Graham - The Heaven Answer Book

Presented to:

From:

The
Heaven
ANSWER BOOK

BILLY GRAHAM

The Heaven Answer Book

2012 by William F. Graham, Jr.

This text includes edited material from previously published works by Billy Graham and is used with his permission.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Cover design by Left Coast Design

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are from The Living Bible 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. 1982, 1992 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotation marked ESV are from the ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION. 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by Permission.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4003-1938-1

Printed in the United States of America

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www.thomasnelson.com

Contents

O ne of the Bibles greatest truths is that we were not meant for this world alone. We were meant for Heavenand Heaven is our ultimate home.

But what exactly is Heaven? What is it like, and what (if anything) will we be doing there? Is Heaven something that only affects our future, or should Heaven make a difference in the way we live right now? Most importantly, how can we know we will go there when we die?

These are questions every thoughtful person asks and God has revealed the answers to them in His Word, the Bible. My purpose in this little volume is to explore those answers, so that we may have hope for the future and meaning for our lives right now.

To accomplish this goal my longtime publisher Thomas Nelson has brought together material on this topic from my writings over the years, and I am grateful to them for compiling and editing it. In addition, I also want to express my thanks to Donna Lee Toney, who compiled and adapted additional material from my writings for this project. May God use it to encourage you to look beyond the burdens and problems of this present world, and to rejoice in the hope we have of Heaven because of Christs death and resurrection for us.

Billy Graham

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fadekept in heaven for you.

1 Peter 1:34

Does the Bible say very much about Heaven?

J esus mentions Heaven about seventy times in the book of Matthew alone. It appears from the very first verse in GenesisIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earthto the last reference found at the end of Revelation[He] showed me the great city... descending out of heaven from God (Revelation 21:10 NKJV). In fact, fifty-four of the sixty-six books in the Bible mention Heaven. Remember: the Bible is our only authoritative source of information about Heaven.

Shortly before Jesus was arrested and crucified on the cross, He told His disciples that after His death they should not be discouraged because He would live again. He then assured them He would return to His Father in Heaven to prepare an eternal home for all who would believe Him. He said, In my Fathers house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. Then He left this promise: I am going there [to heaven] to prepare a place for you.... that you also may be where I am (John 14:23).

The Old Testament prophets wrote about Heaven; Psalms mentions Heaven more than any other book in the Old Testament; the apostles spoke of Heaven from divine inspiration from the Holy Spirit. The Bible doesnt tell us everything wed like to know about Heaven, but the Bible does tell us everything we need to know about Heaven while we are here on earth. We should believe what the Bible says about Heaven and take comfort from its promise that we can spend eternity with Jesus Christ in His heavenly dwelling.

If someone asks you about Heaven, you can say with assurance, We know that if the earthly tent [body] we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands (2 Corinthians 5:1). What a promise! What a destiny!

What is Heaven?

H eaven is the place where God dwellsit is Gods holy habitation. He created it, He lives there, and, some day, so shall all believers.

Moses prayed that God would look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place (Deuteronomy 26:15). Solomon, the wisest king to ever live, prayed: O LORD my God.... hear from heaven, your dwelling place (1 Kings 8:28, 30). Abram said, God Most High, Creator of heaven (Genesis 14:22). Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven (Nehemiah 2:4); King Nebuchadnezzar praised the King of Heaven (Daniel 4:37); and Jesus opened our hearts to the reality of Heaven when He lifted His eyes and prayed, Our Father which art in heaven (Matthew 6:9 KJV). Heaven is occupied by the presence of Almighty God. This makes Heaven the supreme destination for those who long to worship Him as their Creator, God, Lord, King, Father, and Savior.

This is admittedly hard for us to comprehend; after all, the Bible tells us God is a spirit and is infinite, so how can He be confined to one place? In spite of this mystery, the Bible assures us that His presence fills all of Heaven, and in Heaven we will be safely in His care forever.

The apostle Paul wrote, Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Heaven is the Fathers house (John 14:2). Heaven is the dwelling place of Jesus Christ His Son (1 Peter 3:2122). Heaven is the city of the living God and the redeemed (Hebrews 12:2223). If this does not fill your heart with hope and a desire for that better country, I urge you to examine where you stand before God, and turn from doubt to belief. If you love Jesus Christ, you will want to follow Him all the way to that place called Heaven. Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction... Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:1820). Paul urges others to follow Him.