I Saw Heaven by Robert Liardon chapter two and three.

Caught Up to Heaven In the summer of 1974, when I was eight years old, I went into my bedroom after school one day to read my daily assignment in the Bible. I wanted to hurry up and finish reading the four chapters of the Gospel of John that I was to read that day, so I could get back out and play with my friends. I lay down on the bed with my Bible in my hands. As soon as my head touched the pillow, however, the Bible, the bed, my room, and even my body disappeared! I had no warning. Suddenly, the real me—the Roberts Liardon who is a spirit being and occupies this body (2 Cor. 5:1-10)—was moving through the heavens at a high rate of speed. At the time, as a little boy I had no knowledge of the fact that God's Word speaks of more than one heaven. Since then, I have learned that when Genesis 1:1 speaks of God creating the heavens and the earth, Bible scholars agree that there are three heavens. The first heaven is earth's atmosphere, according to Old Testament writings.1 And the "second heavens," are generally considered to be space and the area where Satan and his demons have lived since being cast out of the third heaven. (Rev. 12:4.) The third heaven is the place where God lives, according to scripture. Paul's references to "the heavenlies," or as sometimes translated, in heavenly places, all occur in Ephesians: In Ephesians 1:20,21, he wrote of Christ having been set at God's right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named. In Ephesians 3:10, Paul wrote that Jesus intends the Church, His Body, to make known unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places . . . the manifold wisdom of God. And, of course, the Apostle Paul wrote of a man he knew— whom most people believe to be the apostle himself—who was taken out of the body and into the third heaven just as I was. (2 Cor. 12:2.) In the Old Testament, the term "heaven of heavens" (Deut. 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 68:33; 148:4) is considered to parallel Paul's expression, "the third heaven." All I knew that afternoon in 1974 was that suddenly I was flying through the heavenlies at an unbelievable speed. I passed many things in the first heaven, then zoomed through the second heaven, and landed outside of the biggest gate I had ever seen— or have ever seen since. All I can say is that it was very wide, very tall and had no cut or blemish in it. This gate was made of one solid pearl, one immense glossy, glowing white pearl, and the edges were carved with a design. It was the biggest gate I had ever seen in my life. Its presence gave forth not an aura—but its own glow—its own life. I shook myself to see if I were dreaming. It had all happened so fast. But I decided it was real when I heard a voice speaking to me. A man said, "This is one of the gates." I turned around, and there stood Jesus Christ in all His glory! Immediately, I recognized Him, although He did not look like any pictures I had ever seen. All I can say is that, when you are faced with the presence of Jesus, you know beyond the shadow of a doubt Who it is. Many people since have asked me what He looks like. (I have noticed that when anyone tells of having seen Jesus, the first thing other people want to know is, "What did He look like?") From my own experience, anyone who sees Jesus is so overwhelmed that His appearance is secondary to His literal presence. You are so caught up in Who He is that the details of what He looks like are not what your mind focuses on or retains. However, I do remember that He looked about six feet tall, with sandy-brown hair, not real short and not too long. The most outstanding impression I retained was that He was a perfect man. The way He looked, talked, and moved was perfect. That is what I remember the most, the impression of perfectness and wholeness. In the years since this event, when I have talked about heaven, or when people have read my earlier book, many have said to me, "But Jesus has dark hair." Perhaps they are right. Perhaps His hair looked lighter to me because of the light of His presence or the glory about Him. All I know is that it looked sandy-brown. Or perhaps they think His hair is black because of medieval paintings that portray Him that way or because of his being Jewish. On the other hand, the Apostle John saw Jesus with hair white like wool, as white as snow (Rev. 1:14). So I cannot argue about the color of Jesus' hair. I can only relate the way J saw it. I buckled to my knees, and tears began to stream down my face. I could not have stopped them if I had tried. Every time Jesus speaks, it is as if arrows of faith propelled by love shoot into you and explode inside. Your only way of reacting is to weep. Then He spoke again, "I want to give you a tour through heaven because J love you so much." And He does not love me anymore than He does you. God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34.) The tears began to pour down my face again. Jesus said, "Now, no more tears. But a face full of joy would make me glad." Then he laughed, and I did too. He came over to me, picked me up, and dried away the tears. My tears were not of sadness nor sorrow, nor were they of fear. Again, all I can say is that the presence of Jesus is so tender to your spirit that joy spills over in tears. We do not have words here on earth (in our earthly vocabularies) to describe Jesus or heaven. All we can do—those who have seen Jesus or heaven—is express what we saw in terms of what it was "like" on earth, and that is a poor picture compared to the real thing. Life in Heaven Jesus escorted me through that huge gate. He did not ask anyone to open it, and He did not push a button. The gate just opened up, and we walked through. The first thing I saw was a street, and it was gold. As I walked through heaven later, I saw that all of the streets looked as if they were literally made of pure gold. Even the curbs were of gold. (Rev. 21:21.) And the curbs were lined with flowers in all colors of the rainbow. I thought, "If this is heaven, then these are gold streets I'm standing on," and I made a mad dash for the curb. From a distance, I saw that Jesus turned to say something to me, but I was gone. He looked at me and said, "What are you doing over there?" I was standing on the grass alongside the curb with my eyes and mouth wide open in surprise. I answered Him with two words: golden streets! Some of the streets looked like gold on earth. That is how I recognized what it was. But other parts of the streets were so transparent that the gold was as clear as crystal. Jesus laughed and laughed. I thought He was never going to stop. Then He said, "Come over here." I said, "No, those streets are gold. I can't walk on them! (The only time I had seen gold was in rings on people's fingers. I knew it was very expensive and very valuable.) But Jesus beckoned to me. "Come on," He said. He kept laughing as He walked over to where I was and led me back into the street. "These streets were made for those who have accepted Me into their hearts. This place is made for my younger brothers and sisters. (Rom. 8:29, John 14:2,3.) You are one of my younger brothers, so enjoy them." As we walked along, I became aware that the atmosphere of heaven is wonderful because it is energized with the fruits of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:23,24.) The very breezes were filled with the presence of God. Sometimes on earth when you are prayed for by someone ministering under a heavy anointing, your body may break out in goose bumps. But even when the body does not react to the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit, there is a feeling of inner warmth, of being wrapped in a blanket of God's love. That is the way heaven felt, only more so. We passed towns, buildings, and little offices. The buildings were for whatever "business" or interaction that takes place in heaven. I saw people coming and going, and they were all smiling. Some sang songs I recognized from earth, and some sang heavenly songs that I had never heard. They carried little bundles, and some of them carried books. I do not believe there is an exchange of money, but people were going in and out of those buildings to get things. I saw a woman walk into one place with a little bundle of goods of some kind and walk out with a book. There are books and songs in heaven that are intended for our knowledge and enjoyment in praising God on earth. But to my knowledge, no man or woman has yet paid the price to receive them for the benefit of the Body of Christ. For there is a price to pay. You must pay the price to walk in the Spirit and receive inspiration from heaven through the Holy Spirit. You "pay the price" by putting God first, spending much time in prayer, and loving His Word above all earthly pleasures, knowledge, and entertainment. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote that there is one family in heaven and earth. (Eph. 3:15.) He did not say there is one family in heaven and another family down here. There is one family in heaven and earth. I believe there are many things about our "family" that we do not understand as yet. As we walked on through this section of heaven that really was like a small town, I saw street signs. We came to one that I do not remember the name of, and we turned right on it. Mansions Are Prepared for Us As we walked up what looked like an unpaved, dirt path, I saw a gigantic house above the trees. Even now, as a grown man remembering that house, I know that it was a mansion. (John 14:2.) This structure did not just look huge because I was a little boy. Jesus talked to me the whole time we walked up the path toward the house. Jesus is a Person, and you can talk to Him about everyday things. He is our friend, as well as a member of the Godhead Who rules and reigns. We do not have to make a visit to heaven to talk to Him, either! Jesus is with us here on earth. He would never leave us nor forsake us. (Heb. 13:5.) The Trinity—God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Holy Spirit—have emotions. Otherwise, we would not have emotions, because we were created in their image. (Gen. 1:26.) However, unlike most of us, They are not at the mercy of their emotions. They are not ruled by "feelings." They operate by doing what is right to do, regardless of how they feel. So while we have emotions, we shouldn't be ruled by them. When someone hurts our feelings, we get into self-pity, we get angry, and many times, we retaliate in some way. Jesus can be grieved at our attitudes, but He never changes in the way He loves us or treats us. He has no self-pity, no anger on his own behalf, and no retaliation. We were not created to