Eternal Places Prepared by God

I'd like to tell you about the places that God has prepared, and the preparation that is needed to ensure we end up in the right place.

Places Prepared by the Father
Jesus taught that the places immediately on His right and left in heaven were prepared by His Father.

Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father." (Mat 20:23, NIV)

Places Prepared by the Son
Just as there are places prepared by the Father, there are places prepared by Jesus.

Jesus said, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also." (Joh 14:2-3, MKJV)

Jesus taught that He went to heaven to prepare a place for us there.  In this instance, the place for us that He was referring to was a mansion or dwelling place.

He said that He has prepared the kingdom of heaven for His sheep since the creation of the world.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.'" (Mat 25:34).

It's important to note that God prepared His kingdom for the righteous since the world was created. This earth is just a temporary testing ground, but the kingdom of heaven is eternal.

The apostle wrote to the Hebrews that God has prepared a city for all who live by faith in Him.

"Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Heb 11:16)

Place prepared for the devil and his angels
Just as there are places prepared for the saints in heaven, there is a place prepared for the devil and his angels. In that place there is everlasting fire.

"Then He also shall say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels." (Mat 25:41).

Jesus taught that the wicked will go to the same place that is prepared for the devil and his angels. It was not meant for humans but for the devil and the demons. Yet when people follow satan, they must go to the same place where he goes, which is into eternal hell fire.

"And the Devil who deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were . And he will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Rev 20:10)

Our Preparation for Heaven
Even we ourselves must prepare for the Lord. The great multitude in heaven will one day shout:

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." (Rev 19:7)

The Bride of Christ must make herself ready, in other words she must prepare. Our preparation includes being born again, baptized with the Holy Spirit, baptized with fire, repenting, separating ourselves from the world, washing our robes in the blood of the Lamb and making them white, purifying ourselves, praying, being in the Word, doing the Father's will, as well as keeping our flasks full of oil and our lamps burning for the Lord.

The Consequences of Failing to Prepare Ourselves
The Lord also warned about the terrible consequences of failing to prepare.

"And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes." (Luk 12:47, NASB)

Notice He said that the unworthy slave did not prepare or act in accord with his Master's will. Therefore this is what the Master of that slave will do:

"The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers." (Luk 12:46, NASB)

Closing Words
So the Lord spoke of places prepared by His Father, such as the thrones at his right and left hand. He also spoke of places that He was going to prepare for us in heaven, which are mansions or dwelling places. We know that God has prepared a heavenly city for those who walk by faith.  He has prepared the kingdom of heaven since the creation of the world for the righteous whom He has blessed.

The Lord said that everlasting fire is prepared for the devil and his angels, where they, as well as all the unrighteous, will be thrown. Indeed, even the Master's servants who know His will and do not act in accordance with it will be thrown into that terrible place. According to Scripture, ultimately death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire, along with the devil, the beast, and the false prophet.

I trust that this study has encouraged you to prepare yourself so that you end up in the right place.  No matter which place you go to, that is where you will all throughout eternity. Please take this seriously, since your eternal destination is at stake.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zonervan, used by permission. Other Scriptures from the NASB, copyright the Lockman Foundation, used by permission, as well as the MKJV where noted.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend Where Will You Go When You Die?, The Place of Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth, Separation from the World, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, The Four Tallest Homes in Heaven, Ezekiel Moses Testimony of Heaven and Hell, James Agboola Revelation of Heaven and Hell, Eudoxia Varga Testimony of Heaven and Hell, and Lynn Veasley's Revelation of Heaven. You may enjoy a couple of poems written by two of my daughters called Make Your Bride Ready and Preparation. Please also see the Main Directory for Eternal Destinations. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Ian McCormack's Testimony of Heaven and Hell

Ian McCormack

Let me share with you the amazing story of a man from New Zealand named Ian McCormack, who died and saw heaven and hell. It's a true story of how he was traveling the world, surfing, and pursuing peace through sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. But he wasn't finding the peace he was searching for in those things.

Eventually he found himself on the island of Mauritius (in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of Madagascar), and one night he went out scuba diving for crayfish out beyond the coral reef.  There beneath the water he was stung five times by the deadly box jellyfish, which was excruciatingly painful and felt like thousands of volts of electricity. The sting from one of them is enough to kill a man, but he was stung five times. Through this experience he eventually died as the medical personnel were trying to save his life.

But just before he died, as he was eventually being transported to the hospital by ambulance, his life flashed before him. He saw scenes from his childhood. The next moment, he saw was his mother on her knees praying and he was shaken. She was saying what she told him as a fourteen-year old boy when he walked away from Church. She said, "Ian, no matter how far from God you may be, no matter what you've done wrong, if you call to God from your heart, God will hear you, and God will forgive you."

