HEAVENLY ART! DFO 1543 6/83
--Artist Tips on Pictures of Heaven!
(From taped messages to one of our WS artists)
1. I'M SORRY BOOK 10 WAS KIND OF A DIFFICULT ISSUE, but I really wanted to give especially the kids, as well as their moms & pops, a pretty good idea of exactly the dimensions of this tremendous place! If they can't figure it out after seeing all these maps & everything else & reading all the stats & seeing the pictures, they've got no imagination at all. We've made it as real as we possibly can. I think we've done a good job! I didn't see how you were going to do it, but you did!
2. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT JUST HAS NOT BEEN DEALT WITH, & WAS NEVER DEALT WITH BEFORE that I know of at all by the churches or the preachers. I never had anybody even describe it like this, have you? And we haven't even done it much! I described the overall dimensions several times, about it being 1500 miles square, 1500 miles high, but no further detail. Some didn't even know the wall was separate from the City & went clear around the City! Some were dumbfounded to hear that!--And how high it is & all that! We're going to try to really give the kids & everybody a real good idea of how tremendous this thing is, something to really look forward to, amen? It gets me so excited, I can hardly wait! Hallelujah! I bet I'm going to get there before you do! Well, PTL!
3. LORD BLESS & KEEP'M & GIVE THEM STRENGTH & WISDOM TO BE ABLE TO POLISH UP THESE FINAL DETAILS so we have a good presentation of all these facts & figures, Lord, & visualisation of it for our folks, so they'll never forget how beautiful & how big & how wonderful it is until they get there, then they'll see! Praise God!
4. I'M NOT THROUGH WITH IT YET, BY THE WAY! Wait'll I give you some ideas on some interior pictures later on, Son! Then we can really show'm! So you & I are going to try to really visualise the interior! How about it? Really make a beautiful series of pictures on the gorgeous interior! And I'm going to really try to describe it to you the way I really saw it, & I think that would really give the folks a thrill! I didn't see it all, of course, but we can give'm a lot better concept of the interior than we did before! I believe you can do it, Son!--Sometime when we have time, if we ever have time! You've gotta leave an artist a little leeway for inspiration to get inspired by.
5. OUR MANSION IS NOT EXACTLY AN APARTMENT, but each one had their space. So it's sort of like those apartments where you've got a separate cottage for each apartment with its own garden etc.--Ours is some cottage!--Ha!
6. IT'S JUST TERRIFIC SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN READING EVEN IN SOME OF THIS OLD MATERIAL. It's amazing how much detail the Lord was already revealing to us & we didn't even realise it. Nothing contradictory, it all just fits right in!
7. I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE CITY THIS AFTERNOON, & these World Fairs & these big shopping malls & all that--they're sort of the Devil's stab at trying to make something that looks a little bit like it, including his skyscrapers & all that, trying to make a little stab at Heaven, to try to simulate Heaven on Earth with all that stuff! But he hasn't even come close! Inside our City are malls & parks & huge rooms & all kinds of things! You know, I saw some of it, a few rooms, like that Control Room & that Throne Room & one of the gardens, I remember those in particular. And then I remember looking out through the Wall at the new surface.
8. SOMEBODY OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO DRAW THOSE! Eman did pretty good on some of them. Let's dig his out & see what he's got & what he hasn't got, maybe we can do better, or do better on what he's got! But I'd love to have a big huge poster like the last one we did, all colour!--And have the Golden City right in the middle & all these other shots of it as close-ups. I think we really owe that to our kids. Does that inspire you? OK, let's go!
9. NOW IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, INSPIRATIONS OR CHANGES THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE, JUST HELP YOURSELF, because you know I'm no artist, I just sort of look at the blank sheet of paper & sort of try to visualise what I would like to see & there it is! Well, I hope it's a help to you. My perspective is not always good & my art is lousy & I certainly can't draw, I mean it's laughable, but at least you get positions if nothing else! Deciding on positions, I'm sure, is probably a help.
10. IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW! (Talking about the stats on the Heavenly City.) I mean you have no comprehension of the size of that thing until you really get it down into figures! Were you astonished at some of those figures? Were you guys really surprised? I know I was! I was shocked when I began to figure out just really how much room there is! I mean, isn't that the silliest thing, people used to say, "Aw, it doesn't matter, even if He made it that big there still wouldn't be room enough even to hold all the real born-again Christians, much less anybody else!" Good night! As you see, they could put the whole population that ever lived in that place! Ha! You could each own a skyscraper! Well anyway, I hope we can give them some idea really of how big it is.
11. IT'S JUST BEAUTIFUL, SON! GBY! That's about it, I can't think of any other improvements to make on anything else to make it any better, they are beautiful. The Family is thrilling to them & I'm looking forward to everybody gettin'm. I think they're going to be thrilled, don't you? Don't you think this gives them a better idea of Heaven? Did you ever see anything more realistic? How come the great artists never did anything like this? The great classics & all, how come they never painted Heaven?
12. SON, YOU HAVE GOT A JOB HERE TO TACKLE THAT EVEN THE GREAT MASTERS & THEIR MASTERPIECES NEVER EVEN ATTEMPTED, HOW ABOUT THAT! That's quite an assignment! The Lord has left it up to you in this Last Day to do a job that they never even attempted! I don't think they even understood it! I never heard any preacher even preaching on these dimensions or making it realistic, about the distinction between the Wall & the City & all those things. I don't think they even understood it! And I've never seen any pictures of it except our own, have you? I don't think any artist ever attempted it before. But thank God we've got actual measurements to go by. I mean, why didn't they do it?
13. (TONGUES:) HALLELUJAH, THANK THE LORD! THE LORD SAYS HE LEFT THAT JOB FOR US! Isn't that wonderful? What is that Scripture: "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." (Heb.11:40) That's the end of the 11th Chapter of Hebrews. I never thought of applying that to art! But why not! All their art masterpieces are not finished until you finish these, Son! Their art is not complete until you finish these on the Heavenly City, GBY! Amen, isn't that beautiful? Hallelujah! Thank You Lord!
14. SO THERE YOU ARE! YOU ARE COMMISSIONED BY THE LORD TO BE THE ONLY ARTIST IN HISTORY TO ATTEMPT TO DRAW HIS BEAUTIFUL HEAVENLY CITY, HOW ABOUT THAT! They're actually the Lord's ideas, I just got the Scriptures out of the Book! So TTL! We're just trying to show what He's already described, just trying to show it to them.--And what little I got to see, it was kind of a quick trip, ha! We can't expect to see all the Heavenly City in one day or one night.--Kinda like doing Europe in one day! But I did see some gorgeous scenes! I was a bit disappointed with some of our previous attempts to depict'm. Some of them were good, but I guess we just couldn't possibly grasp the beauty & magnificence of it all, some of those gigantic rooms & all.
15. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PUT THOSE DOWN ON PAPER?--IT'S PRETTY HARD TO DO! But I think you can do it! With the Lord's help & inspiration & the gift He's given you, I think maybe we're going to do it, Son! How about that! He's left that up to us to complete! None of them ever tackled that! I've never seen a picture of the whole City exactly according to its actual dimensions & descriptions, ever! I don't think the artists of the past could even imagine that! Why didn't they attempt it? You just can't understand! There it is described beautifully, & they didn't even attempt it. And I mean they were masters of colour & paints & oils & whatnot & they never even attempted it, not even the Wall!
16. WHEN DID YOU EVER SEE ANY GREAT ART MASTERPIECES OF THE HOLY CITY?--NEVER! We're the only ones in History to ever attempt it, Son! And He just said that He left that up to you. Now that I consider is quite an honour, that the Lord has left up to you something even the great master artists never even attempted, so there you are! You are commissioned by the Lord to paint His City! Oh, wow! TYJ! Hallelujah! PYL! (Tongues:) Hallelujah! TYL! "Thank You Lord for the wonders that You've shown their little father!" TYJ, PTL! Amen!
17. BOY OH BOY! WHAT AN ASSIGNMENT, HUH? WE'RE THE ONLY ONES WHO HAVE EVER TRIED IT! So, no wonder we've been so particular! People will be coming to us to see what the Heavenly City looks like! Oh boy! I can just hardly wait till we get all these other things done so we can start on that poster! You can be thinking about it anyhow, praying about it. You might even, in your spare time, in your dreams, do little sketches, little outlines or ideas. Anything you get that comes to you I'm sure is going to be from the Lord, because He's just said He's given you that commission, that assignment!
18. --OF ALL THE ARTISTS OF ALL THE AGES, THINK OF THAT!--YOU'RE THE ONE THAT HE CHOSE! HALLELUJAH! (Tongues & weeping:) Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus! He's left that for you to do! Isn't that wonderful? Oh, that's wonderful! That's marvellous! Thank You Jesus! Hallelujah! Thank You Lord! I mean, that's just...that's far out! Out of this World! That's just almost beyond comprehension! Thank You Jesus! What a confirmation! Isn't that marvellous! I had been wondering & wondering & wondering,
19. "HOW COME NOBODY EVER DID THIS BEFORE?" And the Lord said, well, just like that, He can tell you in a moment!: He's left that for us! TYJ! How about that! All these years He didn't let them attempt it. I guess they weren't worthy or they weren't prayerful or they weren't inspired. Well, they were inspired on other subjects, I guess, that were important for their day.
20. BUT AFTER ALL, THIS IS THE SUBJECT FOR US TODAY, OUR DAY, RIGHT?! Because we're the ones that are the closest to it & understand it best too. Right? Doesn't that inspire you! Hallelujah! You ought to stop here & have a shoutin' session! Oh, ILY! GBY!
21. (PRAYS:) LORD, WE CAN ONLY THANK YOU FOR THY WONDERFUL WONDERFUL REVELATIONS & THY WONDERFUL WORD, Lord, Thy great inspiration, the gifts & talents that You have given our Artists in their art, to see these things. "Without vision, the people perish" & You can give them the visions that they need to imagine & visualise it so that they can get at least some idea, Lord, of what these glories & marvels look like & what we have to look forward to, now that we're so close to it, Lord, & You've revealed it to us so literally & so distinctly, even mathematically, Lord. TYJ!
22. THANK YOU FOR LEAVING THIS FOR US TO DO, this last great art project, Lord, probably the greatest art project any artist ever attempted, to try to visualise Thy great City, Thy final great beautiful Heavenly City that You have gone to prepare for us! Hallelujah! Thank you Lord! It's so thrilling, Lord! It's worth it all, just to be together & be with You in such a beautiful place!
23. HELP US, LORD, TO VISUALISE IT! Help us to capture the pictures of it, to reveal it to these Thy children, Lord, this project, this task that Thou hast reserved for us in this last day. Thank You Jesus! Hallelujah! What a picture! Hallelujah! PTL! What an assignment! You know, all the great kings had artists, the artists of State that they commissioned to do art projects for them.
24. NOW THE KING OF KINGS HAS JUST COMMISSIONED YOU TO DRAW HIS HOLY CITY! Hallelujah? Amen! Well, you already got a good start on it, Boy! Terrific start! We're really learning as we go, huh? Amen. We're learning the sizes & proportions & measurements, & to even begin to draw outlines is a big start, right? It's sort of like those little sketches I draw for you, you know? At least they give you the placement & places & positions & that sort of thing. But then with this thing we've even got actual measurements, how about that!--And actual colours, names of the stones & everything!
