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The Judaic-Christian Heaven
A few years ago I had the privilege of a visit from some long-time
friends from Japan. We have a lot of common values but one very large
difference: They are Buddhists. Perhaps not avid Buddhists, but Buddhists
nevertheless.
During their visit they often spoke of relatives whom I had known but
which have since died. Whenever they spoke of these relatives they
inevitably referred to them as being in heaven. And each time that
reference was made, I thought, "They aren’t really in heaven. They are
awaiting their resurrection as described in Revelation 20."
(Rev 20:5 NKJV) But the rest of the dead did not live again until the
thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Today, I want to discuss the subject of Heaven, who has gone there, who
has not, and what the Bible has to say about Heaven.
Who has gone to heaven? Surely such favored Saints as King David and
Moses are there, aren’t they? Let’s look at the words of Christ to find
the answer.
(John 3:13-15 NKJV) "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came
down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. {14}
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, {15} "that whoever believes [i.e. has faith] in
Him should not perish but have eternal life.
No, in the words of Christ, no one, not even King David or Moses has
ever ascended to heaven.
Some claim that Enoch never died so he must be in heaven. Let’s read of
it in Heb 11.
(Heb 11:5 NKJV) By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see
death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before
he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Verse 13 These all [referring to Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham
and Sarah] died in faith, not having received the promises, but
having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Verse 13 makes it clear that even Enoch died. However, as we see in
verse 5, God took him away before he died.
In Acts 2, Paul agreed with Christ and went on to explain that only
Christ has ascended to heaven.
(Acts 2:29-35 NKJV) "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of
the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is
with us to this day. {30} "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that
God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body,
according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his
throne, {31} "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of
the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades [G86, the grave or realm
of the dead], nor did His flesh see corruption [decay]. {32} "This Jesus
God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. {33} "Therefore being
exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and
hear. {34} "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says
himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, {35} Till I
make Your enemies Your footstool."'
In verses 34-35, Paul is quoting Psalms 110. Let’s turn to it.
(Psa 110:1 NKJV) The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
The word LORD is referring to God the Father (Yahweh). The other word
Lord is referring to Jesus, Yeshua in Hebrew. What could be plainer? Only
Jesus Christ, Yeshua ha Mashiach in Hebrew, has ascended to heaven.
Stephen, addressing the Sanhedrin, makes the same claim in Acts 7.
(Acts 7:55-56 NKJV) But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into
heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of
God, {56} and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man
standing at the right hand of God!"
His observation and testimonial was rewarded with death.
Righteous Job knew that he would not be taken to heaven at his death.
He knew he must wait for his resurrection which would follow the
tribulations of Rev 6 and 7 and God’s call to him in the grave.
(Job 14:12-15 NKJV) So man lies down and does not rise. Till the
heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.
{13} "Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me
until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and
remember me! {14} If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my
hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. {15} You shall call, and
I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.
Peter also realized that we will not be immediately resurrected.
However, our memory will be reserved in heaven until our salvation which
will follow in the end days.
(1 Pet 1:3-5 NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, {4}
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade
away, reserved in heaven for you, {5} who are kept by the power
of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the
last time.
No, only Christ has ascended to heaven. Christ will descend from heaven
when He returns, resurrect those who have overcome their sins and been
judged worthy, and make them pillars in His temple which will be on earth.
The Heavenly Jerusalem will descend from heaven and come to earth. [Heb
12:22]
(Rev 3:12 NKJV) "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him
the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New
Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write
on him My new name.
Notice that those worthy to become permanent pillars in the Eternal’s
temple will not only be resurrected but will be given the name of the
Eternal.
Paul describes our resurrection in First Thessalonians.
(1 Th 4:13-17 NKJV) But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren,
concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who
have no hope. {14} For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. {15} For this
we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain
until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are
asleep. {16} For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the
dead in Christ will rise first. {17} Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
This is what is known as the first resurrection.
Now, some would say that if we meet the Lord in the air and we shall
always be with Him, that we obviously will not return to earth with the
Lord. Is that true? How do we know? Let’s look at a few scriptures which
prove we will be on earth.
