Heaven – an overview August 8, 2015
What is Heaven? What does the Scriptures say.
There
are three specific places mention as Heaven.
1.
“First Heaven” – sky, clouds, our immediate atmosphere
2.
“Second Heaven” – stars, galaxies, is outer space as far as it stretches
3.
“Third Heaven” - is the place
where God himself dwells
Let’s
look at
The First Heaven – sky,
clouds, our immediate atmosphere
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the
earth, and all the host of them, were finished.
Genesis 1:8-9 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.
Heaven: Hebrew is shaw-mah'-yim, shaw-meh', means to be lofty; the sky
(as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the
clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies
revolve): - air, heaven (-s).
2 Kings 2:1 And it came to pass, when
the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah
went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 Kings 2:11 Then it happened, as they
continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with
horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a
whirlwind into heaven.
Remember,
we covered before Elijah wrote a letter.
Second Heaven” – stars, galaxies, is
outer space as far as it stretches
The
second heaven is the starry heavens, where our atmosphere ends. It is the
heavens in which the sun, moon, and stars are fixed in orbit. The stars are
seemingly endless and the distance between all of them is staggering
Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the
glory of God; And the firmament shows
His handiwork.
Psalms 19:6 Its rising is from
one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing
hidden from its heat.
Isaiah 40:22 It is He who sits
above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them
out like a tent to dwell in.
Jeremiah 8:2 They shall spread them
before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved
and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have
sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried;
they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth.
Third Heaven -
is the place where God himself dwells.
The heaven of heavens
Deuteronomy 10:14 Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also
the earth with all that is in it.
1 Kings 8:27 NKJV
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot
contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
Psalms 115:16 NKJV
The heaven, even the
heavens, are the LORD's; But the earth He has given to the children
of men.
Psalms 148:4 NKJV
Praise Him, you heavens of
heavens, And you waters above the heavens!
Referring
to the idea that there is one heaven rising above another
Now
we come to a place where most could agree on so far. From this point on, it depends on your
hermeneutics, what you believe. If you
believe you will go to heaven when you die, heaven will be totally different
from someone who does not. If we take
the Word Seriously then we would not have a problem with the visions that individuals in the Scriptures had.
Let’s
just see what the Scriptures tells us, remember, it is just a glimpse of what
Heaven is like.
Where is Heaven located? The Scriptures does not really tells where
Heaven is located, but is kind of gives us a hint.
Isaiah
14:12-13
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How
you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! (13)
For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
Is
this a hint, I really do not know.
Preachers in the past said yes and they told us that there are fewer
stars in the north because of the great star wars battle between Lucifer/Satan
and Michael, who
serves as the Warrior for God.
We know Jesus passed through the heavens gives evidence
there is more than one heaven.
Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a
great High Priest who has passed through
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Why do we call it the third
heaven?
The
Apostle Paul tells us he had a vision and revelations from the Lord:
2 Corinthians 12:1-4 NKJV It is
doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: (2) I know a man in Christ who fourteen years
ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not
know, God knows—such a one was caught up
to the third heaven. (3) And I
know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God
knows— (4)
how he was caught up into
Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to
utter.
If
Paul said, 3rd Heaven, then there must be two more.
· Visions and revelations
· Caught up to the third
heaven.
· Caught up into Paradise
Let’s look at The Throne
Room of the Universe
Who is in Heaven and the place
where God resides.
We
know the Father and Jesus our Lord are in Heaven.
Hebrews 8:1 Now this is the
main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of
the Majesty in the heavens,
Jesus
is seated on a throne at the right hand of the Father. Both have thrones.
Stephen
saw a vision right before he was killed.
Acts 7:55-56 But he (Stephen), 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!"
The Throne room of God
Revelation
4:2
Immediately I was in the Spirit; and
behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
Revelation
4:3 And He
who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there
was a rainbow around the throne,
in appearance like an emerald.
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a
throne, high and lifted up, and the
train of His robe filled the temple.
From the seven Spirits who
are before His throne
John
was in Spirit, a vision of the Throne Room.
Angels and 7 Spirits of God,
The seven
Spirits of God are mentioned four times in the Book of Revelation,
Revelation
1:4 John,
to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is
and who was and who is to come, and from the
seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Revelation
3:1
"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who
has the seven Spirits of God and the
seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are
alive, but you are dead.
Revelation
4:5 And
from the throne proceeded lightnings,
thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Revelation
5:6 And I
looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are
the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Does the book of Isaiah name each Spirit.
Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD
shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of
counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
Zechariah 4:2 And he said to me, "What do you
see?" So I said, "I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on
top of it, and on the stand seven
lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.
Zechariah
4:10 For
who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of
Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD,
Which scan to and fro throughout the
whole earth."
Seven
Horns--Prophecy, horns represent spiritual authority (power). Jesus has been
given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Again, the
number seven indicates complete authority
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them,
saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
In
the Old Testament in the tabernacle of God, the Lord told Moses to make things
that were a "copy and shadow of the heavenly things"
Hebrews 8:5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things,
as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For
He said, "SEE THAT YOU MAKE ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN SHOWN YOU
ON THE MOUNTAIN."
Hebrews 9:23 Therefore it was
necessary that the copies of the things
in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things
themselves with better sacrifices than these.
One
of those things Moses was instructed to make was a lampstand with seven lamps
(Exodus 25:31-37; 37:17-23).
Moses
made the instructed man-made copy (shadow). John saw the heavenly reality.
Sea of Glass, 4 living
creatures
Revelation
4:6 Before
the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around
the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in
back.
Revelation
4:7 The
first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a
calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living
creature was like a flying eagle.
These
creatures were on the 4 banners that Israel had when they travel and rested in
the wilderness. Three tribes per banner.
Revelation
4:8 The
four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and
within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord
God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"
Revelation
4:9-11
Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits
on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
(10) the twenty-four elders fall
down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and
ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: (11)
"You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For
You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."
Strong or powerful Angel
Revelation
5:2 Then I
saw a strong angel proclaiming with
a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its
seals?"
Powerful
Angel: Gabriel (who speaks for God) or
Michael (the Warrior)
Revelation
5:6 And I
looked, and behold, in the midst of the
throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Little
more information, 7 Spirits sent out into all the earth.
24 Elders on 24 thrones
Revelation
4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones
I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
Revelation
5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four
living creatures and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb, each
having a harp, and golden bowls full
of incense, which are the prayers of
the saints.
Revelation
5:9-10 And
they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to
open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and
people and nation, (10) And have made
us kings and priests to our God; And we
shall reign on the earth."
Revelation
5:11-12
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of
many angels around the throne, the living
creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, (12)
saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To
receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and
blessing!"
4 living creatures
Revelation
5:14 Then
the four living creatures said,
"Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who
lives forever and ever.
All
angels, and also elders, 4 living creatures
Revelation
7:11-12 All the angels stood around the throne
and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on
their faces before the throne and worshiped God, (12) saying: "Amen!
Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be
to our God forever and ever. Amen."
Zechariah 6:5 And the angel answered and
said to me, "These are four
spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth.
Revelation
11:19 Then
the temple of God was opened in heaven,
and the ark of His covenant was seen
in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake,
and great hail.
Revelation
21:22 But
I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Exciting to think about Heaven is also the Temple
of God.
What
we have just covered, are hints what we would find at the Throne of God, in Heaven
– an overview.
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