Rev. Adrian Rogers, a Memphis televangelist and former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, taught about heaven and encouraged all who heard him to study God’s word and accept Jesus Christ as Savior. He wanted everyone he met to join the saints in heaven. But for people to understand heaven, he believed they should understand several facts absout heaven.
In his sermon, “A Place Called Heaven,” Pastor Rogers shared seven facts everyone should know about heaven, including heaven is a real place, a place of absolute perfection; the saved go to heaven immediately upon death and only the redeemed will be there; there will be joyful activity; we will know our loved ones; and the crowning glory of heaven is Jesus.
Although the Bible introduces heaven to all readers, there is still much we don’t know about heaven.
Jesus told his disciples the good news of heaven, and that he was going there to prepare a place for them and all past and future redeemed. That’s a promise to all of us current and future Christians.
John 14:1-3 1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
The Bible also shares the Apostle Paul’s brief journey to heaven, where he saw miraculous things, things he could not share with his peers, or us, through his writings.
According to Rogers, “God has purposely kept back some things about heaven from us. Things not lawful to declare. God said, “This is a sacred secret Paul, you cannot tell it.”
God has saved something very wonderful for us. Below is the verse as Paul described his heavenly encounter. The “man in Christ” he describes as himself:
2 Corinthians 12:2-4 2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Although God has withheld many facts about heaven, following are seven facts about heaven that Rev. Rogers offers from his study of the Bible.
Fact Number One: Heaven is a Real Place
According to Rogers, “Heaven is not a condition, a state of mind, some will-o’-the-wisp. Heaven is someplace on God’s map.”
In the verses above, from 2 Corinthians, Paul is talking about himself. He went up into heaven, also called paradise. “He calls himself a man in Christ,” Rogers said. “He said, ‘whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know.’”
Rogers believes this verse is very important. It’s explaining that we humans can go to heaven either out of our body, or we can go to heaven in our body. “Heaven is such a real place that it takes care of a real body, or you can go there in your spirit,” Rogers said.
Paul describes being caught up in the third heaven and hearing unspeakable words, which were not lawful for a man to utter.
According to Rogers, there are three heavens that the Bible describes.
“The Bible speaks of the fowls of the heavens, that’s the atmosphere. Then the Bible speaks of the stars of heaven, that’s the stellar heaven. And then God speaks of heaven, which is the abode of God. Somebody said of these three heavens, the first we see by day, the second we see by night ,the third we see by faith.”
One day all Christians will go to heaven in spiritual form, and at some future date our resurrected bodies will join us as glorified bodies. And according to Rogers, we will “have something to put that resurrected foot on. Heaven is a real place. It is somewhere on God’s map.”
Fact Number Two: The Saved Go to Heaven Immediately Upon Death
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Theologians believe these verses are one proof that immediately upon death, the redeemed, or Christians, go to heaven. “To be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
According to Rogers, “The Saints go immediately to heaven upon death. Some people think that the soul sleeps in the grave to await the resurrection. No, the body waits for the resurrection. The spirit goes immediately to be with Jesus. What did Jesus tell that dying thief on the cross? Jesus said, ‘Today you’ll be with me in paradise.’”
Soon after He spoke to the thief, Jesus, hanging on the cross, suffering from the sins of the world, prepared to die. He bowed His head and said, “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Jesus was expecting to be in heaven with His heavenly Father.
As Christians, we also join our Heavenly Father and Jesus in heaven instantly upon our death. It’s something to hope for, prepare for, and pray for.
Fact Number Three: We Will Know Our Loved Ones
“Will we know one another in heaven?” Rogers asked. “Of course we will know one another in heaven.”
As an example, Rogers discussed King David’s reaction to his infant’s deathly illness. David prayed and asked God to spare the child’s life. God did not do so and the child died.
King David believed his baby’s soul went to heaven. But God did not. Once the baby died, David bathed, anointed himself, worshipped God, then returned to eat.
2 Samuel describes the action in more detail.
2 Samuel 12:20 20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. 21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
According to Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, David believed in the immortality of the soul.
‘I shall go to him’ to the state of the dead, to the grave, where his body was, or would be; to heaven and eternal happiness, where his soul was, as he comfortably hoped and believed: from whence it appears, that the Old Testament saints did not suppose an annihilation at death; but believed the immortality of the soul, a future state after death of eternal life and bliss: ‘but he shall not return to me’ in the present mortal state, though at the resurrection they should meet again.
Rogers shared the end-of-life examples of several Old Testament saints.
