Doubts? Yes, But We Are On The Winning Side

We must leave Job and his suffering for a moment in order to consider some questions about Satan. He appears early in the book before God with the "sons of God" or the angels. This seems be a place because Satan answers God's question, "From where have you come?" He answers,  “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” So the where is some place other than the earth. Let us call this where heaven for the moment and assume that it is a place to which spirit beings can come and go as they "present themselves before the LORD." This does not suggest that the LORD is confined to some single place, even though the "sons of God" (angels) and Satan are. They cannot occupy more than one place at a time. 

As we read it, Satan (the name means "opponent" or "adversary"), leaves the place called heaven to travel to the place called earth. I have discussed the concept of heaven  and parallel universes in several earlier blogs. Use the search tool to discover ten blogs relating to the word heaven. 

Samples:

 

Reclaiming Our Heritage: The Third Heaven: Dwelling Place Of God

Jul 28, 2015 ... We now follow John as he goes through a door standing open in heaven! But where is that? Surely it is out there, beyond the clouds and the ... - al-franzmeier.blogspot.com

 

Reclaiming Our Heritage: Near Death Experiences Of Heaven

Oct 28, 2015 ... Here are some of the stories these NDE (near-death experience) folks relate, taken from a 2015 book I've been reading (Imagine Heaven by ... - al-franzmeier.blogspot.com

Reclaiming Our Heritage: Heaven and Parallel Universes

Apr 12, 2010 ... As we Christians continue to celebrate the 40 days of Easter we rejoice in the hope we now have of heaven and the resurrection because of ... - al-franzmeier.blogspot.com

   

 Reclaiming Our Heritage: What and Where is Heaven?

Nov 10, 2009 ... In this passage about Christ our High Priest, we hear that he went not into the old temple in Jerusalem, but into heaven itself once and for all. - al-franzmeier.blogspot.com

 

Reclaiming Our Heritage: Some Heavenly Questions

Oct 19, 2015 ... what does John mean when he writes about heaven being opened or someone or something coming down from heaven? - al-franzmeier.blogspot.com

The point of the book of Job is that there is an unseen world from which Satan and the other angels confined to this earth wage a relentless war upon us humans. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: 

• For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. - Eph 6:12 ESV (See my blog about spiritual wrestling)

So where are these heavenly places occupied by the evil angels? At one point I opined that this is "the atmosphere" above the earth to which these angels are confined. Opinions about such questions are many. We must leave them open. Whatever you make of all this, as I wrote in a previous blog, we are assured by God's revealed Word that we have spiritual armies fighting at our side against the darkness, destruction and terror of these days in which we live. Based upon the Scriptures listed, that does not suggest that our faith in God's love and mercy will be untested. We will all face doubts, anxiety, confusion and terror. Those are the weapons of the powers of darkness. But we have many promises assuring us that both in this present time and at the end of this time Satan and his demons are and will be defeated.

Near Death Experiences Of Heaven

In March, 2013, I submitted a post about near-death experiences. That was not the first time I wrote about this phenomenon. There remains much interest in this subject. After all, we all must die and most of us are interested in what happens after death. As we continue to hear the book of Revelation speak about heaven we naturally wonder if that is an adequate picture of what happens after death. Does the Revelation agree with the experience of those who died and returned from death?

Here are some of the stories these NDE (near-death experience) folks relate, taken from a 2015 book I've been reading (Imagine Heaven by John Burke). Burke, a convinced Christian, writes about many who have had NDE's. Typical is the first, Dr. George Ritchie, a psychiatrist:

George Ritche did claim to see much, much more, which we will explore in the following pages: Beauty surpassing earth's favorite vacation destinations, people alive and active in a world not unlike ours, yet so infused with such exhilarating love, purpose, and belonging that it made earth seem merely a shadow of the real Life to come. As the loving Being of Light sent him back after his tour of another dimension, George said, "From that loneliest moment of my existence I had leaped into the most perfect belonging I had ever known. The Light of Jesus had entered my life and filled it completely, and the idea of being separated from Him was more than I could bear." 

Burke goes on to quote from Dr. Raymond Moody's 2001 book: Life after Life:The Investigation of a Phenomenon—Survival of Bodily Death. Moody describes the commonly reported, overlapping elements of near-death stories. 

