Our First Day In Heaven

Michael Zarlengo

Description

In this book, Michael Zarlengo uses Scripture to describe our first day in heaven.

God has incredible rewards waiting for His people. Jesus Christ taught that all Christians should seek to be rewarded when we enter heaven. We will receive our rewards from God based on our actions on earth. As we know, these actions cannot earn us heaven. That only occurs by grace, through faith. However, on our first day in heaven our earthly actions, after salvation, are evaluated by God in order to determine the magnificent rewards He will give us.

Did you know that the Bible describes our rewards and the exact actions we are to carry out in order to receive them? In the New Testament, the apostle Paul uses the Old Testament examples of the Tabernacle and Day of Atonement ceremony to teach us which actions, called gifts, we can bring to God for our rewards. Paul also teaches us that the Tabernacle and the Day of Atonement conceal the secret of what our first day in heaven will be like.

We work hard in this life to retire well. Yet earthly retirement lasts for a short time. Our life in heaven will last for an eternity. Don't you want it to be a well-rewarded time?

Sujets

• Bible Study Guides
• Biblical Studies
• Philosophie et théologie
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 10 mai 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780970454805
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 18 Mo

Extrait

Our First Day In Heaven
 
by
Michael Zarlengo
 
 
Scripture quotations not otherwise marked are taken from The HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House and Hodder & Stoughton Limited. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.
 
Scripture quotations indicated NASB are taken from The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.or g)
 
Scripture quotations indicated NKJV are taken from The New King James Version, copyright © 1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Used by permission.
 
Scripture quotations indicated KJV are taken from The King James Version of the Bible.
 
Artwork: “Moses’ Tabernacle in the Wilderness” © 1976 John E. Gilman
 
Our First Day in Heaven; Tabernacle Gifts, Our First Day in Heaven
Copyright © 2012 Michael Zarlengo
All Rights Reserved under International Copyright Law
See full text Tabernacle Gifts for complete theological reference.
 
Cover Design by eBookIt
Interior Design by Pine Hill Graphics
 
Published by Pray Like This, Inc.
 
ISBN-13: 978-0-9704-5480-5
 
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.
 
Contents
Chapter 1
A Well Rewarded Eternity
Chapter 2
The Tabernacle
Chapter 3
The Day of Atonement
Chapter 4
The True Picture
Chapter 5
Christ Our Example
Chapter 6
Our First Day in Heaven
Chapter 7
Be Encouraged!
 
Chapter 1
A Well Rewarded Eternity
 
 

 
 
T here is more to heaven than our admission. As Christians, when we arrive in heaven God will evaluate us on our action or inaction while on earth. Of course, this assessment has nothing to do with our eternal salvation. That was decided by our belief and confession of the Lord Jesus Christ while we were on earth.
This heavenly evaluation will result in many Christians receiving astonishing rewards and yet others will receive little or no reward at all. In heaven, some will live a more rewarded eternity than others. You will want to be one of those well-rewarded Christians. One might ask, “Why? Isn’t it good enough that I am saved?” Christ requires that each one of us seek to be well rewarded in heaven. This is not greed on our part, but in fact obedience to our Lord.
 
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. (Matt. 6:27 KJV)
 
Furthermore, if we are well rewarded in heaven we will have a higher position with greater opportunities to serve God. As the apostle Paul teaches, our treasure will become a foundation for eternal life, which is considered the true life.
 
In this way they [Christians] will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Tim. 6:19)
 
Finally, Jesus taught that on our first day in heaven each Christian will have the opportunity to bring sacrificial actions or gifts to God. God will then evaluate these gifts and reward us accordingly. It will be especially important for each of us to hear God say, “Well done.”
 
“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (Matt. 25:21 NKJV)
 
This all sounds very good, but how do we know exactly what actions will result in being well rewarded? We must know which gifts of ours are considered rewardable by God so that we can be sure of pleasing Him.
 