25. WHAT COULD BE MORE SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE THAN THIS CITY! Nothing else in the whole Bible is so mathematically described & so beautifully described!--Nothing! So why?--Well, now we got our answer, why nobody else ever tried it: The Lord reserved it for us! How about that! Isn't that something? I got a revelation! I just got a message! Isn't that wonderful? God bless you! ILY!
26. (PRAYS:) LORD, DO BLESS THEM, HELP THEM NOW TO REALLY BE INSPIRED & really be thrilled with the marvellous project that You have given, in Jesus' name. Bless & keep & give strength, rest to mind & heart, Lord. We know that all these things come from You. "Every good & perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights" (Jam.1:17), cometh from above, so therefore Lord, help him not to work too hard at it but pray it down, Lord, to look to Thee for inspiration & ideas, to expect to have You give him visions & scenes & visualise it for him, so all he has to do is copy what You show him, in Jesus' name, amen.
27. HALLELUJAH? AMEN? GOD BLESS YOU, SON! That is really something! I got a message straight for you, straight from the Lord, right now on the wireless! Hot off the tubes! Hallelujah! God bless you all, thanks a lot! Lord bless & keep you & give you a good day or night, whenever you hear this!
28. I GUESS YOU NOTICED I WAS PLANNING OUR HEAVENLY MANSION TO INCLUDE YOU FOLKS TOO! So count on that! No more separations, hallelujah! And Son, be sure you bring along your--oh, I guess you can't bring along your artist tools, but park'm here someplace where you can pick'm up when you get back, 'cause I'm sure we're going to have more work to do along that line. We've got a lot of educating to do. Maria just mentioned last night, as we were talking about her folks, she said, "My goodness, think how we're going to have to start from scratch with some of those church people, they're going to have to learn the whole course!" They don't know nothin'! It's pitiful! Our Family folks are far more mature & know more about everything than those church people!
29. I'M JUST ABSOLUTELY ALMOST BREATHLESS WHEN I RECEIVE ONE OF THESE PIX & OPEN IT UP, to see what I'm going to see! I'm really excited about it, it's just really beautiful, just gorgeous! This Mansion is supposed to be some considerable distance up the City wall, so I don't think you'd see any treetops outside the City wall. All you're going to see is what's in the garden, otherwise maybe you're miles up in space. So erase those little trees outside the City wall, you probably didn't realise that this was not at ground level, at least that was my conception, but this is up the City wall, as I described in the Letter, that maybe the housing units wouldn't begin until above the outside Wall so they could see over it. So you probably wouldn't be able to see any trees or treetops on the same level outside the City wall, just far below.
30. DON'T YOU THINK IT'S PRETTY? WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO LIVE THERE? Just hang on, hang on! I'm sure the Lord will give me the desires of my heart, maybe like this mansion that I have designed myself! I'm sure He's got something better, but that's not a bad idea! I think it's pretty, don't you? And Son, your giving it that Grecian touch sure gave it a little more class because nothing ever beats that Grecian architecture. The Greeks not only had a word for it but they had an art for it, both in buildings & bodies. I think humanity reached the peak of artistic perfection, really, under those Greeks, absolutely, both in art & architecture, etc. I think the whole World still agrees with that today, that they were really absolute experts at art & beauty as well as sex, ha! So, I mean, why shouldn't we be, huh? So, set the styles for Heaven, Son! Ha ha! Hallelujah!
31. ON THIS ONE PICTURE YOU'RE SEEING THE INSIDE FLOOR PLAN. I only just drew the first floor & I think really if you drew any more than that right on top of each other, it would be so confusing they wouldn't know what it was. So I think just leave the First Floor Plan, that way you can throw in a little furniture & a few people sitting around there in the first floor plan, what do you think? Good? Son, you sure make'm come to life, boy oh boy! How you managed to draw this three-dimensional see-through x-ray eye picture is really amazing! God has really given you a talent, Son, it's just beautiful! And how you got'm back to me so quick, I don't know. You're a whiz! Thank God for efficient mail systems!
32. THOSE COLONNADES IN THE GRECIAN STYLE, THAT REALLY GIVES IT THE FINISHING TOUCHES!--As well as the Grecian urns. You really earned a lot of praise for this! Ha! And the garden is beautiful, I love those fir trees & those palms are my favourites, sort of the formal gardens they call'm. Just beautiful, just beautiful! Boy, if they don't want a mansion like that, they're crazy! The best thing about it is having you all there! Have you picked out your bedrooms yet? I do want an end bedroom, I like to be able to see out in all directions, OK?
33. WE'RE BUILDING A CITY! "He's building a mansion for you over there!"--You know the old song: (Sings:)
"He's building a mansion for me over there,
Oh won't that be glorious when I get there!
In the Sweet Bye & Bye, in the Sweet Bye & Bye!
When the warfare is done & the victory is won,
In the Sweet Bye & Bye!"
Hallelujah! Did you ever hear that one? You mean I never sang that for you! Here it goes again, I'll sing it for you again to get it right. (Sings:)
34. "IN THE SWEET BYE & BYE,
IN THE SWEET BYE & BYE!
HE'S BUILDING A MANSION FOR ME OVER THERE!
Oh, won't that be glorious when I get there!
In the Sweet Bye & Bye, in the Sweet Bye & Bye!
When the warfare is done & the victory is won,
In the Sweet Bye & Bye!"
How's that! I sang you a solo! Ha! That'll inspire you to draw that mansion that He's building! We're helping Him build it. Why not? He said, "Delight yourself in Me & I'll give you the desires of your heart!" (Psa.37:4)--That's the kind of a mansion that I want, Son, that one you're drawing for me now, remember! You're drawing my house plans, man, so make it good! GBY! Hallelujah!
35. WE HAVE FUN, DON'T WE! Well, I think the Lord's probably tickled at us like children at play. We're making our little drawings like our kids do, you know, that's what we're doing. To Him, they probably look that childish, but a parent is always really pleased, you know, no matter what it looks like, his child drew that picture. So He's going to be proud of you, Son, for these pretty pictures, Amen? I mean, He is right now, can you see Him smiling? GBY, ILY! (Prays:) Lord, bless & keep'm & give'm a good night's sleep, help the children to be good & give us some more dreams about the City, in Jesus' name! Amen!
36. MY DRAWINGS WERE JUST INTENDED TO BE LITTLE ROUGH SKETCHES, Son!--Not finished art! A-hem! I was hoping you'd make'm look better. Now if you would for example take yours that you sent with your pretty new trees & all that stuff on it, that gorgeous one, that really looks like a palace!--Now if you would take mine, & after they get over the shock of my little scribble on the old one, they could see how much improvement you make on my sketches, how about that? Why don't we use yours instead of my ugly drawing, since you've already got it done, OK? Please? Don't embarrass & humiliate me anymore than you have to, using my awful ugly sketches!
37. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE FOR, SON, TO IMPROVE ON MY CHILDISH EFFORTS. YOU'RE THE ARTIST, NOT ME, HA! Don't make the trees too tall but I think they could be a little taller, don't you? And I like those cone-shaped fir trees that you put on yours, they're so much prettier than mine. Mine are just scribbles, I just was scribblin' to try to give you an idea of what I wanted you to draw. I wasn't intending to use my pictures!
38. ON ONE OF THESE I WAS HOPIN' YOU WOULD SORT OF DRAW THE FURNITURE & A FEW PEOPLE INSIDE to give them an idea of the size. Just make it look like there's somebody in it. You know, they have glass walls. Everything is crystal glass walls, you know, see through, everything. So, like on your front view, you could stick in a few people in the living room & on the left, & there could be a few people sittin' around the table in the dining room on the right. Yours are so beautiful that I just love to see much more of it. Maybe put a few more people in the bedrooms upstairs. You could maybe have them making love, but don't make it too obvious. Somebody said you don't need any sleep, but you can use the beds for making love! Well, you can sleep if you want to!
39. YOU CAN SHOW THE KIDS PLAYING UP IN THE BEDROOMS. See, there's the three master bedrooms on top of the living room & dining room, & then there're the three other staff bedrooms above those, smaller, & then there's the three children's bedrooms on top. They're like crystal bubbles, all transparent. Everything's transparent! You can see everything inside, everything the people are doing, nothing to hide! How's that?
40. LET'S PUT OUR BEST FOOT FORWARD ON THOSE MANSIONS. I think to use yours first on the "Mansions in Heaven" Letter would be good, don't you?--The pretty one you just drew where you added the garden & steps. That was a great idea, Son, since you're familiar with palaces & castles from your studies. I haven't had too much experience with it myself. I'm looking forward to mine. You're sure improving on my mansion, Son! I'm going to maybe ask the Lord to make it just the way you draw it! So now you be careful how you draw it, because if I tell the Lord to make it that way, why, that's the way it's going to be. Boy, it's really beautiful! I love your trees & walks & all. See, all I do is give you ideas, & then you've got to be the doctor, you're the artist that really makes'm come to life & real! My silly little childish sketches are nothin' compared to your art. Mine are just scribbles & yours is art! So GBY!
41. I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN DO TO THAT FLOOR PLAN, YOU CAN ARRANGE A LITTLE FURNITURE IN THOSE ROOMS. You can have a little furniture in the living room & dining room, or is that asking too much? I think it needs something there. Yes, it's just a floor plan & it's bare. I think it would make it look more realistic if you would have some furniture scattered around there. You could even draw the garden on that one, right? You can draw the garden in again, just like a top view, looking down on it, if you can.
42. I WANTED TO STICK IN THAT WORD "POSSIBLE", "A POSSIBLE MANSION", BECAUSE I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS! That's my imagination! It wasn't too bad.
43. I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT GIVING THEM, ESPECIALLY OUR LITTLE KIDS, SOMETHING TO REALLY LOOK AT, STUDY & GET SOME KIND OF A CONCEPT THAT HEAVEN IS REAL! It's something that is real! The church made that all so hazy that you didn't even have any idea of what Heaven was going to be like, really! I want'm to see it, to know they've got some place, a final home where they're going to go & live & not have to move any more! Isn't that wonderful? They may not have much now, but at least they can look forward to it. I'm sure that's why the Lord told us about it, so we could anticipate it & look forward to it & therefore be able to put up with a lot here, considering what we're going to get in the long run. So Son, you make'm wanna go there, OK? And make'm feel like life is worth living in order to go there, OK?
44. DO PRETTY MY LITTLE SKETCHES UP A LITTLE, I was expecting you to improve on'm, ha! You really did on that front view, terrific! Now if you do that for the rest of them, it'll be great! Draw the kind of a Heaven you wanna go to, Son, OK? PTL! GBY! ILY!
