HEAVEN'S "NO MORES"
By George W. Sinquefield
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By George W. Sinquefield
Revelation 21:1 through Revelation 21:4 (KJV)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:22 through Revelation 21:27 (KJV)
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
The pain, sorrow, and unhappiness in this world of ours are distressing to any sensitive individual. starvation is rampant in some parts of the globe, mothers and their children have been left homeless by war, and young and old alike are destroying their lives inch by inch through alcohol and drug habits. Crime has increased drastically. Selfishness and sin have turned our earthly home into a habitat of untold suffering and wickedness.
A time is coming when all of this will be changed. God's people will be eternally delivered from every evil and burden that plagues our world today. What a wonderful life we'll have in our eternal home.
I. There Will Be No Sin In Heaven.
Sin is the curser of earth's beauty -- a curse that denudes, erodes, corrupts, defiles, diverts, denounces, and destroys. Sin, like a virus, invades the soul of man and makes him sick. It drives a wedge between holiness and heartlessness. Sin is never satisfied with its conquests but ever rises to new campaigns to divide and conquer. To say that heaven will know no such defilement is a sermon in itself.
Revelation 21:27 (KJV)
The promise of no defilement in Heaven comes as good news, the best news.
Today our larger cities are filled with crime, violence, obscenity, and hatred. Pornographic literature, obscene theatrical production, and blatant immorality pervade the streets. In urban areas, parents are even afraid to let their children walk to the playground alone, for fear they will be harmed or molested. Drug addition and its related evils and heart aches threaten many teenagers who attend our high schools. Violent crimes such as rape, armed robbery, and murder are on the increase.
Just think of it; No rebellion, no murder, no violence of any sort and no immorality. No defiling substance nor personal acts of desecration can mar that eternal city. And no spiritual or physical harm can ever come to any of God's children. What a blessed place to live.
Sometimes God's people slip and do or say things they shouldn't, and that is sin, but in Heaven we won't do such. We'll be able to serve and praise God without the fear of displeasing Him.
None of the things of sin nor the results of sin will be in heaven. There will be no pain, no death, no night, no weariness or fatigue, no misunderstanding, no sorrow and tears, no parting of loved ones, no sickness and no Christ-rejecting sinners, all because there is no sin there. These are the "former things" that are passed away.
Revelation 21:3 through Revelation 21:4 (KJV)
We'll then know the real meaning of the hymn we sing:
II. No More Death In Heaven
There are people who try to avoid the subject of death. They try to get the thought of it out of their minds, but the hearse comes down the street in a funeral procession just the same. They don't want to think about it but along the way they pass one cemetery after another and every tombstone is a silent testimony to the frailty of life and the fact that people do die. But in Heaven there will be no funeral processions, and no cemeteries will ever blotch the beauty of that wonderful land.
"There shall be no more death" (Rev. 21:4). This fearsome enemy continually casts its shadow on our lives here on earth. Eventually death enters every happy family circle. Sooner or later, every home experiences the feeling of emptiness -- the dreadful vacuum caused by the passing of a loved one. No member of humanity, even the most strong, can escape the relentless passing of time and the realization that the earthly sojourn is brief. How happy we can be that in our eternal home we will experience no more anxiety, no more wondering when the end will come, no more long hours by hospital bed sides, and praise God, no more funerals!
Death will never invade that holy precinct. It served its ghastly role on earth, reaping like an impersonal scythe all mankind. The theories of its origin, purpose, and destiny would fill a library but the good thing to say is that by virtue of death's reality, a Christian goes to heaven. It is a passage through which the follower of Christ walks.
Death, the last great enemy of man, will be utterly abolished and we, God's people, shall have the victory.
1 Corinthians 15:54 through 1 Corinthians 15:57 (KJV)
III. No More Pain In Heaven
One has said, "The first thing you do when you are born is to cry, and the last thing you do when you die is groan."
This is not always true, but we do agree that life is filled with pain. Some suffer far more than others and we often wonder why. Earthly life begins with pain and pain is written in large letters over all the days of our years. There is the pain of body and with sickness and disease exacting their excruciating price. There is the pain of heart ache which bows the human spirit to the gates of death. There is the pain of disappointment, of failure, of humiliation, of ruin. It seems the whole earth groans in pain.
There's no pain in Heaven. Go to the hospital -- go down the rows of beds -- go from room to room, and you cannot help but sometimes have your own heart feel melted within you as you see the pain and agony that some people are going through. And many Christians at times have to face pain in these mortal bodies, sickness and ill health, and suffering itself. Job had to; Paul had to; Timothy had to. God's children will suffer sometimes more than those who are not saved. "For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth." (Heb. 12:6). But in Heaven there's no pain. No suffering there!
