Five Things We Will Learn
- Why salvation and eternal reward are not the same thing in Scripture.
- How Rick Joyner’s vision exposes the danger of public obedience paired with private pride.
- Why Martin Luther’s role in the vision, as identified by Joyner himself, sharpens the warning for leaders and reformers.
- How Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 25 and Luke 12 explain being saved yet restricted.
- Why who holds the reins of our life now determines our position in eternity.
A Vision at the Edge of Heaven
Rick Joyner once described stepping through what felt like mist and finding himself standing on the lowest terrace of heaven.
This was not the realm of golden streets or thunderous worship.
The light was dimmer.
The atmosphere quieter.
Paradise was visible—but distant.
An elderly man stood nearby, dignified yet diminished, like someone who had lost a race he never realized he was running. When Joyner asked why he was there, the answer came both gentle and piercing.
In later messages and teachings, Joyner stated plainly that he believed this man was Martin Luther. Rick was shocked to see that such a historical “patriarch” in the faith was on the lowest terrace [level] of heaven.
(Source: Rick Joyner, prophetic vision account shared through MorningStar Ministries teachings and messages.)
Why Luther?
Joyner was careful to explain that this vision was not a judgment on Luther’s salvation nor a denial of his obedience or historical importance. Luther had obeyed God powerfully—nailing theses, confronting corruption, igniting the Protestant Reformation, and reshaping the Church and nations.
Yet the vision revealed something sobering: unfinished surrender in private life.
Joyner shared that Luther’s unchecked pride, combined with disorder in the home, carried eternal consequence. His wife, Katharina von Bora, strong and capable though she was, allowed ambition to move beyond partnership into control. What should have been order and submission as described in Ephesians 5:24 before God became misalignment Martin Luther said to Rick. Obedience remained—but love, humility, and order were compromised beneath influence, pressure, and public impact.
The tragedy was not rebellion.
It was partial obedience paired with personal pride.
Here’s a smooth transition paragraph followed by the list of Scripture references you can copy and paste directly into your article. It flows naturally from the discussion of Luther and Katharina von Bora, showing that the kind of marital misalignment or influence the vision highlighted—where a wife’s strength, ambition, or actions affect her husband’s spiritual direction—was not unique to them but is a recurring theme and warning throughout Scripture.
Related:
- The Test of Time: What Has Become of Martin Luther’s Reformation?
It Matters Who or If You Marry
This sobering revelation about Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora is not an isolated anomaly in the history of God’s people. Scripture repeatedly records instances where a wife’s influence led a husband toward compromise, sin, or idolatry, as well as clear warnings against the very dynamics that can produce such misalignment.
- Solomon’s many foreign wives turned his heart away from the Lord to follow other gods as he grew old (1 Kings 11:3-4, 8).
- Solomon’s wives explicitly led him astray from faithfully following God (1 Kings 11:3; Nehemiah 13:26).
- Jezebel incited and urged her husband Ahab to do evil in the sight of the Lord, more than any king before him (1 Kings 21:25).
- Eve, after being deceived, ate the forbidden fruit and gave it to Adam, who was with her, and he ate—directly resulting in the Fall (Genesis 3:6).
- God judged Adam because he listened to his wife and ate from the tree that was forbidden (Genesis 3:17).
- The New Testament notes that Eve was deceived by the serpent and became a transgressor, while Adam was not deceived (1 Timothy 2:14).
- Kings are commanded not to multiply wives for themselves, lest their hearts turn away from God (Deuteronomy 17:17).
- The Israelites were warned not to intermarry with foreign nations, because their wives would turn their sons’ hearts after other gods (Deuteronomy 7:3-4).
- Sons of Israel were warned that taking daughters from foreign peoples as wives would cause their own daughters and sons to prostitute themselves to other gods (Exodus 34:16).
- Joshua warned the people that if they intermarried with the remnant nations, their wives would become a snare and turn their hearts away from the Lord (Joshua 23:12-13).
These passages reveal a consistent biblical concern: even godly men can be drawn away from full obedience when marital order, influence, or intermarriage introduces compromise. The tragedy, as in Luther’s case, lies not in outright rebellion but in partial obedience tainted by pride or unchecked dynamics in the home.
Who or If You Marry Matters
In the end, these biblical examples and warnings drive home a profound truth: it matters profoundly who you marry, the order of your marriage matters, and even the decision to marry or not marry carries eternal weight. God’s design is clear—wives are called to submit to their husbands “as the church submits to Christ” (Ephesians 5:24), establishing divine order that protects and blesses both spouses. Yet Scripture also honestly acknowledges, through Paul’s inspired counsel, that remaining unmarried can shield one from certain troubles and divisions: “I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:35). Paul makes plain that marriage itself is no sin—“if you do marry, you have not sinned” (1 Corinthians 7:28)—but it does open the door to unique pressures, distractions, and possibilities of compromise that singleness avoids. What we learn from Eve, from Solomon, from Ahab, and from the repeated warnings of Scripture is that marital choices and dynamics are never neutral; they either strengthen our devotion to God or create vulnerabilities through which pride, ambition, or misplaced influence can lead even the strongest servant of God astray. Therefore, whether one marries or remains single, the call remains the same: full surrender, godly order, and undivided loyalty to Christ above all.
Saved—Yet Stalled
From that lowest terrace, Joyner could still see the gates of heaven. The fragrance of glory lingered in the air. But there was no path upward.
Joyner was shown that greater reward awaited those who served quietly—those who washed feet without recognition, who whispered the name of Jesus in kitchens instead of cathedrals, and who chose humility when no one was watching.
This was not hell.
It was far more sobering:
Salvation without fullness.
Entrance without inheritance.
Jesus Already Told Us This
Jesus prepared us for this truth long before Joyner ever described the vision.
Luke 12 Warns. Jesus teaches that servants who know what to do and choose not to do it receive greater discipline than those who act in ignorance. Knowledge increases responsibility. Calling increases accountability.
Joyner explained that this was the principle illustrated in the vision. Luther’s pride. Katharina’s ambition. These were not small matters—they were fractures discipline found first.
Heaven Has Levels, Not Lines
This vision confronts a comforting assumption many believers carry—that eternity is flat and equal once you “get in.”
Scripture and experience say otherwise.
You cross the finish line by faith.
But where you stand after crossing depends on who held the reins along the way.
Was it Jesus Christ—gentle, humble, submitted to the Father?
Or was it gifting, ambition, control, reputation, wife, spouse, child, or self?
The fire does not burn away salvation.
But it does burn excuses.
The Question That Remains
This is not about fear.
It is about finishing well.
Not merely doing God’s work—but doing it God’s way.
Not just obeying publicly—but loving rightly, submitting fully, and surrendering privately.
The gates may open either way.
But the invitation higher is reserved for those who let Jesus govern every room of their lives.