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What
is heaven like? Paul
the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 12:2 described how he was carried into heaven, "I
know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third
heaven." There are three
heavens: FIRST, the atmospheric heaven above us with clouds; SECOND, the heavens
with planets, sun, stars, moons, galaxies, etc.; THIRD, the spiritual heaven
where God dwells. "[He]
was caught up to Paradise.
He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to
tell" (2 Corinthians 12:4, NIV). Paul
did not even feel at liberty to describe the wonders of heaven. At another time he says, "Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit" (1
Corinthians 2:9,10). Superworld
is comprised of three parts: Supercity (the new Jerusalem), Superearth (the
refurnished earth at the end of the millennium), and the Super-universe (the new
heavens). Look at Supercity John the apostle gives us a dazzling description of the holy city. He says, "I saw the Holy City,
the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
beautifully dressed for her husband. And
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with
men, and he will live with them. They
will be his people, and God himself...will be their God.' "And he carried me away in the
Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy city, Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God. It
shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious
jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It
had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels
[guarding] at the gates. On the gates were
written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. "There were three gates on the east,
three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.
The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. "The angel who talked with me had a
measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its wall.
The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide.
He measured the city with the rod and found it to be
[around 1,500 miles] in length, and as
wide and high as it is long. He
measured its wall and it was [about 216 feet] thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using.
The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. "The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a
single pearl. The street of the
city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. "I did not see a temple in the city,
because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory
of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring
their splendor into it. On no day
will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does
what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the
Lamb's book of life" (Revelation
21:2-3,10-27, NIV). Can
you imagine a city made of pure gold, as clear as glass, gleaming with God's
power? John makes special mention
that the sun or moon does not shine on it, "And
there shall be no night there; and they need no candle...for the Lord God giveth
them light" (Revelation 22:5). This
city does not need electricity or any illumination because it literally glows
with God's glory! And
consider the size of our heavenly home--1500 miles square.
This city would cover more than the western half of the United States!
A mathematician put his pencil to these dimensions and this is what he
discovered. "The thickness of
the wall is 144 cubits (or about 216 feet thick).
It is approximately 12,000 furlongs square or 1500 miles in each
direction. It has 12 foundations or
floors, each separated by 125 miles. The
second floor would be out of sight of the natural eye.
"If the city were divided into rooms, one mile in length, one mile
wide and one mile high, it would contain 3 billion, 375 million rooms--each one
cubit mile. If we began at the time of Adam and spent one hour in each
room, at the end of 6,000 years we would have visited 52,570,560 rooms--leaving
3,322,529,440 rooms yet unvisited. This
includes all leap years for 6,000 years, deducting the century year when there
is no leap year." Wow! When Jesus said, "In my father's house are many mansions," He wasn't abusing the phrase. For nearly 2,000 years Jesus Christ has been preparing this Supercity for His saints! He said, "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). What an unbelievable glorious place this will be! E. M. Bounds says, "The favorite Bible word for heaven is 'glory' which seems so especially suited to describe heaven. It means splendor, brightness, magnificence, excellence, pre-eminence, dignity, majesty in the sense of absolute perfection, a most glorious, a most exalted state, a glorious condition of blessedness." The reason the Bible says, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy" is because this book gives the only description of our eternal home. No wonder when the famous evangelist, D. L. Moody, lay dying, he cried, "Earth is receding, heaven is opening and God is calling." He was excited by what he saw! Features of the Supercity There
are other spectacular features of this city. 1.
IT
IS COMPLETELY SAFE. Metropolitan
areas have become jungles of corruption. Thieves,
rapists, murderers, pimps, drug pushers, child molesters--this sort have
frightened people until they no longer venture out at night. Heaven's
gates will be guarded by angels, and the Bible says, "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what
is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's
book of life" (Revelation 21:27, NIV). "Blessed
are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life
and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the
sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and
practices falsehood" 2.
THE CITY HAS NO TEMPLE OR CHURCH.
John says, "I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are the temple of it" (Revelation 21:22). "Behold, a throne
was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne" (Revelation 4:2). "The
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it...and they shall see his face"
(Revelation 22:3,4). There
Will be Angels in Heaven "And
I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the
[living creatures] and the elders: and the
number of them was ten thousand times ten thousands, and thousands of thousands.
This is at least one hundred million or more.
John is trying to say the host is innumerable. "Saying
with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and
riches, and wisdom and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing"
(Revelation 5:11,12). If you are not concerned about angels, you have
forgotten that an angel has guarded you since childhood.
Jesus said, "Take heed that ye
despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their
angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven"
(Matthew 18:10). "Are
[angels] not...ministering spirits, sent
forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Hebrews
1:14). The
Bible says that angels stand guard over the saints.
You are given divine protection from Satan and the demonic enemies of
your soul. Remember how Satan complained about Job?
He accused God saying, "Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and
about all that he hath on every side?" (Job 1:10). Friend,
angelic security guards have been watching over you since the day you were born.
I am certain you can recall many times when you have been miraculously
spared from harm. You will meet
your guardian angels in heaven. I
am certain when God replays your life, you'll be thanking Him for the angelic
protection He has given you. Unseen
Beauty There
are unseen realities of the spirit world. Guardian
angels are part of it. When you get
to heaven you will see the splendor of the Supercity glowing with supernatural
energy, inhabited by holy angels and the saints from all ages who served God. A beautiful girl was born blind. As she grew up, the only beauty she knew of this world came
from her mother's lips. Then one day a famous surgeon performed a series of
operations on her eyes, with excellent results.
Finally the day came when the last bandages were removed. The
little girl ran to her mother's arms, then moved carefully to the open door and
the open window. As the beauty of that soft summer day broke in upon her for
the first time, she ran back to her mother and with eyes shining with excitement
and wonder said, "Oh, Mother, why didn't you tell me it was so
beautiful?" Wiping away her
tears of joy, the mother said, "My precious child, I tried to tell you, but
I just couldn't do it." One
of these days, when we walk into that city of gold, gleaming with the glory of
God, we'll say, "John, why didn't you tell us it was this beautiful?"
Then the Apostle will say, "I tried to tell you by using every
adjective I knew. I said it was
like transparent gold, like pearls, jasper, sapphires, and emeralds.
I just ran out of words. I
just ran out of words." We
Are His Heirs Praise God, your glorious new home is waiting for you in heaven! So don't be discouraged over your struggles here on earth because you and I are God's children. "And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs
with Christ: if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together. "For
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Revelation
8:17,18). We will Reign With Christ In
Revelation 3:21 Jesus says, "To him
that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." The
Bible says if we overcome, Jesus Christ will allow us to be seated on His
throne--the creative center of the universe.
Just imagine creating with Christ--building, planning, designing with
God's eternal resources and knowledge! Heaven is a place bustling with creative
activity! We are going to be
assigned places of leadership and responsibility.
Think
of it! Our Lord is going to give
you the opportunity of becoming more than you've ever dreamed.
This is why I call heaven "Superworld." (Revelation 2:26,27). ©
2002 Lowell Lundstrom
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