I'm putting this in the Fellowship Forum because it's just a fun thing to think about on occasion. What would your ultimate home in Heaven be like? Mine will (and notice I didn't say "would" but will, LoL) have the following:
1. A massive library, with multiple stories in a very high-ceilinged and spacious room, furnished with tables with beautiful finished woods and very comfortable furniture, and light coming in from the outside. It's not that I'm the most voracious reader, but I love having information at my fingertips.
2. Lavish gardens everywhere, with flowers of every kind and color, and fruit trees bearing fruit at all times. I'd also have a LOT of windows - large windows - throughout the house, so it received a ton of light, and I could see what was going on outside at all times.
3. Animals everywhere, both inside and out (kind of the Dr.Doolittle type)
4. Columns and pillars. My ultimate home would communicate stateliness, authority, architectural taste, and beauty. I'm actually more impressed by the outside of a home than the inside, which in this life I have neither the time nor money to attend to properly.
5. Water. There would be fountains everywhere, and streams winding through the property, and a beach somewhere nearby with waves coming in, so I could be alone with God and just meditate (even though He's everywhere).
These are a few things that come to mind for me. What about you?
For some inspiration to spur your creativity, I posted the following elsewhere, and thought it would be worth using again.
God bless,
Hidden In Him
_____________________
I used to collect and read numerous Heaven accounts, and included a few excerpts from them in an old study I once wrote - hardly anything really to the amount of material I have on it, but here are just a few quotes:
Jesus and I 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, while others sang heavenly songs I had never heard. Many carried little bundles, and some carried books. While I don't believe there is an exchange of money in Heaven, people were going in and out of those buildings to get things. I saw a woman walk into one place with a bundle of some type of goods and later walk out with a book. (Lairdon, We Saw Heaven, P.30)
As one account put it, they are "always trying to do something" for you in Heaven, and this involves also building mansions for those who have not died yet. This implies that those they know are indeed going to Heaven when they die, so there appears to be a foreknowledge of the saved. And most things in Heaven don't just appear magically. They are being built by the saints of God for those on their way to Heaven, in accordance with God's foreknowledge of what each believer would enjoy most. According to numerous accounts, the creativity is breath-taking.
On my way to the Throne of God. I saw an avenue just off the street I was walking on... On this avenue there were mansions beyond compare. I was told that they were for missionaries. Everything they'd given, they'd given to the Lord. I believe that in Heaven, God rewards everything that we can't receive on earth. I was taken to one house on the street on which I was walking. It was a single mansion carved out of a single, giant pearl. The house seemed to be two hundred fifty to three hundred feet across and one hundred feet tall... even the chandelier had been carved out of the pearl and it was lit. It glowed from within... Of all the buildings I saw in Heaven, none of them had locks on any doors, and the doors were not closed. Whether they were mansions, smaller homes, or apartment buildings (yes, some people liked living in condominiums in Heaven), all were open. Everyone who comes by is perfectly welcome to enter, whether you are there or not. But, out of respect, I don't believe anyone enters anyone else's home when the resident is not there. I saw houses that were brightly lit from the inside and whose architecture was beautiful. In Heaven, it seems the architecture includes large pillars. Every home had large porches with pillars and huge archways. Some of the houses were made out of what appeared to be a type of brick or stone material. Others were made out of a type of wood. Yet as I looked, there were no nails or even pegs. Not a piece was sawn, but everything was crafted and fit perfectly together. I saw a veranda on one home that looked like it was made of onyx. You could see through it; it was as clear as glass. Inlaid in the porch were precious stones and gold and silver, and there were great diamonds... I saw a home made of clear stone, embedded with roses that were alive and growing, and gave off the most beautiful aroma. When I put my ear up to anything solid in Heaven, I heard it humming the most beautiful songs. Some of the songs were ones we sing on earth, but others were not. Everything gave praise and glory to the Lord. (Sigmund, My Time In Heaven, P.38-40)
