Hey Mike I'm from Turkey. I converted to Christianity from Islam and you are helping me a lot for learning about bible. I wanna say thank you and may God bless you. Edit: Thanks for all your support prays and good wishes I'm reading them with tears in my eyes.
I was just on the verge of an anxiety attack last night on my way home from work thinking about the idea of eternity, then today I see this as the first video suggested on my TH-cam. Thank you Mike and thank You God for taking care of all my needs❤️
Wow! I’m 76 and have had that same anxiety attack for all these years. Thought I was the only one! Thank you for sharing that. Your reply and this video helps so much. Blessing.
That same thing happens to me periodically over the years. I hate it and I wish it didn’t, but my mind just freaks out even though I know the Lord and trust Him. God bless.
Haven't watched the video yet but I think eternity itself is so daunting to us as such finite beings that's its okay to just about be overcome at the thought- as long as that drives us to our knees before Jesus and nowhere else! ❤️ Edited to add that God also does these things all the time for me. Even down to the perfectly recommended videos at the perfect time haha.
'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” - the things God has prepared for those who love him.' The human mind/brain cannot even begin to comprehend what God has in store for those who love him 🙏🏽🙏🏽
The next verse says, "But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit." Don't feel bad. This is an often misquoted verse. I thought you'd benefit from hearing the whole context. I had a friend once who heard me praying, "Lord humble me." He pulled me aside and pointed out that scripture actually tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord. I never forgot that and have greatly appreciated it. Take care!
There will still be a sense of familiarity. Plus the New Earth during our reign here with Jesus will still be Earth, but it will be perfect. Of course it will have all God's unrestrained creativity and perfection. Guess we'll find out huh?!!! These convos just make me excited to go lol it's gonna be incredible that we do know :)
Those scriptures aren’t about what people will experience in heaven nor is it how heaven will appear if that is what you’re implying by posting them. The verses are about godly wisdom that comes from above and through the spirit. Paul is referring to the secret/mystery of the kingdom of God which was hidden to previous generations and IMO most people don’t understand it today. What was revealed to true Christians were the deep things of God. They weren’t all given visions of how the actual heavenly realm would be or what to expect. Paul said it wasn’t revealed to previous generations but prophets were given visions of things that would occur or was occurring in heaven. Therefore, Paul was not talking about heavenly life and it’s experiences. Paul even mentioned of possibly having a supernatural vision of someone being caught away to the 3 heaven, BUT he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t even sure if the man was in bodily form or some of the form. That doesn’t sound like he was given direct and incontrovertible data about the heavenly realm. *2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-5*
That verse had nothing to do with heaven. First we ain’t going to heaven that ain’t nothing but Greek gnostic junk, we are going to new earth, but ya that verse had nothing to do with heaven, often used allot in the church
I am so grateful for your sound teaching. I was caught up in new age/occult practices and drug addiction for ten years, and Christ entered my life October 2022. ✝️🙏♥️ God bless you and your ministry!
@@ThatsTheTruth7 I actually heard the Michael Knowles podcast with Angela Ucci and she was giving her testimony. It was a few days later I was filled with the Holy Spirit and I honestly felt that I was going crazy, I didn't know what was happening. I threw out all of my crystals, new age paraphernalia. I bought a Bible and I haven't been able to stop. I never knew there was this whole world of Christianity. I started researching and watching testimonials and could not believe how many people are and have had the same experiences. I have this peace and joy that I never knew was possible. Praise Jesus ✝️
@@ThatsTheTruth7 No service, I was at home. It caught me completely off guard. When my husband came home I could not even talk about it for a few days, I was so overwhelmed.
As a self absorbed, pleasure seeking, un-redeemed teen I was forced to go to a church service with my mom where we sang hymns that I didn’t know, for seemingly forever. As we finally sat down, the pastor stood up and referred to the singing, saying, “I think that is what heaven will be like.” I panicked and decided that heaven was not for me, if it was an eternity of sitting on hard pews or standing singing old songs I didn’t know. THANKFULLY, God persued me and drew me to Himself, showing through His Word that apart from Him there is no joy. In my late 20’s I finally realized that God would only make Heaven good. I think that our wrong perceptions of heaven can be a huge stumbling block, so it is so important to know what the Bible says Heaven is or isn’t.
Thanks for sharing. So I'm a curious Mom.U mentioned ur Mom taking u to church. Do u mind me asking how often she took u? Were you a Christian at that time? U mentioned God persuing you. That's awesome & I can totally relate. I try to take my 2 daughters to church but my oldest doesn't like going(the seats are even cushiony☺️) idk I guess I just was encouraged reading ur post. Blessings to you and your family
@@susiequsie1980My mom took my brother and I as young kids to several different churches off and on, we tended to be “church-hoppers”. She was a believer but wasn’t discipled and my dad wasn’t a believer, so he didn’t go to church with us. When I was about 10 my parents decided that we should attend church every Sunday, so we all went to a small Methodist church in our town. Unfortunately there was no actual preaching there, it was more like a feel-good message every week. When I was 12 a new girl moved to our town and invited me to her youth group at a Baptist church in the next town over. I resisted because I knew I didn’t want to be told to repent and believe in Jesus. But she was persistent and I eventually agreed to go. It was there that I heard the gospel and after a couple years repented of my sin and accepted Christ’s sacrifice and wanted to live my life for Him. Praying for you and your girls. ❤ My advice is to be consistent in going to a Bible preaching church, read the Bible together with you girls everyday, and just show them how good He is.
As an engineer, I could almost imagine a billion things to do in the new heaven and earth. Imagine what you could do when you have all the knowledge you could ever need and want. Just the thought of that alone makes me really excited. Its made even more exciting imagining you will be there together with your Holy Father forever! Wow!
I believe that is very much what it is going to be like. We have eternity to work and build for God and ourselves. Kids create drawings and things for their parents not becuase there is some great need for those but because the children love their parents. We will want to build and create for God.
Heaven isn't a destination. It's a forever experience with God!. I really can't wrap my head around that but I'm thankful the Lord allows us to speculate! 🙏❤️🙏
It is a destination for a while. Believers are there until the earth is restored and they get their resurrection bodies. After Jesus'' reign on earth,there will be a new Heaven and a new earth.
@@TruthIsAsOldAsYah It seems that Paul had been given many direct revelations. For example, I think it is in Phillipians, where he talks about "surpassingly great revelations" and being given a vision of heaven; for the sake of his teaching he doesn't even identify himself as the recipient (so that he may boast instead in his weaknesses and persecutions).
@@josephbrandenburg4373 yes, I agree. But it all started with a very profound meeting from on high that changed him in an instant. Everything else was just added on top of that.
As it is said in the Bible it will be righteousness peace and joy. The first one is righteousness, so let us strive for it so that eventually we will gain heavenly peace and joy as well.
When I was 5 years old, God gave me a most incredible dream about the New Jerusalem descending from heaven unto the earth. It was amazing and I never forgot it. I'm definitely leaning towards it being an actual event. I guess we'll see🙏
The fact that the afterlife is Eternal is one of the BEST qualities of it. If it were to end, we’d be dreading that day coming, even if it were a million years away… I’d be counting down the days. I’ve been on a vacation and just thought “Man, eventually this is gonna end” and it ruins the vacation I’m in. I keep looking towards the end of it! Time going by causes an intense amount of distress on earth today. Constant deadlines. Constantly having to worry about being prepared for the future. Constantly worried about getting old. But Eternality is this promise that this good thing never has to end. An immense stress reliever.
That was a beautiful way to sum it up!! And I'm exactly like you ... if I'm on vacation, I'm dreading and thinking about the end ... I have a difficulty living in the moment. I love how you put this in perspective for me so perfectly ! Thank you. It will be such a stress relief to know there's no end to the JOY. That really takes my breath away and honestly brings me to tears. Life right now is the opposite ... full of stress and little joy. Thank you, again for this! God bless you!
And with no death that would mean there’s no rush anymore. The majority of our society is fast paced and money-reliant because of death. Without that deadline (literally), there’s less reason to pay people to outsource work you have no time for or to freak out if you miss an opportunity. Trading and money would be greatly reduced if existing at all, and we probably won’t have a tighter schedule except for big events or festivals. Time will still go by…we couldn’t live timelessly unless we became infinite enough to contain time like God. Our glorified bodies are finite in that sense; it’s just that the experience of linear time won’t contain the ultimate deadline.
@@Window4503 Yeah definitely. Limited time to push out projects has done a lot of damage to the earth. Instead of finding more ethical solutions to problems, they rush through them even though there are major consequences. Like we rush to make housing and are willing to destroy an entire forest for the lumber. Or we rush to make railroads so we force people into slave labor to produce them. A lot of damage done to get things done quickly. But there won’t be any rush like that in heaven.
