“ ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him (Jesus).’ But God has, through the Spirit, let us share his secret. For nothing is hidden from the Spirit, not even the deep wisdom of God. For who could really understand a man’s inmost thoughts except the spirit of the man himself? How much less could anyone understand the thoughts of God except the very Spirit of God? And the marvellous thing is this, that we now receive not the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God himself, so that we can actually understand something of God’s generosity towards us.”
(1 Corinthians 2:9-12 referencing Isaiah 64:4)
Recently, I woke up about 4:00 am, and was thinking about Heaven, and what the Bible says about it. If you have not read the Book of Revelation lately, you’re missing a lot. A lot of trouble for those who do not love Jesus, but also a huge number of amazing-beyond-imagination promises for those who do love Jesus!
Do you enjoy vacations? Getting a break of a week or two from the mundane and the busy. Less responsibilities, and much less stress. Finally able to rest, your spirit, your soul, your body. It is a blessing to have such times. It often can be expensive. Sometimes it takes so long to finally arrive, and then it ends far to soon. Right?
Well the great news is… You are invited to enjoy something far better, beyond your imagination, which will last forever. It is a free gift to you, but there is a condition. (sounds like a time-share commercial to me right now). The condition is that you love Jesus. OK, so that’s it? Well, Jesus is asking for your friendship and that’s a commitment to believe that He is God’s Son. He said we need to be “born again” to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. His Kingdom will make Walt Disney World look like a dump.
No Sickness, Death, Mental Illness, Poverty, Pain, Sorrow, War, Lockdowns, Forest Fires, … in Heaven!
There are unbelievably great perks that come with being invited into God’s Kingdom. For one thing, it lasts forever. No time limit, no need to take out a loan to pay for it. You will never get sick ever again. That’s been rampant in this world lately, right? How about continual joy and peace. No more depression or anxiety about your life, your family, what is going on in our world these days? What about rest from labour. Do you sometimes feel like life is just working, caring for your family or self, sleeping and then starting over? Hilda expressed this during a time in our family life when the routine was like that. Do you want to hear a bit more about the Kingdom of Heaven? There’s a city named New Jerusalem that sounds amazing. I want to be part of that. Here is some of what the Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation…
“Then I saw a new Heaven and a new earth, for the first Heaven and the first earth had disappeared and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride dressed in beauty for her husband. Then I heard a great voice from the throne crying, “See! The home of God is with men, and he will live among them. They shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more, and never again shall there be sorrow or crying or pain. For all those former things are past and gone. Then he who is seated upon the throne said, “See, I am making all things new!” And he added, “Write this down for my words are true and to be trusted!” ” (Revelation 21:1-5 Phillips).
Love that there will be no more sorrow or crying or pain. That is the utopia man has wished for since the world began, and it is actually what God has prepared for those who love Him. It’s not an impossible dream. But, mankind cannot make this happen. The more man tries to create his version of utopia, the worse the world becomes – more dictatorial, controlling, chaotic and evil.
Here’s more about New Jerusalem. God invites you to join Him there in your future home…
“Then he carried me away in spirit to the top of a vast mountain, and pointed out to me the city, the holy Jerusalem, descending from God out of Heaven, radiant with the glory of God. Her brilliance sparkled like a very precious jewel with the clear light of crystal. Around her she had a vast and lofty wall in which were twelve gateways with twelve angels at the gates. There were twelve names inscribed over the twelve gateways, and they are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. On the east there were three gateways, on the north three gateways, on the south three gateways and on the west three gateways. The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on these were engraved the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:10-14).
“The wall itself was built of translucent stone, while the city was of purest gold, with the brilliance of glass. The foundation stones of the wall of the city were fashioned out of every kind of precious stone. The first foundation-stone was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth cornelian, the seventh goldstone, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth green goldstone, the eleventh zircon, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The street of the city was purest gold gleaming like glass.” (Revelation 21:18-21).
“I could see no Temple in the city, for the Lord, the Almighty God, and the Lamb are themselves its Temple. The city has no need for the light of sun or moon, for the splendour of God fills it with light and its radiance is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. The city’s gates shall stand open day after day—and there will be no night there. Into the city they will bring the splendours and honours of the nations.” (Revelation 21:22-26).
