PARADISE FOUND

What is Paradise? Where is it? There are several conflicting beliefs from different groups of people on this subject. All I need to know is, “What does God’s word say about it?”

The word Paradise only appears three times in the Bible. The Apostle Paul mentioned it once in 2 Corinthians 12:4, and Jesus mentions it the other two times, in Luke 23:43, and again in Revelation 2:7. Let’s start with the last one first.

Revelation 2:7
7 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the middle of the PARADISE of God. 

There’s our first clue. Wherever PARADISE is, The Tree Of Life is there, also. Does the Bible tell us where the Tree Of Life is? Let’s see.

In Revelation 21:10, John saw a vision of the great city, holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. He spends the rest of the chapter describing the city. Then in chapter 22, he says the tree of life is there in the city.

Revelation 22:1-2
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
2 In the middle of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bare twelve kinds of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 

So, according to Revelation 21 and 22, the Tree of Life is in the holy city, New Jerusalem and so is the throne of God. The next two verses tie it all together.

Ecclesiastes 5:2b
2 …for God is in heaven, and you are on earth…

1 Kings 8:39a
39 Then hear in heaven your dwelling place…

So, according to the Bible, God is in heaven. Heaven is where he lives. That’s where his throne is. The Tree of Life is in the same place where God’s throne is, which is heaven, where he lives. The Bible tells us that the Tree of Life is in Paradise. So, Paradise is just another name for heaven.

Paul said the same thing in 2 Corinthians 12:2 and 4.

2 Corinthians 12:2,4
2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows;) such a one caught up to the third heaven.
4 ….he was caught up to paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

So, again, Paradise and heaven is the same place. Paradise is just another word for Heaven.

This is a good example of how to study God’s word. We have to search the Bible (Acts 17:11) and compare scripture with scripture (Isaiah 28:10) to see what the whole Bible says about any certain subject. Of course, we need the Holy Spirit to help us understand (1 Corinthians 2:14). So pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and serve God without hesitation. As we read and study the Bible, God will show us the truth (John 16:13) and he will give us better understanding (Proverbs 4:5-7). He will lead us into a close, personal relationship with himself, and someday we'll go to live in Paradise with our Creator who loves us with a love beyond anything our human minds can comprehend right now. That will definitely be Paradise.

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PREPARE FOR WHAT'S COMING

Have you ever had anything happen to you that you were totally unprepared for? Have you ever seen or heard of something happening to someone else and thought it could happen to you. Unfortunately, many people see something happening to someone else and think it could never happen to them. Well, not me. My grandmother was always thinking about what could happen if you do this and what could happen if you do that and I guess she passed that on down to me. Some people call it worrying but I call it being prepared. I think it’s reckless and irresponsible to begin anything without considering the possible negative outcome. We should never just jump into anything without thinking it out first. We always need to be safety-minded.

Remember my little blue Geo Metro? Well, I have another tale to tell you about it. One day I was going to check all the fluids as I always did once a week. That’s the life of your vehicle. When I pulled the hood release, I felt the cable break and the hood did not unlatch. I finally got it open but it wouldn’t latch back. The safety latch was working but I didn’t trust that enough to drive down the road. I had heard of several people having wrecks from car hoods fly up while going down the road so I put a bungee cord on it to keep the wind from blowing up under the hood.

I thought about what I would do if the hood were to blow up and block my view while driving down the road. I actually pictured it in my mind and planned out a strategy in case it ever happened to me. My plan was to put my head out the window and calmly apply the brakes and slowly and safely get the car off the road without having a wreck.

Then one morning, I was on my way to work, minding my own business, when my windshield suddenly turned blue and shattered. There was no warning like I thought there would be. I didn’t even have time to think about it. It was just there. I immediately put my well-thought-out plan into action. I put my head out the window so I could see the road and began applying the breaks and soon I was safely off the road. Thank God I had thought about what COULD happen before it did. Thank God I was prepared. If not, who knows what might have happened?

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus and his disciples warn us to be prepared for him to return. If we are not prepared when he comes back, we will not see heaven. It’s very important to have a plan. Thankfully, God has a plan for us already. He sent his son to live a sinless life and then die in our place so we could live forever. Jesus told Nicodemus that we must be born again in order to get into heaven (John 3:1-7). This is something beyond scientific explanation. It’s supernatural. In this process, our sins are washed away, we become a new person with a clean slate, and the Holy Spirit comes to live in our minds and guides us in making the right decisions every day.

Jesus is coming back soon and we need to be prepared. If you can’t say without a doubt that you’re ready, then please talk to God right now and make sure you don’t miss out on heaven. The only alternative is hell, and I’m sure nobody wants that. So be prepared and I’ll see you there.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2018 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6