Paradise
Lost?
John 3:13 “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."
Here are some questions for you.
Can you answer them?
“Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?” [Proverbs 30:4]
[It will take WISDOM to give the correct answers. [Proverbs 9:10] “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”]
Well, WHO is HE, and WHAT is HIS NAME, and WHAT is HIS SON’S NAME?
The clue is gleaned in the very next verse [in verse five]. “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” [Proverbs 30:5] “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”
According to verse five in Proverbs, every word in John chapter three, verse eighteen is PURE.
The ANSWER is: HE is GOD, and the only begotten SON of GOD, WHO is GOD manifest in the flesh.
[1Timothy 3:16] “And without controversy
great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest
in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in
the world, received up into glory.”
So
the ONE WHO ascended up to heaven,
according verse eighteen, is the very ONE
that came down from heaven.
No one else has ever ascended to heaven, but Jesus Christ.
But you say, "What about Enoch and Elijah?"
Well, what about them? Let me tell you something. Everyone, who has ever plied this earth, before Jesus Christ came to this earth, has been held captive.
Until there was made a just propitiation for sin, we all were held in bondage because of sin. [Romans 3:25] “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
Therefore, all the Old Testament saints went to a place called Paradise to be held as captives … waiting for REDEMPTION.
Where Is Paradise?
Where is Paradise in the Bible?
Let’s start where Paradise used to be. We will find that we need to trace the TREE of LIFE to see the connection to Paradise. Turn to [Genesis 2:8]. “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden [EDEN]; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
We have a GARDEN: the Garden of Eden in verse eight.
Now read verse nine. “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
There are two trees!
Put your attention on THE TREE of LIFE.
[Never mind about the tree of knowledge of good and evil.]
Now go to [Revelation 2:7]. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
See the TREE of LIFE “in the midst of the paradise of God.”
Instead of the word GARDEN, the Spirit of God used the word: PARADISE.
Paradise is Eden!
The garden was in EDEN [PARADISE].
Eden was lost or Paradise was lost … to man in [Genesis 3:23-24] “Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
The Scripture shows [when man was put out of the garden] God relocated Paradise to lower parts of the earth according to Ephesians chapter four, verse nine. There Is More!
Paradise [Abraham’s Bosom] and Hell, according to Luke chapter sixteen, reinforces this truth that BOTH were in the center of this earth. Let us go to Luke sixteen, verse twenty-two, to see the Scripture explain the Scripture. “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom [PARADISE]: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell [HELL] he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
Now read verse twenty-six: “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.”
n the lower parts of this earth [the center of the earth] is a place, that has two compartments, one compartment is called HELL, and the other is called PARADISE, and between them was a GREAT GULF fixed. [Luke 23:43] “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
Now after Jesus Christ died on the CROSS, he “descended first into the lower parts of the earth.”
Then, after three days and three nights, he led captivity captive UP and OUT of the lower parts of the earth to Heaven.
Jesus Christ moved the location of Paradise to the third heaven [Heaven]. “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” [Ephesians 4:8-10]
Paradise is now in Heaven, Amen!
Paul was caught up to into paradise in [2 Corinthians 12:4]. “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
Heaven is where the Son of God is sitting at the right hand of God. That is where paradise is today!
Paradise Summary
1. Jesus Christ created Eden [Paradise] [when he created the heaven and the earth].
2. Jesus Christ moved the location of Paradise [EDEN] to the lower parts of the earth [EARTH] in [Genesis 3:23-24] after the FALL [SIN] of man.
3. Jesus Christ moved the location of Paradise to the third heaven [Heaven] after the propitiation for sin was made, when he led captivity captive [Luke 23:43].
4. Jesus Christ will relocate Paradise back to the earth in [Revelation 22:2].
Note the tree of life that was in the garden appears again. “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”