² “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”

Heaven is going to be better than you or I can imagine. The Lord uses images from our experiences to describe our ultimate living situation after death—each image designed to excite the soul to the highest level of anticipation. In the OT, God used the image of an elaborate Bedouin tent and its furnishings to convey the eternal state. He said to Moses, “See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain” (Ex 25:40). What better way to convey the best possible kind of life to a nomadic people living in the desert, than a rich, ornate and huge tent? The writer to the Hebrews spoke of that tent (called The Tabernacle) as a “copy and shadow of the heavenly things…” (Heb 8:5). Great amount of space is given to its descriptions, gold covered tables, elaborate altars, ark, angelic images, embroidered curtains and walls. Never has there been a tent so lavish.

In the book of Revelation, the eternal state is pictured as a beautiful city that will far outshine any Roman city. In fact, at the time of writing, the city of Rome was at or near its historical peak in terms of majestic, elaborate architecture and opulence. Yet, in all its glory it was nothing compared to a city whose streets are paved with gold, whose gates are like enormous pearls (Rev 21:21). To a Christian living at that time such an image would have been enticing.

In the time of the Upper Room, a different image is presented. The disciples typically would have lived in stone or crude brick homes, covered with a sort of mud plaster or stucco. The average working class person (which was the vast majority of the population) subsisted in modest sized homes of not more than a few rooms with limited space. The poorest lived in one room, square buildings. Only the extremely wealthy, which comprised only a sliver of the population, had large, opulent homes, the kind only dreamed about by the rest of the people. But Jesus informed His fearful, insecure disciples of their future destination. That is where He is going, where they cannot yet go. He will prepare it for them. It will be a huge mansion, with many rooms. And it will surpass any palace of any emperor of Rome or any other empire.

The point is that God invites us to imagine heaven with Christ as far exceeding our wildest dreams! And whatever you can imagine, heaven will be even greater. If Jesus could say the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist (Matt 11:11), then we can conclude that the least aspect of life in heaven is greater than the greatest possible aspect of life here on earth!

Wow, Lord. I can hardly wait to be with You in heaven!