45. YOUR ORIGINAL FULL-SIZE PIC IS JUST ABSOLUTELY THRILLING! REALLY MAKES ME WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN, & ALL THE KIDS TOO! May I make a couple of suggestions on the finished Garden? Why not add a little life to it? Maybe on the left side you could have a couple strolling down the walk hand-in-hand toward us. And right in the middle in the very front of the garden, every garden should have a nice bench facing the view! We're looking out through the wall onto the New Earth.--With a nice couple who apparently are more engrossed in each other with their arms around each other necking, not even looking at the view! And then in the vacant space on the right side, why not have some little kids playing like in a sandpile or something, a little boy & a girl playing there with a bucket or a shovel or whatever!--While Mama & Daddy are kissing on the bench & another couple are walking out the walkway to take their turn. Do you think that's enough? Just to put a little life to the garden & show people there & give them a little idea of size & proportions too.
46. I DREW THE WALK THAT WAY BECAUSE I FIGURED THEY'D WANT TO WALK ALL ALONG THE FRONT WINDOW LOOKING OUT, so that's why my walkway was shaped so funny. That front wall is really just like a window, a big huge picture window, the biggest ever! Wouldn't that be pretty?
47. IF YOU NEED MORE ROOM FOR THE PICTURE, I'LL TAKE PICTURE OVER CAPTION ANY DAY! I'll sacrifice my text any day for your art. That ought to be a compliment, Son!
48. NOW THAT'S WHAT I EXPECT YOU TO DO WITH MY CRAZY LITTLE SKETCHES, I EXPECT YOU TO BRING'M TO LIFE & REALLY MAKE'M BEAUTIFUL! I thought at first just to save time we'd just slap in my crazy sketches just to fill up the space, but I think it's better we kind of work on'm. Remember, mine were just crazy sketches & I want you to bring them to life, make'm really beautiful & make our little kids wish they were there! We're sort of catching two birds with one net. By spending a little more time on'm now we'll save time on'm in the future & we'll have our poster before you know it!
49. ON THESE "HEAVENLY LETTERS", after all, we have to have a lot of patience & wait for Heaven, don't we? So why don't we just wait a bit on that till we get it finished.
50. I LIKE THE ACTION I SEE THERE IN THE BEDROOMS! Beautiful! I see the middle bedroom, there's nobody in bed. That's an end view of the bed, you might be able to get a little end view, rearend view, frontend view, in that bed too!--So that it's obvious what they're doing. I think we can get away with pictures that small, the Systemite visitors won't notice'm!
51. THOSE DOMES ARE NOT JUST DOMES ON THE FAMILY BEDROOMS, THEY'RE ACTUALLY ANOTHER FLOOR OF KIDS' BEDROOMS UP THERE. But of course, the kids could be flying up right through the floor from Mama & Daddy's room, that's okay. That shows how they get back & forth between the floors. See, the two children are going right through the floor right now, or Mama & Daddy, whoever that is! That's okay, that shows how they get around! But you might show a few little beds around in those round round rooms, & kids playing & whatnot. I'm expecting the impossible on such small pictures, I'm sorry. It's a little difficult when you're looking through glass walls. It's kind of like my famous old three-dimensional sketch that I made that time. ("X-ray Eyes!" No.628) It's kind of hard to figure out what's what sometimes when you can see through everything. So it is a little difficult to show that, but do the best you can.
52. NOT ALL THE COUPLES ARE NECESSARILY IN BED! I'm going to keep some of you in bed when I get over there! They can be doing different things, sitting at a desk or walking around the room or different things. I'm sure women are still going to be concerned about their beautiful appearance, you could have one sitting in front of a dresser & doing different things that people do in bedrooms besides making love.
53. I SURE HAVE A BIG IMAGINATION, HAVEN'T I? Well, I like to imagine. I'm glad the Lord gave me a good imagination. If I don't actually get'm in dreams etc., I just have to dream it up the best I can! So I guess my dreams are as good as anybody's, so PTL! Well, Son, you make them beautiful! GBY! You really bring Heaven out of my little pen scratchin'! Keep on doing what you're doin'--I love what you're doin' to my pictures!
54. TAKE YOUR TIME, SON, MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL! We've got lots of time! Heaven is not here quite yet. We do sing, "Heaven is here!", but that particular Heaven is not here yet. We can wait a little more while you really do a good job of it. And this way your poster's part done! Fire away! ILY & I sure love your art! I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful picture of a mansion ever, even on this Earth, no mansion like that! So you're drawing a picture of the most beautiful mansion that ever existed. GBY! I mean it! I want to make it the prettiest Home you ever saw!
55. YOU KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT DURING THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT? We've had a picture of Space City over Europe & this & that, but remember, this is going to be a New Earth, no Europe! I just did that for a comparison. And we had a picture of it on the whole Ball. But in order to really show it nice & big, & if possible big enough that we could even show the wall around the bottom, it's going to have to be pretty big & stretch across a lot of the poster. What about having it vertical?
56. EVERYBODY'S MANSION'S GOT BOTH A FRONT VIEW & REAR VIEW, & THEY JUST FIT INTO THE WALLS OF THE CITY TIER ABOVE TIER & SIDE BY SIDE. There's a long row of mansions, then another long row of mansions above that, another long row of mansions above that, all in the wall of the City. And only one thickness deep, but row after row stacked on top of each other. Of course, this part is strictly my imagination, because I never did get to see those. I guess the Lord was reserving that for our imagination! Because He reserved it for us, so we'll just have to visualise it the best we can. Well, it's a funny thing, that's the way I was seeing it, front view & back view both. Isn't that something? OK, take it away! You're welcome to let your vision run riot & draw Heaven as you'd like to see it be!
57. WE WANT THE MANSION TO LOOK LIKE IT'S GLOWING WITH LIGHT! WE'RE BUILDING A CITY! PLANNING OUR HOME! Well, it's probably already built & already done, but anyhow, I just want to give the kids some idea of how beautiful it's going to be. I think that Grecian motif is good, because nobody ever did it better than the Greeks. They were really geniuses at art & beauty!
58. OKAY! IT'S ALL YOURS! TAKE IT AWAY! BUT DON'T FORGET TO BRING IT BACK! GBY! God bless you & help you! There's no rush! Take your time! We've got lots of time between now & Heaven. So I want it to really give them a beautiful vision of it. I guess we can call it a vision--I don't like the word "imagination". I'm sure some people think I've got a big imagination. Well, all right, God calls it vision, so PTL! Well, I sure like your vision, Son, it's just beautiful! I just love it! GBY!
59. (PRAYS:) REALLY GIVE OUR ARTISTS REAL VISION, LORD, to really be inspired to picture this beautiful beautiful place You've gone to prepare for us, to inspire our folks to want to get there & want to take as many with them as they can. And help our little children visualise it, how beautiful it is! In Jesus' name. Amen.
60. WE'VE ALREADY GOT OUR LITTLE KIDS COLOURING YOUR PICTURES, I always pass these temporary sketches onto them. So they're really making some pretty pictures! Sara has quite a hand in it, she's quite an artist. Dora too. They've done some beautiful posters out of these black & whites!
61. DID YOU DRAW THAT DELIBERATELY IN THE CENTER OF THE CIRCLE OF PEOPLE IN THE LIVING ROOM? WHAT DID YOU THINK THAT CIRCLE WAS?--3-DIMENSIONAL TV! Exactly! That's exactly what I thought it was! A nice big half-a-globe sort of sitting on the table there, & they can watch it from all angles. And it looks like real people inside running around! That is terrific! I asked the Lord to give you real vision, there's something I hadn't even thought of! That's beautiful! 3-D TV! Well, maybe it's going to be 3-D Videos, we can select what period of history we want to see, what characters we want to see! If this present time is any foreshadowing of the future, then our little childish videos of today can be actual 3-D Videos of tomorrow, & we can turn on any period of history we want to see, any characters, watch Moses & the Children of Israel going through the wilderness, the real thing! How about that! That's great, Son! You've really got something there! Boy oh boy, we're having a lot of fun designing our Heavenly Mansion!
62. WELL, ON THIS TAPE I'M GOING TO HELP YOU DESIGN THE HEAVENLY CITY! This poster is going to be their first view of Heaven, & I want the little kids to just thrill to it! Those things are really real to them & they wonder, if it's supposed to be transparent, why can't they see the people inside? So would you mind putting people inside & in both gardens? I can even see the people down in the park, those little dots down there! It really looks like a World's Fair. Maybe we ought to have some geodesic spheres in there too eventually.
63. I WANT THEM TO REALLY SEE HEAVEN, REALLY SEE THE REAL THING! We're now even designing our Heavenly Mansions, but in my next picture here we're going to design the Heavenly City! All I can go by is what I've seen already & we'll have to do the best we can with what we've got & visualise the rest! Let's have some colonnades like Maxfield Parrish had in some of his pictures, some of those Grecian semi-circular colonnades in a garden facing the corner gate.
64. I'LL BET THE LORD'S GETTING A GOOD LAUGH OUT OF US HELPING TO DESIGN HIS CITY!--Sort of like we laugh at our little kids' pictures. Well anyhow, we're doing our best. He's probably saying, "That's fine, that's fine!" Of course, it's not near as good as the real thing, but nevertheless, we compliment them on their pictures even if the dog looks like a cat or whatever! Like the story I told about the little girl who was showing her picture to the teacher & he turned it several different ways & said, "Well, what is it?" She was really discouraged, she'd really been trying to draw a picture of him. She said, "Oh well, I think I'll just put a tail on it & call it a dog!" So that's about how funny our pictures probably look to Him! But anyhow, we're trying!
65. SO HOW ABOUT A RECEPTION CENTER that looks like arms embracing them as they come in? You've gotta have some kind of Reception Center to get everybody directed where they're supposed to go! After all, this thing is logical, reasonable. It must be somewhat similar to what goes on on Earth. I've already said that everything on Earth is sort of a type of the Heavenly, so why not? If everything else has to have reception centers, Heaven's got to have a Reception Center! And it would be near the gate! So let's have a semi-circular Grecian colonnade facing the gate!
66. AND THEN BEHIND THAT, STRETCH OUT THE PARK & ALL YOUR GORGEOUS BUILDINGS! Don't put the buildings too close together, show plenty of park. Why not just have the buildings that I described in the Letter, & some of those such as Eman pictured. That'll save you a lot of work & it will also relate his pictures. You know, little kids are funny, they'll say, "We saw in the Komic it had this kind of building, & this is something else!" I think it would be good to put some of those buildings that they're already familiar with inside the City! That way you can use existing art & you've got his sketches to go by & it won't be so hard to dream up something! I liked his stuff, it was beautiful! Of course I thought it wasn't enough, but we don't have room to put any more in our City here anyhow.
67. YOU GUYS PROBABLY THINK I'M CRAZY! Well, you know I'm crazy anyhow! I have crazy faith, crazy vision! I'm just trying to make it real to our little kids, to help them realise how real it is! I was thinking about, "What would I name some of those buildings?" Well, what did they do at the World's Fair? They called them History exhibits, Science exhibits, some of the names like I named in the Letter. Draw buildings similar to the ones Eman has got, or you can let your own imagination run riot. There it is! I give it to you! You just do whatever you feel like doing, whatever visions God gives you! But have it relate a little bit to some of those things Eman already drew. Stick some of those in so they'll realise it's the same place.
68. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, TO GIVE OUR LITTLE KIDS A REAL GOOD SOLID CONCEPT OF THAT CITY! You say, "Oh, it's just your imagination!" Well, so was nearly all the other religious art ever painted by the great artists, they didn't see it, they didn't see those people, they had to use their imagination. Virtually every great art masterpiece is purely their imagination, either that or they saw a vision. So how do they know but what we've seen visions?--I have! Where else would I get this, anyway? I did have dreams about it. When these things come to mind, I must get it from somewhere. If it's good, it must be from the Lord. PTL? I could say at the very least, my guess is as good as anybody's.
69. WE KNOW SOME OF THESE EXACT DIMENSIONS & DESCRIPTIONS, SO WE KNOW WE'RE RIGHT ON THOSE. Maybe our mansions are our imagination, but it's gotta be some kind of mansion. And we know the City Park's gotta have something in it. I was there & saw the buildings, therefore we know that's there. So it's not purely our imagination. And we know the beautiful New Earth is outside there. I think that's going to be one beautiful gorgeous picture! You are commissioned by the King, dear Son, to draw it, paint it or whatever! Just sketch it for the time being. And eventually, just think what that'll look like in colour! WOW! Hallelujah! TYJ!
70. EMAN WAS SAYING ONE REASON HE DID HIS THE WAY HE DID & DIDN'T DO MORE SHADING IS BECAUSE THAT WAS GOING TO COME WITH THE COLOUR. Well, that's fine, but I want to see as much of it in black-&-white as I can, because that's all we're going to get in the GN. But of course you can bring out a lot more in your final colour poster.
71. THERE'S NO RUSH! RELAX! SIT & DREAM & HAVE DREAMS & VISIONS! Hey, I got a Scripture for you! "Your old men shall dream dreams"--that's me--"but your young men shall see visions!"--That's you! Now you've gotta have visions, & I think you're already having them or you wouldn't have drawn such pretty pictures! There's a Scripture for you! (Joel 2:28) How's that? That's a promise, Son! Claim it! OK? Just pray & say, "Now Lord, give me a vision & let me see it!" Every artist has got to envision it before he can draw it, right? You've got to see it in your mind's eye first. What do you think a vision is? That's it! It's what you see that you're going to draw, that's a vision, & I'm sure the Lord can give it to you!
72. (PRAYS:) SO LORD BLESS HIM NOW & REALLY INSPIRE HIM WITH VISIONS! Thank You for giving me that verse, Lord, that "your young men shall see visions"! And we believe You can really give him visions of these things, of what to draw & how to draw it & make it, Lord, as nearly like the real thing as we possibly can!--To thrill our people & inspire our little kids & excite us all about the wonderful place we're going to go to! PTL!
73. RIGHT UP IN THE UPPER LEFTHAND CORNER RIGHT UNDER THE TITLE, HOW ABOUT A PICTURE OF JESUS!--Looking happy, smiling like He's speaking. And to the right of it, how about this Scripture? "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, that where I am, there you may be also!" (John 14:2,3)--To really give it some meaning! And they'll have a Scripture they can read, & our kids can see Jesus, He's presenting His Bride with her new Home! GBY! It just came to me when I started to pray, the Lord reminded me I forgot to tell you about that.
74. OK, I HOPE THAT'S GOING TO REALLY INSPIRE YOU! The verse the Lord gave you certainly ought to inspire you! "Your young men shall see visions!" That's a promise! Now you claim it & see'm! Take your time! This is a permanent project, something that's going to be forever!--At least until the Lord comes! Maybe it'll even be good enough to get out during the Millennium! At least the kids are going to have these on their walls from now until then! PTL? ILY! Thank God in that Heavenly City we'll all be able to be together, no more worries about security! Are you inspired? Me too!
75. A COUPLE OF THOSE COUCHES ARE EMPTY! YOU WERE PLANNING A FEW MORE PEOPLE, WEREN'T YOU? After all, with 24 people in the house, there should be more of them watching TV! I'm always adding more work, but we've gotta liven it up! Shouldn't Jesus have some kind of a medallion? And what better medallion could he have on that chain than a big red heart?--The Sacred Heart of Jesus! You can have a nice big Sacred Heart there to win over the dear Catholics' hearts if you had it sort of aglow!
76. SORRY I'M SUCH A PERSNICKETY DETAILIST, BUT I SIT & REALLY STUDY THESE & THINK, "WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SEE?" Remember, some of those buildings were very tall, especially that crystal building. I'd say it was two or three hundred feet tall. I don't know how far you'd have to be away, really, to look down & see people looking like ants. Well, I'd say about as high as the Empire State Building, & I think that's about 1,000 feet tall! I think it would be permitted here inside the City, what we might call "artist's license", to make the people just big enough to see that they've got arms & legs instead of just specks. And don't forget the lions & tigers & the pets, you should be able to see them!
77. THIS IS A MAJOR PROJECT, LIKE A LIFETIME MASTERPIECE! It's probably going to be your greatest masterpiece! This will be your monument! I hope it's not your last monument. This is your first real big original! And twice this size in colour, can you imagine what that's going to look like? So remember, it's a little difficult trying to draw these people in at this size, but when it's blown up, you're going to be able to see'm! So let's try! You can just make the little specks have heads, arms & legs, at least little stick figures or whatever.
78. EMAN'S BUILDINGS WERE PRETTY MUCH ACCORDING TO THE DREAM. Actually it wasn't a dream, "Space City" was a vision! And so was "Spaceship". Both those were direct visions! I don't remember about "Ultimate Trip". Anyhow, they were actual direct visions, so they were really strong. I haven't had many of those, I really haven't. Most of mine come in dreams. But I'm expecting you to see the visions! And I see you've already caught the vision! You've gotta look up all those verses on vision now, since the Lord gave you a verse on vision. Paul said, "I have been faithful to the Heavenly vision!" Amen? Hey! "Heavenly Vision"! How about that! So there you are, there's another Scripture for you today! (Acts 26:19) I told Maria last night, "I've gotta give our artist his shot of inspiration, his pep talk!" I really want you to be inspired on this, Son! I'm expecting God to really inspire you! In fact, He already has, obviously!
79. I HAD A GREAT IDEA! THE BIBLE'S ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT BOOKS, & who knows how big angels are, & heavenly books? That's one thing you could show very clearly right in front of the Reception Center archway, right out on some kind of a pedestal with a book facing the archway & a line of people standing in front of the book with a couple of angels standing there. They could be lots bigger than the people, & a nice great big book there. The book should be facing the angels in the archway, & the line of people on the roadway behind, obviously standing in line waiting for their chance to enter! "You don't mean we're going to have queues in Heaven!" Well, why not? It's worth waiting for! Everybody's gotta get their assignment & be handed their key! Hallelujah? This is some big hotel, so why not? One thing you won't have to draw of these guests coming into the hotel lobby. What is it they're not going to have?--Luggage!--Right? No baggage! Well, they're going to be so small, you couldn't see the baggage anyhow.
80. SHOW A LITTLE BIT OF A PATH on this real thin part here between the wall & the City.--Sort of a curving path with trees along it. Or a straight path like you've got in the corner one would be fine, that way it would coordinate, that'll be fine. "Make straight paths for your feet!" Got a Scripture for it. Curved paths maybe are more ornamental & the ones I saw inside were curved, believe it or not, beautifully curved, winding around between the buildings. So you can make it even more ornate that way, not just all straight streets, but curved paths.
81. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT?--Something I failed to tell you about, very very important! You know what is one of the most important things described in the 21st & 22nd Chapters of Revelation?--The River! We could have that winding like it's coming from the center of the City somewhere, flowing sort of a curved pathway right this side of the Reception Center. And obviously if it's flowing out of the City, it's got to flow under the City wall, right?--Underneath the protective wall out into the beautiful outdoor New Earth scenery! We'll probably make it blue, crystal blue waters. And on both sides of the River the Trees of Life! And they should look not like these tall poplars or tall firs, but more like fruit trees. Fruit trees are a little more round or oval-shaped & shorter. So you could have those spaced along the sides of the River. You don't have to have too many, but just as many as you think looks nice.
82. INCIDENTALLY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE BOUND BY THIS PARTICULAR STYLE OF MANSION. Everybody's got their own personal choices. Maybe you've got some other ideas for mansions! Do you want to kind of let your imagination run riot & just faintly indicate outlines of different styles up the line? You're the doctor, you're the artist, maybe I shouldn't be telling you how to do your work. I just tell you what I see, it's up to you to figure out how to do it. You're the artist, you're the technician, you're the engineer. I'm merely trying to help you design it. I'm a visionary! But I'm expecting Him to give you visions too! How about that?
83. HERE'S A SCRIPTURE ABOUT THE HEAVENLY VISION!: "I was not disobedient to the Heavenly vision!" You look that one up! That's a special Scripture for you! God bless you with Heavenly Vision! PTL! Isn't that a good one? That's what you need to have, Son, Heavenly Vision! So why can't we have Heavenly Vision? The Lord promised it! When Paul said, "I was not disobedient to the Heavenly Vision", maybe he was talking about his trip to the Third Heaven! What else could he be talking about but that he was given a vision! Well, some people might say maybe it was the Heavenly Vision he had on the road to Damascus. Well, maybe so, but I believe he saw Heaven!
84. I WANT THE KIDS TO LOOK AT THIS & FEEL LIKE, "BOY, THAT'S WORTH SERVING THE LORD FOR, that's worth suffering for, that's worth living a little longer for!" What's a few moments of pain compared to an Eternity of bliss in such a place? Amen? (Prays:) Amen, Lord, keep giving him visions & inspiration, Lord, & guide him by Thy Word. Thank You, Lord, for leading him to read those passages on Heaven in his Bible. You're certainly leading him by Thy Spirit. And we know that You want this presented as beautiful as possible. We couldn't possibly make it as beautiful as it really is, so we're trying to make almost a childish representation of the gorgeous reality, so that at least our little kids can get a little idea of what Heaven might look like.
85. OF COURSE, OUR PICTURES ARE NOT NEAR AS BEAUTIFUL AS IT REALLY IS, I'm sure, but we're trying to make it as beautiful as we can. So do help our Artist. Give him the strength, the patience, the wisdom, the guidance, the inspiration, the vision & the anointing, Lord. He's been commissioned by You, the King of Kings, to do this. You said you reserved it for us to do this job, so that's a commission. And he is the King's artist commissioned to draw an artist's conception of that beautiful City! So do anoint him & help him & inspire him.
86. WELL, YOU CAN TELL WHAT PROJECT'S NEAREST TO MY HEART RIGHT NOW! I just thrill every time I see a new picture of Heaven coming! Our printing is just pouring out, more than they're able to hold, I'm sure! But they'll have the whole Millennium to read it all. Of course by that time they've already paid a visit to the City & they'll really know what it looks like. But anyhow, from now until we go to be with the Lord this will give our kids some little tiny sample of what it's like or what we visualised it to be like. Are you sold on the project? Hallelujah! I really appreciate your help on this, because this is something I've dreamed of.--I really have dreamed of! And obviously the Lord put His seal on it & now He's given you your second Scripture on vision--Heavenly Vision! GBY! ILY! Now go to work on it! Take your time, take it easy, relax, get inspired, get the vision & draw it!--Tx! GBY! ILY! TYJ!
