Worlds Upon Worlds to be Visited

Thus saith the Lord…. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. Isaiah 45:11, 12.
Many seem to have the idea that this world and the heavenly mansions constitute the universe of God. Not so.
God has worlds upon worlds that are obedient to His law. These worlds are conducted with reference to the glory of the Creator. As the inhabitants of these worlds see the great price that has been paid to ransom man, they are filled with amazement.
The Lord has given me a view of other worlds. Wings were given me, and an angel attended me from the city to a place that was bright and glorious. The grass of the place was living green, and the birds there warbled a sweet song. The inhabitants of the place were of all sizes; they were noble, majestic, and lovely. They bore the express image of Jesus, and their countenances beamed with holy joy, expressive of the freedom and happiness of the place.
I asked one of them why they were so much more lovely than those on the earth. The reply was, “We have lived in strict obedience to the commandments of God, and have not fallen by disobedience, like those on the earth.” Then I saw two trees, one looked much like the tree of life in the city. The fruit of both looked beautiful, but of one they could not eat. They had power to eat of both, but were forbidden to eat of one. Then my attending angel said to me, “None in this place have tasted of the forbidden tree; but if they should eat, they would fall.”
Then I was taken to a world which had seven moons. There I saw good old Enoch, who had been translated…. I asked him if this was the place he was taken to from the earth. He said, “It is not; the city is my home, and I have come to visit this place.” He moved about the place as if perfectly at home.
I begged of my attending angel to let me remain in that place. I could not bear the thought of coming back to this dark world again. Then the angel said, “You must go back, and if you are faithful, you, with the 144,000, shall have the privilege of visiting all the worlds and viewing the handiwork of God.”
Maranatha p. 368
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Ronnie Jay as he travels on a long journey today and tomorrow. Rose
—–My family could sure use some prayers about now. Lacy
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Dear Friends
My grandfather always had a love for trains. He had some experience riding them, as he left home in 1894 when he was ten spending much of his time stowing away in boxcars. As he rode along, he often pretended that he was the engineer driving that huge, puffing engine. He dreamed of the day when he would actually be an engineer.
One day, his dreams and plans came to an end. His abusive father caught up with him and immediately set about getting him into an apprenticeship in the family trade of bookbinding. Although my grandfather didn’t want to do it, somehow his father was able to force him into it. The rest of his life he worked as a bookbinder. The rest of his life he hated it, yet he did such perfect work that he was in great demand. As he worked that huge lever which bound the leather to the book, he day-dreamed of being behind the throttle of a gigantic locomotive.
When I was a little girl, he often took me to the train station just to watch the trains. When I would ask him for a story, he often told me about the time he spent on trains . He looked upon the time that he spent “riding the rails” as the happiest time of his life. Soon, I began to have that same love for them and, for a little while, even wanted to be an engineer.
How many times we are like my grandfather in our Christian walk. We think about being a Christian, we talk about religion, we dream of the reward at the end, yet, we fail to actually take hold of the free gift of salvation. Our Dear Saviour died to save us, but He does not force it upon us. We must reach out and accept it. We must have a daily experience with the Lord, a daily conversion from our will to His perfect will. Peter advises, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” 2 Peter 1:10
How many times there is still a little part of our heart where a love for worldly pleasures abide. This ought not to be. John advises, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” 1 John 2:15-17, 1 Thes 4:3 How are we sanctified? In that great prayer of Jesus found in John 17, we find the key. Our Dear Saviour prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17 David agrees, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee Ps 119:9-11 Solomon adds, “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live, and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.” “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Pr 7:1-3, Ecc 12:13
May we daily accept God’s Great Provision which He so freely offers. May we serve Him in singleness of heart. May we love to spend time in God’s Holy Word each day, hiding His precepts in our heart that we may please the One Who loves us so.
Rose