Transfigured to Serve Chapter 4

When the Judgment Seat of Christ had reached its end and all were assembled, we all were treated to a sumptuous meal of breads, nuts, vegetables, and fruits, and we drank new wine in the presence of the Bridegroom, Jesus.  The celebration was just for the church (bride) and Jesus (Bridegroom), the angels attended to their duties.  It was a marvelous time of praising, worshiping, singing and glorifying our precious Lord! 

As the meal continued the Lord, Jesus Himself walked among us, talking to us, praying with us and just loving us in word and deed.  Many fell prostrate before Him and many knelt before Him and many shouted praises to Him and I saw Him treat them all as friends and welcome gests.  He lifted up those that fell prostrate before Him, lifted up those that knelt before Him, placed His hand on their heads and blessed them.  He was so meek, humble and kind, showing us that He was truly our friend, as well as the precious Lamb of God, the very God of glory, creation and Heaven, the Lord God Almighty. 

Life of Submission

“Blessings, Praise, and Glory to our bridegroom and praise His precious holy name!”  I shouted.  Others around me replied, “Amen!” and, “Halleluiah!”  It was a grand feast and celebration.

After the Marriage Supper, I departed and found my way to the southern gate of Heaven.  As I walked, I reeled at the grandeur of the holy city.  I found Hamon waiting there for me inside of the city walls and I greeted him.

“Hey Hamon, that was amazing, and our Lord is so gracious.  Thank you for waiting for me.  I hope I didn’t take too long.”

“No, not at all Sam, it was my pleasure to wait and it’s my honor to serve my Lord by serving you,” he replied.

“Thank you, Hamon, so what’s next?”  I said.

“Follow me to your new home and feel free to ask any questions that you might have,”  Hamon said.  As we walked toward the southern gate, I asked Hamon a question about the city.

“Hamon, in the Bible’s Revelation to John, the city is described differently than what I see here.  I remember gates made of single gigantic pearls and the city made of pure gold.”  I shared.

“Yes, what you are remembering is the New Heaven and New Jerusalem that will be created after the Millennial Reign.”

“That’s right, I remember now,” I said.

“Will the Temple be as grand as the towering temple here in the holy city?”  I asked. 

“The New Heaven and city will not need a temple, because the entire church will be complete and assembled to share eternity with our Lord, and the Lord God Almighty will be our holy temple,” Hamon shared.

“Amen, Hamon,” I said, “This city is incredibly beautiful.  I can’t even imagine the next one.  The description in the Bible will pale in comparison to the completed city, I’m sure.”

“I am sure it will, Sam.”

“Hamon, I notice that everyone is speaking the same language.  I know it’s not English, yet I also know I understand everything that everyone is saying.  What language are we speaking?  I don’t recognize it.”  I asked.

“It’s the divine language, the language of God and his angels, the language that Adam and Eve spoke, the language that was confounded at the Tower of Babel,”  Hamon replied.

“So, this language was spoken by Able, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah and Noah, and those that came after Noah until humanity sinned against God by failing to fill the Earth, and then at Babel began worshiping themselves.  Like those on Earth that practice Humanism.”

“Right,” Hamon agreed. 

“Then God confounded their language forcing them to leave Babel and the tower they built to honor themselves.  God punished them for not filling the Earth as He commanded after Noah disembarked his Ark with his family,” I said.

“Well said Sam, yes, the language of Heaven is the first language and will also be the last language, after the New Heaven and New Earth are created,” Hamon shared.

“I still remember how to speak English though.  Why is that?”  I questioned.

“Because you will need your English language until this Heaven and Earth are consumed with fire,” Hamon said.

“Oh, I understand, and it wouldn’t hurt to learn a few other languages while the other languages are still necessary, right?”  I questioned.

“That’s right, Sam, and you will have no difficulty learning those languages.  Please, allow me to suggest Hebrew and Spanish,” Hamon offered.

“Way ahead of you, my angelic friend, I was already contemplating those very languages, among others,” I replied.

“Hah, Hah,” Hamon laughed.  “Well done my transfigured friend.”

As we walked, we were greeted by many people, and I chatted with the people I knew during my life on Earth, as we continued on our journey through the southern city gate of the holy city.  All of the city gates were open for unencumbered passage.  They were relatively simple entryways with ornately carved gold adornments.  While we headed out the gate I ran into my old barber and friend, Jim. 

“Hey, Jim, glad to see you,” I said. 

“It’s great to see you to Sam.  Isn’t Heaven amazing?”  He replied.

“It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen Jim,” I shared.  We continued with our small talk for a while, and then Hamon said that we needed to hurry along.

Hamon took me down the long southern highway away from the city.  It was polished solid gold and about the width of a four-lane highway.  As we walked, I noticed people vanishing and appearing on the road and I asked Hamon what was happening.  He told me that transfigured people gradually over their first few days in Heaven develop the power to teleport themselves within the bounds of Heaven.  Most people, with short journeys, like to walk and take time to talk to those along the way, but long journeys are more expeditiously traversed through teleportation.

“Well, how cool is that!  I’m going to be able to teleport.  That’s pretty amazing,” I exclaimed.

