Thursday, December 15, 2022, The Study of Heaven Part 1
I wanted to write on the subject of heaven. As you can see it says part 1. I don’t know how many parts there will be, but I feel it is a subject that we all need to study and understand all we can about it. I hope you will take this journey with me. I would like your opinion and you can email me at the email listed at the bottom of the lesson when posted or do it through the website where my posts are. There is a page that you can do it through.
I think about heaven: do you? The older one gets might just get one’s brain to think a wee bit more about heaven because, at some point, death will come, and then what? Do we really understand everything about right after we die and really what will take place? Not really. We have some idea if we are Christian and study the word of God, but we don’t fully know for sure. Let us investigate this subject some.
Most likely we all have lost someone we love in life to death. I have, and we, who are Christians always want to believe that the one we love and now miss is in heaven walking with Jesus. Have you ever been to someone’s funeral and the person was not a really good person (in our eyes), and the people doing the service, get up and talk like this was the nicest person who ever lived and now they are in heaven? Was Jesus their Lord and Savior? Did they know Jesus personally? I know the family and friends want to believe that everyone is up there walking with Jesus…but the truth told unless Jesus was their Lord they won’t be there. The Bible says that Jesus is the only way there. However, people don’t want to believe that someone they love or care about will miss heaven. My brain then goes to in that person’s life just how many times did they have the opportunity to know Jesus and accept Him? Were they too busy?
I don’t want my opinion…or anyone’s opinion, as to what happens after death…I only want the truth as to God’s word and what God says will happen or not happen. I want biblical answers. I want to be sure where I will end up and if I am doing something wrong in God’s sight how to fix it, and I want to know where my loved ones are as well. What was their destination? What will be my destination? Am I sure?
Since I want truth and biblical answers, I must go to the word of God to get these. Will you journey with me through this study? You, of course, like always don’t have to believe me, so I encourage you to open your Bible and study this subject for yourself. I never want to lead people wrong. Some things I will put down are my opinion and like always…it is my opinion, and you are entitled to your opinion as well. But…when it comes to what God says and His word…that is not an opinion and that you should accept as truth.
I want clarity on this subject because the context of the Bible will show me not only the truth on this subject but also declare what I need to do or change so that I am on the same page as my Lord.
To Christians, we know that Jesus will, at some point, return for His bride/the church. We also know that in the end, Jesus will return, and a new heaven and new earth will arise. We also know that the dead in Christ will rise and those Christians who have died prior will rise and meet the Lord in the air. What a sight that will be. But have we not been told that you are instantly in heaven when you die? If that were a complete statement, then there would be no need to raise the dead and meet Jesus in the air. (Don’t get off track here…I’m just talking in my brain for a moment) I personally want to know where they are, and if I were to die before Jesus’ return…where would I be. I also have been told that the dead are sleeping until that time. I also was told that to die we are present with the Lord. Present how? In body? In spirit? How???
Then I think back for a moment to when my son was killed. Oh, how I loved Him and will always miss him. He had just died and when I finally got some sleep, I felt someone in my room. It was him. He said, “Mom, it’s okay…I am just sleeping. Everything will be ok.” I know I was awake and saw him standing there and what he said to me. So, I have some mixed emotions as to where people are when they die. I can tell you that as much as I missed him, hurt by the loss of him, that statement gave me some peace. I know I don’t want to state what happened to me as truth…I want the absolute truth no matter where it takes me. Truth sets us free, not opinions, not wants or dreams.
Death of a loved one is a pain you can’t explain, but even though we all must process our feelings and they can be quite different in pain, suffering, and intensity…we will go through them at some point. We might even get mad at God for them dying (I know I did for a season, but I know God knew my heart and He knew what I was going through). I didn’t know why this beautiful young man/son…had to die. I do think that someday God will tell me why. God can handle our pain and lashing out when someone we love dies and we don’t know what to do or why it happened. God didn’t desert me when it happened, and He never has since. My soul cried then, and some days it still cries out. I know that I am so not immune to the pain still, but I do try not to think as much about it now.
I do know that my son believed in Jesus. I know I believe in Jesus, and I pray every member of my family loves the Lord and has a personal relationship with Him. I don’t one person to miss heaven. I also know that we all have a time we will die and I pray that each and every person accepts Jesus as their Lord because one second after death is one second too late.
