Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Heaven can be defined as an eternal state of communion with God; everlasting bliss. Bliss is supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment. So in essence we have a taste of heaven here on Earth as believers. The Lord has given us a Comforter and a seal of deposit(The Holy Spirit) of what is to come to every true believer.
As we look back in history we can see Heaven on Earth in the Garden of Eden before the fall and in this we can see what is to come in the future. Total communion with God without the hint or even thought of sin. This I cannot fathom. John said when we see Him we will be like Him. I don't know how this is going to be because sin is forever around me, we cannot escape even the thought of it here on Earth, our only hope is to dwell on the holiness of God. We can see the reality of sin for the believer when we look at Paul in Romans 7. Paul caught a glimpse of Heaven and sin was still a factor all the days of his life. If we say we have no sin we make God a liar and the truth is not in us.
In this life we get so entangled with the minuscule affairs. Silly arguments and debates all for what? We hear echoed throughout the New Testament to have an eternal perspective on life. We are to have eternity on our eyelids and be thinking and dwelling on Him constantly, (He) Jesus the Christ is all that matters, I pray daily for the Lord to keep eternity on my eyelids; if not I will get caught up in the now and make decisions based on my fickle emotions. When it comes down to it people who are entangled in sin and a lifestyle of rebellion towards God, they are not thinking from an eternal perspective. Heaven and Hell are so real to me. Everything that God has said has come to pass or is coming to pass. Not one prophecy has ever failed- He is flawless and we are without excuse. This is why the Cross is so essential-without it we have not hope. Look at what Paul says to the Colossians
Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
Can you imagine sitting in the presence of God totally unveiled and we see His Glory totally removed from the thought of sin and the troubles of this world. We will see Him as He is. I think about this but it is almost as if my mind has a cap on it and I can only go so far. There has been nothing we have seen ever the can compare with the forthcoming glory. Look at the accounts in the Bible where the Prophets and Apostles are before God and look at their responses. The Holiness of God is something we have lost sight of in our culture. Holy Holy Holy.
Check out Isaiah 6:1-4
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Romans 8:18 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. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
You know when I see the animals killing each other to survive in the wilderness on the discovery channel(maybe it is just me) it seems as if they are tired and they too await the second coming of Christ. There will be no killing in Heaven. I think of the passage in Isaiah that speaks of the tranquility we find after Christ judges this wicked world.
Do you have this hope? Or are you worried about what tomorrow brings.
James 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
"Heaven" The Believers Paradise.
