“What will I see?”

My twin sister and I have always had great conversations. Yesterday, Denise asked me a poignant question: “What will I see when I get to heaven?” It is a great question, isn’t it? Here’s a woman who has always believed that there is such a place as a heaven and a hell. She has been through a lot in her short 47 years, but this belief of heaven is something that she has had for decades.

Now just because a person may not believe in a heaven or a hell does not mean that they exist. Anyone who has studied logic or critical thinking will tell you that the possibilities of such places are vast in number. So there is an infinite number of possibilities. But she has believed this to be truth because our grandfather and father have taught us to believe this to be true based on the Bible. The Bible gives us a brief description of heaven. And, quite frankly, that has been sufficient for us to believe in heaven; we have not needed anyone’s testimony of being there for 90 minutes or that it is for real. It is real because the Bible tells us so.

So, what is she going to see? I know that everyone talks about having their “mansion” in heaven. Jesus tells us in John 14:1-6 that heaven is where our heavenly Father resides. He has a “house” and within this “house” are many “dwelling places.” Now I know that many people are looking to have a mansion, but the New Testament Greek is pretty clear that the only house for which we need to be concerned is the Father’s house. I told Denise that she will not have to have her own mansion because she would see the “Big house” where our heavenly Father is and that Jesus has prepared her dwelling place there. Her room is almost ready, and when He’s finished with it she will be ready to occupy that room.

In the beginning of time, when man and woman were formed by God, He placed them in a garden–the Garden of Eden. At the end of the Book of Revelation, those who have loved Jesus Christ and have been kept in Him will be going to a place called “Paradise.” Now the Greek word for “paradise” is interesting because that word can also be translated as “garden.” In other words, what was lost in the Garden of Eden is going to be gained when we go to heaven: we will be in God’s garden once again. So I told Denise that she would see the most beautiful garden that she has ever seen. She loves flowers. It is evident from the many pictures that you can see on her Facebook page. The flowers there will be absolutely beautiful.

The Bible also tells us that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. What a blessed truth this is in the Book of Hebrews. This cloud includes the patriarchs that we read about in the Bible. She will get to see Abraham, Moses, Aaron, King David, King Solomon, and the disciples. She will get to speak with Paul the apostle, John the Beloved and a host of other men. I told her that she would be able to speak with Sarah, Ruth, Esther, Lydia and even Mary, the mother of Jesus. She will speak with a whole host of other women. She will get to see my grandparents who have gone on before us.

But most importantly, she will get to see Jesus Christ in all of His splendor and glory! She will be in His presence and will worship Him with a whole host of people from every tongue and every tribe on earth who have trusted Him for salvation. She will see Him with the 24 elders that are around His throne. She will see what Ezekiel saw: a throne on what appeared to be a crystal glass or sea. And on top of that crystal glass is a throne with One sitting on that throne who looks like amber fire from the wast up and amber fire from waist down. She will see Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior, her King of kings and her Lord of lords.

“What will I see when I get to heaven?” Denise, you will see everything that you’ve believe that you will see according to the Scriptures. You’ll see it all because all of it belongs to you as a joint-heir of Jesus Christ.

I love you, Denise, and I will see you later.