Last week, we joined the apostle John as he was shown a new heaven and a new earth, and the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband (Revelation 21:1-2). We asked what the place looks like. Today we return to the same two chapters, but we ask a different question. It is not about the address or the real estate but about the life.

Before we go any further, I want to give you the one sentence that everything this morning points back to. Heaven is heaven because God is there. The city, the river, the tree, the mountains, and the reunions are all real and wonderful, but they are the setting. Jesus is the reason. Hold onto that, because we are going to walk a long way before we come back to it.

So let me address the four questions people ask most often. Where will we live? What will we be? Will we know one another? And what will we do?

Let's start with where we will live.

When we talk about living in heaven, understand that we will live on a new earth. This is a real place. It is not floating in the clouds; there is real dirt under our feet. The hub, center, and focus of this place will be the new Jerusalem, a city so vast that we and the billions who live there will never feel crowded, yet we will all be near one another.

At the center of that city lies the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street (Revelation 22:1). I believe this is what the psalmist hinted at when he wrote,

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells" (Psalm 46:4).

On both sides of that river stands the tree of life. This is the same tree that stood in Eden, the tree God guarded so Adam and Eve would not eat and live forever in their sin. But now it stands open and accessible, bearing fruit every month. John tells us,

"The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2).

Understand what that healing means. There will be no sickness left to cure and no pain left to treat. What that tree heals is history. Every division, every war, every old hatred between peoples is finally undone, and nations that could never sit at the same table are reconciled beneath its branches. That reconciliation comes to us from a tree, just as our justification came to us from a man named Jesus hanging on one.

Now, I want to clarify that this new earth is not only city streets and buildings. In Isaiah chapter 65, the Holy Spirit describes the new creation through the prophet, who says,

"They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit" (Isaiah 65:21).

That means soil, seasons, and open land. Houses and vineyards mean neighborhoods and countryside. John himself was carried away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high (Revelation 21:10), so there will be peaks and slopes, lakes and waterfalls. The new earth will be wider, wilder, and more beautiful than anything we have known.

Many of you have wondered whether there will be animals there, and I believe there will be. When Isaiah describes the restored creation, he says,

"The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox" (Isaiah 65:25).

Some of that begins in the millennium and is completed in the new creation. If the wolf and the lamb are there, I have no trouble believing the rest of God's creatures are there too.

And if you have ever longed for a home of your own, be encouraged, because on the night before the crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples,

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).

He is preparing a place specifically for you, and God knows you better than you know yourself. When you finally see your home, it will fit you more perfectly than anything you could have designed.

That is where we will live. But what will we be like when we get there?

Let me assure you that you will not float through that place as a spirit. You will walk through it in a body. The resurrection body is the same body, yet it is gloriously different. Paul says,

"The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power" (1 Corinthians 15:42-43).

Some of you woke up this morning, and your body reminded you exactly how perishable it is. But whatever the pain, whatever the diagnosis, whatever is holding you back, I want you to hear me. This is not the final version of you, because the Lord…

"Will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:21).

And what was his body like? The disciples touched him. He ate with them. They recognized his face and the scars on his hands. Yet he walked through locked doors and moved instantly from place to place. His body was real, physical, and recognizable, yet no longer bound by the limits that bind us now. That is why John could write,

"What we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

This is why the voice from the throne could make the promise we read last week,

"There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4).

Whatever you have carried in this body, you will not carry it in that one.

Now listen carefully, because this next part troubles people who love their husbands or wives. Jesus said,

"At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven" (Matthew 22:30).

Marriage was never the destination. From the beginning, it was a picture pointing to something greater, and Paul tells us plainly that it was always about Christ and the church. In eternity, we do not lose the picture; we step into the reality it was painting. Every one of us becomes the bride, and Jesus is the bridegroom.

So nothing good in your marriage is taken from you. The love is not diminished. It is finally free of everything that has been spoiling it, and it is caught up in a greater love that includes everyone.

Which brings us to the question people have asked me more than any other. Will we know one another?

Yes, and we will know one another better there than we ever have here.

Think about David when he lost his infant son. In that moment, he stopped weeping and said something remarkable.