A man is dying and, as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. . . He suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment, and he sees his own body from a distance, as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from his unusual vantage point and is in a state of an emotional upheaval. After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a "body," but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warm spirit of a kind he has never encountered before—a being of light—appears before him. This being asks him a question, non-verbally, to make him evaluate his life and helps him along by showing him a panoramic, instantaneous playback of the major events of his life. At some point he finds himself approaching some sort of barrier or border, apparently representing the limit between earthly life and the next life. Yet, he finds that he must go back to the earth, that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists . . . and does not want to return. He's overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love, and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives.

How do these stories compare to what we've been reading in The Revelation? Here are some quotes about the saints in heaven in the first eleven chapters. Notice how Jesus, the elders and the great multitude are described, how they are clothed:  

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. - Rev 1:12-18 ESV

The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. - Rev 3:5 ESV 

At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the

Heaven by Christian Graphic Design

throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. - Rev 4:2-3 ESV 

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." - Rev 7:9-12 ESV

Dr. J. Steve Miller (Near-Death Experiences As Evidence For The Existence of God) in 2012 wrote about various aspects of the afterlife:

1. Death isn't the end of life
2. Time is different
3. We will have spiritual bodies, different from and superior to our physical bodies
4. The mind can exist apart from the body
5. We know and understand things much more clearly on the other side
6. There are intermediaries between God and people
7. The other side isn't rosy for everyone
8. Heaven is a place you want to go

His conclusion: 

Unless further research overturns the results of the present research, we have strong evidence to support both life after death and the existence of a personal God. . . But there's more evidence for the supernatural beyond near-death experiences. 

Some Heavenly Questions

Before we move on to the next five of John's 7 scenes of the Last Times there are a couple questions I'd like us to ask about heaven: 

1. Is heaven a real, literal place in the same sense that we speak about say Boston, MA. ? 
2. If it is not, then what does John mean when he writes about heaven being opened or someone or something coming down from heaven? 

Permit me to give you some examples from John's writings. 

And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ... 

And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." - John 1:32, 51 ESV

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. - John 3:13 ESV

And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, - Rev 5:3 ESV

Heavens Above by PuccaNoodles2009

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. ... And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven - Rev 10:1, 5 ESV

Earlier in this blog I explored the possibility that heaven refers to other worlds (cf. Heaven and Parallel Universes):

"We shall have to wait and see whether quantum physics will ever be able to prove conclusively that there are many other worlds. From a Biblical viewpoint we already know that there are. We have learned to call them the heavens. "Behold, to the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it" (Deut. 10:14)."

Again, as we started our study of The Revelation, we recalled that the Bible speaks about Three Heavens.

1. The firmament, our planet's atmosphere, where the eagles fly (Gen 2:19; Lamentations 4:19)
2. Beyond is the starry heavens, with the sun, moon and stars in their orbits. Out there they declare God's glory and show His handiwork (Ps. 19:1)
3. The third heaven is that place to which Paul was caught up, the place beyond, the dwelling-place of God, the heaven of heavens (Deut 10:14; Psalms 115:16; 148:4) 

There is no way to speak of that third heaven other than through the use of symbolical language. . .

In our day scientists are exploring ways to explain the universe, when it began, if it did have a beginning, where we humans came from, assuming that we "evolved" somehow from lower forms of life and on and on. Movies, novels, TV series and blog after blog all ponder these mysteries. So far we've found no other life, regardless of what sci-fi adventurists claim. 

In 2009 I wrote (What and Where Is Heaven?): 

Many of us adults are almost as confused about our hope. Perhaps part of the confusion lies with the fact that whatever heaven holds is outside and beyond our experience. In 1 Corinthians 2:9 the Apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah 64:4 to remind us our eyes have never seen, our ears have never heard and our minds have never conceived what God has prepared for His beloved children.

Then in 2013 I heard a lecture at Texas A&M U. by Dr. Hugh Ross. He was talking about the relationship between the Bible and science on the topic of creation. During his talk he said that Christians have long believed in some kind of a parallel universe. Its called heaven. I liked his comment. It fits in with the very popular discussion in science—and science fiction—about parallel or multiple universes (Praying To Our Father In Parallel Universes). What he failed to say is that this third or parallel heaven is not discoverable or accessible to us by way of our science or our sacrifices. It is God's gift of grace.

So let us continue, aware that we are dealing with deep mysteries, places, times, beings and plans far beyond us. . . There are millions of us who have accepted the wondrous truth that our God has come down to us from heaven in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Mary and Son of God. By God's grace and free gift, we have received from Him the hope of that we shall share eternally in these ever deepening wonders.

