20230901

the better place

Hebrews 11:13-16 (JDV)

Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the promised things. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the land.
Hebrews 11:14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
Hebrews 11:15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return.
Hebrews 11:16 But they now desire a better place – one from the sky. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

the better place

The writer of Hebrews is remarkably consistent: the “better place” is not heaven as a disembodied realm, nor is it the destination of believers at death. It is the future world God has promised—a world that will be revealed when Christ appears. The hope of the faithful is not escape from the earth but the arrival of God’s kingdom to the earth.

Abraham understood this. He walked the land of promise as a foreigner, not because the land was unimportant, but because its fulfillment lay in the future. He looked for a city “whose architect and builder is God,” a city that comes down from heaven, not one we ascend to. Daniel saw the Son of Man coming with the clouds of the sky, bringing dominion with him. John saw the holy city descending from the sky, establishing God’s dwelling with humanity. Both visions point forward to the same moment—the appearing of Christ.

None of these visions describe what happens at death. They describe what happens at the return of the King.

That is why Paul calls it “the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The hope is not death. The hope is not heaven. The hope is the appearing. That is when the better place arrives. That is when the promises are fulfilled. That is when the inheritance becomes visible. That is when the world is made new.

We walk today in the land our Savior has promised to renew. We wait for the city Abraham longed for. We look for the King Daniel saw. We anticipate the descent John witnessed. And when he appears, the better place will appear with him.