JESUS COMES FROM HEAVEN — BUT NOT TO TAKE US TO LIVE IN HEAVEN FOREVER By Josimar Salum

 

JESUS COMES FROM HEAVEN — BUT NOT TO TAKE US TO LIVE IN HEAVEN FOREVER

By Josimar Salum

July 10, 2025

For generations, Christian teaching has proclaimed that believers will one day leave this world to live in heaven forever. But is that what the Bible truly says? This study challenges that long-held tradition by returning to the authority of the Scriptures.

The New Testament never says that Jesus will take us to live eternally in heaven. Instead, it reveals a greater and more glorious truth: Jesus is coming from heaven to reign, to restore all things, and to dwell with His people in a renewed earth under a new heavens.

The Gospel of the Kingdom is not about escaping the earth—it is about God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven, the fulfillment of all things spoken by the prophets, and the ultimate hope of a creation made new.

This message is not based on sectarian theology or speculative eschatology. It is rooted in the plain language of Scripture. The coming of Jesus is not a “return” to take us away—but a royal appearing to bring redemption, justice, and glory to the earth.

Let the Church rediscover its true expectation: We are not going up forever—the King is coming down to dwell with us.

The New Testament clearly teaches that believers are waiting for Jesus to come from heaven, but it never says He will take us to live in heaven forever. That concept is tradition—not Scripture.

1. WAITING FOR THE SON FROM HEAVEN

“And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

— 1 Thessalonians 1:10

The direction is clear: Jesus comes from heaven. The purpose is deliverance—not to remove us to another world, but to intervene in this one.

2. OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN, BUT HE COMES FROM THERE

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

— Philippians 3:20

We don’t wait to escape; we wait for Him to come. Heaven is our origin, not our final destination.

3. HEAVEN MUST CONTAIN JESUS UNTIL THE TIME APPOINTED

“Heaven must receive Him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through His holy prophets.”

— Acts 3:21

Jesus is now in heaven, but He will not remain there forever. He will come when the time of restoration of all things arrives. This is the true hope—not relocation to heaven, but the renewal of the world under His rule.

This agrees with the prophetic vision of Isaiah 11 and 65, where peace, justice, and righteousness fill the earth.

4. WE ARE WAITING FOR A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH

“But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

— 2 Peter 3:13

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…”

— Revelation 21:1

The redeemed are not promised life in an ethereal heaven, but in a restored creation. This is not a sectarian doctrine—it is the clear and repeated teaching of Scripture.

5. THE KINGDOM COMES TO EARTH

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

— Matthew 6:10

Jesus didn’t teach us to escape the earth, but to pray for the Kingdom to come here.

6. THE HOLY CITY COMES DOWN — GOD DWELLS WITH US

“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven…”

— Revelation 21:2

“Now the dwelling of God is with men.”

— Revelation 21:3

God doesn’t remove His people to heaven; He brings His presence to earth.

7. JOHN 14: JESUS TAKES US TO HIMSELF — NOT TO HEAVEN FOREVER

“I will come again and take you to Myself…”

— John 14:3

Jesus promised to bring us to Himself, not to a place apart from His future reign. And according to Revelation 5:10, we will reign on the earth.

“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’”

— Revelation 21:2-3

THE BIBLE NEVER SAYS “JESUS RETURNS” — IT SAYS “HE COMES”

The biblical vocabulary is consistent and clear:

• “He comes with the clouds” — Revelation 1:7

• “The Son of Man coming” — Matthew 24:30

• “Until the Lord comes” — 1 Corinthians 4:5

• “He will appear a second time” — Hebrews 9:28

• “The day of His coming” — Malachi 3:2

• “He will come in the same way” — Acts 1:11

There is no mention of a “return” in biblical Greek—only of His coming in glory.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Using the language of Scripture focuses our faith on God’s revealed purpose:

• The King comes to reign — Psalm 2:6; Revelation 11:15

• The Judge comes to restore righteousness — Isaiah 11:4; Acts 17:31

• The Bridegroom comes for His bride — Matthew 25:6; Revelation 19:7

• The Lord comes to dwell with us on a new earth — Revelation 21:3

The eternal hope is not that we go to heaven, but that Jesus comes from heaven to judge, restore, and reign. Heaven holds Him until the time of restoration, and we wait for the new heavens and the new earth—the home of righteousness.

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

— Revelation 22:20

#ASONE

What you really to know about heaven, rapture and Jesus' second coming? Josimar Salum

What you really to know about heaven, rapture and Jesus' second coming? Josimar Salum

It is urgent to say that we have a serious problem with the English language versions of the Bible. This happens actually in all the languages as you read all their different Bible versions. The differences that exist with each other are very clear. Some texts are even contradictory, and this is due to the theological doctrine or current belief of the “translators”. I personally have the privilege to consult the text in the originals that we have available and can determine which is the best version or how to translate the text correctly. Per example, Philippians 3:20 does not say that heaven is our homeland or our city. The text says that our citizenship is in heaven.

This text does not teach that we are going to heaven. The text reads as follows: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians‬ ‭3:20-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Whoever died in Christ sleeps in Christ, and according to what Jesus said to the thief who invoked Him on the Cross, he goes to paradise. Jesus said that he would be with Him “today” in paradise. According to II Corinthians 12, paradise is the third heaven.

According to the story (not a parable) narrated by Luke about the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man died and went to a place of torment (Hades, hell) and Lazarus died and went to Abraham's bosom.

