We have reached the end of the references to heaven (singular) in Strong's concordance. There a few more under heavens (plural). In Acts 2:29-34, we are told that David died and was buried, and remains in his tomb, he did not ascend to the heavens. I feel this brings up an important point. In christianity, many believers tend to think their love ones ascend to heaven immediately after death. This negates many of the New Testament teachings about a resurrection of the dead and a final judgment, especially what we find in Revelation 20. You can't have it both ways.
In 2 Corinthians 5:1, the author says, "If the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from god, an eternal house in the heavens, not built by human hands." Okay. So, this house in the heavens, is it in the new Jerusalem that's going to come down from the heavens after the judgment? Do any of the letters attributed to Paul speak of a Holy City or new Jerusalem? I ran those phrases through the search on Bible Gateway. A new Jerusalem is not mentioned anywhere but Revelation. Of all the New Testament books, the phrase holy city is only in Matthew and Revelation. Matthew is referring to the city of Jerusalem that existed in the first century.
Did Paul not know about the new heaven and new earth? I looked up those phrases as well. They are only mentioned in Revelation and in 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter three has a description of the end times that is not couched in symbolism like that of Revelation, but it coincides with events mentioned. In verse 7, the author says, "the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." In verse 10, the author says, "the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire , and earth and everything in it will be laid bare." Verses 12-13 go on to say,"That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." Paul's letters do not mention those phrases at all.
In reality, the earthly and heavenly dwellings mentioned by Paul in 2 Corinthians are referring to supposedly earthly and heavenly personal bodies. Paul was big on talking about how believers would get new indestructible bodies. He doesn't seem to have mentioned much else about the afterlife and the actual place those bodies will reside.
Let's see if we can find anything else new and interesting in the New Testament under the word "heavenly." 1 Corinthians chapter 15 discusses the resurrection, but even though the author rambles on about it, he doesn't say much that is concrete or substantial. Like I said before it is mostly about the difference between earthly bodies and heavenly bodies, the resurrection of physical bodies, and their transformation into spiritual, imperishable ones. This will all happen "in a flash, in the tinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." Nothing about heaven, the holy city, or what will go on in the afterlife.
In 2 Timothy 4:18, Paul says, "The lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom." Is this the same kingdom that will be the New Jerusalem coming down out of the heavens after the judgment?
Hebrews 11:16 says that a heavenly country and city are prepared by god for the faithful. In Hebrews chapter 12, the author speaks of the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living god. Again the writer of Hebrews tells us that earthly things are just representations of the heavenly reality. In verses 26-28, we are told that the earthly or created things will be removed so that what cannot be shaken, god's kingdom, remains.
Does any of this coincide with what you have learned about heaven? It certainly isn't what I was taught and what I continue to hear from Christians around me.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Heaven part twelve
Here we are again, back in heaven. As we go to Revelation chapter 15, we see there is a temple in heaven called the "tabernacle of testimony." Seven shining angels come out of the temple with seven plagues. Those four strange creatures with all the eyes and wings, that were said to be near the throne of god, give the angels seven bowls filled with god's wrath. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of god and no one can enter. The angels release the plagues in the next few chapters.
In chapter 19, there is a white horse in heaven whose rider is "the word of god," obviously a reference to the christ. The armies of heaven are following him. An angel stands in the sun and yells to all the birds to come feast on the flesh of all people. There is a great battle which the christ wins, of course. The birds feast, Satan is thrown into the abyss, and the christ reigns for 1,000 years. After the thousand years, Satan is released, there is another battle, and Satan's army is defeated by fire from heaven. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, the judgement of the dead happens, then chapter 21 introduces us to the author's vision of the new heaven and new earth.
The old heaven and old earth are gone and there is no longer any sea. The holy city, a new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from god, like a bride dressed for her husband. . The personage sitting on the throne (Yahweh?) says, "I am making everything new....It is done. I am the alpha and the omega...." (I thought the alpha and omega was supposed to refer to Jesus?)Everyone who overcomes will inherit the spring of the water of life, and he will be their god, and they will be his son. (No women?)
The new Jerusalem coming down from heaven is said to be shining with the glory of god. That's funny, in chapter 15, the glory of god was smoke. The holy city gleamed like a precious jewel or crystal.. "It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel....The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." Do you see why some Christians today are obsessed with Israel and Jerusalem?
