I probably shouldn't have gotten my theology from cartoons. Here are specific, common, false beliefs about heaven and a number of things we can know about Heaven based on the Bible. My website BibleThinker.org
Hey Mike I'm from Turkey. I converted to Christianity from Islam and you are helping me a lot for learning about bible. I wanna say thank you and may God bless you. Edit: Thanks for all your support prays and good wishes I'm reading them with tears in my eyes.
I was just on the verge of an anxiety attack last night on my way home from work thinking about the idea of eternity, then today I see this as the first video suggested on my RU-vid. Thank you Mike and thank You God for taking care of all my needs❤️
Wow! I’m 76 and have had that same anxiety attack for all these years. Thought I was the only one! Thank you for sharing that. Your reply and this video helps so much. Blessing.
That same thing happens to me periodically over the years. I hate it and I wish it didn’t, but my mind just freaks out even though I know the Lord and trust Him. God bless.
Haven't watched the video yet but I think eternity itself is so daunting to us as such finite beings that's its okay to just about be overcome at the thought- as long as that drives us to our knees before Jesus and nowhere else! ❤️ Edited to add that God also does these things all the time for me. Even down to the perfectly recommended videos at the perfect time haha.
'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” - the things God has prepared for those who love him.' The human mind/brain cannot even begin to comprehend what God has in store for those who love him 🙏🏽🙏🏽
The next verse says, "But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit." Don't feel bad. This is an often misquoted verse. I thought you'd benefit from hearing the whole context. I had a friend once who heard me praying, "Lord humble me." He pulled me aside and pointed out that scripture actually tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord. I never forgot that and have greatly appreciated it. Take care!
There will still be a sense of familiarity. Plus the New Earth during our reign here with Jesus will still be Earth, but it will be perfect. Of course it will have all God's unrestrained creativity and perfection. Guess we'll find out huh?!!! These convos just make me excited to go lol it's gonna be incredible that we do know :)
Those scriptures aren’t about what people will experience in heaven nor is it how heaven will appear if that is what you’re implying by posting them. The verses are about godly wisdom that comes from above and through the spirit. Paul is referring to the secret/mystery of the kingdom of God which was hidden to previous generations and IMO most people don’t understand it today. What was revealed to true Christians were the deep things of God. They weren’t all given visions of how the actual heavenly realm would be or what to expect. Paul said it wasn’t revealed to previous generations but prophets were given visions of things that would occur or was occurring in heaven. Therefore, Paul was not talking about heavenly life and it’s experiences. Paul even mentioned of possibly having a supernatural vision of someone being caught away to the 3 heaven, BUT he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t even sure if the man was in bodily form or some of the form. That doesn’t sound like he was given direct and incontrovertible data about the heavenly realm. *2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-5*
That verse had nothing to do with heaven. First we ain’t going to heaven that ain’t nothing but Greek gnostic junk, we are going to new earth, but ya that verse had nothing to do with heaven, often used allot in the church
I am so grateful for your sound teaching. I was caught up in new age/occult practices and drug addiction for ten years, and Christ entered my life October 2022. ✝️🙏♥️ God bless you and your ministry!
@@ThatsTheTruth7 I actually heard the Michael Knowles podcast with Angela Ucci and she was giving her testimony. It was a few days later I was filled with the Holy Spirit and I honestly felt that I was going crazy, I didn't know what was happening. I threw out all of my crystals, new age paraphernalia. I bought a Bible and I haven't been able to stop. I never knew there was this whole world of Christianity. I started researching and watching testimonials and could not believe how many people are and have had the same experiences. I have this peace and joy that I never knew was possible. Praise Jesus ✝️
@@ThatsTheTruth7 No service, I was at home. It caught me completely off guard. When my husband came home I could not even talk about it for a few days, I was so overwhelmed.
As an engineer, I could almost imagine a billion things to do in the new heaven and earth. Imagine what you could do when you have all the knowledge you could ever need and want. Just the thought of that alone makes me really excited. Its made even more exciting imagining you will be there together with your Holy Father forever! Wow!
I believe that is very much what it is going to be like. We have eternity to work and build for God and ourselves. Kids create drawings and things for their parents not becuase there is some great need for those but because the children love their parents. We will want to build and create for God.
