heaven

Chosen

Jesus used the parable of a marriage dinner to illustrate the process God is using to populate his kingdom. Jesus began by stating, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come” (Matthew 22:2-3). Initially, the family of Abraham, which later became the nation of Israel, was chosen by God to be his heir and was given the land “from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18). After 400 years of slavery in Egypt, the Israelites entered the Promised Land and occupied it continuously (except for the 70 years they were in captivity in Babylon) until Jesus, their Messiah was born. Jesus’ arrival on Earth was similar to a wedding because it signified the joining together or physical union of God and his chosen people.

Jesus indicated in his parable that when it was time for the wedding, those who had been invited wouldn’t come (Matthew 22:3). The word Jesus used that is translated bidden in Matthew 22:3, kaleo suggested the wedding invitation came in the form of a public announcement. Jesus may have been referring to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. When he rode into town on the back of a donkey, Jesus was not only making an intentional effort to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy about Israel’s Messiah (Zechariah 9:9), but he was also acting out a tradition that he knew would be recognized by everyone that was of Jewish descent (1 Kings 1:33). The important thing to note about Jesus’ parable was that the intended guests made a conscious decision to not attend the wedding. He said, “But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them” (Matthew 22:5-6).

Jesus explained in his parable of the marriage dinner that God planned to use an alternate method to populate his kingdom. He said:

But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. (Matthew 22:7-9).

Jesus depicted the spreading of the gospel as a type of roundup in which everyone that was available was invited to come to his wedding. In ancient times, highways represented a “a course of conduct” or “way of thinking” (G3598). In Jesus’ parable, the servants may have been sent to the highways in order to find people that were seeking a godly way of life or perhaps to look for individuals that were on a quest to find the meaning of life. The travelers on the highway were shown to be in active pursuit of something when they were contacted and invited to the wedding.

After stating that a man was cast into outer darkness because he wasn’t wearing the designated wedding garment, Jesus concluded his parable by making the point that certain types of individuals would be removed God’s kingdom. He said, “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). The primary difference between the Greek words translated called, kletos (klay-tos´) and chosen, eklektos (ek-lek-tos´) appears to be the conscious choice of selecting a favorite. What I believe Jesus meant by this was that the free gift of salvation entitles an individual to entrance into heaven, but it doesn’t exempt that person from meeting God’s standards or the expectation of appropriate conduct in heaven. When a person is born again, he must exhibit genuine repentance and want to be changed in his character. The evidence that I have not only been invited into the kingdom of heaven, but have also been chosen by God to be there is that I will behave like the Bible says a Christian should.

Final destination

The Bible often portrays life as a journey that involves traveling along a pathway that leads to a particular destination. Although there may be several stops along the way, we eventually reach our final destination, which we usually associate with death. Jesus taught that death is not the end of life, but a point in time when the final destination of our lives will be determined or reached. Talking to his twelve apostles about true discipleship and life after death, Jesus said, “if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-44).

King David talked about his hope of resurrection after death in Psalm 16. He said, “My flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:9-11). At the time of David’s death, salvation was not yet available. That’s why he said, “Thou wilt show me the path of life” speaking in the future tense. According to David, everyone who died went to hell, including himself. Even though David believed in the Messiah, his sins had not yet been forgiven.

The path of life David referred to was a marked-out, well-traveled course to salvation (734/2416). The Hebrew word David used for path, “orach represents a race course rather than a highway or a primitive snake-laden path.” The apostle Paul also used the analogy of a race course for the life of a believer (I Corinthians 9:24). Even though king David never became a Christian in the sense of being born again, he expected to receive his salvation by faith (Psalm 16:9). For David, that meant he would be released from hell, a place where the dead reside. Hell or sheol is “contrasted, in regards to locality, with heaven, the one being regarded as down and the other up. It is spoken of as an abode for those who have departed from the way of life, and have chose the path of evil” (7585).