operate in negative emotions. Those became part of us when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and had to leave the Garden of Eden. But we ought to be extremely careful not to grieve Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or the Father, because we love them. There is no way we can love them as much as they love us, but we ought to love them as much as possible. His love permeated everything Jesus said or did with me during my visit. I will never forget the revelation of what love really is. When we got to the door of this mansion, Jesus walked up and knocked on the door. That is part of love—being considerate of other people's feelings, time, and privacy. People in heaven were very polite. We waited about three minutes, and then He knocked again, before anyone ever came to the door. Then a little gentleman opened the door, stuck his head out, and spoke to us. I did not see anyone just "floating through the walls." He said, "How are you doing, Jesus? And how are you doing, Roberts?" I almost took off running. That man knew my name! I thought, "How does that man know my name? No one but Jesus knows my name up here." However, I found that everyone we met who talked to us knew my name. The conversations were just as they are on earth. People asked questions and answered them. I looked up at the man in shock, but I answered him politely, as I had been taught, "Well, I'm doing okay." And he invited us inside, so Jesus and I walked in and sat down. Now the couches in heaven are different than here. Earth furniture sometimes becomes uncomfortable. In heaven, comfort finds you. I sat down on a black velvet couch, and comfort reached up and cuddled me. I was so comfortable, I never had to move once. After we finished talking, the man took us through the house. His mansion seemed just like houses on earth, but it was total perfection. The windows had curtains over them. The walls were decorated with paintings, which in this particular house, reminded me of modern art on earth, except better. Also, there were photographs of the man's family members, and there were plants everywhere. In addition, the mansion was filled with beautiful furniture and luxuries. Some things I did not recognize. Each mansion was suited to the person who lived there, for every child of God has his or her own mansion in heaven. (John 14:2.) This one had different rooms, such as dining room, living room, kitchen, den, and so forth. (I am sure there were bedrooms, but I did not go upstairs.) The man gave me a large fruit to eat, that looked something like an apple, and it was very delicious. Afterwards, we said goodbye and left through the back door. I cannot tell you why, but that is the way we went out. There were other people in the house, and they hugged and kissed us before we left. Eating in heaven is something many people seem to have a problem with believing. Yet, the Apostle John wrote about the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Rev. 19:19.) Also, John wrote of seeing the tree of life which has 12 kinds of fruit that it yields every month. (Rev. 22:2.) In addition, Jesus ate fish and bread with the disciples after he was resurrected and had a transfigured body, the kind we will have in heaven. (Luke 24:42, John 21:9.) Every person I saw looked in perfect condition and in the prime of life. Everyone appeared as if they were in their 30s. Perhaps that is because the Bible says we shall be like Him (1 John 3:2), and that was His age when He was resurrected and taken back to heaven. I did not see any children; however, somehow I knew there were children. Apparently, they were in another part, and I did not go there. Also, I found that people's age is reckoned according to their spiritual maturity, not their physical maturity on earth. When you get to heaven, you will be the age you are spiritually in the hidden man of the heart. Animals in Heaven Jesus and I continued walking. As we went over a few hills, I noticed more things. I saw all kinds of animals, every kind you could think of, from A to Z. Sometimes people have questioned this, but if you think about it, why should there not be animals in heaven? The Bible talks about horses in heaven, so why would God only have one kind of animal? The most well-known reference, of course, is to Jesus returning to earth on a white horse. (Rev. 19:11.) Also, horses and a chariot were sent from heaven after Elijah when he was taken up. (2 Kings 2:11,12.) Both chariot and horses looked like fire. Some time after that, Elisha asked God to open the eyes of his servant to see that more troops were with Israel than with the enemy. . . . And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17 I saw a dog, a baby goat, and a lion of great strength. There were birds singing in the trees, all sizes of birds, and they seemed to be singing the same song. After they stopped singing, it almost seemed as if they were talking among themselves! There were other animals I saw at a distance, but I could not identify them. They neither ran from people nor tried to attack them, however. All were calm and peaceful. Fear cannot be found in heaven. God's presence is so strong that fear, confusion, doubt, sickness, and worry are not found there. I also looked at the trees we passed. The leaves swayed back and forth, dancing and praising as we passed. You would have