The Tabernacle Picture
The New Testament provides us the answer to this question by using the tabernacle and the Day of Atonement from the old covenant as a picture guide to understanding our new covenant truth.
In other words, the New Testament briefly re-describes the tabernacle and the Day of Atonement and then explains its meaning to us. Using these examples, we are taught precisely which gifts God the Father is looking for. We are also provided with the fascinating New Testament description of Jesus Christ’s return to heaven after His resurrection. A spectacular ceremony took place in heaven when Christ brought His seven precious gifts to God the Father and received His seven incredible rewards. This event is our example of what God also desires for us. Finally, the New Testament supplies us with the amazing and detailed description of our own first day in heaven.
In order to discover which gifts we are to bring to our Father, along with the description of our first day in heaven, we too will first briefly look at the depiction of the tabernacle and the Day of Atonement.
When you examine the picture of the tabernacle, what do you see? Do you see a tired old tent, the picture of antiquity? Perhaps you see symbols having little application for our daily Christian lives. How can this picture be relevant to Internet-age Christians? Yet, we will discover that this picture is not only relevant to us currently, it is critical to our future.
The Bible has over fifty chapters describing the tabernacle. Fifty chapters , not verses! The tabernacle must be very significant to God. In the Old Testament, God had Moses build the tabernacle. While in the desert, and for a time in Canaan, the children of Israel used the tabernacle as their place of worship; later, King Solomon built a permanent place of worship by converting the tabernacle into the temple. God used the tabernacle to meet with His people. It was there that God had his people offer specified gifts and it was also the place where He rewarded them.
The most important gift-giving and reward-receiving day was the Day of Atonement. On this day, which occurred just once each year, God required His people to bring Him seven gifts. It was also on this day that God would present His people with seven wonderful rewards.
 
Astonishing Rewards
Does the Bible really list our heavenly rewards? Yes, in addition to describing the seven gifts we are to bring, the Bible describes the seven rewards available to Christians.
In Revelation 2 and 3, Lord Jesus provides the apostle John with seven distinct messages concerning His Church. Each message is initially directed to a specific first century church in existence at that time, e.g., Ephesus, Smyrna, etc. Within each message there is a particular praise or warning and instruction concerning activities and issues that church was experiencing. Lord Jesus also describes a particular reward He will give to certain individuals of the seven churches in heaven. He states that if they overcome the issues of their church and focus on certain activities for Him, they will receive a precise reward for their actions. One example is the reward given to Ephesus described below:
 
 
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Rev. 2:7)
 
Therefore, through these messages in Revelation, the Lord Jesus promises that He will reward us on our first day in heaven with seven precise rewards. Yet it is very important to understand, that each of these rewards is contingent on seven specific actions on our part while we are living on the earth.
The seven rewards are listed in Revelation 2 and 3 and are summarized below (some of these rewards may sound as if they will apply to all Christians; however, as we will see, they do not):
 
 
• The right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
• The crown of life.
• The hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the person who receives it.
• Authority over the nations and be given the morning star.
• Christ’s acknowledgement of his or her name before God the Father and His angels.
• The right to be a pillar in the temple of God and never again will he or she leave it. Christ will write on him or her the name of God and the name of the city of God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from God; and will also write on him or her Christ’s new name.
• The right to sit with Christ on God’s throne.
 
Each of these powerful rewards will provide the recipients with great treasure in heaven and a firm foundation for eternity .
 
Summary
On our first day in heaven, God is expecting us to bring Him gifts. He will examine our gifts and reward us accordingly. These rewards will determine our place and wealth in heaven. They will provide our foundation, which will last forever. Therefore, in order to have a well rewarded eternity, we must know which gifts God is expecting us to bring. We will discover this truth by first looking at the Old Testament picture of the tabernacle and the Day of Atonement and then looking at the New Testament explanation regarding these traditions. The New Testament will not only reveal their true meanings but will also reveal Christ’s example of bringing gifts and receiving rewards when He returned to heaven. Finally, we will see the amazing description of our first day in heaven.
Our seven gifts are the secret to hearing God say, “Well done” on our first day in heaven.
 
 
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your l