Last night I was struggling to keep my thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure. I asked the Lord what to do in order to get my thoughts back on track. I believe He led me to read from the gospel of Mark. I was intrigued by Mark 1:10.
And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him. NASB
I thought about what it must have looked like—for the heavens to open. At first I pictured it merely as clouds parting and the Holy Spirit coming down to Him as a dove out of the sky. Then it hit me, as I read verse eleven—“And a voice came out of the heavens…”—that Jesus actually saw into the seventh heaven, that heaven where His Father was, was opened to Him.
Praise God! My thoughts began to be on heaven. God had answered my prayer. The next morning (this morning) I did a little study of this subject. I found seven Bible characters, including Jesus that saw into heaven. I will give them to you in chronological order.
1 & 2. Elisha and his young servant saw horses and chariots of fire—a heavenly army—all around them that were protecting them.
2 Kings 6:15-17.
Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. NASB
3. The heavens were opened to Ezekiel as he was by the river Chebar, and he saw visions of God (Ezek. 1:1). Much of the entire book of Ezekiel records what he saw in these visions. We can learn a lot about heaven from the book of Ezekiel.
4. After Jesus was baptized he saw the heavens opening and He saw the Holy
Spirit like a dove descending upon Him.
Mark 1:9-11.
And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.” NASB
5. Stephen, as he was about to be stoned, saw into heaven.
Acts 7:55-56
But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” NASB
6. God allowed John to see through a door into heaven. And he was supernaturally translated out of the physical realm into the spiritual realm, where he saw things as they are in heaven (I got this from John MacArthur).
Revelation 4:1-11
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. 3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. 4 And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. 7 And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.” NASB
7. Paul was caught up to heaven and heard wonderful words.
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago — whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows — such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know how such a man — whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows — 4 was caught up into Paradise, and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. NASB
Well, this was quite a good study for me, and has really helped me to think on heavenly things. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:1-4,
If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. NASB
Prayer A to Z 
And doesn’t David say that ‘better is one day in your house than thousands elsewhere?’ perhaps slightly contextually off… but how amazing to be given a glimpse of heaven 🙂
Yes, I think there are many more than I have listed that have gotten a glimpse of heaven. We get a small taste of it every time we enter a house of worship–like I will today. I pray things are going well for you.
I remember Isaiah “also saw The Lord high and lifted up”, and the Seraphim
Good point. Thank you!
Great song !
Thank you..amazing in my study this question came up..you did the research
Thanks 😊
God has given us an assurance that HE will wipe away all tears and agonys
Dear Brother in Christ,
I read your 7 visions of Heaven. Prophet. Micaiah ( 1 Kings 22: 19) and Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1- 4) also seen visions of Heaven.
Thanks brother for those additions.
Wonderful
Thank you so much for putting ur research on line for others to read. I now will be researching about heaven and about what what seen. Thank you so much for the information you have shared.
Teri
Any time.
Hello So Do you think it’s possible we could have near death experience and be in Heaven? Do you think we could have visions of Heaven too? Thank you
I don’t know but I don’t think you should count on it.. It should always be our desire to please the Lord and be near Him, but we should not count on experiences. Life is so short and we will be in heaven soon enough.
i was doing a little research trying to understand second Corinthians 8 verse 9
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
i realized that i will have to understand or visualized what heaven is like through the eye of the scriptures in order to appreciate what Jesus Christ to put up with man for that long just to save me from being poor.
Heaven was his dwelling place before he came down to redeem man. In heaven he was a royalty, the Son of God and A Godhead. All the beauties that ever existed on earth was created through him. And yet Isaiah 53 verse 1 to 3 has this to say concerning his coming…….
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
I pray God will open our eye of understanding to appreciate what he has to give up for us to live a rich life in Jesus name Amen.
Hi,I read your blogs named “Seven Bible Characters Who Got a Glimpse of Heaven | Prayer A to Z” daily.Your humoristic style is awesome, keep up the good work! And you can look our website about free proxy.
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Sorry. Is there anything in particular you are looking for?
I appreciate this article. It was a blessing to me this morning.
I enjoyed your article!
Thanks!
In the Bible I remember reading about someone that Jesus let see heaven. Then He had to called/commanded him several times to come back to Earth. Because heaven was so glorious and wonderful that this person didn’t want to come back to Earth. When this person finally did come back to earth, the Lord commanded him not to tell the secrets of what he saw while he was there. I can’t remember who this happened to in the Bible. I have searched online and have not been able to find the scripture. Any ideas? Thanks in advance
When You find that in the bible, let me know. But I have not heard of it. I have read the entire bible several times and I don’t remember anything like that.
Thanks for your reply. It is really strange to me. I can’t find it anywhere, but remember reading it about two years ago.
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How about Jacob in Genesis. The first one who had the glimpse of heaven opened?
Looking at the scripture from the beginning, I believe Jacob was the first man to be recorded to first have an heavenly vision.
You posted this in 2013 and now today 11/13/22 I am reading this. This blessed me so very much and I just wanted to say thank you. May God continue to bless you & reveal the wisdom & understanding of heaven in the Mighty name of Jesus.
Thanks Kesha!