What Happened to Paradise After the Cross? (2 Corinthians 12)

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, an Oklahoma rancher and farmer. Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for over 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say, time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. So if you're interested in any of that material for your own home Bible study, or for whatever, you just call us on the 800-number, or you drop us a note, and we'll get these things can have them, and use them for we trust God's glory. Now we ran out of time in our last half hour, which of course was quite obvious, but we're going to pick right up. I'm not going to skip anything, and we're going to go back a minute to start with 2 Corinthians chapter 12. I have to do that, because sometimes people will call and say, now wait a minute, what program was that? Of course now Roy is putting the numbers on the board, and that helps. But if people can just say, well you started in 2 Corinthians 12, then that helps. So we're going to come back to 2 Corinthians 12 just for a jumping off, and then we're going to go back and look at our other references a moment. With regard to verse 2, where Paul says, I know a man in Christ, in other words a true born again believer, about or above 14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, whether out of the body I cannot tell, but God knoweth, such a one caught up to the third heaven. Well I was in the process of showing how the Scriptures lay out the first heaven, the second heaven and the third heaven. We looked at the verse in Genesis in our last program, and now if you'll move with me up to Deuteronomy chapter 4, so that you can see from your own Bible that this is what the Word does. It refers to the first heaven, which is the area where the birds fly, or what we call our atmosphere. But then the second heaven is the area of the stars, or what we would call space. We have a good reference on that in Deuteronomy chapter 4. Deuteronomy 4.19b "...and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven." Now that's not the heaven that we normally think of as the abode of God, but it is the second heaven. It's not the area where the birds fly, and it's certainly not the abode of God, so it's the second heaven. It's the area of space, the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and what have you. And so now if you'll come back again to II Corinthians, now Paul is going to delineate the third heaven as being paradise. And again we're going to chase down some Scriptures, but for now come back to II Corinthians chapter 12. I know 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 is not permitted or lawful for a man to utter or to repeat. Alright, paradise. Now we have to get an understanding of paradise in the Old Testament and the New Testament to realize that the Apostle here is so in accord with all of Scripture. Now I'm not going to take time to put on the board, I thought first I would. But you remember when we were teaching these things in the Old Testament, and you can be chapter 12, that we taught that in the Old Testament economy, since the atoning blood of Christ had not yet been shed, and animals blood could not atone for anyone's sin, all they did was cover it. So the Old Testament believer could not go up into the presence of God, so he went down into paradise. Now we're going to show you that this is the right direction to look at it, as Christ is in His earthly ministry, and in Matthew chapter 12, verse 38, they said, We would see a sign from thee. But he answered them, and said unto them, An evil and an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. Now here it comes. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Now that's down from here, and so everything concerning paradise in the Old Testament economy until after Christ's resurrection was down to this area in the center of the earth. Now we get another further description of it, a little window if you might call it that, in Luke chapter 16, and dropping down to verse 19. Now I'm sure you've all heard sermons on this, so I'm not showing you anything new, but we're going to go over it again, because all of this helps us understand what Paul now teaches with regard to paradise, compared to what it was in the Old Testament and during Christ's earthly ministry. Verse 19. "...there was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple, and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who was laid at the gate full of sores. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table, moreover the dogs came, and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried, and in hell." Now here we've got to go through the board, don't we? In hell. Now in the Old Testament in the Hebrew the word was Sheol, in the Greek it was Hades, all meaning the same thing. And then in the English it's hell. And all three of these words were simply the abode of those who had departed this life. Now I've had so many people who go to churches that use the Apostles Creed, and they'll say, well now what does it mean when we repeat our Creed, and it says that we believe that Jesus died, was buried, and descended into hell. You mean He went down into hell fire? No He did not go into hell fire, but He did go down into the paradise side of hell. Now here it is in Luke chapter 16, what I'm talking about. Verse 23. Luke 16. "...and he seeth Abraham a far off, and Lazarus in his bosom." Two believers, and here's the rich man in torment. "...and he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue. For I am tormented in this flame." But Abraham, he too is in hell, but he�s not in the torment side, he�s on the paradise side. Acts 5, verse 25a "... Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy last time receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus the evil. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father�s house. For I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they come into this place of torment. And Abraham said unto him, They have Moses, and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto them, If they will not hear Moses, and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one be raised from the dead." Now the other account I think which is in Matthew makes it so plain, and it�s not in this one, that Abraham says, I can�t come over to you and dip my finger in cold water, because of what? A great gulf fixed. Now all of these were in what we call Sheol, and Hades, or hell. They were all in the place that he parted. But on the one side was torment, and on the other side was paradise. Now let�s come back with me to Ephesians chapter 4, and we�ll see what happened. And while you�re looking for that, I�ll remind you of another statement that Jesus made from the cross, and the thief that looked up to Him and said, Remember me, will now come into thy kingdom. What was Jesus� answer? Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. They�d go down and join the saints that were waiting for this great work of atonement. Now since the atoning blood had been shed, and Christ has died, and He has spent these 3 days and 3 nights in paradise, not in torment, but He�s been in paradise. Now look what Paul says happened. Ephesians 4. 8. Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive. Now who had been in captivity? Those believing Old Testament saints. They were held in Hades, or hell, or Sheol on paradise side waiting for the atoning blood, which had now been shed. And so now when Christ left paradise, look what happened. Ephesians 4. 8. Now that he ascended, but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth. Now Paul puts the capstone on it, that before he ascended to glory, he descended into paradise, and took those who were captive. So he that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill or fulfill all things. Now if you�ll come back with me to II Corinthians chapter 5. Now when Paul says that he went up to paradise, you see this is confirmation of the fact that paradise is no longer down as it was, but now it�s in glory. In fact there is the lot of the present day believer when they die. It has been now ever since Christ ascended. II Corinthians 5. 8. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Now if he�s going to be present with the Lord, where is he hoping to go? Paradise, because paradise is now in heaven as we understand heaven. Now if you�ll come back with me to chapter 12. Paul has now gotten a glimpse of heaven as we normally think of it, with all of its beauty, and no doubt with all of the music. Now I love music, and I think that when we hear good music down below, it�s just a sampling of what we�re going to experience when we get to glory. Now Paul evidently had a full exposure to all this. He saw the glories, he heard the magnificent things, and how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words which it is not permitted or lawful for a man to utter. In other words God said, �Alright Paul, I�m letting you see and hear, but you can�t repeat it. You have to keep it to yourself.� Now verse 5. Paul says, �Of such a one would I glory, yet of myself I will not glory but in my infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, I�m not going to be foolish remembering what God had instructed. For I will say the truth, but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth.� What�s he saying? If God would have permitted him to repeat what he had seen and heard, what would the human race have done with the Apostle Paul? They would have worshiped him. And see Paul is just as human as you and I. He does never, never does he expect worship from any of his converts. He�s not God. And so this is one of the failures of mankind, and I�m sure this is why Noah�s Ark has never been discovered. Because you know what would happen. If they could uncover that thing, like all roads lead to Rome, they would all lead to the Ark, and the world would flock to worship something like that. And the same way with many other things that God has seen fit to keep hidden, because knowing the human heart. Well if Paul could have rehearsed with any of his people, or even to the Roman world in general, of what he had seen and heard, they would have fallen down and worshiped him. And see God couldn�t permit that. And so he put the stigma on him, that you cannot repeat what you�ve seen and heard. Now again this happened 14 years back from where we are, which remember I put you back into the early 50�s, early in his missionary career. Now put all this together. Whenever the man was going through intense suffering, as he was leaned over the stake, and they were whipping him, first from the front, and then from the back. What do you suppose was constantly sustaining him? What he saw and heard in glory. And on top of that how many times the Lord Jesus appeared unto him, like at Corinth when the Lord said, �Don�t give up Paul, I have a great number of people in this place.� You remember when they were about to be shipwrecked on that trip to Rome, and a lot of the prisoners and everything were about to be put to death because they didn�t want to escape. And Paul just brought everything under control, and he said, �Look God has appeared to me, not a life is going to be lost.