If you think of the Saints in the Bible when they died, how does the Bible talk about the Saints dying? It talks about them going to be with their people. When Moses died, here’s what God said to Moses. ‘Get thee up into the mountain and die in the mountain and be gathered unto thy people.’ Abraham knew that he was going to have a family reunion. In Genesis 25:8 Abraham gave up the ghost, that is he yielded up the spirit and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years and was gathered to his people. Listen to what the Bible says about Isaac. Genesis 35:29. And Isaac gave up the ghost and died and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. Listen to what the Bible says about Jacob and his family reunion in heaven. Genesis 49:33. And when Jacob made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people. Now his body is still somewhere moldering in the grave, but he gathered with his people. He is with his people. That's what Jesus talked about. A family reunion in heaven. Matthew 8:11. Here's what Jesus said. ‘And I say to you, that many shall come from the east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.’
“We’re going to fellowship there with these people,” Rogers said. “We will know one another in heaven. Put it down big, plain and straight.”
Fact Number Four: There Will Be Joyful Activity in Heaven
According to Rogers, “There’s some myths about heaven. One of them is we’re going to wear a wooly robe with a halo sitting on a fluffy cloud and pluck a harp.”
Another myth is that heaven is going to be boring.
“All day long we’ll have to listen to anthems,” Rogers teased. “There’ll be music in heaven, but I’ll guarantee it won’t be boring music. Heaven is rest, but it’s not laziness. It is not just lolling around for all eternity. Adam had work to do before sin ever came into the garden, but it wasn’t labour won by the sweat of his brow. It was to dress the garden and keep it.”
There will be tasks for all who enter heaven, and the most important will be our challenge to help God rule the vast universe.
“Paul said if we suffer with him we’ll also reign with him,” Rogers said. “Here’s a great verse I love from Revelation 7:15. The Apostle John had a glimpse into glory and he saw the servants of God. Here’s the way he described them.”
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
“The greatest joy that I have is serving the Lord,” Rogers said. “What a privilege to serve the Lord. Sometimes I wish I could serve him better. Friend we’re going to serve God in heaven. It’s not going to be boring. It’s going to be thrilling. It’s going to be blessed. There’s going to be joyful activity in heaven.”
Fact Number Five: Heaven is Going to be a Place of Absolute Perfection
Heaven is a place of perfection. There will be many great and wonderful things. But there are some things that won’t be there.
By understanding this, we can understand what the Apostle Paul was trying to say to us in Philippians 1.
Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Paul’s desire was to be with Christ. And there was so much to gain by being in heaven with Him. He could leave behind so many challenges of life here on Earth. Just imagine:
Heaven is a place where everything is good. It’s the absence of all that is bad.
“Heaven is all that the incredible mind of God can conceive. And heaven is all the Almighty hand of God can create. Put it together. God’s love. God’s mind in God’s power. You think of God’s creative genius in this world,” said Pastor Rogers. “This world has been marred by sin and yet you go look sometime at a mountain range or sometime look into the face of a buttercup or see the God that sculpted the rose, or the God that painted the rainbow, a God that gives us these glorious sunsets, the God who crafted the delicate wing of the butterfly. Even in a world that’s marred by sin, you can see a glimpse of that glory. But heaven will be the consummate work of God’s creative genius. You will love heaven.’
But heaven is hard to describe. No words can paint a true and glorious picture of heaven.
According to Rogers, “Every preacher that preaches on heaven tells the story of a little girl who was blind and had never seen.”
A surgeon believed that he could restore sight or give sight to that child. The parents were willing. They did the surgery. The eyes were bandaged. There came that time when the bandage was to be removed. Would she be able to see? They unwrapped the gauze. Took those pads from those precious little eyes. And the doctor said, ‘Sweetheart open your eyes.’ This little girl opened her eyes and blinked. The first thing she saw was the face of that doctor. Then the face of a nurse. Then the face of her mother. She saw a tear for the first time in her mother's eye. And she said, ‘I can see.’ And she looked around the things in the room that you and I take for granted. And then she went to the window and looked outside. She didn't see the grass. She saw the green grass. She didn't see the sky, she saw the blue sky. She didn't see the flowers, she saw the multicolored flowers. She ran back to her mother, squeezed her mother and said, ‘Mama it's beautiful. Oh mama, it's beautiful. Mama, why didn't you tell me it was so beautiful?’ That mother, through tears of joy said, ‘Sweetheart, I tried to tell you, but you had to see it for yourself.’
