God of Heaven

Sometimes we treat the biblical text like a dusty old piece of literature with antiquated expressions that must be decoded. For example:

‘Son of Man’: A simple reference to Jesus.

4 Decoded.

‘God of heaven’: A simple reference to God.

4 Decoded.

However, such casual decoding often overlooks significant meaning and a deeper message for the reader. When thinking about the breadth of the Bible, one must conclude that God used an economy of words to express His message.

Perhaps we should ask why God had things written the way He did in the Bible. Why use son of man when it would have been easier and more obvious to just say Jesus? Perhaps, son of man had deeper meaning. Perhaps it connected to something of great significance.

That question will be left for a different time. For now, why say God of heaven? Why not just refer to God as...God?

The phrase God of heaven appears 25 times in the Bible, with only two occurrences in the New Testament.

Abram (Abraham) described God to his servant as the God of heaven. That distinguished God from the many gods that people of his day believed in. He was emphasizing that his God was the God over all other gods, “the God of heaven and the God of earth.” He is God of all creation!

In the book of 2 Chronicles God of heaven was used by King Cyrus of Persia in a proclamation sent out among the nations under his rule. He could have referred to God as the God of Judah or the God of the Jews. However, recognizing the beliefs of all the nations, he described God more accurately as the God of heaven, again, emphasizing that this was the true God, the God over all gods, the Creator.

That is the same way that the phrase God of heaven was used in Daniel 2 which tells of the prophetic dream of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In a land of many gods, the God of heaven had communicated to the pagan king. This was not the king’s first encounter with this God and it would not be his last.

The occurrences of God of heaven in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are similar. This identifying phrase was used in a setting where individuals from pagan nations were present. The God of heaven is not tied to a specific location on earth, a specific nation, or a specific part of creation (e.g. ocean, sky, fertility, war, etc.). The God of heaven is supreme. He is God over all.

Jonah referred to the God of heaven when on a ship full of pagans. He added that his God “made the sea and the dry land.” So, this was not a local god, but the God of creation.

Even in the book of Revelation, the identifying phrase God of heaven was used in a setting where there were pagan unbelievers.

The phrase God of heaven was used for the benefit of pagan unbelievers. So, it packs quite a punch when it appears at the end of Psalm 136. This is a psalm of thanksgiving to the God of Israel who is full of lovingkindness, i.e. the God who is loyal to His covenant promises. The reader is reminded of God’s involvement in Israel’s history. Then, the psalmist dramatically punctuated his prayer of thanksgiving in the final verse, “Give thanks to the God of heaven.”

I can only imagine how this impacted the Jewish mind as they read Psalm 136. However, I wonder if you can see an application for our day???

Mark Stinnett
August 28, 2022

Heaven Sight

Do you remember this camp/devotional song?

   Heaven is a wonderful place,
   Filled with glory and grace.
   I wanna see my Savior’s face;
   Heaven is a wonderful place.

I’ll admit that, as a youth, I liked the snappy musical part of the song, but never gave much thought to the words. To me, the idea of seeing the Lord’s face might have satisfied one’s curiosity, but it didn’t seem like a blessing.

Things changed dramatically several years ago when spending time with Moses (not literally, in Scripture).

On one occasion God had to rebuke Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ siblings. They had spoken against Moses because, in their opinion, he had not married the right gal.

God reminded the two that when He communicated with prophets, it was through visions and dreams. However, with Moses, his faithful servant, He spoke face to face, or in God’s own words “mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord.” (There’s more to the story in Numbers 12.)

Have you ever seen an investigative report on TV where the identity of the person being interviewed was kept secret? The lighting was set up so that viewers could only sees a silhouette. Still, we, the viewers, strained to study the shadowy figure in hopes of identifying him. As much as the secret identity was necessary, we still wanted to see his face. Not seeing was not knowing, and that was somewhat of a distraction.

Face to face is personal. 

     Face to face is intimate.

          Face to face is knowing.