As we went up a path, I saw a gigantic house above the trees. I know it was a mansion, and that it didn't simply look that way because I was a little boy... Jesus and I waited for what seemed like a period of about three minutes, and then He knocked again, before anyone ever came to the door. A man opened the door... [and] then invited us inside; Jesus and I walked in and sat down in what I would call a living room or den area. The furniture there is different from that on earth in this respect: It is as if comfort "lives" in the furniture of Heaven. Earthly furniture becomes uncomfortable after you sit in it for awhile, and you find yourself squirming and shifting periodically. In Heaven, comfort finds you. I sat down on a black velvet couch, and comfort reached up and "cuddled" me. I was so comfortable that 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 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). (Lairdon, I Saw Heaven, P.28-30)
We soon reached [the home], and I was truly charmed with it in every way. It was fashioned much like my brother Nell's home, and built of polished woods. It was only partly finished, and was most artistically done. Although uncompleted, I was struck with the fact that everything was perfect so far as finished. There was no debris anywhere; no chips, no shavings, no dust. The wood seemed to have been perfectly prepared elsewhere - where, I have no idea. The pieces were made to fit accurately, like the parts of a great puzzle. It required much skill and artistic taste to properly adjust each in its place... [and] the house was slowly growing into beauty and symmetry. (Springer, My Dream Of Heaven, P.42-43)
The previous account was also related by a third party in a later book, where this same woman was taken by a husband or brother who had died ahead of her (I forget which now) to view the mansion he was building for her in advance of her death:
Frank led Rebecca up the stairs to the veranda and into the house between large marble columns. The reception hall had an inlaid floor, a window with mullioned glass and a wide, low stairway. Before Rebecca could speak, Frank took her hands and welcomed her to her heavenly home... He led her into a large room made of polished, pale grey marble. The walls and floors, however, were covered with beautiful roses of every type and color. Attempting to gather some up so she would not crush them, Rebecca found them to be embedded in the marble. Frank explained to her that a group of boys and girls had come to the house one day asking if it really were for the Springers. Upon being told that it was, they replied that they had loved the couple and wanted to help make the house even more beautiful. The girls, who carried bouquets of roses, began to toss them over the floors and against the walls, where they remained attached, giving the appearance of fresh flowers. The boys produced tool cases, and through some celestial art embedded each flower in the marble. Rebecca asked Frank who these young people were, and he named them for her. She realized that her love for these children on earth had brought her additional happiness in Heaven. (Rebecca Springer's account, as told by Roberts Lairdon in We Saw Heaven, P.102-103)
1. A massive library, with multiple stories in a very high-ceilinged and spacious room, furnished with tables with beautiful finished woods and very comfortable furniture, and light coming in from the outside. It's not that I'm the most voracious reader, but I love having information at my fingertips.
2. Lavish gardens everywhere, with flowers of every kind and color, and fruit trees bearing fruit at all times. I'd also have a LOT of windows - large windows - throughout the house, so it received a ton of light, and I could see what was going on outside at all times.
3. Animals everywhere, both inside and out (kind of the Dr.Doolittle type)
4. Columns and pillars. My ultimate home would communicate stateliness, authority, architectural taste, and beauty. I'm actually more impressed by the outside of a home than the inside, which in this life I have neither the time nor money to attend to properly.
5. Water. There would be fountains everywhere, and streams winding through the property, and a beach somewhere nearby with waves coming in, so I could be alone with God and just meditate (even though He's everywhere).
These are a few things that come to mind for me. What about you?
For some inspiration to spur your creativity, I posted the following elsewhere, and thought it would be worth using again.
God bless,
Hidden In Him
_____________________
I used to collect and read numerous Heaven accounts, and included a few excerpts from them in an old study I once wrote - hardly anything really to the amount of material I have on it, but here are just a few quotes:
Jesus and I 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, while others sang heavenly songs I had never heard. Many carried little bundles, and some carried books. While I don't believe there is an exchange of money in Heaven, people were going in and out of those buildings to get things. I saw a woman walk into one place with a bundle of some type of goods and later walk out with a book. (Lairdon, We Saw Heaven, P.30)
As one account put it, they are "always trying to do something" for you in Heaven, and this involves also building mansions for those who have not died yet. This implies that those they know are indeed going to Heaven when they die, so there appears to be a foreknowledge of the saved. And most things in Heaven don't just appear magically. They are being built by the saints of God for those on their way to Heaven, in accordance with God's foreknowledge of what each believer would enjoy most. According to numerous accounts, the creativity is breath-taking.
