A Study of Heaven, Part #2 of 2

    With the knowledge provided us in the scripture it seems Christians should have a better view of Heaven and the total scheme of things.  Jesus spoke in such a manner that those who search for or  ask for spiritual enlightenment could find it.  We need to be more concern about the attributes or "fruit" of the spirit rather than  natural entitlements.  What did Jesus mean when he said  in Matthew 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  We pray for cash, we pray for fine cars, we pray for nice homes, but do we forget Matthew 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
     The Scriptures speak of three Heavens. (1) The Heaven of the earth's atmosphere. "God gave you rain from heaven." Ac 14:17. (2) The Heaven of the Stars. The "High Places" where the "Principalities and Powers" of evil have their abode. Eph 6:12. (3) The Heaven where God dwells. It was to this "Third Heaven" that the Apostle Paul was caught up, when at Lystra he was stoned and his spirit apparently left his body. (A Biblical reference to an out of body experience.) Ac 14:19-20.   Paul calls it both the "Third Heaven" and "Paradise." 2Co 12:1-4. The two then must be identical, or "Paradise" be a part of the "Third Heaven." It is to this "Paradise Section" of Heaven that the "Soul" and "Spirit" of the Righteous go since the Resurrection of Christ. " The word "Paradise" means a "garden" or "enclosed place." It must therefore be a most beautiful place of trees and flowers and fruits.  There the "Spirits" of the Righteous in their "Soulish" bodies, conscious and happy, and in fellowship with loved ones and the saints of all Ages, await the First Resurrection, when, having received their glorified bodies, and been judged at the judgment Seat of Christ, and married to the Lamb (Christ), they go to dwell in the New Jerusalem, the home of the Bride. From this we see that we must distinguish between Heaven proper, and its suburb Paradise, and the New Jerusalem.

     But we must not forget, that while Paradise, the place where the Saints of God now dwell, is a glorious place, and the Saints are there in the enjoyment of Heavenly things, that they are under certain limitations. They have not as yet received their resurrection body with all its glorious powers, nor been judged so as to receive their reward, or a crown, if they are entitled to any. The description of Heaven and the New Jerusalem as given in the Book of Revelation from the third chapter to the end of the Book, is still future, and the things there described will not come to pass until after the Rapture of the Church, so what is said about the New Jerusalem and its occupants do not apply until after the judgment of Believers. While the Saints were removed from the Paradise section of "The Underworld" when Christ rose from the dead, and taken to the Paradise of the "Third Heaven" to be near Christ, so that now to depart and be with Christ (Php 1:23) is most blessed, it does not follow that their state there is any more blissful than it was in The Underworld. It is well that we get this Scriptural view of the place and condition of the Saints between death and the resurrection of the body clearly in our mind, since there is so much un-scriptural teaching as to the state of the dead between death and the resurrection.
    When I first presented this as a teaching point I was referenced to Ecclesiastes 9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. My question was, "Is he addressing the natural or spiritual aspect of humanity?  The answer is in the verse, read it slowly.  Now lets continue. 

     While the state of the Righteous dead is incomplete, it is most blissful and happy, but more a state of rest and waiting than a state of activity or service. Re 14:13; 6:9-11. The Saints in Paradise will be free from sin and temptation, from sorrow, sickness and death. Their environment will be conducive to holy living, and the atmosphere of the place will be that of love. They will enjoy the society of holy men of old, as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Peter, John and Paul. They shall meet and know their loved ones, and the mysteries of this life will all be solved. They will have a "New Song," and delight in ascribing their salvation to the Lamb. But after they get their resurrection body, and are rewarded for their works, they will be assigned to tasks for which they are best qualified, and for which their earth life fitted them. For instance David will be a King or Prince, Daniel a Statesman, Moses a Lawgiver, Paul a Missionary, for during the Millennial Reign of Christ the saints will be coworkers with Him. Moses and Elijah came back to earth as God's witnesses, and why shall not we? The angels work and the redeemed shall work. But with all our services we shall never grow old, nor tired, nor weary, and we shall pass the whole of eternity with our Lord as "joint heir" with Him of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that shall not fade away, reserved in Heaven for us. 1Pe 1:3-5. Heaven then is our "Father's House," it is a HOME, and a place of "many Mansions." Joh 14:2. It will be delightful to go there. Some people live in fear of death (Heb 2:15), and cannot bear to think of it, but those of us who know that Heaven is to be our Eternal Home ought not to fear "Death," for it is "Death" that opens the door for our "Exodus" from earth to glory.  

     Did you ever stop to think of what happens to the righteous soul during the first five minutes after death? Now I will reiterate, I said righteous souls because my experience with death was not as a righteous soul.  Before the funeral has been held, and the body laid away in the cemetery, nay, before the undertaker has been sent for, or the neighbors and relatives notified, or the shades drawn, or the silent watchers at the bedside have realized that you are dead you have been FIVE MINUTES out of the body and reached Paradise and know where you are to spend eternity. Now what will be our experiences in those first five minutes? (1) Our first experience will be that death was so easy. That it was like falling asleep and awaking in a beautiful world. That there was no "Valley of Death," with its hobgoblins, satyrs, and demons, to traverse, no "dark river" to cross, but that "Ministering Angels" were waiting to convoy us to Paradise as they carried Lazarus. Lu 16:22; Heb 1:13-14. What a delight it will be to meet our "Guardian Angel," who has watched over us in our "earthly life," and who will not desert us in that supreme moment when we shall need a guide to conduct us to our Heavenly Home. (2) Our second experience will be the consciousness that we have left behind our earthly body with all its weaknesses, sufferings, and limitations, and have a body that is absolutely well and fitted in every way for the spiritual realm in which it is to dwell. (3) Our third experience will be that we are being transported swiftly upward through the ethereal space toward a beautiful country whose radiance is brighter than the sun, and as we approach it see coming out to meet us and escort us home, groups of angels who sing-- "Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates of the city." Re 22:14. (4) Our fourth experience will be that we are in a new environment whose atmosphere is LOVE. That there is no discord, or lack of harmony in our new home, and that its chief characteristic is HOLINESS. (5) Our fifth experience will be the feeling that we are near Jesus. If we do not actually see Him, we shall have the consciousness of His nearness. (6) Our sixth experience will be that of meeting our loved ones. While I do not believe that our loved ones have any direct knowledge of what is going on on this earth, yet I believes that our "Guardian Angel" may communicate with our loved ones and inform them of our coming, and that they will be waiting to receive us. (7) Our seventh experience will be the meeting with the saints who have preceded us to glory, such as the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and Christian leaders of our own day. The experiences named may not all happen in the first five minutes after death, but they doubtless will happen before our funeral service is over and our body laid to rest in the tomb.

     1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Thus began the  judgements.  The Bible speaks of five judgements..