Chapter 1 - Inside the Gates

God, in His infinite mercy and grace, permitted me to go to that beautiful place called Heaven. The logistics of my trip to His home and back to earth are unclear to me, but I cannot be mistaken about the reality of it. How were the incomparable wonders of Heaven revealed to a mere mortal like me? Let me start at the beginning.

One night the Lord appeared to me and told me I was chosen for a special assignment. He said, “My child, I will manifest Myself to you to bring people out of darkness into light. I have chosen you for a purpose: you are to write and make a record of the things that I will show and tell you."

I submitted myself to God completely, and astounding things began to happen. I was taken from where I was at the time and transported into hell itself. I was aware of all five of my senses: I could see, feel, hear, smell, and taste. Yet, this was a supernatural happening. I realized that the impact it made on me was for a purpose.

For days after I was taken by the Lord into hell, I was very grieved in my heart. My heart was sad and burdened because of the horrors I saw. I had viewed the judgment of God on sin and on the people who had gone to hell. I prayed earnestly to God and sought His comfort.

On the thirty-first night after these events began, the power of Almighty God fell on me again. At two o’clock in the morning, a mighty angel stood beside my bed. Jesus Christ was standing behind the angel. As I looked on the face of the Lord standing there, He smiled at me, but He did not say anything.

The mighty messenger of God said, “God has given me a special mission. I am sent here to take you to heaven and to show you parts of it." After a moment, he spoke again, “Come and see the glory of God!" At once, I was supernaturally transported from my home and found myself standing outside one of the gates of Heaven with the Heavenly Angel. The overwhelming beauty of what I saw around me was breathtaking! The clothing the Heavenly being wore looked like a brilliant garment of light. The angel had triangular-shaped wings that glistened with the colors of the rainbow. Although I wasn’t surprised, I was amazed at the indescribable beauty of God that was evident all around.

The next thing I knew, the angel repeated an exclamation that I would hear many times:

“Behold, the glory of God!" The magnificent gate that stood before me in splendor was made of a solid pearl. In awe I took in everything I could of this most beautiful sight. At this point, I could not see the Lord anywhere, but I was totally enraptured by the Glory of Heaven.

ENTERING HEAVEN

When we arrived there, two very tall angels were standing outside the gate. Both of them wore glistening robes and had swords in their hands. Their hair was like spun gold, and their faces gleamed with light. The angel accompanying me moved over to speak to the two angels guarding the gate, and I was left standing alone. In amazement, I thought, “Oh, how glorious are the gates of Heaven! How wonderful it is to see this one for myself!" Suddenly, I realized that I was actually going to enter into heaven.

As I watched the angels of the Lord, I could hear some of the conversation they were having. One of them went inside the gate and returned almost immediately with a small volume. The book had a gold cover, and the printing inside was also in gold. It seemed to be a book about my life’s history. My name was stamped on the cover:

Mary Kathryn Baxter

 A smile of approval came over the angels’ faces. They opened the book. They looked at each other, then said in a voice I could hear, “She may come inside the gate." My guiding angel escorted me through the magnificent gate and into Heaven. Suddenly, music filled the whole atmosphere. It was all around me. It was above me. It seemed to penetrate my very being. Wave after powerful wave of beautiful music and singing surged across the landscape and seemed to envelop everything and everyone.

When I stepped inside the city, amazement again took my breath. The landscape of that incomparable city was beyond description. Surrounding me were the most beautiful, colorful flowers I had ever seen. There was unbelievable greenery and vegetation everywhere. Even the blooms of the flowers seemed to be alive to the music and the singing. Music continued to swirl about me. I seemed to be a part of it. It is one thing to try to describe the wonders of this city; it is quite another to know that you will share the joy of it. I saw some of the exuberant citizens of heaven, and they were all dressed in robes. This Scripture came to me:
  

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 happiness and joy that beamed from their faces was beyond compare. Heaven is a real place. It is not a figment of someone’s imagination. In the Bible it is recorded that Jesus said, 

 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you...John 14:1-2

Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. Since we as children of God have been transformed and made new by the miracle of regeneration, and since we are now new creations in Christ, it is a joy to know that the place where we will spend eternity is prepared by the Savior who saved us. Heaven is a perfect place. Since our Savior is perfect, omnipotent, and eternal, Heaven has to be a perfect place. Because He is preparing us a place there to live with Him for all eternity, our eternal home will be perfect, too. Nothing will ever mar any part of that Heavenly abode. There will never be anything allowed to enter Heaven to defile it or spoil it. 

