Heaven-Bound Saints

Dr. Paul Manuel—2020

Outline:

      I.    Enoch goes up to heaven (Gen 5:22-24).

     II.    Elijah goes up to heaven (2 Kgs 2:1, 9-11).

    III.    Isaiah goes up to heaven (Isa 6:1-4).

   IV.    Jesus goes up to heaven (Acts 1:6-9).

    V.    Believers go up to heaven (1 Cor 15:22).

Application: Your departure from this earth may not be as impressive as it was for these men, but it will be equally as transformative (1 Thess 4:17).

   VI.    Paul goes up to heaven (2 Cor 12:2-4).

  VII.    Believers go up to heaven [still] (1 Thess 4:16-17).

VIII.    John goes up to heaven (Rev 1:7).

   IX.    John goes up to heaven [still] (Rev 4:1-10).

    X.    Witnesses go up to heaven (Rev 11:11-12).

Application: Most people prefer the brevity of life now to the eternity of life later, a decision that will foster an eternity of regret (Isa 46:10).

     Heaven is an idyllic destination, the ultimate goal the righteous seek. It is devoid of any elements that people find unattractive about life in this world:

[God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Rev 21:4)

Most people must wait until the end of their physical life before they reach heaven. Some people see it sooner than one might expect. A few catch a glimpse of it while they are still in this life. We will consider the testimony of those living and dead who describe heaven (see also Manuel 2013).

    The most impressive element of the believer’s new environment is that he will see what was previously forbidden and out of reach:

No one may see Me and live. (Exod 33:20)

After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. (Job 19:26)

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matt 5:8)

They will see His face. (Rev 22:4)

A common experience for the righteous in heaven is their view of God. It is a privilege the unrighteous will not have.

      I.    Enoch goes up to heaven (Gen 5:22-24).

Gen 5:22 Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

     Enoch’s translation is the reward for a very long tenure well lived on this earth. It is difficult enough for people today to maintain their commitment to God for “fourscore years” (Ps 90:10 KJV). To keep it for over 300 years is a staggering accomplishment of devotion. In a time before the great flood when man’s religious fervor is on the decline, when “every inclination of the thoughts of his heart [is] only evil all the time” (Gen 6:5), Enoch establishes himself as a paragon of virtue. He is so long-lived in this state as to be a fixture, making the transformation at the end of his life jarring; suddenly “he was no more” (v. 24). Furthermore, he did not simply fade away; “God took him away” (v. 24).

     Noah, Abraham, and Isaac all have the same reputation for righteousness and the same way of describing it, using a phrase that describes “communion and fellowship” with the Lord of the universe (Hamilton 1990:258):

Noah…walked with God. (Gen 6:9)

Abraham and Isaac walked with God. (Gen 48:15)

These men may not have all had the same lengthy commitment to righteousness, but the biblical writer describes their commitment the same way (walking with God), which leads them to the same ultimate end.

     II.    Elijah goes up to heaven (2 Kgs 2:1, 9-11).

2 Kgs 2:1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal…. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed [the Jordan River], Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not.” 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

     After a lifetime of ministry, Elijah is ready to transfer his mantle to another prophet and retire, or at least move to a different venue. His protégé Elisha will take over but must pass a final test which should not be difficult, simply keep doing what he has been doing. Given the miracle Elisha has just witnessed, his request for a “double portion” (v. 9) of Elijah’s spirit is understandable and may be what Elisha thinks he will need to lead the “company of the prophets” (2 Kgs 2:3, 5, 7, 15).[1]

     Elisha must remain with his mentor until the very end, so as not to miss Elijah’s departure, which is sudden and without warning, as well as spectacular, with “a chariot of fire and horses of fire” surrounded by “a whirlwind” (v. 11). This escort is what brings Elijah to “up to heaven” (v. 11), and witnessing it confirms Elisha’s appointment.

