Category: Heaven

Life, death and beyond

Ruth Kirk

This short blog was given to me very recently, on two separate days. Basically, all I had to do was to write it down. I don’t presume to be an expert on this subject, so I can only share what I am given, without any personal commentary.

Life:
Life begins when we enter time and space at conception.

Life is the process of continually facing, and coming to terms with, the constantly-changing, challenging nature of earthly reality, which includes both joy and suffering.

Life ends at death, when we stop breathing, and all brain activity ceases.

Death:
Death is the cessation of earthly life.

At death our souls enter a completely different reality, where we face judgement.

Judgement:
After death we see and judge ourselves through Christ’s eyes.

We will be bitterly ashamed of all our wrongdoing, but we will be forgiven, and will not be condemned.

There is a link to my recent blog on this subject here.

Heaven:
Heaven is a state of eternal, perfect, blissful oneness with God.

Heaven is beyond time and space, so there is no longer any suffering to face, or anything to come to terms with.

The absolute, transcendent, ultimate reality of heaven is far beyond anything we can imagine whilst we are on earth.

This heavenly reality is what we all come from before conception, and it is what we can return to after death.

Conclusion:
At death we pass from being subject to time and space, to being beyond time and space.

This new realty is heaven, which is total oneness with God, who is everything.

We can prepare for heaven by growing in oneness with God whilst we are still in exile, here on earth.

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Look! God’s Tabernacle is among humankind! God will live with them; they will be God’s people, and God will be fully present among them. The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the old order has fallen (Revelation 21:3-4; TIB).

References

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT).

You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:13-16; NIV).

You will have suffering in this world (John 16:33; CSB).

Can you uncover the mystery of the divine? Can you discover the limits of Shaddai? They are as high as heaven – what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol – what can you know? Their measure is longer than the world, and wider than the sea (Job 11:7-9; TIB).

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things (Ecclesiastes 11:5; NLT).

How great is God – beyond our understanding! (Job 36:26; NIV).

 

Life and death

Ruth Kirk

The city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light (Revelation 21:23; NLT).

So, is life over,
And is death all done?
Yes, look around you, child: 
There is no sun!

So, is life finished;
My pain gone so soon?
Yes, look around you, child:
There is no moon!

So, is life done with,
My tears at an end?
Yes, look around you, child:
I am your Friend!

So, is life over,
My grief gone for good?
Yes, look around you, child:
I, God, am Love!

God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

References

I heard a loud voice calling from the throne, “Look! God’s Tabernacle is among humankind! God will live with them; they will be God’s people, and God will be fully present among them. The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the old order has fallen” (Rev 21:3-4; TIB).

God’s love toward us is great, God’s faithfulness, eternal (Psalm 117:2; TIV).

 

Bliss

Ruth Kirk

The one who endures to the end will be saved (Mark 13:13; NLT).

Nothing will make me
Give you up –

I’ll cling to you
Until I die.

Then I’ll be one with you
Forever –

Bliss that riches
Cannot buy!

In Thy presence is fulness of joy, in Thy right hand bliss for evermore (Psalm 16:11; JPS Tanakh 1917).

References

We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us (Ecclesiastes 5:15; NLT).

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).

Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last (Luke 23:46; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Behold, I am with you every day, even unto the end of time (Matthew 28:20; ABPE).

If we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ (Hebrews 3:14; NLT).

 

Judgement

Ruth Kirk

We must all stand before Christ to be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10; NLT).

Introduction
We will all be subject to judgement. However, this judgement may not be quite what we have traditionally been taught to expect. Today’s blog details what was recently shown to me in prayer.

Choices
During our time on earth, we make many choices about how we relate to God, other people, events, experiences, our planet and  even ourselves. These choices shape the person we become at every stage of our lives. After death, we will all face judgement before Christ.

What is judgement?
Judgement is a profoundly just, merciful and loving consideration of a combination of factors:

  • The body and life situation God gave us at birth.
  • All we experienced during our exile here.
  • Everything we felt, thought, said and did.
  • What we made of ourselves, our opportunities, and our suffering.
  • Who and what we became during the course of our lives.

Several stages
Judgement is a process with several stages. It will include:

  • Looking directly at every aspect of our life, choices, behaviours, attitudes, speech, thoughts and actions. This will be like looking at ourselves in a crystal-clear mirror, and seeing right to the inmost core of our soul, with the eyes of Christ.
  • Fully understanding why we decided on the choices we made.
  • Recognising with complete honesty everything we faced and dealt with during our lives.
  • Admitting all the hurt and damage we caused to others, and repenting fully.
  • Asking ourselves how much we accepted, loved and helped, all other people, including the poorest and least powerful.
  • Considering the overall value of our life objectively.
  • Seeing clearly, and acknowledging fully, what we amount to in total.