"I will go to him, but he will not return to me" (2 Samuel 12:23).

David expected to meet his son. He did not say, "I will go to that place." He said, "I will go to him."

Moses had been gone for centuries, and Elijah had been taken up in a whirlwind. Yet when they appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples recognized them both immediately. After the resurrection, the disciples recognized Jesus. He had been changed and glorified, yet he was still unmistakably himself.

Paul offered these words of comfort to grieving believers. He said, "We don’t want you… to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). And the hope he offered them was not a vague assurance that things would somehow work out, but it was a reunion. He said, "The dead in Christ will rise first… we will be caught up together with them… and we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

 Together is the word that dries the tears. And when we are together, the fog lifts. Paul says,

"Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

In other words, you will truly know your mother, your child, and the friend you guided to Christ. In fact, in the new creation, you will understand them in a way that was impossible here.

So, we know where we will live, who we will become, and who will be with us. Now, the only remaining question is: what will we actually do?

Let’s start with this. You will be given assignments and meaningful responsibilities that keep you engaged, growing, and genuinely helpful to others. There are things to do in heaven, because work itself was never the curse. When God pronounced judgment in the garden, he said the ground was cursed because of Adam (Genesis 3:17). The curse was thorns, sweat, and frustration. The blessing of work itself came before the fall, because in the garden, before there was any sin, when everything was good,

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Genesis 2:15).

Here is the part that should get your attention. Those assignments are connected to your faithfulness right now. Not because you earn anything, since salvation is a gift, but because God graciously rewards stewardship. What you do with what he has given you here shapes what he entrusts to you there.

Last week, we discussed the judgment seat of Christ, where every believer receives what is due for their deeds in the body. Listen to what Jesus promises the one who overcomes.

"I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne" (Revelation 3:21).

That is not a seat near the throne. That is a seat on it, with him.

We will also eat. Picture perfect soil, weather that always cooperates, no blight or pests, and taste buds that finally work the way God designed them. Jesus said to his disciples in his kingdom,

"You may eat and drink at my table" (Luke 22:30).

And the wedding supper of the Lamb will be a feast beyond anything we have ever sat down to in this life.

Now, for years, I assumed heaven was outside of time, but Scripture tells us there will be Sabbaths, months, and ages, so eternity is not one long frozen moment. There will be things to look forward to, seasons to enjoy, and growth that never stops.

And we will rest. The Bible says plainly,

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9).

This is not the rest of exhaustion, finally catching a break so you can recover and get caught up. It is rest without anxiety, without striving to prove yourself, and without the fear that it could be taken away. John heard the voice from heaven promise that those who die in the Lord will rest from their labor and that their deeds will follow them (Revelation 14:13).

So there will be work without weariness and rest without boredom. That combination does not exist on this side of eternity.

And running underneath all of it, there will be worship that never stops.

John saw four living creatures around the throne who never stop saying,

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come" (Revelation 4:8).

Then the circle widens. Twenty-four elders fall down before the Lord. Thousands upon thousands of angels join in. And then John hears every creature in heaven, on earth, and under the sea join the song, giving praise, honor, glory, and power to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, forever and ever (Revelation 5:13).

That song is playing right now. The worship that fills eternity has already begun. The multitude standing before the throne comes from every nation, tribe, people, and language (Revelation 7:9), which means worship there will be richer than anything we have ever experienced, gathering every culture and every language God ever made. It will never grow repetitive or boring, because we will keep discovering new things about God to praise him for, and every new discovery will draw deeper worship from us.

Here is what I want you to know. Most of you have already been in that room. You have not felt the full weight of it, but you have caught a glimpse. When the Holy Spirit falls in this place on a Sunday morning and something rises within you, rivers of living water spring up. That is not just good music. That is your soul joining a song that has never stopped.

But I cannot end with rivers and mountains, homes, and even the tree of life, because none of those things is what makes heaven, heaven. Last week we ended on one verse, and it is the reason for all the rest. The Bible says,

"The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads" (Revelation 22:3-4).

Understand how enormous that is. Moses asked to see God's glory, and the Lord told him,

"You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live" (Exodus 33:20).

Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and he came apart.

