Three Observations About Heaven

In Revelation 14:13 we are given another glimpse of what heaven will be like.  

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”

First, it is a state of blessedness.  "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord..."  To the Jew, being blessed meant receiving supreme favor from the hand of God.  And according to the Jews, the ultimate blessing was the Beatific Vision, the vision of God.  It was the hope of one day going to heaven to see God face to face; to be close to God.  To the Jew, the closer you were to God in intimacy and proximity, the more blessed you were. Heaven is being in the presence of God.  It is seeing God face to face.  

Second, it is a state of rest.  "... They will rest from their labors."  Heaven is rest from the battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Rest from pain.  Rest from persecution.

Third, it is a state of reward.  "... Their works will follow them."  In heaven, you will be rewarded for all the things that you have done on earth for Jesus Christ.