(Zec 14:4 NKJV) And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of
Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. . . . .
We see from verse four that Christ will return to earth at the Mount of
Olives, which is on the east side of Jerusalem. In fact so many Jews have
been aware of this scripture that the Mount of Olives is crowded with the
Jewish graves of those who want to be the first to be resurrected and
greet the Messiah.
What will be one of the first duties the returned Christ will perform?
(Mat 25:31-32 NKJV) "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all
the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
{32} "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
He must be on earth to be able to sit on his throne and judge all the
nations gathered before Him. He obviously won’t be in heaven.
(Rev 2:26-27 NKJV) "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until
the end, to him I will give power over the nations; {27} 'He shall rule
them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the
potter's vessels'; as I also have received from My Father;
Those who have overcome their sins and have kept Christ’s works until
the end will be given power over the nations.
(Rev 5:10 NKJV) And have made us kings and priests to our God; And
we shall reign on the earth."
They shall be kings and priests. To have power over the nations, they
will have to reside on earth, not in heaven.
(Zec 14:8-9 NKJV) And in that day it shall be That living waters
shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half
of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall
occur. {9} And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that
day it shall be; "The LORD is one," And His name one.
Many interpret the living waters to the outspreading of the holy spirit
to all the world which will then have only one god, the Creator God.
(Isa 2:2 NKJV) Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the
mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the
mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall
flow to it.
The word "mountain" is often interpreted as "government." Let’s
continue reading at verse 3 .
(Isa 2:3-5 NKJV) Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go
up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He
will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion
shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. {4} He
shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat
their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn
war anymore. {5} O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of
the LORD.
Who is the house of Jacob? It is not just the Jews, sons of Judah. It
includes all the children of Jacob, especially the sons of Joseph. Again,
the word of the Lord will go forth from Jerusalem, not from heaven, though
our Holy Father in heaven will direct our Lord in Jerusalem. How do we
know the sons of Joseph will be principal participants in walking in the
light of the LORD?
I want to answer that question by reading the 37th chapter of Ezekiel
which is the story of the resurrection of the Israeli dead; not
just the Jews from the tribe of Judah, but the whole house of Jacob (i.e.
Israel). As I read this chapter, ask yourself, "Could this be accomplished
in heaven?"
(Ezek 37 NKJV) The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out
in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley;
and it was full of bones. {2} Then He caused me to pass by them all
around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed
they were very dry. {3} And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones
live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." {4} Again He said to me,
"Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word
of the LORD! {5} 'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will
cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. {6} "I will put
sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put
breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the
LORD."' " {7} So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied,
there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together,
bone to bone. {8} Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came
upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in
them. {9} Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of
man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four
winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."' "
{10} So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and
they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. {11}
Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we
ourselves are cut off!' [Cut off from Christ] {12} "Therefore prophesy
and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will
open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring
you into the land of Israel. {13} "Then you shall know that I am the
LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up
from your graves. {14} "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live,
and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that
I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.'" {15}
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, {16} "As for you, son of
man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the
children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write
on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of
Israel, his companions.' {17} "Then join them one to another for
yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. {18}
"And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, 'Will you
not show us what you mean by these?'; {19} "say to them, 'Thus says the
Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand
of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join
them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they
will be one in My hand."' {20} "And the sticks on which you write will
be in your hand before their eyes. {21} "Then say to them, 'Thus says
the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the
nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side
and bring them into their own land; {22} "and I will make them one
nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be
king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they
ever be divided into two kingdoms again. {23} "They shall not defile
themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things,
nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all
their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them.
Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. {24} "David My
servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd;
they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do
them. {25} "Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob
My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they,
their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant
David shall be their prince forever. {26} "Moreover I will make a
covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant
with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My
sanctuary in their midst forevermore. {27} "My tabernacle also shall be
with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. {28}
"The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My
sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."' "
No mention of going to heaven, is there? Only a return of resurrected
Israelites to Israel. Verse 16 refers to Judah, Joseph, and Ephraim. Who
and where are these tribes in these latter days? Considerable research is
currently being conducted to determine their whereabouts (see http://www.Britam.org).
