Life in Present Heaven

Present Heaven is the current place where Jesus is at the right hand of God- right after His Ascension to Heaven. It is where all true believers in Jesus go upon passing from this earth. So, the term “Present Heaven” is more about “Present” than about Heaven. Permanent Heaven is described by Jesus (to Apostle John) in Revelation chapters 21 and 22. Many things must happen prior to this future occurrence/promise, so there must be a current Heaven. That is the Present Heaven. These seven passages tell us a lot about “Present Heaven”.

Rev. 6:9-11; Heb. 12:23; Eph. 3:15; Luke 16:25; Rev. 14:13; Rev. 6:10; Luke 15:7, 10

You may want to stop and read the above six Scriptures, before we go to Rev. 6:9-11. These verses in Revelation chapter six tell us a whole lot more than in any one area of the Scriptures – about the Present Heaven.

PRESENT HEAVEN List of 21 Observations from Revelations 6:9-11

Read, Study, & Share these with others to get them to Present Heaven!

1. When these people died on Earth, they relocated to Heaven – V. 9
2. These people in Heaven were the same ones killed for Christ while on Earth –V.9. This demonstrates direct continuity between our identity on Earth and our identity in Heaven. The Martyrs’ personal history extends directly back to their lives on Earth. Those in the Present Heaven are not different people; they are the same people relocated – “righteous men made perfect” (Hebrews 12:23).
3. People in Present Heaven will be remembered for their lives on Earth. These were known and identified as ones slain “because of…the testimony they had maintained”-v.9.
4. “They called out” v. 10 means they are able to express themselves audibly. This could suggest they exist in physical form, with vocal cords or other tangible means to express themselves.
5. People in Present Heaven can raise their voices- v.10. This indicates that they are rational, communicative, and emotional- even passionate-beings, like people on Earth.
6. They called out “in a loud voice”, not “loud voices”. Individuals speaking with one voice indicate that Present Heaven is a place of unity and shared perspective-v.10.
7. The martyrs are fully conscious, rational, aware of each other, God, and things on Earth-v.10.
8. They ask God to intervene on Earth and to act on their behalf: “How long…until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”-v.10. This is some indication people were asking God for help on issues they could not see.
9. Those in Present Heaven are free to ask God questions, which means they have an audience with God. It also means they need to learn. In Heaven people desire understanding and pursue it
10. People in Present Heaven learn what’s happening on Earth because they ask (at least to some extent)-v.10. The martyrs know enough to realize that those who killed them have not been judged.
11. Heaven dwellers have a deep concern for justice and retribution- v. 10. When we go to Heaven, we won’t adopt a passive disinterest in what happens on earth. On the contrary, our concerns will be more passionate and thirst for justice greater. Neither God now we will be satisfied until His enemies are judged, our bodies raised, sin and Satan defeated, earth restored, and Christ exalted over all!
12. The martyrs and saints clearly remember their lives on earth-v.10. Martyrs even remember that they were murdered. Remember we who were not murdered are called “saints” not martyrs.
13. The martyrs in Heaven pray for judgment on their persecutors who are still at work hurting others. The martyrs and saints are acting in solidarity with, and in effect interceding for, the suffering saints on the earth. This suggests that saints in Present Heaven are praying for saints on earth. Rev. 5:11-12 Angels told all those who were gathered around the throne by singing Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. All of this is evidence of a Present Heaven –different from future.
14. Those in Present Heaven see God’s attributes (“Sovereign…holy and true”) in a way that makes His judgment of sin more understandable.
15. Those in Heaven are distinct individuals. “Then each of them was given a white robe.”-v.11. There isn’t one merged identity that obliterates uniqueness, but a distinct “each of them”.
16. The martyrs’ wearing white robes suggest the possibility of actual physical forms, because disembodied spirits presumably don’t wear robes. The robes may well have symbolic meaning, but it doesn’t mean they couldn’t also be physical. In fact the martyrs and saints appear in physical forms that John could actually see-v-11.
17. God answers their question v.11, indicating communication and process in Heaven. It also demonstrates that we won’t know everything in Heaven-if we did, we would have no questions. The martyrs and saints knew more after God answered their question than before they asked it. There is learning in Present Heaven. Suggesting also places for learning and other activities.
18. God promises to fulfill their requests, but says they will have to “wait a little longer”-v.11. Those in Present Heaven live in anticipation of future fulfillment of God’s promises. Unlike the eternal future Heaven- where there will be no more sin, Curse, or suffering on the New Earth (Rev. 21:4)—the Present Heaven coexists with and watches over an Earth under sin, the Curse, and suffering.
19. There is time in the Present Heaven v.10-11. The white-robed martyrs ask God a time-dependent question: ”How long, Sovereign Lord…until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”-v.10. They are aware of time’s passing and are eager for the coming day of the Lord’s judgment. God answers that they must “wait a little longer” until certain events transpire on earth. Waiting requires the passing of time. In Rev. 8:1 states that the Lamb broke the seventh seal, and those around were silenced for about half an hour.
20. The people of God in Present Heaven have a strong familial connection with those on earth, who are called their “fellow servants and brothers”-v.11. We share the Father, “from whom every family in Heaven and on earth is named”- (Ephesians 3:15) There is not a wall of separation within the bride of Christ. We are one family with those who’ve gone to Present Heaven ahead of us. After we go to Heaven, we’ll still be one family with those yet on earth. These verses demonstrate a vital connection between the events and people in Heaven and events and people on Earth.
21. Our Sovereign God knows down to the last detail all that is happening and will happen on earth-v.11, including every drop of blood shed and every bit of suffering undergone by His children. However, there is good indication that God shares what we need to know while in Present Heaven. The Voice of Martyrs (an organization with a newsletter and website) estimates that more than 150,000 people die for Christ each year, and average of more than 400 per day. God knows the name and story of each one. He knows exactly how many martyrs there will be, and He is prepared to return and set up His Kingdom when the final martyrs dies (after the Tribulation and when our Lord returns).

All of these observations are true for all in Present Heaven, our loved ones already there and for us when we die- unless the Rapture occurs first. From these observations and the other incidents shared in the other verses about Present Heaven, we can make many other conclusions about what will be possible in Present Heaven. However, we are not to conclude that these other things are for sure- only that they are possibilities. Another of the Mysteries we will learn for God- first hand!

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