The holy city was 12,000 stadia (1,400 miles) long, wide, and HIGH! The wall was 144 (12x12) cubits thick. "The wall was made of jasper and the city of pure gold...The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every precious stone" in twelve layers. The twelve gates were made of twelve single pearls. The streets were of pure gold. There is no temple, god and the lamb are its temple. There is no sun or moon, god and the lamb are the light. The gates will never shut because it will never be night. Nothing impure will ever enter it, only those whose names are written in the lamb's book of life.
The river of the water of life will flow from the the throne of god and the lamb (they sit on the same throne? ) down the middle of the great street. "On each side of the river stood the tree of life." What? Does the tree straddle the river? Or are there two trees of life? The tree is bearing twelve crops of fruit, one crop each month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations. There will be no more curse. The throne of god and the lamb will be in the city and his servants will see him and his name will be on their foreheads, and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation ends with a warning that anyone who takes words away from this book of prophecy will have his share in the tree of life and the holy city taken away from him.
Well, well, well. That was interesting. Did you see all the times the magic numbers seven and twelve were used? Do you think this description of the new Jerusalem was meant to be taken literally? If it is metaphorical or symbolic, what exactly does it represent?Did you notice that the saved don't go up to heaven? They go to live in the holy city, which comes down to the new earth. God and Jesus come down to earth with the holy city. Everything glows with an eternal light. No sun, no moon. Who is left in heaven? All the multitudes of angels?
In chapter 19, there is a white horse in heaven whose rider is "the word of god," obviously a reference to the christ. The armies of heaven are following him. An angel stands in the sun and yells to all the birds to come feast on the flesh of all people. There is a great battle which the christ wins, of course. The birds feast, Satan is thrown into the abyss, and the christ reigns for 1,000 years. After the thousand years, Satan is released, there is another battle, and Satan's army is defeated by fire from heaven. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, the judgement of the dead happens, then chapter 21 introduces us to the author's vision of the new heaven and new earth.
The old heaven and old earth are gone and there is no longer any sea. The holy city, a new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from god, like a bride dressed for her husband. . The personage sitting on the throne (Yahweh?) says, "I am making everything new....It is done. I am the alpha and the omega...." (I thought the alpha and omega was supposed to refer to Jesus?)Everyone who overcomes will inherit the spring of the water of life, and he will be their god, and they will be his son. (No women?)
The new Jerusalem coming down from heaven is said to be shining with the glory of god. That's funny, in chapter 15, the glory of god was smoke. The holy city gleamed like a precious jewel or crystal.. "It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel....The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." Do you see why some Christians today are obsessed with Israel and Jerusalem?
The holy city was 12,000 stadia (1,400 miles) long, wide, and HIGH! The wall was 144 (12x12) cubits thick. "The wall was made of jasper and the city of pure gold...The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every precious stone" in twelve layers. The twelve gates were made of twelve single pearls. The streets were of pure gold. There is no temple, god and the lamb are its temple. There is no sun or moon, god and the lamb are the light. The gates will never shut because it will never be night. Nothing impure will ever enter it, only those whose names are written in the lamb's book of life.
The river of the water of life will flow from the the throne of god and the lamb (they sit on the same throne? ) down the middle of the great street. "On each side of the river stood the tree of life." What? Does the tree straddle the river? Or are there two trees of life? The tree is bearing twelve crops of fruit, one crop each month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations. There will be no more curse. The throne of god and the lamb will be in the city and his servants will see him and his name will be on their foreheads, and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation ends with a warning that anyone who takes words away from this book of prophecy will have his share in the tree of life and the holy city taken away from him.
Well, well, well. That was interesting. Did you see all the times the magic numbers seven and twelve were used? Do you think this description of the new Jerusalem was meant to be taken literally? If it is metaphorical or symbolic, what exactly does it represent?Did you notice that the saved don't go up to heaven? They go to live in the holy city, which comes down to the new earth. God and Jesus come down to earth with the holy city. Everything glows with an eternal light. No sun, no moon. Who is left in heaven? All the multitudes of angels?
Friday, November 23, 2018
Heaven part eleven
Are you getting tired of heaven? We aren't done yet but it should go faster because I don't think there is much left that is not redundant. One thing I have noticed is that heaven is thoroughly populated with angels. Angels are not discussed much in the churches of Christ, the faith tradition I came from.