As a self absorbed, pleasure seeking, un-redeemed teen I was forced to go to a church service with my mom where we sang hymns that I didn’t know, for seemingly forever. As we finally sat down, the pastor stood up and referred to the singing, saying, “I think that is what heaven will be like.” I panicked and decided that heaven was not for me, if it was an eternity of sitting on hard pews or standing singing old songs I didn’t know. THANKFULLY, God persued me and drew me to Himself, showing through His Word that apart from Him there is no joy. In my late 20’s I finally realized that God would only make Heaven good. I think that our wrong perceptions of heaven can be a huge stumbling block, so it is so important to know what the Bible says Heaven is or isn’t.
Heaven isn't a destination. It's a forever experience with God!. I really can't wrap my head around that but I'm thankful the Lord allows us to speculate! 🙏❤️🙏
It is a destination for a while. Believers are there until the earth is restored and they get their resurrection bodies. After Jesus'' reign on earth,there will be a new Heaven and a new earth.
When I was 5 years old, God gave me a most incredible dream about the New Jerusalem descending from heaven unto the earth. It was amazing and I never forgot it. I'm definitely leaning towards it being an actual event. I guess we'll see🙏
The fact that the afterlife is Eternal is one of the BEST qualities of it. If it were to end, we’d be dreading that day coming, even if it were a million years away… I’d be counting down the days. I’ve been on a vacation and just thought “Man, eventually this is gonna end” and it ruins the vacation I’m in. I keep looking towards the end of it! Time going by causes an intense amount of distress on earth today. Constant deadlines. Constantly having to worry about being prepared for the future. Constantly worried about getting old. But Eternality is this promise that this good thing never has to end. An immense stress reliever.
That was a beautiful way to sum it up!! And I'm exactly like you ... if I'm on vacation, I'm dreading and thinking about the end ... I have a difficulty living in the moment. I love how you put this in perspective for me so perfectly ! Thank you. It will be such a stress relief to know there's no end to the JOY. That really takes my breath away and honestly brings me to tears. Life right now is the opposite ... full of stress and little joy. Thank you, again for this! God bless you!
And with no death that would mean there’s no rush anymore. The majority of our society is fast paced and money-reliant because of death. Without that deadline (literally), there’s less reason to pay people to outsource work you have no time for or to freak out if you miss an opportunity. Trading and money would be greatly reduced if existing at all, and we probably won’t have a tighter schedule except for big events or festivals. Time will still go by…we couldn’t live timelessly unless we became infinite enough to contain time like God. Our glorified bodies are finite in that sense; it’s just that the experience of linear time won’t contain the ultimate deadline.
@@Window4503 Yeah definitely. Limited time to push out projects has done a lot of damage to the earth. Instead of finding more ethical solutions to problems, they rush through them even though there are major consequences. Like we rush to make housing and are willing to destroy an entire forest for the lumber. Or we rush to make railroads so we force people into slave labor to produce them. A lot of damage done to get things done quickly. But there won’t be any rush like that in heaven.
@@LitteLoneSparrow It seems that Paul had been given many direct revelations. For example, I think it is in Phillipians, where he talks about "surpassingly great revelations" and being given a vision of heaven; for the sake of his teaching he doesn't even identify himself as the recipient (so that he may boast instead in his weaknesses and persecutions).
@@josephbrandenburg4373 yes, I agree. But it all started with a very profound meeting from on high that changed him in an instant. Everything else was just added on top of that.
As it is said in the Bible it will be righteousness peace and joy. The first one is righteousness, so let us strive for it so that eventually we will gain heavenly peace and joy as well.
Hey Mike, your teaching for Romans 12 broken up between a few sermons from years ago has helped me in such a powerful way. I’ve struggled for decades and I’m beginning to see more clearly, like a fog finally clearing. So grateful for your teaching and using your gifts and talents to grow the kingdom.
I was terrified of the idea of "heaven" when I was young. I don't know if it started as a dream I had or just popped into my mind, but my idea was like being in just an enormous bubble or spherical open space, surrounded by millions and millions of other souls, and all just kind of revolving around this glowing light in the center that I imagined was God, and all we could do for eternity was circle and stare at it. The idea of doing that for five minutes was scary to a (very) young me, and the idea of doing that forever without end was the worst thing I could imagine. My views have evolved some in the thirty years since.