87. WE NEED A RAILING ACROSS THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY. AFTER ALL, MAYBE THE LITTLE KIDS HAVEN'T LEARNED TO FLY YET! We don't want the babies tumbling off! Even birds have to learn to fly! What would you say those two little lovely corner gardens lack?--People!--Right? We've gotta show'm it's alive with people! And we need a couple rear-view benches looking out over the city with people on'm. A good place for one big bench would be right where you've got that pathway leading to the railing right in the middle, you could have a bench sitting right there with a couple sitting on it. This couple should be enjoying the view, not necessarily making love. They could be sitting with their backs against the back of the bench, & maybe she's pointing out at the Park below, & maybe a couple on a bench facing the Park below in the lefthand part too. In other words, there'll be three benches there, one in each of the little gardens & right in the middle facing the City Park. We're bound to want to sit there & look at the view!
88. WE CAN PRINT A LOT OF THESE REAL CHEAP IN BLACK-&-WHITE! Maybe we could use them for posters a lot of places. I'm thinking about putting the Message on here somewhere. We can even use it out in the city someplace on the billboards! Hallelujah! I've got ideas galore! I've got more ideas than a dog has fleas!
89. AND WITH ALL THAT AIR SPACE IN THAT SIDE VIEW, LOOKS LIKE WE OUGHT TO HAVE A FEW PEOPLE FLYING AROUND THROUGH THE AIR! After all, this is Heaven, we're supposed to see a few angels! No use letting all that space go to waste when we've got all kinds of beautiful Heavenly angels flying around. At least maybe three flying through the air. Maybe one just taking off from the Garden just above the treetops, maybe one is already ascended up to the level of the dome, maybe have one ... well, anywhere you think best, wherever you want to draw'm, you're supposed to have the vision!
90. WHAT ABOUT PUTTING "FRONT VIEW" ON IT SO THEY'LL KNOW WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT! Give them a kind of a clue or a key to the views that they're looking at! These are sort of like house plans. And those great big sparkles on the front view, where are they? What are they on? What is sparkling? Your sparkle should be on something like a reflection. What is that left sparkle on? I think the things most likely to be sparkling are those domes. It's like a reflection of the sun, you might say, on the domes. It seems to me that each one would be sparkling at about the same place. So I think we could remove the sparkle in front of the house & the one that's hanging in midair, & put each sparkle in the same position as the one that is on the dome. Then it would look like the sun is shining--which it's going to be shining outside--down on the domes, & they're sparkling.
91. I'M NOT AN AUTHORITY ON ART, BUT AS I LOOK AT IT, THAT SEEMS TO COME TO ME WHAT IT SHOULD PERHAPS BE. No, it wasn't a mistake! We're all imagining it, Son. Don't say anything's a mistake. We do a lot of things by trial & error. Let's call it experimentation. It's not a mistake. Just because a scientist may not hit the right formula in several different experiments doesn't mean he's making mistakes, he's trying! It's like pioneering, you've gotta try!--Or exploring, you've gotta try! It doesn't mean you're making mistakes! You just try it here, you try it there.
92. JUST LIKE THE OLD JOKE WE USED TO TELL IN SCHOOL: "First I tried her on the sofa, then I tried her on the bed. Then I tried her on the carpet & standing on her head!" And it keeps going on, I tried her here, I tried her there. Of course, the double entendre, the hint is you think he's talking about making love, & it winds up: "To take her photograph!" Well, dumb joke! The point is, you've gotta try different things, & we're always improving. So just because we're experimenting doesn't mean you're making mistakes, it's just that we keep on trying till we find the best!
93. I THINK IF YOU'D PUT A FEW PEOPLE IN THE REAR GARDEN, SCATTERED AROUND HERE & THERE, THAT'LL LIVEN IT UP & SHOW THAT SOMEBODY LIVES THERE! Your diamond domes look pretty, but you don't suppose they'd think they were geodesic domes or something? Do you like'm clear or with a pattern? It might be a little confusing though. My vision of those domes would be that they were nice & clear, just clear domes. I think I like them better just clear. The less clutter we have & the clearer they can see the people etc., I think the better. I'd almost rather see a little furniture around the sides, a dresser & a closet, sort of built into the side walls. They could be curved--a curved dresser, a curved chest, a curved closet.
94. THEY DO NEED A LITTLE FURNITURE, EVEN THE KIDS' BEDROOMS. I think that would make it even more realistic. That diamond pattern was a good try, but I really think I'd rather see furniture to give'm more of a realistic idea that those are bedrooms. In a circular room, a round round room, I presume they have curved furniture! Even kids use chairs sometimes, maybe put a couple of chairs, a desk & a sofa, a few things like that in those rooms. Is that OK? I'm thinking of more work for you all the time! But this is a great monumental project! I want to really make it realistic for the kids.
95. WE OUGHT TO HAVE IT LABELLED SO IT WILL BE CLEAR WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT. Right away they'll be told what view it is, & that helps them understand it quicker. Wouldn't floor plans be a little confusing if they weren't labelled which floors or which views? It's not always that clear, because you don't know just what you're approaching & what you're seeing, especially the kind of visionary mansion we're depicting. So the more help we can give them to understand it, the better.
96. THE STEREOTYPED CONCEPTION OF AN ANGEL IS THEY'VE GOTTA HAVE WINGS, BUT REALLY THEY DON'T! But to maybe help the little kids understand, should we put wings on'm or not? You could show people flying through the air without wings, couldn't you? We have in a lot of pictures already in the Rapture. Just show their robes flowing. Maybe you could use some existing art for some of those.--Some close, some distant.
97. HOW ARE YOUR EYES, SON? YOU'RE NOT STRAINING THEM TOO MUCH, ARE YOU? On all this fine work like this, I don't want you to get so absorbed that you find yourself getting eyestrain. Take care of your eyes, Son, they're your most priceless physical possession outside of your wife & the children, because your eyes are mighty valuable to us & the Lord right now. So hang on to'm, take good care of them. If you get tired, knock off & rest'm! You promise? Take good care of'm & don't let yourself get any eyestrain. When you get tired of that fine work & all that detail, just knock off & come back to it later.
98. I ALWAYS FIGURE LIKE THIS: WHEN I START GETTING BORED OR TIRED OF A JOB, QUIT! Go out & take a swim, do something else, have a change, then come back to it refreshed. Or take a nap. Because I feel like we ought to enjoy our work. It shouldn't be just a drudgery or boring chore. We ought to enjoy it. But if you're getting so tired & your eyes are strained & you're getting bored of it, you're not enjoying it. So take off! Take a swim, take a walk, go shopping, do something else for awhile, so you'll be thankful to get back to your drawing board. ILY! I'm trying to take good care of you, but I can't unless you take good care of yourself!
99. (PRAYER:) LORD, DO BLESS THEM & HELP OUR ARTISTS TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF THEMSELVES, to not abuse the temples of Thy Holy Spirit & to take good care of'm & give you all the cooperation they can. Bless & keep us all & give us all a good night's rest. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity we have of trying to help our children visualise the wonderful place You've gone to prepare for us! In Jesus' name.--Thank You for it! Amen, amen. GBY! ILYA! Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your help! You're making my dreams come true!
100. I SURE DO LIKE THE WAY YOU CHANGED THE CITY PARK BELOW--BEFORE IT LOOKED TOO MUCH LIKE STREETS OF A CITY. You musta read "Space City" & got some good ideas from that! That's wonderful, God bless you! I'm so glad you took time for that, because that's the most important thing, to get it really the way I saw it. I can't even remember it all, I'll have to read it over myself. There's just a few outstanding scenes that I remember. It's kind of like a dream long ago now. Some of those dreams that keep coming up in the final types, some of them I don't even remember ever having & they're just like reading a brand new exciting story, I don't know how it's going to end! Well, I know how this is going to end! PTL!
101. I'VE BEEN PASSING THESE DEVELOPING SKETCHES ON TO THE KIDS FOR THEM TO COLOUR & they've just been so excited & thrilled about it, & they right away caught onto that 3-D TV, they got so excited! Sara says they really are excited about these pictures! It's doing the trick, to make them really see it & visualise it & want to go there! Amen? Not too soon, I hope though! But they'll have a little idea where they're going. It won't seem like a strange place. Well, they may not see it exactly the way we drew it, but close! After all, there must be a lot of variety there, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Lord might build my mansion just like I drew it! Wouldn't that be funny? So get it right, Son! If I've got to live in it, I want it right!--Ha!
102. I HAVE SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU! You know, I was looking & looking at that & asking the Lord, "Now Lord, this is the final, I don't want to leave anything out. What is needed? Any finishing touches? Anything else? Because we're going to put these pictures right in the book immediately, so is there anything I've left out or forgotten in a Heavenly Mansion? Is there anything else that we need? Is there anything else we would like? Of all the wonderful pleasures we enjoy here on Earth, is there anything we have forgotten to represent?" We've got beauty, we have comfort, we have sex, we've got flight, we've got almost everything else here.
103. WELL, OF ALL THE PLEASURES WE ENJOY RIGHT HERE, for example, I said to somebody yesterday, "This isn't a luxury, this is a necessity!" Guess what! Something you almost just couldn't live without, especially in this climate!--Swimming! It's going to be so easy! You can leave the fountain right where it is & make that semicircle into a swimming pool around the fountain! I've seen swimming pools with fountains in the middle of them before! Good idea? And once you've done that, you can draw a few lovely looking bathers around the shore & maybe one couple making love!
104. I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE EVERYTHING IN HEAVEN THAT WE ENJOY HERE ON EARTH! You know what Faithy said once when she was eight years old? She was just absolutely a waterdog, like a fish, a mermaid! She just lived in the water all Summer long & she just couldn't imagine a Heaven without someplace to swim! And she asked me one day, "Daddy, are we going to have anyplace to swim in Heaven?" It reminds me of that old song the Negroes used to sing, "If they ain't got bananas in Heaven, I don't wanna go there!" If they didn't have swimming in Heaven, she didn't say she didn't want to go there, but she asked very wistfully like she was almost afraid I was going to give her the wrong answer! Boy, did I think fast! And I just looked to the Lord for a Scripture, & immediately that one came from Ezekiel about the river: "Waters to swim in!" (Ezek.47:5) Well, if we can swim in that Heavenly river, why can't we swim in our own swimming pools? I think that really is the last change! But what would it be without a swimming pool? I thought, Lord, this is the last chance to make any major suggestions, is there anything else we have forgotten? We've got everything else you can possibly imagine, even a few I didn't dream up that you thought of! I love that 3-D TV!
105. HOW DO YOU LIKE THE SWIMMING POOL IDEA? It also gives us a chance to see some more of your gorgeous drawings of our gorgeous gals! And gorgeous boys too. We should have them pretty well arranged in couples around the edge. I'll leave it up to you how you lay'm or sit'm. Maybe just one cot with a couple! Ahem! Don't show too much, but make it a little obvious like you did in the bedroom upstairs. You can put the couple right behind the fountain with their legs on one side & their bodies on the other! Are we going to have freedom there to go skinny-dipping? Our bathers don't have to wear bikinis!--And we certainly won't swim in robes! How do you like that idea?--To make it more attractive & spicy, some real action! Hallelujah! I want it to really come to life! Does that sound good? I think that will give it more activity, more spice, more beauty!
