Look To Heaven
Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19-21. There are many opinions about heaven, including jokes and rejection of its existence, but since Jesus spoke of it we should not ignore it.
One joke about it puts a man at the pearly gates asking St. Peter if he can enter the holy city. St Peter then tells him he must get a lawyer to come out of the holy city and plead his case. If the lawyer convinces St Peter, then he will let the man in. Unfortunately, when the man asks St Peter to call a lawyer to come out of the city St Peter replies that there are no lawyers in the city.
A problem Christians face when referring to heaven before unbelievers is mocking. I was told by a man I talked to that he refused to believe in fairy tales. There are mocking phrases too, such as “He believes in pie in the sky”, or “He is so heavenly minded he is no earthly good.” Such phrases ignore the fact that Jesus spoke of heaven as a matter of fact, even declaring he came from heaven (John 6:38).
Jesus said God is in heaven (Matthew 6:9). The apostle Paul later said there are at least three heavens (2 Corinthians 12:2). Perhaps the third heaven is where God the Father lives. Jesus said, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” John 3:13. This may refer to the third heaven, or perhaps even a higher heaven. The first heaven must be the atmosphere above our planet. “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 a whirlwind into heaven.” 2 Kings 2:11. Whirlwinds are only in the atmosphere, so this must refer to the first heaven. Nobody knows where Elijah went, but he could not have gone to the heaven God the Father lived in. Jesus said nobody had gone there except him.
It is logical to assume the second heaven is the universe. With the naked eye we can see stars in our galaxy, and even see beyond our galaxy to the Andromeda galaxy (appearing as a little patch of light). That means the second heaven goes beyond our galaxy. It must be the universe. God promised Isaac, “And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Genesis 26:4-5. The second heaven must be the stars of the universe.
The third heaven was seen by a man, perhaps in a vision, mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (verse 4). Perhaps the angels that announced the birth of Jesus returned to the third heaven. “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” Luke 2:15. I have wondered how big the third heaven is. The first heaven is not even like a pin prick compared to the second heaven. Perhaps the second heaven is not even like a pin prick compared to the third heaven. I doubt that we could understand the magnitude of God’s creation.
Christians need to give God more glory regarding his creation, which includes heaven. We won’t just float on clouds in heaven. The truth is beyond our understanding. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.
