Throughout the ages, there has probably never been a more important yet elusive question as that about the existence of Heaven. Is Heaven real, what happens after we die, do we merely cease to be or is there an afterlife? These are the very real questions that I believe every person born asks themselves sometime throughout their life.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
The evidence for the reality of Heaven is available everywhere but must be perceived by the heart and not merely understood by the mind alone.
Even the fact that every member of the human family asks themselves questions about Heaven is a clue we should not discount lightly.
What follows is a short list containing some specific insights into what the Bible teaches about Heaven. There are however far more biblical insights about Heaven available for those who would like to study them in scripture.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
1. Many Mansions
(John 14:2) 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.
This is a wonderfully comforting scripture that reveals that God has room for everyone and Jesus has ensured us that there is a place for every believer, no matter how many come seeking entrance into this place of eternal peace and joy.
The kingdom of God is open to every nationality and ethnic group, all are welcome in God’s house.
Heaven is both inclusive and exclusive, inclusive in the way it welcomes every person as an honored member, and exclusive in the fact that it is a place for believers only. Those who have mocked God and the Heavens reality, and lived their lives apart from Him have already made their choice and excluded themselves from the eternal joys found in Heaven. However, even those who choose not to believe have the opportunity while they remain alive to change their mind about God, and their eternal destination can also change accordingly.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
2. Angelic Life
(Matthew 22:30) For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
I have previously been informed about some comments on this scripture, that it in some way lessens the value of Heaven in people’s eyes because they would not be able to enjoy the physical pleasures associated with our humanity. It is however important to understand that our sexuality was given to us as a means of procreation when we were told to “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28)
Once we have left this world behind and stepped into the joys of Heaven, the ties to our natural bodies are broken and the physical desires that dwelt within them are also broken. The unending joy of heaven will supersede all desires we previously had for the things of this world.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
3. Gate of Heaven
(Genesis 28:10-12) Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
(Genesis 28:17) And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
Our life on earth is our God-given opportunity to decide whether or not we desire to live in God’s presence forever in Heaven.
We stand at the threshold of Heaven every day and by our beliefs and actions, we choose our eternal path and influence others in their choices. God’s angels are busy in this world trying to protect us along our life’s journey and to thwart the plans that the evil one, the Devil, has for you.
We are however given free will by God to make our own choices and we alone are responsible for those choices.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
4. God’s Breath In Man
(Genesis 2:7) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
God is spirit, and as spirit is not bound by the constraints of natural life as we know it here on earth, for it is He who made us and the world we live in. God is also eternal and lives outside of what we understand as ‘time’ and when He breathed into man we became a spiritual and eternal being as well.
It is for this reason that it is vitally important for each of us to ensure that we choose wisely when we are deciding our eternal home, for wherever we choose to spend it, it will be forever.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
5. All Sorrow Gone
(Revelation 21:4) 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.”
Not only are the external joys of Heaven something to be seen with our eyes, but in truth they are realized in our hearts and experienced inside our souls. The greatest joy will be found in our release from every pain and suffering we have endured upon the earth and in the eternal thrill of meeting our Creator in person.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
6. Eternity Already In Our Hearts
(Ecclesiastes 3:11) He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
This is one of the greatest clues we can acknowledge when looking for insights into Heaven. This fact alone deserves serious consideration, that throughout the history of man, there has always been an understanding of and a pursuit of Heaven.
In every place and at every time Mankind has been aware of Heaven’s existence, and in that awareness has sought to know God.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
The Lord’s Prayer
(Matthew 6:9-13)
In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer above is one of the most well-known scripture verses and clearly articulates 4 specific aspects of Heaven for us to understand.
1. God dwells in Heaven, it is His Throne Room
2. We see that God’s will is done in Heaven and He desires for His will to be done here on earth as well, especially in the lives of every believer.
3. We see that God’s kingdom is coming here to earth
4. We see that God’s kingdom (which we will share with Him) will last forever.
7 Glimpses Of Heaven
7. Jesus Opens The Door
(John 14:6) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
When God sent His beloved Son Jesus onto the earth to pay the price for our sins, it was so that we as a fallen creation could be brought back into God’s eternal blessing and enjoy the joys of walking with Him eternally in Heaven. Jesus' victory on the cross (paying for our sins) and overcoming death itself (in His resurrection) opened the door for everyone who believes in Him to follow Him into Heaven as His beloved children.
Heaven itself, that greatest of human questions, is glimpsed in many different snapshots in the scriptures of the Bible. The shortlist mentioned is like merely placing only the tip of your toe into the great sea of eternity.
As fathers and parents surely our greatest concern is the well-being of our children, in light of this I suggest that we should focus not only on our child's future prosperity in this world, but even more so that they enjoy a wonderful eternity.
Of one thing we can be sure, Heaven is a wonderful place and every one of us has a personal invitation from God to come and make our eternal home with Him.
God Bless
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