The Third Heaven: Dwelling Place Of God

We now follow John as he goes through a door standing open in heaven! But where is that? Surely it is out there, beyond the clouds and the stars above, beyond human experience, outside of this world to that somewhere and everywhere where God dwells with all the great host of heavenly beings. This heaven was opened to Jesus at His baptism and he saw the Spirit of God descending, descending and descending like a dove to rest on him. And he heard a voice from that somewhere that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matt 3:16-17).

Now John is invited into that other place, above and beyond us all. A door stands open and he passes through it. The Apostle Paul had been there. He wrote,

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. - 2 Co 12:2 ESV

He called it the "third" heaven. How many are there? And to which of these did John go?

The Hebrew word for it all is shamayim, a plural word. The Hebrew has several other words that refer to the sky, the firmament and the clouds. John uses a Greek word that refers to the same location, but is not a plural. Rather John speaks about the heaven (ouranos). When Peter received his vision about clean/unclean food a voice from the heaven spoke to him three times, indicating that this was God's voice (Acts 10:9-16). The third heaven is the dwelling-place of God.

From the blog of Pastor Ray K Liu

So there are three heavens:

1. The firmament, our planet's atmosphere, where the eagles fly (Gen 2:19; Lamentations 4:19)
2. Beyond is the starry heavens, with the sun, moon and stars in their orbits. Out there they declare God's glory and show His handiwork (Ps. 19:1)
3. The third heaven is that place to which Paul was caught up, the place beyond, the dwelling-place of God, the heaven of heavens (Deut 10:14; Psalms 115:16; 148:4) 

There is no way to speak of that third heaven other than through the use of symbolical language. Paul knew that as well. He says "he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (2 Co 12:4). John, on the other hand, is given a revelation from that place of wonder and awe to share, using symbols and images familiar to this time, this world so that we may imagine in some small way what it is like there and what is going to happen in this world as we await Christ's return. These will appear all throughout the next chapters. Here's a partial list of the images we will want to study:

• thrones of precious stones like jasper and carnelian
• emerald rainbows
• crowns
• torches of fire
• people wearing white robes
• creatures like lions, oxen, men and eagles
• creatures with wings, full of eyes
• a mighty Lion
• the Lamb
• scroll with seven seals
• horses of various colors
• wars, blood, storms, people dying
• angels, elders, demons

So we move forward with a prayer that the Spirit will speak to our hearts and open our eyes as well.

The Promise Of A Better Country

"They desire a better country." 

These words dominate the references to men of faith in Hebrews 11. Is that not true for all of us? We all desire a better country, a place where a man can grow old without fear, anxiety and conflict. We desire a country where a 10-month baby is not burned to death after her father murders her mother and then commits suicide by setting the house afire and shooting himself as well. We desire a country where teens do not have to resort to drug selling after being convinced there is no chance of ever getting a better job. We desire a better country without racism, poverty, violence in our homes and on the streets. We desire a country where God is worshipped by all, His laws are observed, where justice is practiced, where men are fed, clothed and cared for together. We desire a country where death no longer rules. We desire a country better called heaven!

The whole chapter is filled with people who dreamed of a better country, a true homeland, that is, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16).

• Abraham believed in such a country filled with his innumerable descendants (Gen. 22:1-12)
• Isaac promised such future blessings to his sons Jacob and Esau (Gen. 27:27-40)
• Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph (Gen. 48:5-22)
• Joseph believed that his people would return to the land of promise and gave directions concerning his bones (Gen. 50:24-25)
• Moses' parents hid him for three months and were not afraid of the king's edict (Exod. 2:1-2)
• Moses in his maturity refused to be called the royal son of Pharaoh's daughter (Exod. 2:10-15)
• Moses and his people kept the Passover, sprinkling blood on the lintels of their doors so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them (Exod 12:3-30)
• The Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, believing that the LORD led them (Exod. 14:13-15:21)
• After wandering for 40 years in the Sinai wilderness they crossed the Jordan and, after marching around Jericho for 40 days, the walls fell down (Joshua 6:3-20)
• Rahab the prostitute did not perish with Jericho because she protected the Israeli spies (Joshua 2:1-22; 6:23-25)

And so it goes, with one reference after another to the acts of faith recorded in Holy Scriptures and referred to in this wondrous chapter. There are more examples, but as the writer says, 

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophet—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-- of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. - Hebrews 11:32-38 ESV

All of these people walked in faith, desiring and believing in a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Many have sought unsuccessfully to create such a country by human means. We have had one political or popular leader after another. Name them: dictators, heroes, kings, prophets, senators, revolutionaries—on and on. And what do we have for all the promises, wars and bloodshed? Essentially the same old, tired, warring, bitter, dying world we have always had.

