Jesus just called Heaven His Father's House!

He may have had one or two different "word pictures" in mind when He so powerfully preached this sermon.

In ancient Jewish culture it was common for all the children, when grown and married, to live in the same compound as did their parents!

When young Benjamin or any other Jewish boy got married, he and his new Bride would move into his father's house!

Extra rooms would have been added to accommodate them of course!

They lived in the extended family atmosphere of the Father's House!

Heaven was to Jesus just that ... His Father's House with plenty of room for Jesus' Bride, the Church!

Secondly, as you will remember, the Old Testament Temple had built around it living quarters!

Places where the Priests could dwell!

Jesus possibly was looking at Heaven as the Location of the great Temple, the Temple of God ... with its accompanying living quarters built all around!

After all, the Temple was the House of God!

Either way, Heaven to Jesus was real!

And personal!

And often on His Heart!

Christian friend today, when you think of Heaven is your heart warmed?

Do you think of gathering loved ones around you ... because of Jesus' shed Blood?

Or of living in a Place where worship and adoration of God is paramount?

It's amazing!

Heaven ... the Father's House!

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 2:

Jesus, when teaching about Heaven, said it housed many "mansions."

His exact words are: "In my Father's house are many mansions." John 14:2

By definition a mansion is a "large and stately house, the chief residence of a dignitary!"

The Greek word is "mone" and is pronounced mon-ay'.

It, as a noun, is only found twice in Scripture.

Jesus used the word both times.

Let me show you.

"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." John 14:2

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23

In the first occurrence we are going to live with the Lord!  Abiding with Him, in our very own mansions!

In the second instance the Lord comes to live with us! We who are saved by His Grace! Abiding with humanity! In reality here Jesus is calling us, our very bodies, His "abode," His "mansion" really!

The delight that my future heavenly home, my mansion, brings me as I meditate upon it and ponder it carefully ... is the very same delight our bodies bring to Christ and His Father, Who indwell us through the precious Holy Spirit! "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?" 1st Corinthians 6:19

This is amazing!

Furthermore, John 14:2 is one of those many verses that makes me glad I still use the old King James Bible!

I just like the lovely sound of that old English vernacular!

Here it is again: "In my Father's house are many mansions."

No other "modern" version that I know uses that noun "mansion" when describing our heavenly home!

Many say, instead of "mansions," simply "rooms!" Others have "dwelling places." One, using incorrect grammar, says "places to live in!"

Excuse me!

I'll just stay with "mansions."

I do believe the glorious Lord of the universe, Creator of heaven and earth, is going ... after two thousand years ... to have prepared you and me something more than just a bunch of "rooms!"

Mansions!

Amen!

Are you ready?

Are you saved?

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 3:

Jesus, in John 14:2, reveals to us His way of handling the Truth.

Declares our Lord: "If it were not so, I would have told you."

Look at that!

No withholding the Truth here!

There is a Place called Heaven!

"If it were not so, I would have told you."

It is filled with mansions!

"If it were not so, I would have told you."

The Lord here pledges to be completely honest with His followers!

Jesus will just not encourage us to believe a lie!

"If it were not so, I would have told you."

Therefore ... based upon this verse, I can whole heartedly believe in the inerrant Bible, no mistakes!

If that were not so, Jesus would have told us!

I can accept the fact that the Blood of Jesus washes away sin!

If it were not so, He would have told us!

In fact I can trust in every statement the Bible makes!

Because, as Jesus promised ... "If it were not so, I would have told you."

It brings great comfort to us Christians ... just knowing that our dear Lord is that honest!

That open with the Truth!

Then, based on 2nd Thessalonians 4:13-18, we can go ahead and get ready! Ready for the Coming of Jesus!

To catch us away to Heaven!

For if it were not so, He would have long ago told us!

Praise His dear Name!

Folks, this clause alone, just a part of John 14:2, should make us praise the Lord for the rest of our lives!

It also should remove any doubts we might have about God or His Word!

After all, anything we might have believed that is not so ... He would have told us!

That's His Way!

Then, lastly, do notice this.

Jesus' words of encouragement here; "If it were not so, I would have told you," are spoken in the context of eternity!  He is talking about Heaven!

