WE ARE GOING TO HEAVEN
The direction this subject points me towards is exciting!  Now I am rethinking the Rapture and eternity in a good way. I was even shown more reasons why the Blessed Hope (The Rapture of the Church) is just about to take place. I want to share with you how near we really are to the Lord's return and our future home. If we even understand a little bit about heaven we will never look at life, the Rapture or eternity the same.  Like end time Bible prophecy it is not a subject that is going to be understood all at once.  Just a little understanding will give you peace from God.  Some people will say they found a church home and that is well and good but as far as I can see Heaven is our home.  That is where we are going to spend eternity.  As I write about Heaven it is not necessarily going to be in sequential order.  I'm going to loosen up my tie.  I'm just going to trust God that He will guide my pen and bring to my mind whatever he wants to place on my heart.  I have lost count of the number of books and testimonies I have read or heard.
Would you like to go to a place where the glory of God abounds and overflows?  If you look at the average person they don't seem to care!
I am pretty sure the church is just about to be Raptured out of this earth into heaven.  I believe there has been some recent warnings on planet earth.  God is trying to get the worlds' attention-why?  Because He is just about to come.  There is even a Sanhedrin in Israel right now.  This is a religious group ( not a political group) that would make decisions about such things as Temple/Tabernacle worship.  They would also make decisions about a seven year peace covenant.  Sound familiar?  J.R. Church is the founder of the discovery of the year by year Psalms. He recently said  Psalm 104 hints of a revival.  Psalm 105 insinuates the Ark of the Covenant and Psalm 106 has a overriding tone of repentance.  It almost seems at this point that part of Israel is repenting.  The way I see this, if this is the case Israel by this time has entered into a time period called Jacob's Trouble ( the seven year Tribulation). Mr. Church also mentioned that Psalms 104 to 106 seems to have a theme and desire to go back to Temple worship.  For those of you that do not understand the prophetic principle of the Psalms-Psalm 1 seems to describe 1901.  Psalm 17-1917, Psalm 39-44 seems to describe the Holocaust years from 1939-1944, Psalm 48 describes the rebirth of Israel in 1948, or Psalm 91-1991.  These are just some examples.  There is so much prophetic math coming in to point to two years-5765 ( 2005) and 5772 ( 2012.)  Could 2005 be the Rapture?  Could 2012 be the Second Advent ( Second Coming of Jesus Christ)? Could we just be seeing or reading into things?  I suppose it is possible but not very probable.  The Mayan calendar which is Gentile ends in 2012.  This is one of the most accurate calendars ever made.  The people that designed this calendar were experts in the subject of Astronomy.
Most Christians really don't know how to look for the Rapture.  Most have preconceptions and assumed knowledge which causes them to just live their lives.  Looking for the Rapture with anticipation and excitement is very Biblical.  It is found in 1 These. 4: 16-18, 1 Cor. 15: 51-57, Titus 2:13, 1st John 3: 2,3, 2 Tim. 4:8, John 4:1-3, Rev. 3:10, and Rev. 4:1.  This is not to even mention some of the Old Testament verses that imply the Rapture.  We look for the Rapture not only to be with our Lord, Jesus Christ but to escape the seven year Tribulation that is described in Rev. Chapters 6-19.  These seven years are the most talked about time period in the Bible.  When I read Revelation chapters 6-19, I have to come to the conclusion that there is just no way anybody could prepare for this time period. This is just one reason you are going to want to be a part of  the Rapture.  We are very close to this great event.
When we get Raptured we will be transformed into our resurrected spirit bodies in heaven.  Upon arrival we will have the most wonderful reunion with other Believers that we could possible imagine.  We will then appear before the Bema Seat ( a Greek word) so that Jesus Christ Himself will appraise everything that we truly did for Him.  It's not that all sins will be thrown out, they already have ( past tense) been cast away.  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.Psalm 103:12.  Remember when we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior He died for those sins in our place.  He bore the penalty of our sins on the Cross.  God cannot look upon sin, so when we go to heaven we will be blameless before Him. I know that this sounds ridiculous but we won't arrive in Heaven and say something like "could you please remove this particular sin, I have always had a problem with that one."  Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  1 Cor. 1:8.  There will be perfect understanding on what we have truly done for Jesus Christ with the right motives when we look into the eyes of holiness and righteousness.  The Bible mentions five crowns.  Many articles and sermons have been spoken on this so I won't go into it.  I would be honored just to get one.  Just because only five are spoken of does not mean there won't be other rewards.  According to Revelation 4 and 5 we will be laying our crowns before the Savior.  As I said once before in the presence of Jesus Christ we don't need anything so of course we are laying our crowns before His feet.  Did you ever just read Revelation, Chapters 4 and 5 and fathom this incredible worship?  When we are Raptured we will participate in Chapters 4 and 5.  When an individual graduates from college they go to Commencement and get their diploma ( their reward).  Then they go out into the real world and get a job to get started with their life.  We will get our rewards ( commencement) then eventually we will get started with our jobs in eternity.  Can you imagine a college student hanging around Graduation ceremonies all of his life?  I have never seen that.