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life...Revelation 21:27

Heaven is beyond the reach of sin and sinners of every kind and description. Satan will be forever barred from that heavenly place:

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars [ angelic hosts] of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child...Revelation 12:3-4, 7-10, 12-13

That serpent, Satan, and his unholy cohorts will never again rear their ugly heads in the pure and holy climate of heaven! The demons cannot enter heaven. The fallen angels who rebelled against God and “who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode" (Jude 1:6) cannot return to heaven. Nothing will be lacking in heaven. No detail will be left out to keep its environment from being perfect.

No matter where we go on earth, no matter where we live or how expensive our homes may be, there are obvious faults and flaws to keep them from being perfect. In contrast, God has made no mistakes in constructing the place called Heaven. Its glories, its beauties, its wonders are beyond human powers of description. The indescribable splendor of that beautiful place is wondrous to behold. The combined brilliance of the light of the Son of God reflecting on walls of jasper, gates of pearl, mansions unnumbered, and the beautiful River of Life creates a scene no artist could ever adequately depict.

HOME OF REDEEMED SOULS

Heaven is a permanent place. No enemy will ever conquer the paradise of God. There will be no crumbling of its buildings, no decay of its materials, and no withering or dying of its vegetation. No smog or radiation will ever pollute its holy atmosphere. This permanent, abiding place is an eternal, continuing city. We sing this song, written by Hattie Buell:

A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They’re building a palace for me over there;
Tho’ exiled from Him, yet still I may sing;
All glory to God, I’m a child of the King.

 In that incomparable place, 

saints will find sweet deliverance from all disappointments, 

heartaches, tragedies, and disasters. 

There will be no more sorrow or woe. 

There will be no more pain. 

There will be no more crying:

  

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4

The joyful citizens I saw in Heaven seemed to have come from many different ages and countries. Various nationalities seemed obvious to me. Then I remembered another Scripture I had read:And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation."...Revelation 5:9

EMPLOYED IN PRAISING GOD

Excitedly, my soul praised the majesty of God! The sorrows I experienced and the grief I suffered when I saw a revelation of hell now seemed so far away. This was a revelation of Heaven.

I saw entire families together. Everybody was happy, going somewhere, doing something, smiling. A glow graced every face I saw. All the saints in Heaven seemed to be occupied. They were constantly busy. They spent their time praising and magnifying God. Songs were on everyone’s lips. The atmosphere of music was the dominant mood.

Eternity will not be spent in leisure and laziness, as some have mistakenly pictured our final destination. We will do more than float on a cloud, strum a harp, or wiggle our toes in the River of Life. Our time will be occupied in service to God. Just what the nature of this service will be, we cannot say, but there can be no doubt that His people will serve Him.

DIAMONDS FOR SOUL WINNERS

I could see diamonds-glittering, glistening, exquisite diamonds-diamonds everywhere! Some were are as large as blocks of concrete. Some of these diamonds seemed to be for the mansions of those who were soul winners on earth. It seemed that every time someone led a soul to Christ, Heaven provided a diamond for that faithful Christian. The Bible says, 

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise...Proverbs 11:30 

Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever...Daniel 12:3

As I stood drinking in the splendor and grandeur of that glorious place, I saw an immense, beautiful angel coming down a path. In his hands he held a scroll, which had gold edging on it.