106. AFTER ALL, ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY ABOUT HEAVEN IS WE CAN HAVE IT ALL & SEE IT ALL & ENJOY IT ALL! And I don't think we're going to wear those white robes in the water, do you? I mean, if you can enjoy eating & sex & anything else that we enjoy on Earth, why can't we enjoy swimming? Amen? That's a revelation! I think the Lord really gave me a revelation. Of course, I knew that already, because that's the answer He gave me for Faithy years ago. You must have been inspired to leave that semicircle there, it was just waiting for that swimming pool! Ha! I realise it was kind of based on my original drawing, but I guess the Lord was the One who was reserving it! When I saw how big that thing is gonna be, when you really get it on the big poster, man, we've got room for more beauties & detail! More beauties & their tails! That fountain is in the perfect position, it even looks like a penis!
107. BY THE WAY, WEREN'T WE GOING TO HAVE ONE OR TWO LITTLE ANGELS FLYING AROUND UP THERE in the upper right-hand corner just beyond the dome? I think it's nice when you have a couple holding hands flying, it shows they don't have to bat their arms! Don't you think we need some flyers? After all, that's one of the things we're going to enjoy that we didn't even get to enjoy here on Earth! Is that asking too much? I've asked you so much on this, but this is a major project! Some great art masters would have worked for years on a masterpiece, we're only working for a few weeks! Considering you're finishing six art masterpieces all together, I don't think two weeks is taking too long, is it?
108. I LIKED YOUR RAILING! I think since you went to all that trouble to make such a nice railing, why don't you put a top on it?--Grecian style! I think it would be a little more ornamental than just one line there. After all, this is going to be a masterpiece! We're not just going to have an iron railing, we're going to have an ornamental railing! So as long as you went to all the trouble of putting in all those rails, I figure you might as well make it look like something to beautify as well as to keep'm from falling off! Like I said, maybe the little kids haven't learned to fly yet!
109. IN HEAVEN WE CAN ENJOY ALL THE THRILLS & WONDERS & THINGS WE ENJOY HERE ON EARTH HERE & NOW! Wouldn't it be silly to cancel all that in Heaven? It's ridiculous! That's that churchy idea! Even the Arabs are smarter than that. So I think they're right! I think we're going to enjoy all those things even more over there, without all the pains, thank God, & all the weariness. So that's what I call perfection, including that pool!
110. THANK YOU ALL FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY CRAZINESS & MY CRAZY INSPIRATIONS, BUT THEY SEEM TO WORK OUT! And I think that's going to make it even better! So go to it! Do you still love me? I sure make you a lot of work, but God bless you! I mean, after all, we can't take photographs of this, so it's up to you to do it! You've gotta envision it & create it! I'm really thrilled, & I think the folks are getting excited here about it, even Maria is getting excited about your pretty pictures! (Maria: Amen!) PTL! And for her to get excited about anything, it's gotta be pretty good! Take your time! There's no rush, now that the war isn't going to be for awhile, God willing. I hope that guess is right! Well anyhow, it would be nice to know we got this stuff out if I was wrong, but let's hope it is going to be awhile, amen? GBY! ILY! Thanks a lot!
111. I REALLY LOVE THAT SWIMMING POOL! That was the last finishing touch. That just really showed where the action is when we're relaxing at home. Not while we're working, we'll be outside the walls working, but we've got to have some place to relax! As far as I'm concerned, it would be kind of silly for God to abandon all the wonderful things He made in this life just for some kind of a nothing like the churches describe. In fact, they don't even have anything to describe, do they? They don't have anything to say about it, what you're going to be doing there or nothing! I think our conception is a lot livelier than theirs, huh? God didn't create all this to abandon it, all these pleasures & even these bodies--everything in Heaven is just going to be more so! We're going to have all this & more so!
112. WOULDN'T YOU JUST LOVE TO HAVE THE PERFECT BODY IN HEAVEN THAT NEVER GETS TIRED & have all the sex & whatever you want?--And all the fun & pleasures & excitement & everything else you had here, only more so! If we're going to have an Earth & a City & people & everything else, it's just going to be better, that's all.--All the same things, just a whole lot better! Amen? I believe it!
113. ANYHOW,THAT'S MY IDEA OF HEAVEN. If somebody doesn't like it, I'm sorry. I guess my idea is just as good as the next guy's! I just think we're going to have it like I talked to you about the Millennium, very much the same as now, & in Heaven, even more so! We're going to have all the same wonderful roses we enjoy, only without the thorns.--All the roses without the thorns! Wouldn't you just love to enjoy all we have right now without any pain, sickness, death, curse, weariness or any of those things? We have never yet gotten to really enjoy it to the full as long as we've got sin in the World & all of its results.
114. IT'S GOING TO BE A SINLESS NEW WORLD! We're going to finally get to enjoy life & the bodies God has created & everything to the full, perfectly, without sin & the curse & the pain & the death & the sickness & sorrow & all the rest! It hasn't happened yet, right? We haven't had it perfectly yet. That's our chance to enjoy perfection! We really haven't had a chance to enjoy everything as much as we could when we'll have supernatural bodies & a supernatural environment. It will be the utmost & the ultimate fulfillment, how about that? And I think the Scripture corroborates it. So I've got as much right to my opinion as the churches have theirs, & I like mine a lot better! Hallelujah!
115. WHEN I LOOK AT THIS PICTURE, OH BOY, THAT'S SOMEPLACE I WANT TO GO & BE THERE! Imagine, not worrying about getting sunburned or getting tired or choking on the water or falling in & drowning, or even falling off the buildings! That's my idea of Heaven, & I think the Bible makes it pretty clear. It's going to be perfect & wonderful, thrilling & exciting, marvellous & beautiful, everything we have now, only in perfection! Adam & Eve & the Devil kind of messed things up, but God's not going to be defeated, right? He's going to bring us through to final perfection the way He originally intended. So there it is!--All laid out around the pool! Hallelujah! And I think we're going to have a little work to do ministering to the people outside. I mean, it says so! Let's face it! (Rev.22:2)
116. OKAY, GO AHEAD WITH IT! IT'S JUST BEAUTIFUL & I'M JUST THRILLED! Thanks a lot, Son! You're the man for the job, commissioned by the King of Kings! He says He reserved that for you, how about that? Isn't that wonderful? PTL! I'm still marvelling how no great artists ever tried! I don't ask why anymore, now I know! It's just amazing when all the details are given & measurements are given, you'd think some Master artist would have tried some part of it somehow! Nobody! I have never seen any art in any kind of specific detail about the Heavenly City except ours, have you? I guess that's our job, Son! We'll just have to do the best we can. Our pictures may be childish to the Lord, but we're His children & we're doing the best we can. I think they're beautiful, gorgeous! Maybe it's not exactly the way it is, but we're trying!
117. WHO KNOWS, HE MIGHT GIVE US JUST WHAT WE DRAW! They've had some tales about the lady who just sent up enough for the shack, also some other illustrations & stories you've heard, like you get what you envision, like you get sort of what you ordered. He says if we delight ourselves in Him, He gives us the desires of our heart! (Ps.37:4) Well, if I can't dream up anything better than this, that's all I deserve, right? But if you ask me, I think it's great! I'd be happy to get anything like this, especially with all those pretty girls around the pool! I'm trying to figure out which girl is your mate! ILY! Maybe she's upstairs with me! You won't mind with all these other pretty girls there! As we used to say, get in the back seat, Ikey! It's an old joke--they hadn't even bought the car yet! So I guess we don't have to worry about it right now. But we are planning some kind of visualisation, Amen? GBY!--Tx! ILY!
118. IF THIS IS LIKE HEAVEN, HEAVEN IS LIKE THIS! We're always saying this is like Heaven, our Homes & lives are like Heaven. Well, if this is like Heaven, Heaven is like this!--Only better! PTL! I thought I'd pass on to you a few of the Family's suggestions. Someone remarked, well, why aren't there more children? And I said, well there are quite a few, maybe you didn't see them! There's some playing there on the walk & a couple in the pool & there's some up in those dome-shaped bedrooms up there. Since those are so small, they probably couldn't tell they were children. And there's some flying through the air, & it looks like a couple kids walking through that walkway on the right. Maybe they just didn't realise they were children. I guess they were thinking about small children.
119. AND THEN SOMEBODY NOTICED THAT THERE'S NOBODY ON THE FRONT STEPS! It looks like somebody ought to be coming in or out of the door. And I thought, well what a great place for some little tiny tots to be playing. Their mother could be sitting there watching them. So we need more tiny tots, toddlers. There could be a group of maybe 3 or 4 playing around there while the mother's sitting there beautifully watching them. She could be sitting with her back against one of those pillars & her feet on the steps & maybe a baby in her arms. I think they want to see more babies.--And a couple little toddlers on the porch.
120. AND ONE OTHER SUGGESTION SOMEBODY HAD--SHOULDN'T WE HAVE SOMEBODY SITTING THERE SOMEPLACE READING OR STUDYING, reading their Bible or Letters or something? And I said, well sure, why not? I said we could put them there beside the couple who are making love on the front bench, that would be the most conspicuous place. But he's got his lyre lying there & his music, & that would be sort of funny to see him sitting there absorbed in a book when there's so much action going on on the bench. It would have to be close up in order to see what he's reading. I wouldn't show what book or name the book or anything like that, but just show him sitting there studying the book.
121. WHEN I WAS SAYING, IF THIS IS LIKE HEAVEN, HEAVEN IS LIKE THIS & IT'S AN EXTENSION OF EVERYTHING YOU ENJOY DOING HERE, SOMEONE SAID, "WELL, WHAT ABOUT READING? Aren't some of us going to still enjoy reading?" I said, "That's a good idea!" You could have a boy sitting on one bench reading a book, with a pretty girl on the end of the other bench reading a Letter. The man would be less distracted if he was on the left. I'm afraid if he were sitting too close to the other bench, he might be watching the girl! Maybe the girl could be half-reclining on the bench on the other side to show her beautiful shapely side view! She could have a Letter in her hands, make it look like a TK with pictures on it! I know you're thinking there's certainly no end to these pictures! They're kind of forever, like Heaven!
122. REMEMBER THESE ARE MASTERPIECES! They're probably the fastest masterpieces ever drawn! I was amazed how much those details showed up even in the small pictures! So your labours are not in vain, they're even going to see'm in the small one! I think they're going to be thrilled. Maria was a little worried about maybe so much nudity. But after all, we've got to have a little classical art! Look at all the classical art that's got nudes! This is going to be a classic!--So we've gotta have a little classical art! And what more beautiful thing is there to draw pictures of, as all the great masters & masterpieces demonstrate, than the beautiful female body? So I say leave'm as is! We're not showing too much. And they're classical & beautiful, so why not? I like it the way it is!
123. EVEN BEFORE I HAD SUGGESTED THE SWIMMING POOL, SARA SAID THAT WHEN DAVID GOT ONE OF THESE, HE DREW IN A SWIMMING POOL there at the end on the side! He said, "Is that the swimming pool over there?" He already had an idea that it ought to have a swimming pool! It's just beautiful! Keep on keepin' on! Keep on doin' what you're doin', 'cause I love what you're doin' for me! If this is like Heaven, Heaven's like this! How's that for logic? OK! Take it away! Oh no, don't take it away! Send it here!
