Hebrews 11:10 – [Abraham] was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Revelation 21:23-27 – The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there…But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
What are the most amazing cities you have traveled to? What cities are on your bucket list to visit some day?
As a kid, I grew up the son of a construction worker father next to an airport. I could not afford to travel, but I often sat in the tree in our yard and wondered where the planes overhead were going to.
Over the years, God has been very gracious to allow me to travel and preach about Jesus in the most amazing cities – Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Istanbul, Delhi, Sydney, London, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, New York, Berlin, Mexico City, Port Au Prince, and more. Like most people, I love seeing new cultures, visiting new sites, meeting new people, eating new food, figuring out new sports, exploring new architecture, hearing new music, and learning new customs, which is why cities are amazing.
Sadly, many people have a view of Heaven that is more demonic than delightful. Heaven is not sitting alone bored to death on a cloud in a diaper plinking on a dumb harp. Heaven is the fullness of human ability unleashed once the curse is lifted to live in the City of God that comes down from Heaven as a prototype for the kind of cities God welcomes us to build and explore on our planet and beyond it into the galaxies that need to be explored and will be open for human dominion and settling into great global and galactic cities. Yes, the Star Trek and Star Wars fans are onto something…
The storyline of the Bible opens with the Garden of Eden (meaning paradise) that is a realm where God and divine beings live and ends with a city coming down from Heaven with the Garden of Eden in that city. Imagine what a perfect city made by God for human flourishing without sin or the curse will be like and you are starting to lean into eternity. In the ancient cities, they were protected by a wall and people had to pass through a gate to enter. You were only allowed to enter if your name was on the list of official residents. The same is true of God’s eternal City of Heaven. If you belong to Jesus Christ, then your name is already written in the Lamb’s book of life. If you have not turned from your sin and trusted in Jesus Christ, then you need to do that right now and become a Christian to have your name added to the eternal guest list in the City of God.
Are you certain that your name is written on the guest list for the City of Heaven? If not, stop right now and, in your own words, talk to Jesus asking Him to forgive your sin, be your God, and add you to His guest list. Then, find some other Christians to do life with and get to know your new spiritual family.