    III.    Isaiah goes up to heaven (Isa 6:1-4).

Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord[2] seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above Hm were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

     Isaiah’s experience is actually a vision (“I saw” v. 1) rather than an in-person encounter with the divine. Nevertheless, there is a four-fold assault on his senses between the shaking of the threshold, the smell of incense (smoke), the sound of the seraphim, and the sight of the exalted one. Moreover, the setting in the heavenly temple is overwhelming and probably traumatic. It strikes fear in the prophet, who wonders if he will even survive the ordeal (“I am ruined!” v. 5), especially in light of God’s words to Moses:

No one may see Me and live. (Exod 33:20)

Paul says that God “lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Tim 6:16). The seraphim reinforce God’s separation with their three-fold cry:[3]

Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory. (Isa 6:3)

“What is holy is distinct from whatever does not pertain to deity” (Oswalt 1986:180; Manuel 2009). The threefold statement means that He is “the holiest of all” (Oswalt 1986:181). Isaiah’s vision enables him to see God and to interact with Him, as much as anyone can interact with Him (“Woe to me!” v. 5).

     Although God created man in His image (Manuel 2001), He is other in many ways:[4]

There is no one like Me in all the earth. (Exod 9:14)

God is unique and, as such, man must regard Him as most worthy of praise. Isaiah’s transport to the heavenly temple gives him a view of God very few people see this side of eternity.

   IV.    Jesus goes up to heaven (Acts 1:6-9).

Acts 1:6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.[5] 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

     After Jesus’ resurrection, he spends time with the disciples giving them final instructions before his assumption. Their query is not about his most recent miracle and how that might affect them but about Israel’s future as a nation and what is now in store for God’s people. He had previously given an extended treatment about the future (Olivet Discourse), and they want to know if those events are imminent: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (v. 6). His reply is disappointing: “It is not for you to know” (v. 7). Moreover, it is a date even he does not (yet) know:

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Matt 24:36)

After saying this, he leaves them. Jesus’ ascent is fully visible to all there as will be his return whence he came.[6] Nevertheless, an even broader audience will witness his coming back to earth, for at that time “every eye will see him” (Rev 1:7), his friends as well as his enemies.

    V.    Believers go up to heaven (1 Cor 15:22).

1 Cor 15:22 As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

     Death is a common experience for most people. Few, like Enoch and Elijah, escape that final act. For those who do, however, God also prepares a glorious future of eternal life with Him. Jesus says:

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:3-4)

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Rev 21:4)

Heaven is a spacious place, with many famous residents. That is a future worthy of great anticipation.

Application: There will come a time when you will go to heaven, joining all those who have gone before and receiving your final reward, which will be very considerable and will be in stark contrast to what you have now:[7]

We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thess 4:17)

[You have] an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you.
(1 Pet 1:4)

Your departure from this earth may not be as impressive as it was for Enoch and Elijah, but it will be equally as transformative, and it will be rewarding as well. The equation is very straightforward:[8]

We will not all sleep [i.e., die], but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed [i.e., translated]. (1 Cor 15:51-52)

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son…does not have life.
(1 John 5:12)

What you decide in this life, however short it may seem, determines what you will be doing in the next life, which is very long indeed.

   VI.    Paul goes up to heaven (2 Cor 12:2-4).

2 Cor 12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven.[9] Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.[10]

     At some point during Paul’s extensive missionary journeys, he has an out-of-body experience, a vision, which he is reluctant to admit receiving (“God knows” vv. 2, 3). There are few NT mentions of “paradise” (v. 4),[11] but it is equated with “heaven” (v. 2) and is the exclusive abode of the righteous.[12] Paul has difficulty describing it and can only relate in the third person what he sees in part, but his impression is very positive, something he can look forward to repeating someday. In any case, “glimpses the NT does give of the coming glory are aimed at strengthening faith and promoting holiness…not at satisfying curiosity” (Harris 1976:395). “Paradise, then, is not a shadowy waiting-room, but a blissful abode within the very courts of heaven itself” (Hughes 1962:438).