As I said, I don’t want opinions as to heaven, what happens, what won’t happen, or where people are. I want God to explain about heaven because it is His opinion and truth that will teach me what I need to know. My prayer is that God’s word will answer my question of what will really happen when I die? I want to know the truth.
It has been years now since my son was killed yet it is like it was yesterday in my heart. I needed encouragement and direction when he died yet didn’t feel I got it. Yes, people said things they thought were comforting, but many times they were quite the opposite. They tried and I thank them for that, but my heart was shattered just like if your loved one is killed your heart is shattered as well. I needed answers and questions answered. That is the reason for this. It was a journey for me, and maybe it will be for you as well. I surely never, ever want to cause anyone more grief.
Final thought before I begin is I truly want to know about heaven, when it truly happens, what happens, what to expect, and I need God’s peace in this subject for all die and go somewhere. I experienced grief several times in my life and I don’t like it. I wanted God’s peace to understand it…I did not want opinions, nor do I want to offer you opinions. I will, however, have opinions in here, but that is what they are…my opinions. You go by, always, what God says. You ask your own questions because it is you that needs to know the truth as well.
Begin:
Do you want to go to heaven? Do you know enough to make an informed decision about Jesus in your life? Remember, Jesus is the way and no one will get there that doesn’t have Jesus in their life as Lord. How do you personally feel about the prospect of going to heaven or not making it to heaven? What are we all willing to change in our life so you can be sure that we will get there? I want to know. I want to know if I am missing something and then I want to know what I can do to change whatever is wrong in my thinking.
I write yes, but I am not a writer. I sure bet an English major I drive crazy…but God has always taken what I put on paper and somehow it works for someone. I never did really well in English…and I am sorry for that because I love to write things that honor God and help someone else. So please bear with me in this study.
When you study God’s word and want the truth, do you ever fear what you will find? I do, at times, because to find the truth and if I am not living that truth it means I change…or I face the consequences for not changing. Be honest here…what do you imagine heaven to really be like. Then after the series ask yourself that again. Was it what you thought it would be? Also in this study, we have to look back because what, or how, people talked in the Bible…they lived in a different culture, and another thing is they did not have a Bible, did not have words, and many times, to explain what they were trying to tell us. People in Bible days just didn’t have the words to explain because they didn’t and couldn’t see how far people have come (media, social media, millions of Books, but most of all the bible) So when we study the word of god we must take into account the time period they were in when they told us something, what and how it applies to us now.
On this earth, we seem to be standing still, don’t we? We can sit at our window and look out as we read the world of God and our world looks pretty still. Yet, the world is going thousands of miles an hour…can you see it? Can you feel it? We just are not always aware of the things going on around us so we don’t pay much attention. Someone, of course, that studies this thing to them it is important…but to us, we just look out and see no movement, nor do we feel that movement. If this was a subject that I wanted to learn I would truly be amazed at all that is out there. I didn’t say I did not want to know these things, and I am very grateful others study this and tell us what they find. That is my point here. I study to tell you what I learn. You can study it as well. You can believe it or reject it for that is always up to you.
Is there any value to you in using your imagination? There is for me. Imagination makes me want to learn more. Knowledge is valuable and the more we learn on a subject the more we can contribute in sharing that with someone else. The word of God says that God created the heavens and the earth. Do we believe it or try to pick it apart or makeup stories as to what we think/opinion? Why is believing in God so difficult for some people? When we truly believe the very first part of the bible…God created…then we can and should believe the rest of the word of God. Can you even imagine what the first people of the world thought…God created! Who is God? Where did He come from? What is He doing? Who is God to us? Yet, over time God revealed a lot to mankind. Well, I want to know more and more so I study to learn more. I will keep saying that I want to know the truth even when that truth doesn’t line up with what I have believed maybe all my life on any subject. imagine, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. ’Well, I love the Lord and I want to share whatever God has allowed me to share with others. Oh, the thought of heaven and the beauty that must be there…I do imagine, but as it says no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. So, no matter how beautiful my mind imagines heaven to be…my mind doesn’t even begin to comprehend what heaven will be or look like. So, onto more studying for a glimpse of heaven.
I know this first part doesn’t even begin to get into what heaven is, but I sure hope you will return and study more with me.
Now, may the God of heaven and all creation bless you, keep you, protect you, and guide you right through the gates of heaven when your time comes.
God bless you