Many say they wish some form of communication existed between heaven and earth. But Jesus' words here must suffice. Heaven is real and glorious and peaceful and so much more and ... "If that were not so, Jesus would have told us!"

And Hell, also lacking in any real communication with earth, must be every bit as real as Heaven! The same Jesus taught about both places. Hell, no doubt as painful and lonely and forsaken as it can be! If that also were not so, He would gladly have told us!

There you have it!

Eternity!

Forever!

No end!

"If it were not so ...!"

We have Jesus' Word on it!

                                                                                 --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 4:

One of the Lord's most precious promises is recorded in John 14:2.

He, speaking to His followers, plainly said: "I go to prepare a place for you."

The verb "go" here, "poreuomai" in Greek, means "to depart" or "to walk." It at times can even convey the idea of continuing a journey on which one has already started.

The verb is in the present tense and indicative mood. Jesus is stating His coming departure here as a fact.  The verb is in the "middle" voice, telling us that Jesus Himself is impacted by His going away to prepare this place!

In context Jesus is readying His Disciples for His soon coming Death, Burial, Resurrection and Ascension back to His Father.

He wants them to know that His "going away" is for a reason!

He is not going to leave them "comfortless!" He said that a little later in John 14:18. The Greek word "comfortless" is familiar to you. It is spelled "orphanos" and is our little noun "orphan!" 

The Comforter Jesus ultimately has in mind is the Holy Spirit of course. He IS The Comforter!

But also ... Jesus is leaving to prepare a Place for His Own!

That too brings encouragement and strength!

The verb "to prepare" translates "hetoimazo." It means "to make ready" something. In Scripture the verb is used to suggest the preparation of rooms for lodging, foods for a banquet, and a welcome for a King!

The expression "hetoimazo" is an aorist infinitive here. This work of preparing a Place is going to be finished at some point in time. Heaven will not still be "under construction" when the Church, the Bride of Christ, gets "home!"

I believe this "going" of Jesus is a reference to His return, His Ascension, back to His Father in Heaven. This was accomplished forty days after His literal bodily Resurrection.

I base that conclusion on the fact that Jesus next immediately mentions His "coming again" to receive His Own Children!

Then we come to the little noun ... "place." It is simply spelled "topos" and means a space that has been specially marked off for a specific purpose! Every grammatical indicator points to the fact of this Place being real and tangible and visible and glorious!

I know you've heard this again and again, but I must repeat it here. If the Lord created this beautiful place we call earth in six days ... what will Heaven be like after His crafting it for two thousand years?

Paul the New Testament Apostle, quoting Isaiah the Old Testament Prophet, said: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1st Corinthians 2:9

Yes, He has gone to prepare a place ... "for us!"

This little pronoun, "humin," is the dative plural form of "su." It means "you."

Jesus looked His Disciples right in their eyes and promised them a Place, a prepared Place ... for all eternity!

Where is Jesus right now?

Put a "yes" by each of these descriptions:

In Heaven!

At the Father's Right Hand!

Interceding for you and me!

Reigning as our Forerunner!

Officiating as our Great High Priest!

Overseeing His Church!

But also ... preparing for His Own little Flock ... a PLACE!

Yes!

But look!

He is now sitting at the Right Hand of God!

Surely that means the work is all done!

Of course Redemption was completed a long time ago, two thousand years.

Maybe now the "preparation" of that Place is completed too!

If so, it can't be long, can it?

Until He comes again!

Praise the Lord!

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 5:

The Lord Jesus is coming again!

He has promised so!

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again ...."  John 14:3

For all the years since His bodily Ascension back to Heaven, Jesus has apparently been preparing a place for His Children!

Thereafter He is "coming again!"

In several New Testament locations this truth is amplified.

Listen to Jesus' words in Luke 18:8. "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" This verse obviously assumes the Second Coming of our Lord!

I personally believe that the Second Coming of our Lord will be in two phases.

First of all He will appear in the air, having come to "catch away" His People, His Bride, the Church!

Paul supplies the details in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17. "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

Then, after the Tribulation time that will vex the whole world, Jesus is coming again to earth! This time His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives! "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east." Zechariah 14:4

Or read with me Revelation 19:11-16. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

Jesus will keep His Promise!

"I will come again!"

Mark my words!

