Earth, a Miniature of Heaven
“Is it not written in your law, I said, ‘Ye are gods?’” Jn. 10:34.
If God made man in His image, if He made male and female in His likeness, if He wanted humanity to be like Him in a special way, wouldn’t He have given us a home that was like His? He has.
What do angels do all around Him? It is heaven to be in His presence, and they love to fly around Him, smothering Him in a cloud. (Ezek. 1:14;Matt. 24:30;Acts 1:9;Rev. 1:7). What do birds and flying insects do all around us? They fly “in the open firmament of heaven.” (Gen. 1:20). Angles sing praise to God. (Lk. 2:14). Birds and insects glorify God in their song-filled happiness. There is a plethora of different bird and flying insect species; there are, no doubt, millions of different orders that make up the angelic host: cherubim, seraphim, etc.
God has created beings that surround His throne that look like the animals that roam our planet. In wonderfully gentle and lowly tones those animals around His throne cannot rest from saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Rev. 4:4-8). We can imagine something of heaven from what we see around us on our abundantly teeming planet.
We see the physical strength of the whole animal kingdom. They amaze us with their power and agility. But our superior intelligence make us ruler over all their physical ability. As Christ rules His universe, Adam had the wonderful power and wisdom to maintain control and to communicate with all the animals, which has been lost to his children. Before sin, the animals were able to co-exist and maybe able to communicate between species. Man is larger than many species of mammals and birds and fish, and also smaller than many. So Christ, the great Commander, is larger than many of His creations in heaven, but also smaller than some, maybe some angels. Maybe Lucifer.
Lucifer may have been larger and more elaborately garnished with colorful beauty than Christ. As general of the whole hosts of heaven, upon him high honor was conferred out of Christ’s great heart of beneficence. Though it caused him to rebel, it is ever the desire of our Maker to embellish us with glory and honor, and, in return, to receive our love in return for our beloved Benefactor.
When we look up, what do we see? A great blue expanse. Isn’t this the description of Ezekiel’s vision of heaven? “The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another…. And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a Man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and of the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, as the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” Ezek. 1:22-28.
As we look up to our wide blue yonder, we see what the angelic hosts see above their heads, a sapphire cosmic sky, with nebular clouds breaking up the cosmic blue firmament. And just like the amber color of the Ancient of Days sitting high atop His throne above all those surrounding Him down below, our Creator gave us our amber Sun to rule the day, and our Moon to rule the night. It was never God’s will that night should come into heaven, but it came. That one, never-to-be forgotten event when the Father must forever seal the existence of sin, by placing His Son into the darkness of separation from His Father. Throughout all eternity, that event will live in the memories of His redeemed children, from the fallen human race to the unfallen worlds and angelic hosts─the day sin killed Father and Son together, by forcing them apart. But, all in all, there will be much rejoicing; the sin dilemma past and extinguished, God and His entire kingdom will be relieved and happy beyond imagining. As the glory of God will be greater after sin is completely vanquished, even so, the sun will rule the day 7 times brighter than ever. (Is. 30:26). The moon will shine as brightly as the sun, and there will be no night there. (Rev. 21:25).
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven...; and let them be for signs.” Gen. 1:14. When we look up in the sky we see that our sun and moon are the same size. This is another lesson of heaven, and it is a phenomenon with two aspects. One) Earth is the only planet where the sun and moon appear the same size. The sun is about 400 times larger and averages about 400 times more distant than our moon. They appear so similar in size that we can have a perfect eclipse. No other planet in our solar system has this relationship between our sun and that planet’s moon(s). So there is no autonomic law of gravity responsible for Earth’s unique sun/moon, size/distance relationship; God made it so to be an object lesson for us to learn about Him. Two) Our sun has the same amber color as the Bible describes the Ancient of Days (Rev. 4:2), and our moon shines by reflected light of the sun, just as our Lord’s character shines by reflected glory of His Father. (Jn. 5:17;17:5,22,24). The Bible describes our sun’s appearance as “clear,” or gleaming and brilliant (Song of Solomon 6:10), but we see our moon as ugly and cratered; likewise, our Father in heaven is too pure to behold, but Christ’s “visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the Sons of men.” “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty in Him that we should desire Him.” Is. 52:14; 53:2.
Thus as Adam and Eve looked up into the heavens each day and night, they had a feel for what it is like being in the very presence of Him of whom the visiting angels had spoken so much. And we, when we are finally escorted into the vast throne area of the Father’s presence when Christ receives His kingdom, will find it strangely familiar to our Earthly sojourn during this great controversy between Christ and Satan.
And we will feel right at home.