This might sound alarming, perhaps even terrifying. However, throughout the whole process, we will be standing before Christ, fully supported by God’s Spirit of love, understanding and mercy.

Reacting to our judgement
In response to seeing and fully understanding ourselves, our choices and our lives, we will inevitably react by experiencing a mixture of profound emotions, including shame, sorrow and repentance. This healing process includes catharsis, purgation and purification.

I believe that through this healing process we will receive God’s forgiveness and love. It will also enable us to forgive and to love both ourselves and others completely.

Conclusion
Whether we know it or not, we are indissolubly one with God from the eternity before our birth, during our exile on earth, and for eternity beyond our death. Our judgement will take place within the context of this oneness.

As a result of our judgment we will experience forgiveness, healing and complete reconciliation with God. This is salvation, paradise and eternal bliss.

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103:2-5; NLT).

Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43; NLT).

References

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely (1 Corinthians 13:12; NLT).

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40; NIV).

You, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness (Psalm 96:15; NLT).

To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness (Daniel 9:9; RSV).

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7; NLT).

Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool (Isaiah 1:18; KJV).

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing (Isaiah 35:5; KJV).

The spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

 

When I can cling no more

Ruth Kirk

Cling tightly to the Lord your God (Joshua 23:8; NLT).

Lord,
When I can cling to you
No more,
Please bear me in your arms,
Beside your heart.

Lord,
Carry me to heaven
At my death,
To dwell as one with you,
And never part.

They now live forever with God in the Spirit (1 Peter 4:6; NLT).

References

His everlasting arms are under you (Deuteronomy 33:27; NLT).

In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).

Your right hand holds me securely (Psalm 63:8; NLT).

 

Good Friday

Ruth Kirk

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last (Luke 23:46; NIV).

I’m sinking into your hands, Lord God,
Then rising into your light:
No sun or moon, no pain or fear;
Your truth, alone, shines bright.

I’m sinking into your arms, Lord God,
Then rising into your peace,
Where healing and communion
For all will never cease.

I’m sinking into your heart, Lord God,
Then rising into your love:
Now we will live for evermore
As one, in heaven above.

We have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God (Hebrews 4:14; NLT). 

References

The LORD will hold you in his hand (Isaiah 62:3; NLT).

God is light (1 John 1:5; NLT).

The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; NKJV).

The Lord is peace (Judges 6:24; NLT).

God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the LORD your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory (Isaiah 60:19; NLT).

The city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city (Revelation 21:23; NLT).

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (Revelation 21:4; NLT).

Those who wait for the LORD [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun] (Isaiah 40:31; AMP).

 

With Christ

Ruth Kirk

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6; NLT). 

As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him (Colossians 2:6; AMP).

Walk with Christ
Along his way:
To the end,
And afterwards.

Talk with Jesus,
Praise, and pray:
To the end,
And afterwards.

Serve with Christ
And never stray:
To the end,
And afterwards.

Live with Jesus,
Day by day:
To the end,
And afterwards.

Since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him (Romans 6:8; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

 

When we die

Ruth Kirk

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

When we die, we all return
To you: the God who gives us life.

We confess our sins and faults –
You forgive, and set us free.

You redeem us, heal, restore,
And crown us with your tender love.

Then we live in paradise
With you, forever – even me!

Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43; NLT).

 

In your hand

Ruth Kirk

I am nothing (Job 40:4; NLT).

I’m nothing,
Yet you hold me in your hand,

Until I reach my home:
Your Promised Land.

There, we will sing and dance
As one, in love,

Safe from all earthly pain:
In heaven above.

God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4; KJV).

References

The life of every living thing is in his hand (Job 12:10; NLT).

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! (Psalm 90:1; NLT).

Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God (1 Peter 3:18; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

We know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands (2 Corinthians 5:1; NLT).

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God! (Psalm 84:3; NLT).

 

We’re one

Ruth Kirk

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).

One in body,
Mind and heart:
Nevermore, Lord,
Will we part.

One, Lord God,
Beyond all space:
I’m nothing,
Yet I share your grace.

One in spirit;
One in love:
On earth, Lord,
And in heaven above.

One, Lord God,
Beyond all time:
For I am yours,
And you are mine.

My beloved is mine and I am his (Song of Songs 2:16; NIV).