Genesis – “Heaven”

Heaven
Genesis 5

Genesis 4:  The stage is set

  1. There are two types of people:
    • Those who know God’s love and seek relationship with him (Abel and Seth)
    • Those who don’t understand God’s love and seek to use Him (Cain)
  2. There are two agendas:
    • Satan’s agenda is to discourage, disrupt and destroy  God’s agenda for  mankind (Cain).
    • God’s agenda for mankind always gets restored (Seth).

Genesis 5:  The Noteworthy

  • Long ages – No reason to suspect the literalness of the ages.
  • Genealogy spans more than 1400 years suggesting a relatively young earth.
  • Little details indicate history and not myth or legend.
  • The chapter is a toledoth, a connecting genealogy between narratives.
  • A major theme of the toledoth is the reign of death over human beings.
  • Within the chapter is a hope of eternal life and restoration of life to mankind.

Enoch

  • Walked with God…God took him.
  • Suggests there has to be a place after death.
  • If so, this is the first suggestion of existence after human life.

Afterlife

  • Ancient Jews did not have a developed view of the afterlife.
  • Sheol, the pit or grave, was a vague concept of afterlife where both good and bad went.
  • Jesus explained Sheol (or Hades) in a story found in Luke 16:19ff
  • Hades had two sections: one for the good and one for the bad.
  • It was temporary:  Jesus taught about the eternity of heaven and hell.
  • Jesus descended into Hades to “proclaim to the spirits in prison.” (1 Peter 3:18-20)
  • Seems to still be there (Rev  20:14)

Heaven

  • Jesus clearly taught about heaven
    • Heaven is a place (Matt 6:19-21)
    • Place prepared for us (John 3:1-4)
    • A place of joy and reward (Matt 25)
    • A place of justice (Luke 16:1-13)
    • A place of single community (Matt 22:1-14)

Only those clothed for a wedding…

  • Jesus is the only way (John 14:6)
  • One must be clothed in the righteousness Jesus provides (2 Cor 5:21)
  • Evidence of such righteousness are the good deeds we do (Rev 19:6-8)

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