In that incomparable place, saints will find sweet deliverance from all disappointments, heartaches, tragedies, and disasters. There will
be no more sorrow or woe. There will be no more pain. There will
be no more crying.
"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor
crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4) |
The joyful citizens I saw in heaven seemed to have come from many
different and ages and countries. Various nationalities seemed
obvious to me. Then I remembered another Scripture I had read:
And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to
take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were
slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out
of every tongue and people and nation." (Revelation 5:9)
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Excitedly, my soul praised the majesty of God! The sorrows I experienced and the grief I suffered when I saw a revelation of hell
now seemed to far away. This was a revelation of heaven.
I saw entire families together. Everybody was happy, going somewhere, doing something, smiling. A glow graced every face I
saw.
All the saints in heaven seemed to be occupied. They were constantly busy. They spent their time praising and magnifying
God. Songs were on everyone's lips. The atmosphere of music was
the dominant mood.
Eternity will not be spent in leisure and laziness, as some have mistakenly pictured our final destination. We will do more
than float on a cloud, strum a harp, or wiggle our toes in the
River of Life. Our time will be occupied in service to God. Just
what the nature of this service will be, we cannot say, but there
can be no doubt that His people will serve Him.
Immediately, we were transported to a huge place with thousands and thousands of people and heavenly beings. Oh it was beautiful.
In a little while the people seemed to fade away, and an even greater display of God's glory began to appear everywhere. The
high praises of God became thunderous.
The angelic messenger took me to the throne of God.
I saw a huge cloud, a mist, and I saw an image of the Being in the cloud. I could not see God's face, but I saw the glory of
God and a rainbow over the throne. I heard the voice of God, and
it sounded to me just as John described it: "I heard a voice from
heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud
thunder" (Revelation 14:2). In the mighty arena, I saw many
horses with riders beside the throne.
Suddenly, I saw a book lying on the huge altar in front of God's throne. I saw angels bowing before Him. Standing in awe,
I watched this scene, and saw what looked like a man's hand come
out of the cloud and open up the book.
Somehow I knew it was the hand of God that opened the book.
Amazed, I saw what looked like smoke ascending from the book. Suddenly, the most beautiful perfume I ever smelled filled the
whole area where I stood. The angel told me that this book
contains the prayers of the saints and that God was sending His
angels to earth to answer the prayers from the cries of their
hearts. Everybody was praising and magnifying God.
As God opened up the book, pages began to come out of the volume and fly into the hands of the angels on horses. I could
hear His voice, "like the voice of loud thunder," shouting and
saying, "Go, answer her prayers! Go, answer his prayers!"
"You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?
When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me.
In God (I will praise His word),
In the LORD (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
(Psalm 56:8-11)
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