In that ambulance, as he was experiencing death rattles, he said, "God, if you're real, help me to pray," and the Lord's prayer appeared before his eyes. The first phrase of the prayer he saw was "forgive us our sins." And one by one, as he prayed from his heart each part of the prayer that was shown to him, that part then disappeared and he saw more and more parts of it that he had once learned as a child, but since forgotten.

In this manner, he had made peace with God, by sincerely turning from sin and asking the Lord for forgiveness. He promised to do the Lord's will and honor Him all the days of his life, if the Lord would get him through this ordeal. An incredible peace entered his heart like he had never experienced before, and which has not left him since then.

After he died, he experienced the horrors of hell, and later after crying out to God in hell asking why he was there, a brilliant light came down and drew him out of darkness. After ascending through a tunnel of light, he then found himself standing before the glorified Lord Jesus Christ, who was wearing dazzling white robes and had His arms outstretched. The Lord was emanating an incredibly bright light all around Him, and His face was so bright that Ian could not make out the features on it. Wave after wave of love was emanating into him from the Lord. Ian was weeping and wondering, "What am I doing here? How could God love me?" The Lord said, "Ian, God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." (1 Jn 1:5). And the Lord showed him that all his sins had been forgiven when he was in that ambulance. Christ's blood had not just washed away some of his sins, but all of them.

As Ian looked into the Lord's face, it was like looking into eternity within eternity. It was like the cosmos, galaxies, and star systems were coming out of  His face. He knew that if the Lord would speak, galaxies would come into existence. His hair was pure white and shoulder length. Out of His face came light that when it touched him he felt instant purity, childlike innocence, and holiness. The Lord gave Ian a glimpse of eternity, in which Ian got to see what heaven and the new earth is like.

The Lord gave him the option to stay or return to earth. Initially he didn't think he had anyone on earth who loved him that he needed to go back to, but then the Lord showed him his mother and a myriad of countless people behind her that the Lord loved. The Lord wanted Ian to tell them about Him. Ian then said, "I must go back!" The Lord then granted his request to return to earth, saying, "Ian, if you go back, you must see things in a new light from a heavenly perspective." He then sent him back through the tunnel and into his body. When he entered his body in the morgue, the doctors and nurses were freaking out, because he had just come back from the dead after being gone for 15 to 20 minutes.

Original Testimony
Ian is a very precious brother in Christ, who has been faithfully sharing his testimony and preaching the gospel around the world for the past thirty five years or so. He has been on CBN's 700 Club and Revelation TV.  However, the following video is the first ever recording of Ian's testimony, which was filmed in 1988 at a farmers house in New Zealand.



The Perfect Wave - A Glimpse of Eternity
A major motion picture has been produced about his story called The Perfect Wave, which you can watch below.



Resources
Ian has an excellent website called A Glimpse of Eternity. There you will find his testimony available in many other languages. He even has a version of it with subtitles for the deaf. He has also posted there excellent teachings of his in both video and written format.

Closing Words
Perhaps you have been searching for peace in all the wrong places like Ian was. Perhaps you can relate to his story in one way or another, but you don't know Jesus. You haven't met Him personally, but you are being drawn to Him now that you've heard this testimony. If that's you, then remember what Ian's mother said to him. "No matter how far from God you may be, no matter what you've done wrong, if you call to God from your heart, God will hear you, and God will forgive you." Please go to the section at the end of this article called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?" Follow the link to that article and after you have read it, I challenge you to pray and invite the Lord into your heart to be your Lord and Savior.

Meanwhile, I hope this has helped you, no matter who you are, no matter what your situation is, whether you are a backslidden Christian that's drifted away from God, or someone who knows the Lord but needs to draw closer to Him. Let the Lord speak to you through this testimony. He's calling us all to repent of our sins, turn from darkness, and seek Him with all of our heart. I hope you will share this article with someone else who needs to see it.

Author's note: Ian is not personally connected with this site. Please prayerfully listen to his testimony, and use the Testimony Review Process adopted by this blog, as you decide for yourself whether the Lord has spoken to him.  For issues and concerns, each person must confirm with the Lord, whether something is valid or not. For more information on our position, please see Disclaimers.

I also encourage you to read Australian Pastor Raised from the Dead, Angelica Zambrano Hell and Heaven and The Judgment Seat of Christ. If you enjoyed this post, please also see Ibrahim's Experience in Hell. You may find more blogs like this one at the Main Directory for Eternal Destinations, and find a collection of all my blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.