Even the unregenerate understand that there is a vast difference between Heaven and Hell.  They are the antithesis of each other.  One is a place of love, the other is a place of fear.  I just want you to think about the reality of this whole thing.  There is a Heaven and a Hell but there is not a medium place for average people.  If we just plug that thought into our minds and hopefully our hearts, I'll have an answer for you in just a little bit as to why this has to be.
The design of Heaven is perfect because we serve a flawless, holy Savior.  When we get to Heaven we will instantly know that we could not have possibly merited such a beautiful and glorious place.  Eph. 2: 8,9.  We will have a new understanding of the grace of God.  But as it is written, "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," 1 Cor 2:9.  I understand that when we get there it is going to be a breathtaking experience; however, I would like to get specific on some realities about Heaven that may edify you right now.
First of all if you have many problems and have a yoke upon your soul ( a load or burden that you are having a hard time carrying) it will immediately be removed when you arrive in Heaven after the Rapture.  In Matt. 11:30, Jesus promises to take it on earth but if you are having a hard time allowing God to take this then at the very least you can rest assured that it will be removed the very moment you arrive in Heaven.  One man said that when we got Saved on earth ( truly accepting Jesus Christ into our hearts as personal Savior) the Holy Spirit came into our hearts.  He is living inside of us right now as we converse.  The Holy Spirit is our engagement ring.  When we get to Heaven we will be married to Jesus Christ.  The Bible talks about us being the Bride of Christ.  In Revelation 21:2 it says " and I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her husband."  In Revelation 19: 7-9, it talks about the Marriage of the Lamb, we are dressed in white ( purity) and in verse 9 we are considered blessed.  When the Pharisees tried to entrap Jesus with the Marriage scenario in Heaven our Lord corrected them by saying that one redeemed in Heaven does not marry another redeemed Saint.  The answer is obvious.  We are the Bride of Christ.  Jesus Christ will be our Husband.  By the way, if the Bible is talking about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb this may be inferring that there will be food in Heaven.  We will eat for pure enjoyment in Heaven.  We have to eat on earth to survive.  Besides all too often food, sleep, and shopping become disruptions that hinder our fellowship with God.  In Heaven there are no interruptions.  Everything speaks of God's pure love with purpose.
Everything we do or don't do will be appropriate for the given moment.  For example talking is not always appropriate because in Revelation 8:1 it says " and when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour."  Any created creature or redeemed Saint in Heaven will be incapable of sin ( a transgression against God); however, a mistake is something different.  Webster defines a mistake as a misunderstanding of the meaning or implication of something.  I think we are going to have to wait and see if we will be capable of a mistake.  Remember we will not be robots in Heaven.  On earth we make 10,000 decisions a day.  We scratch our heads and ask " what do I do."  In Heaven, since a partial mind of Jesus Christ will be given to us ( if we received a full mind of Christ we would know everything about eternity past, present, and future)  we won't struggle with decisions.  On earth, according to Philip. 2:5, we have to " let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."  According to this verse we have access to the mind of Christ but we can choose not to use it.  Obviously we will not have any senses to register fear with this new mind.  The Holy Spirit said in 2 Tim 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  Every once in a while I will hear a Christian say " when I get to Heaven I will know everything and won't have to learn anything."  If we knew everything we would be on the same level as God.  You may have heard me say this.  God is God and we are not.  Besides this statement goes directly against Eph. 2:7.  That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus.  According to this verse there is a learning process because God is " showing" us for all eternity.  In this verse God is described as having exceeding riches, He is kind and everything is through Jesus Christ.
