"命の水の川"
Heaven Series #20 The “River of the Water of Life” Imagine a beautiful sparkling river flowing with crystal clear water, so alive and invigorating that it is described by God Himself as the “WATER OF LIFE”. In the book of Revelation 21:6, Jesus says “To the one who is thirsty, I will give water without cost from the SPRING of THE WATER OF LIFE.” And then in Revelation 22:1 John writes “Then the angel showed me 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 of the city.” Notice specifically that the […]
生命の樹
Heaven Series #19 “The Tree of Life” Probably, the first great act of mercy shown to mankind from God was when He shut Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden saying, ”He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the TREE OF LIFE and eat, and live forever.” (Gen. 3:22, 24) Had God not done this, mankind would have been “locked in” to our sinful condition for eternity… a horrific thought. Quite amazingly, the TREE OF LIFE shows back up in the book of Revelation, as does Paradise (Eden) as well. This time there is no cherubim or flaming sword guarding it […]
神の玉座
Heaven Series #18 “The Throne of God” Of all the topics I have covered in this series on Heaven, this one has been the most humbling… and yet one of the most thrilling as well. When we consider that the Creator of the universe has chosen to settle Himself upon this glorious seat where He looks over the whole earth and the affairs of men… it is humbling to say the least. David tells us in the book of Psalms that God’s throne is eternal and will last “forever and ever”. He also tells us that righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne, revealing that God’s judgement will be […]
二重国籍
Heaven Series #17 “Dual Citizenship” It goes without saying that we are all citizens of some country here, whether it be by birth in that country or by acquiring it through legal process. But what does need to be said and clearly understood is that as professed Christians and members of the body of Christ, we have been granted another citizenship, a heavenly one. Paul states it clearly in his letter to the Philippians believers, “But our CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phi. 3:20) So, in essence, we are citizens of two distinct countries… one here on earth… and the other […]
天国の宝物
Heaven Series #16 “Treasures in Heaven” My grandfather used to sing an old hymn that went like this: On the other side, treasures there have I. Treasures that this world and all its wealth could never buy. And when I reach that City and the gates swing open wide. I’ll find my treasures waiting on the other side. Jesus taught us clearly not to store up our treasures here on earth, but to store our treasures in heaven. It must be a part of our fallen nature that causes us to cling so dearly to what we can see and feel here in this life… yet God calls us to […]
神は本当に新しい地球を創造しようとしているのか？
Heaven Series #15 “Is God really going to create a new earth? When the pilgrims first set out from England, they were looking and longing for a “new world”… a better world than the one they were leaving. And thankfully for many of us, they did. I believe God has placed a similar longing in each of our hearts… for that better world. Somehow, we know inside of ourselves, that this is not it… this is not all there is… For our text today, let’s go back to “the beginning”. When God first created the Heavens and the Earth, He said “It is good”. And then after creating Eve, the first woman, God […]
死を恐れてはならない理由
Heaven Series #14 ”Why we should never fear death” There are few things that elicit more fear and apprehension than the thought of dying. From movies to novels to stories around the campfire… man can often show a fascination with death on the one hand, and yet be inwardly petrified of it on the other. This paradox I believe, actually reveals something… that we have a deep longing to KNOW what is on “the other side”, and even an inward hope that it is something good. The scripture actually reveals in Ecc. 3:11, that God has “set eternity in the hearts of men”. This is a sobering thought, and God probably intended […]
天国についてできるだけ多くを学ぶ必要がある理由
Heaven Series #13 “Why we need to learn as much as we can about Heaven” Several weeks ago, I posted a photo of my wife Kathy just a few months before she passed away. She was reading the book “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. When a close pastor friend of mine saw the photo, he said that it reminded him of “someone who was getting ready to go on a long trip and was reading the travel brochure”. I had to laugh… because I knew it was true. Kathy knew where she was going… and she wanted to learn as much as she could about heaven before she got there. When […]
天国には動物やペットはいるのか？
HEAVEN SERIES #12 Will there be animals and pets in heaven? In my opinion, the quick answer is yes, and yes. The scripture tells us in the book of Genesis, that it was God’s idea in the first place to design and create the animals and birds and fish.. and after he had done so, He beheld what He had created and said, “It is good”. So we know initially, God was indeed pleased that He had created them. Secondly, if you’ll remember, God included the animals in the covenant he made with Noah and his family in the great flood. He made special emphasis on the animals in His promise… […]
天国に行くことを100%確信するには？
Heaven Series #11 How can I be 100% sure that I am going to Heaven? The apostle John wrote in his second of five writings these powerful words: “I have written these things to you (who believe in the name of the Son of God), that you may KNOW that you HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.” 1 John 5:13 John’s words here make it clear that it is God’s intention for His children to KNOW that they will go to heaven and live forever. Before we get into any doctrinal thoughts here, I want to focus on what John is trying to communicate… and why. John says that his purpose in writing this […]
