LIFE IN HEAVEN – PART THREE
Saturday – May 12, 2018, Iyar 27, 5778
Greetings and welcome back to this wonderful, powerful, and faith building study of “Life in Heaven”. In the teaching for the last two Saturdays I have been talking about the spiritual and the physical realms or realities. I have been building a foundation for understanding not just of this study in all eight of its facets but in our study of Scripture as a whole. Heaven and all of the Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven) is a spiritual realm and the whole of this creation is in the physical realm. We in the physical realm only have access to the spiritual realm by faith, a gift of the Spirit (exercised by faith), or by a dispensation of God (like a vision). This does not appear to be so for Adam who before sin could see and experience the spiritual realm as well as the physical realm. We should not think about the spiritual realm any differently than we do the physical in terms of tangibility. When you and I go to Heaven the surface will be as solid as the one you are on now, the trees will be as solid, the mountains will be real, however everything will be in a state of perfection.
I want to review a basic truth that will always be of benefit as we look at our lives and all of Scripture. All things spiritual or physical originate with a thought followed by spoken words and the appropriate action. All things physical originate first in the spiritual realm whether they be good or bad. When we have faith motivated by love in the Word of God (God Himself) and we doubt not, and we say believing we have received the thing we shall have the thing. This moves things, the promises of God, out of the spiritual realm into this physical realm. Conversely if we have faith in the lies of the devil we can move poverty and sickness into this physical realm as well. Before we depart from this general topic let me point out that in our physical brain thoughts or memories have substance and occupy space. Depending upon what those thoughts or memories might be determines the course of our physical bodies and our spiritual. Since this physical realm is a mirror image representation of the spiritual we can know that the thoughts of our mind also have substance and occupy space. Likewise, our words which are spiritual have substance and occupy space. A corrupted mind is always associated with corrupt (not God’s ideas and words) sets the course of our lives and not in a good direction.
Okay, let’s start to focus better on the eternity before Genesis 1:1. We know from the Bible that God is a Spirit and He lives in a spiritual realm called the Kingdom of God (Heaven). Only in the Book of Matthew is the term “kingdom of Heaven” used, the remainder of the Scripture uses the term “Kingdom of God”. Jesus told us the Kingdom of God was within us and Paul further expounds on this telling us that the Kingdom of God is righteous, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we know that the Kingdom of God is administered and has manifestation by the Holy Spirit. Out of righteousness, peace, and joy arise an infinite list of possibilities. As a little side trip let me point out something about this that I think you will find interesting, illuminating, and faith building.
Galatians 5:21-23 (KJV)
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Notice the nine fruits of the spirit (our spirit and the Spirit of God) are within us, they are part and parcel of our spirit man. When we are born again these are energized, brought to life by the Holy Spirit who indwells us. At salvation we are in the Holy Spirit in the same way as we are in Christ Jesus, and in the Father. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy. Notice that peace and joy are fruits of the spirit. I would suggest that the other seven (spiritual perfection) which are love, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance constitute righteousness.
As advertised let’s get back to eternity past, which is the time before Genesis 1:1. I suspect that in eternity past there was a physical and a spiritual realm inhabited by God (Elohim). I say this because everything that we know about God from Holy Scripture involves both the physical and spiritual realms and God changes not. I think it would require us to ignore all of Scripture to conclude that only at this time did God get the idea to create something. I suspect there have been a very wide variety of created things both spiritual and physical. By that I mean that the Heaven where God is seated on His throne and we with Him in Christ Jesus is not the only Heaven He has lived in, just like most of us have lived in a variety of homes. We know for example that at the end of this present age He makes a new Heaven.
Revelation 21:1-2 (KJV)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Apparently, God likes new stuff as well just like us or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we like new things just like our Father. We can let our imaginations run wild with what God may have done in eternity past. What and who may have been present in Heaven in eternity past? We can be certain that God was present and the place almost certainly resembled this earth except in glorious perfection even as now in Heaven. The Angels are created beings and I suspect they were present with God in Heaven and in the physical creation as well. Were they the same angels that we read about in Scripture? Since they are created beings it is reasonable to conclude that the whole population of angels would vary as to age. Perhaps there have been other created creatures in Heaven and or in the physical creation as well. Could it be that the physical creation of Genesis 1:1 was God’s first venture into the creating of physical things or things of a different realm? Could there have been other realms in the past, different than this one and not detectable from this creation and also different from the spiritual realm? Yes, and very likely.
Of one thing we can be certain, although Heaven in eternity past was populated with an abundance of various forms of life in perfection there has never been one like unto man.
1 Corinthians 15:45 (KJV)
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Adam, a man of the spirit in the image and likeness of God, like kind with God, was also a man of the earth. The Apostle Paul tells us by the unction of the Holy Spirit that there has never been an Adam. He makes it clear also that Jesus was the last Adam and there are to be no more Adam’s. You and I brother and sister are not like Adam for we are in Christ Jesus. Adam operated without a safety net as did Jesus. But praise God our safety net is that we are in Christ Jesus and the law of sin and immediate spiritual death does not apply to us as it did Adam. Shout for joy reading the following Truth.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
You and I brother and sister are a new creature, a new creation in Christ. No one like Adam ever existed before and no one like Adam will ever exist in the future. No one has ever existed like us and no one will ever be like us in the future. Perhaps there were sentient creatures in eternity past but there were none like us and neither will there be in eternity future. These living spiritual things and physical things may have come and gone for a variety of reasons or perhaps there are even now existent in another realm. Let us ponder these things until next Saturday.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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