God and Heaven
God has alwas been. There is no beginning and no end, like a ring or a circle. God has always been. God has lived forever. Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega…. who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. What God is saying is He is the beginning and the end, He is eternal. God has no beginning and no end. Psalm 90:2 “From everlasting to everlasting, You are God”. . Isaiah 57:15 “For this is what the high and exalted One says - he who lives forever, whose name is holy…”. God has lived forever. God exists outside of time, space, or matter. If He did, He would not be God.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1. There are three (3) heavens according to the bible.
1st heaven is the Sky/Atmosphere: where the clouds exist and the birds fly. Gen 1:20 “let the birds fly about the earth across the vault of the sky”. In Hebrew, which Genesis was written, the word “Raqia“ means for sky or expanse. or vault. Deuteronomy 11:11 “rain from heaven”. Jeremish 4:25 “I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of heavens had fled”. NKJV
The first heaven.
2nd heaven is Outer Space: the sun, moon, stars, and galaxies exist. Gen 1: 14 “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from nignt… let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth”. The sun, moon, and stars give lights during the day and night. Those objects are in outer space. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Outer space
3rd heaven is God’s dwelling place, the spiritual realm. 2 Corinthisans 12:2 Paul says :he was caught up to the third heaven”. Psalm 11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. 1 Kings 8:27 But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.
Jesus on His throne
Nehemiah 9:6 mentions two of the heavens in this one verse. You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens (3rd heaven), and all their starry hosts (2nd heaven), the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You gave life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven (3rd heaven) worship you.
It is important to understand the three heavens, because there are events that occur is them.
While God was creating there was a war bruing in heaven. Sin is developing. God did not create sin. God gives all of his creation the option to love him or to deny him. That is called free will. God will not make you love him. God doesn’t want robots programmed to love him. God wants a relationship with his creation. God wants to talk to His creation, to love His creation and for His creation to love him back because they want too.
When God created heaven and the angels in heaven He wants to have a relationship with them as well. Here is what the bible speaks of in the heavenly realm.
Closest to God
Seaphim - associated with worship around God’s throne. Isaiah 6: 2-3. Holy, holy holy is God almighty.
Cherubim - linked with God’s holiness, glory, and guarding sacred spaces. Gen 3:24, Ezekiel 10 Lucifer - guardian cherub Ezekiel 28:14, Isaiah 14:12-15
Second sphere or level
Archangel - Michael Jude 1:9 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16
third level
Angels/Messengers - Serve God, protect, deliver messages, and carry out divine purposes. Heb 1:14 and Luke 1: 26 Gabriel
Why do we need God? Because heaven is real and I want to be there.