124. LORD, DO BLESS & KEEP HIM INSPIRED & HELP HIM TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT FOR THY GLORY, Lord, to help our folks, especially our children, to inspire them & thrill them & encourage them. Give him the wisdom & the skill & divine inspiration, Lord, real vision! You promised You would, Lord, in the Scriptures You gave him. Thank You that You have in portraying these beautiful pictures! We're really going to be proud of them, Lord, because they're going to be so beautiful! In Jesus' name. Amen! I keep saying this is the last thing, the last thing, the last thing! I'm sorry! But one of these days we've gotta close the book! Keep on goin' & come back with more! PTL! GBY! ILY!
125. I GOT SOME NEW SUGGESTIONS FOR HEAVEN FROM THE FOLKS HERE! It's amazing what the Family can think up! I think we're going to have to have another whole series of pictures after this one! They want to see it all! One of the main things besides the mothers & babies & children that they mentioned, the kids wanted to know where are the animals? I'll tell you, there's nothing they don't think about! Sara suggested maybe we could put'm playing over in those side yards in the distance there.
126. I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE CLOSE-UPS of these various scenes in the future, so that'll be something to look forward to! We can have several Heavenly City posters! Sara said the one scene the kids always talk about & that seemed to impress them the most was the lion that was licking my face, they get all excited about that! So maybe you could have one there licking somebody else's face. On the other hand, after all, I'm going to be there! Where am I, anyway? I forgot all about that! So maybe it could be over there in one of those little side yards! Maria wants to know why I'm not standing on the steps inviting you in? Well, I would be most likely reclining over there in the yard with my head on Maria's lap or something, maybe with the lion licking my face.
127. THESE PEOPLE ARE ENDLESS! I don't think there's ever going to be any end to their suggestions, so it's impossible to do it all! You'll just have to go ahead & do the best you can. But that was one thing they mentioned, how come there aren't more animals & birds? In face, they especially mentioned things like peacocks, the things you'd expect around a palace. Maybe you could find a picture of one & stick it in. We just can't get everything in this one picture.
128. SOMEBODY EVEN WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WERE GOING TO BE ANY PREGNANT WOMEN! Well, I can answer that one very easily--I don't know! You were holding your breath, weren't you? Well, all things are possible! Well, if there's no pain there, it would be very simple, wouldn't it? So PTL! So I don't know what all that huge City is for & all that monstrous Earth out there, unless maybe there might be a little growth of population! Why not? If we enjoyed having children here, why not there? We can have them in the Millennium, so why not?
129. SOMEBODY ALSO MENTIONED TROPICAL FOLIAGE.--That our gardens are rather formal & we need a few palm trees & large-leafed plants & big tropical flowers. We're more accustomed to the Northern type of garden there, which is beautiful, a more formal type of Italian & English garden, but we ought to add maybe a few palm trees, birds, pheasants, peacocks & butterflies!
130. THEY ALSO WANTED TO KNOW IF THE ANGLE OF THE EXTERIOR WALL OF THE CITY WASN'T STEEP ENOUGH. They don't realise that that angle doesn't vary all the way up. It's a 65 degree angle, I measured it. If you draw the pyramid to scale, it's exactly a 65% angle, the same angle no matter where. They seemed to think that that was a rather sharp angle for the size of the mansion, but that has nothing to do with the size of the mansion. It's amazing what some of these guys can come up with!
131. OH YES, & HERE'S ONE NOTE THAT SAID, "WELL, WHERE'S THE LIBRARY? Maybe we'll know everything or we could see it on 3-D TV." But the dear girls thought they would really miss having their books, & there are a lot of old Letters that they thought they'd like to catch up on! Oh, what they can't think up! I don't know where in the World you could show a bookshelf! You know the living room where they're sitting around the 3-D TV? Well, just to the left of that group you could have a wall of books there. They thought we should have a library, GB'm!
132. DEAR JAMES WAS WONDERING WHERE HE WAS GOING TO DO HIS WORK? Ha! "Won't we be doing some kind of work, having conferences or something?" Well, obviously this is the end of the day or we wouldn't be watching TV, so I think that's sufficient conference room there in the living room. Somebody even wanted to know if we were going to have gardeners! Well, we do our own gardening here, so I don't think we have to worry about that! I mean, we just can't have everything in just a few pix! Somebody even wanted to know if we were going to need toilets! I said, that's one thing I'm pretty sure we could do without!
133. AND OF COURSE SOME WANTED TO KNOW IF WE WERE GOING TO HAVE THE RIVER OF LIFE IN THERE WITH TREES OF LIFE & be able to see the leaves & all this sort of thing. Well, on our big picture you'll be able to see the River. But it may be a little difficult to see the trees, much less the leaves! But that does bring up suggestions for some more close-ups in the future! Here's a bunch of suggestions for more close-up shots! So let your imagination run riot & get the vision & anything else that comes to you! There's no end to the pictures we could have about Heaven!
134. THEY LIKED THE IDEA OF CHILDREN PLAYING WITH THE ANIMALS. Of course, there're a few classicals around like that & we've already got'm in our lit. And a real close-up shot of the river & the trees & the leaves & the fruit would be good, a real close-up like you're right there. But that's all for the future. I even got a bright idea last night while I was making love to Hope in my chair, sort of like a throne. I have one of those chaise lounges. Dear Hope, we were wondering where we were going to put all of my queens in my throne! And I said, well, one could be on top of me & one on each side, & then the others round about! I don't know if you want to show that picture or not!--Ha!
135. I THINK MARIA ALREADY PASSED ON TO YOU THE SUGGESTION THAT YOU OUGHT TO START COLLECTING ALL THE PICTURES YOU CAN THAT COULD BE POSSIBLY USED IN HEAVENLY SCENES. This one subject has really been neglected by the artists. Yet there are a lot of scenes in masterpiece art which could easily be used for Heavenly art! There are a lot of those old Grecian or Italian pictures of beautiful women around. Hope brought me this picture of all these beautiful women in an old classic used by White Shoulders body oil or somebody, which appeared in an ad in Cosmopolitan magazine. There was one woman that she didn't like her face & some kind of a devilish-looking man in the rear which she didn't particularly care for, so she cut them out. But the women they took out of an old classic, which I think, as I recall, was actually an Arabic concept of the Houris of Heaven!
136. SO YOU COULD POSSIBLY FIND QUITE A BIT OF EXISTING ART, & of course our own art, which can be used. And somebody suggested last night a whole booklet devoted just to pictures of Heaven! Find all the existing art you can that is applicable or useable. Even if maybe originally it wasn't drawn for that purpose, if it looks like Heaven & Heavenly bodies, why not? They've had a lot of pictures like Garden of Eden & beautiful women, semi-nude women in beautiful gardens & that sort of thing, like Maxfield Parrish art. A lot of the classical art, Grecian art or pictures of Grecian gardens & that sort of thing with that beautiful lovely Grecian architecture, which I don't think there's hardly anything any more beautiful except Heaven! And I wouldn't be surprised they'd have some there! We put some there, didn't we? So just keep that in mind & keep collecting pictures, & what we can't find, I'm sure you can draw! GBY! Are you getting tired of drawing Heaven? It's getting even more & more exciting, isn't it!
137. I WAS NOTICING IN THE SIDE VIEW, we still have a great big space up there. What about putting an angel real close up looking at the mansion, arms opened wide & amazed at the glories that will be there or something.--Or even a couple flying together would be better, close up, closer! You could have a couple flying up there in mid-air hand-in-hand admiring the view of the mansion, looking down at the mansion, hovering at a sort of 45-degree angle, a man & woman. Let's fill up the space! Come close enough so you kind of fill it up! Maybe you can also stick a few scrolls in that bookshelf, as well as books!
138. SOMEBODY FOUND A REAL GOOD SCRIPTURE TO CORROBORATE THE PYRAMID-SHAPED CITY IN HEBREWS 12:22: "YE ARE COME TO MOUNT ZION, THE CITY OF THE LIVING GOD, THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM!" So it must be mountain-shaped! Wouldn't a cube look kind of silly? It would look like the stuff man makes. And it also says "the Mountain of the Lord's House!"--Right? There are quite a few that speak of His Kingdom being like a mountain. A lot of these preacherified traditionalists have always said, "Well that means Mount Moriah on which Jerusalem is situated, blah blah!" Well, this is not the old Jerusalem, & it's not even on the old Earth in many of those Scriptures. So it's not that old Jerusalem, or the old mountain, it's a new one! So I'm just about convinced that that's what the Egyptians were trying to build, models or imitations of the Heavenly City in those huge Pyramids!
139. AND THERE'S A LOT OF VERY SIGNIFICANT SYMBOLISM IN THE PYRAMIDS, IN THOSE CORRIDORS INSIDE & ALL THAT. I guess you've heard something about that, "The Bible in the Pyramids" & "Bible Prophecy & the Pyramids". They used to call it Pyramidology, & it was very popular about the time they were opening those tombs about 50 years ago. And a lot of it's quite significant. They claimed that it had all kinds of symbolism & even signified the coming of the Lord & all that sort of thing. So the pyramids are pretty significant. You know how much has been written lately about pyramids & their power & all that, so pyramids seem to be pretty important in history & the Word etc.
140. IF IT'S NOT A PYRAMID, WHAT IS IT? I'd certainly scratch out the cube idea right away because it looks too much like man's concoctions! The only other thing I might think of accepting is not the geodesic dome but what they call polydome. It has a square base & comes up into a dome-like top. But that's not what I saw. I only looked up from the inside, but what I saw I could just almost swear was the inside of a Pyramid! So I'm convinced that's what it is. Anyhow, that's our conception, they can take it or leave it. And I think it's as good as anybody's, & I think these Scriptures you've been finding corroborate it. So I think we're on the right track, so don't worry!
141. I THINK WE'VE EVEN GOT SOME OF MY OLD SLIDE PICTURES, ALREADY COLOURED, OF THE RIVER WITH THE TREES ALONGSIDE. I had quite a few pictures, the only ones I could find of Heaven. But they weren't very accurate or anything. They had discrepancies as far as the Bible description was concerned, but you might be able to use some of them for something. So keep collecting & we're going to have a whole volume of pictures on Heaven & maybe more things about Heaven. Maybe we can get out a whole book on Heaven, including all these Letters & pictures & everything eventually! Maybe we'll have some new ideas by then! Maybe we'll have a chance to take another trip by then! PTL!
142. SOME OF THE FOLKS DID SEEM TO THINK WE OUGHT TO HAVE A MORE TROPICAL ATMOSPHERE. We're accustomed to the North ourselves & the traditional scenery, & the only shot I did see of the face of the New Earth was like I said before, rolling hills, trees & forests & greenery & rivers & lakes & farms & villages. Frankly, what I saw was not all that tropical. Whether that's because they'll need the farmland or what, I don't know, but we could throw in a few palm trees & tropical trees & foliage too in some of these scenes, as well as pheasants & peacocks & butterflies & animals & whatnot. Wherever you find a little space that looks like it needs filling up, go ahead. Let your spirit be your guide!