  VII.    Believers go up to heaven [still] (1 Thess 4:16-17).

1 Thess 4:16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.[13] And so we will be with the Lord forever.

     Paul describes Jesus’ return as a very public event, with great angelic fanfare, The resurrection which attends Jesus’ return, will occur in stages for believers, first for believers who have died, then for believers who are alive at his coming. It will be an air show like no other, with people—not planes—flying through the air. Amazingly God will accomplish this global reconstruction for people who have been dead for centuries and whose bodies have long since decayed, or who were buried at sea, or who were cremated. God made peoples’ bodies, and He can easily remake them. The most important part is that “we will be with the Lord forever” (v. 17).

VIII.    John goes up to heaven (Rev 1:7).

Rev 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

    Jesus’ return will be elevated but clearly visible to everyone on earth. It is an event that will supersede all sleep schedules and ignore all time zones. It will be especially intrusive for those guilty of sentencing him to death (e.g., Pilate), but the guilty will include most people:

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (Matt 7:13)

They will come to the abrupt and painful realization that they have wasted their life and that it is too late to change course (Manuel 2020).[14] Only those who followed Jesus will go on to heaven.

   IX.    John goes up to heaven [still] (Rev 4:1-10).

Rev 4:1 I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures,[15] and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Hm who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Hm who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne.

     Like Isaiah before him, John has a vision of God the Father on His throne in heaven surrounded by beings both natural (“elders” v. 4) and supernatural (“spirits” v. 5, “living creatures” v. 6). The chorus is a common refrain in the celestial court:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. (v. 8)

“In Hebrew, the double repetition of a word adds emphasis, while the rare threefold repetition designates the superlative and calls attention to…the quality of God felt by creatures in his presence as awesomeness or fearfulness” (Johnson 1981:463). Like their Isaianic counterparts, these divine attendants extol the impeccable character of God. This is what John witnesses, and this is what all believers will see when they get to heaven.

    X.    Witnesses go up to heaven (Rev 11:11-12).

Rev 11:11 After the three and a half days[16] a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

     The heavenly voice (lwøq_tA;b) is a common element in scripture and occurs at important moments in the nation’s history.[17] Here, it marks a culmination of God’s dealing with the opposition’s rebellious acts as He demonstrates His supernatural ability to override humanity’s worst intentions:

When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie [exposed] in the street of the great city…. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language, and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. (Rev 11:7-10)

Such is now the depravity of man, and it will prevent their entry to heaven.[18]

Application: There is distinct advantage to knowing God. He has clued you into the mystery of the universe, that life from Him and life with Him is both knowable and attainable, all because of who God is:

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. (Isa 46:10)

The wonder is that the vast majority refuse God’s purpose. Most people prefer the brevity of life now to the eternity of life later, to chart their own course rather than follow His course, a decision that will foster an eternity of regret. Such narrowmindedness betrays shortsightedness. Thankfully, that is not the case for you. Because you have embraced what God has done, your future is forever bright.

Conclusion: The Bible has quite a bit to say about what happens to people when they depart life on earth, including those who belong to God and go to be with Him. No matter how long or short your tenure on this earth, Heaven-Bound Saints have nothing but good things and good times ahead:

When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus

We’ll sing and shout the victory.

 

 

Bibliography

 

Bruce, F.F.

     1980      The Book of the Acts. NICNT. Edited by R.K. Harrison. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Hamilton, Victor P.

     1990      The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1-17. NICOT. Edited by R.K. Harrison. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Harris, Murray J.

     1976      “2 Corinthians.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 10 Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.

Hughes, Philip

     1962      Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians. NICNT. Edited by R.K. Harrison. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Johnson, Allen F.

     1981      “Revelation.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 12. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company.

Longenecker, Richard N.

     1981      “Acts.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 9. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.

Manuel, Paul http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com

     2001      “The Image of God in Man.” Anthropology Excursus 1 in A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.

     2009      A Roadmap to Holiness: The Highest Value in God’s Economy.

     2012      “The Trinity.” Theology Excursus 1 in A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.

     2013      Hints of Heaven. [4 Sermon Series]

     2020      “An Essay on Free Will.”

Mare, W. Harold

     1976      “1 Corinthians.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 10. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.

