I have read lots of books about heaven and watched lots of YouTube videos about near death experiences. Somehow I need to know where my husband is now and where I will go one day. (This is an aside, but that day can come anytime. I am ready to go).
It has struck me how impossible it is for our limited minds to grasp the spiritual realities of eternity. Our bodies weigh us down. Our minds are clouded. We see through a scratched, steamed up mirror.
Griefshare, which has produced a lot of really helpful, Christian resources for grieving people, circulated this message about heaven (mostly out of Revelation)**:
The reality of heaven is going to far surpass anything you can imagine now. Revelation 21 describes the heavenly city—a city so magnificent and vast that you can hardly comprehend it.
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. . . . 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. . . . 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. (11-12, 18-21, 23)
The walls will be over 200 feet thick. Each of the four sides of the city will be approximately 1,400 miles long:
"I figured it out one time—396,000 stories high and one half the size of the United States," says Dr. Erwin Lutzer.
I have read (and can recommend) these books:
Heaven is For Real - Todd Burpo (there are a few good videos on Youtube about Colton's visit to heave)
90 Minutes in Heaven - Don Piper
Revealing Heaven - Kat Kerr (she is a prophetic seer, so her vision of heaven is not the result of a near death experience)
I have also read a number of other books which frustrated me (Such as Dr Mary Neal and Dr Eben Alexander). Near Death Experiences abound, and there seems to be a number of recent stories circulating from people who have been to a place of bright light and great joy, but they don't GET IT. They don't come back with a clear vision of Jesus, resolving to live for Him.
A few videos on Youtube have been helpful to me as well, and I can recommend them.
Howard Storm
Mickey Robinson
Akiane Makariak (she is a child with a beautiful gift who has painted her visions of heaven, including images of Jesus that have a huge impact).
Our citizenship is in heaven.
My husband lives there now. He is at peace.
If only I could keep my focus on things above. It is hard to do when life is so heavy, grief so hard and things seem to weigh me down.
At times I can feel the whisper of the angel's wings. I have even "seen" them (not like I see things on earth, but with a spiritual sense that I can't describe) as they stand guard over me and my daughter. At times a hand has touched my heart with warmth and healing. I have also "seen" the Lord as He walks beside me. A few times I have thought my husband was whispering my name or calling "sweetie" like he used to.
I know these things sound crazy. They aren't the experiences that some have had, but they are very precious.
Relationship with Jesus is the only way forward, the only way we can get to heaven. He walks with me through it all, no matter what.
It is hard to be left alone in this life, and I feel lost at times. But heaven is real as real can be and that's where I'm heading. I hope you will come with me!
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