Heaven is a busy place. It is filled with activities and
excitement. Angels are always doing things; they are always engaged in useful,
industrious enterprises. One purpose of this book is to tell you how I saw the
angels working in heaven. They are happy and joyful-never tired, never sad.
They are always praising God.
Redeemed saints are busy in heaven, too. They always have
work to do. Exactly what kind of work all the saints are engaged in, I do not
know. But you can be sure that no one is idle in that fair land. Saints are
busy in kinds of work that no one on earth has ever experienced. They are
engaged in stimulating, exhilarating, fulfilling tasks. They are continually
glorifying God and doing the things God ordained for them to do.
When I saw the angels who flew from the earth with
reports, they were coming into heaven from all over the world. They had been to
many church services and many prayer meetings.
While observing the things on the earth, they always held
in their hands white pieces of paper that looked like scrolls, which had gold
edges. Then they would return to certain areas of heaven and share their
reports with other angels.
HEAVEN’S POPULATION
In one area of heaven I saw saintly men who wore
beautiful, glorious, white robes. immediately, I thought of this Scripture:
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my
soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of
salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(Isaiah 61:10)
The people I saw in heaven had distinctive features and
were from all nations of the earth. The Holy Scriptures say:
After these things I looked, and be
hold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes,
peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, with palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9)
Another thing that made a lasting impression on me was the
fact that heaven is such an orderly place. Everything that was done was a ways
done thoroughly, properly, and with the highest degree of excellence. No work
was shoddy; no product poor; no activity mediocre. When I saw families walking on the holy hills of heaven
and praising God, it was such a beautiful sight. Their joy and happiness were
uninhibited and without restraint. They seemed to be always going and doing
marvelous deeds in the Lord’s presence.
Everything, whether done individually or in groups, was
done in an orderly fashion. Heaven is completely free of impurities and
imperfections. It is perfect in every sense of the word. All of the alterations
and changes we are familiar with here on earth are unknown in the paradise of
God. Perfect joy and peace fill the hearts, souls, and bodies of all who are
there.
PERFECT ORDER
Divine, perfect order and purpose characterize everything
that happens in heaven. Both angels and saints are continuously engaged in
excellent, joyful service. No one is idle. No one is ever bored. God’s
children, as well as the angels and all the heavenly creatures, serve Him day
and night forever. When we receive new heavenly bodies after the resurrection
of the saints, we will never grow tired or become weak. We will never know
fatigue. Our supernatural, glorified bodies will never lose their strength. In
eternity, time is suspended and circumstances do not ravage the mind, the will,
or the body.
To engage in the employments and enjoyments of heaven, we
must have a heavenly nature. And this is what happens when we are born again-we
become "partakers of the divine nature"
(2
Peter 1:4), as Peter explained:
His divine power has given us every
thing we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us
by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and
precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine
nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV)
The architecture of heaven was designed and built in
eternity past by the eternal God. In one part I saw what looked like an entire
block of the city of heaven. The buildings were very large, and across the top
of each was a huge, impressive crown made of many jewels. I don’t know how many
people occupied those grand buildings because I didn’t go inside any of them.
But they were all stately and spacious, far beyond anything you have ever seen
on earth. I thought of how the Scriptures say that when we are
laboring on earth for Jesus, we are laying up treasures in heaven (Luke
18:22). I remembered these verses:
And the twenty-four elders who sat
before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:
"We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and
who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. "The
nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that
they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets
and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should
destroy those who destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:16-18)
And
behold, I [ am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one
according to his work. (Revelation 22:12)
CHARIOTS OF GOD
As we moved to another part of heaven, the angel of the
Lord said to me, "Come and see the glory of your God." The angel showed me the chariots of God. The wheels of
them were so large they are difficult to describe. They were studded with
diamonds and precious rubies and emeralds. Each chariot had at least two wheels on each side. The
fronts of the chariots were low and open like sleighs. They seemed as if they
were on fire, but they were never consumed.