God Made Heaven For Us – The Lake of Fire (Hell) For The Devil and His Demons – But We Get to Choose Who We Spend Eternity With
I can hardly wait. It won’t take place immediately after I leave my earthly body. It will come when God has finished His work on this earth, and Jesus is established as King of a new Heaven and Earth. But it won’t be long now.
OK, sounds great, but what about the condition? Well here it is…
“But nothing unclean, no one who deals in filthiness and lies, shall ever at any time enter it—only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27).
The Lamb’s book of life? What’s that? How do I get my name written in there?
The Bible says there is going to be a Final Judgment by God of every one of us. Every human who has ever lived on earth since Creation. We will all be judged, not only by what we did or didn’t do, but whether we loved and believed in Jesus, God’s Son. Believing and receiving Jesus as your Saviour, by being “born again” is required to have your name written in the Lamb’s (Jesus’) book of life.
Jesus replied, “With all the earnestness I possess I tell you this: Unless you are born again, you can never get into the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 TLB)
If you confess your sins, He will forgive your sins and make you ready to join Him in New Jerusalem. That is the condition. Here is what Revelation says…
“And then I saw a great white throne, and one seated upon it from whose presence both earth and sky fled and vanished. (that would be God the Father’s presence). Then I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books concerning what they had done. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up the dead which were in them. And men were judged, each according to what he had done. Then death and the grave were themselves hurled into the lake of fire, which is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15).
Our life is made up of choices. God gives us free will to do this every day.
We choose what to eat, we choose how to spend our time, we choose who we want to be our friend, we choose to get out of bed and go to school or work (well maybe you feel like you have no choice about that one, lol). God did not make us robots, who only do as they are programmed. No, He wants all of us to decide whether we will choose to love Him, which also means we choose to do what pleases Him. He said if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. The rewards are beyond our imagination. Think New Jerusalem, and there is far more than we can imagine. That is what God offers to share with us in His Kingdom, with those who choose to believe and love Him and His Son, Jesus.
Maybe you rarely think about this. Maybe you’ve never taken time to consider Jesus. Realize, first, that God loves You so much, He wants You with Him where He is. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for You, to take away Your sins. Nothing sinful will ever enter God’s Kingdom. None of us will ever qualify based our own good deeds. One sin and we are disqualified from living with God. But Jesus died for us, to pay for the penalty of our sins. Believing in Jesus and accepting His free gift of salvation, means the punishment for our sins is paid for by Jesus blood, at His death on the cross. When we confess our sins and accept Jesus as our Saviour, we become sinless in God’s eyes. Jesus paid our sin debt, but we must receive Him as Saviour. That rescues us from eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire and qualifies us for the spectacular, eternal life in Heaven that God has prepeared for those who love Him.
You can become a “child of God” today, thanks to what Jesus did for you. Pray – talk to God who hears you – and sincerely mean your prayer…
“Yes, Jesus. I believe You are God’s Son. I believe You died for my sins and want me to be with You in Your Kingdom someday. I confess that I am a sinful person. Please forgive me for all of my sins. Cover them with Your blood, Jesus, so that God the Father sees Me as sinless. Come live in my heart today, Jesus!!”
The Bible promises, “But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.” (1 John 1:9 TLB)
If you prayed this just now, then your name will be written in the Lamb’s (Jesus’) book of life. Is that awesome or what? You are now going to be one of those chosen to live with Jesus someday. Jesus will come to live in your heart, by His Holy Spirit (Holy Spirit is Jesus without limits – He is everywhere at once). The Holy Spirit will begin to change your heart, to make you ready for life with Jesus in Heaven. The Holy Spirit will make you more like Jesus, day by day, during your life down here on earth.
I truly hope you made this decision today to ask Jesus to forgive your sins and come live in your heart. If you have made it already in the past, that is awesome. Your name will be in the Lamb’s book of life. I will meet you someday in Heaven, and check out your mansion. Welcome to God’s family.
Let me know if you’ve made this decision in the comments or send me an email. If you made this decision just now, as a result of reading this post, and want to know more about living for Jesus, please message me privately. I would love to encourage you in your new life with Jesus.
Jesus loves you sooo much,
Your friend,
Harold
