Heaven Is Beyond Your Wildest Expectations (15 page)

These angels were not tall and slender, as I’d seen elsewhere in Heaven. Nor were they friendly or kindly looking, like other angels. These were fearsome angels dressed in battle garb. They didn’t have helmets, but they had huge shields, flaming swords and spears that were about thirty feet long. They must have stood twenty feet tall and weighed the better part of a ton, according to earthly measure. They were huge, muscular angels. They looked like Mr. America but considerably larger. They had supernatural weapons that I do not know how to explain. I knew that some of them could speak words and cause whole nations to crumble and fall into the sea.

“Behold the warfaring angels
of God. They are mighty to pull
down the strongholds of the evil
one.”

They were armed, some with words, some with swords, some with spears for special purposes, and all with the power of God. They knew their jobs—their highly specialized jobs—and how to do them. They didn’t need to be told
how
to do their job; God just needed to tell them
where
to do them. As I looked at them, one of the angels standing with me said, “Behold the warfaring angels of God. They are mighty to pull down the strongholds of the evil one.”

I noticed that their hands were clothed with power and I asked, “Why are their hands aflame?” I was told that they are ready at any moment to come and do battle against the power of the devil that assails us. The power of God is in their hands to do all that He wants them to do. They are released to fight for us the minute we mention the name of Jesus. I saw thousands of them come out of ranks almost at the speed of light and disappear. I knew they were going to earth to help someone. Oh, the power of God that is available for us! If we only knew how much the angels have to do with our victory on earth and how God wants us to have victory—all the time!

Then one of my angels said, “Come. You have another appointment with Jesus,” as he bowed his head in complete humility. “Come, now. The Master awaits.” I was taken to the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is God’s personal place in Heaven—His favorite place. The roses were quite large and burst into a thousand different colors beyond description. Most of the colors would be impossible to capture on earth. There in the center was a sitting place with garden furniture made of solid gold. Jesus was sitting there waiting for me. Again, I fell at His feet, and the only sound I could utter was a very weak, “My Lord and Savior.” I was weeping with great joy.

Everything in Heaven seems to stand still when the Lord Jesus speaks. A hand as strong as steel lifted me up and I was looking into the Master’s face. He gave me a loving, all-knowing look of absolute acceptance. I was trembling with ecstasy.

He said, “Sit down.” He stood and talked to me. “I must tell you,” He said, “that I’m coming back for My people.”

I said, “They know that.”

Jesus said, “No they don’t. They’re asleep. They’re at ease. I’m coming as a thief in the night. I’m sending you back to herald My return. I am coming back for people who make themselves ready, for those who lay aside every sin and get their eyes totally upon Me. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” When He said that, it was as if all Heaven joined in and said, “Amen.”

Then Jesus drew back a few steps and began to speak. “For centuries, men have tried to interpret My Word. Some were correct, in as much light as they had. Some were wrong, and some of them were sent by the evil one to lead My Father’s creation astray. From the day that My grace was extended to redeem creation, the evil one has tried to steal it from My hands. But until the day that I will soon return, that which My Father has committed to Me will not be taken from Me. I have worked to make salvation available to all.

“I was there when the first rays of My glory created the universe. I was there when the planets were made. I did it. I created everything to work perfectly after its own order. I fellowshipped with the first created man in these gardens—until sin became a reality. Into outer darkness My Father cast the evil one and all those who followed him. They were cast far away from this perfect abode that I have prepared for My bride of faithful believers. The days of creation are numbered. My Father alone knows the number of days. He alone. Soon, I will take the heavenly armies that you have witnessed, along with these elders who are here, and go get My people. It will be the happiest time of all eternity,” He said.

“You will go back,” He told me.

Immediately I began to weep at the thought. It hurt so. He reached out and touched my shoulder and great peace came again. “Go tell My people what you have seen here. And tell them to get their lives clean and full of My Spirit. Only with My help can they endure to the end.” Jesus said again, “You’re going back.”

I sighed and He rebuked me. “The will of My Father is never grievous. Stand to your feet. You must go back. You will come back to Heaven,” He said. Then Jesus hugged me.

Suddenly my body was full of pain and there was a sheet over my face. I could feel my bones knitting together. I heard a voice say, “He’s been dead all these hours. It’s about time to embalm him.”

