“Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’ And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: ‘Blessings and honor and glory and power belong to the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:11-13 NLT)
In a conversation I had with a friend who is nearly 91 years old, she told me about a visit with her 35-year-old grandson recently. She loves the Lord will all her heart and still teaches a women’s group at her church, but she lives in constant pain and was suffering severely when she mused in his presence: “Sometimes I wonder if there even is a heaven!”
“Oh, grandma,” her grandson responded. “How could you even think that? Don’t you remember when I was 4 years old, I got that disease that caused me to die? They said there was no hope for me, and I died, my heart stopped and they couldn’t get me back for a while. I went to heaven and stood at that huge gate. Even though I was only four I remember it like it was yesterday. The Man at the gate said to me: ‘You go back home now; your Grandmother Alice needs you.’ The Man at the gate knew your name and is expecting you. How in the world can you say there’s no heaven!”
We must understand that as born again, blood bought, saved and secured children of God our names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life and the “Man” at the Gate knows our name and is expecting us. To not be secure in our understanding that this earth is not all there is, is to doubt the very purpose of Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the grave.
If this life is all there is, we are above all most to be pitied. Jesus made it clear in John 14:1-3: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.” Jesus doesn’t lie, He CAN’T lie, He’s incapable of lying because He’s the embodiment of all Truth.
Satan, on the other hand, can’t tell the truth, is incapable of telling the truth, thus the father of lies. Any question of whether heaven is real originates from Satan himself in an effort to deceive and discourage us. We need go no further than the words of Jesus to affirm with certainty that heaven is a real place, with real people, governed by a real God who is alive, loves us, and has wonderful eternal plans for us.
The whole Book of Revelation explores in more detail the facts of Christ’s return and gives us glimpses of what heaven will be like. As believers in the Lord Jesus our responsibility is to prepare, to be ready when He calls us, whether in death or at His return, either of which could be at any second. We must not postpone any act of kindness, ministry pursuit, or outreach endeavor, waiting for a more suitable time. Today IS the most suitable time to serve the Lord by following His directives whatever that may look like for each of us.
Jesus is Lord, we’re all sinners in need of a Savior, and for those of us who have yielded our life and allegiance to Jesus, heaven is real and the Lord has secured our place there by His blood. You can believe it with certainty and without doubt.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 