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The Lost Paradise
And the Seven Heavens of God



Imagine a place of paradise,
just within our reach,
sharing this very same
planet earth,
yet.
out of reach,
In a
different dimension.



In the book of Genesis,
the Bible tells of a different dimension,
a paradise,
described as a garden.
A place perfect where there is
no pain,
no suffering.
Simple and eternal bliss.
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Such a place is where God placed the man Adam He created.
 
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed (Gen. 2:8).
 
After Adam sinned, he was sent out of the garden.
                                                                                                                                                              
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 (Gen. 3:23-24).
 
The gate of the garden was protected by Cherubim so that the man could not reenter the garden.
 
This same garden is mentioned in Revelation. 
 
 
The Book of Revelation tells of a place called paradise.
 
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 (Rev. 2:7).
 
In this "paradise" (Strong 3857) is the tree of life, the same tree of life that was in the garden of Eden.
 
 
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 (Gen. 2:9).
 
It is kept for the future "to him that overcometh."
 
 
This same place of paradise is mentioned by Jesus.
 
 
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:42).
 
Jesus told one of the thieves nailed on a cross next to Him that he would be with Him ("today") in this place of "paradise" (Strong 3857) that day. 
 
So, when Jesus died, He entered paradise in spirit, leaving behind His physical body (lay waiting a resurrection). 
 
 
The apostle Paul also mentioned a paradise.
 
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. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter (2 Cor. 12:2-4).
 
Paul said a man was "caught up to the third heaven" called "paradise" (Strong 3857).
 
And while King James Version says this paradise was the direction "up"...
 
Young's literal translation simply says it is "away."
 
I have known a man in Christ, fourteen years ago -- whether in the body I have not known, whether out of the body I have not known, God hath known -- such an one being caught away unto the third heaven; and I have known such a man -- whether in the body, whether out of the body, I have not known, God hath known, that he was caught away to the paradise, and heard unutterable sayings, that it is not possible for man to speak 2 Cor. 12:2-4, YLT).
 
Paul describes Paradise as "away" and to the third heaven.
 
If Paradise is in a direction that goes "away" instead of up, then could it still be in the earthly realm?
 
Jesus gives us a clue of where Paradise is when He said He had not yet gone "up" to where His Father in heaven is.
 
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God (John 20:15).
 
And Paul says Christ ascended "up" to heaven after his resurrection.
 
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 thing.) (Eph. 4:8-10).
 
After Paradise, Jesus descended "into the lower parts of the earth" before He "ascended up far above all heavens." And His ascension "up" to the top of all heavens means this direction to heaven is definitely upward.
 
 
If Jesus went to Paradise straight after death (as He told the thief) and yet had not gone "up" (as He told Mary), then Paradise could not be up.
 
And if Paradise is not "up" then His Father's abode must be located in a different place than Paradise.
 
And if the location of the garden of Eden called Paradise is not in the heavenly abode of the Father, yet it is in a heaven as Paul said (2 Cor. 12:2-4), then where exactly and in what heaven is the garden?
 
 
The Old Testament in Hebrew actually describes seven heavens.
 
Vilon (Isa 40:22)
Raki'a (Gen 1:17)
Shehaqim (Ps 78:23, Midr. Teh. to Ps. xix. 7)
Zebul (Isa 63:15, I Kings 8:13)
Ma'on (Deut 26:15, Ps 42:9)
Machon (1 Kings 8:39, Deut 28:12)
Araboth
 
 
Isaiah 40 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain (doq, or Vilon) and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.
 
Genesis 1 17 And God set them in the firmament (Raki'a) of the heaven to give light upon the earth.
 
Psalm 78 23 Though he had commanded the clouds (Shehaqim) from above, and opened the doors of heaven,24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.25 Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.
 
Isaiah 63 15 Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation (Zebul) of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
1 Kings 8 13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in (Zebul) a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
 
Deuteronomy 26 15 Look down from thy holy habitation (Ma'on) from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
 
1 Kings 8 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place (Machon) and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men).
 