Isaiah indicated that those who sin against God “have chosen their own ways” (Isaiah 66:3) and will one day have to face the wrath of God (Isaiah 66:16), but his judgment won’t take place until God’s plan of salvation has been communicated throughout the whole world (Isaiah 66:19). The final result of rejection of God’s free gift of salvation is being “cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). This is what Jesus was talking about when he referred to hell as “the fire that never shall be quenched” (Mark 9:43).

In the final words of his prophecy, Isaiah depicted the final destination of those who rejected Christ as one that is visible from Jerusalem. After God creates the new heavens and the new earth, Isaiah declared, “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 66:23). Then, as if punctuating the close proximity of heaven and hell, Isaiah went on to say, “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, and neither shall their fire be quenched: and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh” (Isaiah 66:24).

Lord over all

Isaiah was given the unique opportunity to appear before the Lord in his heavenly throne room. It says in Isaiah 6:1, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. King Uzziah died in 740 B.C., therefore Isaiah’s appearance occurred more than 700 years before the Lord was born. Isaiah wanted everyone to be aware that the Lord was reigning in heaven before he was born on earth. It is important to note that Isaiah did not have a vision, but actually stood in the Lord’s presence. Isaiah did not refer to God by his personal name, but by his title adonay, which means “Lord” or “Lord over all” (136). “In such contexts God is conceived as a Being who is sovereign ruler and almighty master” (113).

Christ himself assumed the title of Lord during his earthly ministry. “His purpose did not become clear to the disciples until after his resurrection, and the revelation of His Diety consequent thereon” (2962). An interesting aspect of Jesus’ relationship with his disciples is they never referred or spoke to him using his personal name. “The title ‘Lord,’ as given to the Savior, in its full significance rests upon the resurrection, and is realized only in the Holy Spirit” (2962). Given this explanation of the use of the title Lord, it seems clear that Isaiah was in the presence of the Lord Jesus and was commissioned by him to “Go, and tell this people” (Isaiah 6:9) about him.

The message Isaiah was commissioned to preach was the birth of the Messiah. Although there were references to the Messiah before Isaiah’s ministry, no one spoke as openly or plainly about the expected Savior as Isaiah did. A key to understanding the significance of the Messiah is found in Isaiah 6:3 where it says, “The whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah’s ministry marked the start of the proclamation of the gospel that still continues today, and will continue, until it reaches every person in the entire world.

In order for Isaiah to fulfill his commission, he had to be equipped to preach the gospel while he was still in an unsaved or unregenerate state. Isaiah proclaimed, “Woe is me! for I am undone: because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah received a type of cleansing similar to what is referred to in the New Testament as renewing (Titus 3:5). It says of his sins in Isaiah 6:7, “thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged.” Apparently, Isaiah returned to a sinless state, but it probably wasn’t permanent as with salvation or being born again (Romans 11:27).

The intersection of heaven and earth

Elijah is one of only two people in the Bible that didn’t die and the only person in the Old Testament of which it is said, he went to heaven (2 Kings 2:1). On the day that Elijah was to be taken up into heaven, he traveled more than 20 miles to deliver final messages to sons of the prophets in Bethel and Jericho. At his side was his faithful servant Elisha. The only person to witness his departure.

Elisha knew that Elijah’s ministry was coming to an end and he didn’t want to assume that he would be Elijah’s successor. So, when Elijah was called to go to Bethel, even though Elijah told him to remain in Gilgal, “Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee” (2 Kings 2:2). What Elisha meant by not leaving Elijah was that he wouldn’t abandon the ministry Elijah had started.

The sons of the prophets were actually students of the word of God. This group consisted of followers of Elijah that were committed to God and were most likely expecting the judgment of Israel foretold by Moses because of their idolatry. When it became known that Elijah was going to be taken away, the sons of prophets and Elisha may have feared the end was near.