Pain is one of the "former things," that has passed away and we praise the Lord for that.
IV. No More Sickness In Heaven
One has said that "All this world is a great hospital," but there will be no hospitals in Heaven because there'll be no sickness.
A true story is told that a preacher's little girl had a long spell of sickness. He and the wife prayed day after day that she would get well, but one night she slipped out into eternity. The sad couple bowed to pray beside her body. The minister was thanking God that He had taken her out of her pain, when his wife burst out in the prayer -- "Yes, and thank you Lord for making her well." The husband thought her hysterical, and asked, "What do you mean, dear?" The reply was, "We have prayed for her to get well and now God has made her well forever and ever. She will never be sick again, nor suffer any more."
Pastors, friends, and loved ones spend many hours visiting the sick in hospitals. Some stay by the bedside of the sick for days, weeks and months to help them in any possible way. But, thank God, there will be no hospitals in Heaven because there will be no sickness.
Never will you hear the wail of racing ambulances. You'll look in vain for the offices of doctors. You'll never see a nurse and there'll be no drug stores where you can buy medicine. No funeral processions will ever be on Heaven's streets.
V. No Tears In Heaven
Our days on earth are filled with tragedy, heart ache,suffering, disappointment, and evil. As a result, tears are all too common in the experience of mankind. The lonely vigils at bed sides, the secret burdens buried deep in a mother's heart, and memories of tragedy, rejection, and pain are all too close to us. But before eternity begins, God Himself will wipe away all tears from our eyes! The ministry will not be entrusted to angels. No lesser citizens of heaven will perform this task, for the Lord Himself will pour His healing balm into the wounds and hurts of our lives.
Have you ever stopped to estimate the rivers of tears that flow down from earthly eyes? Have you ever opened your ears to listen to the weeping that is being wrung from human hearts? Look around you in the world today. The outstanding characteristic is sorrow. There is the bitterness of broken homes and bewildered children. The emptiness of life brings only utter frustration and despair. War leaves its terrific toll of desolation in lands and lives.
Heaven will know nothing of this. Weeping may endure for the night, but indescribable joy comes in the morning. Heaven is a land of peace, not war . . . happiness not sorrow . . . fulfillment not disappointment. God Himself has decreed that there will be no tears there.
We humans are very poor at bringing comfort to the sorrowing. If we succeed in removing one set of tears, others come that we cannot wipe away. Only the hands of the Lord can reach the deep sources of sorrow and dry up the streams that issue from them. "Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning." (Psalms 30:5)
In a large Methodist church in Denver they tell us that there is a huge arch over the pulpit which was once lined with sixty-six electric lights. Each light represented one book of the Bible. These lights were always kept shining during the sermon. One night Dr. Mead, the pastor, was delivering his sermon while his young son sat in one of the front pews. The father noticed that his son was restless and was trying hard to attract his father's attention. Finally, the pastor stopped in his sermon and said, "Well, what is it, son?" Instantly, pointing at one of the sixty-six lights, he said, "Daddy, Lamentations is out! I think that we can see the application of that simple illustration. In this life we have lamentations, but one day lamentations will be out!
VI. No More Misunderstanding In Heaven
Many things we do not understand here..... I think of that song:
1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV)
So much of the Bible I don't understand. I've studied it for years in college, seminary and many, many hours in my study. I've read many commentaries - some helped and some didn't. There is still so much I don't understand, and so much I'd like to know. The Bible makes it very clear that one day we will understand.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV)
VII. No Disappointments In Heaven
Heaven will be as wonderful as John described it and far more wonderful. We know this because God has told us, and God is a faithful and true God. The Bible tells us that God cannot lie.
Titus 1:2 (KJV)
And it also declares that it is impossible for God to lie.
Hebrews 6:18 (KJV)
God is a faithful God. That means He can be counted on to keep His word.
2 Timothy 2:13 (KJV)
1 Corinthians 1:9 (KJV)
2 Thessalonians 3:3 (KJV)
There's no disappointments in Heaven, no weariness, sorrow or pain, no hearts that are bleeding and broken. No song with a minor refrain. The clouds of our earthly horizon will never appear in the sky, for all will be sunshine and gladness, with never a sob nor a sigh. We'll never pay rent for our mansion, the taxes will never come due, our garments will never grow threadbare, but always be fadeless and new. We'll never be hungry or thirsty, nor languish in poverty there. For all the rich bounties of Heaven His sanctified children will share. There'll never be crepe on the doorknob, no funeral train in the sky, no graves on the hill sides of glory, for there we shall never more die. The old will be young forever, transformed in a moment of time, immortal we'll stand in His likeness, the stars and the sun to out shine. I'm bound for that beautiful city. My Lord has prepared for His own, where all the redeemed of all ages sing "glory" around the white throne.
