This world is not my home I’m just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore
Oh lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven’s not my home then lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore
So goes the classic hymn, “This World Is Not My Home.” However, the bible frequently portrays the final destination of the righteous as occurring on earth. In this message we’ll take our cue from Daniel’s vision in chapter seven to see what God’s plan is for his people. Ultimately, he wants a restored world without suffering and sin so that he can enjoy a relationship with his people forever. This world is your home. You were born here. You currently live here. And your hope is to remain here.
Notes:
Vision
Daniel 7.1-8: Vision of the four beasts: a lion, a bear, a leapord, a dreadful beast, little horn
Daniel 7.9-12: The Ancient of Days passes judgment against the dreadful beast
Daniel 7.13-14: The Son of Man rules over all peoples forever
Daniel 7.15: Daniel’s response
Interpretation
Daniel 7.16-18: first clarification – the beasts are kings, but saints will receive a kingdom and rule forever
Daniel 7.19-27: second clarification – the fourth kingdom and the little horn who persecutes the saints
Daniel 7.28: Daniel’s response
The Saints Will Reign
Matthew 19.28; 20.21-23; 1 Corinthians 6.2; 2 Timothy 2.12; Revelation 2.26-27; 5.9-10; 20.6
Kingdom Driven
Luke 4.43; Matthew 24.14
Links:
- Check out the kingdom of God class podcasts
- More posts about conditional immortality (the sleep of the dead)
- Get the book Heaven Is Not My Home by the late David Burge or listen to my interview of him here
- Check out these additional audios, videos, articles, and ebooks on conditional immortality
- Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