Hey Mike, your teaching for Romans 12 broken up between a few sermons from years ago has helped me in such a powerful way. I’ve struggled for decades and I’m beginning to see more clearly, like a fog finally clearing. So grateful for your teaching and using your gifts and talents to grow the kingdom.
I was terrified of the idea of "heaven" when I was young. I don't know if it started as a dream I had or just popped into my mind, but my idea was like being in just an enormous bubble or spherical open space, surrounded by millions and millions of other souls, and all just kind of revolving around this glowing light in the center that I imagined was God, and all we could do for eternity was circle and stare at it. The idea of doing that for five minutes was scary to a (very) young me, and the idea of doing that forever without end was the worst thing I could imagine. My views have evolved some in the thirty years since.
"and the idea of doing that forever without end was the worst thing I could imagine" And that, my friend, is what the typical Christian is looking forward to.
@@billbadson7598As a child I had the same thought. I’d stand there and sing constantly. I mean, now that I honestly love worship, that doesn’t sound too bad, but of course I know now we aren’t just going to be in the clouds being stuck singing haha.
Hi Mike, your teaching encouraged myself and my wife to start attending church again, we are both firm believers but we were lazy and afraid of going to a church that wasn’t “our parents” church. And while we do attend said church, I still love listening to your videos, I love food! 😂
Thanks for this. My momma and BIL both passed last May so it's definitely been on my mind more than it had been. I agree with you. When we are made perfect... the way it was meant to be in the beginning... we won't get bored or tired-of or sad-about living forever. God is SO good that He wouldn't let us stay here, in this mess, forever (my brain hurts thinking about the people in the beginning who were here for 900+ years!). Eternity is saved for holy and perfect and in His presence. I can't wait!
I just cannot wait for the time when I am in the presence of God for all eternity. For now, I will shed tears and pray constantly for my family to come to know Him.
Thanks Pastor Mike, all I can say is I Can't Wait for Eternity with God! So Stay Strong Brothers and Sisters for Our Redemption draws near! God bless you Pastor Mike and your ministry!
I too, have thought about and been frightened over eternity. I know we won’t feel that way when we are there, but the physical mindset we have now, the “been there, done that, what’s next” throws us off. Thank you for putting things into perspective and reminding us that it’s our frail and corrupted mind and bodies that have us thinking this way, and that heaven and eternity is far better than anything we can imagine.
Something that unexpectedly helped me with that was reading a couple of books by Hugh Ross. His theory of creation is interesting. What I appreciated is that he gives examples of how aspects of quantum mechanics may fold into scriptural truth and give a scientific background to what we believe. Regardless of whether or not he is correct, the reading helped me to start getting out of our linear/black & white/unidimensional worldview and to start lifting a little toward the possibilities in how God thinks and acts, beyond our concepts of space-time. We really miss it because we’re far too narrow in our perceptions. If anyone has seen Interstellar, I think that there are scenes in it that honestly push forward into truth and reality as it is and not just as our limitations present it to us. Scripture is my absolute final authority, but we are given curiosity and imagination for a reason also. The shift in my view has helped me ultimately, even if I can’t necessarily prove how.
I think that C.S. Lewis introduced some pretty cool thoughts on this, with his Chronicles of Narnia series. Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve leading the people with justice and honor, in a land where everyone already knew of Aslan and his father the Emperor Across the Sea. It's also interesting that the White Witch, being from another world, still knew of the oldest laws that were written (by the Emperor) that governed existence, but that predated Narnia itself. When Peter is ending his last visit to Narnia, and Aslan first shows Himself as a lamb, he tells Peter that they know Him by a different name, here on Earth. I know that's all from a fictional series, but one that Lewis steeped in allegory. Such a beautiful series. Some thoughts on what _may_ be part of God's plan, after the new heavens and new Jerusalem are created: When the new Jerusalem is described in Revelation 21, it states "The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it." There will be _nations._ We're also told that He is making of us a royal priesthood. Consider the biblical roles of priesthood, and we understand how that calls us to conduct ourselves while in this life. It is possible (this is only conjecture; I'm not trying to create doctrine or anything) that our role as the royal priesthood extends into eternity. The universe is a big place, and I doubt the new one will be much smaller. And God wastes nothing, not even pain. He may have some pretty incredible things being prepared!
@@blanktrigger8863 Ah, okay. Very cool. So, he was quite literally describing that hypothetical, just not in the time frame of the new creation to come. That's interesting, because Aslan says that we know Him by a different name. I wonder if that means Lewis was suggesting that He died more than once to provide redemption, or (more likely) Aslan's statement was simply delivered to the readers by way of Peter.
Imagine going a sick hike in new earth and your feet never hurt and the mountains are more beautiful than ever and if you run into a bear he won’t even try to eat you
I think one other thing to consider is that in our current body is limited by design. Eternity is such a foreign concept because death is such a real thing in our world due to the fall. This makes eternity seem scary because we can't really comprehend it. It is unknown to us and the unknown is always scary. However, as Mike brought up, we will have new, glorified, bodies unstained by sin. In that form, I believe our brains will be more able to comprehend eternity, making it much less scary. As Paul said, we only see dimly in our mirror, unable to understand. What excites me about this is that in our new bodies and ability to more fully comprehend infinite concepts, we will be able to more full know and understand our infinite God.
I Love the work you do for our Father in heaven. Thank you Mike Winger great job man...don't stop. I've had a thought many times when thinking about eternity. We've all had a family get together or party, maybe a camping trip, where we just have a great time. Talking and singing with people that you love. Together loving God loving nature that he created, loving the moment. Then when it's over and you gotta go back to work the next day you just don't want it to end. Like a Christmas party with everybody that you ever loved and missed there. And then God the Father comes(kinda like Santa except he's real😁) and blesses everyone, hugs us, laughs with us, talks with us, plays with us like children.... I could live at that party for eternity. Praise God!I can't wait
@Mike Winger I just recently started thinking about heaven in a way that got me excited. I am 26, and was saved when I was about 20. I never really understood why other Christians would desire that Jesus come soon, because, well, I enjoy living life on Earth. I imagined that heaven would be just like you described, an ethereal experience, where we would constantly be singing, and wouldn't have any will. Recently I was in church and got the idea that, what if heaven is just like this but without sin. Where we can laugh, and make conversation together, where we can play, worship together, create memories, and enjoy the (new) world. It got me excited. It gave me understanding of the phrase "Come quickly, Lord Jesus"
I’m so tired all the time. That’s why I have moments of wondering if I could endure a forever. That I know will change. I can’t wait to run and jump and not be weary, like EVER. Glorious thought.
I’m wondering if your idea of heaven came from your early religious experience. I grew up in a Bible verse by verse church. I have never pictured myself singing for eternity. Streets of gold, meeting Biblical charachters, and other things beyond “what we can imagine” It will be so exciting.
I have often wondered about what heaven will be like. I think the best things about it will be being sinless and living in a world without death and suffering. And most of all, being in the presence of God with no barriers. It's a mystery to me to understand that believers will be the bride of Christ, but that's definitely something to look forward to eagerly. There'll be no physical union between men and women, but we'll have Christ as our bridegroom. What a huge thing to contemplate this side of eternity!
This video broke me and made me smile. I never thought about the new heaven and earth and how this heaven is only a transitional period towards the new heaven. I never considered the fact that we can see eachother in physical/spiritual bodies i always thought it would be an etheral thing you can't describe. You answered my questions about Heaven perfectly and made me relived it wasn't the same thing over and over. You got a subscriber.
When I was 16 I developed an interest in classic literature and was reading The Divine Comedy. One night I had a dream where i had just died and was “ascending” to heaven. But in my dream it was more like walking down a narrow path with cliffs on each side of me and multiple branching paths that led to nothing. If you ever played Mario Kart 64, I remember it being similar to the Yoshii’s valley course without the fences lol. But for some reason, I knew which way to go at each fork. Along the way, I saw friends and family happily skipping by me without even noticing me. Eventually I reached the end of the path and was instantly teleported to a small cabin in the forest on the side of a mountain. I walked inside the cabin and saw a man sitting down who looked very similar to how Jesus is often portrayed in art. The last thing I remember is him saying “It’s okay” and then I woke up. The thing that stuck with me was the overwhelming sense of bliss I felt for the entirety of the dream. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think this was just a dream. I think a lot of people have probably had similar dreams before, so it’s probably not that unique. But I think about that dream often, and sometimes I do wonder if the Holy Spirit was giving me… something… when I had that dream. Because it revitalized a faith in me that was probably shakier than it should have been at the time. I know I’ll always remember it.
