heaven

i can only imagine.

Jesus never described it. In His parables, He described how it operated, what it was like.

This passage gives us a clue:

Revelation 21:10-27 (NIV)

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 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 in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. 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 agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, 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 gold, as pure as transparent glass.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

sunshine100 said:

What do you think or imagine heaven to look like?

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Revelation 21

The New Jerusalem

9Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at the gates. 13There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west. 14The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and its walls. 16The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadiad in length and width and height.17And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits,e by the human measure the angel was using.

18The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate consisting of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, as pure as transparent glass.

22But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.23And the city has no need for sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory.f 25Its gates will never be shut at the end of the day, because there will be no night there.

26And into the city will be brought the glory and honor of the nations. 27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

That is a magnificent part of John's vision, maintenance man, but I sure hope it is symbolic because it sort of negates everything else in the New Testament.

Consider the last line: "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."

Which pretty much means no human who has ever lived can qualify to be there. It will be a really empty place.

Heaven is not for the unblemished pure or those who have never done anything shameful or deceitful. Heaven is for the redeemed--those of us who have fallen short and are unworthy, but who God loves anyway. God sent the Son who took our sin upon Himself and took our place on the Cross. So while that passage in Revelation is beautiful and elegant, I take it to mean that Heaven will be really REALLY wonderful, though probably not quite like that passage.

I hope Heaven has horses and dogs and cats and flowers and lemon meringue pie and meaningful work that is a joy to do. But whatever it is, I imagine it to be as wonderful as John's vision.

sunshine100 said:

What do you think or imagine heaven to look like?

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The apostle John was privileged to see and report on the heavenly city (Revelation 21:10-27). John witnessed that heaven (the new earth) possesses the “glory of God” (Revelation 21:11), the very presence of God. Because heaven has no night and the Lord Himself is the light, the sun and moon are no longer needed (Revelation 22:5).

The city is filled with the brilliance of costly stones and crystal clear jasper. Heaven has twelve gates (Revelation 21:12) and twelve foundations (Revelation 21:14). The paradise of the Garden of Eden is restored: the river of the water of life flows freely and the tree of life is available once again, yielding fruit monthly with leaves that “heal the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2). However eloquent John was in his description of heaven, the reality of heaven is beyond the ability of finite man to describe (1 Corinthians 2:9).

maintenance man said:

i can only imagine.

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I believe their is a song like that isn't their??? Lol

It will have my log cabin by a lake where the Crappie and Bass are huge and my deer stand will have big ole buck rubs all around it and the biscuits will be the size of dinner plates.

sunshine100 said:

I love that song

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Me too, It is awesome

We've only been given a glimpse of what Heaven will be like in scripture. But, I personally believe it will be exactly like the earth, expect perfect, glorified and without sin. The city of God is described as not having any sea, and not needing the light from the sun or moon. But out side the city, I'm sure there are oceans, nations, etc.

There will be countless things to do in Heaven, places to explore, things to learn, hobbies to enjoy, and jobs to have. Whatever you enjoy doing on earth, will most likely reflect what you'll be doing in Heaven for eternity. I can imagine there being holidays and seasons, sports and competitions, mansions, etc., and everything would be done in love and worship to God almighty. Everything will be perfect, and Heaven's residents will know the fullness of joy, peace and excitement. We'll also have a companion to spend eternity with, as well as family and friends to fellowship with who also accepted Christ. And of course, we'll be united with Jesus forever (which is what makes it Heaven in the first place), and will never experience pain, suffering or separation from God ever again. Scars, regrets and painful memories from the past will be washed away, and everything will be set the way it was supposed to be, as if we had never sinned. It will be a restoration of how things were before the fall, except greater.

Just my opinion, based on my understanding of scripture.