Feb. 25, 2024

What Heaven is Like

Introduction - This message has been in the making for several years. I was curious about, but couldn’t make sense of the variety of books on near death experiences.  I finally found a God-authorized source of information about the important subject of heaven.  I hope you find this teaching heartwarming and hopeful, I think it is accurate to say that the average Christian’s knowledge of heaven is scant.  My understanding, as well as many other Christians I know, is that heaven will indeed be great, and that it is basically retirement on steroids, with no form of work, just idle bliss forever and ever.  I suspect that many people have a similar concept.  If you think about it at all, that would not be good, because we would get bored very quickly and have nothing but idleness to look forward to. It would be worse than confinement.  With only dim knowledge of heaven, we soon run out of motivation to serve God at all here on the earth.  By contrast, people like Paul and Stephen were energized, even to the point of fearlessly surrendering their lives, after seeing glimpses of heaven. In previous weeks, I have been teaching about the biblical record of heaven as well as bonafide extra-biblical testimonies about it. Let’s look first at what the Bible says in general terms about our eternal abode:

Romans 5:2, 5. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory...5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. NLT

“Sharing God’s glory” describes how heaven will be for each of us personally.  We will be sharing God’s physical and spiritual glory!  There will be no more sickness, weakness, pain, sorrow, sadness or anything like it.  We still have boundless energy, able to work forever, never getting tired.  Even the most robust people run out of energy and have to rest.  Work is wearisome, and so we see no place of it in our eternal future.  Our bodies eventually permanently run out of energy,  We are so used to seeing heavenly things through earthly eyes that we may even feel that our transition from earth may not work right, like a car that won’t start, but this is not so.  From the moment a guardian angel takes us to there, heaven will not be disappointing. It will work perfectly! No room for human inventions, which fail.   

We are also told that, as far as grandeur, glory, and splendor, heaven will be beyond what any of us has ever imagined:  

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.12. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. NLT

It is precisely through this agent, God’s Spirit, that we can get an idea what heaven is really like.  In weeks past we learned that God will give valid visions and dreams, which will not contradict the Scriptures, but which will give the knowledge of heaven, which we would otherwise not know, I am indebted to Rev. Dr. Allen Claycomb for his book entitled Finally Home.  His book discusses the formation of a lifelong companion for Jesus, called the Bride of Christ.  This bride is not one person, but a vast group of all the saved people of the church age, both those who died and were resurrected and those who were translated at the Rapture.  Let’s begin to look at some of the remarkable visions and dreams which saints have experienced.  I will be reading most of these visions directly from the author’s book (with his permission), so that the testimonies are not re-interpreted or diluted:

The Apostle Paul

2 Corinthians 12:2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. NLT

The Apostle John

Revelation 4:1-2 (all the way to 22:21) Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. NLT

Roberts Lardon, age 8, 1974

Was taken in the Spirit and given a tour around heaven.  He saw most people to be in their 30’s.  He saw beautiful buildings, mansions, gates, offices, books, and experienced the River of Life.  

Jesse Duplantis, Evangelist, 1988

Saw a number of small children, singing praises on small harps.  From 3-10 years old, they had been children lost to abortion.  

Rebecca Springer, Kentville, Canada, 1800’s 

Escorted to heaven by her brother-in-law Frank, was taken to her new home, escorted to a large teaching center to hear Martin Luther and later John Wesley.  

Marietta Davis, Sundar Singh (a Christian missionary) and others 1929  

A number of people report that the New Jerusalem is made up of an unknown number of Paradise-plains.  Each one full of abundant life and order, each with cities, worship centers rivers, parks,  

Saints serving in heaven 

Another consistently recurring theme in heavenly visions and dreams is the interaction between saints on higher and lower plains of glory.  The entirety of heaven is dedicated to the growth of the saints “from glory to glory.”  Teaching is a universal constant.  

It is easy to be saved, that is, to get to heaven.  An instance of faith is all that is needed.  

Ephesians 2:8-9 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. NLT

God is really hoping that everyone will go to heaven and no one will be separated from him (perish). If He is pulling for us, it is pretty likely that most people will make it to heaven.   

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. NLT

Conclusion - We must realize that suffering is a rewarded part of the Christian life.  In visions of heaven, the saints at the highest levels of heaven were the ones who endured the most and suffered as Jesus suffered.  This is something that is not often preached.  There is a subtle, but universal tendency in church life to teach that avoiding suffering is the highest goal we have.  It is a deception to imply that living a rich life of comfort and security is a mark of great spirituality.  Early saints understood the value of losing everything here on earth so they could have a maximized eternity.  

Hebrews 11:35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; NLT

These precious visions we have been given from the saints before us should impel us to be courageous, overcome fear, do things we have been afraid to do, take appropriate risks, and glorify Jesus who so courageously loved us.