That's so cool and special to you. How was The Divine Comedy? Worth the read?Have you read Pilgrims Progressed? One of my favorites. Thanks for sharing your story
*I will share with you what God has shown me =)* We will have a perfected body with a beauty no person existing currently has..we will have a movement of grace beyond the gracefulness of any person currently existing..a language no human being could even try to utter..we exist outside of time so there is no concept of boredom..boredom does NOT exist even for a second..pain is non-existent..any issues we have with a body now will be non-existent then..we will be completely new creatures *=)* there is more I could say but I will leave it at that *=)* God bless Mike 💜 And God bless *ALL* my Brother's and Sister's out there reading this 💜
Glory to God. These aspects were first pointed out to me by David Pawson, truly a teacher through which I've been blessed. Listening to his Revelation exposition is SO very exciting. The victory is won, and it will be most glorious and perfect. Cling to God and his Word, and prepare yourselves for the big trouble as Christians will go through it - and if I'm wrong then preparing costed me nothing, but not to prepare and find ourselves in it could be disastrous.
I so enjoy your presentations and have not found ONE thing you teach that is not scriptural. This presentation on heaven helped me preceive heaven in a new way, much broader, and far more interesting. One concept I had not considered is that what I enjoy on this earth may be very different than what joys, I'll experience in heaven. And I don't need of know what those joys will be. Thanks Mike.
We have such difficulty imaging we'll enjoy an eternity of anything because the truth of Heaven is beyond our finite understanding. It's one of those concepts our minds simply can't grasp right now but our minds try to make sense of it by comparing what we don't know to what we do know. I think when we get there, whatever questions aren't answered will be irrelevant. Don't get me wrong -- I love knowledge and learning and just knowing for the sake of knowing! But with Heaven, I trust that I can't currently understand and that is ok. :)
Thank you for your wordiness. 😊 People like you who can talk for a great length of time, not only pinpointing a topic but also surrounding it like a pair of compasses, amaze me. It's a gift.
I also thought the new earth was a perfect earth like it was before the fall. When I think of eternity I think about what life was like before the fall, walking with God.
Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, is an amazing resource on this subject matter. There might be more comprehensive books out there on Heaven, but I don't know of one that puts the whole subject into modern context as well.
I think it something you just have to have faith in God when he says there will be no more pain or sorrow. Our perception of time may be way different in the after life.
Hi Chris, I hope this teaching lets you recognize heaven and how it is. God isn't going to have us idle or bored. I think of the scripture that says, the sufferings of this world cannot be compared to the things God has prepared for those who love the. If you knew the peace to come, you'd be anxious to get there. We will have responsibilities that are perfect to enjoy. We will have eternity to talk with Moses, King David, Abraham and Sarah,the major and minor prophets, the myrters,the knowledge of creation, the beauty, the activities taking place of the angles and ourselves. Then, to see Jesus face to face, the very God that made Eternal Life a gift to those who believe. Chris, for now studying the Word of God will open up more than the words you read. Jesus is looking for those who love Him, are faithful and endure to the end. Don't let the enemy of your soul put false ideas about heaven in your thoughts. That is who is behind this anxiety. Know the schemes of the enemy, but be of good cheer for Jesus has overcome the enemy. He still will do what the enemy does, but know this;the enemy pushes but the Holy Spirit leads.
We’ll certainly have the capacity to handle it once that age arrives. Maybe instead of thinking of eternity as one vast unit, just picture the moment to moment joys instead.
@Karri Compton Hi Karri, continue listening to the teaching Mike gave about heaven. Read,study and hide the word of God in your heart. Then your mind will be renewed. Your thoughts will secure as the roots of your love for Jesus is being rooted and grounded. You don't know God well yet, but as you apply yourself to spiritual learning, you will mature in developing your understanding of the ways and thoughts of God. It is a journey, one day at a time.
Truly a wonderful overview of the Bible's description of Heaven and a New Earth. As a child of the '60s, I grew up watching Hollywood movies, like "It's A Wonderful Life", where people become angels. What God promises is so much better. Only two things trouble me - but, I'll joyfully deal with them. My wife and I live in a world-famous Southern California surfing spot. The promise that the seas will dry up makes me wonder what surfers will do without the waves of the ocean. I also pray God will receive our pets. Despite that - I just can't wait!
It says there’s no night and no sea. I hope that maybe it’s lost in translation, because I would love to sit by the ocean at night in heaven and just be there with the Lord.
Agreed, and I trust God to resolve the beauty of this world, and those furry folks who reflected a shadow of His Love back to us. He will wipe away every tear and "joy to the full". He cannot lie, so it's a done deal.
Hey Mike...thank you for your wonderful gift of teaching. I so appreciate you and how it has benefitted me. If you don't already know about Randy Alcorn check him out. He has more exhaustive teaching on the the new heaven and new earth than anyone I know.
I know that even if it would be nothing else but being near God saying "Holy Holy Holy is the God almighty" all the time, it would still be a never-ending joy, peace, and beauty.
The word Jesus used for "paradise" is paradeisos which means "a park, that is, (specifically) an Eden (place of future happiness, paradise)". Paradeisos is the Greek word taken from the Hebrew word pardes which means "a park: - forest, orchard" (Strong’s). Jesus said, "Today you shall be with me "en paradeisos," not "en nephele" which is Greek for “in clouds.” The point is that Jesus picked and used the word for "a park." Not just any park but "the paradise of God" or park of God (Revelation 2:7) which for us will be a place of future happiness. This comes from GOT QUESTIONS... This is what I have always been taught. Love the discussions that lead us to study the bible more!
I remember during my Atheist days a lot of the 'deconversion' stories went something along the lines of, "my friend was telling me about how she couldn't wait to be in Heaven singing Holy Holy Holy forever, and I was like, nahh I aint doing the exact same thing for eternity, that sounds like Hell to me!"
I'm glad you did this one, even if it was a yr ago now, as I think there are a lot of people out there, Christian and otherwise, who feel like the biblical interpretation of heaven is a place with a lot of repetition and possible boredom. I think it will have major hints of the world before the fall when everything was as originally designed by God, whereas He might reinstate all the plants/animals as originally created; we already know the 12-fruited tree of life is going to be a thing [talk about your fruit of the month club]. I think it will be as or very similar to the Garden as Adam and Eve knew it before they sinned, but on a larger scale as there's a few more than two of us now (about 2.25M mi² worth, in fact). Nonetheless, it'll be anything but boring, and that it'll be more interesting, engaging, and joyful than anything we've ever known. Part of God's desire to have relationship with us, is that I'm sure we'll be able to share activities and time well spent in however that'll look like, and considering Jesus was always having meals with people... I feel like food will often be involved hehe. Who doesn't like a good meal with those you care about, though? When you consider the new heavens and new earth spoken of, it is something that must be done, for when the fall occurred, it spread effects across the entire universe and had its effects also in the heavenly/spiritual realm with angels that've engaged in lies & deception. Only a full and complete bringing everything down to subatomic level and reforming could cleanse away all the evidences/effects that sin & corruption caused, along with segregation away from all manner of beings/people who denied God. At least we know some of the beauty now in what we see in even the fallen world, but imagine a place where everything is in order and as it should be.
We must always and periodically return to meditate on Heaven and Jesus, our Blessed Hope. I derive much strength from thinking on our future life and the eternal "rightness" that is life with the Lord in the eternal state.
It really touched me, when you seem emotionally moved at min 15:25💖🙏 What I am a little sad about, is, that the sea will be missing on the new earth..🌅🌊
Hi, sounds like a fisherman, water diving, yacht adventures, skiing, etc. Hmm, there will be something to take the place and somehow you won't even miss the oceans or seas.
Hey Pastor, if you see this could you please say a prayer for me. I am being majorly attacked on all fronts (health, finances, job, safety, family). I trust and love God like no other, but man this is looking like the end if God doesnt save me.
Singing 24/7 would bore me to tears on earth, BUT...In His presence: What would I do BUT sing His praises day and night? You know, after He pulls me up off the deck from falling at his feet. It's either an eternity of crying or singing, and what my King wants, my King gets!
I cannot quite put into words how important it is for all to preach the word of God The Father and Jesus The Son. It is because of my brothers and sisters in Christ that have been vocal and unashamed to proclaim of the Kingdom of God that I am saved. All I want to do is read and study the scriptures, preach to others through the spirit in a way the ears can hear and the heart soften and feel. Praised be El Shaddai! • Matthew 28:19-20 • Mark 16:15
I think the only “fear” I have, and it’s an irrational one, is that it will be the best ever but will come to an end. My brain KNOWS eternity goes on for, well, eternity; however, my flesh is so used to being let down that a ridiculous thought will sometimes whisper “it’s too good to last too long”. I KNOW our Lord promises eternity and He ALWAYS holds to His promises. My flesh is a finicky and annoying thing. Just waiting for Revelation 22:4. I want to behold my Abba.
hey Mike! as of lately ive been interested in the perspective of kierkegaard. would you at all interested in doing a deep dive surrounding the belief's of soron Kierkegaard?