He said, "Woe to me! I am ruined!" (Isaiah 6:5).

But when we get there, we will see his face. Not a vision of it, not a reflection of it, but the face of the One who left heaven for you. The Son of God who was beaten for you, who carried a cross up a hill for you, and who has been preparing a place for you ever since.

So if you take away the golden streets, the pearly gates, and the river of life, heaven is still heaven because Jesus is there.

But here is the most important point I will make this morning. You do not have to wait for heaven to begin knowing him. In Ephesians chapter one, Paul writes,

"Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:13-14).

The Holy Spirit is the down payment, the first installment of your inheritance. He is the same in nature, only smaller in measure. So every time the Holy Spirit comforts you, convicts you, fills you, or speaks to you, he is handing you a sample of eternity.

So, what do we do with all of this?

Well, Peter tells us. He had just described the Day of the Lord, saying,

"The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" (2 Peter 3:10).

And then he tells us how to live in light of that truth.

"So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him" (2 Peter 3:14).

You see, everything we have studied for seven weeks was never meant to entertain you or satisfy your curiosity. It was meant to change how you live tomorrow. And Peter gives us three things.

Number one, be found spotless. That is a holy life, and it looks inward. He is coming soon, and you do not know the day or the hour. So whatever sin you have been tolerating, whatever you keep promising yourself you will deal with later, deal with it now, because Jesus is coming back for a bride.

"A radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish" (Ephesians 5:27).

Number two, be found blameless. That word looks outward. Make it right with the person you have offended. Let go of the grudge. Forgive what you have been holding onto for years. Do not try to carry into eternity what Christ already paid to remove.

Number three, be at peace with him. Stop negotiating and stop putting it off. Settle the matter of your soul today. Peace with God is not something you manufacture. Paul tells us how it was purchased.

"God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Colossians 1:19-20).

We receive that peace by faith, and the Holy Spirit then grows peace in us as a fruit. Isaiah made the same connection when he wrote,

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you" (Isaiah 26:3).

And all of this matters urgently because John tells us exactly who walks through those gates.

"Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27).

We read that verse last week, and I have not stopped thinking about it because some of the people you love most are not ready. They may be sitting at your table this week. They may be at your job, in your classroom, or living three doors down from you. Heaven is real, and so is the alternative. That means we cannot keep this to ourselves.

Seven weeks of prophecy culminate in one person, Jesus Christ.

The last promise Jesus makes in all of Scripture closes the Bible this way.

"Yes, I am coming soon" (Revelation 22:20).

And John answers him,

"Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20).

That is the prayer that ends the Bible, and it is the prayer that ends this series. I want it to be yours this morning. As the worship team comes, I am going to ask you to respond, and there are four ways you may need to come.

First, some of you have never given your life to Jesus Christ. None of what I have described today is yours yet, but it can be yours before you leave this room. The book of life is still open, and names are still being written in it. Peter says,

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

If you turn from your pride and your sin and come to him, he will receive you and write your name in his book. The invitation is still open.

"Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).

Come to Jesus. Come to this altar. Do not leave here today without settling it.

Second, some of you are already saved, but the Holy Spirit has been putting his finger on something as I have been preaching. There is a sin you keep tolerating, a grudge you keep feeding, or a name you have refused to forgive. Spotless and blameless. You know which one he is dealing with you about. Do not carry it out of this room. Come and lay it down at this altar; and let the blood of Jesus deal with it this morning.

Third, some of you felt something stir when we talked about that song that never stops. That was not the music. That was the Holy Spirit, and he wants to fill you. If you have never been baptized in the Holy Spirit, come, and we will pray with you and believe with you for that promise. And if you have been filled before but are running dry, come anyway. The deposit guarantees the inheritance, but you were never meant to live on the same filling you received years ago. Come and be filled fresh this morning.

And fourth, some of you are thinking of a name right now. A husband, a daughter, a brother, or a neighbor who is not ready. Do not go home and worry about them. Come to this altar and pray for them by name. Let us stand with you and agree in prayer for their salvation in the mighty name of Jesus.

Graphics, notes, and commentary from LifeChurch, Ministry Pass, PC Study Bible, Preaching Library, and Sermon Central. Scripture from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.