Sunday Message: Lord's Prayer pt 2

Today, we move to the second line of the Lord's prayer- or, depending on the translation, the next part of the first line- traditionally read, "Who art in Heaven".  Last time, we saw how God is Father.  But while that ties Him to us in a way way can understand better, the next part seems to say, "Keep in mind, God is no man that you can plumb His depths; He is beyond your understanding as well".

So I thought, "How best to show God's 'heaven nature'," for lack of better phrasing.  And I went to the three places I knew where someone had been to Heaven- Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John- and found common elements to each one.

First, each one mentions the Holiness of God in this place, and the Glory of His Presence.

Eze 1:28  Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. 


Isa 6:1  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 
Isa 6:2  Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 
Isa 6:3  And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" 

Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 

Rev 21:23  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 

Rev 21:24  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 

Rev 21:25  and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. 

Rev 21:26  They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 

Rev 21:27  But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. 

Holiness- purity, "nothing unclean".  And it becomes obvious at Isaiah's reaction that, as we are now, we have no place there- for now, and we'll get back to that.  But for now, let's consider that, because of God's presence, even the place itself is beyond our words...

Eze 1:22  Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. 

Rev 21:18  The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. 

Rev 21:19  The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 

Rev 21:20  the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 

Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. 

Now, the next thing you notice in all three is the mighty Power of God...

Isa 6:1  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 

Isa 6:4  And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 

Rev 4:5  From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 

Each man would fall to his face before such majesty; but then, Isaiah would catch on to how out of place he was- until the Lord acted...

Isa 6:5  And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" 

Isa 6:6  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 

Isa 6:7  And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for." 

We could never walk these halls on our own righteousness; but God made provision for us to be ATONED FOR.  For Isaiah, it was the touch of the coal; for us, the Sacrifice of Christ.  No surprise then, that among the very first things John sees...

Rev 5:6  And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 

Rev 5:7  And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 

And how does that atonement work for us?  Let me show you another glimpse in Heaven...

Zec 3:1  Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 

Zec 3:2  And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" 

Zec 3:3  Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 

Zec 3:4  And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." 

Zec 3:5  And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by. 

Zec 3:6  And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua, 

Zec 3:7  "Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 

Plucked from the fire... filthy... covered... iniquity taken away.

Next, I want to show you a difference between the Heaven into which the prophets came, and the new one that John was shown, for there are yet two elements to look at.  First, each of the prophets were there to be sent out...

Isa 6:8  And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." 

Eze 2:1  And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." 

Eze 2:2  And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 

Eze 2:3  And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 

Eze 2:4  The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' 

While we are here on earth, Heaven is a place from which we are SENT.  Just like Elijah once he was revived, like Paul once he was restored to sight, the first thing is the JOB.  But as you can see, Ezekiel's mission showed us that that job is calling out judgment on evil.  So too, Isaiah's...

Isa 6:9  And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 

Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." 

Isa 6:11  Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 

Isa 6:12  and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 

But the NEW Heaven will be different- the wheat has been gathered, the holy people submitted before God.  Now, there is something in the place of judgment...

Rev 22:1  Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 

Rev 22:2  through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 

Rev 22:3  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 

Rev 22:4  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 

Rev 22:5  And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. 

God's life will be sent instead of prophets of doom; God's light will be upon the world instead of judgment.

Heaven is both a place beyond us, and the place of our hope.  And though God is our Father, loving and merciful to those who obey His word, He is also GOD; and we do well to not forget what THAT entails.