I think teleporting to the top of the Jerusalem cube, and skydiving down to the bottom while watching the city fly by, will be very enjoyable to do when we're there. Just looking out your window and seeing millions of people falling from the sky would be crazy
only two minutes in, but initial thought: I imagine most people think heaven only looks like standing and singing, because they understand subconsciously that in heaven we will be constantly worshiping God, which is correct, but think that standing and singing in church is the only way we worship God, which is incorrect. "whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do it all to the glory of God" (paraphrase) implies that every action we take should be worshiping God. most people, myself included sometimes, see our daily life as incapable of glorifying God, which shows an incongruity in our thinking.
I agree. I think whatever we're doing in heaven--maybe skiing or hiking or baking or writing--it will all be worship. It will all be to God's glory. I'm not sure what it will be like but it won't be what most Christians think: the worst church service they've ever been to--only for all eternity--singing that one song they can't stand over and over.
Hi Mike! Thank you so much for your ministry, your videos are a true blessing to all of us. I wanted to ask you a question on your live q&a but I guess I missed it or there was no q&a last Friday. So I just wanted to ask if you could say something on: How to deny ourselves and how to place others ahead of us. Thank you in advance if you could do this or if you already have some matetial on this could you refer me to it? God bless!
Very informative video! Even while being a Christian all my life I still learn more and more about it everyday, and this video definitely helped me few Christianity in a wider lens.
Chuck Norris! That made me laugh. Great video. I used to have a very low idea of heaven. With a full understanding, I can now view it as Paul did. I’m excited.
I'm very glad to see this video. These are concepts that so often go overlooked, and I'm happy that someone is bringing attention to how far off the mark the popular conception of Heaven is. The Sunday School version that most people imagine is so far dumbed down from what the Bible actually teaches us about the afterlife.
I think I missed one of your scripture references. Which one covered the Chuck Norris eternity statement? Maybe there should be a full video covering that topic!
In eternity, we will have enough time to meet every saint who has ever lived. We will hear all of their stories. How they overcame. They will have time to hear our stories. Think of fellowship in church, but with every saint who has ever lived.
If one looks at the context of sooo many scriptures...the future is BRIGHT when it comes to believers: in the New Earth, there will be politics, wealth, festivals, and more. There will be dwelling places to live, there will be eating and drinking...all in a place where God's actual presence will cause the Universe to be energized and upheld. The perfection, the good, the awesomeness that Adam and Eve were SUPPOSED to experience will all of the believers of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, experience, and sooooo much more...and even the great things you can ever imagine?? "Eye has not seen, Ear has not heard, nor has it ever entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those that love Him" 1 Corinthians 2:9 CHRIST IS KING!! ✝️
Every time I think about this my head just hurts lol! It’s like my little pea brain can’t even comprehend what living forever would be like. I don’t know if we actually even can begin to understand what it’s REALLY gonna be like. I believe it will take us all of eternity to figure out and learn every facet of God and his goodness, which will be part of the joy of heaven. It’s just crazy, it’s gonna be so good but it’s definitely hard to think about in the present with the constraints of our flesh minds.
Exactly, a useful way to think about our bodies in eternal heaven is how 3D is more "real" than 2D, so our bodies on earth are a shadow of things to come
Heaven will be a place where everyone is selflessly living for everyone else. Currently we live in a world where everyone is trying to live for themselves and please themselves, but in heaven, you'll have potentially billions of others living just to serve you, and you them. I can't even imagine how amazing that will be.
This is amazing. We have those who have died being raised just like Christ, and those who will experience being transformed while being alive, taking to Gods presence. Enoch, and Elijah didn’t die. So two groups will experience one or the other, that is so awesome!!! God is awesome!!
Lol, “spiritual chihuahua” 🤣 Honestly, I think about the biblical teaching of [a new] Heaven once in a blue moon and today was one of them -it’s overwhelmingly beautiful. All glory to GOD.
Great interpretation Mike. Question: On death, and we (our spirits/souls) return to God's presence (as did Jesus' spirit from the cross), do you believe we will be conscious or unconscious when we (our spirits) are in God's presence? Both Jesus and Paul (and Shakespeare) liken death to sleep. From what I understand, our resurrection into the new earth will be like awakening from the sleep of death in our new resurrected bodies. Surely a disembodied conscious self cannot/ will not become resurrected? Rather, our unconscious spirit/soul in God's presence will be 'awakened' from death/sleep in our new glorified bodies in the new Earth. So after death, we are not conscious until our resurrection. Does this sound biblically correct? It may seem overly simplistic but it makes sense to me. I'm learning all the time and happy to be corrected by other people's scripturally based explanations.
God’s original intention for us was to live as physical beings on the Earth and to tend it. I don’t know why that would suddenly change with the new Creation. I’m sure we will all be surprised when our Father reveals everything to us 😊
Explain this... Daniel 12:13 “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” -1 Corinthians 2:9
I don't remember ever hearing a sermon about what we would do in heaven. It was always older Christian women who would make claims about it. Heaven and resurrection are weirdly enough not really adressed in the churches I've gone to. Only as an adult did I find out that resurrection is the final destination and heaven is not.
So, since those that have died in Christ go into God’s presence, what about those who die without Christ? Do they go to the judgement at the end of time right at their death? Or do they also have a waiting period like those saved, until the judgement at the end. (PS- I know there is different judgements at the end, one for believers and one for nonbelievers…)
Hey Mike I'm from Turkey. I converted to Christianity from Islam and you are helping me a lot for learning about bible. I wanna say thank you and may God bless you.
Edit: Thanks for all your support prays and good wishes I'm reading them with tears in my eyes.
That’s awesome
God bless you brother, I am praying for your country and your people after the recent earthquakes.
God bless You brother, God loves You and I’m glad that You have been saved!
Welcome to the Church my friend. stay safe round those parts
Welcome to the Body of Christ brother. Or sister. 👍✝️❤️
I was just on the verge of an anxiety attack last night on my way home from work thinking about the idea of eternity, then today I see this as the first video suggested on my TH-cam. Thank you Mike and thank You God for taking care of all my needs❤️
Wow! I’m 76 and have had that same anxiety attack for all these years. Thought I was the only one! Thank you for sharing that. Your reply and this video helps so much. Blessing.
That same thing happens to me periodically over the years. I hate it and I wish it didn’t, but my mind just freaks out even though I know the Lord and trust Him. God bless.
@@karricompton I guess our finite minds can’t comprehend it, and Mikes explanation helps so much.
Haven't watched the video yet but I think eternity itself is so daunting to us as such finite beings that's its okay to just about be overcome at the thought- as long as that drives us to our knees before Jesus and nowhere else! ❤️
Edited to add that God also does these things all the time for me. Even down to the perfectly recommended videos at the perfect time haha.
@@karricompton see my above comment I meant it for the OP but could be for you too!
'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” - the things God has prepared for those who love him.' The human mind/brain cannot even begin to comprehend what God has in store for those who love him 🙏🏽🙏🏽
The next verse says, "But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit." Don't feel bad. This is an often misquoted verse. I thought you'd benefit from hearing the whole context. I had a friend once who heard me praying, "Lord humble me." He pulled me aside and pointed out that scripture actually tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord. I never forgot that and have greatly appreciated it. Take care!
There will still be a sense of familiarity. Plus the New Earth during our reign here with Jesus will still be Earth, but it will be perfect. Of course it will have all God's unrestrained creativity and perfection. Guess we'll find out huh?!!! These convos just make me excited to go lol it's gonna be incredible that we do know :)
@@takingupmycross9869well done. This is good to see
Those scriptures aren’t about what people will experience in heaven nor is it how heaven will appear if that is what you’re implying by posting them.
The verses are about godly wisdom that comes from above and through the spirit. Paul is referring to the secret/mystery of the kingdom of God which was hidden to previous generations and IMO most people don’t understand it today.
What was revealed to true Christians were the deep things of God. They weren’t all given visions of how the actual heavenly realm would be or what to expect.
Paul said it wasn’t revealed to previous generations but prophets were given visions of things that would occur or was occurring in heaven. Therefore, Paul was not talking about heavenly life and it’s experiences.
Paul even mentioned of possibly having a supernatural vision of someone being caught away to the 3 heaven, BUT he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t even sure if the man was in bodily form or some of the form. That doesn’t sound like he was given direct and incontrovertible data about the heavenly realm.
