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Heaven-The Dwelling-Place of God Isa 66:1-2 (KJV)
Thus saith the LORD,
The heaven is my throne, and the earth is
my footstool:
where is the house that ye build unto me?
and where is the place of my rest?
{2} For all those things hath mine hand
made,
and all those things have been, saith the
LORD:
but to this man will I
look,
even to him that is poor and of a
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
HEAVEN
The part of God's creation above the earth and
the waters including "air" and "space" and serving as home for God and His
heavenly creatures. The Hebrew word for heaven, "shamayim", is plural in form
and was easily related by the common people to the word mayim, "waters."
In Biblical parlance, there are three levels to the heavens:
1) The first heaven- the expanse where the clouds float and the
birds fly.
2) The second heaven- the expanse where the stars
twinkle.
3) The Third Heaven- the place where God lives, accompanied by
angels and other created beings.
Only God has the wisdom to "stretch
out" the heavens.
(Jer 51:15-16 KJV)
He(The
LORD) hath made the earth by his power,
he hath established
the world by his wisdom,
and hath stretched
out the heaven by his understanding.
{16} When he
uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens;
and he causeth the
vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth:
he maketh
lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his
treasures.
God is at home in the heavens, and
"walks on the wings of the wind".
(Psa 104:1-5
KJV)
Bless the LORD, O my
soul.
O LORD my God, thou art very
great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
{2} Who coverest thyself with
light as with a garment:
who stretchest out the heavens
like a curtain:
{3} Who layeth the beams of
his chambers in the waters:
who maketh the clouds his chariot:
who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
{4} Who maketh his angels
spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
{5} Who laid the foundations of
the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
(Isa 40:21-26
KJV)
Have ye not known? have ye not
heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning?
have ye not understood from the
foundations of the earth?
{22} It is he(The
LORD) that sitteth upon the circle of the earth,
and the inhabitants thereof
are as grasshoppers;
that stretcheth out the heavens as
a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
{23} That bringeth the princes to
nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
{24} Yea, they shall not be
planted; yea, they shall not be sown:
yea, their stock shall not take
root in the earth:
and he shall also blow upon them,
and they shall wither,
and the whirlwind shall take
them away as stubble.
{25} To whom then will ye liken
me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
{26} Lift up your eyes on high,
and behold who hath created these things,
that bringeth out their host by
number:
he calleth them all by names by
the greatness of his might,
for that he is strong in power;
not one faileth.
(2 Sam 22:7-20 KJV)
In my
distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God:
and he did
hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
{8} Then the earth
shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was
wroth.
{9} There
went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals
were kindled by it.
{10} He bowed the
heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
{11} And he rode
upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
{12} And he made
darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
{13} Through the
brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
{14} The LORD
thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
{15} And he sent
out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
{16} And the
channels of the sea appeared,
the
foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the
LORD,
at the blast
of the breath of his nostrils.
{17} He sent from
above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
{18} He
delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me:
for they were too
strong for me.
{19} They prevented
me in the day of my calamity:
but the LORD
was my stay.
{20} He brought me
forth also into a large place:
he delivered
me, because he delighted in me.
(Isa 64:1-8 KJV)
Oh that thou
wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down,
that the
mountains might flow down at thy presence.
{2} As when
the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to
boil,
to make thy
name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
{3} When thou didst
terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down,
the mountains
flowed down at thy presence.
{4} For since the
beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the
ear,
neither hath
the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for
him.
{5} Thou
meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness,
those that remember
thee in thy ways:
behold, thou art
wroth; for we have sinned:
in those is
continuance, and we shall be saved.
{6} But we are all
as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade
as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away.
{7} And there
is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of
thee:
for thou hast
hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our
iniquities.
{8} But now,
O LORD, thou art our father;
we are the clay,
and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
(Jer 23:23-24 KJV) Am I a God at hand, saith the
LORD, and not a God afar off?
{24} Can any hide himself in
secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD.
Do not I fill heaven and
earth? saith the LORD.
The prayer of Solomon at the consecration of the Temple.
The Heavens cannot contain God.
(1 Ki 8:27-30 KJV)
But will God indeed dwell on
the earth?
behold, the heaven and heaven of
heavens cannot contain thee;
how much less this house that I
have builded?
{28} Yet have thou respect unto
the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my
God,
to hearken unto the cry and
to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to
day:
{29} That thine eyes may be
open toward this house night and day,
even toward the place of which
thou hast said, My name shall be there:
that thou mayest hearken unto the
prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.
{30} And hearken thou to the
supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel,
when they shall pray toward
this place:
and hear thou in heaven thy
dwelling place:
and when thou hearest,
forgive.
