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In Ac 1:9-11 the Lord Jesus Christ
went up into heaven. He was in a physical body (Lk
24:39) so He went to an actual, physical place. Let’s examine what God’s
word says about His destination.
In Ac 1:9-11 we see that the direction to
heaven is “up.” In Is 57:15 we see that
this place is in “eternity” and it is “high.” In Ps 29:10 we see that He
“sitteth upon the flood” which in v.3 is
called “the waters.” In Ge
1:2 we find Him again upon “the waters” which are also in the same verse
called “the deep.”
All of this brings to mind the “rain from
heaven” also called the “fountains of the deep” (Ge
8:2), which were “waters” brought upon the earth to flood it (Ge 6:17). And since the entire universe is
encased in a vast ocean sphere or bubble called the deep, it begins to look
like heaven is a place on top of the deep where God “sitteth
upon the flood.”
There are three heavens. The first heaven
is the lowest; it is our atmosphere where, for example, the birds fly (Je
8:7). The second heaven is outer space (Ge
1:6-17). The third heaven is the highest heaven and is also called
“paradise” (2 Co 12:2-4).
The waters of the deep are above the two
lower heavens (Ps 148:4) and God lives above these two heavens (Ps
113:4,5) on top of the waters of the deep. So the
deep is a boundary: Beneath the deep are two heavens, outer space and our
atmosphere; above or on top of the deep is heaven, the third heaven, paradise.
The face of the deep is covered with ice
(Job 38:30), which explains the “sea of glass like unto crystal” before the
throne of God in heaven (Re 4:6). And it is upon this frozen sea of
glass in heaven that the saints stand with the harps of God (Re 15:2).
God says nature can teach us things (1
Co 11:14) because He created things on earth according to a pattern of heavenly
things (He 8:1-5). This spherical earth is covered with watery oceans.
The North Pole was once thought to be ice on top of land like Antarctica. But
there is no earth there, just the polar ice cap, the frozen surface of the
Arctic Ocean.
This spherical universe is also covered
with a vast ocean – called the deep. The surface of the deep is frozen
where God’s throne is. But where is that?
God made all compasses point north. All
compasses point toward the polar ice cap, toward the frozen surface of the deep.
On all maps and globes north is up and we’ve already seen the
Bible says Jesus went up to heaven, but is God’s throne also north?
God and north are associated in Job
37:22. In Ps 75:6,7 “God” is substituted
for “north.” The city of God is now in “heaven” (Re 3:12) on the sides
of the “north” (Ps 48:2). The city of God is “in eternity” (Is 57:15)
because it is outside the realm of time. Under the deep in the firmament
God put the sun, moon, and stars. From the movement of these we determine time.
(In Scripture see Ge 1:14-18; Ga 4:10. In the dictionary see “sidereal.”) It is well
known that we can tell time in the day by the sun. Many people also know we can
tell the seasons as well as the time at night by the stars. Less well known is
the fact that we can also tell time – fairly accurately – at night by the moon.
(Click the moon on my web site to learn how.) Anyway, above the deep
beyond the universe is another realm not governed by sidereal movement, by time. It is therefore called eternity. Someday Re 21:1
will happen which will result in Re 21:23; 22:5, and Is 60:19,20. That means no more sidereal movement, which means
no more time (Re 10:6) – which is eternity.
Now, getting back to
north. God is the
beginning and the ending (Re 1:8). The compass begins and ends with
north. God’s Book is our compass to point our way through the wilderness toward
Him. The Hebrews learned that an exodus from Egypt (the world) required that
they go north to enter the Promised Land through the waters of the deep Red
Sea.
God sits on His
throne in heaven on the frozen northern surface of the deep. And appropriately
located beneath His feet, encased by the deep, is the realm He created in six
days.