If God made man in His image, if He made male and female in His likeness, if He wanted humanity to be like Him in a special way, wouldn’t He have given us a home that was like His? He has.
What do angels do all around Him? It is heaven to be in His presence, and they love to fly around Him, smothering Him in a cloud. (Ezek. 1:14;Matt. 24:30;Acts 1:9;Rev. 1:7). What do birds and flying insects do all around us? They fly “in the open firmament of heaven.” (Gen. 1:20). Angles sing praise to God. (Lk. 2:14). Birds and insects glorify God in their song-filled happiness. There is a plethora of different bird and flying insect species; there are, no doubt, millions of different orders that make up the angelic host: cherubim, seraphim, etc.
God has created beings that surround His throne that look like the animals that roam our planet. In wonderfully gentle and lowly tones those animals around His throne cannot rest from saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Rev. 4:4-8). We can imagine something of heaven from what we see around us on our abundantly teeming planet.
We see the physical strength of the whole animal kingdom. They amaze us with their power and agility. But our superior intelligence make us ruler over all their physical ability. As Christ rules His universe, Adam had the wonderful power and wisdom to maintain control and to communicate with all the animals, which has been lost to his children. Before sin, the animals were able to co-exist and maybe able to communicate between species. Man is larger than many species of mammals and birds and fish, and also smaller than many. So Christ, the great Commander, is larger than many of His creations in heaven, but also smaller than some, maybe some angels. Maybe Lucifer.
Lucifer may have been larger and more elaborately garnished with colorful beauty than Christ. As general of the whole hosts of heaven, upon him high honor was conferred out of Christ’s great heart of beneficence. Though it caused him to rebel, it is ever the desire of our Maker to embellish us with glory and honor, and, in return, to receive our love in return for our beloved Benefactor.
When we look up, what do we see? A great blue expanse. Isn’t this the description of Ezekiel’s vision of heaven? “The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another…. And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a Man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and of the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, as the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” Ezek. 1:22-28.
As we look up to our wide blue yonder, we see what the angelic hosts see above their heads, a sapphire cosmic sky, with nebular clouds breaking up the cosmic blue firmament. And just like the amber color of the Ancient of Days sitting high atop His throne above all those surrounding Him down below, our Creator gave us our amber Sun to rule the day, and our Moon to rule the night. It was never God’s will that night should come into heaven, but it came. That one, never-to-be forgotten event when the Father must forever seal the existence of sin, by placing His Son into the darkness of separation from His Father. Throughout all eternity, that event will live in the memories of His redeemed children, from the fallen human race to the unfallen worlds and angelic hosts─the day sin killed Father and Son together, by forcing them apart. But, all in all, there will be much rejoicing; the sin dilemma past and extinguished, God and His entire kingdom will be relieved and happy beyond imagining. As the glory of God will be greater after sin is completely vanquished, even so, the sun will rule the day 7 times brighter than ever. (Is. 30:26). The moon will shine as brightly as the sun, and there will be no night there. (Rev. 21:25).
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven...; and let them be for signs.” Gen. 1:14. When we look up in the sky we see that our sun and moon are the same size. This is another lesson of heaven, and it is a phenomenon with two aspects. One) Earth is the only planet where the sun and moon appear the same size. The sun is about 400 times larger and averages about 400 times more distant than our moon. They appear so similar in size that we can have a perfect eclipse. No other planet in our solar system has this relationship between our sun and that planet’s moon(s). So there is no autonomic law of gravity responsible for Earth’s unique sun/moon, size/distance relationship; God made it so to be an object lesson for us to learn about Him. Two) Our sun has the same amber color as the Bible describes the Ancient of Days (Rev. 4:2), and our moon shines by reflected light of the sun, just as our Lord’s character shines by reflected glory of His Father. (Jn. 5:17;17:5,22,24). The Bible describes our sun’s appearance as “clear,” or gleaming and brilliant (Song of Solomon 6:10), but we see our moon as ugly and cratered; likewise, our Father in heaven is too pure to behold, but Christ’s “visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the Sons of men.” “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty in Him that we should desire Him.” Is. 52:14; 53:2.
Thus as Adam and Eve looked up into the heavens each day and night, they had a feel for what it is like being in the very presence of Him of whom the visiting angels had spoken so much. And we, when we are finally escorted into the vast throne area of the Father’s presence when Christ receives His kingdom, will find it strangely familiar to our Earthly sojourn during this great controversy between Christ and Satan.
And we will feel right at home.
posted by David | 3:32 PM
2 Comments:
I have never been any closer to Heaven than when I was leading trail rides in Northern Idaho. I had church everyday in the beauty of God's country.
Yes, Trailady, and just think, that was only a foretaste of heaven and also of the world to come.
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