Posted on 06/29/2022 11:35:09 PM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“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).
First a question: “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?” Answer: John chapter 3. In John chapter 3, Jesus Christ says in verse 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.”
Somebody says, “Well, Enoch ascended up into heaven.” Not by his own power. Elijah ascended up into heaven, but he went up in a chariot. Moses was evidently taken up there. He shows up with Christ in Matthew 17, but he didn't do it under his own power. There's only been one individual that ever ascended into heaven under his own power, and that was the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended [like He did in Acts chapter 1], 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).
So, the question is answered. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
“. . . who hath gathered the wind in his fists?”
The answer is in psalm 135:7, “He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.” The Lord, of course, Jesus Christ is the Lord.
“. . . who hath bound the waters in a garment?” you'll find that garment in Hebrews chapter 1:11, “They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment.”
“. . . who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth?” Now, there's the creation. Well? Who created it? Somebody says, “Well, in the beginning, God created heaven.” Yes, but what part of the Godhead created it?
Well, the Bible said the the spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters and so forth and so on. Yeah, but you gotta go to Colossians to find out who actually did it. That's a New Testament revelation, and here in the Old Testament, and Old Testament man asks, “Who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth?” Colossians chapter one. My Saviour did. Amen?
The Bible says, talking about Jesus Christ in verse 15, “Who is the image of the invisible God,” and it said “No man hath seen God at any time” (John 1:18). Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the father” (John 14:9). That's all there is to it. Again, John wrote, “Who is the image,” referring to Jesus, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature.” That’s every spiritual creature. He is the first born of every spirit creature. The Bible talks about him being the first born among many brethren in Romans chapter 8. You see, if you take that passage to make it physical, you have Jesus Christ being born like the Jehovah’s Witness says, or the Calvinist’s say, in eternity. He wasn't born in eternity; he was born in time. When it comes to spiritual birth, he is the first born of every creature and you are a new creature in Christ when you're born again.
He said, “by him were all things created.” Talking about Jesus Christ, “that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible; whether they be thrones, dominions, principalities, powers: all things were created by him and for him.”
So, “Who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name?” Well, the lord Jesus Christ is his name. and what is his Well the Lord Jesus Christ is his name.
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Just curious?
Bump.
I love the proverb for the obvious Reason, of course, but also because no words more beautiful have ever been strung together.
>>>Re: Enoch, Elijah, etc., aren’t there several, perhaps many, levels of heaven. Aren’t the Godly dead held in a place sometimes referred to as “Abraham’s bosom” until Judgement Day?
Just curious?<<<
The idea that there are levels of heaven and hell is based upon a Roman fairy tale written by Dante. No such thing. God’s word clearly tells us that there are three heaven.
The first heaven is where we are up to the clouds.
The second heaven is what we would call outer space and ends at the bottom of the “firmament in heaven”
The third is the abode of God’s throne and begins at the top of the “firmament in heaven.”
“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 knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2).
As to Abraham’s bosom, they were contained in the middle of the earth and they were the righteous Jews that died before the age of grace from Abel to the thief on the cross. Ephesians tells us that when Christ died he descended down to that area where he preached to them, and lifted the righteous side up to a place just below the throne of God. Remember that the rich man was also in that place, but on the other side of the great gulf between them.
“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).
Where are deceased saved people before Judgment Day?
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