A friend of mine who doesn’t attend church, but is a believer, asked me about heaven. What do you think or know about heaven? Is it a real place for you? Paul was telling the believers at Colossi that they needed to set their sights on the realities of heaven. He knew that Jesus had ascended to heaven after His resurrection. He is seated there at the right hand of God the Father.
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| Rays of light from heaven. The Light of the World shining down on us. Foley Beach near Charleston, SC. |
Pray like this: Our Father
in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Matthew 6:9 (Underlined for
emphasis.)
It is the
home of God, where there are thrones—for the Father and the Son. Note that
later thrones are mentioned for the twenty-four elders (see Revelation 4:4 and
11:6).
Look! The LORD is coming! He
leaves his throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the
earth. Micah
1:3
It is the
source of fire being sent down to altars on earth on several occasions.
Immediately the fire of the LORD
flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones,
and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! 1 Kings 18:38
David built an altar there to the
LORD and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And when David prayed,
the LORD answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn up the offering on
the altar. 1
Chronicles 21:26
Angels
are in heaven…
Beware that you don't look down on
any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always
in the presence of my heavenly Father. Matthew 18:10
The
Temple of God is in heaven with the Ark of the Covenant.
Then, in heaven, the Temple of God
was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple.
Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and
a terrible hailstorm. Revelation
11:19
The new
Jerusalem is described with the measurements and construction details in
Revelation 21.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was
also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out
of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud
shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among his people!
He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with
them." Revelation
21:1-3
A river
flows through the New Jerusalem with the Tree of Life, producing different
fruits each month. Ahh. There will be a variety of tasty foods in Heaven!
Then the angel showed me a river
with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of
the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the
river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop
each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. No longer
will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will
be there, and his servants will worship him. Revelation 22:1-3
Streets
of gold are well known. Can you imagine walking along a golden cobblestone
street? Is it just the main street—what about the other streets?
The twelve gates were made of
pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as
clear as glass.
Revelation 21:21
We have
these glimpses of heaven revealed in God’s word. What else do you think of when
you think of Heaven? Standing around God’s throne singing and worshipping Him
with a multitude of other believers? People who have near death experiences
often remark about the music of heaven. One friend of mine says that she thinks
that there will be more colors in heaven than we have here on earth. I agree
with her—although I don’t have any scripture to back up that statement.
There are books—literally lots of
books—written about heaven. One with an intriguing title, “What Happens
Next,” is by Max Lucado. We can only imagine what the Bible doesn’t
specifically tell us, yet we know it will be even more wonderful than what we
envision. We can count on that. Just imagine the beauty of the Garden of Eden
fulfilling God’s dream for mankind in the New Heaven and New Earth, with the
magnificence of New Jerusalem! Will you be there one day? Yes, if you choose
Jesus as your Savior.
Since
you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities
of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think
about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life,
and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your
life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Colossians 3:1-4
Prayer
– Lord Jesus, we have a few clues about Heaven—but we really don’t know what it
will be like. Please reveal truths and give us wisdom and understanding about
heaven. We so look forward to eternity with You in the New Heaven and New
Earth.
Meditate
on heaven. What do you think it will be like?
Verse
of Salvation ~ After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven
shouting, "Praise the LORD! Salvation and glory and power belong to our
God." Revelation
19:1
© 2025 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
Revised from Banquet With The King blog, August 6, 2024.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
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