What Happens When We Die?

I want to share a bit more about what Heaven is like. The Lord has taken me to Heaven in some other visions besides the two I already shared. (I didn't have to die to get there in those visions, He just chose to bring me there.) I have seen some things that I am not allowed to discuss. I have also had some private experiences between me and God that I doubt that I will share publicly. When I am caught up in one of these visions, most of my attention and focus is on God, not on my surroundings. So there are a lot of details about Heaven that I could have seen, but I missed because I was looking at God. But sometimes when God wanted to teach me something, He directed my attention to this or to that. As a result, there are a few more things I can tell you about Heaven.

My general consensus is that it is a very nice place and I am really looking forward to going there permanently. There are still quite a few things that I don't understand. As far as I can tell, Heaven is this place where God dwells, that is not physically on this earth. We think of it a up in the sky above the earth, but I doubt that is where it is physically located.

The Bible tells us that one day Jesus will return to earth and set up His rule and reign physically in Jerusalem. We will enter a 1000-year period which will be Heaven-like, but will be here on earth, and it will include people who have not physically died yet. Do those saints who died before Jesus came back get to live on earth or will they continue to live in Heaven? What about the angels? Do they get to move into God's New Jerusalem, or do they remain in Heaven? I don't know the answer to those type of questions. I will let the theologians debate them if they want to, but I am not going to worry about it. My thinking is simple--I don't care if I end up physically in the New Jerusalem or if I end up in Heaven. Either way, God's presence is there and it will be wonderful to be with Him for all eternity.

A lot of people ask me what it is like for the angels. I am very far from being an expert on angels and their experiences with God. But one time God allowed me see a little piece of what Heaven is like from the angels' perspective.

Some people think of angels as just floating around Heaven with their harps, having a big celebration and worshipping God. Celebration and worship are definitely a part of their experience, but it is not all of it. I don't know all that the angels do, but God gives them tasks and assignments to complete for Him, just like He gives them to us. They don't work all of the time. Sometimes they socialize and sometimes they play. Yes, angels play. Sometimes we get so serious in our approach to God down here on earth, and we forget (or don't realize) just how playful and delightful He can be.

God wants us to know how much fun we can have in Him. That is why He wants me to share a little bit of His lighter side with you. I am going to tell you about a game that is "played" in Heaven, mostly by the angels. I hope this will bless and inspire you and give you a hint of how vast and wonderful and fun the God who you worship is.

The Worship Game -- Played By The Angels

Angels are often on assignment for the Lord, but they also have times when they are not busy. And sometimes a small group of them will get together to play a worship game.

The gist of the game is that a small group of angels stand in a circle and take turns going around the circle. When it is their turn, each angel shares one thing about God that is a reason why He should be worshipped. They usually select themes to limit what they are allowed to share in this circle, or any one game would go on for all eternity. Let me give you a few examples of themes. One theme might be something along the lines of "Wonderful aspects of God's character," or "Awesome things God did through His people" or "Good things God does for His people" or "Wonderful things God created." There is also a myriad of worship topics that angels understand and we don't have a clue about. Sometimes one of those angelic topics is chosen as the theme for their worship game.

Angels are not constrained by time the way we are, but if they were, then a single game would take maybe 50 or so years to play. They keep going around a circle taking turns until all but one are eliminated. When it is their turn, each angel shares something along the lines of their selected theme to worship God about. Then they all spend some time worshipping Him for that thing. Then it is the next angel's turn. They continue going around the circle until an angel does something to be eliminated.

There appear to be three things that can eliminate an angel: 1) they get so caught up in worship they simply cannot keep playing, 2) they say something outside of the worship theme for that game, or 3) they repeat something another angel said earlier in that game. (I believe the Holy Spirit helps them keep track of when something is repeated.)

When an angel does something to become eliminated, the other angels all smile and laugh and pat the eliminated angel on the back. The eliminated angel doesn't leave the game, it merely takes on a new role in the game. It stops taking turns to suggest things to worship God for, but it doesn't stop worshipping. In fact, the elimination appears to somehow free that angel to move into a higher realm of worship, and it is able to respond to that the others suggest with an even deeper level of worship. I don't know what they call that role, but I am going to call it a "dedicated worshipper."

As the number of dedicated worshippers in the group increases, the worship anointing on that small group of angels also increases. That makes it harder for the remaining "players" to successfully take their turn without getting lost in worship themselves. They become more likely to lose track of what was said or to suggest an out-of-theme reason for worshipping God.

Let me give you an example of something that might eliminate an angel. Say the theme was "Things Jesus did on the earth," and the angels might refer to this teaching or to that healing, etc. If one of the angels said, "I worship God because He knows all things," he would have accidentally switched themes to "God's nature and characteristics" when he was supposed to be on the theme of "Things Jesus did." That angel would be eliminated and become a dedicated worshipper. However, the other angels in the group would probably pause to worship God because He knows all things before moving on with the game. When there is only one angel left who has not become a dedicated worshipper, that angel calls out thing after thing to worship God about until he can not go on any longer.

I thought that the last angel to be eliminated was the winner. But I was wrong about that and an angel came to correct my misunderstanding as I wrote this. It turns out that there is not a single winner; that was never the goal of the game. Instead, everyone "wins" when the worship anointing in their little group gets so strong that all of them are overcome with God's presence and none of them can continue making suggestions about why God should be worshipped. Once they reach that point, the entire group of players spends some quality worship time before the Lord. They got "lost in His goodness" and have a blast (e.g., wonderful time) worshipping Him. Reaching that point in worship is the goal of the game.

By the way, God told me that He enjoys this game too!