Even the men and women of faith did not receive the better country, but they believed in it nevertheless, believed in the promises of God. And then one day a star began to shine and some very wise men followed it and knelt down before a small child, believing that finally the better country would soon be found.

Faith Alone Is What Pleases God

We looked at Cain and Abel last time. We now pick up a mysterious person about whom we know very, very little. His name is Enoch. His name means dedicated one. Indeed he was. Jude tells us that he was the seventh from Adam and proclaimed the Lord's coming to judge unbelievers.

It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, —Jude 1:14 ESV

Jude does not record his source of this information. Jewish commentators have much to say about this righteous man who was supposed to have gathered a large congregation of disciples. Some even called him their king. Under his wisdom, peace was said to have reigned on earth. But all this appears to be speculation. As far as Scriptures are concerned we only know what Hebrews says.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.—Hebrews 11:5-6 ESV

The sentence about pleasing God is critical, for so many of us want to please God without faith, particularly without the kind of personal trust in Him and His promises. Such faith is a gift, completely unearned. It is a gift of God's Holy Spirit given, sustained and strengthened by God's Word, as the Apostle Paul teaches.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

And again,

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. - 1Cor 1:18-24 ESV 

If you, my reader, have a friend or family member for whom you are praying, please remember this important fact. You cannot give him or her faith. You cannot convince him to seek Christ by shouting at him about the terrors of hell. You cannot argue that Christ is real and thus bring about faith. Faith is God's gift given through God's Word. Your task then is to invite and encourage him or her to read and study God's Word. And then pray and wait. God's Spirit will do the good work.

In turn, do you tell yourself that you have no need to hear, meditate upon and ponder God's Word? Beware, for this is a grave temptation of the devil. He would love to choke out the Word with the worries and temptations of this world. Remember that your heart is ever too willing to cooperate with that dark angel. Listen to the Apostle Peter and get back into the Word.

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. - 1Pet 2:1-5 ESV

Long, long ago Enoch gave himself to that Word. His life was filled with the peace that comes from trusting in that Word. In His unlimited wisdom the LORD took Enoch with Him to heaven. We have not that immediate promise. We each have our earthly journey to complete. However, we are assured that when we put our faith in the LORD's mercy and forgiveness revealed in Christ we will indeed join Enoch and all the saints in the glory of that world to come.

The Name Above Every Name

Sometimes I definitely feel that the writings of the Apostle Paul need to be de-coded in order to be understood. And I often feel that I have not quite cracked the code. So it is when I read the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesians where he writes about the mysterious Name of God to which I referred in my previous post, the Name above every name . Listen to what he says.

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. - Eph 1:16-23 ESV

Of Christ, he writes,

He is seated at the Father's right hand in the heavenly places,  far above . . . every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come (Eph. 1:21; Phil. 2:9). 

What does it possibly mean to you and to me that Christ is now seated at the Father's right hand in the heavenly places? And that He is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named? In what way is that Good News? Are we talking about some place to which Christ was raised and seated? What is the secret code here? About what do we need enlightenment? Permit a little rambling.

In the USA there is currently a huge controversy among citizens and politicians about the National Security Administration's (NSA) surveillance practices. How much information about any or all of us is being collected from the electronic media we all use—including the one on which this is being written? And now much should the government know about us, where we live, what we say, where we go, who our friends are and even what our thoughts and opinions may be? Such knowledge is power and such power may easily be misused or corrupted.

We have all had marketers and various other devious people use the media, seeking (phishing) to obtain information about us, like our bank account numbers, social security numbers and phone numbers, together with any other information about where we live, what we eat, who our friends are and where we have been. This is used to target us with an endless array of ads aimed at getting us to buy this or that product or reveal where we keep our assets and how they may get them from us.

All this information is wrapped up and hidden in my name! That's a ton of information and with that a lot of power. If you have it in your hands you can do whatever you want with me. And many try to do just that, especially if they are able to steal my identity—and all the information wrapped up in my name. With that information you could utterly destroy me and my family.

Now imagine that you have access to every name that is named, both now and yet to be. Imagine that you know all about that information and the people represented by those names. Imagine that you have some super, unlimited, all-powerful computer that easily and immediately provides you with all that information and all those names, enabling you to do whatever and whenever you want. Now multiply that power by a trillion and you have a tiny glimpse of what it means that Jesus is at the Father's right hand in the heavenly places.