The angel laid the scroll on a pedestal table, which was made of a silvery material unlike anything I had ever seen before. The oblong table literally glistened with light.

The scroll had a name written on it. One of the saints picked it up and began to read it.

“Jesus is the Master Builder," a saint in heaven told me. “He determines who deserves the diamonds and where they go. This scroll I hold is a report from earth of a person who has led someone to Jesus, who fed the poor, who clothed the naked-who did great things for God.

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. The nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: “for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
“I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me." Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? “When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? “Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?" the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."  Matthew 25:31-41, 46

ROOM FOR EVERYBODY

The angel repeated the welcome theme to me: “Come and see the glory of your God." At the Lord’s direction, I am recording this account of Heaven as I saw it. We need to understand that the focus of our hopes and desires should be to spend all eternity with our Lord. Heaven is the land of dreams come true! I’m excited about Heaven because after our works and labors on earth are finished, we will leave this earth and go there. God has prepared the city, and Jesus is preparing a place there for those of us who love Him.

PERFECT COMMUNION

Unbroken fellowship between God and man will be completely restored in Heaven. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, God paid visits to this earth. After fellow ship with Him was broken by sin and disobedience, God continued to show His desire for communion with mankind. His ultimate expression of love for man kind was the giving of His own Son to die a merciless death on a cruel cross. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, fellowship between God and man again became a possibility.

Even now, the circumstances of life can hinder our intimate fellowship with God. But, in heaven there will be no more hindrances. We will know perfect fellowship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Fellowship with Him will be complete. Heaven is the abode of the living God. It is far above the atmospheric heavens and beyond the planets and galaxies. It is the everlasting home of “The Redeemed of the LORD" (Isaiah 62:12). It is the eternal destination of all the children of God through faith in Christ.

You do not need to fear being crowded into a tiny cubicle in heaven that has been labeled a “mansion." When the redeemed of the ages are gathered home to glory, there will be sufficient room for all of them to have one of the many mansions, the many dwelling places, which Jesus said He was preparing for us in His Father’s house: 

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know...John 14:1-4

Heaven definitely has room for everyone: 

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, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God...Revelation 7:9-11

TEARS IN HEAVEN

At one point I was taken to a particular place where the angel stopped and said to me, “God wants me to show you the room of tears." Many times you may have read in several passages in the Psalms about our tears and about how God cares for us. The angels catch our tears and put them in bottles (Psalm 56:8). Many times I had wondered about what this meant. I know that many of you reading these words have cried many tears for your loved ones, your children, your mate, or your family. Especially if you’ve gone through a separation or a divorce, you have felt like all hope was gone. You have grieved over your lost loved ones.

I want to tell you that God showed me a room of tears. It was so beautiful. The angel took me to a grand entrance way that had no door. Looking inside, I could see that the room itself wasn’t large, but the holiness and power radiating from it amazed me. Lined with crystal shelves, the inside walls glowed with light.

On the shelves were many bottles, some of which were in clusters of three and looked like clear glass. Under each sparkling cluster of glass-like bottles was a plaque with a name on it. There were many of these bottles in the room. Then inside the room I saw a man who appeared to have been glorified. His deep purple robe was very beautiful and looked like velvet. An elegant table, which was made of a rich-looking material and glowed with majestic splendor, was just inside the door. The lavish display I saw astonished me!

Books were lying on the table, and they looked as if they were sewn in the most beautiful silk-like material I have ever seen. Some had diamonds, pearls, and lace on them; others had green and purple stones on them. All of them were intricately made. I thought to myself, “Oh, God, how beautiful these books are!" I love books. These books especially appealed to me. They were stunning. As I gazed about, I was overcome with wonder.

At this point the man in the room said to me, “Come and see. I want to show you this room, and I want to explain to you about tears. This is only one of many rooms like it. I am in charge of this room." As he talked, a large angel came through the entrance-way. The beauty and majesty of this heavenly being astounded me. I noticed that he wore a white, glistening garment with gold-edged trim that went all the way down the front. He seemed to be about twelve feet tall and had very large wings.