Oh, I remember what Peter said. "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2nd Peter 3:3-4

And those scoffers are here too! The noun "scoffers" means mockers, making light of Jesus' Return!

But still Jesus' words ring in my ears!

"I will come again!"

Today my heart longs and prays ... in harmony with John on Patmos ... "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."  Revelation 22:20

He will!

                                                                            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 6:

Will we Christians, Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, ever be with our Saviour? I mean dwelling with Him eternally?

Yes!

The Lord Himself promised so!

He said, "I will come again, and receive you unto myself." John 14:3

See those last five words?

"And receive you unto Myself!"

When Jesus comes, according to Paul in 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, we shall be "caught up" with Him in the clouds, "to meet the Lord in the air!"

That's when Jesus' Words here will be realized!

He will "receive us unto Himself!"

The Greek verb "receive" is a compound expression, "paralambano." It means to come "alongside" ("para") someone and "take charge" ("lambano") of them!

It often was the term Jesus' neighbors and friends would use when a Groom came to "receive" his Bride and "take" her to their newly constructed home! See Matthew 1:21 and 24.

"Paralambano" is here expressed as a future tense verb. The event herein described was to occur at some not-yet-arrived time, future in respect to Jesus' speaking these words in John 14:3.

As of May 8, 2006, at 3:00 AM ... that blessed Day of His Second Coming had not yet come to pass. But, it will! Just like He said!

Furthermore this verb is in the indicative mood! Jesus is not expressing a simple wish or desire here ... but a fact! Rest assured, dear friend, He will return!

Then it too is in the middle voice! Unlike English, the Greek language retains this particular "voice" to emphasize action that impacts and influences and even changes the Actor, the Subject! As of the very moment of the Rapture, Jesus will thereafter be the Bridegroom with His Bride, for evermore! How very important this sounds!

Then the personal pronoun "you," as in Jesus' saying "I will receive YOU unto Myself," translates "su" as an accusative plural. Jesus was speaking to a group of His followers and they all would be received into His Presence! That group now includes every man or woman or young person who has trusted Jesus as Saviour, having been washed in His shed Blood ... forgiven!

He's coming to receive us all!

And even the prepositional phrase "unto Myself" spoken by Jesus is significant!

"Pros," meaning "unto," means toward or near or beside or more literally ... "facing" someone! Face-to-face with Christ our Saviour!

And He will "catch us away" Himself!

"The Lord Himself will do so!"

I looked carefully, doing a computer "string search" for the words occurring in this precise order ... and "the Lord Himself" will do two major things in all of world history.

Provide a Saviour, thereby redeeming His People! "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

And ... coming again to get that People, once "time" has run its course! "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17

We Christians sure have a lot of things to joyfully anticipate!

Among them ... Jesus, coming again, to "receive us" unto Himself!

By the way, some Vocabulary Texts say that "paralambano" ("to receive") includes the idea of gladness and eagerness also!

Jesus "receiving" us with great energy and delight!

I know we will be that glad to see Him!

What a Day that will be!

A reunion Day!

Amen!

                                                                           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

The greatest thing about Heaven just might not be that street of gold or the gates of pearl!

The greatest Thing about Heaven is that Jesus our Lord will be there!

Let me show you what I mean.

In John chapter fourteen Jesus promised: "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. 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."

Notice how Jesus describes Heaven.

It has a family atmosphere ... the Father's House!

It contains many mansions ... our future homes!

It is a literal Place ... one requiring preparation!

But, ultimately, it is the Place where Jesus is ... "Where I am" He said!

Heaven is a Place of reunion!

Again quoting Jesus ... "That where I am, there ye may be also."

Intentional or not, I don't know ... but Jesus just used the "Key" phrase "I AM!"

Where "I AM" He said.

That's God's Name!

The eternally self existent One!

"I Am That I Am" God spoke to Moses!

Wherever Jehovah God is ... He being the eternal One ... wherever Jesus is ... will be Heaven to His devoted Followers, the Born Again children of God.

Our Lord's burning desire is ... to have us be with Him!

He longs for us "to be also" in His Presence!

He even prayed this back in John 17:24. Here are His very words: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am."

Amazing!

Heaven ... that's where Jesus is ... and where we shall be too some glorious day!

What joy!

