WHEN WE ALL
GET TO HEAVEN??
5-1-2018
I generally attend church every Sunday if it is
possible. Many times a gleam of
theological wisdom is delivered, but there is one statement or belief that
causes me to squirm in the pew. That
statement is the traditional unscriptural idea that the redeemed will all go to
heaven and the unredeemed will go to a fiery hell (aka the lake of fire).
A related belief/dogma among some dispensational evangelicals
is that all Christians will be raptured to heaven leaving the so-called Jews
and the remaining heathens to inherit the earth. This inheritance should be overridden by the remarkable
aspects prophesied by several Old Testament prophets mainly Isaiah (Isaiah 2:2-4 and Isaiah 11:6-9). In these Millennial prophecies the Jerusalem
from which the Lord delivers His edicts is the New Jerusalem not the current one which is prophesied to be
destroyed.
Of course, the belief that all the redeemed will go to heaven
is never directly written in the New Testament (or Old) in my opinion. The Gospel of Matthew uses the phrase, “the
Kingdom of Heaven”, whereas the Gospel of Luke uses the phrase the “Kingdom of
God” and both phrases are designed to indicate the same kingdom. That doesn’t mean the kingdom is in heaven or
in the presence of God’s throne, rather, it means the kingdom is authorized by
God from heaven.
God resides within the dimension of Heaven and humans reside
within the dimension of space and time. The
elect [written by Paul] (the Saints of God [written by Daniel]; the overcomers)
who will be gathered up (i.e. harpazo or rapture [from the Latin translation])
at the end of the present age will be given glorified or spiritual bodies as was
the resurrected body of Jesus Christ.
According to commentators who have the same belief as I,
these elect glorified individuals will be able to enter and exit the heavenly
dimension of God. However their purpose
is not to remain standing around the throne of God but to be the powers of
authority under the direct command of the King named Jesus on the surface of the
eventually rehabilitated earth.
Some refer to the statement made by Jesus to the criminal next to Him positioned
upon
another crucifix: Luke
23:43 NET And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be
with me in paradise." Is the word
“paradise” the same as the heavenly abode of God? This word comes from the Persian word for
“garden or park.” It can also mean a
pleasurable abode of the dead.
Did Jesus actually go to heaven at His death? No. According
to the following verse (John 20:17) Jesus had not yet ascended to the Father in
heaven.
John
20:17 KJV Jesus saith
unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet
ascended to my Father:
So, where did Jesus go?
The only available scriptural information is found in 1Peter 3:19. “Being
in the spirit, He (Jesus) went and preached to the spirits in prison”. Which prison?
Possibly those mentioned in the story of Lazarus and the rich man.
1
Peter 3:18-19 NET Because Christ also suffered once for sins,
the just for the unjust, to bring you to God, by being put to death in the
flesh but by being made alive in the spirit. (19) In it he went and preached to
the spirits in prison,
The story is found in Luke 16:19-31. The KJV describes the two locations as “hell
and Abraham’s bosom”. The word “hell”
should actually be translated as Hades, i.e. the Greek concept for the abode of
the dead – probably the unrighteous dead in this particular instance. This is the only scriptural mention of Abraham’s
bosom and it is not a place actually officiated by a spiritual Abraham and is
probably the place termed as “paradise” in Luke 23:43 (i.e. the abode of the
righteous dead).
Jesus did not actually go to (heaven) until Acts 1:9. The “cloud” was most likely not water vapor
but rather a host of angelic beings since a cloud cannot receive anyone.
Acts
1:9 KJV And when he
had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud
received him out of their sight.
Where are
the People Located?
At the return of Jesus, everyone living will continue to be
located on planet earth. The
elect/saints/overcomers may go to the heavenly dimension for a short time
(according to some commentators) but the remainder of the living human race
will remain on the planet. The earth
will not be some chaotic scene of mass destruction as some uninformed people
speculate.
The earth will be governed by the glorified elect without the
squander, stealth, racketeering, lies, etc. that is now occurring. Scientific advances will be used for the
betterment and benefit of the population and not controlled or hidden by some
corrupt government. It is possible that
many diseases and ailments will be cured and wealth will be applied for the
welfare of the citizens of the earth.
