By Staff
Many things are described as a little bit of heaven here and now. Those descriptions include rest, ease, peace, floating around on a cloud, etc.
Visions of heaven are very positive as they should be, but God gives us some previews of heaven in the Bible that are somehow neglected as we picture eternal life with God.
There are two specific descriptions of heaven: one in the Old Testament book of Isaiah and the other in Revelation. In Isaiah, chapter 6, verses 1-4, the prophet Isaiah said, "I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke." Isaiah was obviously given a vision to see what he described.
The second description of heaven was given by the apostle John in Revelation, chapter 4, verses 1-8. John saw the throne in verse 2 and the flying creatures in verses 6-9. These creatures also had six wings and they were saying the same thing: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
The apostle Paul relates in 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 2-4, that he was caught up to the third heaven and saw and heard things that were inexpressible, but even though Paul was not as specific as Isaiah and John, the epistles written by Paul reveal the impact of this visit to heaven.
These pictures of heaven reveal several things. First, God desires to reveal Himself and show us where and how He lives. Jesus spoke of going back to God in John, chapter 14, verse 2. He spoke of the mansions (KJV) and the glory of them. Jesus always spoke of heaven as a place He longed to be.
The second thing we see is the worship in Heaven. Creatures created by God to worship Him. In Revelation, chapter 4, verse 8, we are told "day and night they never stop saying…" This was continual worship. Regardless of everything else going on, these creatures never stopped extolling the holiness, the power, and the eternal nature of God.
Paul's theme, when he exhorted us in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 16, is "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." He was likely prompted by what he saw when he was caught up to heaven.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He communicated often with His Heavenly Father. During those times of prayer, it is likely that Jesus was looking right into heaven seeing the worship and majesty there, and gaining strength for His earthly mission to go to the cross and die to redeem sinful man.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew, chapter 6. One phrase in the prayer in verse 10 is, "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." As we pray that prayer given by Jesus for all His followers, we must live with regard to being holy like God is holy and with our life filled with worship, continually.
Having a biblical view of heaven should lift us above our circumstances on earth. As bad as it could be here, and is in some parts of our world, a genuine believer in Christ has the sure hope of heaven. That hope fills our heart with love and worship, and motivates us to live holy lives. That is what heaven on earth looks like.