Psalm 68 4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens (Araboth ) by his name Jah, and rejoice before him.
 
Shamayim describes all seven heavens where the Lord can be found.
 
Deuteronomy 33 26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon theheaven (shamayim) in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
 
 
The first 3 heavens are a location of space, and their location is "up" as described in Scripture.
 
The Last 4 heavens are a location of time/space or a different dimension, because their location is a dwelling or "habitation."
 
If the battle against the enemy took place in the garden of Eden, which it did according to Scripture, (Gen. 3) then the battle would have ended the same place it began. It was Jesus who won this battle with His death on the Cross (Luke 10:18, 1 Cor. 15:3-4). His spirit transcended to the same location but a different dimension when it left His body and went to the lost paradise.  It went to Paradise. This means that the garden, or paradise, is in the same location as it always was but in a different dimension, the one that Adam and Eve were made to leave after they had sinned.
 
 
Since Scripture shows that the third heaven paradise and the seventh heaven are two different places of heaven, to find them through their Hebrew names needs further research of Hebrew Scripture.
 
Of the four Habitations, only one tells of the place of the "holiness" and "glory" of God.
 
It is Zebul.
 
This is the heaven Zebul as quoted above:
 
Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation (Zebul) of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? (Isa. 63:15).
 
This heaven is located "up" since being in it means one must "look down."
 
In this heaven is the Throne of Glory ("thy holiness and of they glory") and with it the celestial Jerusalem (Rev. 5, 21).
 
 
Notice located in Zebul is a "house or "dwelling" for those who are with God.
 
I have surely built thee an house to dwell in (Zebul) a settled place for thee to abide in for ever (1 Kings 8:13).
 
Scripture calls this dwelling for those who are with the Lord a "tabernacle."
 
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 15:1-8).
 
"If our earthly house" is "dissolved," we have a "building of God" "eternal in the heavens. "Without this house, we would be found "naked (verse 3)."
 
To be in this "building of God" is to be "present with the Lord."
 
This "building of God" (as explained in Mark 14:58 and John 2:19-22) is Jesus.
 
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?But he spake of the temple of his body. (John 2:19-21).
 
We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands (Mark 14:58).
 
Jesus is the "house not made with hands eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1), built by God the Father. Since Jesus lives with God the Father, it is the heaven Zebul where dwells God the Father in His glory and His Son.
 
Since those who pass on from this life who belong to the Lord will dwell with Him in the same Heaven (Phil. 1:23), this is also where dwells the spirits of those who are with the Lord.
 
 
There is also a heaven where wealth is stored for the saints.
 
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6:19-21).
 
This wealth-giving is noticed in the heaven Machon.
 
Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place (Machon) and forgive, and do, andgive to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) (1 Kings 8:39).
 
Note of the three heavens where God dwells, Zebul, Ma'on, and Machon, only Machon is not located "up."
 
Paradise? The future abode for the saints where God will dwell with them (Rev. 2:7)?
 
It was noted from Revelation 2:7 that those who belong to the Lord will later live in paradise with the Lord.
 
If they currently live in the seventh heaven with the Father and Son, when are they to live in paradise with their Savior?
 
The answer is found in the book of Revelation.
 
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, andhis wife hath made herself ready.And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.(Rev. 19:5-9).
 
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev. 21:1-2).
 
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God (Rev. 21:9-10).
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 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 (Rev. 22:1-2).
 
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Rev. 22:14).
.
The saints, those who belong to the Lord, will dwell with Him forever in the land where is the "tree of life." Paradise.
 
The celestial city of Jerusalem brought down from heaven known as the bride will be located in the garden called Paradise.
 
"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life."
 
 


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Works Cited

Strong, James. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Hendrickson Publishers, Incorporated, 2009.

Trimm, James. "The Seven Heavens in Scriptures." Nazarene Space. 3 Nov. 2009. http://nazarenespace.com/profiles/blogs/the-seven-heavens-in-the. Accessed 29 May 2017.