I sat up and said, “I ain’t dead yet.” Someone hollered, “He’s alive! That dead man is alive!” A doctor came in and said, “I pronounced him dead, and he’s dead.” But I was sitting up, breathing, and talking. Other doctors and nurses came in the room and I began to tell them what had happened. People were weeping at what I was saying about my trip to Heaven.

The doctors agreed, “This must be a miracle of God.”

Commentary

Richard Sigmund is now with the Lord permanently. He will never have to leave again. But the message he was sent back to tell people remains as an inspiration and a hope. When I interviewed Richard before he went to be with the Lord, anytime he would say the name of Jesus he would say it with the most tenderhearted reverence. Richard’s story presents to us what appears to be a rare almost word-for-word account of a conversation with Jesus Himself. We see how much He wants to protect us and to bless us. He is so intimately involved with us, that our every thought and intention is captured and written down. This story confirms again that there is no record of sins once we come to the Lord. Once the blood of Jesus has washed away our sins, meticulous records are kept of our lives because God is looking for ways to reward us for acts of love and kindness that we do to bless others or the intentions of our hearts to bless and honor God.

Knowing of this acceptance we have in God stirs within us a desire to live to please God far beyond any need to please men in order to gain acceptance or applause. In fact, the more you know the Lord Jesus, the more uncomfortable you become with praise that goes to anyone other than the Lord Himself. God wants to bless us and is making plans in Heaven to meet our deepest desires and longings. While we’re here on earth, that God has mighty angels to help us, to protect us, to rescue us, is unquestionable from what we’ve seen from these heavenly accounts. The insights God has provided for us through these stories bring to us a confidence in God and the name of Jesus that leaves no room for fear or insecurity in God. We are not here on earth alone. We have the Holy Spirit; we also have the angels who are diligently working to care for each of us as the Lord directs them. Nothing we do on earth or that concerns us is outside of God’s involvement, His power, or His love.

Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence
(2 Peter 1:3).

About Richard Sigmund

Richard’s grandfather was praying while Richard was being born in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Lord told him, “Through him I will answer prayer.” The prayer that was being answered was that of his great-grandfather, a Spirit-filled Jewish circuit riding preacher during the Civil War. The Lord first appeared to Richard when he was four years old. He began preaching with Reverend Jack Coe Sr. at age five. At nine, he began preaching with healing evangelist A.A. Allen, which he did for ten years and also presented his testimony during meetings of William Branham. In his early twenties, Richard held fruitful tent meetings among the Navajo First Nation people in Arizona and held other revival meetings across the country. In 1974, a traffic accident took him to Heaven, which seemed to have no cause. When he returned from Heaven, he was entirely healed and continued for years to bring healing to others. Upon returning to life on the earth, Richard preached the gospel in many countries with many known evangelists, and on television and radio. He authored
My Time in Heaven: A True Story of Dying and Coming Back.

C
HAPTER
9

IN REALMS OF GLORY

William Smith

Bill was adopted as an infant, but he didn’t find out until he was eighteen years of age. This explained why, from the time he was a young child, he had a deep, deep longing to know God as his Father.

One day I walked into my room, lay down on the bed, and began praying as usual. All of a sudden the ceiling disappeared. All I could see were swirling clouds of splendor and glory in fiery yellow, pink, and red. I was hearing a sound like a nuclear fission of extreme power. I was overcome with wanting to know what this was. An expanse opened above me. As I watched, it came down over top of me. I was fearful and trembling. A huge all-consuming cloud came toward me. The whole experience was terrifying. I could feel my heart racing, but there was nothing I could do. I was praying to God to tell me whatever this was and what was happening. I was still in my room looking up, but there was no longer any ceiling.

All I saw was my body consumed
in fire.

I was now in a spiritual dimension. All I saw was my body consumed in fire. The whirlwind cloud had a sound, like a humming atomic power vibration—very loud, like a cosmic power sound. It was so powerful sounding that the energy of it scared me enough that I thought I would die. It was as if I was looking at a video of a nuclear explosion in slow speed so that I could see the strong ethereal electric nuclear power of it. All I could do was watch and listen. As I listened, I also heard a sound like a CD playing a song that I had written,
Run, Run into the Son.
I’ve always composed songs, and I had written that song to the Lord. It was my favorite, and now it was playing in my spirit.