Many agree with these researchers that Judah is modern day Israel, and
that descendants of Joseph migrated first to Britain and then to North
America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
We mentioned that pagan religions have their own theories about heaven.
What do these pagan religions call heaven? If you research the word
"heaven", you will find many pagan theories. The better known among them
include the following names for heaven:
Elysium is the heaven of Greek mythology.
Valhalla was the heaven of the Germanic peoples who lived between the
Caspian Sea on the east to as far west as Iceland prior to the area’s
conversion to Roman Christianity in the 4th century.
Nirvana is the heaven of Buddhism and Hinduism. It is described as a
state of the dead where they experience extinction of all desires.
Islam emphatically describes many forms of heavens (at least eight of
them with various status/classes) with plenty of earthly greed’s and
lusting/erotic pleasures which not many human beings (made of soil) can
refuse to get. Muslims devoutly pray at least five times (some pray even
ten times) a day, visit Mecca and fawns Pirs and Darbishes (Saints) just
to get the ultimate ticket for those lustful happinesses of heavens
But what does the Bible teach about heaven? We should know by now that
heaven is not the reward of the Saints, those whom God has judged and
chosen. Our website contains several sermons which address this matter.
Refer to our sermons The Other Side
of Life and Death's True
Destiny. Let’s now examine the Bible’s references to Heaven so we
can understand what the word implies.
The first use of the word "heaven" is found in the first chapter of
Genesis.
(Gen 1:6-10 NKJV) Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the
midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." {7}
Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the
firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
{8} And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning
were the second day. {9} Then God said, "Let the waters under the
heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land
appear"; and it was so. {10} And God called the dry land Earth, and the
gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was
good.
Verses 6 through 8 describe what was created the second day. Verses 9
and 10 explain how the second day creation applied to the third day of
creation. To understand the meaning, we must define several words:
Firmament: Raqiya, H7439, an expanse, i.e. the firmament or
(apparently) visible arch of the sky. What is this arch of the sky? Many
interpret this as the location of heaven. But is that accurate? From our
vantage, the heavens we see are almost totally composed of stars of the
Milky Way’s main spiral disk. That is more in line with what cosmology
describes as the formation of the stars of the Milky Way’s spiral,
including our own sun and its planets.
Waters: H4325. mayim, mah'-yim; dual of a prim. noun (but used in a
sing. sense); water; fig. juice; by euphemism, urine, semen. The word
"water" obviously includes many types of liquid. We know from verse nine
that what we know as liquid water was separated from dry land in the third
day. Verse 6 tells us that the sky separated the waters from the waters.
What could that mean? It had to mean that the substance described as water
but located in the sky at that time was different from what we know as
water found on the earth. First came the heavens, then came the earth. My
impression is that the heavenly waters were and are the ethereal space
between heavenly bodies.
From Strong’s Dictionary: Heaven: 8064. shamayim, shaw-mah'-yim; dual
of an unused sing. shameh, shaw-meh'; from an unused root meaning to be
lofty; the sky (alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as
well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve):--air, X
astrologer, heaven (-s).
Notice, the word "heaven" is not described as the residence of God.
Now let’s look at some scriptural descriptions of heaven as the
residence of God.
(Deu 26:15 NKJV) 'Look down from Your holy habitation, from
heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given
us, just as You swore to our fathers, "a land flowing with milk and
honey."'
(1 Ki 8:30 NKJV) "And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and
of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven
Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
These Old Testament references use the same reference and description
for the word translated "heaven" as we found in Genesis 1. The reason is
that the Hebrew does not have a word for "universe" and so does not draw a
word distinction between heavenly bodies of the universe and the abode of
God. The term "heaven and earth" is therefore often used instead of
"universe" to satisfy this deficiency. We should keep this in mind as we
continue through this study of Heaven.
(1 Chr 16:31 NKJV) Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be
glad; And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
This verse may imply that the heavenly host as well as the entire
universe will rejoice.
(Job 22:12-14 NKJV) "Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the
highest stars, how lofty they are! {13} And you say, 'What does God
know? Can He judge through the deep darkness? {14} Thick clouds cover
Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.'