The angel held a small bowl in his hands. The golden bowl was filled (see Revelation 5:8) with a liquid. The man in the room told me, "He has just brought me a bowl of tears from the earth. I want you to see what we do with this." The angel handed him the bowl, along with a piece of paper. The note held the name of the person whose tears were in the bowl. The man in the room read the note and then went over to one of the places where the bottles were kept. He read the plaque under the bottle, and I knew it matched the person from earth who was named in the note.

The man picked up the bottle that was nearly full and brought it over to the bowl. He poured the tears from the golden bowl into the bottle. I want to show you what we do here," the man said to me. "Tell the people on earth about this." Then he took the bottle over to the table, picked up one of the books, opened it, and said, "Look!" The pages in the book were completely blank. The keeper of the room said to me, "These are tears from the saints of God on earth as they cry to God. See what happens."

Then the man poured a drop from the bottle, one little teardrop, on the first page of the book. When he did, words began to appear immediately. Beautiful words, elegantly handwritten, started appearing on the page. Each time a tear fell on a page, a whole page of writing appeared. He continued doing this page after page, time and time again.

As he closed the book and spoke, he seemed to be saying to all humanity as well as to me, "The most perfect prayers are those that are bathed in tears that come from the hearts and souls of men and women on earth." Then the angel with rainbow wings said to me, "Come and see the glory of God."

GOD OPENED THE BOOK

Immediately, we were transported to a huge place with thousands and thousands of people and heavenly beings. Oh, it was beautiful! In a little while the people seemed to fade away, and an even greater display of God’s glory began to appear everywhere. The high praises of God became thunderous.

The angelic messenger took me to the throne of God. I saw a huge cloud, a mist, and I saw an image of the Being in the cloud. I could not see God’s face, but I saw the glory of God and a rainbow over the throne. I heard the voice of God, and it sounded to me just as John de scribed it: "I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder" (Revelation 14:2). In this mighty arena, I saw many horses with riders beside the throne.

Suddenly, I saw a book lying on the huge altar in front of God’s throne. I saw angels bowing before Him. Standing in awe, I watched this scene, and I saw what looked like a man’s hand come out of the cloud and open up the book.

Somehow I knew it was the hand of God that opened the book. Amazed, I saw what looked like smoke ascending from the book. Suddenly, the most beautiful perfume I ever smelled filled the whole area where I stood. The angel told me that this book contains the prayers of the saints and that God was sending His angels to earth to answer the prayers from the cries of their hearts. Every body was praising and magnifying God.

As God opened up the book, pages began to come out of the volume and fly into the hands of the angels on the horses. I could hear His voice, "like the voice of loud thunder," shouting and saying, "Go, answer her prayers! Go, answer his prayers!

You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?
When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me.
In God (I will praise His word),
In the LORD (I will praise His word), ‘ In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?...Psalm 56:8-11

The living Word of God explains to us what He does with our tears. How beautiful it is to understand the glory and the wonder of our God! How marvelous it is to be recipients of His compassion! He cares even about our tears. Many Scriptures speak to us about our tears, about our sorrows, and about God’s com fort for us. Read these and rejoice:

  

Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you." (2 Kings 20:5)

I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.My eye wastes away because of grief, it grows old because of all my enemies.Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.The LORD has heard my supplication; The LORD will receive my prayer...Psalm 6:6-9 

For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet
from falling... Psalm 116:8 

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him...Psalm 126:5-6 

He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces...Isaiah 25:8 

Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy...Jeremiah 31:16 

The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes...Revelation 7:17 

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away...Revelation 21:4 

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away...Isaiah 35:10

Glory to God, heaven is a real place! We will really be going there. And, we will not be vapors of smoke floating on a cloud when we go to heaven. One of the wonderful things about heaven is that our tears and sorrows will be replaced with eternal joy, as promised in the Word of God. Yet, there is much more!