“It is indeed, Sam,” Hamon replied.

As we continued walking, we passed beautiful trees, gardens, and mansions.  He led me down a side street to the right, about 3 miles from the city.  This polished gold road being only the width of a double lane road.  Passing more beautiful trees, gardens, and mansions, about a mile down the road, we came to a beautiful little mansion on a corner lot.    

“This is all yours,” Hamon said.

“Wow, for me?”  I rhetorically asked and continued, “Will my wife live here with me?” 

“No,” Hamon said, “For it is written that in heaven, ‘…they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.’  (Matthew 22:30)  So you will see her, because I know she is here, but you will not live together.”

“I understand.  We were transfigured to serve, not just take up where we left off on Earth,” I replied.

“Yes, that’s right, and the longer you are here the more you will understand.  It’s a gradual process, but you are learning well.”

“Thank you, Hamon,” I replied.  “After I look over my mansion, could you take me to Evie?”

“Sure I can, but first let’s go inside,” he said.  As we walked up to the house, my thoughts drifted to my precious wife Evelyn, I hadn’t seen her in years, so I was looking forward to finally seeing her again.  I had always called her Evie instead of Evelyn, and her family had been calling her Evie since shortly after she was born.  I’m so glad she’s here in Heaven with me.  It will be great to see her.

Transfigured to Serve Chapter 4

The mansion God blessed me with sat on a corner lot that looked to be about a full two acres square, with beautiful gardens, shrubs, grass, and trees, with polished gold walkways.  The construction was of solid walls of black veined red jasper stone.  The polished black marble steps of the portico invited you into the house through the columns of white veined green marble.  The facade was ornately accented with pure platinum accents, lamps, and door knobs, and it had a gray slate roof.  It was magnificent. 

The house was beautiful inside too, with an enormous curving double staircase, left and right, with white banisters in the entrance hall with a vaulted ceiling, and to the left a huge living area beautifully furnished.  The beautiful kitchen had ornately carved wooden cabinets depicting biblical events that looked to be made of olive wood and had beautiful stone countertops.  The dining room beautifully furnished with seating for 12 guests, with the table and chairs made of golden streaked, deep reddish-brown cocobolo wood.  Upstairs there was an enormous oversized bedroom with lavish furnishings, a library, and a cozy den.  The columned porticos front and back created balconies on the second floor, and the house had 3 enormous bathrooms with all the amenities, richly ornate with tiles made of precious stone and fixtures of gold and platinum. 

There is no way in my mind, that I can believe that I deserve all this…2 acres in heaven with a 7,000 square foot mansion…no, I definitely don’t deserve it, but my precious Lord loves me so much and is so generous, that all this is mine to dwell in and care for.  He is amazingly generous with His possessions and everything is His.  I praise His holy name for His generosity toward me.

After looking over my amazing mansion, Hamon took me, just two streets down the road from my home to Evie’s home.  It was equally grand, made of carnelian stone, with its beautiful polished red-amber color.  We walked up to the grand ornate wooden door and knocked.  Evie answered a few moments later.  As she opened the door, she immediately recognized me, in my new transfigured body and threw her arms around me. 

“Sam!”  She exclaimed, “I’m so glad you’re here, I’ve missed you so much and have been looking forward to seeing you.” 

I just held her in my arms…I didn’t want to let her go.  Then she leaned back and put her hands on my face and said, “I’m so glad you’re here,” and then gently kissed me.  She invited Hamon and me inside, and we talked for a long time, and she shared with me what she had been doing for the past few years, and I shared my life events and that last Thanksgiving with our children and grandchildren.  She was delighted and looked forward to seeing them too.  By the time we finished our conversation I knew quite a bit more about Heaven and understood much more of how everything worked.  It was truly a grand and wonderful place.  Evie was as gracious and lovely as ever, and I praise the Lord that she is close by.  I look forward to spending more time with her in the near future.  As we finished our conversation, it was time to leave.  We all stood and walked over to her front door.

“It’s been so wonderful having you over to visit, Sam,” she said tenderly.

“It was wonderful for me too Evie, I have missed you so much since you passed on to Heaven.  It will be great to be able to visit you any time it’s mutually convenient.  See you again soon Evie.”

“See ya, Sam,” Evie said as she stood in her doorway watching Hamon and me depart.

As Hamon walked me home he explained that God knew everyone’s talents and we all had jobs to do.  Evie was great with children, so she helped mentor some of the newly arrived children, as they entered Heaven and got settled in.  The new arrivals that were musicians became Heaven’s musicians, and those blessed with a talent to farm were Heaven’s farmers.  Since everyone loved doing what they were great at, they loved their jobs and were overjoyed to get to work.  They also knew that everything they did was for our precious Lord and that a job well done would honor and glorify our Lord.  Hamon shared that I would be working as an administrator, making sure that everything was going smoothly and efficiently and that I was to report to the Holy Stables administrative office in just about 14 hours.  I never worked around stables before, but I was well suited for administrative management, so I was looking forward to getting started.