Galations 1:8 says that if an angel from heaven, or anyone else, teaches you a gospel other than the one you learned from Paul, he will be eternally condemned!
Ephesians 3:15 says that god's whole family on earth and in heaven derives its name from him. Ephesians 6:9 says god is everyone's master in heaven. Philippians 3:20 says that a Christ believer's citizenship is in heaven, not on earth. Colossians 1:5 says that hope is stored up in heaven for believers. 1Thessalonians tells us believers are waiting for god's son from heaven.
In Hebrews chapter 9, we are introduce to the idea that some earthly things are copies of heavenly things. The copies of the heavenly things were purified with blood sacrifices in an earthly sanctuary, which is a copy of the true heavenly one, by earthly priests. Christ entered the true sanctuary as the heavenly high priest to appear once and for all before god and offer himself as a sacrifice instead of an animal. Basically, everything on earth is supposed to be a kind of analogy, symbol, or shadow of the "real" things, which are in heaven. Believing this could lead to mental problems, in my opinion.
In 1 Peter 1:4, the reader is told an inheritance waits for him in heaven. In 3:22, Jesus is at god's right hand in heaven, with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
At last we move on to Revelation. We should learn some good stuff about heaven there. Maybe? In Rev. 3:12 a new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven. Chapter 4 has a description of heaven, with a throne, a person on the throne who looked like he was made of jewels, with a jeweled rainbow encircling him. There were also 24 other thrones with 24 elders, dressed in white with crowns on their heads. Lightening and thunder came from the main throne. Seven lamps were burning in front of the throne, these were the seven spirits of god. Whoa! God has seven spirits? That's interesting. Not something you hear every day. There was also a sea of glass in front of the throne. "Around the throne were four living creatures" all covered with eyes. (Heaven is getting crowded) They looked like an ox, a lion, a man, and an eagle. They each had six wings and the never stopped praising the god who lives forever. Whenever the god was praised the 24 elders fall before the guy on the throne and lay their crowns in front of him. Monotonous.
The description of what goes on in heaven continues on through chapter 5, where we see a scroll, angels, and a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes.(The seven eyes are also the seven spirits, just like the lamps.) There is more praising, worshipping, and falling down. In chapter six the lamb does stuff with the seals on the scroll from chapter six. It releases four horsemen, War, famine, Death, and Hades. Under an altar were some dead martyrs who complained they wanted to be avenged. They were given white robes and told to wait a bit. In chapter seven, more stuff happens with angels and people wearing white robes. In chapter 8, there was silence in heaven for half an hour. Then we get more angels, trumpets, thunder, lightening, fire, destruction of earth from heaven. Things go on in this vein until chapter 12 when a woman appears in heaven, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and 12 stars on her head. A dragon also appears in heaven. He wants to eat the child the woman is about to have. The child was snatched up to god and his throne. Then there was a war in heaven between the angels and the dragon! It turns out the dragon was Satan! He is thrown to earth. As we go on, there are more angels, the lamb, more voices and signs from heaven, more symbolism, chapter after chapter. One thing is clear. We don't learn much, if anything about what heaven will be like for the multitudes of believers after all the battles are over. Yet.
More to come.
Galations 1:8 says that if an angel from heaven, or anyone else, teaches you a gospel other than the one you learned from Paul, he will be eternally condemned!
Ephesians 3:15 says that god's whole family on earth and in heaven derives its name from him. Ephesians 6:9 says god is everyone's master in heaven. Philippians 3:20 says that a Christ believer's citizenship is in heaven, not on earth. Colossians 1:5 says that hope is stored up in heaven for believers. 1Thessalonians tells us believers are waiting for god's son from heaven.
In Hebrews chapter 9, we are introduce to the idea that some earthly things are copies of heavenly things. The copies of the heavenly things were purified with blood sacrifices in an earthly sanctuary, which is a copy of the true heavenly one, by earthly priests. Christ entered the true sanctuary as the heavenly high priest to appear once and for all before god and offer himself as a sacrifice instead of an animal. Basically, everything on earth is supposed to be a kind of analogy, symbol, or shadow of the "real" things, which are in heaven. Believing this could lead to mental problems, in my opinion.
