Heaven Is Beyond Your Wildest Expectations (13 page)
Read Heaven Is Beyond Your Wildest Expectations Online
Authors: Sid Roth
I then saw a figure emerging from the light emitted from the throne, a Person dressed in the most brilliant attire. I was told by the escorting angel that He is Jesus, the Lamb of God. I was filled with the fear of God and almost did not want to look, for in His entire being was the exuberance of love and mercy that shone forth like no star in Heaven could. The twenty-four elders who surrounded the throne tore away the crowns from their heads and cast them on the ground before Him. They prostrated themselves before the Lamb of God. He moved with such gentleness, love, and mercy toward the elders and lifted them to their feet. In the gaze of each other, the Lord toward the twenty-four elders and they toward Him, were the most profound, deep expressions of love, honor, respect, and holiness. The Lamb of God gently picked up the crowns to place them on the head of each elder. I was permitted to hear an elder say, “No Lord, only You are worthy to wear the crown.” I could see in their expressions that the elders’ love for the Lamb was far more important than the crowns and all that crowns signify.
After Jesus, the Lamb of God, put the crowns on all the elders’ heads, He asked one of the elders, pointing to the vast group of people from the tribes and tongues and nations, who those people are, and the elder said,
“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”
(Rev. 7:14). The Lamb of God moved to one of them and placed a crown on the person’s head. The person refused to accept the crown saying, “Only You are worthy, Lord, to wear the crown.” This person then said to the Lamb of God, “There are many on the earth who still need to be saved; we are not worthy to wear the crown.” The Lamb of God then assured the person, “As you worship Me, I will set the people on the earth free.” The Lamb of God embraced the person, and His embrace touched me so deeply in the way He expresses His holy love and honor and respect for each person.
As the Lamb of God, one would expect Him to be seated on His throne and receiving all the glory and pomp and splendor as earthly kings and queens normally strut around waiting to be served. But here I saw God in all His glory go to the heavenly beings, pick them up from their prostrate position, pick up their crowns, and place each one on their heads—something one does not expect a person of high stature to do. Yet in the Lord Jesus, we witness a King who is majesty, love, and mercy, and still One who serves because it is His character and nature to do so, even in His omniscience!
W
ORSHIP HAS A
P
URPOSE
The escorting angel began to speak to me about the worship in Heaven. He taught me that worship in Heaven has a purpose. Each chorus sung by each group has a purpose. The purpose of all the worship in the heavenly temple moves the end-time purposes of God on earth. I was shown in the heavenly temple that each of the choruses sung by each of seven groups has a message for the church in the following manner:
The song of the cherubim:
The chorus of the four living creatures, the cherubim, sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
The song the elders
around the throne of God sing is, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
The song of the bride
is the calling or declarations by the nations about the beauty of the Lord, desiring to be with Him. “The Spirit and Bride say (sing), ‘Come.’”
The song of the angels:
The new song of Heaven is “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
The song of the tribes and nations:
The earth synergizes with Heaven in the song of the tribes and nations, singing, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!”
The song of creation:
The victorious song of the over-comers, the “one sound” of Heaven and earth is The Song of Moses: “Salvation belongs to our God!”
The great thanksgiving song:
The great three-fold
“Hallelujah!”
I then saw the Lamb of God taking the scroll and breaking the first seal. I had no idea what was happening. The worship was still in a deep place, and the twenty-four elders were now holding golden bowls of incense as they were praying. I could not distinctly hear their prayers. The escorting angel explained that they were saying to Him, “Lord, the time has come for the marriage of the Lamb. Will You not do this for the sake of Your bride on earth and in Heaven? Will You not break the seals and start the processes that will lead to the marriage feast?”
The Lamb seemed to be waiting for something that would signal the breaking of the seals. He is waiting to hear the voice of His bride on the earth asking Him to come soon to the earth, to prepare Heaven for their dwelling place and for the marriage to take place! The Lamb took the scroll and broke open the first seal. There was a great sigh, and sounds like holy cheers arose from the tribes and tongues and nations.
Almost immediately one of the mighty cherubim called out in a thunderous loud voice that shook me to the very atoms of my body. He said, “Come forth,” and a white horse with an angelic rider presented itself before the entire assembly. The Lamb spoke to the rider and sent the angel forth with a great command on the holy assignment. I was allowed to see four seals broken by the Lamb amid profound worship, intercession, and the sounds of warfare taking place in the heavenly temple.
Four angelic beings rode on horses, the first being white, the second red, the third black, and the fourth on a pale green horse. I was not permitted to hear their assignments but was assured by the angel that I would be told in time. Before I could wonder when that time could be, suddenly the lights in the heavenly temple seemed to go out, and I found myself back in the prayer room with the others staring at me. When I opened my eyes, they wanted to know what vision I had just seen. The vision had seemed like all eternity had passed before my eyes.
The Lord has since released revelation as to the understanding of the vision experience. I now understand it better and participate in it by joining Heaven in their worship, warfare, and intercession. This is what the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, is seeking from His bride on the earth—participation in what He is doing for the restoration and renewal processes of the earth.