And now consider that Jesus is your Big Brother, with full access to the Father by whom all these hings have come into being and for whom all things exist in this age or in that to come. As a reborn member of the family of Jesus, a child of God, a fellow heir with Christ, you are invited to come to the Father unafraid. You are permitted to call this Great Father "Abba! Father!" (Rom. 8:15-17). Ask whatever you will in Jesus' Name, and be assured that He listens carefully and with love to your petitions.

So we are taught to pray, "Father in the heavens, hallowed be Your Name." And with that in our hearts and minds we are confident that He both hears us and is able and ready to answer our prayers and fulfill our every need in the best possible manner. Let His Name indeed be held holy by all of us.

Praying To Our Father In Parallel Universes

A couple years ago I heard a lecture at Texas A&M U. by Dr. Hugh Ross. He was talking about the relationship between the Bible and science on the topic of creation. During his talk he said that Christians have long believed in some kind of a parallel universe. Its called heaven. I like his comment. It fits in with the very popular discussion in science—and science fiction—about parallel or multiple universes. I've touched on the topic frequently in earlier blogs:

• Heaven and parallel universes
• What and where is heaven?
• Where shall we live? 
• After death, paradise
• Glory to God in the highest (angels from heaven)

In the Matthew version of the prayer our Lord taught us, we read:

Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. - Mat 6:9 ESV

Why does our Lord wants us to pray to our Father in heaven. Does heaven also include the possibility of multi-verses or multiple universes? That question is not addressed directly in God's self-revelation other than in a mysterious manner like this:

Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. - Deu 10:14 ESV

"You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. - Neh 9:6 ESV

The Lord's prayer in the original actually says "our Father who is in the heavens (plural). The point made is that our Father is in it all, whether there is one or an infinite number of heavens. And yet He is beyond and outside it all, as Solomon acknowledged when he built his majestic temple.

But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? - 2Ch 2:6 ESV

Scientific studies during the past century have radically broadened our concepts of the universe or universes. So much, so very, very much remains unknown. We have only to read books like The Hidden Reality—Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene to realize how little we know and how vast creation may be.

And yet . . . Jesus teaches us that this great and eternal Father is our Father and we may approach Him as little children approach their Daddy's, their Papas. This is how Jesus prayed during his final hours in the Garden of Gethsemane as he used the familiar Aramaic word for Daddy.

And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." - Mar 14:36 ESV

And because of Jesus' victory over sin and death we too may now pray to our Father in this most personal and familiar manner, as the Apostle teaches,

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" - Rom 8:15 ESV

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" - Gal 4:6 ESV

We may indeed be fascinated by the things physicists are opening up for us. There are some cautions as we place their speculations against God's revelation in Holy Scripture, but the descriptions of what there may be remain humbling and mind boggling. This is one of the reasons I remain an avid fan of some science fiction.

And yet there is great comfort in knowing that we may come to this Father, our Father in Christ Jesus, for we are His children. And He listens to and always answers our prayers in the best possible manner. So Jesus teaches,

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. - Luk 11:9-10 ESV

The Virgin Mary And The Resurrection

During this Easter season I am looking at various teachings of Holy Scripture about the resurrection of the dead. In this connection there is a very strange statement in Matthew's Gospel about resurrection.

The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. - Matt 27:52-53 ESV

That's it! Matthew writes nothing more about these saints. For that matter, who were they? The best we can do is guess. Some feel they were righteous believers from the Old Testament era and that after "appearing to many" in Jerusalem they were taken up or assumed into the temporary state of rest and happiness called paradise and then later brought into heaven. In that connection these writers quote Jesus' words to the thief on the cross next to him.

And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." - Luke 23:43 ESV

Beyond that—and it is a stretch to go there—we have nothing in Scripture to explain who these saints were and why Matthew included this information. We can only assume that their resurrection was a sign of the power and mercy of God now available to all who believe in God's Word and the Gospel.

And yet this Matthew passage is tied to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary as a round about way of pointing to the possibility of people being bodily assumed into heaven before Christ's Second Coming. We have no other records to tell that tells us these saints died and were reburied again. Arguing from silence, we are urged to conclude they were taken up or assumed into heaven like Elijah (2 Kings 2:1,11).   

Diego Velazquez - Virgin Mary

In 1950 the world learned about The Assumption of Mary, now an official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church (Munificentissimus Deus) that she, "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven." Pope Pius XII in his capacity as Christ's infallible Vicar on earth, does not say whether Mary died or not. Most think she did and was then resurrected and taken by God into heaven. When all this happened is based upon apocryphal  writings, like the Gospel of James. Also since prayers and references are made to this teaching in many of the early liturgies, Catholics assume traditions passed on support this teaching. Of course, for them, it is now a central dogma and celebrated as a major feast day on August 15. Read the Wikipedia article on the Assumption of Mary for further details.

