Preface

In this book I will be sharing with you the experiences I have had in heaven with Jesus. From the outset, I want you to understand the circumstances surrounding each of these visits to heaven.

A passage from the first letter by the apostle Paul to the Christians in ancient Corinth will help make this clear. It says: Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed'in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality... then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory."
('1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-54)

This pericope of Scripture refers to the End Times, when those who know the Lord will go to be with Him forever. When this happens, we will have to exchange our mortal bodies for incorruptible, heavenly bodies.

Every time I have gone to heaven with Jesus this exchange actually has occurred. God would give me a new body'a body in which I looked remarkably like I did when I was a teenager. Sometimes this transformation would take place at a beach on earth that He escorted me to. Other times I would be clothed in my incorruptible body in my bedroom at home.

People often ask me, 'Were your experiences in heaven like visions or dreams, or did you actually go there?' My only response to these questions is that I know I've seen heaven, and I know that heaven is so real. Whether we place my experiences in the category of supernatural dreams, visions or actual experiences, I will leave to the theologians. All I can say is that they were very real to me.

Each time the Lord has visited me, I have been lying on my bed under the total control of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Just before He visits each time, my earthly body quivers and quakes for at least twenty minutes. I do not understand everything about this, but I know that He is releasing His power into my being. Sometimes these preparatory periods last for a half-hour or more.

Please don't ask me why this is necessary, because only He knows the reason for each experience. He has simply told me, over and over again, that He is getting me ready for the ministry He has called me to.

Usually when this occurs, my body shakes and my stomach tightens. Deep groans emerge from my spirit, and I perspire profusely. I believe the groans are those described by the apostle Paul: 'Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered' (Rom. 8:26).

I believe the perspiring comes from the heavy anointing of the Lord. The Bible often describes the presence of the Lord in terms of fire, heat and glory, and now I know what these images mean. I personally have experienced the intense heat of His presence.

Usually these manifestations are followed quickly and suddenly by a tremendous surge within and a pulling, jerking sensation without. Then I see my transformed body with the Lord on the earthly beach. After He takes me to heaven, we always return to the same beach we started from.

Whenever and whatever has happened, which I admit I do not fully understand, my earthly body has remained in bed during each of my visits to heaven. During these experiences I am both a participant and an observer.

I have been able to see everything'all of what has happened to me'with the eyes of my earthly body. I have been able to observe all that has happened as I have gone with Jesus to the beach, as my body has been transformed and as He has escorted me to heaven.

My earthly body often reacts to my experiences in heaven as I am having them. It participates in the dancing, rejoicing, praising, laughing, crying and other manifestations occurring in my transformed body.

When my transformed body is happy, my physical body reacts with happiness. When my heavenly body is sad, my physical body reacts with tears. When my transformed body sings, I sing; when it dances, I move my hands; when it laughs, I laugh. When I, as a young woman within my transformed body, am talking with the Lord, my earthly body responds with words from my heart; and my mouth and head move accordingly.

I watch my transformed body as I walk with the Lord in heaven. When I sings songs of joy and praise, I can see the happiness reflected on my face. My voice, quite miraculously, emanates from my earthly body.

When I, in my transformed body, ascend to and descend from heaven, my real body feels as if it is being lifted up and gently lowered. These sensations last for only a second. Sometimes, when my physical body feels as if it is being lifted from my bed, I have screamed in fright.

Even though I can see the features of my own transformed face quite vividly, I cannot see the Lord's face. However, I can see His hair, hands and clothing, and I can tell that He has a very large frame. His wavy hair is parted in the middle, is curled in at the bottom, comes down to His neck and is as white as silk. The skin on His hands is olive-colored, and His fingers are long and slender.

I can see the Lord's mouth moving when He speaks to me. His stature and build make Him appear as if He is a young man, perhaps between the ages of thirty and forty. His height, it seems, is approximately six feet.

Although I can't make out His distinct facial features, I can tell when He is angry, happy, sad or concerned. I know Him to be very gentle and loving, and He enjoys playful moments. Remember, however, I am seeing the Lord's spirit body (just like I am able to see my spirit body).

Since May 27, 1996, the Lord has taken me to the earthly beach early every Monday morning in fulfillment of a promise He made to me. We often have walked along together in the sand. Sometimes He has lifted me in His arms and spun me around like a child. During such playful moments, the Lord and I have greatly enjoyed each other's presence, and we both have laughed with genuine joy.

The Lord has a very human personality, even though He is the Son of God. I love Him more than my life. He is a person of very few words. When He speaks, He always does so purposefully. He shares only those things He thinks are significant for us to know.

When He disappears after the exhilarating visits to heaven, my transformed body disappears as well, and my physical body is free to move in accord with its own needs and desires. At this point my body feels relaxed and restful.

After these marvelous experiences, I can get out of bed'immediately, if I choose to'but usually I lie there and reflect on the wonderful experiences I've just seen and lived. Then I write these experiences in my journal.

I am amazed that the Lord called me to write this book. I am a Korean-American whose use of the English language is somewhat limited. Nonetheless, the Lord chose me to do His work. He told me to tell everything I experienced and heard, and that is the purpose of this book.

How thankful I am that I have been privileged to have this foretaste of glory so I can share it with you. God wants me to let you know that He already has prepared a place for you in heaven if you only will believe in His Son and receive Him as your personal Lord and Savior.