*2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-5*
That verse had nothing to do with heaven. First we ain’t going to heaven that ain’t nothing but Greek gnostic junk, we are going to new earth, but ya that verse had nothing to do with heaven, often used allot in the church
I am so grateful for your sound teaching. I was caught up in new age/occult practices and drug addiction for ten years, and Christ entered my life October 2022. ✝️🙏♥️ God bless you and your ministry!
It is Feb. 13, 2023. "Oct." And "this year?"
@@CircleWedge Thank you, yes 2022. Thank you ❤️
@@ThatsTheTruth7 I actually heard the Michael Knowles podcast with Angela Ucci and she was giving her testimony. It was a few days later I was filled with the Holy Spirit and I honestly felt that I was going crazy, I didn't know what was happening.
I threw out all of my crystals, new age paraphernalia. I bought a Bible and I haven't been able to stop.
I never knew there was this whole world of Christianity. I started researching and watching testimonials and could not believe how many people are and have had the same experiences.
I have this peace and joy that I never knew was possible. Praise Jesus ✝️
@@ThatsTheTruth7 No service, I was at home. It caught me completely off guard. When my husband came home I could not even talk about it for a few days, I was so overwhelmed.
Welcome to the family!
As a self absorbed, pleasure seeking, un-redeemed teen I was forced to go to a church service with my mom where we sang hymns that I didn’t know, for seemingly forever. As we finally sat down, the pastor stood up and referred to the singing, saying, “I think that is what heaven will be like.” I panicked and decided that heaven was not for me, if it was an eternity of sitting on hard pews or standing singing old songs I didn’t know. THANKFULLY, God persued me and drew me to Himself, showing through His Word that apart from Him there is no joy. In my late 20’s I finally realized that God would only make Heaven good. I think that our wrong perceptions of heaven can be a huge stumbling block, so it is so important to know what the Bible says Heaven is or isn’t.
Psalms 37:29
The righteous will inherit the earth and dwell in it forever.
Thanks for sharing. So I'm a curious Mom.U mentioned ur Mom taking u to church. Do u mind me asking how often she took u? Were you a Christian at that time? U mentioned God persuing you. That's awesome & I can totally relate. I try to take my 2 daughters to church but my oldest doesn't like going(the seats are even cushiony☺️) idk I guess I just was encouraged reading ur post. Blessings to you and your family
@@susiequsie1980My mom took my brother and I as young kids to several different churches off and on, we tended to be “church-hoppers”. She was a believer but wasn’t discipled and my dad wasn’t a believer, so he didn’t go to church with us. When I was about 10 my parents decided that we should attend church every Sunday, so we all went to a small Methodist church in our town. Unfortunately there was no actual preaching there, it was more like a feel-good message every week. When I was 12 a new girl moved to our town and invited me to her youth group at a Baptist church in the next town over. I resisted because I knew I didn’t want to be told to repent and believe in Jesus. But she was persistent and I eventually agreed to go. It was there that I heard the gospel and after a couple years repented of my sin and accepted Christ’s sacrifice and wanted to live my life for Him.
Praying for you and your girls. ❤ My advice is to be consistent in going to a Bible preaching church, read the Bible together with you girls everyday, and just show them how good He is.
As an engineer, I could almost imagine a billion things to do in the new heaven and earth. Imagine what you could do when you have all the knowledge you could ever need and want. Just the thought of that alone makes me really excited. Its made even more exciting imagining you will be there together with your Holy Father forever! Wow!
Thank you for this comment. I absolutely get what you’re saying! I’m excited too!
I believe that is very much what it is going to be like. We have eternity to work and build for God and ourselves. Kids create drawings and things for their parents not becuase there is some great need for those but because the children love their parents. We will want to build and create for God.
All eternity to pick God's brain of all the historical questions we ever had. Pretty cool to think about.
@PitterPatter my constant search of knowledge will be fed endless streams of information! That will be wonderful
@@Shrimpwagon wow, that really hit home for me. Great comment
Heaven isn't a destination. It's a forever experience with God!. I really can't wrap my head around that but I'm thankful the Lord allows us to speculate! 🙏❤️🙏
It is a destination for a while. Believers are there until the earth is restored and they get their resurrection bodies. After Jesus'' reign on earth,there will be a new Heaven and a new earth.
As well as a destination.
When Christ revealed himself to me i was filled with overwhelming joy. I think that was a taste of Heaven.
I was thinking that very thing when Mike was describing how Paul views eternity. I thought that Paul must compare it to the Damascus road experience.
@@TruthIsAsOldAsYah It seems that Paul had been given many direct revelations. For example, I think it is in Phillipians, where he talks about "surpassingly great revelations" and being given a vision of heaven; for the sake of his teaching he doesn't even identify himself as the recipient (so that he may boast instead in his weaknesses and persecutions).
@@josephbrandenburg4373 yes, I agree. But it all started with a very profound meeting from on high that changed him in an instant. Everything else was just added on top of that.
@@TruthIsAsOldAsYah well, when we get there we'll have to ask him which one of us is right
As it is said in the Bible it will be righteousness peace and joy. The first one is righteousness, so let us strive for it so that eventually we will gain heavenly peace and joy as well.
When I was 5 years old, God gave me a most incredible dream about the New Jerusalem descending from heaven unto the earth. It was amazing and I never forgot it. I'm definitely leaning towards it being an actual event. I guess we'll see🙏
I hope ur right.
What did the dream look like if you don't mind saying it?
@@cutepuddleslime8201 I want to do a video on it soon so I will come back and provide a link for you
@@mysilverscreendiaryhi. 1 year later, checking in. Did you ever make your video about the dream you had?
The fact that the afterlife is Eternal is one of the BEST qualities of it. If it were to end, we’d be dreading that day coming, even if it were a million years away… I’d be counting down the days. I’ve been on a vacation and just thought “Man, eventually this is gonna end” and it ruins the vacation I’m in. I keep looking towards the end of it!
Time going by causes an intense amount of distress on earth today. Constant deadlines. Constantly having to worry about being prepared for the future. Constantly worried about getting old.
But Eternality is this promise that this good thing never has to end. An immense stress reliever.
That was a beautiful way to sum it up!! And I'm exactly like you ... if I'm on vacation, I'm dreading and thinking about the end ... I have a difficulty living in the moment. I love how you put this in perspective for me so perfectly ! Thank you. It will be such a stress relief to know there's no end to the JOY. That really takes my breath away and honestly brings me to tears. Life right now is the opposite ... full of stress and little joy. Thank you, again for this! God bless you!
@@joans6047 Praise God, I’m glad it helped you! God bless!
@@quickattackfilms7923 Yes, praise God! You were definitely a blessing to me tonight!
And with no death that would mean there’s no rush anymore. The majority of our society is fast paced and money-reliant because of death. Without that deadline (literally), there’s less reason to pay people to outsource work you have no time for or to freak out if you miss an opportunity. Trading and money would be greatly reduced if existing at all, and we probably won’t have a tighter schedule except for big events or festivals. Time will still go by…we couldn’t live timelessly unless we became infinite enough to contain time like God. Our glorified bodies are finite in that sense; it’s just that the experience of linear time won’t contain the ultimate deadline.
@@Window4503 Yeah definitely. Limited time to push out projects has done a lot of damage to the earth. Instead of finding more ethical solutions to problems, they rush through them even though there are major consequences. Like we rush to make housing and are willing to destroy an entire forest for the lumber. Or we rush to make railroads so we force people into slave labor to produce them. A lot of damage done to get things done quickly.
But there won’t be any rush like that in heaven.
Hey Mike, your teaching for Romans 12 broken up between a few sermons from years ago has helped me in such a powerful way. I’ve struggled for decades and I’m beginning to see more clearly, like a fog finally clearing. So grateful for your teaching and using your gifts and talents to grow the kingdom.
I think his Romans series is the best thing ever.
Yes, I love Mike's teachings on Romans too. Verse by verse he explains everything. Makes me love the Bible more.😊
I was terrified of the idea of "heaven" when I was young. I don't know if it started as a dream I had or just popped into my mind, but my idea was like being in just an enormous bubble or spherical open space, surrounded by millions and millions of other souls, and all just kind of revolving around this glowing light in the center that I imagined was God, and all we could do for eternity was circle and stare at it. The idea of doing that for five minutes was scary to a (very) young me, and the idea of doing that forever without end was the worst thing I could imagine.
My views have evolved some in the thirty years since.
"and the idea of doing that forever without end was the worst thing I could imagine"
And that, my friend, is what the typical Christian is looking forward to.
More terrified of Hell then Heaven
@@thomasmaughan4798 no, it's not. That was my dumb view as a six year old.
