Hey, Brother 'Cynic!
Where did you go on your extended vacation?(Laugh, laugh, laugh while I'm slappin' my knee here!) Glad you are back with us! Really and truly!
Now, you guys want me to be a good sport! OK! As in baseball. I'm on the mound as pitcher. You are up to bat! Randy Johnson is "Little League" compared to ole Blackbird! I'm looking at my catcher to relay signals . . . Good! Both of us want a "Brush Back" pitch--too many batters coming up standing too close to the plate! Now, I ain't gonna hit 'cha with the ball(I have control!) but you will notice as the ball passes close to your jersey--the lettering is "heated up" just a little bit by the ball's friction as it passes toward the catcher's mitt! It'll be headed in your general direction at about 99 miles per hour! It'll take about 1/900th of a second to reach the catcher's mitt!
Some of you are misunderstanding the question--will there be ALCOHOLIC beverages in GloryLand?? And I say, "No!"
In Revelation's Chapter 21 verse 27 God's word reads, "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie: . . ."
The alcohol content of liquor is actually a defilement of the natural content of the beverage--whether it be grapes, blackberry, corn, hops, barley, etc, etc. I'm sorry, folks! Alcohol will have to "stay out" of GloryLand!
Alcohol is an intoxicant! It inhibits the mind and prohibits good sound judgment! The root word there is "toxic" thus a form of a poisonous substance. Alcoholic beverages--as weak a poison as it can be--can't be there! In GloryLand there will be nothing there that will inhibit the mind or nothing there to cause us to change or alter our minds in any form or fashion. There will be nothing in GloryLand that will cause us to use any less than good sound judgment!
In the development of intoxicating beverages there is the process of the breakdown of the beverage's chemical content. I think it is called the "fermentation" period. There will be no breakdowns in GloryLand! No fermentation!
The alcohol in the fermentated beverage is actually a waste by-product! There will be no waste in GloryLand! Many of you look at the beverage's "Age"--it says on the bottle label something like a date "Nineteen something something something" and you say, "Wow!" this is old stuff--tastes better!" There is no old in GloryLand! Time will go on but in eternity nothing will grow old! Not even the grape beverage I drink in GloryLand will have any age or decay to it! No decayed matter in it whatsoever!
Human reason will conclude there is no intoxicating beverages in Heaven. Can you imagine the innocent driver whos been killed by another driver under the influence of alcohol reaching the protals of Heaven only to discover that there is more stuff there of the same content that was used to kill him on Earth!? There will be no "AA" in Heaven!
And speaking of influence--in Heaven there will be absolutely nothing there that will influence me and my decisions other than the Lord Jesus Christ! He will be the only influence in Heaven!
In the book of Genesis Chapter 9--the Ark that rode Noah and his family around was a picture of Jesus and His Heaven! Even if you scan the verses with your spiritual "X-Ray" machine you will find no mention of Noah under any other influence other than God's influence while he was aboard that Ark. It was only afterward--after Noah disembarked from the Ark that he "began to be" a keeper of the grapes! On board the Ark--no influence upon Noah's mind other than God's! He had nothing but the Ark on his mind! The Ark was in total control of Noah! Once outside--Noah was still subject to corruption and defilement! He made some Grape juice--and something went "Hey-wire!" Ever so slowly--his mind became something that didn't "use to be" while he was aboard the Ark! He was influenced by something other than the Ark! One of his boys mocked! Two of his boys walked backward toward Noah! Had that blanket in their hands! "Gotta cover Daddy's shame!"
In Heaven--there is no other influence other than the Lord Jesus Christ. There is room in no person's mind for anything or anyone else other than Him! In Heaven--the Lord Jesus Christ will have total and absolute control. No other controlling person or thing other than the Lord Jesus Christ!
In Heaven--there is no mocking! The book of Proverbs says that wine is a mocker! A "mock" is an echo of the real thing! There will be no echos in Heaven! Everything will be in rhythem and in harmony! Nothing there that will echo or mock Jesus' mind!
In Heaven--there will be no walking backward. All feet in Heaven will face the throne! Nobody will have to turn a head to hide any sort of shame! Nobody will have to "cover Daddy!" No heads will have to be turned in Heaven. All faces will face the face of Jesus! No man made labels we can face! No date on the wine! You will discover that Jesus IS the WINE of Heaven!! No corruption in His Wine! Its Him that I want and He won't be in a bottle but on a throne! No defilement in His Mind! No blankets to cover anything! No shame! No ruin! No busted up homes! No car wrecks! No battered mom! No whipped child! No influence of alcohol! Only Jesus' influence! While eternity rolls on--all defilement, mocking, deceivement, decay will have to "stay outside!"
Now, the Catcher has just received the burning ball! It was a "Brush Back" pitch! You are looking at the Umpire--wanting him to call some sort of "Unsportsman-like Conduct" call on me. But you didn't notice that you were standing so close to the plate that Blackbird actually threw a strike--hitting the inside corner of the plate while brushing you back at the same time-- while still being judged by the Umpire a "Strike!" The Umpire and my catcher have a grin on their faces and they can honestly look at you and say, "Golly! Ole Blackbird CAN throw a strike!"
I'm a good sport! I love you all!
Blackbird