In the Bible it is very obvious that everything revolves around the person of Jesus Christ.  The very first sentence in the Book of Revelation says " The Revelation of Jesus Christ"...so if you were to read Revelation 19 to 22 it is very clear that when Jesus Christ sets up His rule it will be a Theocracy, not a Democracy.  I thank the Lord for this because His rule will be perfect.  There will be a hierarchy in Heaven of redeemed Saints and Angels.  For example, Jesus said the first shall be last and the last will be first.  I think it is interesting that the humble will be in positions of authority unlike this earth where all too often the prideful rule.  I am not sure if every regenerated person will reign with Jesus Christ in Heaven 2 Tim. 2:12.  This privilege does not seem to be reserved for everybody.  When you read the whole context of 1 Cor. 15 you may come to the same conclusion as me.  The Saints in Heaven will shine in varying degrees based on what they did in their earthly life.  There obviously will be no jealousy because that would be a sin.  I find it reassuring to know that when Jesus places somebody above me they will be humble.  We will all be humbled by the time this whole heavenly reality reaches full circle.  The most prevalent message in the Gospels is humility.  It is in our Lord's birth, the way that He lived, the way He spoke, the way He served, the way He suffered and the way He died.
I don't know about you but I have found that the greater the mistrust level is in society the greater the sin.  Mistrust seems to be a barometer.  In 2 Cor. 5:7 it says we walk by faith, not by sight.  In Heaven we will walk by sight not by faith; however, we will have perfect trust and perfect peace because of this wonderful privilege that God will grant us.  On earth we must exercise faith in God to have His peace but not in Heaven.  It will automatically be given to us.  On earth we may experience something that is way out in left field but we will always know where we stand in Heaven.  By the way, Hell is just the opposite.  Nobody will have peace or trust or even know where they stand because there will always be fear.  Words like despairing, survival, panic, denial, problems, despondency, guilt, or loneliness will come to minds and emotions.  There will be no hope.  I believe some people that are consigned to this horrible place will never reach the acceptance level of what happened to them.  They will stay in denial.  In answer to the thought that I asked you to ponder, why is there not a medium place for average people.  The answer is God demands justice for somebody that does not accept His Son, Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Rom 6:23.  They will have to pay for everyone of their sins because they don't have the Savior Jesus Christ the Son of God in their hearts.  The word fairness really does not per se come to my mind.  This is God's justice.  Justice is the administration of law.  People that die without Jesus Christ leave this earth under " Law" ( they died in their sins) not under grace.  Good people don't go to Heaven and bad people don't go to Hell. According to the Bible, we are all bad.  Romans 3:23. " For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."  Only those that honestly accept Jesus Christ into their hearts will go to Heaven.   Since they died without accepting  Jesus Christ as their personal Savior they will have to bear the full weight of their sins.  There will be different degrees of punishment.  Luke 12:48, Revelation 20:11-15.  That is a heavy burden to carry.  Besides it's a Christ-less eternity-no love!  You can accept Jesus Christ into your heart now and have eternal life in Heaven if you have not already done so.  Since we are so close to the return of Jesus Christ it is not wise to tarry on this decision.
I would like to return to the subject of Heaven for a little bit.  In Heb. 1 verses 13 and 14, it implies that Angels serve and that they are humble.  I did not read the entire Book of Enoch but the parts that I did read were amazing.  I just want to zero in on a part of the Book that I saw.  When Enoch had a hard time understanding something,  the Angel that was escorting him was so hospitable in explaining the things about Heaven to him.  Every credible testimony about their Heaven experience seems to follow the same pattern.  Jesus or an Angel was hospitable and open in explaining something.  What immediately comes to my mind is there was no attitude.  That is at least fifty percent of our problems here on earth.  An individual or a group emits a bad emotion and hurts somebody else.  It is a big problem down here on earth.  In life we can either cooperate or complete.  In Heaven if you will notice, there seems to be cooperation.  It would be a trite point if there was not so much competition in life.
Can you imagine the jubilation after the Rapture?  Can you imagine Jesus Christ Himself, the greatest teacher in the universe imparting a principle to us?  Can you imagine talking to Daniel, Samson, Peter, or Sarah?  They have been learning in this heavenly order for thousands of years.  By the way since our Lord is a God of order I do believe there will be a law in Heaven I just don't think we will have a hard time following it.  We will have such a strong desire to obey because we were saved by God's grace and love that this zeal in us will be paramount, not just in our thinking but in our actions.  When we think about obeying something down here we usually have to start and stop at a given point but when we get to Heaven we will be in eternity.  There will be no time or space to hinder us.  We won't necessarily have to start at a given point.  We think in terms of time now.  Eternity is more real than time because in eternity past God created time; therefore, time is inferior to eternity.  The Creator is more powerful than the creation.  It makes us think.  Should we live for time or should we live for eternity?  The things that are visible are temporary.  The things which are invisible are eternal.  Only that which we do for Jesus will last.  Jesus was more pleased with Mary in comparison to Martha because what Mary was doing was eternal.  What Martha was doing was temporary.  Everything else will be thrown out.  There will be no gossip about our sins in Heaven.  Gossip is a sin.  Proverbs 16:28.  There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.  The Bible says this in Romans 8:1.  Heaven is a place where God gets the glory.  Rev. 4 and 5, Rev. 21 and 22.  It is His grace we will be praising God for all eternity, not our sins.  By the way we will be praising God for His other attributes too.