Most of us Lutherans are very reluctant to embrace this teaching, especially since it is completely outside of God's revealed and inspired Word. Further, it is part of an ancient movement to make Mary semi-divine, something the Scriptures never do. Consider the implications of such titles as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Queen of Heaven which can lead to prayers and worship of her as Jesus' Mother with a special authority. There are many approved sites where she supposedly appeared and healed.

I can only encourage us to remain close to Holy Scripture as did Dr. Martin Luther. Of Mary he said,

She became the Mother of God, in which work so many and such great good things are bestowed on her as pass man’s understanding. For on this there follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of mankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had a child by the Father in heaven, and such a Child. … Hence men have crowded all her glory into a single word, calling her the Mother of God. (Luther’s Works 21:326ff)

What Does Happen After Death?

Many times I've had children, grandchildren and spouses tell me how much they miss their loved ones. If only they had a way to talk with them, learn from them, hear that everything is OK, discuss today's problems, etc. Those whose faith is not grounded in God's revelation can become quite vulnerable to charlatans claiming to assist them to get in touch with these deceased loved ones. That's why it is not unusual to read about so-called psychics taking advantage of this vulnerability. One such report surfaced last week.

Psychic Accused of Exploitation : Discovery News: A young woman told a jury today how a psychic tricked her into performing “like a porn star” in the hope of getting in touch with her dead grandfather.

Spiritualism is a many and varied belief system. Its hard to call it a religion. Essentially the idea behind it is that when one dies he moves on to some kind of spirit world. In that after-life world the deceased long to communicate with the living, but find it difficult to do so. For unexplained reasons the living cannot hear them. So they need a medium, someone gifted somehow with the ability to get in touch with the dead and tell the living what they are saying.

The entertainment business loves to tap into this phenomenon. Top among recent movies was Ghost (1990), starring the now deceased Patrick Swayze—who obviously has not returned from the dead. Swayze's character is Sam. Sam and Molly (Demi Moore) are a very happy couple and deeply in love. Walking back to their new apartment after a night out at the theatre, they encounter a thief in a dark alley, and Sam is murdered. He finds himself trapped as a ghost and realises that his death was no accident. He must warn Molly about the danger that she is in. But as a ghost he can not be seen or heard by the living, and so he tries to communicate with Molly through Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), a psychic who didn't even realise that her powers were real. Up to this point she had been busily bamboozling people who wanted to communicate with the dead. After Oda Mae finally does tell Molly what's going on via Sam the ghost, Sam is free to whoosh on up to heaven—or something like that.

Ghost brought Paramount Pictures a gross income worldwide of $507,600,000. The movie won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Whoopi won a Supporting Actress Oscar as the fake medium. Not bad for all concerned.

Another bit of craziness in this after-life arena was Robin Williams' starring role in What Dreams May Come (1998). Talk about a syrupy plot. Chris Neilson (Robins' character) and his children die in a car crash. He finds heaven to be more amazing than he could ever have imagined. However, his wife is missing. Annie (Annabella Sciorra), in her grief commits suicide and ends up in hell. Chris discovers a way to visit Annie in hell and in love decides to stay there with her forever. However, the powers from on high are so moved by Chris's sacrifice that the both of them do indeed end up in heaven. Perhaps now they can be reborn on earth and live their lives together.

What Dreams May Come grossed $55,000,000 in the USA and $16,000,000 worldwide the year it was released. It continues to make money through rentals.

You get the picture. Pun intended. Tomorrow I want to take a sober look at this stuff by way of God's revelation in Holy Scripture.

After Death, Paradise!

One of the thieves crucified with Jesus asked Jesus to remember him. In so doing, the thief confessed that Jesus was both a king and would soon inherit a kingdom. To this strange confession Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). What and where is this Paradise?

Early church fathers used Paradise with a variety of meanings. Since the word itself refers to a beautiful garden, most of these exegetes understood it to refer to the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2-3). Since Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden, they pointed to the work of Christ, the new Adam who has regained it for believers.