In 1 Peter 1:4, the reader is told an inheritance waits for him in heaven. In 3:22, Jesus is at god's right hand in heaven, with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
At last we move on to Revelation. We should learn some good stuff about heaven there. Maybe? In Rev. 3:12 a new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven. Chapter 4 has a description of heaven, with a throne, a person on the throne who looked like he was made of jewels, with a jeweled rainbow encircling him. There were also 24 other thrones with 24 elders, dressed in white with crowns on their heads. Lightening and thunder came from the main throne. Seven lamps were burning in front of the throne, these were the seven spirits of god. Whoa! God has seven spirits? That's interesting. Not something you hear every day. There was also a sea of glass in front of the throne. "Around the throne were four living creatures" all covered with eyes. (Heaven is getting crowded) They looked like an ox, a lion, a man, and an eagle. They each had six wings and the never stopped praising the god who lives forever. Whenever the god was praised the 24 elders fall before the guy on the throne and lay their crowns in front of him. Monotonous.
The description of what goes on in heaven continues on through chapter 5, where we see a scroll, angels, and a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes.(The seven eyes are also the seven spirits, just like the lamps.) There is more praising, worshipping, and falling down. In chapter six the lamb does stuff with the seals on the scroll from chapter six. It releases four horsemen, War, famine, Death, and Hades. Under an altar were some dead martyrs who complained they wanted to be avenged. They were given white robes and told to wait a bit. In chapter seven, more stuff happens with angels and people wearing white robes. In chapter 8, there was silence in heaven for half an hour. Then we get more angels, trumpets, thunder, lightening, fire, destruction of earth from heaven. Things go on in this vein until chapter 12 when a woman appears in heaven, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and 12 stars on her head. A dragon also appears in heaven. He wants to eat the child the woman is about to have. The child was snatched up to god and his throne. Then there was a war in heaven between the angels and the dragon! It turns out the dragon was Satan! He is thrown to earth. As we go on, there are more angels, the lamb, more voices and signs from heaven, more symbolism, chapter after chapter. One thing is clear. We don't learn much, if anything about what heaven will be like for the multitudes of believers after all the battles are over. Yet.
More to come.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Thanksgiving break.
I just want to let my regular readers know I haven't gone away. I'm taking a break this week to get family things done. Expect another post on Friday. If you celebrate, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving. Be sure to thank all the real people in your life, especially any one who works hard to make sure you have a good life. No gods required.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Heaven part ten
We are now at the book of John. Let's see if anything different is said about heaven. In John 1: 51, Jesus tells Nathaniel that because he believes, he will see heaven open and the angels of god ascending and descending on the son of man. This supposed future happening never happens in the bible.
In John 3:13, Jesus says that "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven -- the son of man." This is presumed by christians to be Jesus himself. In 6:32-33, Jesus says, "It is not Moses who has given you bread from heaven (a reference to manna), but it is my father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of god is he who came down from heaven and gives life to the world." Again, this is presumed to be Jesus. This is confirmed in 6:38 where Jesus says, "I have come down from heaven...." None of the other gospel books have Jesus saying anything remotely like this. Verse 6:41-"I am the bread that came down from heaven." Verses 6:50-53, Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven. The bread is his flesh. Anyone who eats of it will live forever. (Cannibalism!) By the way, in these passages, Jesus does not try to make this into a metaphor. He says his flesh is real food and his blood real drink. Those who eat and drink him have eternal life. The Catholics didn't just make up stuff when they insisted that they are actually eating Jesus's flesh during communion. They got it from the book of John.
We move on to Acts. In 1:9-11, Jesus was taken up to heaven (the sky) in front of the apostles. In Acts 3:21, Peter tells a crowd that Jesus must remain in heaven "until the time comes for god to restore everything." In 7:55-56, Stephen sees "heaven open and the son of man standing at the right hand of god. God has hands. In 9:3, Saul (Paul) sees a light from heaven (the sky) flash around him and hears god speak to him. In 10:11, Peter has a vision of heaven (the sky) opening and a large sheet with all kinds of animals being let down to earth. God also speaks to him.
We don't learn much more about heaven until we get to 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, where Paul says there is only one god, but even if there were "so-called gods" in heaven or earth, the people Paul is writing to only worship the one god the father and the one lord Jesus. In 1 Cor. 15:47-53, Paul says there was the first man made from the earth and the second man from heaven. Paul's followers are currently earthly men, but in the future they will "bear the likeness of the man from heaven." Obviously Jesus. Paul goes on to say that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god, nor does perishable inherit imperishable." No worries, they will all be transformed from the flesh in a flash, at the last trumpet. They will be clothed with the imperishable and will become immortal. What about the judgment and all that jazz?