Non-glorified people will continue to die but scripture declares their
lifespan will continually be expanded through possibly medical breakthroughs.
After the 1000 year millennial Kingdom of God, the second
resurrection will occur. The redeemed
and the unknowing of the laws of God within this group will be given light
correction for their lawless ways.
Others, more lawless and aware of the law of God, will receive various
degrees of corrective punishment which may involve the metaphoric “lake of
fire”.
Luke 12:47-48 NET That servant who knew his master's will but did not
get ready or do what his master asked will receive a severe beating. (48) But
the one who did not know his master's will and did things worthy of punishment
will required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more
will be asked.
Although listed as a parable, Luke 12:43-44 states that when
Jesus returns, His servant who is doing the will of God will be placed in
charge of the Lord’s possessions. It is
doubtful these possessions are in heaven where no possession is necessary.
Luke
12:43-44 NET Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work
when he returns. (44) I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge
of all his possessions.
The First
Resurrection
As has been reported in several past posts, only a certain
group called overcomers (i.e. the elect, the called, or the Saints of the Most
High God) will be resurrected in the initial “gathering up” (harpazo or rapture
in the Latin text). As can be seen in
the verse below, nominal Christians or occasional law breakers regardless of
their belief system will have to wait for the second resurrection which occurs
at the end of the Millennium (or 1000 years of the Kingdom of God). The non-religious, atheists, and willful law
breakers will most likely be sent to the lake of fire.
Matthew 7:21 NET "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will
enter into the kingdom of heaven -- only the one who does the will of my Father
in heaven.
There are several verses in the New Testament that tend to
confuse preachers and Bible teachers who believe in an all-Christian pre-trib
rapture. In Romans 8:17-17 Paul uses the
phrase, “God’s children”, other versions translate as “children of God”. Paul gives one clue to identify the children
of God which is: “we suffer with Him”.
Romans 8:16-17 NET The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that
we are God's children. (17) And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God
and also fellow heirs with Christ) -- if indeed we suffer with him so we may
also be glorified with him.
Later in verse 23 Paul states the elect have the first fruits
of the Spirit. They are a full time
citizen of the Kingdom of God and not a part time citizen.
Romans 8:23 NET Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the
redemption of our bodies.
These verses in Romans 8 are describing the characteristics
of the elect (saints of God). To
qualify, it is not enough to merely believe in the name of Jesus and receive
the grace of God that you are redeemed although this will entitle you to a
light punishment at the second resurrection.
To be a child of God, one must continually be a servant of God and a
citizen of the Kingdom of God. No amount
of planned or pre-planned good works will qualify you. As James pointed out, if one is a child of
God then good works occur innately because that is a natural part of one’s
Godly character.
James 2:17 NET So also faith,
if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.
The Great
Multitude
The great multitude standing before the throne of God as
written in Revelation 7:9. This
multitude represents (symbolically or metaphorically) all the elect of all the
people throughout history who are called to be the elect or the sons of God.
This large group is celebrating the feast of Booths, or
Tabernacles, for they are waving palm branches as per the instructions in
Leviticus 23:39-40
.
Revelation 7:9 NET After
these things I looked, and here was an enormous crowd that no one could count,
made up of persons from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with
palm branches in their hands.
All people are commanded to keep the feast, and all rejoice,
whether they are of Israel (i.e. the northern ten tribes) or of another nation
or ethnic group.
The feast of Tabernacles is a command of God and everyone is
required to celebrate it. This is not
the case in today’s world but it most likely will be celebrated by all citizens
during the days of the Kingdom of God
Deuteronomy 16:13-15 NET (13) You must celebrate the
Festival of Temporary Shelters (booths or tabernacles) for seven days, at the
time of the grain and grape harvest. (14) You are to rejoice in your festival,
you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the
resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages. (15)
You are to celebrate the festival seven days before the LORD your God in the
place he chooses, for He will bless you
in all your productivity and in whatever you do; so you will indeed
rejoice!
During the Kingdom of God era when the feast of tabernacles
is voluntarily and joyfully celebrated.
The Lord God will bless all agriculture, industry, and
productivity. It is highly likely there
will be no slaves. There may be orphans
at the beginning of the age but they will soon be cared for.
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