In my mind I see an enormous granite wall, of the purest white, with the names of every single person living in the New Jerusalem, along with their address. Alphabetized, the first name no less or more important in the sense of the love of the Lord toward us than the last one inscribed there.
I do not see a giant cube with the twelve foundations built on top of each other, but I see one part of the city as I stand in the center five hundred miles to my left and nine hundred miles up, and another foundation the same distance to my right, for in the American based standard of measurements, the New Jerusalem is 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles deep, and 1,500 miles high.
I see every manner of precious jewel, of gold sparkling in the ever-present light of the Almighty, I see people rejoicing in His presence and experiencing pleasures forevermore.
And if I go to the farthest outskirts, away from the wonders of the new home of all who love the Lord, I can see the Lake of Fire. The screams are faint at this distance, the flames seem small. I do not pity them that are there, they chose to deny what was offered to them, I do not feel joy because of their choice, but there are no tears in my eyes.
There is no reason to visit those there that I once loved and held dear to my heart, it would only add to their suffering and so after contemplating the last time I was in the presence of the Lamb of God and seeing the scars in His hands and feet, I turn back to my home.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1st Cor. 2:9)
But I like to imagine it, sometimes, usually in those times when death is real to me, when the life of someone or something has come to an end.
The suffering will be over, the lingering pain of watching them take their last breath, the knowledge that they will not see the sunrise here ever again. The grave, my friends, is one of the best places to contemplate eternity, and your own brevity here.
Your turn will come, and in a manner that your Father in heaven will determine.
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” (Isaiah 55:6)
If you have been born-again, He will meet you, perhaps not immediately, no one can say for certain, but you will se the Lord Jesus Christ face-to-face. You will in that moment experience a love beyond any possible comprehension that you can imagine today, you will know a rest that you have never felt. A peace will come over you that for us today is inexpressible, all the frustrations, all the doubts, all the moments of waiting will finally be over.
You have arrived home and your King has been waiting for you with great happiness in His heart.
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)
I will not look back, I will not miss anything here, for eternity awaits and now I can see Him with my eyes that only my heart could see before. But today I know sadness, I have seen death approaching once again, and I cannot stave him off. He is not my friend but is nothing less than a conveyor of one from here to there.
Before you turn back from the precipice of the edge of the Lake of Fire to your eternal home in your imagination, think on those who are headed there today.