What is Heaven Like?

What is Heaven Like?

 

What is heaven like? Glorious. Awesome. Indescribable. Perfect. Breathtaking. So wonderful it cannot be put into human words.

Jesus Christ. The Glory of the Lord. The City of God. Awe-inspiring angels. Spectacular natural scenery. Beautiful mansions and buildings. The river of life. The crystal sea. Incredible revelations of truth, miracles, salvation & infinitely more. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The testimonies all reveal the same, real place far beyond our wildest dreams. The Almighty God created heaven and wants everyone to spend eternity with Him there.

Your heart will be blessed, your faith strengthened, and your hope renewed as you read and experience God’s love for the world and the divine revelations He has unveiled.

 

Highlights of testimonies of heaven:

 

“They placed me at the feet of the most glorious Being I could ever imagine. A crown of pure light rested on His head, and hair as white as snow fell upon His shoulders. No words could begin to describe His splendor . . . I was totally overawed by Him. His goodness, tenderness, and love overwhelmed me. I bowed down.”1

-Marietta Davis

 

“He looked down at me. He had such beautiful eyes. I’ll never forget those eyes. They were so large and full of meaning–and kindness and forgiveness and compassion. Everything you would want to see in Jesus’ face was there.”2

-Lorraine Tutmarc

 

“I looked into Jesus’ eyes . . . they looked like wells of living love. It seemed as if one could see a half mile deep into them, and the tender look of His love is indescribable. As I looked into His face and into His eyes, I fell at His feet.”3

-Kenneth Hagin

 

“I felt I had everything I ever wanted to have. I was everything I had ever intended to be. I was arriving at where I had always dreamed of being.”4

-Betty Malz

 

Eby calls his visit “unutterable . . . indescribable . . . spiritually resplendent . . . and most ecstatically moving.”5

 

The scene was “gorgeously unsurpassable in its beauty,” with the foliage having a radiance. It was a great outdoors of mountains, trees, flowers, music, and sweet smells. Forests of symmetrical trees unlike anything on earth covered the foothills on each side. Every tree was tall, graceful, perfect, unblemished . . . Rolling hills under cloudless skies seemed to stretch for miles. The skies were a new color, an iridescent white-gold light. The valley floor was gorgeous. Stately grasses with perfectly straight blades were mixed in with ultra-white, four-petalled flowers on stems two feet tall, with a touch of gold at the centers.6

-Richard Eby

 

She looked into his eyes, which were loving and clear as blue water, yet piercing. It was like she was mirrored in his eyes . . . There was a heavenly illumination that made his hair light red, his eyes bluish and transparent, and his skin a light gold color . . . ‘There is no way to describe his coloring. It is like another world’s color. It’s the Shekinah glory, iridescent golden light glowing through him.’7

-Valvita Jones

 

As he turned around, he saw Jesus Christ. The glory about Him moved toward Roberts and came upon him, engulfing him. Roberts fell to his knees, and tears began to stream from his eyes, running down his face. Jesus said, “I want to give you a tour through heaven, this place I have made for all who believe, because I love you so much.”8

As he said this, tears again poured down Roberts’ face. To Roberts, Jesus’ presence is so tender that your joy turns to tears.

 

He said repeatedly, “I love my people so much. Why do people not take me at My word? Do they not know that I have all power in heaven and on earth to back up what I said? It is so easy. I made it so simple. If people would just take me at My word, I will do what I said.”9

-Roberts Liardon

 

Richard saw a crystal city made entirely of glowing lights of different types. The lights gave off rays of glory brighter than the sun. The whole city was filled with tall buildings . . . Some were round, and one was shaped like a diamond.  There were choirs and angels singing from the heights. Richard still remembers weeping with adoration and joy at seeing and hearing these inexpressible things.10

 

Jesus walked onto the stage to thunderous praise, worship, and adoration. The Lord looked at people lovingly . . . ‘You could feel the Shekinah glory love that came out of Him. It was awesome . . . words fail.’11                     -Richard Sigmund

 

Suddenly . . . there stood Jesus . . . glory and power billowed all around Him . . . His piercing eyes were beautiful . . . the tenderness in His eyes’ is beyond a writer’s description. The loveliness of the Blessed Savior was awe-inspiring and wonderful.12

