Heaven brings different images to different minds, however the Bible gives us the true account. Our culture worships many things instead of the one true God; money, power, position, education, materialism, sports, celebrities, mysticism – all exalting ‘self’, resulting in a selfish world worshiping idols, with America leading the masses.
Someone said, “Money is a universal provider for almost everything but happiness, and a universal passport to most any place but heaven.” Job had money, status and wisdom, but he still understood that we are naked at birth and at death.
Job 1:21 ESV “And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Scripture teaches us that it is appointed unto man to die once and then stand before his Creator to give an account of the things done in his body of flesh, but man lives as though he doesn’t have to give an account to anyone, let alone his God.
Hebrews 9:27 ESV “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..”
Jesus taught that there is a White Throne Judgment Day appointed to judge the nations and unbelievers, yet many believe that they will just come back in another life to perfect what they did wrong in this one.
Matthew 25:31-46 ESV “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
God as the creator of Nations in Genesis chapter ten, is also the governor of all national leaders, especially the nation of Israel. He does exalt and abase nations according to their honor or dishonor of Him, and will bring all nations together one day to show that Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Scripture also teaches us that God disciplines man and nations as our heavenly Father and as the Governor of the nations.
Psalm 22:8 ESV “For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.”
Psalm 9:17 ESV “The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.”
Hebrews 12:5-6 ESV “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Paul taught that there is a Judgment Seat of Christ for all believers and that each believer will give an account of their words and deeds and there is no respecter of persons with God.
II Corinthians 5:10 ESV “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
Heaven isn’t saints playing harps and lying around on clouds. Saints are not summoned at the will of mediums. Angels are not our personal genies, and they are not tiny Cherubs.
The Apostle John got to see heaven and gives us a glimpse into a few things that take place there. Revelation chapter four, verses one through eleven says;
“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
John hears the voice of Jesus Christ call him up into heaven to show him what is to take place at the end of the time allocated for this earth. John sees things that are difficult to describe in earthly words, so he uses imagery to help us understand what he was seeing. By comparing Scriptures from the rest of the Bible with what John is describing, we find that He is referring to God sitting on the Throne with a group of elders from the Old and New Testaments around His throne, and that there are angels protecting the holiness of God while leading everyone in worship for all that God is and has done justly and beautifully. Everyone is humbled before the power and majesty of Him who sits on the throne.
He saw a throne with one seated on the throne. He saw twenty-four thrones around the one throne with twenty-four elders seated on them. These twenty-four were clothed in white garments, wearing golden crowns on their heads. John sees four living creatures around the throne crying out day and night, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
When these four living creatures give glory and honor and power to Him who is seated on the throne, the twenty-four elders also fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him, casting their crowns before His throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Heaven is alive with activity and that activity involves worship and praise in humble adoration to the one who created all things for His glory. God is light and dwells in a light that no man can approach unto with a mortal body of flesh, so Paul teaches us in I Corinthians chapter fifteen that Christ received a glorified body at His resurrection and those who believe in Christ will also receive a body like unto Christ’s glorified body. This mortal body cannot inherit immortality, only Christ can give us that hope through the shed blood of His cross, washing our sins away through faith in Him.
Paul teaches that in order for us to be able to partake of this heavenly experience, we have to have the same Spirit dwelling in our spirits that Jesus had dwelling in His Spirit. The power of this Holy Spirit is what will change our earthly bodies into glorious bodies that will then be able to stand before God’s brightness and Holiness without condemnation or destruction.
Romans 8:11 ESV, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
When Jesus comes back on His white horse to conquer the nations of this world as King of Kings, the very breath and Word coming forth from His mouth will cause all to bow before Him. He then will set up His governorship at Jerusalem and the whole earth will be filled with His Glory and knowledge from the least to the greatest, and from the child to the old man. (Revelation chapters 19-22)
Only by acknowledging Christ as our Lord and Savior will we be able to stand before judgment naked and without condemnation. The lack of guilt and shame while beholding the beauty of all our Heavenly Father has done for us will be just the beginning of Heaven, then time will be no more, so the beginning will never end.