9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.

14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.

16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.

17 He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using.

18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.

19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

The old gospel song sings,

Oh when the saints, go marching in, Oh when the Saints go marching in, Oh how I want to be in that number, When the Saints go marching in!

Yes, we as Christians are going to party in eternity with our Lord! However, those who are not invited to this party will be going to a dark place called hell. Let me put it to you this way. Let's say that we know of the greatest party down the street and it is free as long as you are willing to believe and accept the password. The password is "Jesus." This is all one has to believe and confess in order to get into the party where Jesus Christ the Lord is waiting for His people. The question is why aren't we telling more people about this great party? In addition, why are we keeping the password a secret amongst ourselves? I believe one of the major reasons why we do not tell other people about heaven because we are not excited enough about it. When I was a young boy and my birthday came around, I invited every snot-nosed kid on the block. I didn't care if they were White, Black, Mexican, Asian or any other race. For me, I wanted my celebration to be shared by all. I believe this is how Jesus feels about heaven and he expects us to feel the same.

So how can we make all of these things practically come about in our lives? In respect to realizing the reality of heaven, one must just think and meditate concerning it and allow it to hit you. As we would get more and more excited as the time approached for a birthday party to come about when we were kids, heaven also needs to be understood in this manner. As you are seeing the sign of the times here on earth, there is no doubt that Jesus is coming soon. My brothers and sisters, the "Grand Party" in the face of human history is about to begin and this is a party that will not end! This party is coming very soon and one cannot come inside without an invitation and acceptance of the Gospel. Although it is up to the individuals to accept the invitation, it is our duty to invite. Will we not invite our friends, family and neighbors to this great party that we will be going to very soon? As you are reading this devotional, write down as many people that you know that needs to hear the gospel message. Make a commitment to tell one person a week about the Gospel from your list. Make a checklist so that you can actually see your accomplishments in reaching out to these people.