-Mary Baxter

 

A voice said: “Come with me into the Throne Room where the secrets of the universe are kept!”13

 

Chrioni said to him: “You can never comprehend the depth of God’s love because it is too great!”14

-Roland Buck

 

“Jesus spoke with a voice that relayed the same love his glance transmitted to me—such gentleness and tenderness. Once you hear it, you will never forget it.”15

-Gerald Landry

 

The light was so intense, he had to look away and keep looking down . . . He is so big—you can’t describe Him in a dimension . . . The form of God’s body is somewhat like energy and spirit. The power, the energy-like smoke of God, covers all around the chair of the throne itself . . . There was a massive amount of energy, power, smoke, and noise there.16

-Jesse Duplantis

 

Jesus was dressed in a white robe down to His feet, with a golden sash around His chest. His eyes were gleaming and welcoming. His hair was white as snow, thick, and hanging down below His shoulders . . . His face oozed with love that was tangible and real . . .  His face is radiant and inviting.17

-Maurice Maelo

 

 

 

Introduction

 

The afterlife. It’s a topic most of us—maybe even all of us—want to know about. After all, we will all have to face it at some point.

What if 33 people who died and returned to earth offered to tell you about their experiences? What if they offered to tell you about the supernatural places they went to and the incredible things they saw, experienced, and learned there?

That is what this book is all about.

After spending more than 20 years researching this topic, the collection is ready. Whether you are a believer, a skeptic, a Muslim, a Hindu, an Agnostic, a Buddhist, an Atheist, a Christian, or a follower of any other faith or belief system, this book is intended for you.

This book is intended to present 33 people’s first-hand accounts of the afterlife and heaven, without frills or extras, or anything related to religious things. In fact, this book has NOTHING to do with religion and everything to do with relationship.

It is intended to cut through all the unneeded stuff and present amazing testimonies of heaven and the spirit realm, accounts that will inspire faith, hope, and love and encourage even the most cynical and disillusioned people to reconsider their stances. I think you’ll be amazed at the revelation, truth, and answers to deep and longtime mysteries that mankind has wondered about and debated for centuries.

It’s intended to be: fun yet serious; simple yet infinitely and eternally profound; entertaining yet convicting; revealing yet concealing; comprehensive yet limited; and other similar juxtapositions.

So, what is heaven like? This book hopefully gives us a glimpse of that eternal, glorious, awe-inspiring, yet very real, place.

From those who have been there, they all talk about one of the main, all-encompassing aspects of heaven: the Presence of God. The Presence of Jesus. What is the story about that?

Well, let’s start with what the Bible says, in the Gospels, which are the recorded accounts of Jesus’ teaching and ministry on earth 2,000 years ago.

When Jesus was on the earth, he taught about this Presence. In fact, it was his most frequently taught subject. In the Gospels, Jesus referred to and spoke about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven 105 times, more than any other topic or subject.

So, what is the kingdom?

If you notice, Jesus talked and taught about the kingdom in many different ways, such as:

“The kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the Gospel . . . Pray like this, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done . . . Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God . . . The kingdom of God is within you.”

In addition, he often described what the kingdom is like, such as:

“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven . . . like a mustard seed . . . like a net cast into the sea . . . like a man planting seeds in a field . . . like a man who finds a pearl of great price . . . like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys the field . . . ”

However, believe it or not, he never actually said what the kingdom is. Why is that?

Because the kingdom of God is so wonderful and so glorious, it cannot be put into human words.

Jesus tried to. He spoke about it often and repeatedly. He told us what it is like. He used parables, metaphors, similes, comparisons, and many other techniques to tell people about it. He used current, well-known, everyday things to teach about the kingdom and to reveal deep truths to the people, such as fields, gardens, plants, seeds, harvests, sunlight, fishing, treasures, pearls, and much more.

But he never actually came out and said what the kingdom is. Amazing. There may be other reasons why he did not just come out a say it. He certainly has his own unique style. (His teachings in Mark 4:11-12 shed some light on this, check it out.)

