HEAVEN-THE DWELLING PLACE OF GOD

Yesterday we gave you the down side to not having the Lord in your life. Sorry but there is no up side to not having Jesus in your life. Today we want to share with you the outcome of having asked the Lord into your life. It is eternal life with Jesus. There is a heaven and below it is described for you. Read and know that you will be with Him one day. God Bless


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

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