"I want only to do the will of the Lord. My prayer for you as you read this book is the same as the apostle Paul's prayer for his beloved Ephesian brothers and sisters, recorded in his letter to them: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come."
(EPHESIANS 1:17-21)

"I ask only that you receive this book in the same way it was written'with total openness to the Lord and His will. Evaluate my experiences in the light of the Word of God. I believe you will find that the things I share about heaven and my experiences with the Lord are thoroughly biblical."
('CHOO THOMAS TACOMA, WASHINGTON FEBRUARY, 1997)

Introduction

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."
(JOHN 14:2 (EMPHASIS ADDED))

Through a prophetic utterance given by a pastor named Larry Randolph, God spoke directly to me on December 3, 1995. Pastor Randolph prophesied: I saw the blessing of the Lord in the realm of prophetic ministry and the Lord opening your spirit in a great way to prophetic ministry, dreams and words of knowledge...I saw the Lord speaking to you in the night seasons, between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m....[He will] begin to awaken you and visit you, give you dreams, visions and insight...God told me that you're one of the daughters that He's put His Spirit upon to prophesy.

Pastor Randolph spoke these words over me during a special Sunday service at Puget Sound Christian Center in Tacoma, Washington. As he did, the familiar anointing of the Holy Spirit welled up deep in my spirit, and my body began to shiver and quake under the power of God.

I began to weep tears of joy and gratitude as I realized that God had chosen me to be one of His servants in these last days. The Lord flooded me with His loving warmth, and the heat of His presence made the experience seem as if I were resting on a feather bed on a summer day.

"I was reminded of the words of the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth."
(JOEL 2:28-30)

Could it be, I wondered, that these prophetic words were being fulfilled here and now? Was I to be one of the Lord's special maidservants who would see wonders in heaven and earth?

What an honor to be selected as a vessel of the Lord's love, grace and power in these last days. Certainly this prophetic calling of God was not something I would have chosen for myself, because I am ordinarily a very shy person. I soon learned that all the shyness and bashfulness vanishes when I am experiencing the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

"I recalled another scripture: You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
(JOHN 15:16)

Clearly, God was choosing me to go forth in His name in order to bear lasting fruit'fruit that would remain. He was showing me the power of prayer and the importance of getting close to Him.

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
(JOHN 15:4-5)

The overwhelming excitement and burning anointing of the Holy Spirit continued to intensify as the pastor went on with his prophetic utterance. I literally felt as if I were on fire for God. Pastor Randolph continued: There's been a misunderstanding at times in the way you respond to God or the way you connect with God. The Lord says He's going to remove the misunderstanding...they won't say, 'She's an enigma.' They'll say, 'She's just different.'...It's a godly difference...God has given you a uniqueness. He's going to minister to you in a unique way. He's going to speak to you things that only friends would tell friends. He's going to give you secrets in the night seasons.

To be a close, personal friend of God's, as Abraham was, has been my heart's desire since I became a Christian. I treasure moments alone with the Lord. I know His voice, and when my heart is quiet before Him, He is able to speak to me: 'My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me' (John 10:27).

Through this compelling message from God, I knew the Father was answering the cry of my heart'to get to know Him better by building an intimate personal relationship with Jesus. My heart was soaring like an eagle while I listened to Him speaking to me through Pastor Randolph: It's not showing off what God gives you; it's keeping secrets. God's going to tell you things about people that you'll never tell people. You'll pray for and intercede [for them], and hold them up in prayer because you're going to be a friend of God'and that's a true prophet. It's just a friend of God. A friend of God.

He's going to tell you secrets about other people's lives and about things He's doing in the earth. So, get ready in 1996 for a fresh anointing of the prophetic to come upon your life. And in the new year, as you wait before the Lord, God's going to put a fresh Spirit upon you, an anointing of prophecy is going to come upon you.

I knew the words were beautiful and deeply meaningful even though I did not understand all they implied. I felt as if I were clay in the hands of the divine Potter, and He was shaping me, molding me and forming me in preparation for a special ministry that would begin in the very near future. As I spun on the Potter's wheel, under a mighty anointing of the Spirit of God, I sensed that major changes were already taking place deep in my spirit.

A tinge of fear was soon extinguished by the oil of the Spirit that seemed to drip over every part of my being. My mind tried to find its way into the old channel of questioning, because I felt so unworthy to receive such a wonderful personal message and calling.

How can God use me? I thought. I am a Korean-American, and my use of the English language is not as proficient as it should be. Why would God pick me to be His friend? Why me?

It was all so surprising, but even though I was a young Christian I had already learned the truth of Jesus' words, 'Without Me you can do nothing' (John 15:5). I decided right then and there to accept the Lord's message by faith, and in my heart I prayed: Father, thank You for giving me this word. I will always say yes to You.

This was my commitment even though I did not fully understand everything the Lord was saying. One thing I did realize, however, was that He would have to prepare me for the ministry He was leading me into.

I remembered the words of one of my favorite verses: 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths' (Prov. 3:5-6).

Little did I realize where those paths would lead me, but I was firm in my resolve to trust the Lord without leaning on my own understanding. After all, isn't this the essence of the spiritual life? We're spiritual beings on a human journey. Our true essence is our spirits. Heaven is our true home, and as I've discovered, heaven is so real.

Since the moment God called me to a prophetic ministry I have learned that many believers don't truly believe. Some are not sure that heaven even exists. Others don't seem to care. Too many go through life as if this world is all there is.

"God has shown me an entirely different picture. He has taken me to heaven seventeen different times, and He wants me to let everyone know that heaven is so real! When we truly understand this, it changes everything about us'our motives, attitudes, values, relationships, dreams, plans and perspective. My prayer for you is, you will catch more than a glimpse of heaven as you read and that you will be changed'as I was'and experience the security of knowing Jesus has already prepared a place for you and your loved ones."
('CHOO THOMAS TACOMA, WASHINGTON FEBRUARY, 1997)