"and the idea of doing that forever without end was the worst thing I could imagine" And that, my friend, is what the typical Christian is looking forward to.
@@billbadson7598As a child I had the same thought. I’d stand there and sing constantly. I mean, now that I honestly love worship, that doesn’t sound too bad, but of course I know now we aren’t just going to be in the clouds being stuck singing haha.
Hi Mike, your teaching encouraged myself and my wife to start attending church again, we are both firm believers but we were lazy and afraid of going to a church that wasn’t “our parents” church. And while we do attend said church, I still love listening to your videos, I love food! 😂
I too, have thought about and been frightened over eternity. I know we won’t feel that way when we are there, but the physical mindset we have now, the “been there, done that, what’s next” throws us off. Thank you for putting things into perspective and reminding us that it’s our frail and corrupted mind and bodies that have us thinking this way, and that heaven and eternity is far better than anything we can imagine.
Something that unexpectedly helped me with that was reading a couple of books by Hugh Ross. His theory of creation is interesting. What I appreciated is that he gives examples of how aspects of quantum mechanics may fold into scriptural truth and give a scientific background to what we believe. Regardless of whether or not he is correct, the reading helped me to start getting out of our linear/black & white/unidimensional worldview and to start lifting a little toward the possibilities in how God thinks and acts, beyond our concepts of space-time. We really miss it because we’re far too narrow in our perceptions. If anyone has seen Interstellar, I think that there are scenes in it that honestly push forward into truth and reality as it is and not just as our limitations present it to us. Scripture is my absolute final authority, but we are given curiosity and imagination for a reason also. The shift in my view has helped me ultimately, even if I can’t necessarily prove how.
Thanks for this. My momma and BIL both passed last May so it's definitely been on my mind more than it had been. I agree with you. When we are made perfect... the way it was meant to be in the beginning... we won't get bored or tired-of or sad-about living forever. God is SO good that He wouldn't let us stay here, in this mess, forever (my brain hurts thinking about the people in the beginning who were here for 900+ years!). Eternity is saved for holy and perfect and in His presence. I can't wait!
When I was 16 I developed an interest in classic literature and was reading The Divine Comedy. One night I had a dream where i had just died and was “ascending” to heaven. But in my dream it was more like walking down a narrow path with cliffs on each side of me and multiple branching paths that led to nothing. If you ever played Mario Kart 64, I remember it being similar to the Yoshii’s valley course without the fences lol. But for some reason, I knew which way to go at each fork. Along the way, I saw friends and family happily skipping by me without even noticing me. Eventually I reached the end of the path and was instantly teleported to a small cabin in the forest on the side of a mountain. I walked inside the cabin and saw a man sitting down who looked very similar to how Jesus is often portrayed in art. The last thing I remember is him saying “It’s okay” and then I woke up. The thing that stuck with me was the overwhelming sense of bliss I felt for the entirety of the dream. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think this was just a dream. I think a lot of people have probably had similar dreams before, so it’s probably not that unique. But I think about that dream often, and sometimes I do wonder if the Holy Spirit was giving me… something… when I had that dream. Because it revitalized a faith in me that was probably shakier than it should have been at the time. I know I’ll always remember it.
I just cannot wait for the time when I am in the presence of God for all eternity. For now, I will shed tears and pray constantly for my family to come to know Him.
Thanks Pastor Mike, all I can say is I Can't Wait for Eternity with God! So Stay Strong Brothers and Sisters for Our Redemption draws near! God bless you Pastor Mike and your ministry!
I think that C.S. Lewis introduced some pretty cool thoughts on this, with his Chronicles of Narnia series. Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve leading the people with justice and honor, in a land where everyone already knew of Aslan and his father the Emperor Across the Sea. It's also interesting that the White Witch, being from another world, still knew of the oldest laws that were written (by the Emperor) that governed existence, but that predated Narnia itself. When Peter is ending his last visit to Narnia, and Aslan first shows Himself as a lamb, he tells Peter that they know Him by a different name, here on Earth. I know that's all from a fictional series, but one that Lewis steeped in allegory. Such a beautiful series. Some thoughts on what _may_ be part of God's plan, after the new heavens and new Jerusalem are created: When the new Jerusalem is described in Revelation 21, it states "The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it." There will be _nations._ We're also told that He is making of us a royal priesthood. Consider the biblical roles of priesthood, and we understand how that calls us to conduct ourselves while in this life. It is possible (this is only conjecture; I'm not trying to create doctrine or anything) that our role as the royal priesthood extends into eternity. The universe is a big place, and I doubt the new one will be much smaller. And God wastes nothing, not even pain. He may have some pretty incredible things being prepared!