In 2nd Corinthians 12:2, Paul boasts about his visions and revelations by telling about "a man" who was caught up to the third heaven or paradise. What is this third heaven? Apparently, there are many apocryphal stories and legends about this third heaven, but it is not mentioned anywhere else in the bible.
More to come.
In John 3:13, Jesus says that "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven -- the son of man." This is presumed by christians to be Jesus himself. In 6:32-33, Jesus says, "It is not Moses who has given you bread from heaven (a reference to manna), but it is my father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of god is he who came down from heaven and gives life to the world." Again, this is presumed to be Jesus. This is confirmed in 6:38 where Jesus says, "I have come down from heaven...." None of the other gospel books have Jesus saying anything remotely like this. Verse 6:41-"I am the bread that came down from heaven." Verses 6:50-53, Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven. The bread is his flesh. Anyone who eats of it will live forever. (Cannibalism!) By the way, in these passages, Jesus does not try to make this into a metaphor. He says his flesh is real food and his blood real drink. Those who eat and drink him have eternal life. The Catholics didn't just make up stuff when they insisted that they are actually eating Jesus's flesh during communion. They got it from the book of John.
We move on to Acts. In 1:9-11, Jesus was taken up to heaven (the sky) in front of the apostles. In Acts 3:21, Peter tells a crowd that Jesus must remain in heaven "until the time comes for god to restore everything." In 7:55-56, Stephen sees "heaven open and the son of man standing at the right hand of god. God has hands. In 9:3, Saul (Paul) sees a light from heaven (the sky) flash around him and hears god speak to him. In 10:11, Peter has a vision of heaven (the sky) opening and a large sheet with all kinds of animals being let down to earth. God also speaks to him.
We don't learn much more about heaven until we get to 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, where Paul says there is only one god, but even if there were "so-called gods" in heaven or earth, the people Paul is writing to only worship the one god the father and the one lord Jesus. In 1 Cor. 15:47-53, Paul says there was the first man made from the earth and the second man from heaven. Paul's followers are currently earthly men, but in the future they will "bear the likeness of the man from heaven." Obviously Jesus. Paul goes on to say that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god, nor does perishable inherit imperishable." No worries, they will all be transformed from the flesh in a flash, at the last trumpet. They will be clothed with the imperishable and will become immortal. What about the judgment and all that jazz?
In 2nd Corinthians 12:2, Paul boasts about his visions and revelations by telling about "a man" who was caught up to the third heaven or paradise. What is this third heaven? Apparently, there are many apocryphal stories and legends about this third heaven, but it is not mentioned anywhere else in the bible.
More to come.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Heaven part nine
We are still in Matthew. Matthew 22:1-14 is another parable about the kingdom of heaven. There is a king (god) who prepared a wedding banquet for his son (Jesus?). He sent out servants (prophets) to tell those who had been invited (Jews?) to come. They refused to come and treated the kings servants horribly. The king was furious. He destroyed the city (Jerusalem?) and decided to invite anyone who would come. However, he threw out the people who weren't properly attired in wedding clothes (Baptized?). Even though the king invited everyone, not everyone was chosen to remain at the banquet (heaven?). This was merely for not wearing the proper attire, not for poor behavior.
Matthew 22:30 tells us that "at the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage, they will be like the angels in heaven." Presumably, angels are sexless? Verse 23:22 says, "he who swears by heaven swears by god's throne and by the one who sits on it." Verse 24:36 tells us that not even the angels in heaven know when the end of the age is.
Matthew 25 gives us two more parables about the kingdom of heaven. One is about being ready for the coming of the bridegroom (Jesus?). Another is about giving the master (god) a good return for his investment in you. In Matthew 26:64, Jesus tells the disciples that in the future they will see "the son of man" (Jesus?) sitting at the right hand of the mighty one and coming on the clouds of heaven. In 28:2, an angel of the lord came down from heaven and rolled the stone away from Jesus's tomb.
