Wednesday, June 07, 2006

heaven-the heavens

i said something in a message the other day that got a few people asking the same question. Jesus said "heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away" a few people were puzzled that "heaven" should pass away.

It had never occurred to me before how confusing this word could be. Not only the word but the concepts that have come to stand behind the word (which is i guess is simply what "meaning" is).

The Bible talks about "the heavens" as everything that is not on earth. Sometimes it's translated as "the expanse" some have hypothesized that a better translation would be "the universe"-though meaning the universe that is beyond earth. To say "heaven and earth" is to talk about everything that is created.

Interestingly we have come to talk about the place where God lives as "Heaven" it has become a proper noun. We say that our deceased loved ones are "in Heaven" And this sounds reasonable because in the prayer Jesus taught us he started off "Our Father in Heaven" Sounds a lot like "Dion in Walled Lake" (not that i'm comparing myself to God :)) but is that what it means?

Jesus' prayer was indicating that the Father he was praying to was not someone who was bound to earth. I've got a father in Milan, Michigan... a father in law in Rochester Hills... Jesus had a father named Joseph who lived in Nazareth. But in his prayer he is talking to the father who is NOT of earth.

In the same way when people die we often say that they are in "heaven" to our ears that means they are in some far off place with God... which is true. In the Bible's language though that would mean simply that they were no longer here in the earthly, created realm. Perhaps it would be more fitting, even more Biblical to talk about those who died in faith being "with God" or "with Jesus" since that's the good part anyway... who cares about whether you are sitting face to face with God in Detroit, Ft. Wayne, San Jose, on a distant star...or beyond it all...the point is that you are with God.

When we get to be with God, there will likely be no roadsign on the way that says

now entering...HEAVEN
"a nice place to spend 10,000 years"
population billions

If the place has a name perhaps it will be called "the LORD is there." (cf. Ez 38) but again the place isn't important. The one who dwells there is. But it won't even make sense to call it heaven anymore... that indicates what is beyond us and it won't be "beyond" anymore and God's face won't be hidden.

So Heaven and Earth will pass away, everything in the created universe will...but the dwelling place of God (wherever it is and whatever it is rightly called) will not, he sits above his creation and will endure forever. Have i made any sense here?

4 Comments:

At 6/07/2006 09:05:00 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

You made complete sense to me. I loved the post and hope you do more like this.

 
At 6/07/2006 09:31:00 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great blog post...and now let me ask further:

When you and I chatted a while back, we talked a bit about our existance after Jesus' return. The resurrection and the new-earth.

How does this tie into the idea that "heaven will pass away"?

To me, I interpret this as: The place that we think of as heaven (where our loved ones are with God) will pass away after the last days. Will Heaven (proper noun) pass away as we are recreated and live in the New Eden?

Could "Heaven" here refer not to things outside of earth, but a "spiritual location" that will pass away as well?

 
At 6/07/2006 10:14:00 AM , Blogger Dion said...

thanks bob for bringing us deeper into eschatology (the study of "end" things) I think this is often one of THE MOST misunderstood parts of our faith and means even a lot for our here and now...

you are right that "heaven" or what i'll call "being with God" as we understand it ISN'T the final thing. When we die, we are with God, and it's great, but even there we LONG for the resurrection of all flesh, when all things will come to an end and when all things will become NEW. That happens when Jesus "comes again in glory to judge both the living and the dead"

At that day God will not be removed in the least from his creation, but it will be as you suggest, all integrated. God walking with man, not apart, but together within his creation. The separation will be ended.

This does mean that if i were to die tomorrow, there is more to my eternity than just going to be with God (i don't mean that in a diminutive sense) but that even when i'm with God i'll be waiting for final things... my body resurrected and my soul united with it in its new perfected form.

so yeah, even "Heaven" as we understand it will not be the final thing. There IS a second coming, a judgment, and a "new heaven and new earth" where God and his creation will dwell together WITHOUT the separation.

i hope i'm not confusing anyone, this is hard for me to write about succinctly and it's kind of hard to get my head around to begin with.

 
At 6/08/2006 11:07:00 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

ooooo. stepping into the waters of eschatology. cool! i love the topic. mostly i just like you, though! love the posts.... and looking forward to the millenial reign with you and all the rest! :) lol.

 

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