Lawrence was an African seminary student who chose to speak on heaven in his preaching class. In his sermon he said, "Since I've been in the United States, I've seen the great wealth that is here—the fine homes and cars and clothes. I've listened to many sermons in churches here, too. But I've yet to hear one sermon about heaven. Because everyone has so much in this country, no one preaches about heaven. People here don't seem to need it. In my country most people have very little, so we preach on heaven all the time. We know how much we need it."

John shares with us four things we need to know about heaven. What a surprise! 1. Heaven is Earth. We will not live in heaven for eternity, only for an appointed time. Our ultimate destiny is an earthly one—a newly transformed or renovated earth, not some cloudbank out in space. God originally designed us for earth, so He’s going to do an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on this earth that will stagger our imaginations.

2. The New Earth is more about a person than a place. Our first inclination is to think of heaven on earth primarily as a place, and, of course, it is. Nevertheless, I believe heaven, most of all, is being in the presence of God. Revelation 21:3 says, "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.""

Let me illustrate it this way. Imagine the wife of a POW has just heard that her husband has been released after three years of captivity. The US government makes arrangements for the wife to fly to Hawaii to be reunited with her husband. Now Hawaii is a beautiful place, but the place is only secondary to seeing her husband. She would meet him in the Sahara desert and not be disappointed in the least. While heaven is beautiful, the Person—God the Father will be our greatest joy.

This is God’s dream come true that He has been working for since the days of Adam and Eve when sin drove a wedge between God and us. God will actually dwell among us in a way we’ve never experienced before. You see heaven is more about a person than a place.

God’s personal presence will transform 3. The New Earth into a place of uninterrupted happiness and peace. The first thing God will do is "He will remove all of their sorrows" (Revelation 21:3). He will reach down and touch our deepest hurts, greatest fears, regrets, anxiety, unfulfilled dreams and disappointments and wipe away every tear. Could there be any more intimate picture than this of God, the Father, dwelling so near us that He will wipe away our personal tears?

But it gets better. God promises us (also in verse 4) "and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." There will be no possibility of unhappiness. This new earth will be a place of uninterrupted happiness and peace. How is this possible? The old order or world characterized by sin, Satan, pain and death will be removed and put away permanently by God.

Imagine never having to stand by a hospital bed and see your loved one suffer, imagine never seeing your child walk away and wonder if he or she will ever return, imagine never having to face an estranged spouse, wondering if it’s the end of a dream, imagine never being hurt again or standing at a graveside.

4 The New Earth is about New Things. As God sits on His throne in heaven, He says in verse 5,"Look, I am making all things new!" And then He lists three awesome new things about eternity. In 6b, "To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge!" God’s prized creation will experience complete satisfaction of life as a gift by God’s grace.

Next, God promises a full inheritance to those who are victorious. Verse 7 says, "All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children." What a thought! We will inherit all the blessings and privileges of being His sons and daughters because of our simple faith in Jesus. We will lack nothing for eternity.

Next, God promises us complete and unbroken companionship with Him. Verse7b says, "and I will be their God, and they will be my children." The cry of the human heart is to dwell with God. And God, the Father, responds basically: "A day is coming when My presence with you will be more than you can ever imagine. Heaven on earth will be a perfect place of uninterrupted happiness, peace, satisfaction, blessing, and ultimate companionship with Me. So until then, fix your hope on heaven, make investments on earth that will wait for you in heaven. Do the things on earth that you will do in heaven for eternity like worship, prayer, praise, serving Me and others."

In contrast to the victor who receives abundant satisfaction from God in heaven, God utters these frightening words in verse 8, "But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars—their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur." this is the second death." It’s the Lake of Fire—not Hell—that becomes the final destination of unbelievers.

God reminds us that when the final chapter begins, He will no longer compensate or cover over the sin of unbelievers who did not trust Jesus as their Savior. Verse 8 is not describing what behavior disqualifies people from getting into heaven. It describes the kind of people who cannot be a part of the eternal kingdom because they did not trust Jesus as their Savior.

Think about it. For there to be heaven on earth, our sin must be dealt with in a complete, final way. Sin must be totally removed from a person or the new earth will become contaminated. There can be no sinners or sin in the new heavens and earth. For all who haven’t trusted in Jesus, for all who haven’t received the status of a victor, for all who haven’t tasted the living water will be cast into a place reserved for them for eternity—the Lake of Fire.

That’s the reason it is so critical to book your destination now, because you don’t know when the final chapter will be written. This is the age—the time—the chapter where God is patiently holding back from writing the last chapter. He’s offering you one more chance.

Pray this prayer: "Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner, and I understand my sin separates me from you. I believe that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all my sins when he died on the cross. I receive your free gift of eternal life now. In Jesus’ Name, Amen."

A dad promised to take his young son on their first campout together. They made their plans and packed the car for the campout the next day. That night the little boy couldn't sleep because the anticipation was too much for him. Finally, he got out of bed and woke up his dad.

The boy said, "I can't sleep. I’m so excited about tomorrow." His father replied, "Well, Son, I'm sure you are, and it's going to be a great day, but it won't be great if we don't get some sleep." So the boy went back to bed. A few moments later, he was back by his dad’s bed. The father asked, "What's the matter now?" The boy said, "Daddy, I just want to thank you for tomorrow."

When you think of your life and the fact that a loving Heavenly Father has been on a relentless pursuit of you; that He has come to your rescue by sending His Son to die; that He has done so much for you in this life; and then stop and anticipate the new thing He’s planning for you in eternity, what else can you say but, "Father, I want to thank you for tomorrow! I want to thank you for my future home in eternity." Lets do that.