HEAVEN

one minute before one o'clock.

I had no idea what was going on, so I was ready to pray and allow
the Holy Spirit to make intercession.
I thought to myself, Maybe He wants to talk to me about tonight's
service.
I pulled off my coat and knelt down beside the bed. As I did, the
digital clock flipped over to show exactly one o'clock. I said, "God,
what's the matter? What's wrong? What's happening? What?"

An Appointment With God

Suddenly I felt a suction as if I was being pulled up out of the
room. But I didn't look back to see myself leaving my physical body,
as some people have described. I heard a sound, Whoosh! And I was
pulled up out of the room! I gasped, "Aaah...." I don't know whether I
was in my body or out of my body.
I did know I had left that room and I was zooming along at a
phenomenal rate of speed, being carried in something like a cable car.
It was a chariot without a horse, but not like one of those chariots we
see in the movies—I was completely closed in. I could see through the
windows that the chariot was racing along, but I had no idea how it
was being operated.
Then I looked up. There stood another being. I realized that it was
the blond-headed angel who had visited me in the bedroom that night
in Jonesville, Louisiana. I asked, "Where are we going?"
He smiled and said, "You have an appointment with the Lord God
Jehovah."
I felt the chariot slowing down; then it came to a stop. When the
door opened, I experienced the shock of my life: I was in heaven!

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 MY TRIP TO HEAVEN

It Was a Gorgeous Place!

Heaven must not be too far away. It didn't seem as if I had gone
out of our galaxy. Of course, I'm not an astronomer, so I really don't
know for sure.
As I stepped out of the chariot, everything I saw was so beautiful.
I had always thought that when I went to heaven I would see only a
city. But the first place I saw was Paradise; it hadn't been destroyed.
Paradise is a big place, completely surrounding the Holy City. It is like
being on another planet.
I fell down on the ground and began praising God, saying, "Glory
to God!" The angel also fell down, saying, "The Most High God
Jehovah! Hosanna in the highest!" Together we just worshipped God.
I was so excited. I kept asking that angel, "Where am I? What am I
doing here?"
He said, "You have an appointment with the great God Jehovah.
We must go to the city. You shall soon find out."
As I stood to my feet, I saw light that I had never seen before in
my life.
Looking around me, I realized that God has with Him in heaven
some of the things He created on the earth. I was surrounded by lush,
gorgeous valleys, lots of mountains and streams of water. I even saw
snow, yet it wasn't cold. I was amazed.
There were flowers in heaven that I have never seen before in my
life and fragrances I have never smelled. I have never seen colors
quite like those I saw there, either. There were reds, greens, purples,
blues, yellows. The gold looked gold, yet it was transparent like
crystal.
It was a beautiful land. Trees were lined up alongside the River of
Life as it flowed throughout Paradise. Thousands of people were
standing around under the trees. They all had been brought there in
those chariot-like vehicles, the same as I was.

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 HEAVEN

I had always thought that everybody who went to heaven was

grown up. But I saw children too. I also noticed horses, dogs and large
cats like lions.
Everybody seemed headed toward God's Throne in the Holy City,
which I could see way off in the distance. His Throne was high and
lifted up, and it could be seen from every direction.

The Clothing They Wore

I was still dressed in my regular clothes, jeans and a shirt, but I
noticed that many people coming from those vehicles were wearing
beautiful, glorious robes. When they stepped out of the chariots, they
ran straight toward the Holy City—they immediately took off for the
Throne—shouting and praising God.
Then I saw other people who didn't have on robes; they were
wearing gowns. They started walking toward the city, but they
seemed to get weak. I saw them walk over to the trees, pick what
looked like fruit and eat it. Then they took some leaves off those trees,
put the leaves up to their faces and breathed in, smelling them.
I asked the angel, "What's happening?"
He said, "Some of them have not lived the life they should. They
believe in God and love Jesus, but they didn't live to their fullest
potential."
Then I asked, "Will they still be able to go before God's Throne?"
"Yes, God is merciful to them," he said. "But they have to be
prepared to stand in the presence of the Almighty."
"What happens when they eat enough of that fruit?"
"They will be strengthened," he said. "As we get closer to the city,
the anointing and the light will get stronger. When we go before the
Throne, it can be blinding."
Then I saw a man step out of a chariot like mine. He was wearing