@@blanktrigger8863 Ah, okay. Very cool. So, he was quite literally describing that hypothetical, just not in the time frame of the new creation to come. That's interesting, because Aslan says that we know Him by a different name. I wonder if that means Lewis was suggesting that He died more than once to provide redemption, or (more likely) Aslan's statement was simply delivered to the readers by way of Peter.
I think one other thing to consider is that in our current body is limited by design. Eternity is such a foreign concept because death is such a real thing in our world due to the fall. This makes eternity seem scary because we can't really comprehend it. It is unknown to us and the unknown is always scary. However, as Mike brought up, we will have new, glorified, bodies unstained by sin. In that form, I believe our brains will be more able to comprehend eternity, making it much less scary. As Paul said, we only see dimly in our mirror, unable to understand. What excites me about this is that in our new bodies and ability to more fully comprehend infinite concepts, we will be able to more full know and understand our infinite God.
I’m so tired all the time. That’s why I have moments of wondering if I could endure a forever. That I know will change. I can’t wait to run and jump and not be weary, like EVER. Glorious thought.
This video broke me and made me smile. I never thought about the new heaven and earth and how this heaven is only a transitional period towards the new heaven. I never considered the fact that we can see eachother in physical/spiritual bodies i always thought it would be an etheral thing you can't describe. You answered my questions about Heaven perfectly and made me relived it wasn't the same thing over and over. You got a subscriber.
I so enjoy your presentations and have not found ONE thing you teach that is not scriptural. This presentation on heaven helped me preceive heaven in a new way, much broader, and far more interesting. One concept I had not considered is that what I enjoy on this earth may be very different than what joys, I'll experience in heaven. And I don't need of know what those joys will be. Thanks Mike.
I think it something you just have to have faith in God when he says there will be no more pain or sorrow. Our perception of time may be way different in the after life.
Hi Chris, I hope this teaching lets you recognize heaven and how it is. God isn't going to have us idle or bored. I think of the scripture that says, the sufferings of this world cannot be compared to the things God has prepared for those who love the. If you knew the peace to come, you'd be anxious to get there. We will have responsibilities that are perfect to enjoy. We will have eternity to talk with Moses, King David, Abraham and Sarah,the major and minor prophets, the myrters,the knowledge of creation, the beauty, the activities taking place of the angles and ourselves. Then, to see Jesus face to face, the very God that made Eternal Life a gift to those who believe. Chris, for now studying the Word of God will open up more than the words you read. Jesus is looking for those who love Him, are faithful and endure to the end. Don't let the enemy of your soul put false ideas about heaven in your thoughts. That is who is behind this anxiety. Know the schemes of the enemy, but be of good cheer for Jesus has overcome the enemy. He still will do what the enemy does, but know this;the enemy pushes but the Holy Spirit leads.
We’ll certainly have the capacity to handle it once that age arrives. Maybe instead of thinking of eternity as one vast unit, just picture the moment to moment joys instead.
@Karri Compton Hi Karri, continue listening to the teaching Mike gave about heaven. Read,study and hide the word of God in your heart. Then your mind will be renewed. Your thoughts will secure as the roots of your love for Jesus is being rooted and grounded. You don't know God well yet, but as you apply yourself to spiritual learning, you will mature in developing your understanding of the ways and thoughts of God. It is a journey, one day at a time.
Thank you for your wordiness. 😊 People like you who can talk for a great length of time, not only pinpointing a topic but also surrounding it like a pair of compasses, amaze me. It's a gift.
Glory to God. These aspects were first pointed out to me by David Pawson, truly a teacher through which I've been blessed. Listening to his Revelation exposition is SO very exciting. The victory is won, and it will be most glorious and perfect. Cling to God and his Word, and prepare yourselves for the big trouble as Christians will go through it - and if I'm wrong then preparing costed me nothing, but not to prepare and find ourselves in it could be disastrous.