Let's move on to Mark, which repeats a lot we've already covered. The spirit comes from heaven in the shape of a dove at Jesus's baptism. Jesus looks up to heaven while praying. The Pharisees ask for a sign from heaven, but there is no snarky answer this time. The kingdom of heaven belongs to child like people. In the afterlife, people will be like the angels in heaven. Not even the angels in heaven know the time of the end of the age. The disciples will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven. Last, Jesus was taken up into heaven, Mark 16:19, which is an addition. There are very few parables about the kingdom of heaven in Mark.
Next is Luke. There are many of the same uses of heaven as in Matthew and Mark, so I will only cover new ones. In Luke 2:15, angels go to heaven after speaking to shepherds about Jesus's birth. In 6:23, Jesus tells the disciples their reward in heaven will be great if they are mistreated. In 9:54, James and John offer to call fire down from heaven onto a Samaritan town for Jesus. (This is another thing I don't remember reading before.) In 10:20, Jesus tells the disciples not to rejoice because spirits submit to them, but to rejoice that their names are written in heaven. In 15:7, Jesus says there will be more rejoicing in heaven over the sinner who repents than over the 99 who do not need to repent. It pays to be bad so you can reap the benefits of repentance.
In Luke chapter 15 is the story of the prodigal son who is said to have sinned against heaven. Though how you can sin against the sky is a mystery to me. In 21:10, we learn that the end times will include great signs from heaven. In 21:26 one of the signs is the heavenly bodies will be shaken. In 22:43, an angel from heaven appeared to Jesus while he was praying, to give him strength. In 24:51, Jesus was taken up into heaven.
There certainly are a lot of angels in the New Testament. That's enough for today. Next time.
Matthew 22:30 tells us that "at the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage, they will be like the angels in heaven." Presumably, angels are sexless? Verse 23:22 says, "he who swears by heaven swears by god's throne and by the one who sits on it." Verse 24:36 tells us that not even the angels in heaven know when the end of the age is.
Matthew 25 gives us two more parables about the kingdom of heaven. One is about being ready for the coming of the bridegroom (Jesus?). Another is about giving the master (god) a good return for his investment in you. In Matthew 26:64, Jesus tells the disciples that in the future they will see "the son of man" (Jesus?) sitting at the right hand of the mighty one and coming on the clouds of heaven. In 28:2, an angel of the lord came down from heaven and rolled the stone away from Jesus's tomb.
Let's move on to Mark, which repeats a lot we've already covered. The spirit comes from heaven in the shape of a dove at Jesus's baptism. Jesus looks up to heaven while praying. The Pharisees ask for a sign from heaven, but there is no snarky answer this time. The kingdom of heaven belongs to child like people. In the afterlife, people will be like the angels in heaven. Not even the angels in heaven know the time of the end of the age. The disciples will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven. Last, Jesus was taken up into heaven, Mark 16:19, which is an addition. There are very few parables about the kingdom of heaven in Mark.
Next is Luke. There are many of the same uses of heaven as in Matthew and Mark, so I will only cover new ones. In Luke 2:15, angels go to heaven after speaking to shepherds about Jesus's birth. In 6:23, Jesus tells the disciples their reward in heaven will be great if they are mistreated. In 9:54, James and John offer to call fire down from heaven onto a Samaritan town for Jesus. (This is another thing I don't remember reading before.) In 10:20, Jesus tells the disciples not to rejoice because spirits submit to them, but to rejoice that their names are written in heaven. In 15:7, Jesus says there will be more rejoicing in heaven over the sinner who repents than over the 99 who do not need to repent. It pays to be bad so you can reap the benefits of repentance.
In Luke chapter 15 is the story of the prodigal son who is said to have sinned against heaven. Though how you can sin against the sky is a mystery to me. In 21:10, we learn that the end times will include great signs from heaven. In 21:26 one of the signs is the heavenly bodies will be shaken. In 22:43, an angel from heaven appeared to Jesus while he was praying, to give him strength. In 24:51, Jesus was taken up into heaven.
There certainly are a lot of angels in the New Testament. That's enough for today. Next time.
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Heaven part eight
Continuing on with heaven in the New Testament:
In Matthew 18:18, Jesus tells all the disciples the same exact thing he told Peter in 16:19, that whatever he bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. But what does the binding and loosing mean? Your guess is as good as mine. However it does show that binding and loosing is not specific to Peter.
