“To go to Heaven (fully to enjoy God) is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.” (Jonathan Edwards)
Soon after a Christian
dies:
1. Your soul will be ushered by angels to Heaven-Later, Lazarus died. The angels took him and placed him
in the arms of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. (Luke 16:22,
Easy-to-Read Version)
2. You
immediately enter God’s presence- We live with a joyful confidence, yet at the
same time we take delight in the thought of leaving our bodies behind to be at
home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8, the Passion Translation)
3. You are
conscious and in command of your thinking, feelings, speech, and memories- One day poor Lazarus died and the angels of God came
and escorted his spirit into Paradise. … Lazarus dwells in the comforts of
Paradise …
(Luke 16:22, 25 the Passion Translation)
4. You
participate in magnificent worship with angels and other Christians before the
throne of God-The one sitting there was as beautiful as
precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow
with clear colors like an emerald. (Revelation 4:3, Easy-to-Read Version)
Then I heard every created being that is in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in all these places,
saying, “All praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever to the one
who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 5:13, Easy-to-Read
Version)
5. You are
aware to some degree of activities and events on Earth-The Lamb opened the
fifth seal. Then I saw some souls under the altar. They were the souls of those
who had been killed because they were faithful to God’s message and to the
truth they had received. These souls shouted in a loud voice, “Holy
and true Lord, how long until you judge the people of the earth and punish them
for killing us?” (Revelation
6:9-10, International Children’s Bible)
6. You will
recognize and communicate with other Christians who preceded you to Heaven-[Moses and Elijah] appeared
in heavenly glory talking with Jesus about his death which would happen in
Jerusalem. Peter and the others were asleep. But they woke up and
saw the glory of Jesus. They also saw the two men who were standing with Him. (Luke
9:31-32, International Children’s Bible)
7. You will
live in shared housing (of some kind) with other Christians, and eat from a
tree with twelve different fruits on it-My Father’s home is designed to accommodate all of you.
If there were not room for everyone, I would have told you that. I am going to
make arrangements for your arrival. (John 14:2, the Voice)
8. Flowing down the middle and dividing the street of the
holy city, [and]
on each bank of the river stood the tree
of life, firmly planted, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and producing its
sweet crop every month throughout the year. And
the soothing leaves that grew on the tree of life provided
precious healing for the nations. (Revelation 22:2, the Voice)
9. You will not
experience the passing of time (or the changing of seasons) in Heaven- Don’t forget this fact, dear friends: With the
Lord a single day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a
single day. (2
Peter 3:8, International Standard Version)
“The way you store
up treasure in Heaven is by investing in getting people there.” (Rick Warren)[i]
[i] This post was adapted from an anonymous Facebook newsfeed item my wife received
on August 27, 2021.
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