While still at Mount Sinai, before receiving the Ten Commandments, Moses had set up a tent of meeting, that is, a place where he would go to meet with God. It was a simple man-made tent, not the God-ordained tabernacle that would be built later. Moses would enter his man-made tent of meeting, which was set up outside the Israelite encampment, and God would descend in a pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent. There God would speak to Moses while all of Israel would come out to the entrance of their tents and worship.

“Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just a a man speaks to his friend.”

—Exodus 33:11

On one occasion Moses began to describe to God the relationship between him and God and between God and Israel. He was leading up to a request that God would be their leader, not an angel or something/someone else. God agreed to personally lead Israel. He even gave a reason: “for you [Moses] have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”

Moses, aware that God knew him by name, recognized that he had an intimate face-to-face relationship with God. Yet, as if he could stand it no longer, perhaps like a little child, Moses blurted out: “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 

He wanted to experience the very same level of face-to-face intimacy that God had with him. God tenderly explained, “I Myself will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you….” But He added, “You cannot see My face and live, for no man can see Me and live.”

At the end of the book of Revelation the Apostle John is shown the eternal city of God. He saw that in that city there was no temple, “for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (21:22) Later John wrote: “and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bondservants will serve Him; they will see his face….” (22:3-4)

Oh to stand in the presence of God, 

Oh to see Him face to face.

Heaven IS a wonderful place.

Mark Stinnett

August 21, 2022

The New Jerusalem

The book of Revelation largely consists of a vision given to the Apostle John. It is not to be understood literally. Unfortunately, some folks let their thinking go too far. Non-literal does not mean not real. Non-literal simply means that we should not expect to sense the things described in our created three-dimensional world. The figurative descriptions still refer to reality.

Consider the descriptions of the New Jerusalem in a general sense...

Building Materials:
Walls, streets and gates are first, functional. They are built for strength, then adorned with art if desired.

Foundations are build for strength, not elegance and beauty. No one takes foundation material and creates jewelry. Yet, the foundation stones in the New Jerusalem are gemstones. The walls are made of jasper.

The city of Ostuni, Italy is nicknamed “the white town” for its white-washed architecture. Many cities have adorned their downtown areas in a special way using combinations of glass, metal, brick and stone. In great contrast to man-made cities, the New Jerusalem is built of refined gold, as pure as clear (pure) glass.

The New Jerusalem is no ordinary city. It is adorned like a bride adorns herself: “Her brilliance was like a very costly stone as a stone of crystal-clear jasper” (Revelation 22:11) It is a precious and beautiful city!

Size:
The dimensions of the New Jerusalem are described by John as having a length of 1500 miles, a width of 1500 miles and a height of 1500 miles. If placed on the earth the footprint of this city would cover the western two thirds of the United States. And remember, the New Jerusalem is not a nation or province, but a city.

By way of comparison, consider the earth’s atmosphere. The troposphere is the lowest and densest part of our atmosphere. It ascends 8 to 12 miles. Beyond the troposphere are the stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and the exosphere. All combined these reach 375 miles above the earth. We record the elevation of our cities, but not their height. Yet, the height of the New Jerusalem would stretch an equivalent of more than four complete earth atmospheres.

The walls of the New Jerusalem are 216 feet thick. If you were to build houses on one-acre lots along the top of the walls of this city you would have than 146,000 building sites. The entire city covers over 1.4 billion acres.

Resources:
We know that basic human needs include food, water, clothing, shelter and light. In John’s vision he described the following:

• Food: The tree of life bears a variety of fruit all year long (22:2);
• Water: The fiver of life provides water for all (21:6; 22:1);
• Clothing: Clean (pure) robes (22:14);
• Shelter: The city itself (22:10 ff.); and
• Light: God himself is the light (22:5).

Are we supposed to understand these description literally or figuratively??? I really don’t know. If God has prepared for us a city with gates of pearl and streets of gold...GREAT! And yet, what if it’s all figurative?

What do the figurative descriptions tell us?

The building materials are extraordinary and precious. The New Jerusalem is a gem. Its size far exceeds anything known to man; there is no comparison on earth. Beyond that, we will have every resource we need...

