Secrets from Beyond The Grave

heaven is at the edge of the galaxy and is located above the stars of God (Isa. 14:13). According to Isaiah 14, the heavenly territory above and beyond the stars is where the throne of the Almighty is positioned. The Three Regions in the Third Heaven

When we think of heaven, we all have a different mental picture. As children, we imagine floating on a cloud while playing a golden harp and of being able to jump from cloud to cloud like bouncing on a trampoline. As teens we may picture heaven as a rather boring place where old people with white beards and long, flowing gowns walk around with staffs, reminiscing about the past and getting answers to questions that have always bugged them! As we age, heaven becomes the place where many of our loved ones have gone and are waiting for our arrival. Time soon passes, and we too await our departure. When we carefully look at the Scriptures, heaven consists of several major parts. The Book of Revelation is the account of a vision experienced by the apostle John while an exile on the island of Patmos. John gives the reader the most detailed description of the secrets in heaven of any biblical author. John is "caught up" in the spirit into the heavenly temple (Rev. 4:1-2). This heavenly temple is the center of all activity in heaven. The central feature is the throne of God. The radiance of God is said to be like "a jasper and a sardius stone" (v. 3). These two stones are the last (jasper) and first (sardius) stones of the twelve stones that covered the breastplate of the Old Testament high priest (Exod. 28:17-20). The first stone is for Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and the last stone is for Benjamin, Jacob's last son. The Hebrew name for Reuben means "Behold a son," and Benjamin in Hebrew means "son of my right hand." The stones are a picture of Christ, who is "the First and the Last" (Rev. 1:17). Also, while Christ was on Earth, the Almighty addressed Him as "My beloved Son" (Matt. 3:17), and in heaven He is the Son who "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb 1:3). The number twenty-four is found in the Old Testament in connection to the temple priests, who numbered twenty-four thousand. In the New Testament, John saw twenty-four elders sitting on thrones (Rev. 4:4). The twenty-four elders in Revelation 4:4 are believed to be the twelve sons of Jacob from the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of Christ from the New Testament (Luke 22:30). The original sacred gold furniture that Moses saw in a vision and replicated in his tabernacle was seen and recorded by John for the first time (since Moses) in the Apocalypse. John saw seven candlesticks, which is the imagery of the golden menorah (Rev. 1:12-13). He saw a golden altar where incense was offered (Rev. 8:2-4), and the sacred ark of the covenant (Rev. 11:19). When the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the gathering together of the living saints occur, we will all be gathered together at the temple in heaven, where we will worship God and sing new songs to the Lamb, Jesus Christ. (See Revelation chapters 4 and 5.) God instructed Jewish men to appear three times a year at the temple in Jerusalem--Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. We too will appear first at the temple before entering the city. The Holy City The heavenly temple of God The heavenly New Jerusalem The heavenly paradise