@@billbadson7598As a child I had the same thought.
I’d stand there and sing constantly.
I mean, now that I honestly love worship, that doesn’t sound too bad, but of course I know now we aren’t just going to be in the clouds being stuck singing haha.
@@ZachFish-How do you know it’s not going to be that?
Hi Mike, your teaching encouraged myself and my wife to start attending church again, we are both firm believers but we were lazy and afraid of going to a church that wasn’t “our parents” church.
And while we do attend said church, I still love listening to your videos, I love food! 😂
Thanks for this. My momma and BIL both passed last May so it's definitely been on my mind more than it had been. I agree with you. When we are made perfect... the way it was meant to be in the beginning... we won't get bored or tired-of or sad-about living forever. God is SO good that He wouldn't let us stay here, in this mess, forever (my brain hurts thinking about the people in the beginning who were here for 900+ years!). Eternity is saved for holy and perfect and in His presence. I can't wait!
1 Corinthians 2:9
"What no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and has not entered into heart of man, what God has prepared for those loving Him."
I just cannot wait for the time when I am in the presence of God for all eternity. For now, I will shed tears and pray constantly for my family to come to know Him.
Keep praying! I’ve seen families turn around miraculously
Thanks Pastor Mike, all I can say is I Can't Wait for Eternity with God! So Stay Strong Brothers and Sisters for Our Redemption draws near! God bless you Pastor Mike and your ministry!
I too, have thought about and been frightened over eternity. I know we won’t feel that way when we are there, but the physical mindset we have now, the “been there, done that, what’s next” throws us off. Thank you for putting things into perspective and reminding us that it’s our frail and corrupted mind and bodies that have us thinking this way, and that heaven and eternity is far better than anything we can imagine.
Something that unexpectedly helped me with that was reading a couple of books by Hugh Ross. His theory of creation is interesting. What I appreciated is that he gives examples of how aspects of quantum mechanics may fold into scriptural truth and give a scientific background to what we believe. Regardless of whether or not he is correct, the reading helped me to start getting out of our linear/black & white/unidimensional worldview and to start lifting a little toward the possibilities in how God thinks and acts, beyond our concepts of space-time. We really miss it because we’re far too narrow in our perceptions. If anyone has seen Interstellar, I think that there are scenes in it that honestly push forward into truth and reality as it is and not just as our limitations present it to us. Scripture is my absolute final authority, but we are given curiosity and imagination for a reason also. The shift in my view has helped me ultimately, even if I can’t necessarily prove how.
I think that C.S. Lewis introduced some pretty cool thoughts on this, with his Chronicles of Narnia series. Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve leading the people with justice and honor, in a land where everyone already knew of Aslan and his father the Emperor Across the Sea. It's also interesting that the White Witch, being from another world, still knew of the oldest laws that were written (by the Emperor) that governed existence, but that predated Narnia itself. When Peter is ending his last visit to Narnia, and Aslan first shows Himself as a lamb, he tells Peter that they know Him by a different name, here on Earth.
I know that's all from a fictional series, but one that Lewis steeped in allegory. Such a beautiful series.
Some thoughts on what _may_ be part of God's plan, after the new heavens and new Jerusalem are created:
When the new Jerusalem is described in Revelation 21, it states "The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it." There will be _nations._
We're also told that He is making of us a royal priesthood. Consider the biblical roles of priesthood, and we understand how that calls us to conduct ourselves while in this life. It is possible (this is only conjecture; I'm not trying to create doctrine or anything) that our role as the royal priesthood extends into eternity.
The universe is a big place, and I doubt the new one will be much smaller. And God wastes nothing, not even pain. He may have some pretty incredible things being prepared!
Just one correction, Narnia isn't allegory. In Lewis's own words, it's a what if that's exploring what Yeshua might look like in another world.
@@blanktrigger8863 Ah, okay. Very cool. So, he was quite literally describing that hypothetical, just not in the time frame of the new creation to come. That's interesting, because Aslan says that we know Him by a different name. I wonder if that means Lewis was suggesting that He died more than once to provide redemption, or (more likely) Aslan's statement was simply delivered to the readers by way of Peter.
Imagine going a sick hike in new earth and your feet never hurt and the mountains are more beautiful than ever and if you run into a bear he won’t even try to eat you
Exactly... It's all imagination.
I think one other thing to consider is that in our current body is limited by design. Eternity is such a foreign concept because death is such a real thing in our world due to the fall. This makes eternity seem scary because we can't really comprehend it. It is unknown to us and the unknown is always scary. However, as Mike brought up, we will have new, glorified, bodies unstained by sin. In that form, I believe our brains will be more able to comprehend eternity, making it much less scary. As Paul said, we only see dimly in our mirror, unable to understand. What excites me about this is that in our new bodies and ability to more fully comprehend infinite concepts, we will be able to more full know and understand our infinite God.
I Love the work you do for our Father in heaven. Thank you Mike Winger great job man...don't stop. I've had a thought many times when thinking about eternity. We've all had a family get together or party, maybe a camping trip, where we just have a great time. Talking and singing with people that you love. Together loving God loving nature that he created, loving the moment. Then when it's over and you gotta go back to work the next day you just don't want it to end. Like a Christmas party with everybody that you ever loved and missed there. And then God the Father comes(kinda like Santa except he's real😁) and blesses everyone, hugs us, laughs with us, talks with us, plays with us like children.... I could live at that party for eternity. Praise God!I can't wait
@Mike Winger
I just recently started thinking about heaven in a way that got me excited.
I am 26, and was saved when I was about 20.
I never really understood why other Christians would desire that Jesus come soon, because, well, I enjoy living life on Earth. I imagined that heaven would be just like you described, an ethereal experience, where we would constantly be singing, and wouldn't have any will. Recently I was in church and got the idea that, what if heaven is just like this but without sin. Where we can laugh, and make conversation together, where we can play, worship together, create memories, and enjoy the (new) world.
It got me excited. It gave me understanding of the phrase "Come quickly, Lord Jesus"
WONDERFUL!!!!!
Ohhhh how much I yearn for that new and improved body! This one is old and worn…So much in need of repair. 😢 Come, Lord Jesus !! 🙏♥️
I’m so tired all the time. That’s why I have moments of wondering if I could endure a forever. That I know will change. I can’t wait to run and jump and not be weary, like EVER. Glorious thought.
Tracey Burroughs from South Africa 🇿🇦 watching this video. Thank you for explaining this subject. You explained it well.
I’m wondering if your idea of heaven came from your early religious experience. I grew up in a Bible verse by verse church. I have never pictured myself singing for eternity. Streets of gold, meeting Biblical charachters, and other things beyond “what we can imagine” It will be so exciting.
I have often wondered about what heaven will be like. I think the best things about it will be being sinless and living in a world without death and suffering. And most of all, being in the presence of God with no barriers. It's a mystery to me to understand that believers will be the bride of Christ, but that's definitely something to look forward to eagerly. There'll be no physical union between men and women, but we'll have Christ as our bridegroom. What a huge thing to contemplate this side of eternity!
This video broke me and made me smile. I never thought about the new heaven and earth and how this heaven is only a transitional period towards the new heaven. I never considered the fact that we can see eachother in physical/spiritual bodies i always thought it would be an etheral thing you can't describe. You answered my questions about Heaven perfectly and made me relived it wasn't the same thing over and over. You got a subscriber.
When I was 16 I developed an interest in classic literature and was reading The Divine Comedy. One night I had a dream where i had just died and was “ascending” to heaven. But in my dream it was more like walking down a narrow path with cliffs on each side of me and multiple branching paths that led to nothing. If you ever played Mario Kart 64, I remember it being similar to the Yoshii’s valley course without the fences lol. But for some reason, I knew which way to go at each fork. Along the way, I saw friends and family happily skipping by me without even noticing me. Eventually I reached the end of the path and was instantly teleported to a small cabin in the forest on the side of a mountain. I walked inside the cabin and saw a man sitting down who looked very similar to how Jesus is often portrayed in art. The last thing I remember is him saying “It’s okay” and then I woke up. The thing that stuck with me was the overwhelming sense of bliss I felt for the entirety of the dream.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I think this was just a dream. I think a lot of people have probably had similar dreams before, so it’s probably not that unique. But I think about that dream often, and sometimes I do wonder if the Holy Spirit was giving me… something… when I had that dream. Because it revitalized a faith in me that was probably shakier than it should have been at the time. I know I’ll always remember it.
That's so cool and special to you. How was The Divine Comedy? Worth the read?Have you read Pilgrims Progressed? One of my favorites. Thanks for sharing your story
It’s a real pleasure hearing you speak the Bible and elaborate on passages. 🙏🏻 Thank you. Praise God.