Verses18:23-35 are another parable about the kingdom of heaven. (In the churches I've attended, parables were called earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.) This time the kingdom of heaven is like a king (obviously representing god) who wanted the servants (Jews, or everybody?) in debt to him to pay up. One man owed him a ton of money, so the king ordered that his whole family and all his possessions be sold. The servant begged for time to pay the debt. The king cancelled the debt. That servant went out and had another servant thrown in prison for owing him money that he couldn't pay. The king heard about it and scolded the servant for not showing the same mercy that was shown to him. The king had the servant thrown in jail and tortured (representing hell?)until he could pay back the original debt. "This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
There is so much wrong with this parable. First, we don't owe an invisible god in the sky any huge debt that we need to be forgiven of. Next, we do not need to fear what that god will do to us if we do not repay that nonexistent debt. Also, people have plenty of other reasons to forgive without threats of torture if they don't. Last, should we forgive everyone everything? Really? Or is it limited to debts owed? Certainly we should not be like Ebenezer Scrooge, but must we completely wipe out all debts when petitioned?
In Matthew 19:14, Jesus repeats that the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like children. In 19:21, Jesus tells a young man to sell his possessions and give to the poor to get treasure in heaven. What does one do with treasure in heaven? Verses 19:23-24 tells us it is incredibly hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Heaven is to be made up of the poor?)
Matthew 20:1-16 is another parable. It says the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner (god again) who hired men (representing people, just males?) to work in his vineyard one day. He hired different people at different times of the day but at the end of the day they all received the same pay (representing their heavenly reward). The men who worked longer hours grumbled at the fact that the people hired later got the same pay. The landowner then claims the right to pay everyone exactly what he wants, it's his money to begin with. Should they be envious because he is generous? In the kingdom of heaven, the last will be first and the first will be last, whatever that means. One interpretation might be that the gentiles who were Yahweh fearers for much less time than the Jews would receive the same heavenly reward, and the Jews shouldn't grumble about it. There is so much ambiguous language in the bible, so many deepities, so much word salad. You could make it mean whatever you want.
More to come.
In Matthew 18:18, Jesus tells all the disciples the same exact thing he told Peter in 16:19, that whatever he bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. But what does the binding and loosing mean? Your guess is as good as mine. However it does show that binding and loosing is not specific to Peter.
Verses18:23-35 are another parable about the kingdom of heaven. (In the churches I've attended, parables were called earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.) This time the kingdom of heaven is like a king (obviously representing god) who wanted the servants (Jews, or everybody?) in debt to him to pay up. One man owed him a ton of money, so the king ordered that his whole family and all his possessions be sold. The servant begged for time to pay the debt. The king cancelled the debt. That servant went out and had another servant thrown in prison for owing him money that he couldn't pay. The king heard about it and scolded the servant for not showing the same mercy that was shown to him. The king had the servant thrown in jail and tortured (representing hell?)until he could pay back the original debt. "This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
There is so much wrong with this parable. First, we don't owe an invisible god in the sky any huge debt that we need to be forgiven of. Next, we do not need to fear what that god will do to us if we do not repay that nonexistent debt. Also, people have plenty of other reasons to forgive without threats of torture if they don't. Last, should we forgive everyone everything? Really? Or is it limited to debts owed? Certainly we should not be like Ebenezer Scrooge, but must we completely wipe out all debts when petitioned?
In Matthew 19:14, Jesus repeats that the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like children. In 19:21, Jesus tells a young man to sell his possessions and give to the poor to get treasure in heaven. What does one do with treasure in heaven? Verses 19:23-24 tells us it is incredibly hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Heaven is to be made up of the poor?)
Matthew 20:1-16 is another parable. It says the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner (god again) who hired men (representing people, just males?) to work in his vineyard one day. He hired different people at different times of the day but at the end of the day they all received the same pay (representing their heavenly reward). The men who worked longer hours grumbled at the fact that the people hired later got the same pay. The landowner then claims the right to pay everyone exactly what he wants, it's his money to begin with. Should they be envious because he is generous? In the kingdom of heaven, the last will be first and the first will be last, whatever that means. One interpretation might be that the gentiles who were Yahweh fearers for much less time than the Jews would receive the same heavenly reward, and the Jews shouldn't grumble about it. There is so much ambiguous language in the bible, so many deepities, so much word salad. You could make it mean whatever you want.
More to come.
Friday, November 2, 2018
Heaven part seven.