� Well how did he know? The Lord Jesus had communicated with him. And so he had these things of the supernatural to compensate for all of his trials and all of his sufferings. Now you and I don�t have that, but he did. And so whenever he would come through these beatings, he could just remind himself, but look what I�ve got coming. Let�s go back to Romans chapter 8, and drop down to verse 18. Now remember this is all written quite a while after the Romans came. Romans is probably written about 60 A.D., so this is at least 10 years after he�s had this experience of getting a glimpse of glory. And so now look how he could write with full understanding, even though it�s inspired by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8, verse 18. See how plain that is now? I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that�s going to be revealed to us. Oh you know, believers just can�t seem to get that through their head. Now even though we may shun a lot of the world�s pleasure, and we may not enjoy some of the things that the world thinks are enjoyable, is it worth it? Well you better believe it, because no matter what we suffer, even if we would suffer to the extent that the Apostle Paul suffered, we would still with him be able to say, Oh but it�s worth it, because of the glory that�s waiting for us. And it�s not just going to be 70 years to compensate for 70 or 80 or 90 down here. It�s forever. Some pastor out in the audience sent me a chart that he had made, and full agreement with everything that I�ve been teaching. But I wrote back and I told him, and I said, �You know the part that excited me the most?� Because at the way right end of the chart it was eternity. Ages upon ages upon ages upon ages. Think about it. That�s eternity. Time without end. So we with the Apostle have to do the same thing. Maybe we�ll have to suffer yet some day. We don�t know, but if we do, that�s what has to bear us up, is that no matter how much we suffer, it�s going to be worth it all because of the glory that�s going to be revealed to us some day. The other one I think we can use is in I Corinthians chapter 2. And remember this is all written long after this tremendous experience, and I�m not taking away any of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I feel every word in this Book is Holy Spirit breathed. But remember that as men wrote, their personality and their personal feelings were also evident. I Corinthians chapter 2, and I�ll drop again at verse 9. But as it is written, I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. What a promise! And God can�t lie. So we can rest on it, that the day is coming when we�re going to experience things like, I think Paul was just bursting back here in II Corinthians chapter 12. Oh how he would have liked to have shared at least some of it, but he couldn�t. And that�s the reason of course, is that they would begin to worship Him. Now if you�ll in the last couple of minutes come back with me again to II Corinthians chapter 12, beginning at verse 6. II Corinthians 12. See how he�s just bursting to tell us what he saw and heard. I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth, but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be. In other words, like I�ve already said, the danger was that they would exalt Him, and like the pagans would do with their Gods and Goddesses, they�d be having statues of Him, and they�d have idols fashioned after Him, and God couldn�t have that. Now verse 7, to make sure that he never forgot, what does God do? He gives him a thorn in the flesh, and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations. See how plain that is when you know now what He�s talking about? What was the abundance of revelations? Well first the revelations of these doctrines of grace, the Gospel, and the church age teachings. That was enough. But on top of that he got a glimpse of glory, a revelation, and the man is bursting with all this. And yet God says, I don�t want you to be exalted, I don�t want you to get the big head, I don�t want you to get proud, and so I�m going to give you a thorn in the flesh to keep you humble. So lest I should be exalted through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger, or the angel of Satan, to buffet or to attack him, lest I should be exalted above measure. Now the Greek makes it so much stronger. Now I�m not a Greek scholar, but a few of these verses I go back and do a little study on it. You know what he�s calling here this thorn in the flesh? It was like being crucified. It was that kind of a constant pain. It was as if he was constantly suffering crucifixion. That�s what the Greek implies. I copied down another translation, and I didn�t get it along, and I don�t want to try to quote it without reading it accurately. But one of the translations put it that way. In order to keep him humble, the Lord had actually given him a thorn in the flesh that was like an impalement. Well that�s what crucifixion was you see. It was like an impalement that he had to live with, and he�s already had it over 14 years, and we have to assume he probably carried it to his death. Now there�s a lot of controversy from various points of view as to what his thorn in the flesh was. Some of them are absurd, and some of them make some sense, but the one that I�ve always adhered to and I still stand on, I think he had what we would probably call a vicious case of ophthalmia. It was very common in the ancient world. Of course they didn�t have the antibiotics and so forth, and it would lead to his repulsive appearance, those mattery eyes, and it affected his eyesight to the point, in fact let�s hurriedly look at Galatians and you�ll see where I get my thinking. In Galatians chapter 4, we�ll be coming to all this before too long in our next study of Galatians. Galatians chapter 4, verse 15, where is then the blessedness you spoke of? For I bear you record, that if it were possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes, and given them to me." Well why would they want to give him their eyes if he didn�t have a need for it? And then the next one, I think we�ve still got time for it, in the very last verses of the book of Galatians, and in verse 11. And he says, you see how in what large print I have written unto you with my own hand. Who uses large