Then more fully than ever John's passion will be realized. "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." 1st John 1:3-4

Obviously to John "full joy" comes from being in fellowship with Jesus!

That's the central focus of Heaven I'm sure!

Glory to God!

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 8:

Heaven!

Jesus taught us that Heaven is a real Place!

Here in John 14:2 it has beautifully been called "the Father's House!"

Furthermore Jesus said that it is a Place of many "mansions!"

But in John's description of Heaven, it is a great City! "And I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband." Revelation 21:2

Just think of it!

God began His miraculous work of Creation in a Garden!

He will culminate it in a City, a golden City!

I realized some time ago that John's description of Heaven, the City of God, compares favorably to Isaiah's description of Jerusalem in the coming golden age of Israel. I mean during the Millennium, when Jesus will reign on this earth for a thousand glorious years.

Let me show you what I mean. I am comparing parts of Isaiah chapter 60 to Revelation chapters 21 and 22 now.

Isaiah begins by telling us that there will be miraculous light, the very Glory of God, in that great future Zion, Jerusalem! So does John in Revelation!

Isaiah portrays people coming to Millennial Jerusalem from every quarter of the globe! John tells us that New Jerusalem has 12 gates, 3 of them on each of its quadrants ... north, south, east and west!

Isaiah 60:9 talks about the abundance of silver and gold in the Kingdom City of Jerusalem! John describes Heaven in "golden" terms too! "And the City was pure gold, like unto clear glass." Revelation 21:18

Isaiah mentions the gates and walls of Jesus' Capital City. So does John concerning the Heavenly City!

Isaiah has multitudes coming to Jerusalem to worship God, proof that he's talking about something in the future. In fact, those who do not come will "perish!" Isaiah 60:12 says: "For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted." And John 21:8 tells us about those who refused Jesus and access to the Heavenly City. They too will perish. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

Many other comparisons may be given. Perhaps we shall look at a few more next lesson.

But these few are enough to suggest a pattern!

Heaven, the Holy City!

The future Home of every "saved" man, woman, boy and girl!

Hallelujah!

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 9:

The millennial City of Jerusalem described in Isaiah chapter 60 and the eternal heavenly city of New Jerusalem described in Revelation chapters 21 and 22 have many similarities.

Compare with me the "glory" each city possesses. Isaiah 60:13 declares: "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious." And ... "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light." Revelation 22:5

And if you think that placing New Testament Truth beside an Old Testament Text is a bad thing, read Isaiah 60:16. "Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob." Saviour! Redeemer!

First class! In both cities! "For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness." Isaiah 60:17 here describes "upgrading!" Now read Revelation 21:19-20. "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst." Pretty high quality!

Look what's missing from Isaiah's City ... "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders." (Isaiah 60:18) And John's City lacks? "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4

The millennial city has walls and gates that are "named!" Isaiah 60:18 --- "But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." And Heaven itself --- "And the building of the wall of it was of jasper." Plus ... "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl." Revelation 21:18 and 21

No sun or moon is needed in Isaiah 60:19-20. "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." What about the New Jerusalem? "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." And "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." Revelation 21:23 and 22:5

No morning or sorrow in either place! "And the days of thy mourning shall be ended." (Isaiah 60:20) Plus ... "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." Revelation 21:4

God's Handiwork is described in Isaiah 60: "Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified." And Revelation says: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

There are just too many comparisons here to be overlooked!

God has modeled and built the Heavenly City New Jerusalem on the order of the millennial earthly city Jerusalem ... in her greatest days of future glory!

Heaven ... a real Place!

                                                                                 --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 10:

Heaven, a Place!

That's what Jesus called it!

"I go to prepare a PLACE for you" He said in John 14:2.

The Greek word for "place" is "topos."  It is pronounced as written, but accent the first syllable.  (TOP'-os)

The first time it is used in Scripture an unclean spirit has abandoned a man and is looking for a dry and restful place! See Matthew 12:43.

To Jesus the desert was a "place." Matthew 14:13 says so: "When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities."

He was crucified at a "place" called Golgotha! "And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they ...." Matthew 27:33

He also arose bodily from a "place!" In Matthew 28:6 the angel said: "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Jesus had a "place" of prayer too! "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." (Mark 1:35) Also see Luke 11:1.