But, we all still want to know, what is the kingdom?

It is really very simple.

The kingdom of God is actually the presence and power of God Almighty, through his Son Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

It is God Himself.

This presence fills heaven in all its glory. The angels live in this presence and carry it with them.

When Jesus was on the earth, he himself had the Presence and power of God with Him. It was this Presence and power that allowed him to perform the miracles he did.

Today, this presence and power is available to human beings on the earth, since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ resurrection.

I like what a man of God once said. He was asked, “What is the Holy Spirit like?” The man’s answer:

“He’s the most wonderful, most beautiful person in all the world.”

This is great. But how can we know what He’s like? Wouldn’t it be nice if . . . well, if there were descriptions of God, of Jesus, of . . . heaven?

There are. Just keep reading.

It’s fascinating and inspiring that God has allowed more than 32 people to actually visit heaven, return to the earth, and record their experiences so that others may benefit. God obviously wants to get a message to humans.

His message is clear and simple:

Heaven is a real place, a place I have prepared for my people. It is a place of eternal joy, beauty, glory and much, much more. I want you to spend eternity there with me and my Son, Jesus Christ. Just believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you will join me in heaven when you leave the earth.

Now, we have numerous confirmations of the glorious place God has prepared for his people.

So, we have eternity mapped out for us. What do we do on the earth?

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Become like a little child, and you will enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Heaven is filled with the presence of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God the Father. Of course, they are all three one and the same.

According to all the people who have been there, it’s a presence that is so wonderful and so glorious, it cannot be put into human words.

 

A little about the overall purpose of publishing this book. One of the purposes of it is to explore the wonder and the reality of God.

First, the wonder. It is truly wonderful to find out, learn about, and/or know that there is a heaven, a place of glory, beauty, and wonder.

Second, the reality. On the objective side of things, there are 32 stories about heaven in this book, from a very wide assortment of men, women, and children, from many different countries, covering a time span of more than 150 years.

Through it all, there is a parallel structure and truth and many common denominators. Many of the people saw similar things, learned similar truths, and came away with similar memories. Parallel truth is a fancy way of saying that there is repetition of the same ideas, experiences, and similar concepts.

Test it out yourself. God has given everyone an ability to discern what’s right and wrong, good and bad. Even if you don’t believe in this type of thing—in heaven, hell, the spirit realm, afterlife, angels, demons, and similar supernatural things—read these stories, compare them, and see if there is repetition and similar experiences.

Could two people living 150 years apart just coincidentally have similar experiences during a near death experience? Could a woman in the mid-1800s and a young boy in the early 2000s—who did not know how to read or write—just randomly have similar visits to heaven?

Could 32 people have near death and supernatural experiences in heaven and coincidentally see, hear, and experience almost the same things—and yet each and every one have a unique experience at the same time?

In some ways, I deliberately tried to write this book as a journalist objectively covering and fully exploring the topic: people who have been to heaven.

I spent hours and hours researching, exploring, and strategizing about how to present every individual’s experience, whether it was Deborah O’Donnell’s, the shortest chapter, or Richard Sigmund’s, the longest.

The chapters are chronological, from Marietta Davis’ circa 1850 visit to Crystal McVea’s in 2009.

At the same time, I also wore another “hat” during the decades-long preparation of this book. I am a Christian and have worked in ministry for both an evangelical and a charismatic ministry. I have seen “both sides” of the modern protestant church. These writings are an extension of my life’s work and have been many, many years in creation.

I have spent years gathering the 32 stories. I found books on different continents while working there. I have interviewed sons and daughters of people who have been to heaven. I have traveled thousands of miles to hear these people speak, teach, and minister.

 

Some people may believe these accounts are only “dreams” or fantasies.

In response, consider that the 32 unrelated accounts have tremendous parallel truth. Consider that much of the content in the accounts is also confirmed in the the Bible, which has more than 580 references to heaven.

According to the Bible, it takes two or three witnesses (or more) to confirm a truth (Deuteronomy 19:15 and 2 Corinthians 13:1). In other words, one witness or person regarding a certain truth is not enough. There must be at least two and preferably three—or more. The more the better.

Here we have 32 witnesses to heaven.