Elijah’s ascension into heaven is similar to what will happen to believers when the great tribulation takes place. God’s wrath will be poured out on the world and Jesus will come back to rule and reign on earth. Elisha may have been unsure if Elijah’s departure signaled the end of God’s mercy toward his people. When Elijah and Elisha came to the end of their day’s journey, and it was time for Elijah to leave, Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit to be upon him (2 Kings 2:9).

The double portion represented an inheritance of Elijah’s ministry. Elijah’s response indicates he was uncertain of his ministry’s continuance. “And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee it shall be so unto thee: but if not, it shall not be so” (2 Kings 2:10).

At this point, Elijah and Elisha had reached their final destination. Since they were both still together, the only way Elisha wouldn’t have seen Elijah taken up was if he was blinded or killed in the process. “And it came to pass as they still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it” (2 Kings 2 :11-12).

Tell me the truth

The story of Ahab’s death provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of God’s heavenly kingdom. The prophet Micaiah in explaining why he didn’t tell Ahab the truth about what was going to happen to him, describes a scene in heaven in which a spirit is charged with enticing Ahab to go to battle against Syria.

Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. Then there came out a spirit and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him wherewith? And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt prevail: go out, and do even so.

Micaiah’s description of heaven indicates that all the host of heaven was standing before the LORD as he sat upon his throne. This picture of divine judgment shows that God, as ruler of the universe, is in charge of all spiritual activity. All spirits report to him, including Satan (Job 1:6). Therefore, the lying spirit was accomplishing God’s will when he told Ahab’s prophets to say “Go up; for God will deliver it into the king’s hand” (2 Chronicles 18:5).

Ahab was upset when Micaiah told him the truth. It says in 2 Chronicles 18:17 that “the king of Isreal said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophecy good to me, but evil?” Ahab thought the message was good from his prophets because they said he would win the battle and the message from Micaiah was evil because he said Ahab would lose. What was actually important was that Ahab knew the truth, so he could make a good decision.

I don’t think Ahab understood the purpose of the message Micaiah gave him. It was meant to be a warning, a glimpse into the future so that Ahab could avoid disaster. Instead, Ahab chose to ignore Micaiah’s prophecy and attacked Syria anyway. Ahab thought he could achieve a different outcome, that he could make the false prophecy come true (2 Chronicles 18:26), but he was killed just as Micaiah prophesied.

Citizens of heaven

An acronym that has been associated with the Bible is “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” Another acronym that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years is NOTW, “Not of this World.” In Psalm 119:19 the psalmist states, “I am a stranger in the earth.” The word translated stranger, gêyr (gare) is properly translated as a guest and by implication a foreigner, but a geyr was not simply a foreigner, “he was a permanent resident, once a citizen of another land” (1616).

The idea that a Christian’s citizenship is in heaven is what prompted the apostle Paul to write, “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). The word translated affection, phroneo means “to exercise the mind” (5426). Phroneo is derived from the word phrao which means “to rein in or curb” (5424). The point Paul was trying to make was that it takes a conscious effort to think about heaven rather than earth because we live here. The things of earth are constantly before our eyes.

The Bible is meant to give us a glimpse or view of heaven that whets our appetite. Reading the Bible should make us long for our heavenly home. Unfortunately, the language of the Bible is sometimes an obstacle instead of a help to our understanding of what heaven is really like. When the Psalmist said, “I will delight myself in thy statutes” (Psalm 119:16) and “Thy testimonies also are my delight” (Psalm 119:24), he was talking about what is now recorded in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, our least favorite parts of the Bible.

One way to look at the Bible is a secret decoder ring or map of buried treasure. What you see on the surface makes no sense at all. You have to look intently, with great care, and even meditate on it for awhile before the message begins to be clear. The psalmist said, “I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways” (Psalm 119:15). The word translated respect, “nabat means ‘to look, regard, behold.’ The first use of this term is in Gen 15:5, where it is used in the sense of ‘take a good look’ as God commands Abraham: ‘Look now toward heaven, and [number] the stars…'” (5027).

