Have you ever wondered what heaven is like?
Heaven the place where God lives. What a beautiful thought where God lives. If you want to find out about heaven you only need to read the last book of the Bible Revelation to find out what it is like and how beautiful it truly is.
There are many religions and many different faiths and all do not believe the same about God, heaven, hell and the afterlife. But if you believe the Bible is the word of God and believe what was written then you will find the truth.
The kingdom of heaven based on scriptural evidence taken from The New Adventure Bible New International Version is like as described by Apostle John a disciple of Jesus who wrote the last book of the Bible Revelation around A.D. 90 in Patmos, Revelation which is a book of prophecy and it was written for all Christians to tell them about a vision John had about Jesus and what was to come to pass.
John wrote of his vision in Revelation and told this story:
Revelation 21: 1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
We know from this passage that in our new heaven there will be no sea. But we do know there will be a river with the water of life in heaven John states in Revelation 22: 1-4 Then the angel showed me the river of water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Revelation 21: 3-4
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
John writes of what heaven is like:
Revelation 21: 11-21
It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia (about 1,400 miles) in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits (about 200 feet) thick or high, by man’s measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second, sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
What a beautiful picture John has painted for us to see what heaven really looks like.
As compared to this present life:
Our present life is much different then the picture John the disciple has painted for us about our future in heaven with God.
As it sits we have hunger, disease, and death, we live among (Revelation 21: 8) cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars.
None of these people will be in heaven with God according to the Bible Revelation 21: 8 their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
The faithful few who do make it will reap the rewards of being with God in heaven without sin and sinners.
Living with God will be a wondrous thing for all who dwell in heaven. God will bring peace, happiness and harmony to all who live in heaven with him.
Revelation 21: 4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Revelation 21: 6-7
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Revelation 21: 23
The city does not need the sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Our every hope will be fulfilled because:
There will be no more suffering, no more pain and no more death and we will be with God.
The best things about heaven:
According to the Bible 2 Peter 3:12-13 “As you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, home of righteousness.
The best thing about heaven to look forward to is that we will finally be with God not only in spirit but in body as well.
1 Corinthians 15:35-44
But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
Being with God in heaven we will be able to talk to him and he will talk with us. We will be able to touch our maker.
Entering the kingdom of heaven:
It will not be easy to enter the kingdom of heaven with God and many people will miss out because of their bad decisions while here on earth. Revelation 21: 8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death”
Mark 10: 29-30
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them, persecution) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Reference Resources:
The New Adventure Bible New International Version (Zondervan Publishing House Grand Rapids, Michigan 1984)
