Title What kind of place is heaven? (1)
Revelation (26) What kind of place is heaven? (1)
(Rev 4:4-8)
1. specific place
What did the Apostle John see in his vision of the throne of heaven? God who sat on the throne was like a jasper and a stone of publicity (verse 3). Around the throne was a rainbow in the shape of a green gemstone (verse 3). Behind the rainbow were the twenty-four elders sitting on twenty-four thrones, and the elders were clothed in white robes and crowned with gold (verse 4). From the throne came lightnings and voices and thunder, and there were seven lamps lit before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God (verse 5).
In front of the throne was a sea of glass like crystal (verse 6). Around the throne were four living creatures believed to be the guardian archangels. The four living creatures were full of eyes before and after (vv. 6, 8). Day and night they kept God's holiness and praised Him (verse 8). Behind the four living creatures, countless angels are praising the glory of God together (Rev 5:11). And a river of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne, flows between the paths, and on either side of the river is the tree of life bearing twelve kinds of fruit (Rev 22:1-2).
If you look closely at this verse, you can see that heaven is a place that specifically exists somewhere in the universe. Heaven is no other place. If Jesus reigns and there is peace of mind, that place is heaven (Luke 17:21). Such a situation in which the state of heaven unfolds in the heart can be said to be heaven, but heaven does not mean only such a state, but is a place where there are definite places in the universe such as Hong Kong, Sydney, New York and Los Angeles.
The Gnostic sermon about defeating the flesh seems to be a blessing because it seems full of spirituality. So many people fall into that trap. The most basic doctrine that protects Christianity from that gnosticism is the doctrine that “Jesus did not resurrect as a spirit but as a body.” The saints will ultimately be resurrected as bodies. Heavenly life is not a life in which only the soul is resurrected and wanders in the spirit world, but a life in which the body is resurrected and lives in heaven, the real place.
2. Fantastic place
Heaven is a fantastic place prepared for the saints. In the future, when you go to heaven and see the place the Lord has prepared, you will not be able to shut your mouth in surprise. The Lord will be waiting for us with an excited heart to show you that heaven. Imagine a man secretly preparing a beautiful place for the woman he is about to marry, and when he finally shows it to him, he is overcome with joy and happiness as he sees what the woman has prepared for him.
Also, how delightful it will be to see your child come back when a mother is decorating a room for her child returning from studying in the United States and thoughtfully decorating it with her child's favourites. If you go to heaven sooner or later, you will be filled with such joy and happiness. The place God has prepared for us is beyond our imagination (1 Corinthians 2:9). How blessed it would be if such a fantastic place became ours forever through the blood of Jesus.
3. A place full of praise
In verse 8 of the text, the four living creatures praise God day and night without ceasing, and the countless angels surrounding them also praise Him. In heaven, there is no need to pray and there is no need to evangelize. Heaven is a place where praise overflows. If we extend that situation on this earth, we will experience the most heavenly life on this earth when our lips overflow with thanks and praise. Gratitude and praise are the greatest factors in restoring the perfect state of heaven.
Gratitude and praise open the door to blessings and heal sick parts of the soul and body. It is much more effective to restore health to give thanks and praise one more time than to take another good medicine. When a person with cancer says, “Thank you!” when taking medicine, praising God, and saying “Thank you!” from time to time, such as taking medicine, the cancer mass will gradually melt away. Such overflowing thanksgiving and praise will be the most blessed state in which all distortions will be restored.
The highest spirituality is overflowing with gratitude and praise. A person who has received grace is a person who overflows with thanks and praise, and a person who receives grace is also a person who overflows with gratitude and praise. Such a person makes the church a heaven. A church is a place where people who are going to go to heaven gather in advance and train for life in heaven until they go to heaven. The more well-trained the church members are, the more they want to come to the church because they feel like they are in heaven when they come to church, and they will love the church and its members.