Judeo-Christian teaching is full of the concept of the after life including much on heaven – the kingdom of God and some on Hell, Hades, and eternal punishment.  For Believers Heaven is our goal, to be eternally in God’s glorious presence, and “saved” from God’s wrath and eternal torment.  We are encouraged to think of our heavenly reward.

“For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed…up by life.  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Cor. 5:4-5).

“… as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.  So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter 3:12-14).

The glories and wonders of Heaven, populated with myriads of angels, other heavenly beings, the redeemed saints, and our majestic Lord and King Yeshua, Messiah, is an appropriate topic of contemplation.  There will be no war or tragedy, no sorrow, no want, or sickness.  We will have glorious heavenly bodies fit for glorious living.  Much about Heaven is described in Revelation, but even if these depictions can not be fully understood in our earthly perceptions, it is certainly a marvelous, delightful and blessed dwelling place.

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Phil. 3:20-21).

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3-7).

Our treasure is in heaven and it will not perish, fade, rust, or diminish; where your treasure is so is your heart.  So, it is good to look to Yeshua and contemplate dwelling with Him in fulfillment, in deep satisfying meaningfulness, in joy and peace incomprehensible, where love reigns in unrestrained flows of abundance, where all the redeemed goodness of our earthly lives is manifested in its perfect intention from God and to God the Father.

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:  “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.  For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.  They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Rev. 12:10-11).

“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”  Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.  They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”  Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Rev 5:9-13).