I’m wondering if your idea of heaven came from your early religious experience. I grew up in a Bible verse by verse church. I have never pictured myself singing for eternity. Streets of gold, meeting Biblical charachters, and other things beyond “what we can imagine” It will be so exciting.
I remember during my Atheist days a lot of the 'deconversion' stories went something along the lines of, "my friend was telling me about how she couldn't wait to be in Heaven singing Holy Holy Holy forever, and I was like, nahh I aint doing the exact same thing for eternity, that sounds like Hell to me!"
*I will share with you what God has shown me =)* We will have a perfected body with a beauty no person existing currently has..we will have a movement of grace beyond the gracefulness of any person currently existing..a language no human being could even try to utter..we exist outside of time so there is no concept of boredom..boredom does NOT exist even for a second..pain is non-existent..any issues we have with a body now will be non-existent then..we will be completely new creatures *=)* there is more I could say but I will leave it at that *=)* God bless Mike 💜 And God bless *ALL* my Brother's and Sister's out there reading this 💜
I Love the work you do for our Father in heaven. Thank you Mike Winger great job man...don't stop. I've had a thought many times when thinking about eternity. We've all had a family get together or party, maybe a camping trip, where we just have a great time. Talking and singing with people that you love. Together loving God loving nature that he created, loving the moment. Then when it's over and you gotta go back to work the next day you just don't want it to end. Like a Christmas party with everybody that you ever loved and missed there. And then God the Father comes(kinda like Santa except he's real😁) and blesses everyone, hugs us, laughs with us, talks with us, plays with us like children.... I could live at that party for eternity. Praise God!I can't wait
Chuck Norris! That made me laugh. Great video. I used to have a very low idea of heaven. With a full understanding, I can now view it as Paul did. I’m excited.
I'm very glad to see this video. These are concepts that so often go overlooked, and I'm happy that someone is bringing attention to how far off the mark the popular conception of Heaven is. The Sunday School version that most people imagine is so far dumbed down from what the Bible actually teaches us about the afterlife.
@Mike Winger I just recently started thinking about heaven in a way that got me excited. I am 26, and was saved when I was about 20. I never really understood why other Christians would desire that Jesus come soon, because, well, I enjoy living life on Earth. I imagined that heaven would be just like you described, an ethereal experience, where we would constantly be singing, and wouldn't have any will. Recently I was in church and got the idea that, what if heaven is just like this but without sin. Where we can laugh, and make conversation together, where we can play, worship together, create memories, and enjoy the (new) world. It got me excited. It gave me understanding of the phrase "Come quickly, Lord Jesus"
Hi Mike! Thank you so much for your ministry, your videos are a true blessing to all of us. I wanted to ask you a question on your live q&a but I guess I missed it or there was no q&a last Friday. So I just wanted to ask if you could say something on: How to deny ourselves and how to place others ahead of us. Thank you in advance if you could do this or if you already have some matetial on this could you refer me to it? God bless!
When you talked about all the activities in heaven it reminded me of Step Brothers. 😄 "So many activities! It's making my head spin how many activities we can do." 😁
Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, is an amazing resource on this subject matter. There might be more comprehensive books out there on Heaven, but I don't know of one that puts the whole subject into modern context as well.
Hey Mike...thank you for your wonderful gift of teaching. I so appreciate you and how it has benefitted me. If you don't already know about Randy Alcorn check him out. He has more exhaustive teaching on the the new heaven and new earth than anyone I know.
It really touched me, when you seem emotionally moved at min 15:25💖🙏 What I am a little sad about, is, that the sea will be missing on the new earth..🌅🌊
Hi, sounds like a fisherman, water diving, yacht adventures, skiing, etc. Hmm, there will be something to take the place and somehow you won't even miss the oceans or seas.