143. THE ANIMALS THE KIDS SEEMED TO LIKE THE BEST WERE LAMBS, DEERS, SMALL FAWNS, & LIONS! Those are their favourites! You even could have a rabbit or two here & there nibbling out of a child's hand!--Some little hint of animals with the promise of more to come! It's already a gorgeous picture, & in the large size in detail in eventually colour, it is going to be really gorgeous!
144. A NEW VERSE FOR YOU: "ENDURE AS SEEING THAT WHICH IS INVISIBLE!" IT'S UP TO YOU TO MAKE IT VISIBLE! I hear you also got a little verse lately about it: "Now we see through a glass darkly" & it's getting clearer & clearer as we go! Right! Now we're just seeing sort of vaguely, we're trying to give them some impression or some idea at least, but one of these days we'll see face-to-face! We'll really see the real thing! But we're doing the best we can through the glass right now. That's a good verse! GBY!
145. I NEVER DREAMED WE WERE GETTING INTO SUCH A BIG JOB! Apparently this turns out to be a real assignment, a real commission by the King to really do a great project! Let's try to finish up these four now, & that'll give'm a foretaste of Heaven. Isn't there a verse about a foretaste of Heaven? We'll have to look that up! PTL!
146. IT'S A FORETASTE OF HEAVEN! It may be just a little taste, not the whole meal, but even if we can give them a little taste, they can have a little sample! Even if you taste it, you know what the whole thing tastes like! My Mother used to tell a story about when she was little & her mother baked cakes, she would always make her a little tiny one in a little biscuit tin so she could have her own little cake. And she said, "When I ate that, although I hadn't even touched the big one yet, I knew exactly what the big one was going to taste like!" That was like the Scripture says, "The earnest of our inheritance." (Eph.1:14) That means it's an actual sample of our inheritance. So we can give'm a little earnest of their inheritance, a little sample & a taste. Even if it's only in a cookie tin, it can taste a bit like the real article, the real Heaven! So we're giving them a taste, amen?--Like it?
147. I LIKE THOSE GIRLS WITH THE DARK BLACK HAIR! We've gotta have a few girls with dark black hair! After all, we've got lots of Asians, we're not a bunch of all blondes! So why don't we have a few black-headed ones, including a black-headed boy or two. I like the black hair, because we need a few things with more dark contrast, some dark shading. Those pointed fir trees, they could be almost black too because they're very dark green. And of course the grass can be light green. But those trees & little bushes should be quite dark, & quite a bit of dark hair around. I think at least half our people ought to be dark-haired. I like it nice & black like you've got it on those girls. If you were just doodling, you sure doodled it right!
148. DON'T FORGET TO GET YOUR "GET OUT" EVERY DAY! Just quit, that's all, you can't work all the time. And at night, why, knock off & relax, watch TV or video or do something else. (To our Artist's mate:) Take it easy, Honey, & save your strength for the big job. We're not in Heaven yet, it's work, labour! So just take it easy. But do get plenty of exercise, that's good for you! You too, Son, don't go bending over that board all day & night! We've had people do that! Don't do it! If you keep a regular schedule, there's a time to work, a time to play, a time to love & a time to go swimming! That's something that smart man (Solomon--Eccl.3:1-8) forgot to put in there! I guess it comes under play!
149. ARTISTS, WHETHER THEY BE MUSICIANS OR GRAPHIC ARTISTS, AFTER ALL, ARE VERY SENSITIVE & INSPIRATIONAL TYPES & usually emotional & sometimes a little bit temperamental. It all depends on which grows the most, the temper or the mental. So they sometimes do get a little easily upset. I'm sure glad you're so steady-going. I'm glad you sort of take things easy. I don't want you to feel under pressure or anything, just sort of rock along & roll with the punches.
150. IF TODAY IS THE CHURCHES' IDEA OF THE MILLENNIUM, I'D HATE TO SEE THEIR HEAVEN! But we're always bragging about our Homes being like Heaven! So in mathematical equations, that would mean Heaven's like this!
"Oh this is like Heaven to me!
Oh this is like Heaven to me!
So if this is like Heaven in our Family,
Then Heaven's like this to me!"
151. IF WE THRILL THIS MUCH AT THE EARTHLY, HOW MUCH MORE AT THE HEAVENLY!--The Heavenly one you're going to finish right here, the colour poster! I think you're going to be famous, Son! You're famous with us already!
152. BY THE WAY, THAT'S GOING TO BE THE TITLE OF THAT BIG POSTER, "OUR HEAVENLY CITY", instead of "The Heavenly City". It may not be their Heavenly City, but this is our version of it! The Churches have never given us anything better!
153. I'M JUST THRILLED TO THINK WHAT GOD HAS TRUSTED YOU WITH, SON! That's a pretty big commission! I hope it doesn't put you out of commission! Take it easy! Take your time. Pray & get inspired & do what you feel will please the Lord. You can try to please me, but really think about the Lord & pray & ask Him what would please Him, & I believe He could really give you visions of what should be there.
154. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE REAL LIFE! What's buildings without bringing them to life? That's what the kids look for, they're not just looking at the building, they're looking at the people & the animals & all that life!--And don't forget to put in some colour, some black-haired dark-skinned ones. We believe in integration & I think it's nice to have our couples mixed, maybe some of the boys dark, some of the girls dark, maybe some dark couples, some mixed couples, whatever you feel led. Take it away!--No, send it here!
155. THE LORD SAID THIS IS GOING TO BE A MASTERPIECE!--The last great art masterpiece of religious art the World has ever known, & I think the greatest! Because it's the Truth! PTL! We may not be painting like the artists did or colouring with oils & all that junk, but at least we're giving them a better conception of Heaven than anybody ever did before! These have got the Spirit, that's the most important of all! Lord bless & continue to inspire him with such beauty & such wonderful conceptions of the beauties to come!
156. YOU JUST MADE A MASTERPIECE OUT OF THE SIDE VIEW, THOSE BEAUTIFUL FLYERS! It looks almost like a Michelangelo painting! It's gorgeous! What should we put in that TV, inside?--Jesus! You can just put His face there, a pretty smiling face, happy we're all here with Him! It's really beautiful, Son, everything is just absolutely gorgeous! You're really living up to the vision!--Not being disobedient to the Heavenly Vision! You're really making it come to life, God bless you!
157. I THINK THESE COMMENTS ON "HEAVENLY ART" COULD REALLY SOUND INTERESTING, I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO ENJOY THESE! They're different, sort of! It's sort of something different, it shows how I keep a pretty close eye on your art. I've got my hand in the pie! I hope this doesn't live up to the old adage, "Too many cooks spoil the broth!" Well, there are a lot of adages that kind of contradict each other! We could say, "Many hands make light work!" or "Three heads are better than one!"
158. IF WE'RE GOING TO SPEND ETERNITY THERE, IT MUST BE PRETTY IMPORTANT! We could do a whole book on Heavenly Art! Go to it, Son! The sky's unlimited! Heaven is unlimited! I love that poster you sent, thanks a lot! As you send me the finished pictures, I stick'm on over the old ones! It's really fun! I'll tell you, it's inspiring to see that huge poster up there! They just practically gasped tonight when I showed them how big it was going to be--bigger than we thought! It's wonderful we can go ahead with the jumbo size! Maybe I should call it Heavenly size!--Everything else is Heavenly. Don't rush, just proceed! The sky is not the limit, only Heaven's the limit, & there's no limit in Heaven! PTL!
159. HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT IDEA OF INVITING EVERYBODY ALL OVER THE WORLD TO SEND US SAMPLES OF HEAVENLY ART? I want to see the pictures of Heaven that the great masters have drawn. I think we're going to be shocked at how little they've drawn or painted of the City!--I mean of the actual City according to Bible dimensions & descriptions. I think we're not going to find any actually, really. I've never seen one, have you? And we've been all over Europe & America & everywhere, & I've been through a lot of big art galleries & whatnot, & I've never seen any. So I think it's going to prove something, what art is not! It is conspicuous by its absence! So, show me! That's the next Letter coming your way & this top view picture will be a perfect cover for it!
160. I LOVE THOSE CLOSE-UP FIGURES YOU'RE PUTTING IN THERE! The kids really loved those. They got all excited about those close-up figures to really see'm there close-up, flying. Peter said, "Boy, these posters are so beautiful & so big, the little kids are going to feel like they can walk right into them!" Really! You know, kids have wonderful imaginations, they'll just stand there just absolutely absorbed by those pictures & just picture themselves walking right in & feel like they're part of it already!
161. GOD BLESS YOU, SON, YOU'RE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB! I think the other artists are going to be jealous! Well, they've got plenty to do anyhow, so they shouldn't worry. We can't all do it, & you can't all have me to tell you how to do it! Ha! Well, you're doing it better than I ever could have done it or even told you how! GBY! Proceed! All conditions go!--But be sure to come back! ILY!
162. CAN YOU KIND OF FINISH UP THAT COVER PICTURE A LITTLE BIT before it's ready for printing? Don't put in all the perfection that you're going to put into the final poster, but just enough to fill in a little bit. Oh, we could even print it like this! I'll leave it up to you. It's your reputation that's at stake, Son! Ha! So I'll leave that up to you & your conscience, how much you put into that one for this GN Book 11 cover! Take your time, don't worry, & do what you can--you can't do any more than that! ILY!
163. SO THAT FIRST FLOOR PLAN WILL BE A GOOD COVER FOR "SHOW ME!" It looks like somebody's showing'm! I don't think they're going to be able to show us anything better than what you've already done! I don't think they're going to find anything in the whole World of the Heavenly City that's going to be anything that can even hold a candle to what you're doing! GBY! I believe this search is going to prove it!--OK? We're going to have a Worldwide search for Heavenly art, especially of the Heavenly City, but I'll just bet you anything we're not going to find much. There may be a lot of Heavenly art like pretty girls & gardens & stuff like that, but of the City itself, I bet you we're not going to find much. I'm just going to prove it by having everybody look for some! Good idea? If you can find us something better, show me!
164. I LOVE YOUR ART! THE LORD IS REALLY INSPIRING YOU, SON! Some of those last drawings were absolute masterpieces, just like Michelangelo on the dome of the Sistine Chapel! Well, I'll tell you, this is going to be better than any Sistine Chapel! So Pope or no Pope, I don't think he's got anything on us! The Pope sure gets around though, God bless him! Don't forget to pray for him, I think he really is a Godly man & doing the best he can. I hope he gets out of Poland safely, because that's really a dangerous place for him to be. But I hope he's doing some good. I don't know how much good he's going to do those Jews, but anyway, he's trying. You know Poland is mostly Jewish, but they seem to be all Catholic Jews, so PTL!--We hope! But they are still problems. I think only God can solve their problems, not even the Pope! I think he knows that too. Well, pray for him!
165. ILY! LORD BLESS & KEEP US ALL! CONTINUE TO GUIDE & INSPIRE ALL OF OUR ARTISTS, LORD, IN Jesus' name! I hope you don't mind, I'm inviting all the artists to send in their contributions of pictures they'd like to draw of the Holy City, good idea? We could have a whole book of Heavenly Art! Wouldn't that be beautiful? Wouldn't that be great for our little kids to look through & get thrilled & excited & anticipate? So God bless you, I'm going to put yours on the cover, because I'm sure nothing's going to be better! GBY! ILY!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family