Job’s understanding is that God lives in the highest heaven. Judaic
understanding is that there are seven heavens and that God dwells in the
seventh or highest heaven.
(Job 26:7 NKJV) He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.
(Psa 48:1-2 NKJV) Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the
city of our God, In His holy mountain. {2} Beautiful in elevation, The
joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
These verses imply that God’s Heaven is located in the north. It also
reveals that Job had known for a long time that there is nothing
supporting the earth. Is it possible that Job even knew that the earth
orbits the sun, thereby balancing the physical forces supporting it in
space?
(Psa 102:19 NKJV) For He looked down from the height of His
sanctuary; From heaven the LORD viewed the earth,
This verse repeats the understanding that God’s sanctuary is in the
heights of the heavens.
(Eccl 3:21 NKJV) Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which
goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the
earth?
This is a very interesting and informative scripture. We see a major
distinction between animals and mankind. The spirit of mankind goes up to
God, to be kept by Him for judgment, but the spirit of animals simply goes
down into the ground with the rest of the carcass. Again, a reinforcement
of the knowledge that God’s throne is up in the heavens.
Here are four additional verses which mention or describe the existence
and location of heaven:
(Isa 66:1-2 NKJV) Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, And earth
is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is
the place of My rest? {2} For all those things My hand has made, And all
those things exist," Says the LORD. "But on this one will I look: On him
who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.
Let’s try to explain this allegory:
[The heaven is my throne] Here he is represented as having his seat or
throne there. He speaks as a king. Heaven is the place where he holds his
court; from where he dispenses his commands; and from where he surveys all
his works. The idea here is, that as God dwelt in the vast and distant
heavens, no house that could be built on earth could be magnificent enough
to be his abode.
[The earth is my footstool] A footstool is that which is placed under
the feet when we sit. The idea here is, that God was so glorious that even
the earth itself could be regarded only as his footstool. It is probable
that the Savior had this passage in his eye or mind in his declaration in
the sermon on the mount, 'Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is
God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool' (Matt 5:34-35).
[Where is the house that you will build Me?] What house can you build
that will be an appropriate dwelling for him who fills heaven and earth?
The same idea, substantially, was expressed by Solomon when he dedicated
the temple: 'But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven,
and heaven of heavens cannot contain you; how much less this house that I
have built!' (1 Kings 8:27.) Substantially the same thought is found in
the address of Paul at Athens: 'God, that made the world, and all things
therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples
made with hands' (Acts 17:24).
(Mat 6:19-20 NKJV) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; {20}
"but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
That is, have provision made for your eternal felicity. Do not exhaust
your strength and spend your days in providing for the life here, but let
your chief anxiety be to be prepared for eternity. It is to be heirs of
God, and joint-heirs with Christ, to an inheritance incorruptible,
undefiled, and that fades not away, 1 Peter 1:4.
(2 Cor 5:1-4 NKJV) For we know that if our earthly house, this tent,
is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. {2} For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to
be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, {3} if
indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. {4} For we who
are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be
unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by
life.
(Rev 12:7-10 NKJV) And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, {8}
but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any
longer. {9} So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old,
called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to
the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. {10} Then I heard a
loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the
kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the
accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night,
has been cast down.
These verses describe the events when Satan will finally be forcefully
expelled from heaven and placed on the earth. No longer would every sin of
God’s elect be put before the Eternal’s nose.
In conclusion, despite the claims of pagan religions, heaven is not the
place where everyone will go following death. As we have seen, the Bible
does not say exactly where heaven is. It is undoubtedly a spiritual
entity, as opposed to a physical entity which we could probably see. It
seems to be located in the north parts.
What is important is that everyone will die at some time, then wait in
their graves until Christ calls on them to arise. That time will be at
Christ’s coming for the Saints and at the end of the millennium for those
who have never had a chance to learn Christ’s ways of life. The time of
the resurrection for the rest of the Israelites, as described in Ezekiel
37, is not disclosed but inasmuch as David will be their king, my guess is
that it will occur following or during the millennium.
Sermon given by
Wayne Bedwell
December 20,
2008
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