Stories, Scriptures And Thoughts About Heaven- Part II
April 2021
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“Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” —John 14:1-3
The spiritual atmosphere of the new heaven and the new earth will be awesome. Relationships among all the redeemed will be perfect. Never a squabble with anyone. Not even an angelic being. Scripture says there will not be marriage relationships, but we will have and show agape love to everyone (Matt. 22:30). The agape love you have for your spouse here on earth will be enlarged a thousand times for your spouse and for everyone you meet.
Our sin nature will be gone. The issues Saint Paul wrote about in Romans 6, 7, and 8 will be over. Sin and temptation will be behind us. By this time, Satan and his demonic followers will be in the lake of fire. The Tempter is removed. The sin nature is purged from our being. We won’t have to deal with Adam’s fall in the new heaven.
We will possess a divine nature—living, talking, and walking in perfect love, joy, peace, and true spiritual victory. Praise God, our sanctification will be complete. We will have glorified bodies, soul, and spirit. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Then we can shout, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (I Cor. 15:55). And this: “But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 15:57).
What Paul wrote about here will happen at the moment of the rapture, as discussed in I Thessalonians 4:13-18, or at the resurrection set forth by Paul in I Corinthians 15:52. At that moment, we will be escorted into the third heaven with a divine nature with the total manifestations of the fruits of the Spirit described in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, goodness, meekness, etc.
According to Revelation 21:4, there will be no tears in heaven. There will be no more death, neither sorrow, no pain. Think about it—no funerals, no COVID-19, no cancer. There will be no sickness in heaven, praise God! There will be no wars, no divorces, and no church splits. In heaven, there will be no wicked people around. Thank God, there will be no murderers, no abortionists, no child molesters, no liars, and no thieves in heaven. All relationships will be divine and perfect and loving. Everyone will get along.
The Population Of Heaven
Scripture is clear as to who will be in heaven and who will not be there. There will be three categories of persons in heaven:
- The divine trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- The holy angels of God
- The redeemed of all ages
Satan and his demons will not be in heaven but in the lake of fire.
If your name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you won’t be in heaven (Rev. 20:15, 21:27). You can be the most respected church member in your city and still not be admitted to heaven. You can give millions of dollars to the poor and still not be allowed in heaven. It is simple; Jesus, our Lord, said you must be born again (John 3:3). The Apostle Paul declared that you must believe and confess that Christ is Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). Saint Peter said on the day of Pentecost that you must repent (Acts 2:38). The occupants of heaven are blood-washed (I Cor. 6:11, Rev. 1:5, 7:14) and sanctified (I Cor. 1:2, 6:11, Heb. 10:10, Jude 1:1).
I hope to see my father and mother there. I hope to see my six sisters and seven brothers there. I hope to see hundreds, maybe thousands, of former church members and former students and ministerial colleagues and church leaders there. Friend, I hope you will be there. I really hope to see Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Caleb, Samuel, David, Josiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul, Peter, John, Barnabas, and Luke. I hope to visit with Gabriel, Michael, and many more angels. I am excited about attending the marriage supper of the Lamb. What an event that will be (Rev. 19:7-9).
Most of all, I want to see Jesus! Jesus, the lowly Nazarene, the Lamb of God, and now the King of kings. Wow, what a day, what a glorious day that will be! In Revelation 22:4, Scripture says that we will be able to see His face. Can you imagine what it will be like when you look into His eyes, to see the sparkle of His eyes, the glow upon His face, the smile upon His lips? I do want to feel the nail prints in His hands. I want to hear Him say, “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matt. 25:21). At that moment, I may fall at His feet, jump for joy, or weep like a baby. I don’t know, but it will be the greatest moment of my life. Esther L. Kerr Rusthoi wrote the song, “When We See Christ.” The chorus says:
It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus,
Life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ.
One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase,
so bravely run the race, till we see Christ.
The Activities Of Heaven
What will we do in heaven? Will heaven be like a giant theme park? The new Jerusalem will be ten thousand times larger. Some suggest they will sit by the River of Life and play the violin, but, most don’t know how to play a violin. I do believe that heaven will be a busy place.
In respect to activities in heaven, Scripture does refer to the judgment seat of Christ for all believers and the marriage supper of the Lamb. At some point in the endtime, after the rapture and before the descending of the new Jerusalem, there will be the judgment seat of Christ and the marriage supper of the Lamb. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 14:10 and II Corinthians 5:10 about the judgment seat of Christ.
Many scholars believe that this is the time and occasion when the church is held accountable for its deeds and labors. It is not where our sins are dealt with. This session has to do with Christ rewarding His church for their faithfulness. The marriage supper of the Lamb is mentioned twice in Revelation 19:7-9, before the second coming and the battle of Armageddon. These two events occur in heaven before the descending of the new Jerusalem.
In respect to the activities of heaven, I am persuaded that we will be privileged to do primarily five things:
- We will be allowed plenty of time to fellowship with one another.
- We will be involved in gigantic praise and worship experiences.
- We will enjoy hearing the teaching of truth from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- There will be times and sessions to hear testimonials from the redeemed of the Lord.
- We may be given administrative assignments to serve others in the eternal age.
Read the third and final part of this article in the May issue of The Evangelist.
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