"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."" (Revelation 21:1-4)
There are many books on the market of people who have supposedly visited Heaven. From tales by children to those in hospital due to an accident or terminal illnesses, it seems as though people are visiting Heaven daily.
Though many of these books try in one way or another to give us hope of the afterlife, they can be misleading, over romanticised, and often times contradictory to each other and to Scripture. After all, they are merely man's attempts to describe God's home. However, the best place to find out what Heaven will be like is to see how the designer, namely God Himself, describes it in His book, the Bible. Let us get a glimpse of this great place.
"I Can Only Imagine"
Imagine, if you can, being the disciple John, exiled on the island of Patmos, having only seen the sights of the Middle East, Macedonia and parts of ancient Europe, and then being shown by God, all the wondrous sights of Heaven. Imagine trying to put those sights, of things that you have never seen in your life before, nor probably ever have imagined, into words. How would you describe them? Even with modern technology and the many advancements of the twenty-first century, we would be hard-pressed to do so.
It is difficult to imagine how beautiful Heaven is. When we get there, we will see a place that will be nothing like we have ever seen, heard, or conceived of here on earth. We will see first hand the things of God's glory that He has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9). Take a look at some of John's descriptions:
- A city made of pure gold with walls made of jasper, whose foundations are decorated with every kind of precious stone (Revelation 21:18-19),
- The streets that we will walk on made of pure gold (Revelation 21:21),
- No darkness or night, no sun or moon, because the glory of God Himself will give heaven its light (Revelation 22:5 and 21:23).
Familiar, But Perfect
Although unimaginable, there are certain aspects to Heaven that will be a little familiar to us, but perfect:
- We will have bodies, though different and glorified (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
- We will have eyes to see and ears to hear (Isaiah 65:19, Revelation 21:4).
- We will be able to eat and drink (Luke 22:29-30).
But there will be other things that are impossible here on earth. Perfection like nothing ever experienced:
- There will be no mourning, crying or pain (Revelation 21:4).
- There will be no sin and nothing impure (Revelation 21:27).
- There will be fullness of joy and pleasure (Psalm 16:11).
- There will be no more unanswered questions, confusion, or ignorance, and no need to walk by faith rather than by sight (1 Corinthians 13:12).
But more importantly, we will be with Jesus Himself (Revelation 21:3 and 22:3-4).
What a wonderful and awesome place Heaven is. And rest assured, if you have lost a loved one who was in Christ here on earth, they are now experiencing the above with their Saviour, and one day we will joy them. Oh what a glorious day that will be.
Just a Thought!
© 2012
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