VIII. No More Parting Of Loved Ones
1 Thessalonians 4:14 through 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (KJV)
You will notice the plural - "We." Who does that refer to? It refers to the family of God, everyone who has ever been saved.
Dr. R. G. Lee won a young man and women to Christ, baptized them and later married them. A year later a little baby girl came to bless their home. Then one night the father called Dr. Lee to come to the hospital. "Dr. Lee we need you, please come to the hospital I'm afraid our baby is dying." He went - found doctors and nurses doing all they could but he and the parents had to stand by and watch the baby die.
Soon the undertaker came, wrapped the little body in a little shawl and started out with it. Then the young mother cried out, "Oh, let me have my baby just one more night."
The husband asked Dr. Lee what he should do. Dr. Lee replied, "Let her have the baby. Let her have it just one more night." The undertaker put the baby in the mother's arms and Dr. Lee went home with them. He said that mother sat there all night with the little dead baby in her arms. She cooed and talked to the baby, but there was no light in the baby's eyes, no laughter on its lips, no warmth in the little body, yet she had it, just one more night.
Yonder in the great cities of the West there was a large mass meeting of railroad men. They were being addressed by a famous engineer, a devout Christian, and as he stood before that crowd of men, he said:
"I cannot tell you, men, how sweet the thought of Heaven is to men. When I started on my run years ago, there was a little cottage on the hillside, and as I would come around the bend in the evening, I would pull the whistle cord and the door of the cottage would open, and a little sweet-faced lady would wave at me. Then she would go back into the house and say, "Thank God, father, Benney is safely home! Then one day she went away to be with God.
"But," he said, "I still blew the whistle and still the door would open, and a dear old gentleman would step out and wave at me and then say to himself as he went back into the house, "Thank God, Benny is safely home again." Then the time came when I had to say good-by to that dear old father also.
"Now I no longer pull the whistle cord as I go by the little cottage on the hillside, but when life's journeys are all over, when I run my last train into the Union Station, how sweet is the thought, that as I go through the gates into the city of God, there will be at least two loved ones to greet me there. There will be a sweet-faced old lady, and a dear, gray-haired old gentleman, and I will hear her say, as I pass through the gates into that city of light and joy, "Thank God, father, Benny is safely home!"
When all God's children get home, they'll be together for ever. One of the sweetest words is the word "together." Together we shall enjoy Heaven and together we'll praise the Lord forever.
IX. No More Weariness And Fatigue
There will be rest. To some of God's children this is the most longed for characteristic of heaven. What they have sought all their days is the rest of God's home. To these weary ones God lovingly speaks words of comfort. "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them."
A pastor shares this true story with us.
I remember years ago a dear lady that used to do a little work for us. She had raised a large family and I have never seen a more sacrificial woman. She was not really a godly woman, but she was a Christian woman, and her big thing in life was to see her children go to school and have an education so that they wouldn't be poor like she had been. Her husband was dead.
She took in washings and scrubbed floors and she literally worked herself to death and one day the Lord took her home. She was not a member of my church and she lived in a little, poor section of the city, but when I heard that he died, I went to the home and there were the children. There was a big boy of about seventeen year of age and he was weeping and I said, "Son, your mother has gone to be with the Lord. That is where you mother is." I had talked to her many times.
I said to the boy, "Your mother worked hard. She loved you so much.She worked to the midnight hour. She ironed clothes until one or two o'clock in the morning. People came at all hours to pick up their clothes."
I told him that, "Your mother loved you. She worked to send you to school. She wanted you to have an education. She wanted you to have advantages. Your mother is in Heave."
He said, "Preacher, I want to ask you something. Do you suppose in Heaven that my mother will have to scrub floors and stand over a hot iron ten or twelve hours a day?"
I said, "No, Son, she won't, because there is nothing that ever hurts or tires or fatigues in that land over there."
He wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "Thank God for Heaven."
There is a tradition of an Indian chief who, with his tribe, fled before the prairie fires until he had crossed a broad river. Then he struck his tent pole into the ground and cried, "Alabama," which means, "Here we rest." The chief was no prophet. Enemy tribes soon overpowered him and his people. They found only graves where they sought a home. The lesson is that this earth has no "Alabama" -- rest can only be found in our Saviour.