In 2 Cor  5:17 it says " Therefore if any  man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  That happened to us when we got Saved but we really will be able to see and experience this for ourselves when we get to Heaven.  Notice the juxtaposition of this verse.  It is in Chapter 5 (the number of grace.)  We were saved by grace.  Eph. 2:8 and 9.  We will go to Heaven because of His grace.  Seventeen is made up of ten and seven.  Seven is the number of spiritual perfection and ten is the number of ordinal perfection.  Combining these numbers it obviously means the perfection of spiritual order.  We were saved by grace ( Chapter 5) and in verse 17, all things become new ( the perfection of spiritual order). Sounds like Heaven!  By the way it won't be the order the Church has right now.  Some Christians think that this is it.  This is not it.  Some conservatives in the Church give all the reasons why people should come over to their side, some Pentecostals give reasons as to why people should come on their side.  Eph. 2:14 says " For He is our peace, who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us."  I know the original meaning of this verse involved Jews and Gentiles but the sub-text is there.  This is good news because we won't have to be concerned about a denomination.  We probably won't even have opinions in Heaven because that would denote division.  Our Lord is not going to allow His Kingdom to be divided.  We will be uniting in the Person of Jesus Christ.  The only passport into Heaven will be Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.  It won't be a denomination.
Look at how excited the Samaritan woman got when Jesus talked to her on earth.  She was refreshed, John Chapter 4.  If this can happen on earth what do you think Heaven will be like?  If there is a Christian out there that you just do not like, look at how fast Jesus united Matthew and Peter on earth.  They hated each other.  Our Lord did that in his earthly body on a corrupt sinful planet.  It is encouraging to know God never changes.  Malachi 3:6.  Jesus will be reuniting people that were at an impasse on earth and He will do it I believe on the same line that He did it with Matthew and Peter.  I don't think Paul and Mark even spoke after their spat but I can guarantee you this, they are on speaking terms now in the love of God.  Right now we are in embryo ( time and space) but when we get to Heaven we will really start to understand all of the freedoms we have in Jesus Christ.  Right now we don't understand the full impact of this principle just like we don't understand everything God saved us from.  We don't even understand many things about ourselves but God sees us perfectly.  This is why I am inclined to believe that God will even reward us for what we would have done if we could have done it.  He knows our hearts.  Sometimes I hear a Christian say " I believe God is like that particular regenerated lady or gentleman."  Then they might say something like " That is what God is like."  God has all of these pure characteristics in every one of His attributes.  If all of this excites you and if to a point you are up in Heaven right now don't be so fast to come down.  Understanding this will actually help us while we are still on this earth.
One of the things that you always hear in Christianity is that you have to be discerning about issues.  Somebody will say something and we will be scratching our heads, looking into the Word of God and asking "is this true?"  The Bible says in John 14:6 that Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life.  Heaven will be the embodiment of truth.  We won't have to look at something and wonder whether it is truth or error.  It is true on this planet that people have alternative agendas.  In Heaven everybody will have pure motives.  The people on earth are constantly communicating ideas through speech and motions.  God's loudest message to us is His love.  His love permeates His entire Being.  Obviously that same love will be in us.  Remember what is inside of us has to come out.  We will be experiencing and expressing that love for all eternity.  I am going to combine most of what I believe to be the credible testimonies about their Heaven experiences and explain to you the common denominators.  I'm not what I would call a tough jury but for those of you that are I would just like to say they cannot all be lying and most of these people don't even know each other.  In detective shows they bring one person in one room and the other in another room.  A handful of people feel since the Apostle Paul did not talk about his Heaven experience then they just dismiss somebody else's testimony; however, Enoch had plenty to say about Heaven and even touched on what he saw in Hell and was quoted by Jude in the New Testament.  Jude 1:14.  All I can do is look for the common denominators of these testimonials.  Let me just repeat some of the amazing things that I have heard.  I am not dogmatic but I seem to hear the same things over and over.  Did you ever think about the way God will communicate to us in Heaven?  In so many of these testimonies it is mind to mind.  There is no air in Heaven.  This is a component of earth so the people listening to Jesus did not hear Him through an ear drum.  Jesus know all tongues but there is a heavenly language.  The speed is very fast.  No hesitation on the part of our Savior; however, if our Lord really wants us to experience the moment He may slow the pace down.  