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 MY TRIP TO HEAVEN

a gown, not a robe. He said, "I didn't think I was going to make it, but I
did!" Then he fell on his face and kissed the ground.
The angel who brought him picked him up and said, "Come, come,
my son." Then he took that man over to those trees and said, "Eat of
this fruit and smell these leaves." I realized that those leaves were for
the healing of the nations that the Apostle John spoke of in Revelation
22:1,2.
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of
the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve
manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and
the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
I could see that the fruit helped those people to stay in God's
glory.
I asked the angel with me, "Will he ever make it to the Throne?"
"He barely made it in, but our great God is merciful!" he said.
I knew Scripture that said to be absent from the body is to be
present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8.) I thought that would
happen the minute we passed over to the other side. Although some
people don't live for God the way they should, God is merciful. He still
helps them and touches them. But they have to be taught. What they
don't learn on earth, they will have to learn there.
Those gowns were beautiful. After I had visited heaven, I began to
do some research about the clothing I had seen. I found in Isaiah
61:10,11 (AMP) that God gives a robe of righteousness and a garment
of salvation. There's a difference between the two. Look at Isaiah's
explanation:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul will exult in
my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of

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 HEAVEN

salvation, He has covered me with the robe of

righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a
garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as [surely as] the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring forth,
so [surely] the Lord God will cause rightness and justice
and praise to spring forth before all nations [through the
self-fulfilling power of His word].
Some people don't live close to God the way they should. They
know Jesus as their Savior, but they could do so much better. In
heaven they will eventually be able to go to God's Throne, but it takes
more time for them. Paul teaches that once we are saved we are to
become examples of the righteousness of God. Consider Paul's
teaching in 2 Corinthians 5:20,21 (AMP):
So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His
appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal
representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the
divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.
For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who
knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become
[endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the
righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and
acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His
goodness].
When I began to feel weak, the angel walked over to one of those
trees, picked some of its fruit and brought it back to me. I don't know
what kind of fruit it was, but it wasn't an apple. It was juicy and
copper-colored fruit.
The angel said to me, "Eat this fruit so you will be able to
withstand the glory of God." So I ate it, and I was strengthened.
As I was looking around, I wanted to see everything. I was like an
eagle on top of a mountain peak trying to see everything down to the

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 MY TRIP TO HEAVEN

most minute blade of grass. I didn't want to miss anything. I had

always thought that Paradise had gone away, but God took it to
heaven and kept it there for us.

Then I Met Abraham!

The angel asked, "Are you thirsty?"
I said, "Yes."
"I shall get you something to drink," he replied.
There was a big, barrel-chested man across the riven He said, "I
shall bring it to him." I saw that he had a gold goblet in his hand. He
reached down and dipped it into the river. That river didn't look as
big as the Mississippi River—it was more like a bayou or a big stream,
a creek—only it was pure and clear.
I noticed the man's large size. He seemed of great age, yet he was
young looking. There were no wrinkles in his face. It was obvious he
was a patriarch. When I saw him, I knew in my spirit who he was and
thought, That is Abraham and I'm the seed of Abraham. This is my
great-great-great-grandpa, If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here.
Paul taught in Galatians 3:14 that the blessing given to Abraham
was made available to us (the Gentiles) through Jesus that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. And our relationship
to Abraham as his seed is explained in Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV):
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek,
slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
I watched as Abraham walked over to us. He gave the goblet to
me and said, "Hey, Jesse! Drink this." I couldn't keep my eyes off of
him.

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 HEAVEN

To be sure, I asked, "Who are you?"

He said, "I'm Abraham. Paradise is my place."
I felt I knew him like my own father. I fell down on my face before
him; but he said, "Stand to your feet. The only One you worship is the
Lord God. I'm a servant. I have come to help you. I meet all the people
who come here because Paradise is my bosom." When I stood to my
feet, Abraham said, "I shall help you." Then he asked me how I was.
I said, "I'm fine, Glory to God."
When I said that, Abraham said, "Glory to God!"
Then the angel said, "Glory to God!"
It started a chain reaction as other people near us stopped and
praised God. The sound of their praises seemed to ripple through
Paradise.
He said, "Drink this water. It shall help you." So I did. It was so
cool and refreshing; and it was being served to me in a gold goblet. I
was impressed it wasn't a little plastic cup.
Then he told the angel, "Take him. He must stand before the Most
High God."
But I wanted to talk to Abraham some more. My favorite
Scripture in the Bible is Romans 4:17, which, speaking of Abraham,
says, he calleth those things which be not as though they were. Like
Abraham, I wanted to consider not, to stagger not and to be fully
persuaded. (See Romans 4:19-21.)
Abraham said to me, "I'll see you again. I have to meet the others
who have come to this land of blessedness."
The angel said, "We must take you to the city where you have an
appointment." Then we got in line with all those other people and
started going toward the city.

