find soon themselves unsatisfied and unfulfilled? If that is all that you are looking forward to in heaven then why would you even want to go there?

There’s a little children’s song that I remember from when I was a kid, which wasn’t yesterday. If I say Psalty the Singing Songbook, it might bring back memories for some of us, particularly those who were kids growing up in Christian homes in the 1980s, maybe the early 90s. As a kid I was confused for a time because I interpreted “Psalty” as being flavoured with salt, like pretzels, or seawater, and didn’t understand that it was in reference to a Psalter, or a book of Psalms and hymns. Bit of a difference there. My childhood confusion aside, the song I have in mind is called “Heaven is a Wonderful Place” and while it’s not exactly “Amazing Grace” or “And Can It Be That I Should Gain” it speaks an important truth. Don’t worry, I won’t try to sing it for you.

Heaven is a wonderful place
Filled with glory and grace
I want to see my Saviour’s face
‘Cause heaven is a wonderful place.

That’s pretty much it for the lyrics, those are repeated I’m not sure how many times overall. The message isn’t exactly hard to find. Heaven is a place which is wonderful. What makes it wonderful? Yes, there is glory, and there is grace, but most crucially, there is the Saviour. Heaven is the place where we will see Him face to face. That is the main thing, because without the Lord, the rest of it does not really matter. There is no value, no importance, no reason to be there if He is not there. The reason we can go to heaven is because He has redeemed us, and that is why we should want to be there.

At the other end of the musical spectrum, Fanny Crosby wrote a more nuanced and complete hymn that illustrates the importance of this, which also mentions a mansion, as it happens. The hymn is “My Saviour First of All” and it’s number 256 in our red hymnbook. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and sing that one either. I will read one verse from it, though, verse three to be specific.

Oh, the dear ones in glory, how they beckon me to come,
And our parting at the river I recall;
To the sweet vales of Eden they will sing my welcome home;
But I long to meet my Saviour first of all.

The important thing about heaven, about eternal life in general, is who we will be with. The particulars of what it’s going to look like, where exactly it’s going to be located, what sort of space we will occupy, those things don’t matter, not really at all when you stop and think about it. If they do matter to you, if they concern you beyond the simple fact of wanting to know, then it’s time to re-evaluate.

Now, I get the wanting to know part, I get that, I definitely do. I’m someone who wants to know all the nitty-gritty details about anything that interests me, and I’ll gladly share all that knowledge with you if you ask, and maybe even if you don’t. My family is probably nodding vigorously at that, they know what I’m like, and some of them are like that as well. It’s great to know about stuff. But sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we don’t get to know, and that has to be okay as well.

God has told us, through the Bible, what we actually do need to know. In those verses we read from John 14 to start, Christ told His disciples what they needed to hear. They needed reassurance and comfort at that point, and they needed it more than they even knew, because He was going to be arrested only a few hours later, and then crucified only a few hours after that. They needed to know that even though the Son was going away, He had not abandoned them, and likewise, the Father had would not abandon them either. What’s more, if we continued reading the chapter, we would get to the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit, who would likewise provide not only additional comfort, but also the indwelling and the resultant power to allow believers to follow and serve God in this fallen world.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, where we are told about the resurrection and the rapture, that was also given to comfort believers. I’ll read a few verses from there now, starting at verse 13. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (14)  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (15)  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (16)  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18)  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Notice how we are not told when this will take place, nor much of the detail of what it will look like, apart from rising to the clouds and meeting the Lord in the air. It doesn’t describe where we are going, what we will do when we get there, or any further order of events. The point is that we will be with the Lord. That is what matters, that is what was going to provide comfort to believers who mourned the loss of loved ones. This was their coming hope, as it is ours.

Do we need to know what heaven is going to look like? We are given a certain amount of description in Revelation chapters 21 and the start of 22, as we heard earlier, and it all sounds impressive with the gemstones and gold, but we are also constantly reminded that God is present. He is the key feature. The place is not special because of the niceties, it is because He is there, His throne is there, and most crucially, His Son is there. The rest is window dressing.