[340]. A Message From A Poem - When I Arrive In Heaven

[340]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - WHEN I ARRIVE IN HEAVEN

This is a poem of speculation. What is heaven really like?

Please do not think of heaven as some sort of materialistic place. Some Christians think more of mansions and golden streets and riches than they do of the Lord Jesus.

The title is connected with arriving; when heaven first bursts on the scene. We enter heaven upon death – for the Christian of course – or when the Rapture happens and we are still alive and caught up.

We don’t know what that arrival will be like, but in recent times I have had a firm conviction that when we die Jesus will personally welcome us to His presence. I believe He did that to the thief on the cross when he followed Jesus to Paradise.

We can forget that nonsense about Peter holding the keys of heaven and determining who enters or not. What decides on heaven is a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins.

The last two lines for me is what heaven is all about –

“That would be good, BUT right at the centre –

YES, JESUS! The One I believe.”

We have a verse from the time when Stephen was martyred – {{Acts 7:55-56 but being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God,”}}

Jesus was standing and not sitting but look into this verse –

{{Hebrews 1:3 “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”}}

Why was Jesus standing after He sat down? We can suggest two reasons. The first was to welcome Stephen to Himself. The second reason was to give Israel the final opportunity for repentance. This was the last appeal nationally to the nation and they rejected that, so a few decades on they suffered horribly in A.D. 70 for that generation asked for the Saviour’s blood to be on their heads. Matthew 27:25.

Will we be awestruck when we see heaven? I don’t think so because the Lord has prepared us for His presence and we will feel fully at home, in blessed comfort with the whole Bride of Christ and our Saviour-Bridegroom. Are you waiting for that time? {{Titus 2:13 “LOOKING FOR THE BLESSED HOPE and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Christ Jesus.}}

I hope you enjoy the glorious hope that lies ahead for you. Amen!

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WHEN I ARRIVE IN HEAVEN

So, when I take my last breath on this earth,

Which closes all my pilgrim scene,

I wonder what I’ll see of heaven’s worth,

When glory’s brightness first is seen -

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Perhaps the streets of gold they talk about?

Perhaps those gates of pearly white?

Or angels in their ministries throughout?

And many things all pure and bright.

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My loved ones are already there at peace,

And filled with God’s eternal bliss.

Their nearness to the Lamb won’t cease,

’Cause nevermore, the serpent’s hiss.

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Now what can I expect when I arrive,

To stand in joy on heaven’s shore?

This new reality in Christ alive:

To be with Him for evermore.

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A story, Jesus told about a man

Who welcomed home his wayward son.

This father, ev’ry day the road would scan,

Until the prodigal was won.

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I wonder then if the Lord waits for me;

Waiting expectantly to greet.

I am one on which the Lord showed pity.

What ecstatic joy when we meet!

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Eye has not seen, nor the ear heard the joys,

In heaven that have been prepared,

Where nothing corrodes and nothing destroys,

And for the saints, they’ll be declared.

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Who do I want to see when I enter?

Paul, David, Elisha, or Eve?

That would be good, BUT right at the centre –

YES, JESUS! The One I believe.

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Most of this was written some time in the past, and the last 3 stanzas added on 4 January 2022

Metre = 10-8-10-8 A-B-A-B Ron Ferguson