Heaven is a place of companionship of all the redeemed of all ages. God no doubt has infinite surprises in store for us. Paul says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit” (I Cor. 2 :9 ). Think of being intimate with Peter, James, and John! Think of sitting down with these eye witnesses of stupen dous happenings and having them tell us about the transfiguration, the resurrection, the ascension. Imagine conversing with Paul and Silas; with Mary, the mother o f our Lord; with Elijah, and Daniel, and Abel, the first martyr. We shall meet the reformers, John Huss, Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, and others, as well as great evangelists of modem times: Wesley, Whitefield, Finney, Moody, Torrey. We shall see Gabriel and Michael. We shall behold a myriad of angels. Our loved ones will be there—those who have died trusting in the finished work of Calvary. I shall see my dear old mother, and you shall see yours if she was in her lifetime a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall clasp that precious hand once more and hear that well-loved voice. But, above all, we shall see the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Word of God assures us that “we shall see his face.” We are to be “ for ever with the Lord." Heaven would not be Heaven, without Him. Heaven is a place of glad reunions. The Apostle Paul comforted the Thessalonians who were sor rowing because of the death of loved ones by say ing, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4:17). How well do we remem ber the time when the hearse came for the body of one of our dear ones! We shall meet that dear one again, if he or she died in Christ. Some people ask the question, “ Shall we know each other in Heaven?” If mutual recognition were not to be had in Heaven, how could Paul say to the Thessalonians, “We . . . shall be caught up together with them [our departed dead]. . . . Wherefore comfort one another with these words” ? There would be no comfort in being caught up with our loved ones if we did not recognize them or know who they were! As Moses and Elijah were recog nized by others on the Mount of Transfiguration; as Stephen knew his Lord as he was being stoned, and as Dives in hades recognized Lazarus and Abraham, so in the life beyond the grave each o f us shall know even as also we are known. This belief in continued recognition after death has been beautifully set forth in a silent testimony. There are graven on the tombstone which marks the place where Charles Kingsley and his wife both are buried, the three Latin words, Amavimus, Amamus, Amabimus, which when translated mean, “We have loved; we love; we shall love.” Such was THE KING'S BUSINESS
PART III WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HEAVEN b y L o u i s T . T a l b o t wbac is lieaven ? The Bible never discusses Heaven theoretically, but always from a practical point o f view. Reflec tions upon Heaven are never a waste of time. Rather do they provide a moral force for our prac tical life upon this earth. A true believer, longing for Heaven, is never too heavenly-minded to be of no earthly use! The Biblical description of Heaven is made up of an array of positives and negatives. More is said of what is not in Heaven, than of what is to be there. For example, John gives us a list of “no mores.” Heaven is made up of the absence of many elements that characterize our life on earth. There will be no more pain, no more night, no more sor row, no more crying, no more curse, no more tears, and no more death. Seeing that all the former ad versities cannot enter that holy place to mar the bliss of the redeemed, every true Christian longs to be there. Summarizing the teaching of Scripture regard ing the exact nature of Heaven, the following as pects may prove to be helpful: Heaven is a place of inexpressible beauty. It is called a place of “many mansions,” “a building of God, an house not made with hands,” “a city,” “ a better country,” “an inheritance,” “glory.” Our God is a God of beauty. This world must have been very beautiful when it first came from the hand of God. Although sin has come in and brought chaos and the blight of death to everything, still there remains some evidence o f the original glory. But the New Jerusalem never will know sin and its fruits. It will be perfect in form and splendor. John was granted a glimpse of it one day from his lone ly island of Patmos, and he tried to describe what he saw. But no human words could portray the magnificence that he beheld. 26
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