29 September, 2015

Chapter 5 - Order in Heaven



 
 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)

For indeed your reward is great in heaven.(Luke 6:23)

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)

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)

whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:14)

Jesus Christ. . . loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. (Revelation 1:5)

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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