A fundamental calling of Christians is to experience heaven, and bring heaven to earth. The prayer the Lord gave us to pray is for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Daniel gave a very specific prophecy about how this would happen when he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

 

This dream is remarkable for its accurate foretelling of the coming great empires of men, which have now been fulfilled just as he foresaw.

We have been looking at our call to enter into and live in the heavenly realm now. We addressed Jacob's ladder, and how it represented Christ. He is the Way by which we climb into the heavenly realm. We discussed how the messengers of God are ascending and descending upon this ladder. We are called to enter into the heavenly realm, but we are also to descend back to earth with what we receive in the heavenly realm. This is what I want to discuss a little more at this time.

 

As a jet pilot I used to love flying at the highest altitudes.

For today's study we will look at Ezekiel 8:3 for a very important understanding about the prophetic:

 

And He stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head;

and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven

and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem,

The Lord gave a great promise that Peter quoted from Joel on the Day of Pentecost, which we see in Acts 2:17:

We need to understand a crucial matter which is essential if we are to enter into and dwell in the heavenly realm. This is typified by the "manna test," the first test given to Israel after their departure from Egypt. It was so crucial that the Lord said this test was given to see if the people would walk in His ways or not. Likewise for us, this is one of the primary tests that determine if we will walk in the ways of the Lord or not. We see this in Exodus 16:4, and Deuteronomy 8:16:

Genesis 28:12-17 tells of a remarkable experience that Jacob had, which is also relevant to us today:

 

     And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth

     with its top reaching to heaven; and behold,

     the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

This Promised Land that we have in Christ is not just what we inherit after we die, but it is the glorious new creation that we become in this life. However, when you are born it is not the fulfillment of your life, but the beginning. Likewise, when you are born again, it is not the fulfillment of your calling, but the beginning of the glorious journey. There is no life so exciting, so wonderful, and so fulfilling as the Christian life.

The cross and resurrection are foundational doctrines of Christianity. They are intertwined and cannot be separated from one another. We cannot experience resurrection without first dying. The degree to which we lay down our lives for the Lord and His purposes, while embracing His cross, is the same degree that we will experience His resurrection life, perceiving and partaking of the glory that He now abides in.

 

Jesus did not stop at the cross, and it is imperative that we not stop at the cross.

We have studied how it was the hope of the resurrection and the glory He was to receive which enabled Jesus to endure the cross. It has also been the truth of the resurrection that empowered all of the martyrs of every age, and it is as we behold the glory set before us that we are able to take up our crosses and "die daily."

 

We must also consider, if the ultimate fear by which the enemy has kept mankind in bondage is the fear of death, and the truth of the resurrection breaks this bondage, why is the world in such darkness and bondage?