Lately there have been a number of con artists that have come into the church that have made a lot of money through the sale of books, etc, by describing their so called visits to heaven. Sadly, because many of the saints are not taught what scripture says on the subject they are vulnerable to being led astray by these deceivers. So what does the bible teach about what the rest in heaven is like for the saints? As we discuss this point we need to remember that it is our spirits that will be residing in heaven. In that light, let us now look at what our rest in heaven is like. We have already established that the saints do not sleep in heaven and so the rest that they partake of is obviously something other than sleep. Although scripture does not specifically reveal this to us, our Lord Jesus, on two separate occasions mentioned what He deemed rest to be like. And on both occasions our Lord likened rest to being in a quiet place, in the natural surroundings of God’s creation.
Mark 6:31-32 “And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going and they did not even have time to eat. (32) So, they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.”
In the account that we have quoted above, the Lord Jesus and His disciples had been ministering in the town of Capernaum. Because of the miracles that were taking place through their ministry, more and more people had come seeking healing and deliverance, and the pressure of the multitudes seeking deliverance had built up to such an extent, that they did not even get time to eat proper meals. And so our Lord Jesus decided to take His disciples away from the crowds, specifically so that they could rest. Jesus did this by taking them to a quiet, deserted place on the shores of the Sea of Galilee so that they could rest in the natural surroundings of God’s creation.
Psalms 55:6-7 “So I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. (7) Indeed, I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.”
In the scripture quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the prophet David prophesied our Lord’s words. And in this Psalm our Lord Jesus tells us that wandering through God’s wilderness is what He deems rest to be like. And so if we are to take our Lord’s counsel on the subject, we can see that the rest which the saints are currently enjoying in heaven is to be abiding in the perfect surroundings of God’s creation in heaven.
Michael E.B. Maher
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