Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24: 30, 31, NKJV.
Dear God, we are so joyful at the thought of You returning to earth. We are so glad to know that because You are a God of love, we can look forward to Your return with hope. As the signs all around us announce the proximity of Your return, our prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ is, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22: 20b)!
I have written devotionals about this topic on different occasions. The majority of times, the emphasis has been on the signs that indicate the nearness of His coming. On this occasion, I would like to talk about some of the things I believe heaven will have in store for us. Notice I said, the things I believe. Because, “as it is written: ‘ “ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” ‘ ” (1 Corinthians 2: 9). We can at least imagine.
Many look forward to the return of Jesus with mixed feelings. Some are downright afraid of the event. And then there are those, who are in a covenant relationship of love, with the Lord, who look forward to that day, with “joy unspeakable and full of glory!” I believe that one of the tools of the Adversary, is for us to dread the coming of the Lord. And if we do not dread it, at the very least, we do not look forward to it. We often think of heaven as a place where we will have wings, a robe, and a harp. I believe that most people would not look forward to heaven, if that was all heaven was about.
When I think about heaven, I envision fulfillment at it’s best! I believe that all the dreams of real greatness and excellence, that we have cherished through the years, will be realized in heaven. When I was growing up, sometimes during the summer, the church would conduct evangelistic meetings in a big tent. One of the favorite songs during those meetings was: “There is no disappointment in heaven” (F. M. Leham). That, in a nutshell is how I would summarize heaven: as a place where disappointment cannot exist, because God Himself, and the Lamb will be there, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. . . . And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him” (Revelation 21: 3; 22: 3). Emphasis supplied.
I think of heaven as a place of perfect peace! We will never have to worry about receiving any bad news. There will be no abuse. No child will go astray. There will be no possibility of becoming homeless, jobless, or abandoned. No one will be lonely. There will be no gossipers in heaven to cause problems between friends and family. There will be no transgressors in heaven, so there will be no threat of war! Peace will be the order of the day.
There will be complete freedom in heaven. There will be no legalists there; because all who are saved will know beyond any reasonable doubt that we have been “saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it [was] the gift of God; not of works,” so there will be no boasting in heaven (Ephesians 2: 8,9)!
There will be perfect righteousness in heaven. All the saved know, from their experience on earth, that, “we were created for good works” (Ephesians 2: 10). This has been their way of life during their journey on earth – and has become a part of their character – the only thing that we will take to heaven.
I have tried to talk about heaven. But as usual, I lack the knowledge, and the vocabulary, to put into words a place much too glorious to imagine, and far too sublime to describe! Suffice me to say, that, Jesus will be there – and that will be heaven for me!
Praise God – it is almost time for the Lord to come! By God’s grace, let us be ready!