LIFE IN HEAVEN – PART FORTY

LIFE IN HEAVEN – PART FORTY

Sunday – January 27, 2019, Sh’vat 21, 5779

TIME FRAME SIX

THE CATCHING AWAY TO THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

Greetings precious saints of God and welcome back to this fascinating study of life in Heaven.  As I have commented many times before in this series, many of the things I may write are not directly connected to a Book, chapter, and verse in the Bible.  But, I make every attempt to keep it within what we know about these things (Life in Heaven) from Scripture.  Don’t let anything here get you in a twist, if you find that happening just step away, and talk to the Lord about it.  We actually know a lot more about Heaven than we realize.  The reason is that Heaven and earth were one continuum in the beginning which was immediately severed, separated, when sin entered the earth through and in mankind.  At that moment the tree of the knowledge of good and evil remained in the earth and the tree of life was pulled into Heaven.  Some four thousand years later another Tree of Life named Jesus entered the earth, paid the price of sin, restored all things including eternal life, first for our spirit (soul and spirit) and soon for our bodies.  As you will recall the Lord has led me to divide this study into eight time-frames and we are now dealing with the sixth time-frame which is the time from the Rapture or Catching Away to the Second Coming (when Christ returns to earth).

1. Eternity before Genesis 1:1
2. Genesis 1:1 to 1:2 (may have been billions of years)
3. Genesis 1:3 to Genesis 3:6 the Day of Sin and Death
4. Genesis 3:6 to Jesus putting His Blood on the Mercy Seat
5. Resurrection to the Rapture
6. Rapture or Catching Away to the Second Coming
7. One Thousand Year Reign
8. Eternity Future

A few things have come to mind since last time I wrote on this series.  First, it strikes me that the general concept of Heaven in the Church and perhaps outside of the Church is that Heaven is some sort of eternal retirement plan.  Nothing could be further from the Truth!  I apologize that I have to be the one to bring it up.  If you have been following this series up to this point hopefully it has dawned on us all that there is no retirement in the Kingdom of God.  Remember, God does not change, from the beginning He assigned and empowered us to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue the earth, care for our garden, protect our garden, and not partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Do we think that this is just suddenly changed and we are on to a whole different agenda?  I seriously doubt it, I find no evidence for a wholesale change in Scripture but we are more likely to experience perfection and enhancement of our assignments and empowerment.

A second issue is that of individual assignments which I covered to some extent recently when talking about the Seven Pillars of society (both here and in Heaven) or called the seven spheres of influence by some.  A long-time and wonderful friend of mine wrote and asked what I thought the assignment in Heaven might be of a person like Billy Graham.  This got me thinking about people in my own family and what might their assignments be in Heaven.  Even myself, what might I be doing, assigned of God to do, for the Kingdom when I leave this earth.  As I thought on his question it occurred to me that it is likely much like here, when we arrive in a new place.  You hear me speak of this over and over, that what is going on in the earth although severely corrupted and perverted still forms a recognizable outline of what we will see in pure form in Heaven.

I want to inject a little note of clarification here with regard to my use of the word Heaven and what I am speaking about.  Please look at context when I speak of Heaven.  I may be speaking of the place, the abode of God, called Heaven which is at any given time a defined spiritual space with physical elements (whole persons since the Resurrection of Christ and perhaps the Ark of the Covenant).  At other times, as above, I am speaking more broadly of the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God includes the defined spiritual and physical space and elements of the abode of God and all other created spaces controlled by the peoples of the Kingdom (you and me).

Now back to the assignment’s questions.  What is the usual process when we go to a new place or new employment?  First there is a time of orientation which includes the rules and regulations and where things are located.  At the same time as our assignment (job) is being presented we are also receiving the necessary instruction and training to do the job.  All of us from conception are endowed by God with certain talents and gifts.  At salvation these natural talents and gifts are enhanced, ten times better than the heathen.  With the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues we come to all new heights.  Whatever God can do we will be able to do for we are one with Him.  Put the exploding head back and put the fire extinguisher down.  We will still operate in authority (dominion) and the Power of God will flow only according to the will of God.  The gifts of the Spirit we receive with the Baptism of Holy Spirit are forever but clear and amplified free of our corrupted natural bodies.  In addition, God has a wonderful plan in place for our lives of supernatural abundance, both now and then.  This plan is a plan for eternity not just the vapor of time we spend in the earth.  It just occurred to me that heads are exploding.  Put them back together we are almost to the end for today.

So, what about Billy Graham?  It would seem that his office was that of Evangelist and he was gifted, Anointed, to proclaim the gospel.  That will not change in Heaven, at least not in the short run.  Remember there are new arrivals in Heaven all the time, they do not need to be saved, but many do need to learn the gospel.  He, Billy Graham, would likely be teaching the most immature of new arrivals and be in class himself to learn the more advanced things with teachers perhaps like Elisha, the Apostle Paul, even Jesus, and so on.  I will pick up right here next Sunday the Lord willing.

Until our next publication, confess the following passage and walk before Whom we have to do with great rejoicing and thanksgiving.  This physical body is our humiliation but soon it will be no more for the glory of God and our eternal benefit.

John 14:1-4 (KJV)
¹ Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
² In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
⁴ And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice

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