Our Lord even knew of a resting "place!" Mark 6:31 tells us: "And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."

The noun "room" here is "topos," or place! "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7) No place for Jesus, but He made a Place for us!

And according to Jesus, Hell is a real "place" too! The rich man there said: "For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment." Luke 16:28

Thank God, there is also a "place" of salvation! "And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house." Luke 19:5

Not to mention this "place:" Luke 23:33 --- "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left."

Jesus noticed the details of certain places too! "And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand." He was preparing to feed the multitudes! John 6:10

Jesus was falsely and illegally judged in a certain "place" too! "When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha." John 19:13

And Jesus even today has a "place" for every true Preacher to serve! With responsibility! "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Revelation 2:5

Oh, let me mention one more "place," where Jesus will return some glorious day! "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Revelation 16:16

I'm going to close this way.

Jesus is the Lord of all "places!"

Now again remember ... "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. 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." John 14:2-3

Amen!

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 11:

When Jesus said "If it were not so, I would have told you," he was particularly speaking of Heaven.

If anything there existed in less than an eternal state of happiness ... in the Father's House ... living in a mansion ... Jesus would have known!

And ... would have told us!

This implies that Jesus had vast knowledge!

Maybe even all knowledge!

That's a quality often called omniscience, knowing ("scio" in Latin) everything ("omni" in Latin), two words ... fused into one.

But ... was Jesus omniscient?

Could He have told us anything that "was not so?"

Did He have access to all knowledge?

Did He really know all things ... being able to verify their existence and identity?

I believe the answer is a resounding YES!

Of course some will refer us to Mark 13:4 where Jesus' Disciples asked Him: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" They wanted the date for Jesus' Second Coming to earth!

Jesus responded by saying: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." Jesus did not know!

But that verse may be telling us that Jesus, as the Son of God and son of man simultaneously, limited His Own knowledge willingly!

Divesting Himself of the manifestation of His omnipotence, the Lord chose not to know the fact in question!

Elsewhere He said: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18) If He has all power, might He not also have all wisdom and knowledge?

I say YES!

Jesus knew who had really believed in Him ... and who had not! "And (He) needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." John 2:25

After all, Jesus is God! And ... "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." 1st John 3:20

Jesus plainly knew men's thoughts!

"When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?" John 6:61

"But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him." John 6:64

"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." John 13:1

"Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?" John 16:19

"Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all." Matthew 12:14-15

"And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." Matthew 12:25

So I won't say "if," but "since" Jesus knows all things ... when He says that He will not withhold one little bit of untruth from us ... that fact alone ought to thrill us beyond measure!

Just think of any subject!

Heaven, Hell, Life, Death or any other matter ... if something concerning them, something Biblical, were not so ... He would have told us!

What peace!

What comfort!

What assurance!

What joy!

What a Saviour!

                                                                                 --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

lesson 12:

The Preacher was emphasizing a vital truth.

He asked a question during his sermon.

If Jesus were not there, not in Heaven ... but all the other "blessings" remained, would you still want to go there?

This Man of God believed that most professing Christians today deep within their hearts would be just about as "happy" either way!

As long as their needs were satisfied and they lived in a mansion and they no longer faced death or sickness or heartache ... and they were united with their saved loved ones for eternity, all would be fine!

In fact, truth be told, some so-called "saints" might just be "limited" a bit by Jesus' Presence! Worshipping and glorifying Him all the time? Singing His Praises? Fellowshipping with Paul and Peter and Isaiah and Jeremiah? What about my desires and pleasures?

But here is the way it really must be!

True, there will be untold beauty in Heaven ... and peace and rest and comfort for all the children of God! And no sickness or death! And delight with loved ones who have gone there before us!

But ... for the real Believer in Christ, Heaven will be Heaven because Jesus is there!  We shall spend eternity enjoying His Glory! Taking pleasure in the Person of God!

After all, why did God save us?

Paul in Ephesians 4:32 wrote: "Even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Or Ephesians 1:12 --- "That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ."

That's WHY we are saved!

To enjoy Jesus forever!

Lord, let that be the hunger of our hearts!

                                                                             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

THANK YOU FOR STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD WITH US HERE. STAY IN THE "BOOK!" THERE IS JUST NOTHING LIKE THE PRECIOUS BIBLE!