Thanks, Mike, that increased my understanding. I am so looking forward to it!
My guitar playing will be amazing after a few billion years of practice, lol
Can't wait
This guy gets it
Awesome. I want to swim like a fish and hold my breath for long periods of time. 😊
Oh yeah....
And ride a T-Rex
@@centerfiresuppressionllc682 heck yes. Lol or fly on a pterodactyl.
I just might be able to play an F chord eventually 😂
*I will share with you what God has shown me =)* We will have a perfected body with a beauty no person existing currently has..we will have a movement of grace beyond the gracefulness of any person currently existing..a language no human being could even try to utter..we exist outside of time so there is no concept of boredom..boredom does NOT exist even for a second..pain is non-existent..any issues we have with a body now will be non-existent then..we will be completely new creatures *=)* there is more I could say but I will leave it at that *=)* God bless Mike 💜 And God bless *ALL* my Brother's and Sister's out there reading this 💜
Ecstasy. Your words convey the meaning of effortless very well. Expertise as well.
Glory to God.
These aspects were first pointed out to me by David Pawson, truly a teacher through which I've been blessed.
Listening to his Revelation exposition is SO very exciting. The victory is won, and it will be most glorious and perfect.
Cling to God and his Word, and prepare yourselves for the big trouble as Christians will go through it - and if I'm wrong then preparing costed me nothing, but not to prepare and find ourselves in it could be disastrous.
I so enjoy your presentations and have not found ONE thing you teach that is not scriptural.
This presentation on heaven helped me preceive heaven in a new way, much broader, and far more interesting.
One concept I had not considered is that what I enjoy on this earth may be very different than what joys, I'll experience in heaven. And I don't need of know what those joys will be.
Thanks Mike.
We have such difficulty imaging we'll enjoy an eternity of anything because the truth of Heaven is beyond our finite understanding. It's one of those concepts our minds simply can't grasp right now but our minds try to make sense of it by comparing what we don't know to what we do know. I think when we get there, whatever questions aren't answered will be irrelevant. Don't get me wrong -- I love knowledge and learning and just knowing for the sake of knowing! But with Heaven, I trust that I can't currently understand and that is ok. :)
Thank you for your wordiness. 😊 People like you who can talk for a great length of time, not only pinpointing a topic but also surrounding it like a pair of compasses, amaze me. It's a gift.
I also thought the new earth was a perfect earth like it was before the fall. When I think of eternity I think about what life was like before the fall, walking with God.
Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, is an amazing resource on this subject matter. There might be more comprehensive books out there on Heaven, but I don't know of one that puts the whole subject into modern context as well.
@Erik Scanlan There is likely a workbook version, but the actual book is just dictation, no reflection. I hope that helps? :)
I get literal panic attacks when I think of eternity. Something that never ends is incomprehensible to me and it drives me insane.
I think it something you just have to have faith in God when he says there will be no more pain or sorrow. Our perception of time may be way different in the after life.
Hi Chris, I hope this teaching lets you recognize heaven and how it is. God isn't going to have us idle or bored. I think of the scripture that says, the sufferings of this world cannot be compared to the things God has prepared for those who love the.
If you knew the peace to come, you'd be anxious to get there. We will have responsibilities that are perfect to enjoy. We will have eternity to talk with Moses, King David, Abraham and Sarah,the major and minor prophets, the myrters,the knowledge of creation, the beauty, the activities taking place of the angles and ourselves. Then, to see Jesus face to face, the very God that made Eternal Life a gift to those who believe.
Chris, for now studying the Word of God will open up more than the words you read. Jesus is looking for those who love Him, are faithful and endure to the end.
Don't let the enemy of your soul put false ideas about heaven in your thoughts. That is who is behind this anxiety. Know the schemes of the enemy, but be of good cheer for Jesus has overcome the enemy. He still will do what the enemy does, but know this;the enemy pushes but the Holy Spirit leads.
We’ll certainly have the capacity to handle it once that age arrives. Maybe instead of thinking of eternity as one vast unit, just picture the moment to moment joys instead.
It’s hard for me too. You are not alone.
@Karri Compton
Hi Karri, continue listening to the teaching Mike gave about heaven.
Read,study and hide the word of God in your heart. Then your mind will be renewed. Your thoughts will secure as the roots of your love for Jesus is being rooted and grounded. You don't know God well yet, but as you apply yourself to spiritual learning, you will mature in developing your understanding of the ways and thoughts of God. It is a journey, one day at a time.
Thanks for that video. May the Lord continue to give you discernment
Truly a wonderful overview of the Bible's description of Heaven and a New Earth. As a child of the '60s, I grew up watching Hollywood movies, like "It's A Wonderful Life", where people become angels. What God promises is so much better. Only two things trouble me - but, I'll joyfully deal with them. My wife and I live in a world-famous Southern California surfing spot. The promise that the seas will dry up makes me wonder what surfers will do without the waves of the ocean. I also pray God will receive our pets. Despite that - I just can't wait!
It says there’s no night and no sea. I hope that maybe it’s lost in translation, because I would love to sit by the ocean at night in heaven and just be there with the Lord.
Agreed, and I trust God to resolve the beauty of this world, and those furry folks who reflected a shadow of His Love back to us. He will wipe away every tear and "joy to the full". He cannot lie, so it's a done deal.
Hey Mike...thank you for your wonderful gift of teaching. I so appreciate you and how it has benefitted me. If you don't already know about Randy Alcorn check him out. He has more exhaustive teaching on the the new heaven and new earth than anyone I know.
I know that even if it would be nothing else but being near God saying "Holy Holy Holy is the God almighty" all the time, it would still be a never-ending joy, peace, and beauty.
Thank you! Have been studying about this and you helped answer some of my questions.
The word Jesus used for "paradise" is paradeisos which means "a park, that is, (specifically) an Eden (place of future happiness, paradise)". Paradeisos is the Greek word taken from the Hebrew word pardes which means "a park: - forest, orchard" (Strong’s). Jesus said, "Today you shall be with me "en paradeisos," not "en nephele" which is Greek for “in clouds.” The point is that Jesus picked and used the word for "a park." Not just any park but "the paradise of God" or park of God (Revelation 2:7) which for us will be a place of future happiness. This comes from GOT QUESTIONS... This is what I have always been taught. Love the discussions that lead us to study the bible more!
Yes we will be in paradise in earth not in heaven
This was beautiful! Thank you for your faithful teaching 🙏🏾
What a glorious time this will be!! Praise God!!
I'm so excited about Eternity 😄 Thank you for this, Brother Mike.
I remember during my Atheist days a lot of the 'deconversion' stories went something along the lines of, "my friend was telling me about how she couldn't wait to be in Heaven singing Holy Holy Holy forever, and I was like, nahh I aint doing the exact same thing for eternity, that sounds like Hell to me!"
I have sympathy.
Hi, we are so blessed to hear ministers, such as Mike, teaching us biblically about our eternal life to come.
Beautifully done Mike. Thank you 🙏
Very lovely!
So good. I believe that as we never tire of taking our next breath now when we are in good health, we will never tire of our next day in Heaven.
I'm glad you did this one, even if it was a yr ago now, as I think there are a lot of people out there, Christian and otherwise, who feel like the biblical interpretation of heaven is a place with a lot of repetition and possible boredom. I think it will have major hints of the world before the fall when everything was as originally designed by God, whereas He might reinstate all the plants/animals as originally created; we already know the 12-fruited tree of life is going to be a thing [talk about your fruit of the month club]. I think it will be as or very similar to the Garden as Adam and Eve knew it before they sinned, but on a larger scale as there's a few more than two of us now (about 2.25M mi² worth, in fact). Nonetheless, it'll be anything but boring, and that it'll be more interesting, engaging, and joyful than anything we've ever known. Part of God's desire to have relationship with us, is that I'm sure we'll be able to share activities and time well spent in however that'll look like, and considering Jesus was always having meals with people... I feel like food will often be involved hehe. Who doesn't like a good meal with those you care about, though?
When you consider the new heavens and new earth spoken of, it is something that must be done, for when the fall occurred, it spread effects across the entire universe and had its effects also in the heavenly/spiritual realm with angels that've engaged in lies & deception. Only a full and complete bringing everything down to subatomic level and reforming could cleanse away all the evidences/effects that sin & corruption caused, along with segregation away from all manner of beings/people who denied God. At least we know some of the beauty now in what we see in even the fallen world, but imagine a place where everything is in order and as it should be.
We must always and periodically return to meditate on Heaven and Jesus, our Blessed Hope. I derive much strength from thinking on our future life and the eternal "rightness" that is life with the Lord in the eternal state.