thought a great wind was blowing through the land. The grass was green, the very essence of green, and very soft. After we passed, the footprints in the grass sprang back into perfection, immediately erasing any footprints. Many men will be happy to know that you never have to mow the lawn in heaven! The grass is always the same length. And, if a leaf falls, it disappears. There is no rotten fruit on the trees, because death and decay have no part in heaven. There is not one thing wrong and not one problem to be found. Of course, no doubt and disbelief can be found there, because the Source of life is there. The goodness of God abounds in heaven. CHAPTER THREE The Cloud of Witnesses Jesus and I became friends as He took me on a tour of heaven. I was very comfortable with Him and not a bit nervous about what I said or did. When I looked down at myself, I found I was dressed just like everyone else we met. All of the saints whom I saw were dressed in white clothes —"white robes of righteousness." And to her (the Bride of Christ collectively and the saints of God individually) was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. Revelation 19:8 Some of the people I saw wore jewelry, and others wore different colored sashes. Of course, no one was into vanity or pride in appearance, but apparently, even in heaven, God wants all of His children to do Him credit and look nice. The white linen robe, however, is the important part of heavenly apparel. Since my visit to heaven, I have never understood people who seem to think they will do nothing but float lazily around on clouds when they reach the heavenly realm. If God does not approve of self-indulgence and idleness (Prov. 6:6,15:19) on earth, He certainly is not going to allow it in heaven. There is no laziness in heaven—none at all. I also get concerned at all the misinformation about angels that not only permeates the world, but the Church! You see pictures of cherubs three-feet-tall and half-naked, shooting bows and arrows of "love" at people. And there even was a recent popular television series based on the fallacy that people turn into angels after they die. Even worse, that show and another very popular movie that surfaces around Christmas each year, It's a Wonderful Life, is built around the idea that people who want to become angels can earn their wings. Nothing in heaven is earned by "works of the flesh"—good or bad. All of it is a free gift from God the Father to His beloved children. People need to understand that angels are completely different beings from mankind. Apparently, from records in the Bible, there are several different kinds of winged celestial beings. Cherubim are awesome creatures, about as far from the fat little cherubs of romantic fiction that you could imagine. Then there are messenger angels, warrior angels, and seraphim. Probably, there are many other kinds that are not mentioned. Cherubim technically are not classed as angels, but are a different order of being. They protected the Garden of Eden with flaming swords after Adam and Eve had been put out onto the earth to live. (Gen. 3:24.) Moses was told to make golden replicas of cherubims to shadow (Ex. 25:18; Heb. 9:5), or make a covering of glory, for the Ark of the Covenant. Cherubs are called living creatures by Ezekiel in describing his vision of the abominations being carried out in the temple in Jerusalem. (Ezek. 10:20,16:15.) He said the cherubims had four faces: the face of a cherub, the face of a man, the face of a lion, and the face of an eagle. (Ezek. 10:14, 20-22.) In fact, in the passage in Ezekiel that commonly is considered to refer to Satan, he is called the anointed cherub that covereth (Ezek. 28:14). We usually call the devil a "fallen angel," but according to the Word, he was a far higher-level being than that. He actually was one of the awesome-looking cherubim—and the highest rank in heaven. When he rebelled, however, he was able to persuade a third of the angels in heaven to follow him. (Rev. 12:4.) There are many accounts of angels in the Bible. Some came to bring judgment, as to Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19); some brought warnings, such as the one with a drawn sword who appeared to Balaam (Num. 22:22-35); and some brought answers to prayer, like the one who came to Daniel after he had fasted twenty-one days. (Dan. 10:13.) From my observations, angels are seven feet tall, and some are taller. They are fully dressed, according to the purpose and level of their assignment. Some have wings, and some of them do not. Seraphims (Is. 6:2,26) have six wings, according to the prophet Isaiah. Truly, there are things in heaven more wonderful than we can ever imagine. (1 Cor. 2:9.) That's the way I saw them. A Service of Praise Soon I saw a huge building resembling a convention center here on earth. Thousands of saints were going into it. The building had a glowing circle around it. Jesus and I were met by two angels who escorted us down to the second row, where two seats were reserved. People greeted us on the way down to our seats. There was not a sad face in the entire place. You would have thought we were at a family reunion where people had not seen one another in years. They were hugging and kissing each other, and saying, "How are you? Glory to God!" They seemed to be permeated with an attitude of love. They loved