Commentary
Being in the Lord’s presence in all His holiness caused Bob to be aware of his own sense of unworthiness. This was mirrored by the elders in Heaven who cast the crowns given them by the Lamb of God at His feet, saying that only He is truly worthy of all praise. Whether in Heaven or on the earth, when in His presence, we are awed and greatly humbled by His holiness. Bob was taught that the key word in understanding worship is humility. As the Lamb, who is also Almighty God, came to each one of the elders with such love, honor, and respect, we are again humbled by this revelation of the majesty of humility that is profoundly resident in God Himself.
God took Bob to Heaven in the vision to teach him to pray in a way that would accomplish the highest will of God. Worship should be inseparable from our prayers. Bob was taught that worship belongs to God. Therefore, our concern should be to touch the heart of God and to pray in tandem with Heaven.
Praying primarily through situations and for our concerns would appear to be earthbound and situational when God is waiting to hear the voices of His beloved bride telling Him that we long for Him, asking Him to come to us, and to do what needs to be done to make all things ready for His return. While we are longing for Him, He is longing for us, to have His bride on earth join with the worshipers in Heaven for His highest will to be fully accomplished.
If we wish to see God’s highest will done in our lives and in the earth, the way to pray would be to align our desires with God’s desires so that our focus is on the Lord and His ultimate issues, to pray according to Scriptures that define His will for the earth. As we seek Him and His righteousness, He will take care of the rest that concerns us. When our treasure, all that we truly value, is in Heaven, the cares of this world will greatly diminish, our expectations and faith will keep us close to the Lord’s intimate presence, and we will be praying God’s highest will.
…“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever”
(Revelation 5:11-13).
Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with
[you]
all. Amen
(Revelation 22:20b-21).
About Robert Misst
Bob was a well thought out atheist until he met the Lord Jesus in 1974. After struggling to surrender his life completely to Jesus, he subsequently served in several renewal programs and helped establish a church in Mumbai, India. In 1987, Jesus called him into prophetic intercession for the nations. He and his team traveled throughout India holding prophetic intercession vigils to which up to 1,500 would come to prayerfully intercede for their city, their country, and for the nations. Bob has linked with other intercessory prayer teams while traveling around the world.
In 2002, the Lord called Bob to move to New Zealand to pray for that nation. He also works with the leadership of the National Days of Prayer network and conducts seminars on “Worship, Warfare, and Intercession” to prepare for the return of the Lord Jesus. He is author of
Worship, Warfare & Intercession: Before the Throne of God
.
Richard’s great-grandfather was a Jewish circuit preacher during the Civil War and Richard’s grandfather would talk to him about the Lord Jesus being Israel’s Messiah. God spoke to Richard when he was four years old. A voice called his name. Then a cloud came down and out of the cloud came a stairway. Jesus walked down the stairway and took Richard by the hand. He said, “You will preach the gospel, heal the sick, and the dead shall be raised. Remember, I’ve called you to preach. Your life will not be like other little boys.” Then He went up the stairs, and the cloud went up with Him. Richard began preaching shortly after that day and served Him faithfully from then on. Years later, suddenly, an accident for which there seemed no cause took his life.
I died in an auto accident, though there was no sign of any oncoming car or evidence revealing any cause for the accident. No one ever discovered a reason for the accident. Evidently, I died instantly. When they pulled me out of the car, nearly every bone in my body was broken, including my back, neck, and both arms. Two ribs went through my heart. The medics said I had been dead for about eight hours when they found me.
In the first remembrance I have of leaving my body, I was going through a thick veil that tasted like honey. As I was going through it, it was going through me. I was propelled by some unseen force. I felt so wonderful and at great peace. At first I didn’t know what happened, but as I neared the edge of the veil, I heard voices on the other side. Once through the veil I turned and saw a group of people. They were singing and praising God. I heard voices say, “He is coming. I see him. He’s coming. Here he comes.” Suddenly a man came through the veil. He had a look of profound confusion for a moment. He didn’t know where he was. But just as suddenly, he looked at the group and recognized them. They began to hug him and to praise and worship God. What a joyous reunion.
Then I heard someone say, “There she is.” A person in the group was carrying a baby. The baby had the full power of speech. The baby cried with a baby voice, “Mommy! Mommy! There is my mommy.” (I learned that Jesus said the baby could remain a baby and that his mommy could raise him in Heaven.) At that moment, an old, wrinkled woman, stooped shouldered and very frail came through the veil. Instantly upon entering the atmosphere of Heaven, she snapped completely straight. Suddenly she was once again a beautiful young woman, dressed in a radiant, pure white robe of glory. Everyone cheered with shouts of joy as the baby flew into her arms. They had been parted at childbirth. The woman had survived a concentration camp, but her baby had not. Yet God, in His infinite mercy, saw to it that nothing was lost. How great is the love of God!
I must be in Heaven,
I thought.
What a wonderful place to be
.
W
ALK ON THIS
P
ATH
Next, I was standing on a golden pathway. I heard a voice say, “You must walk on this path.” The voice sounded familiar to me. I knew it was the voice of Jesus though I didn’t see Him then. Beside me stood two angels who would always accompany me. On either side of the path was the richest turf-green grass I’d ever seen. It was moving with life and energy. There were flowers of every imaginable size and color along the path on which I was now walking. I saw roses that were about four feet across. As I walked, the flowers faced me and they were all humming. The air was filled with their aroma. I asked the angels if I could pick one to smell it and I was told I could. When I put the flower down, it replanted itself. There is no death in Heaven, not of anything.