I heard one fine scholar say we will probably be learning pure Hebrew in Heaven which he believes is God's language.  Most said they were able to explore and look around.  Enoch took advantage of this privilege.  Everyone said there is an overwhelming togetherness in Heaven.  Nobody was off to the side.  Everyone is an integral part of everything God is doing.  When we go on into Heaven we will becoming there what we could not become here, only never quite made it.  This way the grace of God is exalted not our merits.  We will probably be on the genius level and we will be using our minds in a way that we could not imagine down here to carry out the work that God has assigned to us.  We will truly be glorifying God.  Many people that saw Heaven looked at building projects.  A lot of people said there was an anticipation for a large number of people to arrive there at one time.  John 14: 1-4.  One person said that the architecture was intricate.  The horticulture was bountiful and beautiful.  The colors were vibrant.  When they looked at something in Heaven it was pure love, nothing but pure substance.  The streets are pure gold.  Jesus Christ testified to several people that He created the music in Heaven.  It is beautiful and worshipful.  Notes that they never heard on earth and they were perfectly clear.  One person made a comparison that there is no way you could keep up with this in your flesh.  God is bottling an aroma ( perfume) in Heaven based on the prayers of the regenerated children of Jesus Christ on earth...Rev. Chapters 5 and 8.  At the risk of being reprimanded by somebody out there reading this article I will tell you what one lady said regarding our prayers.  She had the honor of going into the Throne Room of Heaven and seeing Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father and the light was so bright that she had to look down.  She saw energy rays go straight to the Throne Room, and on one shaft of the light was her male relative's voice praying for her.  God chose to answer his prayer.  I tended to believe her story because she seemed to be a very credible witness.  It is amazing to me how our Father in Heaven must have a special regard for sincere earnest prayer.  At the very least it gives me a whole new prospective on my prayer life.  Sometimes it takes a while for things to settle in with me but I don't think I will ever look at prayer the same.  I prayed for somebody the other day.  Words just did not come out but God chose to answer that prayer because I believe He was looking at my heart.  If you don't know the Lord, the Bible says that God will hear your prayer.  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be Saved.  Romans 10:13.  I know a lot of this is conjecture but it does get me thinking.  If I am going to be concerned with something down here I want it to be of eternal value.  Our prospective changes when we understand this.  I appreciate the fact that I am writing to a vast audience.  Some are strict, loose, highly intelligent and some barely know anything about the subject; however, whatever category you are in I would think that this would make anybody think.
When we get Raptured, which I believe could be very soon that verse in 1 Cor. 15:55 will come to life.  "Oh death, where is thy sting?  Oh Grave where is thy victory."  At the very point that we are taken up in the Rapture we will be experiencing this reality in that blessed resurrection.  Joy will be an overflow of God's love, tears will be a healing process and I believe that we will have a  pure holy sense of humor at appropriate times that is straight from God.   As we are in Heaven when we look back on our life I believe that our suffering will have the greatest meaning to us.  Our activity, gifts and accomplishments will not have the same deep meaning in comparison to our heartaches that we suffered for Jesus Christ.  This is on a deeper level.  On a lighter note I believe that there will be animals in Heaven.  In the original model of Creation God created animals.  Why would Heaven be any different?  I find it interesting that the horses in Revelation, Chapter 19 knew exactly what to do and when to do it.  These horses speak of the majesty of Jesus Christ.  It tells me that we will be able to communicate with animals on a level that we cannot down here.
I believe that this last subject that I would like to briefly talk about merits a brand new paragraph because it is so special.  In 1 Peter 2:5, and Rev. 1:6 the Bible talks about our kingship and priesthood.  Do you remember earlier in the article I told you that there will be a learning process in Heaven?  As I read these verses in Peter and Revelation, I just get the impression that this will be a training process.  It is very difficult for me to believe that we will understand this right away.  Most people know God helps and ministers to His children but according to these verses we will be ministering unto the Person of Jesus Christ for all eternity.  I believe this will be the greatest privilege in the Universe.  We have not even scratched the surface of what we are going to be doing and experiencing forever.  The issues that we face on earth will probably not even be issues to us in Heaven because we will be living on a higher level.  This earth is not it.  Jesus Christ is more than likely just about to come.  Even a little spiritual insight about our resurrection is comforting, insightful, and wonderful but soon we will be experiencing the joys of Heaven with our loving Savior forever.
I AM SO EXCITED!!
See you soon.
Bob D.