everybody. They did not care what you looked like or where you were from, they just loved you. Everything they did was out of a motive of love. As soon as we were seated, a holy hush swept over the entire auditorium. You literally could have heard a pin drop. From the right of the stage, 500 to 600 praisers walked out. These were people, not angels. They were dressed similarly to a church choir on earth. They wore robes, and everything about them was absolute perfection. These saints were smiling as they walked out on stage. All of a sudden, they began to praise God and lost all resemblance to a formal choir. Their hands went up, their voices lifted in praise songs, and they began to dance. The service was not comparable to our praise services on earth. The audience joined in, not ashamed to praise God, either. Everyone lifted their hands, praised God, and jumped up and down. The service seemed to last about two hours. No one led, but everyone moved in unison. In spite of the singing and dancing, everything was done in perfect order— everything. There was never a dead space of silence. The praise never died down, but grew in power and momentum. When I looked over at Jesus, He was smiling widely and obviously enjoying the service. One observation regarding our services on earth is that we let praise die down too soon. We do not keep going. We have not yet learned the sacrifice of praise and worship. To really praise God, we need to cross the line in the spirit where joy becomes evident in our praise. If we do that, I believe we will see signs and wonders. Praise is a substance. I saw all of the praises ascend out of the mouths of the people as glowing, bright vapors that collected at the top of the building. When the service was complete, the collected praise shot out of the top of the building and went to the Throne Room of God. The writer of the bmade for God in Jerusalem. (. . . Also the Levites which were the singers . . . arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 5:12,13 In worship, miracles occur. Sometimes they will occur during praise, but when a congregation moves into true worship, I believe miracles will occur. I have seen many miracles occur during my ministry as we worshipped God, when everyone present was giving his or her all to God. You must not hold back. You must give everything you have to God, in order to receive everything He has to give you in return. Those saints I saw in heaven gave 100 percent to everything they did. They were greatly enjoying the service and said afterwards they could not wait for the next one. Praising God is going to be a large part of our lives when we get to heaven. Jesus asked me, "How did you like the service?" I said, "I loved it!" Tears of Intercession We left the building, and as we walked along, Jesus began to cry. I was astounded. Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, began to cry! He turned toward me, shedding tears of intercession. Some books of Chronicles described this kind of praise that took place when Solomon dedicated the house he had made for God in Jerusalem. (. . . Also the Levites which were the singers . . . arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 5:12,13 In worship, miracles occur. Sometimes they will occur during praise, but when a congregation moves into true worship, I believe miracles will occur. I have seen many miracles occur during my ministry as we worshipped God, when everyone present was giving his or her all to God. You must not hold back. You must give everything you have to God, in order to receive everything He has to give you in return. Those saints I saw in heaven gave 100 percent to everything they did. They were greatly enjoying the service and said afterwards they could not wait for the next one. Praising God is going to be a large part of our lives when we get to heaven. Jesus asked me, "How did you like the service?" I said, "I loved it!" Tears of Intercession We left the building, and as we walked along, Jesus began to cry. I was astounded. Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, began to cry! He turned toward me, shedding tears of intercession. Some things are too sacred to repeat, but this one thing He told me I could tell: "Roberts, I love my people so much that I would go back to earth, preach my three years over again, and die for just one person. If I had not already paid the price for them, and if I thought they wanted to come to heaven, I would do it all over again. "I would not have to know they would make it. If I just thought they wanted to come, I would do it for them, even if they were the greatest sinner of all." He kept saying, "I love my people so much. Why do people not take Me at My Word? Do they not know that I have all power in heaven and on earth to back up what I said? It is so easy. I made it so simple. If people would just take Me at My Word, I will do what I said." Then He cried harder and said, "I do not understand why people say they believe I will do something, but when it does not happen in their time, they begin to doubt my Word. If they will just believe and say with confidence that I will do it, I will do it at the correct time." I knew Jesus was crying because of our unbelief. I was only eight years old, but I knew what unbelief was and how it hurt Jesus. I made a covenant with Jesus right then never to doubt His