Straight outa here:
"NT-3. Heaven.
The average Christian expects to go to heaven at death. This popular view expresses much truth,
(Where is the verse
that says that?
IT DOESNT EXIST
After death
=
In presence of the lord
Asleep in the lord
Abrahams Bosom
Paradise
Just like the thief on the cross.
100% down with all of that.
But not heaven
not yet
that's later
(Acts 3:21)
Like Brother Joe said:
"Don't take my word for it,
search the scripture
for yourself.")
"but it is not intended
or taught
in the Bible's use of
"heaven"
(ouranos)."
WOW.
Thats a mouthful.
And dont even get me started on:
"The average Christian",
especially in this country.
Being a
"popular view"
(even in the 80's or 90's when the book that
this is taken from was published)
doesn't mean
it is correct
or that it is
what the bible says:
"but it is not intended
or taught
in the Bible's use
of "heaven."
See John 3:13
And no man
hath ascended up to heaven,
but he that came down
from heaven,
even
the Son of man
which is in heaven.
Thats not Christ
he is on earth
when stating those words.
Thats Enoch
Genesis 5:24
Enoch walked faithfully with God;
then he was no more,
because God took him away.
Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was taken
from this life,
so that he did not experience death:
“He could not be found,
because God had taken him away.”
For before he was taken,
he was commended as one
who pleased God.
The basic concept of heaven is rooted in the heavens-and-earth duality of OT thought. In the NT too the heavens and the earth are aspects of material creation. Heaven is the spiritual realm.
It is the abode of God,
where he and his throne are
(e.g., Mt 3:17; 5:16,34,45; 6:1,9; 7:11,21;
10:32,33; 12:50; 16:17; 18:10,14,19; 23:9;
Lk 11:13; Heb 1:3; 8:1,5; 9:24).
And Thats my next point:
Revelation 15:8
and the temple was filled with smoke
from the glory of God and from his power,
and no one could enter
the temple
(The Abode of God.)
until the seven plagues
of the seven angels were ended.
And
Revelation 15:1
The Angels with the Seven Last Plagues
Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and amazing: seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.
And where is that gonna be?
Revelation 21:1-3, 22-23.
The New Heaven and the New Earth
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See,
the home of God
is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself
will be with them
and be their God;
22 I saw no temple in the city,
for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty
and the Lamb.
23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
(The aforementioned:
Restoration of all things.
Everything goes back
to it's original intended sate.
Why is this so hard for people?
You are going to be
in a comfortable pleasant place
just like the thief,
(Paradise)
think a park on a nice warm day
with a cool breeze blowing
under a tree by a stream
with Christ.
At that point?
Why would you care about how long
"The restoration of all things" takes
for you to get to heaven?
Point is you are going there
when the time comes.
I believe John Wesley called it:
"Heavens antechamber".
Close, but just not
quite there yet.)
Back to the piece from the book:)
"The vision of the NT writers
corresponds with the OT when the destiny of the
heavens and the earth are in view."
"One day this creation will be swept away, and there will be new heavens and a new earth (2 Pe 3:10,12; Rev 21:1; cf. Mt 24:35; Lk 21:33). But when the NT writers speak of "heaven" in the spiritual sense, there is a definite sharpening of focus."
"In the NT, heaven is that supernatural realm in which God dwells and over which he exercises direct control. Both Testaments view God as sovereign and as "Lord of heaven and earth" (Mt 11:25).
But it is in heaven
where his will is done perfectly,
that is, without sin
(Mt 6:10).
(He can not have around even a pinhead of it in his presence.
It has to be completely destroyed, eradicated and removed.
That is what we are watching the start of
with the current events in the middle east,
Iran US, Israel etc.
You should be filled with joy
seeing Gods promises come true
in your lifetime.)
"On earth his control is indirect,
and the wills of lost men
and demons vigorously oppose him."
(Again, why is that such a difficult concept
for us to wrap our heads around?
You honestly think you
or your people or your prayers
can change that?
Snowballs just don't roll uphill
on their own.
Thinking you can change any of that
is simply fighting against God.)
"In heaven,
every will is joyfully subject
to God's own will.
"In Jesus, heaven established a bridge-head on earth. Throughout history the supernatural
has at times directly altered affairs on earth,
(I got so many weird lil things that have happened in history
be they: Alexander the Great, The Battle of Midway,
the Battle of Stalingrad etc. it's just uncanny.
"Almighty God."
It means all ruler.
Bends the course of history to his will.
As in you aint got a chance against him.
No reference to that term in antiquity
till it shows up in the sacred text of the Hebrews.
Might wanna think about that for a second.
Or not, your choice.)
as evidenced in the manna that "came down from heaven" (Jn 6:42). We see this same breakthrough in Jesus' miracles, each of which was "a sign from heaven" (Mt 16:1). In the Gospels, Jesus speaks often of the "kingdom of heaven," which he represented and established on earth.
(Really?
John 18:36
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”)
"It is best to understand this kingdom
as having present existence
through the church, the body of Christ.
(Okay then fair enough:-)
"Although Jesus himself is physically resident in heaven (Ac 1:11; Col 4:1), he is vitally and truly present in the members of his body here on earth. When we are responsive to his will, we represent the continuing direct breakthrough of the spiritual realm into the material: we represent the kingdom of heaven on earth.
(Kinda gotta know what his will is for you
before you can be responsive to it
don't ya think?)
"While "heaven" in the NT is a timeless, locationless concept representing the breakthrough in Christ of the spiritual realm into the material, "heaven" is more than this.
The spiritual realm
is the location
of our true life
and our hope.
(And again,
IF
you believe it?
Then why are you worried about
the events of the day?
"We maintain our citizenship in heaven (Php 3:20). It is not in the material realm of earth but in the spiritual realm of heaven that our treasures lie (Mt 6:20) It is there we will receive our rewards (Mt 5:12; Lk 6:23); it is there that our names are inscribed (Lk 10:20; Heb 12:23). Our true home is not on earth but in heaven (Gal 4:26; Heb 12:22: Rev 21:2), So we look forward eagerly to that time when Jesus will come again from heaven (Acts 1:11: 1 Th 1:10; 4:16; 2 Th 1:7).
Then and only then
will the material realm
be remolded to be in
perfect harmony with God
will create new heavens
and a new earth."
"Very little in these uses of "heaven" suggest the common notion of the place we go while we await the resurrection or after the resurrection."
(Because it's not!
Luke 23:43
And Jesus said unto him,
Verily I say unto thee,
Today shalt thou be with me
in paradise.
Gotta wait till the
"restoration of all things.")
"But it is clear from the NT that the blessed dead do enter the presence of God, existing with him until the time of the resurrection (2 Co 5:1; 1 Th 4:14). It is also clear that, whatever "heaven" is like, after the final apocalyptic battle between God and the forces of evil, there will be a new creation and the enjoyment of eternal life in God's presence (Rev 21-22). However, by our use of "heaven" in the limited sense in which we use it, we lose much of the rich meaning the NT invests in this term.
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