Paradise

PARADISE

Paradise suggests to some a blue sky, majestic mountains in the distance presenting a glorious waterfall into a vast bluish pool before you, surrounded by lush trees and plants, some bearing varieties of delectable fruits to eat. You stand on a glorious field of green grass this side of that pool, and see and hear beautiful birds, deer, and other gentle animals serenely flying about and grazing on the bounty all around you. Wonderful fragrances of trees, flowers and fruits awe and entice you. You realize you are not alone or lonely, for those people you love and cherish most in life are with you also. There is a wonderful cottage style mansion as well so that this paradise offers you all your basic needs of food, water, shelter, companionship, and purpose in all the comforts of home.

The above may sound wonderful, but it is not the Paradise of the Bible! The paradise of the Bible at first may not be thought to be as nice, for it is in the heart of the earth where there is no sky! The above paragraph describes what is on the surface of the earth, but the Biblical Paradise was located in the heart of the earth, actually across an impassable gulf across from Hell (Lk 16:19-26)! Paradise had no sun light, but God's light, for God was there (See Rev 21:23)! The first human spirit to enter it was Able, after his brother Cain murdered him. But Able would not suffer loneliness alone for years until some other saint died, for God was there! Jesus (God) said "Whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give them shall never thirst. He that cometh to me shall never hunger.", Jn 4:14; 6:35. As God, He is life; He is light, and provides ALL that we would ever need or righteously desire. He is Friend and the Holy Spirit is Comforter.

Paradise suggests pleasure and contentment. Ps 16:11 says of God "…in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." With God in Paradise, that began to be one's experience. Until Jesus escorted these souls to Heaven soon after His resurrection (Eph 4:8,9), this is where the Old Testaments saints went after death. Abel was the first, and perhaps the thief on the cross was the last to enter it when Jesus told him "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise", Lk 23:43. Just as Hell will be cast into a Lake of Fire (Rev 20:14), Paradise was placed into Heaven. 2Co 12:4 speaks of Paul being caught UP (not going down to the heart of the earth) into paradise (Heaven). Rev 2:7 says "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." This is located in the New Jerusalem in Heaven, which one day will come down to the Earth (Rev 21:2; 22:1,2.) Just as it seems from 2Co 5:1 that the building we will one day be clothed with is not a mansion in heaven (as mistranslated by the KJV in Jn 14:2), but actually God Himself (See also Ps 91:1-4), so the Biblical paradise that one lives in (dwells in, those "dwelling places" rather than "mansions") is also living in God Himself. This is far greater than any natural, earthy paradise that has ever existed on Earth.

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Greg Merrill
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