Heaven will be unlike anything we can comprehend. Indescribable. Wondrous. Beyond our imagination. God has tried to give us a glimpse, but like the blind girl, nothing could describe what she couldn’t see until her sight was given to her. Not until we arrive will we understand how heaven is a place of absolute perfection.
Fact Number Six: Jesus is the Crowning Glory of Heaven
According to Pastor Rogers, “Jesus is the crowning glory of heaven. Heaven to me is not primarily a place. Heaven is a person. Jesus.”
All Christians should look forward to being with Jesus in heaven when we die. And heaven is our promise. It’s our hope. And Jesus prepared a place for us there.
“I’m looking forward to being with Jesus,” said Pastor Rogers. “Are you? Listen, if you’re not looking forward to being with Jesus, if you’re just wanting for an eternal vacation or something like that, you’re not going to heaven. You’re not going to heaven.”
Pastor Rogers describes heaven as similar to being ‘home.’ And home is where our family is located. It’s not the structure of your house. Home is with your loved ones. And in heaven, home is with Jesus.
“You know what?” Pastor Rogers asked. “When I go off on a trip and I come home, what do you think I do? Burst through the door and run over and hug the lamp? Oh, there’s a nice recliner. Good to have a recliner. Oh, look at our rugs! No. It’s Joyce (Rogers’ wife), I want to get in my arms. You see, home to me is Joyce. Where she is, that’s what makes my home, home.”
His point is, what makes heaven, heaven, is Jesus.
Fact Number Seven: Only the Redeemed are Going to Heaven
Redeemed means to be delivered from sin. Pastor Rogers says to be born again. “You’ve had an earthly birth, you need a heavenly birth, and if you are heavenly born, you’ll be heavenly bound.”
Some people rely on their affiliation with a denomination to get them to heaven, and not their faith in Christ. Not so, says the Bible and Pastor Rogers. Redemption means that you receive Christ in His atoning blood for your sin.
Revelation 21:27
27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those [d]whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Rogers tells a story about four men who arrived at Heaven’s gates:
A man dreamed that he died and he came to the portals of heaven and he knocked on that pearly gate. Just a dream. And a voice within said, 'Who is it this seeks entrance into heaven? What is the password?' And the man said, 'I'm a moral man.' 'Well, what is the password?' 'Honesty.' The voice within said, 'Depart from me. Ye that work iniquity I never knew you.' Another knocked at the portals of heaven. The voice within said, 'Who is it that seeks entrance into heaven and what is the password?' This man said, 'I am a humanitarian.' 'What is the password to heaven.' He said, 'Love, charity, good deeds.' The voice within then said, 'Depart from me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you.' Another knocked. 'Who is it that seeks entrance into heaven and what is the password?' 'I am a religious man.' 'What is the password?' 'Religion. Baptism. Church attendance.' The voice within said, 'Depart from me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you.' Finally a fourth man knocked at heaven's portals. This is all just a dream. But the fourth man knocked. The voice within said, 'Who is it that seeks entrance in heaven and what is the password?' And the man on the outside said, 'I'm a Christian. I've given my heart to Christ. I've been born again. In my hand no price I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.' And the voice within said, 'Open wide the gates and let him in for of such is the kingdom of heaven.'
Near the end of his sermon, Rogers asked his listeners the following:
“Have you ever said, ‘Lord I’m not trusting my honesty, I’m not trusting my charity, I’m not trusting my religion. Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me. I trust you.’ You do that and I promise you on the authority of the word of God you’ll be heaven born and you’ll be heaven bound. And Joyce and I’ll meet you just inside the eastern gate. I know if I died today I’d go straight to heaven because I’ve repented of my sin, I’ve trusted Christ, I am heaven born and I’m heaven bound.”
All it takes to realize and experience these seven facts about heaven, and countless more, is a commitment to Jesus through a simple prayer suggested by Rev. Rogers.
Prayer:
Dear God, I'm a sinner. I'm lost. I need to be saved. I want to be saved. Jesus you died to save me. You promised to save me if I would trust you. I do trust you with all of my heart. Come into my heart. Forgive my sin. Save me Jesus. I trust you to do it right now. Thank you for doing it. Lord Jesus, give me the courage to make it public. Help me not to be ashamed of you. You're now my Lord and my Savior and I will live for you the rest of my life, not in order to be saved, but because you saved me by your grace. Out of gratitude I will live for you. Amen.
This summary is from a sermon titled, “A Place Called Heaven,” by Rev. Adrian Rogers. For nearly 33 years, Rogers was pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis. Rogers died in 2005 at the age of 74.