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. —Rom. 5:14-16 ESV

Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. - 1Cr 15:45-48 ESV

The Apostle Paul spoke obliquely about himself being caught up to Paradise. He called it the third heaven.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-- - 2Cr 12:2-3 ESV

In the light of this the teachers of the church claimed that Paradise has once again become accessible. In his Catchesis lectures Cyril explained to the newly baptized:

"When therefore thou renouncest satan, utterly breaking all thy covenant with him, that ancient league with hell, there is opened to thee the paradise of God, which He planted towards the east, whence for his transgression our first father was banished . . ." (Catechesis XIX.9)

Garden of Eden - Wonder of Creation 

What a beautiful picture, one among many presented to us in Holy Scripture. It is my favorite. I love thinking about what awaits us as we move from this life to the next. I love the thought of the Garden of Eden, a word that in Hebrew refers to delight and pleasure. The prophet comforts us all in this way:

For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. - Isa 51:3 ESV

We Will Not Be Married In Heaven

Today I promised to comment upon Christ's teaching that in the age to come we will not be married. Here's what He said as recorded in Matthew:

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.'

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her."

But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." (Matthew 22:23-30; see also Mark 12:25)

The Missouri Synod's study of Human Sexuality: A Theological Perspective reminds us that marriage remains an earthly order. St. Paul discusses this in 1 Corinthians 7 as he cautions believers to deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.

"For the present form of this world is passing away" (1 Cor. 7:31).  

I wrote about this in an earlier blog and concluded with these words: 

So where is all this going? Simply here. In the resurrection the mystery will be completed (Ephesians 5:18-33). In the new creation all of us will joyfully and willingly have only Jesus as our LORD and God. We will completely love, honor and serve Him and in so doing we will honor His Father (John 14:9-14). Marriage in this age is a type of Christ's union with His body, the church, His bride. He came to earth to unite us to Himself. We are made to be one with Him, His flesh and bone, but were separated from Him by our sinful nature (Pss. 51:5; 58:3). We have now come with Him from the "deep sleep" of His death into a new life of oneness with Him. We are bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. And when He returns the wonder of that gift will be fully realized. 

We have here but a glimpse of what that fullness will mean. On that day we will be like the angels, ever rejoicing together in His presence and power forever. We will certainly know one another in heaven. We will not miss our marriages nor pine away for their loss as do some widows in this age. Something more wondrous awaits us all, as we are bonded to our heavenly Husband and His Father and to one another in ways never before possible, even in marriage. 

In the next blog we'll begin a discussion of the three purposes of marriage. 

Heaven and Parallel Universes

As we Christians continue to celebrate the 40 days of Easter we rejoice in the hope we now have of heaven and the resurrection because of Christ's return from the grave. Biblical writers speak, however, of many heavens. Are these many heavens what moderns mean by multiple universes? Is our reference to the hope of heaven a reference to another universe? Or is all this speculation mere fantasy?

"The idea of multiple universes is more than a fantastic invention—it appears naturally within several scientific theories, and deserves to be taken seriously," stated Aurelien Barrau, a French particle physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) recently. If you are not a nuclear physicist with multiple degrees and well acquainted with the arcane and mysterious language of this group, do not try to read the following link: http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/31860. Rather, suffice it to note that there is much speculation about multiverses and parallel universes or many-worlds in our day.

Barrau concludes, "It could well be that the whole idea of multiple universes is misleading. It could well be that the discovery of the most fundamental laws of physics will make those parallel worlds totally obsolete in a few years. It could well be that with the multiverse, science is just entering a "no through road". Prudence is mandatory when physics tells us about invisible spaces. But it could also very well be that we are facing a deep change of paradigm that revolutionizes our understanding of nature and opens new fields of possible scientific thought. Because they lie on the border of science, these models are dangerous, but they offer the extraordinary possibility of constructive interference with other kinds of human knowledge. The multiverse is a risky thought—but, then again, let's not forget that discovering new worlds has always been risky."

A "deep change of paradigm" . . . and  "the extraordinary possibility of constructive interference with other kinds of human knowledge." What do those statements suggest?

• The idea that our universe is all that exists might have to change?
• History, philosophy, theology and even the arts will have to rethink their premises? 

Well, maybe not theology, at least not Biblical theology. Listen to the Apostle Paul—

 "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

The apostle's 'third heaven' refers to the view of the universe common in Paul's day—but certainly not based on science as we now know it. In that onion-peel view, we live in the lowest heaven with its seemingly solid firmament above. Above that is a great sea of water that once spilled down to engulf the world in a flood (Genesis 6). Beyond that is the third heaven where God's throne is and where the heavenly beings dwell.

Paul insists that he was 'caught up' to that third heaven. This probably refers to his experience on the road to Damascus when Christ appeared to him (Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-11). He was so focused on his experience that he was unaware whether it was a vision or an actual transportation to that heaven.

