Many Mansions

John the beloved includes a topic overlooked by the other gospel writers. This interchange seemed important to him, and he included it for us to ponder.

John 14

2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

What is our Father’s house? The temple of God is referred to as His house, for if it is kept clean and sacred, He will dwell therein. Heaven can also be a house of God, for He does certainly dwell there. He can dwell in our hearts, so we may make ourselves worthy to be a house of God, a place where His spirit can dwell. Even our homes can be made worthy for God to dwell in, and thus may be a house of God.

Biblically, “house” can refer to something else. “The house of Israel” refers to all the people on earth that are in the family of Israel. Thus, I feel that “my Father’s house” may be referring to all of the children of God, for we are all of His “house”.

A mansion is a very exquisite place to live. If these are the intended meanings, then Christ is saying that in His family there are many levels of very beautiful places to dwell. This makes sense in that the children of God vary greatly in levels of righteousness.

Christ emphasized that He said this because it was true. At some point in time, it would be His job to go and prepare a place for us. He would do this after His death and resurrection.

If He did go and prepare these many mansions, then He will return to us, and take us there. We will become His, if we are worthy to be so. And He will give us this prepared mansion as a place in which to reside. Though we know He is greater than we are, and He deserves a greater mansion than we do, Jesus states that we may “come unto Him”, and where He is, there we may be also.

We may become as worthy of this great and grand mansion as the Lord Jesus Christ is! There is a path to this heavenly place. If it were not so, then He would have told us.

Matt 16

27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Our God, however, lives by laws. The law of justice says He must reward everyone according to the works done in the body. Therefore, Christ created more than one mansion, more than one reward for the children of His “house”. Many mansions allow for justice since there are many deserved rewards for the children of God.

2 Cor

2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago … such an one caught up to the third heaven.

Paul had a vision of a man in the “third” heaven. He points this out matter-of-factly and without an expanded explanation. This would indicate that the members of the church were familiar with the many heavens, or many mansions doctrine. The fact that there is not one heaven but many appears to have been commonly taught in the original Christian church. This stands to reason if we believe our God to be fair and just.

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

Paul describes these mansions as glories like the sun, the moon, and the stars. These kingdoms await God’s children after they have been resurrected. He explains that they differ in magnitudes. Imagine comparing the sun’s light to a star’s when viewed from earth. This is how extreme these mansions, or degrees of glory, will be, and they are all based on our worthiness to receive them.

Paul explains further that we are surrounded by corruption, dishonor, weakness, and natural tendencies to do evil. But when we receive our final rewards, they will be nothing like what we see here. In their place will be incorruption, glory, power, and spirituality. Our body’s resurrection will be unto perfection. But our reward will be based on what we are prepared for.

For here on the earth we live an earthy existence. But in a heavenly mansion we will live a heavenly existence. The extent or degree of this glory will depend on what we are prepared to receive. If I have a gold necklace and a new doll, I will give the necklace to my daughter and the doll to my granddaughter. Though the gifts vary in monetary worth, both bring joy, and each should be given to the one prepared to enjoy it.

If we wish to receive the great gift, we need to prepare ourselves. We need to prove we can handle small things, that we may be trusted with large things. We need to show what kind of people we are in His absence, and He will reward us when we are in His presence.

Who will be with us in our mansion? Once again it is up to us. In our lives, we choose friends and associates. If they are the ones we are most comfortable with in this life, and their level of righteousness is similar to ours, then that is what we have prepared ourselves for in the next life. The saint and the sinner both have company they enjoy. In our daily associations, we not only prepare ourselves for future dwellings but also for future friends.

Prepared

As we go about our lives

Living day-to-day

Our actions and our thoughts provide

A path, our chosen way

We attract acquaintances

On these paths we take

And we spend our lives with them

All for enjoyments sake

So go the hours the days the weeks

Found in our comfort zone

Allotting time to spend with friends

In this we’re not alone

By choosing our priorities

With whom we want to share

We tread on down this traveled road

Without a single care

But at some point we turn our gaze

To see just where it goes

We view a mansion there prepared

For who, only heaven knows

And by the time we reach the house

At roads end, standing tall

It’s far too late to then decide

If we want to go there at all

Your Master watches over you

And knows your destiny

He’s already prepared the place

That you’ve chosen to be

Be sure you take the road you want

Adhere to this one fact

When you reach the end of it

There is no turning back

There is not just a Heaven and a Hell. Our Savior has prepared many mansions. Each one has a purpose, to house those who have prepared themselves for it. Be sure that you are going down the road to the mansion you really want to dwell in. Look at your friends and loved ones. Have you selected well? Are you taking them to where they want to be? Remember, no one walks alone. Many times if one person changes course, other people will be influenced, and may follow.

Eternity is a long time, and this life is very short. Be certain that you are headed for the place you want to stay. Those who plant a lifetime of bad decisions will reap an eternity of regrets. Those who work diligently to make a good life will reap an eternity of joy, surrounded by loved ones who were influenced by their example.