MYHB - Teaching - Kingdom of heaven 2
Teaching - Kingdom of heaven 2
Three heavens
There are three heavens: The heaven where birds are, the heaven where stars are, and the heaven where God is [1]. This is a common teaching, but it causes confusion. Since the heaven where stars are is above the heaven where birds are, we reason that the heaven where God is must be above the stars. This is false.
If the third heaven was not created; how many things are self-existent? Nothing in the heaven; where the birds are, is self-existent; they were created. Nothing where the stars are is self-existent; they were created. Only God is self-existent; the third heaven is God himself. When you are in the third heaven, you are in God. It is imprecise to say that God is everywhere. It is better to say that everywhere is in God. Nothing is bigger than God. And if everywhere is in God, then every-thing is in God. It is imprecise to say that God is in everything. [5] |
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The word 'heaven' שמים reflects this. John says that there are three in heaven who testify: The Father מ, Word ם, and Spirit ש. The word shamem שמם means 'desolate'. Heaven was desolate... God was desolate, until he created, represented by the yod י. [1] |
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Saying that God is desolate sounds like it should be some kind of heresy. It's not. It simply says that God had not yet created. He was not the creator until he created. Notice where creation (the yod י) is: It is between the two mems מים. It is between the Father מ and the son ם. That is exactly where creation is. It is because the Son's love for the world, that he had to die and be separated from the Father. [1] |