We continue on trying to learn about heaven in the New Testament. I'm skipping passages that repeat what we've already covered. When we get to Matthew 11:11, we see that Jesus says he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the baptist. "From the days of John the baptist, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it." Whatever that means.
In Matthew 11:23 of some translations, Jesus tells Capernaeum it will not be exalted unto heaven but will brought down to Hades or Hell. Can a whole city go to hell? My NIV study bible says "lifted up to the skies" instead of exalted unto heaven and "go down to the depths" instead of brought down to Hades. The Greek words are actually the ones for heaven and hades.
In Matthew 13:11, Jesus tells his disciples that the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to them but not to other people. Jesus deliberately speaks to the people in parables to fulfill a prophecy in Isaiah that talks about people not understanding. The parables are about the kingdom (of heaven). "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart." Seems kind of a dirty low down trick on Jesus's part.
In 13:24, Jesus tells a parable about the kingdom of heaven being like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Weeds planted by the enemy also grew there. They were left till harvest, then pulled up and burned. Presumably the man is god, the good plants are the good people, the weeds are the bad people. Guess who the enemy is.
In chapter 13, Jesus tells more parables about the kingdom of heaven. It is like a mustard seed that starts out tiny and grows to be the largest of garden plants, like a tree. (Except no mustard grows like that at all) The kingdom is like a a treasure hidden in a field that many are willing to sell everything to get. The kingdom is also like a net that catches all kinds of fish. The good will be kept and the bad thrown away. Jesus also says that "every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of the house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." The implication seems to be that there are new teachings to add to the old.
In Matthew 16:1, the Pharisees and Sadducees ask Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus proceeds to tell them about signs in the sky for fair or foul weather. What we do not see in English is that the word sky here is the the same root word of heaven. This must be a kind of joke or play on words.
In 16:19, Jesus tells Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." This passage has been disputed by Christians the world over for more than a thousand years. I will not attempt to interpret it.
In 18:1 The disciples came to Jesus and asked who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus replies, "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greater in the kingdom of heaven." This is also a disputed passage. No one seems to be able to agree what it means to be like a little child. Jesus continues in 18:10 to say that the disciples are not to look down on children because "their angels in heaven always see the face of my father in heaven." This is very interesting. I've never heard this talked about before. It would appear that children have angels, does everyone?
More to come.
In Matthew 11:23 of some translations, Jesus tells Capernaeum it will not be exalted unto heaven but will brought down to Hades or Hell. Can a whole city go to hell? My NIV study bible says "lifted up to the skies" instead of exalted unto heaven and "go down to the depths" instead of brought down to Hades. The Greek words are actually the ones for heaven and hades.
In Matthew 13:11, Jesus tells his disciples that the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to them but not to other people. Jesus deliberately speaks to the people in parables to fulfill a prophecy in Isaiah that talks about people not understanding. The parables are about the kingdom (of heaven). "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart." Seems kind of a dirty low down trick on Jesus's part.
In 13:24, Jesus tells a parable about the kingdom of heaven being like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Weeds planted by the enemy also grew there. They were left till harvest, then pulled up and burned. Presumably the man is god, the good plants are the good people, the weeds are the bad people. Guess who the enemy is.
In chapter 13, Jesus tells more parables about the kingdom of heaven. It is like a mustard seed that starts out tiny and grows to be the largest of garden plants, like a tree. (Except no mustard grows like that at all) The kingdom is like a a treasure hidden in a field that many are willing to sell everything to get. The kingdom is also like a net that catches all kinds of fish. The good will be kept and the bad thrown away. Jesus also says that "every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of the house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." The implication seems to be that there are new teachings to add to the old.
In Matthew 16:1, the Pharisees and Sadducees ask Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus proceeds to tell them about signs in the sky for fair or foul weather. What we do not see in English is that the word sky here is the the same root word of heaven. This must be a kind of joke or play on words.
In 16:19, Jesus tells Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." This passage has been disputed by Christians the world over for more than a thousand years. I will not attempt to interpret it.
In 18:1 The disciples came to Jesus and asked who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus replies, "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greater in the kingdom of heaven." This is also a disputed passage. No one seems to be able to agree what it means to be like a little child. Jesus continues in 18:10 to say that the disciples are not to look down on children because "their angels in heaven always see the face of my father in heaven." This is very interesting. I've never heard this talked about before. It would appear that children have angels, does everyone?
More to come.
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