The Hebrew word for heaven is Shamayim. The word literally means the sky, that vaulted roof of earth (Isaiah 40:22), the first heaven. Beyond it are the second and third heavens, as indicated above. To speak about this the Greek translation of the O.T. and the Greek N.T. itself had to borrow a word for sky or air, Ouranus. The Latinized form for that word is Uranus, the mythological first god whose wife was Gaia, mother earth. The English word 'heaven' refers to the sky, but it can also refer to that place of bliss, contentment and joy where the favored departed dwell.

What does Paul's witness, along with other Biblical testimonies about heaven (Rev. 4:1; Luke 2:15; Luke 23:43; Matt. 17:1-11 and the huge host of other passages) tell us believers today? Obviously there is a whole lot more to God's creation than we might imagine. And that there is more 'interference' with our universe by beings from the other universes or heavens than we usually think about. Consider Jacob's vision of angelic messengers who move back and forth between heaven and earth as another example (Genesis 18:1-2; Genesis 28:10-22).

We shall have to wait and see whether quantum physics will ever be able to prove conclusively that there are many other worlds. From a Biblical viewpoint we already know that there are. We have learned to call them the heavens. "Behold, to the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it" (Deut. 10:14). This same Lord has come among us to redeem us from death. He is the man from heaven whose image we shall bear when death is finally swallowed up in victory and all things are made new (1 Cor. 15:47-58; Rev. 21:1-5).

The Glory of Heaven Awaits

The strains of the Bethlehem angels' songs about Glory are fading as we enter this new year. It was fine to join their songs for a time, but now back to work, back to business, back to the details of making those new year's resolutions happen. Its time to seek our own glory.


Did you ever realize the Bible teaches that we will have various degrees of glory in heaven? Look at a couple verses:


In discussing the resurrection from the dead Paul writes, "There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.


"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:40-44).


"At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:1-3).


There are a number of others, such as Matthew 19:28 and Matthew 25:21. The point is we who put our faith in the risen Lord Jesus shall share in His glory, but we will differ from one another in glory. Some will have reflected splendor like the moon. Some will be shining stars. Its all in His hands.

The real glory of it all is that you and I will be quite happy to be who and what we are and will be free from envy and jealousy. Oh what slaves those feelings are. How often do we not struggle with the resentment, longing for someone's possessions, qualities or good luck, as we say. Have you not caught yourself thinking, "Look here, I deserve a promotion more than she does?" Or "How come he gets to drive a new truck and I have to put up with this clunker for another year?" The list is endless.

It appears that even in heaven some will be smarter, wiser, more talented, stronger, in charge of more stuff, etc. than me—and than you. The real difference between then and this new year here on earth, is that we won't care at all. We will no longer be trapped, driven, bound and ground down by envy and jealousy. We will be content, happy and filled with joy in knowing we are His. We will be fulfilled, filled full. I may be a thimble and you may be a great, shining, silver goblet. Ah what a joy it will be for us thimbles to be filled with His love. And what happiness it will be to know that you and all the other goblets are also filled.

I pray that you will be filled with peace, joy and hope even here and now, in this new year.

A Glimpse of Glory

Christmas approaches. In the United States we have a little controversy going on about how it should be celebrated and by whom. I'm receiving emails urging me to urge my friends to pray for our country, because it is in grave danger of becoming thoroughly and completely secular. Well, for the moment I choose not to worry about such things and prefer rather to focus upon what happened on that night that Jesus was born—whenever that was. And with that focus I shall meditate upon what that means to you and me.

Here are the words from St. Luke 2:9—


"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified."


I'm quite amazed by what it means that this angel, this messenger from the Lord God, appeared to the shepherds. Where did he come from? And how did he get there? After he (she, it—they have no sexuality) delivered his message, he and the others disappeared. Luke writes that they left them and went into heaven (Luke 2:15).


Don't ask me what that fully means, please. I can make some guesses as C.S. Lewis does in his writings and as do many others. Lewis speaks in the same way as modern sci-fi writers do about multi-dimensions and other universes. He calls them countries and implies that when we "get to heaven" we will discover the real Houston or the real Chicago or the real United States or the heavenly Jerusalem or wherever you are from. What we experience now is but a shadow of what is to come (check out Hebrews 8:1-5 and Hebrews 12:22-29). The angels live in that reality. We are yet in the valley of the shadow (Psalm 23).


The Apostle Paul points to our sharing in that same reality when he writes,


"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21).


In that glorious day when our Savior returns we will share in that final, definitive, complete and most real glory known now by the angels. The shepherds had a glimpse of it—for a moment.