When we look at the vastness of heaven, it is incomprehensible that the Creator of the universe would bother to communicate with us in a personal way, in our own language so that we could understand him perfectly. As Abraham was gazing into the sky, I think he realized who was talking to him. It says in Genesis 15:6 that Abraham “believed in the LORD.” In other words, Abraham opened his heart to the LORD and began to see with spiritual eyes.

Don’t be a fool

God exists outside of time, therefore, the past, present, and future are all the same to him. He does not see things as a stream of events that occurs from one day to the next, but sees the entire picture of life as a whole, nothing is missing from his viewpoint.

David summarizes God’s viewpoint in Psalm 14. It begins with a description of man’s fallen condition:

The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:1-3)

Some people may think that the Israelites were God’s chosen people because they were better than everyone else or that as a result of God choosing them they would become better than everyone else, but the truth is that they were just as corrupt as the rest of the world. There was no way for them to be different until Jesus came.

The course of the Israelites’ history is similar to every person’s that comes to know God in that the pathway from corruption to everlasting life always includes repentance. David ends Psalm 14 with the return to prosperity:

O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. (Psalm 14:7)

David says “when” the LORD bringeth back the captivity because it had not yet happened. David is not referring to the Israelites exodus from Egypt, but a future event that was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Psalm 14 presents God viewpoint from an Old Testament perspective. If all you had was Psalm 14, you would think that a return to prosperity was all there was to life. Just as death is not the end of life, a return from captivity is not all there is to God’s big picture of life.

The difference between God’s viewpoint and ours is that his extends into eternity. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to see things from beginning to end so that life makes sense, but sometimes we are allowed to see beyond the end, or what appears to be the end, of life into eternity. David was given a glimpse into life beyond death and provides us with a snapshot of heaven in Psalm 16:

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path to life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:9-11)

God’s big picture viewpoint makes it possible for him to guide us through the obstacles of life and reach our final destination without having missed any of the milestones that are required for eternal existence. Since we know very little about eternity, there is no way we can prepare ourselves for it without God. That’s why it is only the fool who says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

Church of the firstborn

Psalm 121 is what is referred to as a song of degrees. It was typically sung on a journey, sometimes to Jerusalem when a traveler was ascending toward the city. David opens the psalm with the words, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help” (Psalm 121:1).

David talks throughout this psalm about the LORD keeping his people and preserving them into eternity. Although there is no specific reference to the Messiah, it is possible David was referring to the hill of Calvary on which his savior would die.

One of the meanings of the word translated hill is mount. Jesus spent time teaching his disciples on the mount of Olives and gave his most famous discourse there, what is referred to as the Olivet Discourse. The idea that David’s help would come from the hills is rooted in the fact that Moses spoke to God face to face on mount Sinai and God chose to make a great revelation known to him there.

The book of Hebrews ties together the Old Covenant which applied to David and the New Covenant which applies to believers in Christ by showing that the instructions Moses received for the Tabernacle were to serve as an example and shadow of heavenly things. Speaking of the heavenly kingdom of God, it says in Hebrews 12:18-23:

For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched…But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly, and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the just men made perfect.

According to the notes on Hebrews 12:23, it is believed that the spirits of the just men made perfect were pre-Christian believers such as Abel and Noah. “They are referred to as ‘spirits’ because they are waiting for the resurrection of the just because God credited them with righteousness, as he did Abraham (see Romans 4:3). Actual justification was not accomplished, however, until Christ made it complete by his death on the cross (see 11:40, Romans 3:24-26; 4:23-25).”

It is unknown how much God revealed to these pre-Christian believers, but it seems likely that they knew there would be a human sacrifice and that the Messiah would be referred to as the perfect lamb of God that would shed his blood to take away the sins of the world. Whether or not David had a vision of Calvary or mount Sion in mind when he wrote Psalm 121 is unclear, but his reference to eternity leaves no doubt that the help which would come from the LORD would be the LORD himself.