"Heavenly Country"
Or, A Taste of Heaven
"If so be ye have tasted that the LORD is gracious"
(1 Peter 2:3).
by Tom Stewart
he Apostle Paul visited and returned from
Heaven during his lifetime. "I knew a
man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether
out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the Third
Heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot
tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2Corinthians
12:2-4).
In 1848, Marietta Davis of Berlin, New York (USA), fell into a coma for 9 days. Doctors
were unable to arouse the 25 year old Baptist woman. However, when she did awake
from her coma, she proceeded to tell of an amazingly vivid and detailed dream in
which she visited and returned from Heaven. Her dream was recorded in a book as the
"Visions of Marietta Davis". 150 years ago, God saw fit to continue the
fulfillment of the Joel prophecy-- the same prophecy that the Apostle Peter had announced
as being fulfilled on Pentecost (Acts 2). "And
it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your
young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in
those days will I pour out My Spirit"
(Joel 2:28-29).
In particular, Marietta Davis visited what she has called the "Infants Paradise",
i.e., that aspect of Heaven that receives a deceased infant. "Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to
come unto Me: for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven"
(Matthew 19:14). In Marietta's dream, the arrangement of the Infant Nursery speaks
of Divine Thoughtfulness and Love. "But
as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that Love Him" (1Corinthians 2:9). Not surprisingly, the infants are schooled
in Spiritual things, and graduate to higher employments. "But
the path of the just is as the shining Light, that shineth more and more unto the
Perfect Day" (Proverbs 4:18).
She described the infants' happiness in their new situation. "As they awoke... they beheld their
[guardian] angel bending over them... [they] wore an expressive
smile, and were happy." Indescribable
joy is found in Heaven. "In Thy presence
is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11).
The swell of Heavenly Anthems fill Paradise. "Speaking
to yourselves in psalms and hymns and Spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in your heart to the LORD" (Ephesians
5:19). Marietta gives much detail to the musical culture of Heaven. "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth:
make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise"
(Psalm 98:4).
The Cross of the LORD Jesus is a central theme of Heaven. "Is
there no Heaven without the Cross and the Sacrifice?"
Marietta asked. She was told that all instruction in Heaven is based upon that "blessed symbol of redeeming love". "But we preach
Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God, and
the Wisdom of God" (1Corinthians 1:23-24).
Jesus visited the Infant Nursery in Marietta's dream. "He [Jesus] moved His
hand above them [the infants], and goodness like dew-drops fell therefrom, and the infants appeared
to drink as from a fountain of living water."
"How sweet are Thy Words unto my taste!
yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
(Psalm 119:103).
Marietta's dream describes Heaven, the place that we longingly call our Home. We
look for a "city which hath foundations,
whose Builder and Maker is God" (Hebrews
11:10). For that reason, it is appropriate to call us "strangers
and pilgrims" (Hebrews 11:13) to this
Earth. In varying degrees, we may thrive and fit into the world's scheme; however,
we are at heart citizens of Heaven. "For
our conversation [citizenship] is in Heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour,
the LORD Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).
We "occupy" (Luke 19:13) at our respective places in our LORD's service because
it is "more needful" (Philippians 1:24) to those that we benefit that we should
remain. Very soon, the LORD will fulfill the Pre-Tribulational Rapture Promise: "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be
accounted worthy to escape ALL these things that shall come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of man" (Luke 21:36).
Marietta's vision of Heaven should inspire us to the "patient
waiting for Christ" (2Thessalonians 3:5).
The Love of Christ shown to us in the intricate provision made for the reception
of these tiniest of Heavenly Citizens should cause us to love our LORD even more.
"We love him, because he first loved us" (1John 4:19). May the "Love
of God [be]
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5) as we intreat our LORD that we might be kept
in His Love.
I like the way Marietta Davis concludes her dream. "Patiently
I await the hour I know is determined, when I shall go hence and enjoy the fruition
of those realms of bliss, where my spirit obtained its assurance of joys. I will
praise my Heavenly Father for my hope in Jesus, which is worth ten thousand worlds
to me. And when I arrive in Paradise, free from mortality, I will praise Him with
an undivided and pure heart, and with holy lips. There I will, in loud anthems, exalt
the name of my Redeemer while Eternity endures."
.
"But now they desire a Better Country,
that is, an Heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He
hath prepared for them a City"
(Hebrews 11:16).
"Prophetic
Dream of Babies in Heaven" ---New Window
Lovingly Cared for by Guardian Angels (1848)
An exquisite visit to Heaven,
experienced in a dream
by Marietta Davis
She met friends and loved ones who rejoiced with her.
She saw angels bringing our Tiniest Treasures to Heaven.
She traveled with an angel to visit Heaven's Nursery!
She saw Jesus Christ, as He visited the Infants,
and blessed them!
An excerpt from the chapter:
The Third Paradise Plain
As we advanced, I perceived before me a vast and complicated structure, whose outer
walls and towers appeared formed of marble, that was in appearance delicate as snow.
This served as the foundation of a vast canopy like a dome, though far too extended
to be expressed by the earthly architectural meaning of that term. We drew near the
building, and I perceived that the dome was suspended over the vast circular space. "This,"
said my guide, "is the place where all infants of every race from thy globe
are gathered for the instruction and support of their infant natures..."
"...Whenever an infant dies on earth, the guardian
angel who bears up the spirit to the Lord of Peace, perceives its interior type of
mind, and according to its type it is classed with others of like order of intelligence;
and as the skillful gardener on earth in one floral division trains the various species
of the lily, and in another compartment roses, and in another camelias or the honeysuckles;
so here angelic wisdom classifies the infant spirits, and according to their variety
of artistic, scientific, and social tendencies, assigneth each to a home best adapted
to the unfolding of its interior germs of life, into intellectual, artistic, or industrial
harmony."
An excerpt from the chapter:
Jesus Appears in Infant Nursery
As He spoke guardian angels drew near, and each presented Him with their Treasure.
He moved His hand above them, and goodness like dew-drops fell therefrom, and the
infants appeared to drink as from a fountain of living water. They were blessed.
The emanation from that Being was the breath of life.
The temple wore a new aspect. As the scene was closing, the angels who attended Him
played upon stringed instruments, and sung of Redemption. He moved His gracious hand
as if in approbation of what the guardian angels had done; and they all bowed and
veiled their faces in the garment of glory that encompassed them. Suddenly music,
like the voice of many waters, arose from every temple in the broad nursery of the
great city. And as the utterance moved forth in one swelling wave of angelic song,
that Being with those who had accompanied Him, reascended, and the angels of this
temple resumed their former movement.
Read More on this Topic
Also:
Who is Marietta
Davis? ---New Window
Or, God Allowed Us to Look Over Marietta's
Shoulder
by Tom Stewart
150 years ago, God gave a 25 year old woman a vision
of Heaven,
and a precious view of His watchcare for these little Creations of Innocence.
Some have been sceptical, but all have admitted
that Marietta is sincere and Scripturally consistent.
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