A Place Prepared for You
What will it be Like?
The Bible Describes it as Paradise in Luke 23:43
Billy Graham wrote a great description:
Heaven for the Christian will be a place of glorious life that will never end. Joy inexpressible, limitless peace, pure love, beauty beyond description—that’s what heaven is. Greatest of all will be the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, with whom we will enjoy fellowship forever. Loved ones who have known and loved the Lord will be there. Revelation 21:2 says, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Mr. Graham has written: “Heaven will be a place in which its inhabitants will be freed from the fears and insecurities that plague and haunt us in the present life. No energy crisis there … Free from the economic and financial pressures that burden us down here. Free from the fear of personal and physical harm … No fear of personal failure … Our relationship with Him will be intimate and direct. I’m looking forward to that glorious day of going to heaven.
“Heaven will be what we have always longed for. It will be the new social order that men dream of. All the things that have made earth unlovely and tragic will be absent in heaven. There will be no night, no death, no disease, no sorrow, no tears, no ignorance, no disappointment, no war. It will be filled with happiness, worship, love, and perfection.
Heaven will be a place to challenge the creative genius of the unfettered mind of redeemed man.” Revelation 21:4 says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
I personally believe that as we all long for heaven after this life, that God has given us heaven on earth as well. Since Christ defeated and bound satan, we live in victory! We live now with our King on the throne, guiding and leading us on His path. Our burdens are light and temporary knowing we are victorious, death may sting but we know eternal life awaits us. Know that the kingdom that is coming is being built now, and you can be part of it!
Where Is It?
They were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:16)
Heaven is a real physical place that is prepared for those that accept it. Many believe it is earth made new, some believe it is somewhere else that God is preparing for us, or has prepared. Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3)
In Hebrews 11:10 it says of Abraham, "he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
Some have a misconception of heaven and think it is a boring place where we are all just floating around with not much to do. But as you read through scripture you find something way different. Just look at the creation, before the fall, the earth was beautiful, lacking in nothing. They worked the land and enjoyed communion with God.
I personally believe heaven will be as earth was intended. With billions of people, loving life, with purpose and desires that are fulfilled with God's love radiating throughout, knowing and worshiping God as His Spirit flows and His Son once again dwells among us. There will be angels singing so glorious we can't even imagine, and those tears we have now will be turned into joy and happiness as His light will shine down on us all.
When Do We Go?
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:8, that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
We see when Lazarus died in one of Jesus's teachings (Luke 16:19-31) that he was in the bosom of Abraham. Comfort and peace in the heavenly place. And when the thief on the cross cried out to Christ to forgive him, He replied that today you will be with me in paradise. So we can rest assured that when we die we do not face death, but enter into the presence of our Lord. We are not sure if that is the final eternal kingdom yet but we do know that it is a place of peace and paradise.
As far as the eternal Kingdom it says in 1st Thessalonians 4:17 regarding Christ's 2nd coming, "Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
So there seems to be a place we go when we die of peace and paradise with Christ our Lord, but then there will be a time when He will return to judge the nations. At that time He will separate His bride, the church, from those that denied Him, and usher us into the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. There will be those that have already fallen asleep and those that are still alive that will all meet at once to glorify our King Jesus, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.
The Bible makes clear that there is only one way to heaven, and that is through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus paid for our sins through His death on the cross. God offers us the free gift of friendship with Him in this life and eternal life in heaven when we die if we will but turn from sin, and trust in Jesus as our Savior and Lord. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved …” (Acts 16:30).