words and to let God be God. Now, when I am about to think or say something in doubt, I remember the tears of intercession that fell from Jesus' eyes, and I put off any doubt and unbelief. When we came to a branch of the River of Life, we took off our shoes and got in. The water was knee-deep and crystal clear. Do you know the first thing Jesus did to me? He dunked me! I got back up and splashed Him, and we had a water fight. We splashed each other and laughed. We walked on the inside of the water. I know you will not be able to understand that, and I do not either, really. But that is what we did. That meant something to me, for the King of Glory, the Son of God, to take time out for little eight-year-old Roberts, to play with him in the River of Life. When I get back to heaven, I want to put up a historical marker on that spot that will say: This spot is where Jesus Christ became not only Roberts Liardon's Lord and Savior, but his friend. Yes, He became my friend. Now we walk and talk together. When I hear a good joke, I can run to Jesus and hear Him laugh at it. And when He gets a good one, He tells me. You know, God has some jokes He will tell you, if you are sensitive enough to hear His voice. His jokes are very funny and never boring. After all, the Bible does tell us that God laughs. (Ps. 2:4, Ps. 37:13.) The River of Life is quite different from anything on earth. When you walk into it, it purifies you. It cleanses you of anything remaining from your earth life and gives you life from its source, the Throne Room of God. (Rev. 22:1,2.) The River of Life flows like a mountain stream, and there is no bottom to it. It is crystal clear all the way through. After we had played in it for a while, we got out. Then what felt like a huge hair dryer blew by and dried our clothes instantly. We put on our shoes and left. Our "Family" Cheers Us On Then we passed something I never, ever expected to see in heaven, something that struck me as the funniest thing I had ever seen. Yet, when I understood, it was the most encouraging and moving thing I perhaps have yet seen in my Christian walk. Hebrews 12:1 talks of a "great cloud of witnesses": Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily best us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. That meant something to me, for the King of Glory, the Son of God, to take time out for little eight-year-old Roberts, to play with him in the River of Life. When I get back to heaven, I want to put up a historical marker on that spot that will say: This spot is where Jesus Christ became not only Roberts Liardon's Lord and Savior, but his friend. Yes, He became my friend. Now we walk and talk together. When I hear a good joke, I can run to Jesus and hear Him laugh at it. And when He gets a good one, He tells me. You know, God has some jokes He will tell you, if you are sensitive enough to hear His voice. His jokes are very funny and never boring. After all, the Bible does tell us that God laughs. (Ps. 2:4, Ps. 37:13.) The River of Life is quite different from anything on earth. When you walk into it, it purifies you. It cleanses you of anything remaining from your earth life and gives you life from its source, the Throne Room of God. (Rev. 22:1,2.) The River of Life flows like a mountain stream, and there is no bottom to it. It is crystal clear all the way through. After we had played in it for a while, we got out. Then what felt like a huge hair dryer blew by and dried our clothes instantly. We put on our shoes and left. Our "Family" Cheers Us On Then we passed something I never, ever expected to see in heaven, something that struck me as the funniest thing I had ever seen. Yet, when I understood, it was the most encouraging and moving thing I perhaps have yet seen in my Christian walk. Hebrews 12:1 talks of a "great cloud of witnesses": Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily best us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. I saw that great cloud of witnesses. They are aware of what the Church is doing spiritually. When I am preaching, for example, they are cheering me on, yelling, "Do this, do that, go!" When "half time" comes, every one of them hits his knees and begins to pray. Half time is prayer time. Then they get back up and start cheering again. It is as though we are in a big game, one that is serious and very real, not a game for fun. And we have some fans who are cheering us on. They are backing us 100 percent, saying, "Go! Go get 'em! That's right! Go!" If we could clearly understand the scripture about there being one family in heaven and earth, we could hear in our spirits what the part of our family in heaven is saying. If we could hear the cloud of witnesses, we would be successful in every area of our lives. To do this, you simply have to get over into the realm of the spirit. People ask me from time to time about real family members who have passed on: "Will I see my cousin when I get to heaven, and will I know him?" I truly believe that in God's sight, the importance of our "spiritual family" outweighs that of our natural family. Even though you will recognize your cousin once you get to heaven, you might be surprised to discover that the relationships you place the most importance on in heaven are the ones with the people God has placed in your "spiritual family," not necessarily your "natural family."