Heaven: A Positive Perspective
Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever. Rev. 22:1-5, RSV.
Eden restored is the best way to describe the re-created earth on which the redeemed from all ages will spend eternity. And the best thing about it will be the presence of Jesus Himself. He may be in a spiritual sense the light of our life during our present earthly journey, but there His glory will literally be all the light we need. Now, I have to admit that I do not fully understand such things. But I look forward to learning about them in the heavenly school.
Isaiah presents a peek into heavenly conditions in a way that we can understand. His word pictures have been some of my favorites from the beginning of my Christian walk.
"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
and the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall feed;
their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox....
They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:6-9, RSV).
Again we read: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert" (Isa. 35:5, 6, RSV).
Here we have a snapshot of the heavenly new earth of the saved. No wonder Isaiah tells us that "the ransomed of the Lord shall...come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; [and] they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (verse 10, RSV). All I can add to those word pictures is a heartfelt Amen!
Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever. Rev. 22:1-5, RSV.
Eden restored is the best way to describe the re-created earth on which the redeemed from all ages will spend eternity. And the best thing about it will be the presence of Jesus Himself. He may be in a spiritual sense the light of our life during our present earthly journey, but there His glory will literally be all the light we need. Now, I have to admit that I do not fully understand such things. But I look forward to learning about them in the heavenly school.
Isaiah presents a peek into heavenly conditions in a way that we can understand. His word pictures have been some of my favorites from the beginning of my Christian walk.
"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
and the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall feed;
their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox....
They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:6-9, RSV).
Again we read: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert" (Isa. 35:5, 6, RSV).
Here we have a snapshot of the heavenly new earth of the saved. No wonder Isaiah tells us that "the ransomed of the Lord shall...come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; [and] they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (verse 10, RSV). All I can add to those word pictures is a heartfelt Amen!
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