This is an excerpt from Jesse’s book, “Heaven – Close Encounters Of The God Kind” in which he tells of the wonderful things Jesse learned during his trip to heaven in 1988.
Then he (David) took me to my house. When I walked up, I looked at the grounds. There was a water fountain in the front yard and manicured grass. It was the prettiest place I had ever laid eyes on. I said, “This is my house?”
“Yes,” David said. “Would you like to go inside?”
“Yes, I want to go inside!”
To me, the foyer of a home sets the mood of a house. When I went through the front door, there were tall ceilings and crown moldings.
“Do you like it?” David asked.
“Yes, I like it. This is beautiful!” Everything was decorated and the furniture was just the kind I liked. I said, “This place is beautiful! I wasn’t expecting to see this. Just look at this place! Hey, I have furniture like that on the earth! I love this!”
“Yes, the Lord knew you would like it, so we put it in your home. We told you He would give you the desires of your heart,” David said. “All desires are met here. Everything has been thought of – all your desires and some that you could not even think of.”
Everything was perfect down to the last detail! It was all so beautiful! I looked at more physical things in my home than anywhere else. There was marble, and there was a table in the foyer with golden eagles on it! I said, “Look at this!”
“David,” I said, “there are lots of things here that look like things on the earth.”
“Well, the earth is the Lord’s taste,” he answered. “Remember, He created it. So a lot of what you see there you will see here. Come, let me show you more.”
“The thing that bothers me, David, is that I never thought there would be things here like mountains.”
“Jesse, the earth is God’s creation. His taste there is His taste here. Every desire you could possibly think of has been met to your specification for your home, plus God put a few of His own. Let me show you more.”
Families Are Reunited
As we were leaving the house to go on to the Throne room, I saw a man, a woman and some kids outside. I walked to the door and said, “Who are they?”
“This is a family that was killed in an airplane accident,” David said. “They all are here.”
I was puzzled. “I need to ask a question. Excuse me for my ignorance, but I didn’t think we lived together as families. One woman told me she didn’t want to go to heaven if she couldn’t live with her husband. I have a wife named Cathy. Are we going to be together?”
“Yes, you live together,” he answered. “But not as you know it on earth. It’s better than you think.”
So I asked the family, “Where are all of you going?”
They said, “We’re going to our house and then on a picnic. Would you like to come?”
I said, “Yes!” I really wanted to go with them on their picnic.
Then David stopped me saying, “We must go to the Throne first. Then we will take you that way. I have been commissioned to bring you to the Throne. That I must do. The best is yet to be seen. We must go quickly.” He wanted to show me more houses on our way to the Throne.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”