Love your explanation of heaven....also I think we won't have "time" like we understand time now....just sure hope we will be eating in heaven.... I plan on having people over to cook and feed them, conversation etc 😂 if we are gonna work.... A lot of people are gonna be out of jobs.... doctors, nurses, lawyers police...lol.... I have no idea, I just know it's gonna be epic. Rick Warren had a sermon on this that I listened to not too long ago and he said it's like an ant trying to understand the internet 😂 we can't wrap our heads around it!! Always enjoy your videos ✝️🇿🇦
Very informative video! Even while being a Christian all my life I still learn more and more about it everyday, and this video definitely helped me few Christianity in a wider lens.
I also thought the new earth was a perfect earth like it was before the fall. When I think of eternity I think about what life was like before the fall, walking with God.
Truly a wonderful overview of the Bible's description of Heaven and a New Earth. As a child of the '60s, I grew up watching Hollywood movies, like "It's A Wonderful Life", where people become angels. What God promises is so much better. Only two things trouble me - but, I'll joyfully deal with them. My wife and I live in a world-famous Southern California surfing spot. The promise that the seas will dry up makes me wonder what surfers will do without the waves of the ocean. I also pray God will receive our pets. Despite that - I just can't wait!
It says there’s no night and no sea. I hope that maybe it’s lost in translation, because I would love to sit by the ocean at night in heaven and just be there with the Lord.
Agreed, and I trust God to resolve the beauty of this world, and those furry folks who reflected a shadow of His Love back to us. He will wipe away every tear and "joy to the full". He cannot lie, so it's a done deal.
I think teleporting to the top of the Jerusalem cube, and skydiving down to the bottom while watching the city fly by, will be very enjoyable to do when we're there. Just looking out your window and seeing millions of people falling from the sky would be crazy
Imagine going a sick hike in new earth and your feet never hurt and the mountains are more beautiful than ever and if you run into a bear he won’t even try to eat you
I know that even if it would be nothing else but being near God saying "Holy Holy Holy is the God almighty" all the time, it would still be a never-ending joy, peace, and beauty.
We have such difficulty imaging we'll enjoy an eternity of anything because the truth of Heaven is beyond our finite understanding. It's one of those concepts our minds simply can't grasp right now but our minds try to make sense of it by comparing what we don't know to what we do know. I think when we get there, whatever questions aren't answered will be irrelevant. Don't get me wrong -- I love knowledge and learning and just knowing for the sake of knowing! But with Heaven, I trust that I can't currently understand and that is ok. :)
We must always and periodically return to meditate on Heaven and Jesus, our Blessed Hope. I derive much strength from thinking on our future life and the eternal "rightness" that is life with the Lord in the eternal state.
Singing 24/7 would bore me to tears on earth, BUT...In His presence: What would I do BUT sing His praises day and night? You know, after He pulls me up off the deck from falling at his feet. It's either an eternity of crying or singing, and what my King wants, my King gets!
The word Jesus used for "paradise" is paradeisos which means "a park, that is, (specifically) an Eden (place of future happiness, paradise)". Paradeisos is the Greek word taken from the Hebrew word pardes which means "a park: - forest, orchard" (Strong’s). Jesus said, "Today you shall be with me "en paradeisos," not "en nephele" which is Greek for “in clouds.” The point is that Jesus picked and used the word for "a park." Not just any park but "the paradise of God" or park of God (Revelation 2:7) which for us will be a place of future happiness. This comes from GOT QUESTIONS... This is what I have always been taught. Love the discussions that lead us to study the bible more!
Every time I think about this my head just hurts lol! It’s like my little pea brain can’t even comprehend what living forever would be like. I don’t know if we actually even can begin to understand what it’s REALLY gonna be like. I believe it will take us all of eternity to figure out and learn every facet of God and his goodness, which will be part of the joy of heaven. It’s just crazy, it’s gonna be so good but it’s definitely hard to think about in the present with the constraints of our flesh minds.
hey Mike! as of lately ive been interested in the perspective of kierkegaard. would you at all interested in doing a deep dive surrounding the belief's of soron Kierkegaard?
My favorite part was the chihuahua comparison. Its hilarious but also an accurate visualization of the reactions many Christians have (myself included).
It's hard for us to imagine things always being amazing, and getting better every day because we'll have the memory of another day of amazing-ness. But if we could imagine that scenario, we would always be looking forward with anticipation, and also always enjoying the present, and also have no regrets from the past wearing at us... no one has ever, in a moment with anticipation, enjoyment and no regret, wanted it to last LESS long.