BODIES OF QUALITY
The features of all the people I saw in heaven were
glorified and beautiful. Not one person had any scars, and they all looked
radiant and handsome. I have heard people say, "Well, we are just going to
be a vapor of smoke." No, you are not going to be a vapor of smoke. You
will have a bodily form and features. The Bible says there are elders around the throne:
Around the throne were twenty-four
thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white
robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. (Revelation 4:4)
The patriarchs in heaven are beautiful saints of God who
have died and gone on before us. God has given them eternal life. I saw them as
they will be when they receive their new, glorified bodies after the
Resurrection. Saints, you will be unbelievably happy in heaven. When I
was in heaven, memories of home were far away. There was no sadness there, no
sorrow, no grief. I was delighted in the joy of the Lord and awed by His
beauty.
There was no darkness in heaven. There was only glory and
might and power every where, especially as you neared the throne. The River of
Life flowed from beneath the throne; it was beautiful and looked like a sea of
glass:
And he showed me a pure river of water
of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1)
As I was going, the angel said, "Come and see the
glory of God." Saints, I was taken at a very fast pace by the angel to a
place where the high praises of God and the music seemed to grow in intensity
and volume. It was the most beautiful music you would ever want to hear. Sounds
of joy and shouting were everywhere. The angel of the Lord said, "We are approaching the
throne." I thought, "Oh, God, how glorious, how beautiful!"
WHEN GOD SPEAKS
When God speaks, it seems that twelve very large angels,
each of them twelve to fifteen feet tall, stand in front of the throne. How
they blow their trumpets! Beautiful jewels adorn the fronts of their garments. With
music and with all of the things they say and do, they influence the
atmosphere. They seem to prepare the way for the Lord to speak. I could see a thick cloud enveloping the mighty throne
when the Lord spoke or pro claimed a message.
And from the throne proceeded lightnings,
thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne,
which are the seven Spirits of God. (Revelation 4:5)
Then power would billow out from the front of the throne.
In the midst of the throne, God Almighty dwells in a cloud of glory. When God spoke, His voice sounded "like many
waters" (Revelation 14:2), but I under stood every word of it. Once God
began to speak about His Son’s blood. He spoke of how His Son’s blood was shed
for all people in the earth. He said that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son can
cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7), and He extended this invitation:
Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and
whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
(Revelation 22:17 NIV)
(Revelation 22:17 NIV)
God said that His Son’s blood was shed
to redeem men and women from their sins. He said that putting His Son on the
cross to give us eternal life was worth everything, and that His Son’s blood
had paid the price to redeem us. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, ac
cording to the riches of His grace.(Ephesians 1:7)
When I was in heaven, it was so a thrilling and exciting
to hear the voice of God. Although it was a mighty roar, the voice of God was
pleas ant. I could understand everything He said. I kept thinking, "Oh, God, how beautiful You are! You
prepared all things. You made all things for us, Lord! We cannot even begin to
think of the things that You prepared for us who love You" (1
Corinthians 2:9).
HEAVEN, A REAL PLACE
I remember thinking, "Heaven is real. These people
are real. These angels are real. All of this is beautiful and real, and someday
I am going to inherit this as I continue to serve the Lord."
Talking about heaven and the splendor of God is a joy to
me. I thank Him with all of my heart for being able to serve Him. I thank God
that Jesus Christ saved my soul from a wretched hell. I thank God that I am a
born-again, blood- washed child of the King and that Jesus Christ is my Lord!
If you are not born again, you need to be saved from your
sins. You need to ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart and save your soul. Believe that He is the Son of God. Believe that God the
Father sent Him to this earth, that He was born of Mary, a virgin, and that He
is the holy Son of God, sent to redeem us from hell. Most of all, you need to
believe that Jesus paid the only acceptable sacrifice for your sins when He
died on the cross.
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