Heaven is Real

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Job 16:1–19:29 
1 Corinthians 16:1-24 
Psalm 40:1-10 
Proverbs 22:1

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Job 19:25-27 (NLT) "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!"

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

As you read the Bible from front to back, you can't help but notice that there is something called Progressive Revelation (even though you may not have known that term).

Progressive Revelation is simply the acknowledgement that many points of theology are introduced in the Old Testament and developed as the Bible writers added to the canon of Scripture. As more books were added, those theological principles were developed as God revealed Himself and His truth more clearly to His people. After Jesus' time on earth and especially as the Apostle Paul wrote his letters, we come to an extremely clear understanding of things that were murky at best to Old Testament saints.

One truth that is developed in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15) is the eternal purpose for our bodies. God, through the Apostle Paul's quill, made it clear that our earthly bodies will eventually die (be separated from our spirit). Our earthly bodies will then immediately begin to decay. But, there is coming a day when God will supernaturally raise our decayed bodies and turn them into eternal, immortal bodies to be reunited with our spirits.

We need our bodies, after all. Our bodies are a clear sign that we are not made for some spiritual, 'unreal' existence. We are made for planet earth. Our bodies, made of clay, remind us of our connection to the planet upon which we walk (Genesis 2:7). So, it is no surprise that God's plan for our future home includes another earth (Revelation 21:1ff). And we will have physical bodies with which to experience the sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and feelings (touch) of that paradise.

In our Verses for Today, however, we realize that in Job (probably the first biblical book to be written), even early in the Old Testament there was an understanding that Heaven would be a physical place where we will have physical bodies to experience it.

If you just let your mind wander and think about Heaven being a real, physical place (after all, Jesus took His earthly body to Heaven - Acts 1:6-11), Heaven becomes even more attractive to us.

If you want to investigate this topic even more, I would HIGHLY recommend Randy Alcorn's book, "Heaven."