Oswalt, John N.

     1986      The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-39. NICOT. Edited by R.K. Harrison. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Thomas, Robert L.

     1978      “1, 2 Thessalonians.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 11. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.

---

[1]God makes a similar provision for the elders who will assist Moses:

Num 11:17 I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.

This may also be akin to the inheritance of a son:

Deut 21:17 He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.

[2]Amos has a similar vision: “I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said…”  (9:1).

[3]There is no evidence that the Trisagion (here and in Rev 4:8) refers to the trinity, which is a much later theological concept (Manuel 2012).

[4]The uniqueness of God is a common theme in scripture:

Exod 8:10 There is no one like the LORD our God.

Deut 4:35 The LORD is God; besides him there is no other…. 39 The LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.

Deu 33:26 There is no one like the God of Jeshurun.

1 Sam 2:2 There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you.

2 Sam 7:22 How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

Ps 86:8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.

Ps 89:6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?

Ps 113:5 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,

1 Chr 17:20 There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

Isa 46:9 I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.

Jer 10:6 No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power…. 7 Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

[5]Longenecker equates the cloud with the shekinah (1981:258), as does Bruce (1980:41).

[6]Jesus came from the Father:

John 1:14 [He] came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 8:42 I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.

John 16:28 I came from the Father and entered the world…. 30 This makes us believe that you came from God.

Phil 2:6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

His return will not be like his advent but will be visible to all:

Matt 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary….

Rev 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

[7]There will be recompense for all manner of behavior:

2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

God deals with every person without regard for a person’s disposition, whether good or bad:

Rom 14:8 Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

2 Cor 5:9 We make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

It is difficult to quantify eternal life, but that is what you will have:

Matt 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

Rom 2:7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Gal 6:8 The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

[8]Your new life will be very different:

1 Thess 4:17 We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

1 Thess 5:10 Whether we are awake or asleep [i.e., alive or dead], we [will] live together with him.

 

[10]Paul’s experience may be the origin of what he later describes as “tongues…of angels:”

1 Cor 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong….

[11]Apart from the abode of God, Paul recognizes different tiers or levels of heaven (also Hughes 1962:433).

1 Kgs 8:27 Will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.

    •  The heaven of the lower atmosphere:

Gen 1:20 Let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.

Ezek 31:6 All the birds of the air nested in its boughs.

    •  The heaven of the upper atmosphere:

Dan 7:13There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.

Matt 26:64 You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.

    •  The heaven of outer space:

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Deut 4:19 You look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array.

Ps 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

 

TThe other NT references to paradise are:

Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Rev 2:7 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Its antonym is Gehenna (hell) which is the abode of the unrighteous dead:

Matt 5:22 Anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell…. 30 It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matt 10:28 Be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matt 23:15 When he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are…. 33 You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

Luke 12:5 Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.

Jms 3:6 The tongue…. is itself set on fire by hell.

[13]“A meeting in the air is pointless unless the saints continue on to heaven with the Lord who has come to meet them” (Thomas 1978:279).

[14]Several common expressions capture the irreversible nature of a situation: (e.g. That train has left the station), but none is so poignant as the rich man’s exchange with Abraham:

Luke 16:24 Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. … 26 Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

[15]The living creatures also appear in Ezekiel passages:

Ezek 1:5 In the fire was what looked like four living creatures.

Ezek 10:15 The cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.

Ezek 3:13 the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other

[16]This approximates Jesus’ time in the tomb:

Matt 12:40 As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

[17]God’s people hear the heavenly voice at several important moments in their history:

Gen 22:11 The angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

2 Sam 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

Neh 9:13 You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven.

Dan 4:31 A voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar:

Matt 3:17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

John 12:28 A voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Acts 11:9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’

2 Pet 1:18 We…heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

Rev 10:4 I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said”

Rev 11:12 They heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.”

Rev 14:13 I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” 

Rev 18:4 I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, my people.”

[18]In the end, man’s depravity will rival that in the days of Noah, and God’s disposition will be similar:

Gen 6:5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time…. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth.”