One of the many great and wonderful things about the Christian life is that this world is not the Christian’s permanent home. There are several proofs of this in the holy Scriptures. Heaven is the Christian’s “eternal” home. And Christians will go there either at their passing or at the return of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus announced to His disciples that He would be going to prepare a place for them, and also that He would return and take them there.
While comforting His disciples, Jesus told them: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3).
Now what follows in the discourse is the emphasis Jesus puts on His Father’s house, which is a direct reference to heaven itself. The “Father’s house has many rooms,” according to Jesus. Many rooms or dwelling places assures us that God has sufficient space in His heavenly house to welcome and accommodate all believers in a coming day.
Jesus, by saying “if it were not so, I would have told you,” means it was not His intent that His disciples have false impressions or false hopes about His Father’s house. It’s a reality.
We come now to the promise “for I go to prepare a place for you” (verse 3). Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people—those who have trusted Christ as their Savior. After Jesus died on the Cross, He was taken down to be buried. The Scripture says, ”Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).
After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven where He is now “seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). And as He said, “to prepare a place for you.” And “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
The promise “I will come again . . .” refers to Jesus’ second advent. After His resurrection, He ascended to heaven. When He was about to depart from earth and His disciples, the Bible says, “Two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you see him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10,11).
It is clear that the Lord has not only gone to prepare a place for His children, but also He will come again and will take them there, and be with them. The promise means that believers will be in heaven with Christ for all eternity. What a day of rejoicing that will be.
This is indeed a blessed hope and a wonderful assurance from our Savior for Christians today. This should inspire us while we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:13,14)
The return of Christ is a most certain event yet to take place. No one knows exactly when, but we do know it will actually take place. For Christians, the coming of our Lord is a glorious expectation and a steadfast hope.
Waiting to see the Morning Star arise;
How bright, how gladsome will His advent be?
Before the Sun shines forth in majesty!
—J. G. Deck 1807-1884
In his letter to the Thessalonians the apostle Paul wrote: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
And let everyone who has trusted Christ as Savior say: Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus. Amen.