It really touched me, when you seem emotionally moved at min 15:25💖🙏
What I am a little sad about, is, that the sea will be missing on the new earth..🌅🌊
Hi, sounds like a fisherman, water diving, yacht adventures, skiing, etc. Hmm, there will be something to take the place and somehow you won't even miss the oceans or seas.
Hey Pastor, if you see this could you please say a prayer for me. I am being majorly attacked on all fronts (health, finances, job, safety, family). I trust and love God like no other, but man this is looking like the end if God doesnt save me.
Singing 24/7 would bore me to tears on earth, BUT...In His presence: What would I do BUT sing His praises day and night? You know, after He pulls me up off the deck from falling at his feet. It's either an eternity of crying or singing, and what my King wants, my King gets!
'He who kisses the joy as it flies, lives in Eternity's sunrise' - William Blake
Gotta be the best answer Mike Winger has ever given on his 20 questions shows!
I cannot quite put into words how important it is for all to preach the word of God The Father and Jesus The Son.
It is because of my brothers and sisters in Christ that have been vocal and unashamed to proclaim of the Kingdom of God that I am saved. All I want to do is read and study the scriptures, preach to others through the spirit in a way the ears can hear and the heart soften and feel.
Praised be El Shaddai!
• Matthew 28:19-20
• Mark 16:15
I think the only “fear” I have, and it’s an irrational one, is that it will be the best ever but will come to an end. My brain KNOWS eternity goes on for, well, eternity; however, my flesh is so used to being let down that a ridiculous thought will sometimes whisper “it’s too good to last too long”. I KNOW our Lord promises eternity and He ALWAYS holds to His promises. My flesh is a finicky and annoying thing. Just waiting for Revelation 22:4. I want to behold my Abba.
Excellent explanation Mike!! Many thanks
Love the sound doctrine you are preaching and touching beliefs most avoid. God bless brother.
Thank you my brother in Christ , I appreciate you greatly.
hey Mike! as of lately ive been interested in the perspective of kierkegaard. would you at all interested in doing a deep dive surrounding the belief's of soron Kierkegaard?
You should get Randy Alcorn on here.
Eternity is so difficult to imagine, as we are bound by time and space. Heaven will be ever-present wonders, joy, and praise. I can’t wait!
Appreciate your thoughts, brother. Thanks for sharing!
Glorified bodies, glorified needs. We may find this limited to try & explain what we haven’t experienced, good job laying it out mike!
Thank you!!
Wow, the Corinthians verse was so clear. I’ve read it before, but never truly understood it like this!
I think teleporting to the top of the Jerusalem cube, and skydiving down to the bottom while watching the city fly by, will be very enjoyable to do when we're there. Just looking out your window and seeing millions of people falling from the sky would be crazy
Thanks Mike for sharing. We gain another knowledge regarding heaven. God bless us all 🙏
only two minutes in, but initial thought:
I imagine most people think heaven only looks like standing and singing, because they understand subconsciously that in heaven we will be constantly worshiping God, which is correct, but think that standing and singing in church is the only way we worship God, which is incorrect. "whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do it all to the glory of God" (paraphrase) implies that every action we take should be worshiping God.
most people, myself included sometimes, see our daily life as incapable of glorifying God, which shows an incongruity in our thinking.
I agree. I think whatever we're doing in heaven--maybe skiing or hiking or baking or writing--it will all be worship. It will all be to God's glory. I'm not sure what it will be like but it won't be what most Christians think: the worst church service they've ever been to--only for all eternity--singing that one song they can't stand over and over.
@Galaxy Guy praying for you.
Hi Mike!
Thank you so much for your ministry, your videos are a true blessing to all of us.
I wanted to ask you a question on your live q&a but I guess I missed it or there was no q&a last Friday.
So I just wanted to ask if you could say something on: How to deny ourselves and how to place others ahead of us.
Thank you in advance if you could do this or if you already have some matetial on this could you refer me to it?
God bless!
I still struggle to reconcile the separation from my wife and children.
This is my biggest concern-especially since losing my mother.
Very informative video! Even while being a Christian all my life I still learn more and more about it everyday, and this video definitely helped me few Christianity in a wider lens.
Thank you Pastor Mike, for doing what you do. God bless you always.🙏🏾
Wonderful video! So encouraging, reassuring and inspiring! Thank you!
Chuck Norris! That made me laugh. Great video. I used to have a very low idea of heaven. With a full understanding, I can now view it as Paul did. I’m excited.
20:37 “spiritual chihuahua “😂 We’ll get to meet you then. Hopefully on this earth. God bless you Mike.
I'm very glad to see this video. These are concepts that so often go overlooked, and I'm happy that someone is bringing attention to how far off the mark the popular conception of Heaven is. The Sunday School version that most people imagine is so far dumbed down from what the Bible actually teaches us about the afterlife.
I think I missed one of your scripture references. Which one covered the Chuck Norris eternity statement? Maybe there should be a full video covering that topic!
Such a great future to look forward to.
In eternity, we will have enough time to meet every saint who has ever lived. We will hear all of their stories. How they overcame. They will have time to hear our stories. Think of fellowship in church, but with every saint who has ever lived.
As an introvert this doesn't really appeal to me 😂. But I can see how it would be an extrovert's dream lol
The Last Battle really shaped my view of heaven in I think good ways as a kid
If one looks at the context of sooo many scriptures...the future is BRIGHT when it comes to believers: in the New Earth, there will be politics, wealth, festivals, and more. There will be dwelling places to live, there will be eating and drinking...all in a place where God's actual presence will cause the Universe to be energized and upheld. The perfection, the good, the awesomeness that Adam and Eve were SUPPOSED to experience will all of the believers of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, experience, and sooooo much more...and even the great things you can ever imagine??
"Eye has not seen, Ear has not heard, nor has it ever entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those that love Him" 1 Corinthians 2:9
CHRIST IS KING!! ✝️
Every time I think about this my head just hurts lol! It’s like my little pea brain can’t even comprehend what living forever would be like. I don’t know if we actually even can begin to understand what it’s REALLY gonna be like. I believe it will take us all of eternity to figure out and learn every facet of God and his goodness, which will be part of the joy of heaven. It’s just crazy, it’s gonna be so good but it’s definitely hard to think about in the present with the constraints of our flesh minds.
Exactly, a useful way to think about our bodies in eternal heaven is how 3D is more "real" than 2D, so our bodies on earth are a shadow of things to come
God has overwhelming, in a good way of course, peace, love and joy to give us in heaven! It's so wonderful!
Heaven will be a place where everyone is selflessly living for everyone else. Currently we live in a world where everyone is trying to live for themselves and please themselves, but in heaven, you'll have potentially billions of others living just to serve you, and you them. I can't even imagine how amazing that will be.
This is amazing. We have those who have died being raised just like Christ, and those who will experience being transformed while being alive, taking to Gods presence. Enoch, and Elijah didn’t die. So two groups will experience one or the other, that is so awesome!!! God is awesome!!
Lol, “spiritual chihuahua” 🤣
Honestly, I think about the biblical teaching of [a new] Heaven once in a blue moon and today was one of them -it’s overwhelmingly beautiful. All glory to GOD.
Great interpretation Mike. Question: On death, and we (our spirits/souls) return to God's presence (as did Jesus' spirit from the cross), do you believe we will be conscious or unconscious when we (our spirits) are in God's presence? Both Jesus and Paul (and Shakespeare) liken death to sleep. From what I understand, our resurrection into the new earth will be like awakening from the sleep of death in our new resurrected bodies. Surely a disembodied conscious self cannot/ will not become resurrected? Rather, our unconscious spirit/soul in God's presence will be 'awakened' from death/sleep in our new glorified bodies in the new Earth. So after death, we are not conscious until our resurrection. Does this sound biblically correct? It may seem overly simplistic but it makes sense to me. I'm learning all the time and happy to be corrected by other people's scripturally based explanations.
Yes
God’s original intention for us was to live as physical beings on the Earth and to tend it. I don’t know why that would suddenly change with the new Creation. I’m sure we will all be surprised when our Father reveals everything to us 😊
Explain this...
Daniel 12:13 “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
-1 Corinthians 2:9
I don't remember ever hearing a sermon about what we would do in heaven. It was always older Christian women who would make claims about it. Heaven and resurrection are weirdly enough not really adressed in the churches I've gone to. Only as an adult did I find out that resurrection is the final destination and heaven is not.
That's beautiful! What an awesome God we have!
So, since those that have died in Christ go into God’s presence, what about those who die without Christ? Do they go to the judgement at the end of time right at their death? Or do they also have a waiting period like those saved, until the judgement at the end. (PS- I know there is different judgements at the end, one for believers and one for nonbelievers…)
The entire earth and universe will be cleansed of the curse..Hallelujah!