Read Online My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life by Marvin J. Besteman, Lorilee Craker - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Marvin J. Besteman, Lorilee Craker
Tags: BIO026000, Near-Death Experiences - Religious Aspects - Christianity, Heaven - Christianity, BIO018000, Marvin J.Besteman (1934–2012)
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he’s going to renew and revive our bodies, he means it. Even later on, when I saw so many people worshiping God beyond the gate, I didn’t see anybody there with crutches, damaged bodies, missing arms or legs. I didn’t see anyone who had Down syndrome, or any kind of special needs whatsoever. When you get there, you’re going to feel like a million bucks!
This truth makes the fact of the young lady needing someone else to hold her baby hard to understand. Still, God knows exactly what was going on in that line and the circumstances of each beloved child of his, waiting for their turn through that immense doorway. He knows, and he’ll let me know when I go back next time.
At any rate, I was pretty preoccupied by my surroundings as I stood in line. Besides the music being sung and played (which was the most purely lovely sound I had ever heard in my life), there was the greatest laser light show I had ever seen in my life going on in the great bowl of blue above me.
The magnitude of the sky and my surroundings! I couldn’t take it all in. The colors were sumptuous and profoundly beautiful, and the lights? They were like 10,000 silent fireworks, all going off at the same time. There was so much movement and variety to the lights—I was in a state of wonder, from the time I set foot in heaven to the time I entered the doorway with Peter.
As you can imagine, I wasn’t paying close attention to the people in line. Most of the time, I was looking around, trying to take in the marvelous sights of this amazing place.
When I checked back in to look at the people ahead of me, I realized the young Indian woman who had been staring so intently at the baby was at the front of the line, waiting her turn to go in. The three of them had been about four or five people ahead of me. The man who had been holding her baby stood behind her, and I noticed with surprise then that the baby was gone. He had evidently gone in first. How did he get in? I don’t know—I wasn’t looking! Logically, I would suppose the older man handed the baby to Peter, but I don’t really know what happened. And then again, I had a feeling, confirmed later on when I saw so many babies beyond the gate, that no one had to hold the baby; he could have floated in all by himself. Yes, really. What was it Dorothy said to her dog in The Wizard of Oz ? “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” I and the other thirty-five people in line were in a different world, and the rules of gravity and what people were supposed to be able to do at a certain age just flew out the window, right around the time we lost traction with God’s green earth. The baby’s mother was next to go in the doorway, followed by the older man.
The line moved quickly. But even if it hadn’t, people weren’t rolling their eyes and tapping their watches impatiently, saying, “Let’s get a move on. My tee time’s in twenty minutes.” Like me, the others were captivated with every detail of their new world, totally engaged, fascinated, and at ease.
The durations of time between when the giant door opened and closed varied, but the people ahead of me didn’t take long. It took thirty seconds to one minute between when one person went in the door and it opened again to receive another newcomer. (I took the most time with the gatekeeper, by far, because I was a special case. But I’ll tell you more about that conversation a bit later.) As I made my way through the line, the gate got closer and closer. Soon, I would be first in line to enter heaven.
The Pearly Gates?
The gates of heaven have captivated people’s imaginations since the early church, when believers read about John’s vision on scrolls, ancient to us but new to them. Through the centuries, the gates have served as the subject of countless discussions, and later on, books, movies, songs, and even jokes. Again, it amazes me how many folks, even believers, wonder whether they’ll get past the “pearly
This truth makes the fact of the young lady needing someone else to hold her baby hard to understand. Still, God knows exactly what was going on in that line and the circumstances of each beloved child of his, waiting for their turn through that immense doorway. He knows, and he’ll let me know when I go back next time.
At any rate, I was pretty preoccupied by my surroundings as I stood in line. Besides the music being sung and played (which was the most purely lovely sound I had ever heard in my life), there was the greatest laser light show I had ever seen in my life going on in the great bowl of blue above me.
The magnitude of the sky and my surroundings! I couldn’t take it all in. The colors were sumptuous and profoundly beautiful, and the lights? They were like 10,000 silent fireworks, all going off at the same time. There was so much movement and variety to the lights—I was in a state of wonder, from the time I set foot in heaven to the time I entered the doorway with Peter.
As you can imagine, I wasn’t paying close attention to the people in line. Most of the time, I was looking around, trying to take in the marvelous sights of this amazing place.
When I checked back in to look at the people ahead of me, I realized the young Indian woman who had been staring so intently at the baby was at the front of the line, waiting her turn to go in. The three of them had been about four or five people ahead of me. The man who had been holding her baby stood behind her, and I noticed with surprise then that the baby was gone. He had evidently gone in first. How did he get in? I don’t know—I wasn’t looking! Logically, I would suppose the older man handed the baby to Peter, but I don’t really know what happened. And then again, I had a feeling, confirmed later on when I saw so many babies beyond the gate, that no one had to hold the baby; he could have floated in all by himself. Yes, really. What was it Dorothy said to her dog in The Wizard of Oz ? “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” I and the other thirty-five people in line were in a different world, and the rules of gravity and what people were supposed to be able to do at a certain age just flew out the window, right around the time we lost traction with God’s green earth. The baby’s mother was next to go in the doorway, followed by the older man.
The line moved quickly. But even if it hadn’t, people weren’t rolling their eyes and tapping their watches impatiently, saying, “Let’s get a move on. My tee time’s in twenty minutes.” Like me, the others were captivated with every detail of their new world, totally engaged, fascinated, and at ease.
The durations of time between when the giant door opened and closed varied, but the people ahead of me didn’t take long. It took thirty seconds to one minute between when one person went in the door and it opened again to receive another newcomer. (I took the most time with the gatekeeper, by far, because I was a special case. But I’ll tell you more about that conversation a bit later.) As I made my way through the line, the gate got closer and closer. Soon, I would be first in line to enter heaven.
The Pearly Gates?
The gates of heaven have captivated people’s imaginations since the early church, when believers read about John’s vision on scrolls, ancient to us but new to them. Through the centuries, the gates have served as the subject of countless discussions, and later on, books, movies, songs, and even jokes. Again, it amazes me how many folks, even believers, wonder whether they’ll get past the “pearly
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