There was no night, only the constant light from our Lord and we had no need for sleep and never got tired, so the only reason we worked just 8 hours per day was to provide time for praise, worship, singing, fellowship, and leisure time activities.  What a great life, and it’s ours eternally!  It just doesn’t get any better than that.

At the entrance to my home, Hamon said goodbye and departed.  I stood in the entryway reflecting on the day as I watched Hamon walk down the walkway to the street.  As I stood there I heard the sound of instruments and singing next door, and I walked over to see what was going on.  A group of neighbors gathered for an impromptu musical praise fest.  For the next few hours, I spent time with a group of people that loved to sing, and we sang hymns and worship songs for several hours.  Then I went back home to read scripture and prayed.  Then I had the opportunity to look over my specific tasks and acquaint myself with my duties. 

I had a crew of ten thousand personnel, and I reported to a captain of one hundred thousand who reported to a captain of one million.  Subordinate to me were captains of one thousand, captains of one hundred and captains of ten.  Together we maintained the stables that at this time had no horses.  They were all empty now, except for bridles, saddles and the other gear needed for horsemanship.  Some of the stables were still under construction, but when needed, the stables would be ready and full, I can assure you.  There was still plenty to do including major tasks like construction, maintenance, water distribution, food production planning, organizing, and training for the tasks ahead.  You see, we will only be in heaven for another 7 years, and we must be ready when we are called upon.

Transfigured to Serve Chapter 4

I walked to work early and was glad I left so soon.  As I was walking, I saw my son Tom walking with my friend from church, who was also my favorite waitress, Jennifer.  They were headed out to their jobs early that morning too and just happened to be headed in the same direction. 

“Good morning, you two!”  I exclaimed.  “How are you?”

“Hey Dad, I’m doing great,” Tom replied.

“Well hey you,” Jennifer replied simultaneously with Tom.

We talked and laughed and shared hugs and a few minutes of sweet fellowship before we had to part company and head out in our different directions.  They gave me the location of their homes, and I shared with them where I lived, and we departed in our separate directions.  People were singing and shouting praise and praying their way to work and I was no exception.  I sang songs of praise all the way to the stables, 3 miles to the east of the southern highway.  It was a massive complex with thousands of rows of enormous stables that stretched out for miles.  I located the Administrative building just where Hamon said it would be and entered.  I then reported to my supervisor.  He was a jolly old soul that greeted me like an old friend. 

“Hey Sam, I’m glad you could join us!  Praise the precious holy name of Jesus!  You feel free to praise and worship and pray, or sing praises all you want!  Praise His everlasting name!  Let me show you to your department.  Oh, and by the way, I’m Gus Christopoulos,” he exclaimed with a jolly grin. 

“Thank you, Gus, it’s a great pleasure to meet you.  I’m really anxious to meet my staff and get started,” I replied.

“Well praise the Lord!”  Gus shouted.

We stepped into my department a few minutes later, meeting and greeting people as we walked.  Because my mind was now a transfigured perfect mind, it was easy to perfectly remember each person I met.  It was miraculous!  During my life on Earth, I never caught a person’s name the first time it was thrown at me.  I usually had to hear it at least 3 times before I would remember it, but not now.  I remembered everyone perfectly. 

The joy and happiness in my department was delightful.  What a great place to work and freely worship the Lord, without worry or fear or persecution or anything else that would quench the sweet spirit of this marvelous place.  The main part of my department was housed in a huge open room with desks and people, but no cubicles to block the view or stifle fellowship.

“Folks!  Folks!  Could I please get your attention?”  Gus bellowed with a smile.  They all stopped what they were doing and Gus continued.

“Good morning everyone, this glorious morning that the Lord has blessed us with!  I’d like to introduce you to Sam.  He just arrived in the rapture of the church, so everyone make him welcome as you meet with him today.”  [Resounding applause] Then as the revelry quickly subsided Gus continued.

“We need to meet with Sam’s captains of one thousand,” he exclaimed.  “So please meet with us in the board room, thank you all and hallelujah to our Lord God Almighty!”  Amen and hallelujah were shouted in glee by my staff, and then they resumed their work.  Gus and I stepped into the board room to await the arrival of my captains of thousands for our first meeting.

As the captains arrived, we greeted each other, and then they sat down.  After the last person had arrived and we greeted each other and prayed, Gus led us in a resounding rendition of “Just a Little Talk with Jesus” with our boardroom choir of perfect transfigured voices, in beautiful 4-part harmony.  It sounded outstanding! 

“Well, glory!”  I shouted.  Then I sat and led a group prayer.  After the prayer, I addressed my staff.

“Hey folks, I appreciate all of you so very much, and I’m very glad that I’ll be working with such an outstanding group of men and women.”

Then I proceeded with receiving verbal reports from each of my 10 captains.  Everything was going great with all the preparations, and I provided a few suggestions for improvements, and then those that needed to leave slipped out.  The rest of us stayed to fellowship, ask questions, provide answers and just enjoy our work while praising the Lord whenever the mood struck us.  A few hours later I walked through my department doing the same thing with many of my staff members.  We prayed together, talked and shared thoughts and ideas and praised the Lord.  Now that’s what I call a first day on the job!

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