A little more about Paradise

Did you know the word "Paradise" only appears in the Bible three times? The first is in the post below, when Jesus says to the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:39-43)

The second is when the apostle Paul says this about himself to the church in the city of Corinth, Greece:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

And I know how such a man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows--was caught up into Paradise, and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)

Some think this happened to Paul when he was stoned by the crowd at Lystra (Acts 14:19).

And then the last appearance is in the book of Revelation. "One like a son of man" (Jesus) is telling the apostle John what to tell the church in the city of Ephesus. Among other things, He says:

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God." (Revelation 2: 7)

OK, here's my question. If:

1) the tree of life is in Paradise, and

2) Revelation 22 says the tree is in the walled city of New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:2, 21:12-13), and

3) "Paradise" means an enclosed garden, or park...

...does that mean the New Jerusalem, which is really huge (Rev. 21:16), is a gigantic, walled garden-city?

Sounds good to me.

Imagine

I'm taking a break from Joseph for a bit. I took this photo this weekend of my (new) favorite spot. Isn't it gorgeous? It reminded me of something....


Gk paradeisos; of Persian origin (enclosure): a park, a garden, a paradise.


Imagine being the second man:

And one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"

But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

"And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"

And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

Joseph, his coat, and the big picture

I love the story of Joseph. I think it's one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible. I'd like to take it apart piece by piece so I can show you why.

The setting: Joseph is the next-to-youngest son of 12 brothers. He's daddy's favorite. The brothers are sons of Jacob, a.k.a. Israel, who is the father of the Israelites. The year is 1900 BC, or thereabouts.

Genesis 37, starting with verse 2:

Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.

So why did they hate him? Because he was the favorite son, because he walked around with a visible sign of his special status, and because he brought his father a bad report about them. Then came the last straw.

Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

And he said to them, "Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf."

Then his brothers said to him, "Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

He had a second, similar dream. Then the brothers became murderously hateful. This is just the beginning of the story, but already there's something special going on. The Old Testament was written before Christ, but it is full of references and imagery and symbols of Him. (Jesus Himself said the Old Testament spoke of Him, as in John 5:39.) Joseph's story has everything to do with Jesus' story.

Again, why did they hate him?
Beloved son;
had signs of his status;
told on the brothers to the father;
told them he'd rule over them someday.

What did Jesus say about Himself? Why did they hate Him enough to kill Him?

Keep in mind that this story is among the Dead Sea scrolls, which pre-date Jesus.

Cool, huh?

What's posted on our fridge right now

"...you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.' But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth...."