In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2-3
So what is Heaven really like? In this, the fourth blog in the ‘Life After Life’ series we are looking at what the Bible says about your rewards and mansions.
Mansions and Your Rewards
What Jesus is saying in John 14:2-3 is, Heaven is filled with mansions and there is one for you and I. What’s even cooler is that each mansion is personalised your tastes and interests. I can deduce this from scripture because God Himself is preparing your home and there is no one who knows you better than your Creator. Remember, the Bible says – “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9 – the mansion God has for you is literally out of this world.
The Bible says in the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams – Acts 2:17. What this means is that sons and daughters of God will have experiences which are supernatural and spiritual. If you Google, you will find men and women who God has given them visions and dreams and God literally took their spirit to Heaven. Here is a guy I listened to on his experience of Heaven – here. Side note, scripture says all flesh, so if you desire the spirit of God to give you to have a supernatural experience, pray and ask (James 4:2-3).
Jesus through His sermons talks about treasures and rewards in Heaven:
Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 6:20
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal…”
Reward according to your deeds
Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.
When you do God’s work on earth, you receive Heavenly rewards. How you steward what He has given you is important. All good gifts come from God, as well as your talents so when you use them for God He rewards you over and over. Jesus illustrates this in the parable in Matthew 25:14-30… If you do a lot with what God has given you (for God’s Kingdom), you can expect a greater reward than someone who sat on a gift or didn’t steward their gift well for God’s Kingdom.
Crowns in Heaven
Yes, believers be rewarded with crowns in Heaven:
| Crown of Life | Referred to in James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10, this crown is for all believers and particularly those who endure suffering for Christ even to death. |
| Incorruptible Crown | Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 describes how when we run our own race to obtain an ‘imperishable wreath’. |
| Crown of Righteousness | 2 Timothy 4:8 – Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. |
| Crown of Glory | Referred to in 1 Peter 5:1-4, this crown is for those who have been a shepherd of God’s people who served willingly and was an example to others. Pastors. Sunday School Teachers, Preachers, Evangelists come to mind but that is not an exhaustive list.. Ultimately God gives these crowns out. |
| Crown of Rejoicing | Dubbed as the ‘evangelists crown’, Paul writes about it in 1 Thessalonians 2:19. |
I know what you are thinking, sign me up, I wanna secure my eternity in heaven. Well Jesus says (i) the only way to the Father God is through Him (John 14:6), believing by faith that He died on the cross to save you from the consequences of sin (which is an eternity with God, ie Hell – For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23)) and (ii) accepting Jesus as your personal saviour.
The Father didn’t want Heaven without you or any of His children, but He has given us the choice to choose Jesus or not.
Heaven is opulence, luxury, peace and joy beyond our wildest dreams. Help me spread the word about how awesome our heavenly home is, and how much the Father loves humanity by sharing this blog and sharing your own faith journey. I do not know it all and I am not perfect. I do not even feel qualified to be writing this blog, but God can take your little and make it a lot. The Holy Spirit changes hearts, we can’t; we are just the vessel… so be open to God to using you. Slight tangent there.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these ‘Life, After Life’ blogs. Link to the whole blog series here:
Intro – Let’s Talk About It… Life, After Life (Part One)
About Hell – Let’s Talk About It… Life, After Life (Part Two)
About Heaven Part One – Life After Life – What is Heaven really like? (Part One)
Love,
Dom
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