The Third Heaven :)

5/1/2002

Yesterday I ran across the phrase, “The third Heaven” and was wondering what in the world the first and second heaven could possibly be. And while you’re at it, I could use some clarification on what even the third heaven is.

Hi. : )

The “first heaven” is presumably the atmosphere around the earth. It’s the place where the birds fly and the clouds gather and drop their rains on the crops and golf courses, and the winds blow. : )

The “second heaven” is “outer space”—the “heavens and the earth” place where the stars and galaxies are and light and time and space still exist, in our dimension.

The “third Heaven” is the place Paul visited, WHERE RESIDE THE FATHER, THE LAMB, THE RIVER OF LIFE, THE THRONE, THE ANGELS, and THE HOLY CITY (Rev.21:10, 11-27). These are NOT in our “dimension” and visible with “telescopes,” no matter how powerful. These exist in all Reality, but NOT in the range of visible frequencies apprehensible with our human eyes. Unless, of course, Daddy allows it for a moment or two, as He did with Paul when he visited “the third Heaven,” and others who have seen Jesus Visit, or angels, for a moment or two. : ) Got it? : )

Love,

P.S. One day Father will MERGE the Realms, the “visible” and the “invisible,” to some extent, somehow. This is as “the Holy City” “comes down out of Heaven, from God,” and the lion shall lay with the Lamb. I won’t go into this topic thoroughly, with a bunch of Scriptures, here (or probably anywhere, any time), because the obsessions and lusts and fears and sensationalism of humans has not proven that it’s useful to say MUCH more than this: “WITHOUT HOLINESS, NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD.” If everyone works on THAT one, the other will take care of itself JUST fine. But most care NOTHING about that Truth, and love to muse about other things that they won’t even SEE, based on the condition I just mentioned for “Seeing the Lord.”

However, just a few thoughts here since the topic is upon us. The Holy City “coming down out of Heaven,” and the “lion laying with the lamb,” and these other awesome things are often taught as the “thousand year Reign.” Of course this IS a Scriptural thought, but misapplied in all likelihood. It is presented by Hal Lindsey, and many others are now drunk on the idea that this is to be a PHYSICAL REALM event. Again, I won’t go into all the details, but just know that the Pictures we see in the Scriptures of this Utopian environment, with Jesus on the Throne is likely AFTER the Judgment and “the elements are melted with a fervent heat,” as Peter said, and the Reign is AFTER “this present age” and the earth as we know it are permanently terminated.

There is a BUNCH of “teaching” out there about “a thousand years” of a “LITERAL” Jerusalem, in the “literal Israel” located on the Mediterranean Sea, where Jesus will come back and sit on a human throne for these thousand years. This is a very popular, and likely VERY wrong “teaching.” Why does it matter? It does and has done serious damage to “Christendom” as good people waste energy and are lulled into what is very likely a deceptive view. Satan uses “bad teaching” often to make people irresponsible in this CURRENT age. They become obsessed with “physical Israel”—the plot of ground that did not exist for the many hundreds of years between 70 A.D. and a few years ago. And this physical Israel may be wiped out again just to disappoint those who are obsessed with physical kingdoms, rather than the Kingdom that is “not of this World.”

People have always had that problem of DEMANDING the physical. That’s why they wanted to “make Jesus King” and overthrow the Romans in His days here, because any TRUE “Messiah” will deliver us from PHYSICAL threats and pain and difficulty. That’s ALWAYS been man’s shortcoming in apprehending Messiah. We want to USE Jesus to save us from what WE want Him to save us from, in the physical realm. Judas very likely betrayed Jesus to force Him to exert Himself as a physical kingdom deliverer, and Jesus still would not. And was killed. And the Father RAISED Him, into His Realm—the place where one minute His friends could not see Him, or could not even recognize whether it was Him or not (Lk.24:13-32; Jn.21:4-14, etc.), and then the eyes of their HEARTS were opened, and they “knew it was the Lord.” THIS is the place where He Reigns and would Reign. In THIS realm.

But men always want stuff. Thirty pieces of silver is a good trade for a Kingdom that they can’t see or touch. Jesus’ Words, and ours, “YOUR KINGDOM—COME!” are to many about a physical Kingdom, and a physical throne governing physical land instead of “on Earth AS IT IS in Heaven”—SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE AND WORSHIP—”neither here, NOR IN JERUSALEM,” “NEITHER HERE NOR THERE,” “NOT OF THIS WORLD.” Those of the physical realm would have jumped from the pinnacle of the temple given the same temptation that Jesus received, because they don’t see what Jesus sees, I’m afraid. But, now I have digressed. ;) Don’t worry about it. As Peter said, “Because all of this is going to happen (“the earth melting with a fervent heat”), WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE OUGHT YOU TO BE?!” THAT’S the main deal! THAT we can DO, right? : )

Love, again : )