Gods eternal inheritance for men and women is on the earth. No man hath ascended up to heaven (John 3:13). David is not ascended into the heavens (Acts 2:34). Heaven can mean sky (atmosphere), or outer-space. For example, the expression birds of the heavens appears frequently, and clearly refers to the sky or atmosphere, not spiritual heaven, he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat (1st Kings 14.11) Also, heaven is spoken of as the domain of the sun, moon, and stars, And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven (Deuteronomy 4.19) Even though the bible generally identifies all three distinct locations (sky, outer-space, and Gods dwelling) as heaven, it does not teach that they are all the same thing. Instead, it testifies to the existence of different types of heavens, Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORDs thy God (Deuteronomy 10.14), But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee (2nd Chronicles 6.18), He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things (Ephesians 4.10) Heavens and Earth The major elements of the creation were the heaven and the earth. These are used by Isaiah symbolically to illustrate the message of his prophecy. Isaiah spoke to the Heavens and the Earth of his day, but he did not leave us to guess who he really was talking to. In verse 10 of Isaiah 1, he addressed them a second time. This time he called them the Rulers and the People. Heaven = Rulers Earth = the People The interpretation leaves no doubt. The word Heaven refers to the rulers or the government, and Earth is the symbolic term for those who were the subjects of the kingdom, the common people. The symbols are logical when the counterparts are considered. The natural Heavens are the dwelling place for God, who rules over all the kingdom of men. ( See Daniel 4:17) The natural earth is far below the Heavens. It is totally dependent on the elements of Heaven. Paradise Paul used the word paradise to refer to his third heaven. We will find with examination that this word is consistent with the revealed purpose of God concerning the coming heavens ( Kingdom). The word paradise means a future place of happiness It is closely linked with the word EDEN. We know that Eden was the garden of the Lord. It was a paradise on earth, where everything was very good.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 20:46:48 +0000
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