HEAVEN: RESURRECTION OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN!

BIBLE PASSAGE:
And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb
shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him. They will see his face, and
his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will
not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will
give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
(Revelation 22:3-5)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever spent any time thinking about what Heaven will be
like, and what the saints will be doing? Try to imagine a place where
everyone loves and encourages one another and there is no dishonesty,
crime, drama, hidden agendas, etc.

Some may think it will be a boring place, but it will be quite the opposite
because God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit will be there.
We will no longer have to live under the curse that was the consequence
of the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden.

That ‘curse’ (described in Genesis 3:16-19) included sorrow and pain in
childbirth for women; friction between the sexes; the necessity of hard
(and often futile) work for man to acquire sustenance; and worst of all,
death.

This ‘curse’ can generate all kinds of disharmony and problems. For one
thing, people cannot enjoy life as it should be due to an all-consuming
fear and worry about death. If not their own death, there is often concern
about the possibility of death for loved ones.

However in Heaven, the ‘curse’ will be replaced with
    “the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it”.
It is a throne of righteousness, but also a throne of grace.
There, on the throne of the Almighty, mercy reigns. That
throne is the throne of the Lamb, as well as the throne of
God.

Heaven will be a place of work and service for God’s people. Heaven
is not a place of lethargic leisure, but a place where there is enjoyable
service centering on God. It is a picture of the blessed enjoyment of
service, rather than an arduous, curse-stained toiling effort.

Heaven will be a place where God’s people will see His face; a place
of intimate, face to face fellowship with God. Moses was denied the
privilege of seeing God face to face (Exodus 33:20-23), but everyone
in Heaven will see His face.

Because of Jesus, we can know something of the face of God right now.
It is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, and it is God
who can shine in our own hearts. Paul anticipated a greater fulfillment
of our seeing the face of God.
    For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.
    Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am
    also known.
    (1 Corinthians 13:12)

In that day there will be nothing that obscures our vision of Jesus.
We will see Jesus clearly because sin is done away with. We will
see Jesus clearly because care and worry are done away with. We
will see Jesus clearly because idols are done away with.

The greatest glory of Heaven will be to know God and Jesus more
intimately and wonderfully than we could ever know them on earth.
All the saints in Heaven will have more knowledge of Christ than
even the most gifted individual on the earth below.

Heaven will be a place where God’s people will forever be identified
with their God, and there will never be any doubt that they belong to
Him. Heaven will be a place where the darkness of this age will be
forever gone. And, the light in Heaven is not artificial, because God
Himself is the light.

Heaven will be a place where God’s people will enjoy eternity, in
contrast to the limited duration of earthly time. It will never end.
The Bible indicates Heaven is as a place of great understanding
and knowledge of things that we never learned on earth. Many
of the mysteries of God will be revealed in Heaven.

Sir Isaac Newton, when an old man,
said to one who praised his wisdom,
    “I am as a child on the seashore picking up a pebble
     here and a shell there, but the great ocean of truth
     still lies before me.”
And Thomas Edison once said,
    “I do not know one millionth part of one percent about anything.”

ACTION:
Heaven is where our resurrected Savior is! When we believe
in Him, and commit to following Him, we will be resurrected
to be with Him, for eternity. It can be overwhelming to think
of the blissfulness we will experience day after day as we live
in the presence of Jesus!
    “For if we have been united with him in a death like his,
     we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection
     like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with
     him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,
     that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone
     who has died has been set free from sin.”
‭‭      (Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭7)‬

Heaven is not a fictional place in a fictional book. It is a real
place where the saints of God will spend eternity. It is a place
that should be the desire of everyone on earth. Heaven is the
antithesis of hell.

Are you making plans for Heaven becoming your new home,
or, are you still focused on pleasing your own earthly desires?
Don’t allow God’s free gift of salvation to slip through your
fingers. Surrender to Him today and start a new life of serving
Him now, in anticipation of your own resurrection.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promises for all who
surrender their lives to You. Forgive me for the areas of my
life I have not surrendered to You. I believe in Your Son,
Jesus, and my desire is to spend eternity with You and Him.
My excitement grows whenever I think about the joy of
Heaven and being in Your presence. Show me the spiritual
gift you have given me, and teach me how to serve You now.”

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