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 MY TRIP TO HEAVEN

The Flowers Couldn't Be Crushed!

As we walked along, we came to a path of flowers. Their
fragrance and beauty were beyond human reasoning. At first, I didn't
want to step on them, but the angel said, "Walk on them." So I did.
I was amazed that the flowers were not crushed as we stepped on
them, but I realized there is no death in heaven. Instead, each blossom
popped back up and seemed to turn towards us as we passed so that
we could always see their beauty. I noticed there were no brown
leaves on any plants. And there is no dust in heaven. Nothing breaks
down or corrupts there.

There Were No Shadows in Heaven!

Walking along with the angel, I noticed that I didn't cast a
shadow. I kept looking down, so he asked, "What are you looking
for?"
"I don't have a shadow."
"In this place," he said, "there is no darkness. God is Light in
Whom there is no darkness, no shadow of turning."
The angel wasn't quoting Scriptures to me, but I knew that what
he was saying was in the Bible. First John 1:5 says, God is light, and in
him is no darkness at all. James 1:17 (Niv) explains that every perfect
gift comes down from the Father of lights, Who does not change like
shifting shadows.
I said, "Wait a minute; let me see if I can make a shadow."
"I told you there is no darkness. This is a place of light—all light.
God encompasseth all."
I looked on mountains. I looked in streams. I looked in all kinds of
places trying to find a shadow. But I could find no darkness at all.
Everything was light. The light was phenomenal, beyond human
reasoning.

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 HEAVEN

The Fragrance I Smelled

There was a fragrance in the air, so I asked the angel, "What's that
smell?"
He said, "It's the fragrance of God. He's in everything here." I
believe he meant the fragrance was all through heaven.
Again, I fell down on my face and started worshipping God. I said,
"The great God Jehovah!" Then the angel said, "Hosanna in the
highest!"

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 C H A P T E R S E V E N

7 I Saw Kids in Heaven

With Jesus
All of a sudden, I heard kids singing and praising God. Then I saw
them. They were carrying little harps.
I thought, Now what are these kids doing here? As I mentioned
earlier, theologically I had been taught that there were no kids in
heaven. So I asked the angel, "Where did all these children come
from?"
"These are children that the earth did not want," he said. "God
brought them here."
"But I thought people went to heaven because they chose to go."
"No, Jesse, children must be taught the oracles of God."
I saw that many people were teaching those kids, so I realized
that God was using people as well as angels to teach others in heaven
about Him.
Then I asked, "Are you talking about abortions?"
He said, "Yes. These children can't wait to see their mothers."
The ages of the children I saw seemed to be from about three to
ten years. Babies were off in another place.

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 HEAVEN

Jesus Appeared to the Children

The people had been shouting joyfully and those little children
were playing beautiful songs on their harps and singing. They were all
excited. Then I heard a whispering. The people in gowns were looking
toward the city. People around me began saying, "He's coming! He's
coming! He's coming!"
I asked the angel, "Who's coming?"
"You shall see the Holy One," he said.
All of a sudden, I saw a Light coming out of the city, but it was far
from me. The children ran toward the Light. I knew then that it was
Jesus!
I couldn't see His face because I was too far away. All I could see
were His hands reaching out to the kids as they played and sang and
hugged Him. Those kids adored Him. Then I heard Him say, Suffer the
little children to come unto me...for of such is the kingdom of God
(Mark 10:14).

As We Got Closer to the City

Then the angel said to me, "We must go to the city."
As we were walking in that direction, the angel said, "You're
going to get weaker and weaker." He had kept fruit for me and offered
it to me frequently.
I noticed some of the people in gowns who were slipping out
from under those trees and walking toward the city. They almost got
there; then they stopped, turned around and had to go back. It
seemed as if they were depressed.
I heard someone say, "There is no depression here. Just eat of the
Tree of Life, smell the leaves for healing and let your spirit grow. You
shall stand at the Throne of God."
Then I saw people who were wearing those robes of

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