The unknown place called heaven

“For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.” – John 6:38, nlt

Writing of heaven, C.S. Lewis wrote, “Has this world been so kind to you that you should live with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave be- hind.” Life as you know it now is as bad as it ever gets, provided you are God’s child.

The Bible speaks of heaven over 400 times; however, we know so little about it and think of it so seldom. Jesus said candidly that He had come from heaven and He was returning there when His work was done on earth (see John 6:38, John 14:1-6).

The youngest of the 12 who walked with Jesus was eventually exiled to a small, remote island in the Aegean known as Patmos. Should you visit there, you will find a church, yes, and in the church a cave darkened with the soot of two millennia of candles.

Here God revealed to John what heaven will be like – magnificent beyond description. He wrote of streets of gold, gates of pearl and a vast host of believers from every nation on the face of the Earth.

Then, realizing it’s hard to fathom a golden street or the magnificence of what was revealed, John told us what is not in heaven – no night, no suffering, no occasion to say “goodbye” to a beloved friend or mother, never will a baby be snatched from your arms and never will you encounter evil as is rampant in our world to- day.

When I go somewhere I have never been before, as I often do, I always want to know, What’s it like? What is the weather, the customs of the people there, the geography? I also want to know just what to expect. The Bible answers those questions. Find out for yourself. You are in for a joyous surprise!

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Used with permission from Guidelines International Ministries. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, send an e-mail to [email protected]. You may also visit www.guidelines.org.