This is Heaven Revelation 21:9-22:4

When you consider or hear the word eternity, what do you think of? Certainly, it is a state without end; it never ceases. Arthur Stace could not read or write. Born in 1885, he was a drunk from the age of 15, worked as a lookout for a gambling den and as a scout for brothels in his 20’s. He enlisted in the First World War at 32yo before being medically discharged. He lived as a drunk until 1930 and at 45yo heard a sermon in Sydney called ‘The Echoes of Eternity’ by local evangelist, John G. Ridley. Ridley said, “Eternity, Eternity, I wish that I could sound or shout that word to everyone in the streets of Sydney. You’ve got to meet it, where will you spend Eternity?” Stace took that literally. Despite being illiterate and barely capable of scribbling his own name, Stace managed to produce a stylish copperplate ‘Eternity’ in chalk on every empty patch of concrete he could find throughout Sydney. For 35 years of his life, the reformed alcoholic woke up at the crack of dawn to scrawl ‘Eternity’ in yellow chalk on footpaths from Parramatta to Martin Place and everywhere in between.

‘Mr Eternity’ became a bit of a mystery man around Sydney before the secret was revealed in a newspaper interview in 1956. Stace etched his iconic message an estimated half a million times over three-and-a-half decades, continuing his work until the day he died at 82.

The man and his message were honoured. The word “Eternity” was in lights during the 2000 Olympic Games as well as with the Sydney Harbour Bridge lighting up during New Year’s celebrations for the new millennium.

But what does it mean for you when you hear this word? Surely for the Christian it evokes images and a desire towards our eternal home. This is the place we know as Heaven. This is where the one who knows Christ as their saviour will spend eternity.

What is it like? Firstly, a place without the consequences or presence of sin – no pain, decay, death or ill will or thought. This to us is unimaginable in our present state, but one day will be an eternal reality. But even the present heaven is not without impurity. As absurd as it sounds, Job 15:15 says, “God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight;” Satan our accuser still is able to present himself before our Lord – in the new Heaven and Earth, he is locked away in judgement for eternity.

Secondly, a place of glory from God’s presence and eternally abiding recreation. Described as having a radiance like a most rare jewel: city is square, wall is 12, 000 stadia (2000 km – Townsville to Melbourne). How can you describe a place that is indescribable? John said (verses 18ff), “The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass…” Is there such a thing as pure gold that it is transparent? Not on earth – hence the description. The glory of Heaven, even with earthly descriptors, is not like anything that can be described on earth as we know today.

Thirdly, the primary residency – Who dwells there? John said, “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” Not like temples as we know on earth. But the temple is God. How is God ever able to be described, let alone put into pictures? The best one we have is found in Revelation 4, where John said in the throne room of God that he saw “a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” (Revelation 4:3-6) But that is John describing the present throne room in Heaven. The New Jerusalem and the temple which is the Lord Himself is even more significant, because it replaces the current one that John described.

Fourthly, when did you last consider the universe: its immensity, its beauty, the power behind its creation? This too will no longer exist, if you can imagine that? The sun or the moon, even the earth will be burned up and replaced, because John told us, “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.” (verse 23) It is impossible to draw; indescribable really. John said, “there will be no night there.” Eternal light from God’s glory.

Fifthly, abundant. It is described as having the River of Life flowing from the throne; “river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1, 2)

Finally, it will be eternal, “night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5)

But this describes us as well. Why, because we are the New Jerusalem coming out of heaven; we are radiant bride of Christ; we reflect Christ’s glory, because He dwells in this city. Where He is, there is heaven. He will dwell with us. We have a very elementary understanding of this. Even Moses could not look on the face of God; hence the Lord covered Himself, but Moses reflected the Lord’s glory afterwards where the people could not even look at him.

We will be as Christ. We will have glorified bodies, also able to bear the presence of a powerful and almighty God. Paul said of our resurrected bodies, “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” (1 Corinthians 15:42, 43) Immortal, imperishable, in order to dwell eternally as part of the New Jerusalem.

The thought of Eternity. This is why this word captivated the heart of Arthur Stace and many who read it on the way to work. The Holy Spirit revealed to him that his mortal life, this life on earth, was out of order. The Lord opened His heart. Arthur Stace knew the truth of the New Jerusalem just as John said, “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.” (Revelation 21:27)

You see this word affects us all. We will all be residents somewhere in eternity. We have read something of what Heaven is like, but there is another eternal dwelling place that could equally be described. The lamb is Jesus. How do you know for certain that your name is written in that book, with complete assurance? If you confess that you have broken the law of God; if you repent of that condition and the resulting action and condition – that means going in a new direction – not continuing in that same direction – that’s what repentance means - going the other way. Accepting that the only way you can be forgiven of this condition is by acknowledging and accepting that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin and that He is now the Lord of your life. If you confess these things with your mouth, but also believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, the scripture says “you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, 10) That means your name is, without doubt, written in the Book of Life and your inheritance is with Jesus in Heaven for eternity!