Yet this One also lives in the humble, contrite
heart:
(Isa 57:15
KJV)
For thus saith the high and lofty
One that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is
Holy;
I dwell in the high and holy
place,
with him also that is of a
contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the
humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
(Isa 66:1-2
KJV)
Thus saith the LORD, The
heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool:
where is the house that ye
build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
{2} For all those things
hath mine hand made,
and all those things have been,
saith the LORD:
but to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
As God's dwelling place, heaven is is the divine workplace, where He sends blessings to His people and punishment on His enemies. Note: Although the following verses were spoken in the context of the people of Israel, there are many parallels with the experience of a Christian submitting his/her life to Christ. (Deu 26:15-19
KJV)
Look down from thy holy
habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel,
and the land which thou hast given
us, as thou swarest unto our fathers,
a land that floweth with
milk and honey.
{16} This day the LORD thy God
hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments:
thou shalt therefore keep and do
them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
{17} Thou hast avouched the LORD
this day to be thy God,
and to walk in his ways, and
to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his
judgments,
and to hearken unto his
voice:
{18} And the LORD hath avouched
thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee,
and that thou shouldest keep
all his commandments;
{19} And to make thee high
above all nations which he hath made,
in praise, and in name, and in
honour;
and that thou mayest be an holy
people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.
-and bringing Punishment to His enemies
(Psa 2:1-5
KJV)
Why do the heathen rage, and
the people imagine a vain thing?
{2} The kings of the earth
set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD, and
against his anointed, saying,
{3} Let us break their bands
asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
{4} He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
{5} Then shall he speak unto
them in his wrath,
and vex them in his sore
displeasure.
(Psa 11:4-7
KJV)
The LORD is in his holy temple,
the LORD'S throne is in heaven:
his eyes behold, his eyelids
try, the children of men.
{5} The LORD trieth the
righteous:
but the wicked and him that loveth
violence his soul hateth.
{6} Upon the wicked he shall
rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest:
this shall be the portion of
their cup.
{7} For the righteous LORD loveth
righteousness;
his countenance doth behold
the upright.
New Testament
The New Testament affirms that
God created heaven (Acts 4:24), that heaven and earth stand under God's lordship
(Matt. 11:25), and that heaven is the dwelling place of God (Matt. 6:9).
(Mat 6:9-10 KJV)
After this manner therefore
pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
{10} Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven.
(Mat 11:25-30
KJV)
At that time Jesus answered
and said,
I thank thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes.
{26} Even so, Father: for so it
seemed good in thy sight.
{27} All things are
delivered unto me of my Father:
and no man knoweth the Son,
but the Father;
neither knoweth any man the
Father, save the Son,
and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal him.
{28} Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
{29} Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your
souls.
{30} For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.
Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven and of God had dawned through His presence and ministry. (Mark 1:14-15
KJV)
Now after that John was put
in prison,
Jesus came into Galilee,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
{15} And saying, The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the
gospel.
Christians should rejoice because their names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20
KJV)
Notwithstanding in this
rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you;
but rather rejoice, because your
names are written in heaven.
Jesus promised a heavenly home for His followers.
(John 14:1-3
KJV)
Let not your heart be
troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
{2} In my Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for
you.
{3} And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be
also.
According to Paul, Christ is seated in
heaven at the right hand of God.
(Eph 1:18-23 KJV)
The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened;
that ye may know
what is the hope of his calling,
and what the riches
of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
{19} And what is
the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who
believe,
according to
the working of his mighty power,
{20} Which he
wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,
and set him at his
own right hand in the heavenly places,
{21} Far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion,
and every name that
is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come:
{22} And hath
put all things under his feet,
and gave him
to be the head over all things to the church,
{23} Which is
his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Paul believed heaven is the future home
of believers .
(2 Cor 5:1-2 KJV)
For we know that if
our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a
building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in the
heavens.
{2} For in this we
groan,
earnestly desiring
to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
Paul referred to the hope of heaven as the
hope of glory (Col. 1:27). The Holy Spirit is the pledge of the believer's
participation in heaven (2 Cor. 5:5). Peter affirmed that heaven is the place
where the believer's inheritance is kept with care until the revelation of the
Messiah (1 Pet. 1:4).
(1 Pet 1:3-7
KJV)
Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
{4} To an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you,
{5} Who are kept by the power of
God
through faith unto salvation ready
to be revealed in the last time.
{6} Wherein ye greatly
rejoice, though now for a season,
if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations:
{7} That the trial of your
faith,
being much more precious than of
gold that perisheth, though it
be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and
honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Based on a study by Trent C. Butler and Gary Hardin-
The Holman Bible Dictionary
IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN GROWTH DEVOTIONALS
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