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Bible Questions Answered:
“Pastor what ever happened to
paradise?...”
Tim/ Mount Airy, North Carolina U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Luke 16:19-26 KJV (The
rest of the story verses 27-31)
19 There was a certain rich man,
which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously
every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the
crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came
and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the
beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom:
the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his
eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip
of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in
this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us
and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would
pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that
would come from thence.
This story, told to
us by our Lord, reveals that Sheol, was partitioned into two areas.
One area was hell, for all who are eternally lost, an area
prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), and
Abraham's Bosom (Paradise), for all righteous dead.
This is how things
were in the, lower parts of the earth, before Calvary.
Our Lord told the
repentant, crucified thief...
Luke 23:43 KJV
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I
say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.
(Abraham's Bosom)
In Luke 16 (The Rich Man and Lazarus) our Lord called the place of the righteous
dead, Abraham's Bosom, in Luke 23 (The repentant thief), He called it Paradise.
Lazarus was a Jew, a child of Abraham, whereas
the repentant thief was no doubt a Gentile (Different names, yet the
same place).
That day (Crucifixion - Friday), the
repentant thief, met Lazarus, and Abraham, in Paradise.
After Calvary, and
our Lord's great victory, we read Apostle Paul saying....
II
Corinthians 12:4 KJV
(The Apostle Paul's experience.)
How that he was
caught up into paradise,
and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to
utter.
Revelation 2:7 KJV (Disciple John, see Revelation 22:2,14
Christ's description of heaven.)
He that hath an
ear, let him hear what The Spirit saith unto the churches; To him
that over cometh will I give to eat of The Tree Of Life, which
is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Paradise, after Calvary, was no longer down in the lower parts of the earth, as it had been, it was then raised up to heaven.
Ephesians 4:8-10
NLT
8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“When He ascended to the heights, He led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to His people.”
9 Notice that it says “He
ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our
lowly world.
10 And the same one who descended is
the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that He
might fill the entire universe with Himself.
Paradise, along
with all its righteous dead, were taken up to heaven, by The
Resurrected Lord Jesus.
(The resurrected,
glorified, Lord Jesus had first entered heaven, because He is
the “first fruit” of God's children entering heaven,)
I Corinthians
15:20 KJV
But now is Christ risen from the
dead, and become The first fruits of them that slept.
Acts 1:10,11 KJV
10 And while they looked steadfastly
toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white
apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which
is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen Him go into heaven.
A Question:
What happened to
Eden?
There is some
reason to believe that The Eden of Adam and Eve became Paradise in
the lowly parts of the earth. Later, after Calvary, taken to Heaven.
The Reason:
The Tree of Life
existed in Eden.
The Tree of Life
existed in Paradise,
And The Tree of
Life, exists yet today in Heaven.
Revelation 2:7
KJV (The Tree Of Life, which
had been in Eden.)
He that hath an
ear, let him hear what The Spirit saith unto the churches; To him
that over cometh will I give to eat of The Tree Of Life, which
is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 22:2
KJV (Heaven)
In the midst of the street of it,
and on either side of the river, was there The Tree Of Life,
which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every
month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.
Revelation 22:14
KJV (Heaven)
Blessed are they that do His
commandments, that they may have right to The Tree Of Life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Eden and
Paradise is today in Heaven! Why do we think so? We
do because Eden's contents entered Paradise, and Paradise's contents
entered Heaven, namely The Tree Of Life.
Prayer:
I
John 5:1,11-13 KJV
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus
is The Christ has become a child of God..."
11 And this is the record, that God
hath given to us eternal Life, and this Life is in His Son.
12 He that hath The Son hath Life;
and he that hath not The Son Of God hath not Life.
13 These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of The Son Of God; that ye may know that
ye have eternal Life, and that ye may believe on the name of The Son
Of God.
I Peter 2:24 KJV
Who His own self bare our sins in
His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should
live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Oh Lord, certainly Paradise, must be where your presence is. Forgive me of my sin, come into my heart, and life, and keep me through your divine power.
Amen
Paradise:
Exodus 33:14 KJV
And He said, My presence shall go
with thee, and I will give thee rest.
Psalm 16:11 KJV
Thou wilt shew me the path of Life:
in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 31:20 NLT
You hide them in the shelter of your
presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them
in your presence, far from accusing tongues.
Jeremiah 29:13
KJV
And ye shall seek Me, and find Me,
when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.
Matthew 5:8 KJV
Blessed are the pure in heart: for
they shall see God.
Matthew 28:20
KJV
Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
John 14:16,17
KJV
16 And I will ask The Father, and He
will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
17 He is The Holy Spirit, who leads
into all Truth..."
John 15:9 KJV
As The Father hath loved Me, so have
I loved you: continue ye in My love.
Revelation
4:1-11 NLT
1 Then as I looked, I saw a door
standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke
to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I
will show you what must happen after this.”
2 And instantly I was in The Spirit,
and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.
3 The One sitting on the throne was
as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow
of an emerald circled His throne like a rainbow.
4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded
Him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in
white and had gold crowns on their heads.
5 From the throne came flashes of
lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were
seven torches with burning flames. This is The seven fold Spirit Of
God.
6 In front of the throne was a shiny
sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the
throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and
back.
7 The first of these living beings
was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human
face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
8 Each of these living beings had
six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside
and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is The Lord God,
The Almighty—
The One who always was, who is, and
who is still to come.”
9 Whenever the living beings give
glory and honor and thanks to The One sitting on the throne (The One
who lives forever and ever),
10 the twenty-four elders fall down
and worship The One sitting on the throne (The One who lives forever
and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, O Lord our
God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all
things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