...to live...

        ...forever…


Mark Stinnett

August 14, 2022

What about the New Heavens and New Earth?

If you haven’t noticed, things around here are broken. Do you know what I’m thinking about?

When sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, God cursed humanity and the earth itself.

Most people have grown so accustomed to the world we are in that they fail to recognize that the world as it is was not God’s plan. Thankfully, God has come to the rescue. The writer of Hebrews refers to a better country, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:14-16). Peter wrote about the destruction of the current heavens and earth which will be followed by new heavens and new earth (2 Peter 3:13).

However, this did not originate in the New Testament. Prophesying to a rebellious nation, Isaiah warned Judah of God’s wrath but also gave a ray of hope for a remnant of faithful servants who would be preserved in new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah:65:17). Isaiah’s prophecy of divine judgment was echoed in Revelation where the new heavens and new earth would follow the destruction of death, Hades, Satan and all whose names are not found in the book of life. In John’s visions he then saw “the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

You might remember that when the temple of God was built in Jerusalem God said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name” (2 Kings 21:4). This was God’s city in which was built the house of God (temple). So, Jerusalem was God’s dwelling on earth, where God met man.

Back to Isaiah’s prophecy...

God was displeased with Judah because there was no justice. Yet, God would raise up a Redeemer to go to Zion (the City of David, Jerusalem) to bring salvation and righteousness. Zion would be restored, purified and glorified. God would show compassion to his people by gathering them into Zion.

Then all your people will be righteous;

They will possess the land forever,

The branch of My planting,

The work of My hands,

That I may be glorified.

—Isaiah 60:21

The prophecy of Isaiah foresaw the restoration of physical Judah, but also looked forward to Zion where “all your people will be righteous,” undoubtedly a reference to spiritual Zion. The prophecy went on to tell of the adornment of its citizens with garments of salvation and robes of righteousness. The final verse of Isaiah 61 describes figurative vegetation in Zion:

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up....

The writings of John and Peter drew heavily from Isaiah in describing the new heavens and new earth. Of greatest significance…

Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them. 

—Revelation 21:3

But according to His promises we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 

—2 Peter 2:13

Unlike physical Jerusalem where there was a physical temple, a copy of the heavenly one (Hebrews 9:24), God Himself will live among His people in the New Jerusalem. Unlike the current world where some people are righteous and some are not, in the new heavens and new earth only righteousness will dwell.

Our current world is broken. Death is here. God created life; He wants us to live forever with Him! Let’s set our eyes on the New Jerusalem!!


Mark Stinnett

August 7, 2022

What Will Heaven Be Like?

As a kid I remember being taught about heaven. It all seemed kind of dreamy and surreal; you might even say, other-worldly. To be honest, little has changed over the years. We are told a few things about heaven in the Bible, yet it still remains rather mysterious.

What about us?
The Bible says that flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:50) So, what will we be like?

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 

—1 John 3:2-3

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised can imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 

—1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. 

—1 Corinthians 15:49

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 

—1 Corinthians 15:51-53

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 

—2 Corinthians 5:1-9

From these passages we learn that:

• We will be like Jesus, just as He is;
• We will be resurrected from the dead;
• We will be changed, different from our physical nature;
• We will be glorious;
• We will be imperishable;
• We will be immortal;
• We will be given a body suitable for the eternal heaven.

What about heaven itself?

As with the previous question, we are not left without information, but we do not have a full answer. Even when John’s vision in the book of Revelation is considered, we find ourselves asking more question. Compared to the current created world, the Hebrew writer says simply that heaven is better.

Here are a few things we are told about heaven:

• Angels will be there (Matthew 18:10);
• We have treasure stored there (Matthew 19:21);
• Earthly marriages will not continue there (Matthew 22:30);
• There will be no sin (Hebrews 11:16);
• Righteousness dwells there (2 Peter 3:13);
• God is enthroned there (Mark 16:19);
• Out of heaven comes the New Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12).

I am really curious about the New Jerusalem. Let’s take a look at that next time.


Mark Stinnett

July 31, 2022