Matthew 11:28 through Matthew 11:30 (KJV)
Hebrews 4:9 (KJV)
Our new bodies will never grow tired or old or less skilled. They will always be in "the peak of perfection."
X. No More Night In Heaven
Hell, according to the Bible, is a place of darkness -- outer darkness.
Matthew 8:12 (KJV)
Matthew 22:13 (KJV)
The glory of the Lord shall light the city of God.
Luke 2:9 (KJV)
Matthew 16:27 (KJV)
Matthew 24:30 (KJV)
The above Scriptures speak of God's glory and it is this glory that will light Heaven.
Revelation 21:23 (KJV)
Revelation 22:5 (KJV)
We are further taught that God's redeemed ones shall partake of His glory.
Romans 8:17 (KJV)
1 Peter 5:1 (KJV)
Let us notice again Heaven's "No Mores."
We shall have new bodies. The body in which we now live is a perfect masterpiece of efficiency and operation. Beginning with a union of two infinitesimal cells it grows into a coordinated functioning unit with literally billions of moving parts. Day by day it rejuvenates itself, replacing old cells with new. But this process does not go on interminably. After a time the body begins to wear. The eyes grow dim, the hearing lessens, the steps begin to falter and the mind becomes less keen. The body grows old.
This old broken, and dying body will be exchanged for a glorious body, like unto the body of our Lord. Paul said, "As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly." Salvation includes both body and soul.
Romans 8:22 through Romans 8:23 (KJV)
When Jesus comes again our body will be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:49 through 1 Corinthians 15:54 (KJV)
Our body will be like the body of Jesus.
1 John 3:2 (KJV)
Do you remember that our Lord's new body was not bound by time or space? He could appear and disappear at will. He entered rooms when the doors and windows were shut. The law of gravity had no jurisdiction. He could and did eat, yet the new body needs no food. He was the same, for the marks of the nails were still in His hands . . . yet He was different. He was the same Jesus . . . yet He was the glorified Christ. He was at home on earth . . . and at home in heaven.
Our new bodies shall be like that. Today we are bound down to this earth. In our new bodies we shall be at home anywhere in the universe. If we desire to walk the golden streets we will find our new feet are made for them. If we want to live on the earth, there will be no adjustment needed. If the farthest stretches of heaven's infinitude challenge us . . . we may travel there with the speed of thought. Nothing will daunt us. We may explore God's incalculable universe to the fullest.
No lost sinner will be in Heaven. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.
Revelation 21:27 (KJV)
When the lost trust Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, He prepares them for Heaven. He saves them and writes their names in the Book of Life.
Only Jesus can prepare you and He will if you'll trust Him. You must let Him save you or you'll never be saved
John 14:6 (KJV)
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
"When all the ransomed church of God,
Be saved to sin no more."
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-- Why does God allow sin to come and blast our hopes?
-- Why so many have to leave this world so young
-- Why God took that little baby out of mother's arms and took it on to glory
-- Why some of God's most faithful servants have to suffer so much
-- Why some are born with a deformed body, blind, deaf, dumb, helpless.
-- Why the father and husband was taken when he was needed so much here
-- Why so many trials and disappointments seem to come our way
-- Why that young man had to give his life in battle in some foreign land"Not now, but in the coming years,
It may be in the better land,
We'll read the meaning of our tears,
And there, sometime, we'll understand.
We'll catch the broken thread again,
And finish what we here began;
Heaven will the mysteries explain,
And then, ah, then, we'll understand."
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
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.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
-- No more sin. Sin is gone, and all the results of sin are gone.
-- No more death. The last great enemy of man is to be not more.
-- No more pain. All suffering is over for the Christian.
-- No more sickness. In Heaven we will continually know perfect health and strength.
-- No more misunderstandings. We will fully understand things that are a puzzle to us now.
-- No more tears. The Lord will wipe all tears away once and for ever.
-- No more disappointments. It will be far more wonderful than we expected.
-- No more parting of loved ones. We'll be together for ever - never fearing that death will come and separate us.
-- No more weariness. We'll find the rest we've longed for here.
-- No more night. The city will be lighted by God's glory.Heaven -- where no toil shall fatigue God's redeemed ones.
Heaven -- where no hostility can overcome them.
Heaven -- where no temptations can assail them.
Heaven -- where no pain can pierce them.
Heaven -- where no night can shadow them.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
In my hands no price I bring;
Simply to thy cross I cling,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone.