“Now there was a rich man, and he was dressed in purple and very fine linen, and he lived every day with great pleasure and splendor. There was also a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay full of wounds at his door.

And it happened that the beggar died and was taken by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, he looked up, in torment, and saw Abraham and Lazarus in the distance in his bosom. And he cried out and said, Abraham, my father, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in the water and cool my tongue, because I am tormented in this flame.” Luke 16: 19-20, 22-24

Paul comforts those who died in Christ.

“However, I do not want brothers to be ignorant of those who are already asleep, lest you be saddened, like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so will those who sleep in Jesus also God will bring them back with him. We tell you this, therefore, through the word of the Lord: that we who remain alive for the coming of the Lord will not precede those who sleep. For the same Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and those who died in Christ will rise first; then, we who remain alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. ” 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18

Those who die in Christ go to heaven, from where they will come with Jesus at His coming. The text says that "to those who sleep in Jesus God will bring them back with him."

Note that the verb bring here does not refer only to those who remain alive for the Coming of Jesus. And the text does not say that we are waiting for the rapture that is the emphasis of most evangelicals, especially Pentecostals, but we are waiting for Jesus to come. It is not about rapture, it is about the coming of Jesus. The text says that both the living and those who sleep in Christ will come with Him, we will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord and thus we will be with the Lord forever. There is no reference to heaven.

Where will we "be" (as a place) forever with the Lord? In fact, translating the verb literally the question is this: Where will we BE (being) forever with the Lord?

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. Because the first heaven and the first land have passed, and the sea no longer exists. And I, John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, which was descending from God from heaven, addressed as a wife adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from heaven, saying, Here is the tabernacle of God with men, for he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and the same God will be with them and will be their God.” Revelation 21: 1-3

Watch! The City, which is the Church, the Lamb's Wife descends from heaven. The expression “the Bride of the Lamb” does not appear, it does not exist in the Bible. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory, for the Lamb's wedding is coming, and his wife has already made herself ready.” Revelation 19: 7

Many translate as a bride, but the Lamb never had a bride, always a wife. And the wife is not a literal city. The New Jerusalem is used to describe the Lamb's wife who is the Church. “But you came to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, to Jerusalem celestial, and the many thousands of angels, to the universal assembly and church of the firstborn, who are inscribed in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the perfected righteous;" Hebrews 12: 22-23 The Jerusalem celestial is the universal assembly and the church of the first born!

What is most glorious and wonderful will happen at the coming of Jesus: the transformation of our bodies. We will have the same glorious body as our Lord Jesus. And this body does not depend on space to be able to be. Before the creation of all things, God did not need a place. He was "independent" of any creation. God “lived” in the Kingdom that He prepared before the foundation of the world.

And finally, this is why we have always taught, God never promised heaven or that we will live in heaven forever. It is about a new dimension, the new creation, the Kingdom of God that we are already in, but it will manifest in its totality at the coming of our Lord Jesus.

“Then the King will say to those on his right: Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world;” Matthew 25:34

“See that you do not reject what you speak; for if those who rejected what on earth warned them did not escape, much less we, if we turn away from him who is from heaven, the voice from which he then moved the earth, but now he announced, saying: Yet again I will be moved, not only the earth, but also the sky. And this word: Once again, it shows the change of moving things, like things made, so that the properties remain. Therefore, having received a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us retain grace, by which we serve God pleasantly with reverence and piety; beca use our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12: 25-29

The Kingdom of God is greater than the entire universe and the heavens.

“And now, I say this, brothers: that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Here I tell you a mystery: In fact, we will not all sleep, but we will all be transformed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, before the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15: 50-52

#ASONE

“ Dr. Salum, you explain the whole Bible! 😃 Thank you! I always learn from your teachings,they are different to what our pastors preach,they focused on heaven, offerings and tithe. Please multiply such teachings through conferences especially in Burundi, because many pastors need to be transformed first and go to teach the truth of Jesus. Thank you for the team you work with in Burundi, and the team from USA, you and Dr. Paul, hope all nations will be affected with your teachings. God can do what the men can't do.” - NLT

Rapture?

RIDICULOUS

Josimar Salum

It is unfortunate that millions of believers without a personal study and without checking out themselves the Scriptures believe in videos with distorted images, exciting plots and songs of suspense about what they call "The Rapture".

Understand well! Jesus will come and every eye shall see Him! 

But there is no verse in the Bible that says He will return or will "come back" to take His church to heaven.This is a myth.

It is not us only who are still alive and are left that will be caught up, but those who sleep in death will also be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 

According to some millenarian teaching rapture is transport (a believer) from Earth to Heaven and at the Second Coming of Christ. Where in the Scriptures do you honestly find verses that will clearly affirm this fallacy?

To be caught up according to I Thessalonians 4:13-18 is not vanishing, it is not a escape nor sensationalism .

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 

For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. 

According to the LORD'S WORD, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the COMING OF THE LORD, 

(for the coming and not for the rapture) 

will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

(With a shout and great noise! It is a descend! There is no verse that says He will return to heaven, much less with the believers)

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 

(We will be - not geographically, but being with the Lord forever, as ONE. 

"Where?" In the New Heavens and New Earth, it is a new creation with no space, no time, no physical matter, because the heavens who now exist shall cease)

Therefore encourage one another with these words."

I kindly ask that before you condemn me for what it is written here, let us dialogue: dia = through - Logos = the Word!