On my way to the Throne of God. I saw an avenue just off the street I was walking on... On this avenue there were mansions beyond compare. I was told that they were for missionaries. Everything they'd given, they'd given to the Lord. I believe that in Heaven, God rewards everything that we can't receive on earth. I was taken to one house on the street on which I was walking. It was a single mansion carved out of a single, giant pearl. The house seemed to be two hundred fifty to three hundred feet across and one hundred feet tall... even the chandelier had been carved out of the pearl and it was lit. It glowed from within... Of all the buildings I saw in Heaven, none of them had locks on any doors, and the doors were not closed. Whether they were mansions, smaller homes, or apartment buildings (yes, some people liked living in condominiums in Heaven), all were open. Everyone who comes by is perfectly welcome to enter, whether you are there or not. But, out of respect, I don't believe anyone enters anyone else's home when the resident is not there. I saw houses that were brightly lit from the inside and whose architecture was beautiful. In Heaven, it seems the architecture includes large pillars. Every home had large porches with pillars and huge archways. Some of the houses were made out of what appeared to be a type of brick or stone material. Others were made out of a type of wood. Yet as I looked, there were no nails or even pegs. Not a piece was sawn, but everything was crafted and fit perfectly together. I saw a veranda on one home that looked like it was made of onyx. You could see through it; it was as clear as glass. Inlaid in the porch were precious stones and gold and silver, and there were great diamonds... I saw a home made of clear stone, embedded with roses that were alive and growing, and gave off the most beautiful aroma. When I put my ear up to anything solid in Heaven, I heard it humming the most beautiful songs. Some of the songs were ones we sing on earth, but others were not. Everything gave praise and glory to the Lord. (Sigmund, My Time In Heaven, P.38-40)
As we went up a path, I saw a gigantic house above the trees. I know it was a mansion, and that it didn't simply look that way because I was a little boy... Jesus and I waited for what seemed like a period of about three minutes, and then He knocked again, before anyone ever came to the door. A man opened the door... [and] then invited us inside; Jesus and I walked in and sat down in what I would call a living room or den area. The furniture there is different from that on earth in this respect: It is as if comfort "lives" in the furniture of Heaven. Earthly furniture becomes uncomfortable after you sit in it for awhile, and you find yourself squirming and shifting periodically. In Heaven, comfort finds you. I sat down on a black velvet couch, and comfort reached up and "cuddled" me. I was so comfortable that 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 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). (Lairdon, I Saw Heaven, P.28-30)
We soon reached [the home], and I was truly charmed with it in every way. It was fashioned much like my brother Nell's home, and built of polished woods. It was only partly finished, and was most artistically done. Although uncompleted, I was struck with the fact that everything was perfect so far as finished. There was no debris anywhere; no chips, no shavings, no dust. The wood seemed to have been perfectly prepared elsewhere - where, I have no idea. The pieces were made to fit accurately, like the parts of a great puzzle. It required much skill and artistic taste to properly adjust each in its place... [and] the house was slowly growing into beauty and symmetry. (Springer, My Dream Of Heaven, P.42-43)
The previous account was also related by a third party in a later book, where this same woman was taken by a husband or brother who had died ahead of her (I forget which now) to view the mansion he was building for her in advance of her death:
Frank led Rebecca up the stairs to the veranda and into the house between large marble columns. The reception hall had an inlaid floor, a window with mullioned glass and a wide, low stairway. Before Rebecca could speak, Frank took her hands and welcomed her to her heavenly home... He led her into a large room made of polished, pale grey marble. The walls and floors, however, were covered with beautiful roses of every type and color. Attempting to gather some up so she would not crush them, Rebecca found them to be embedded in the marble. Frank explained to her that a group of boys and girls had come to the house one day asking if it really were for the Springers. Upon being told that it was, they replied that they had loved the couple and wanted to help make the house even more beautiful. The girls, who carried bouquets of roses, began to toss them over the floors and against the walls, where they remained attached, giving the appearance of fresh flowers. The boys produced tool cases, and through some celestial art embedded each flower in the marble. Rebecca asked Frank who these young people were, and he named them for her. She realized that her love for these children on earth had brought her additional happiness in Heaven. (Rebecca Springer's account, as told by Roberts Lairdon in We Saw Heaven, P.102-103)
