TWO PARTS HEAVEN, ONE PART EARTH

When Moses built the tabernacle, he followed what he saw in heaven to build the model on earth, so the design reflects the Biblical cosmology God desires us to infer.

The Holy of Holies or Most Holy of the temple is modeled after the invisible heavens where God resides upon His Kingly throne. The holy place signifies the visible heavens where the stars, moon, and sun shine. The outer court of the temple corresponds to earth. Two parts heaven, one part earth clarifies the temple construction as it relates to both worshiping God in heaven and serving Him on earth.

Too Heavenly Minded?

To some, looking at the cosmos this way might be considered too heavenly focused to produce much good on earth, but that is not true. Look who identified how misunderstanding, or worse, rejecting the true nature of the temple, can lead to hypocrisy, while loving the truth leads to the right priority.

Jesus told the religious that because they were the sons of those who shed the blood of the prophets, they neglected what was most important in daily life. How they responded to the message of Jesus revealed their true nature, and what we make priority in life also reveals our blood line.
 
Jesus revealed how intertwined heaven and earth are when He said in Matthew 23:21-22, "and he who did swear by the sanctuary, doth swear by it, and by Him who is dwelling in it;”. By Jesus’ words we learn that God is present in the earthly sanctuary, which He was and which we are. Jesus continued, "and he who did swear by the heaven, doth swear by the throne of God, and by Him who is sitting upon it.” God resides on His throne in heaven while yet dwelling in us, His temple on earth.
 

God Only Appears to Be Distant

The conclusion is that God is not distant as people assume. He tabernacles over His own on earth as well as from His throne in heaven. Our actions on earth in obedience to Christ connect us to the reality of heaven for there is no longer anything separating us from God.

At Christ’s death and resurrection, the veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was rent in two, not only on earth but also in heaven. Christ as High Priest went into the Holy of Holies in heaven and made a way for all to enter in to the Most Holy Place through His blood. By faith in Christ, God cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve Him, the living God. Through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, which unites our lives in the most holy place in heaven, we can stand before the Lord in total victory. This is the answer to Malachi’s question, "Who can stand at His appearing?"

Our presence in heaven and on earth seems ironic, but allowing for both to be true at the same time infuses our day to day conduct with meaning and allows events such as those in Revelation 11 to instruct us. The bringing together of all things in heaven and on earth under the Lordship of Christ explains how the witnesses of heaven and earth can be at the same time worshiping in the temple while apparently suffering and being killed on earth by the creature coming out of the abyss.

Heaven Now Opened

Stephen, while being stoned to death in the book of Acts, experienced this tension of suffering and glory. When he was about to die, Stephen saw the heavens opened and Christ standing at the right hand of the throne of God. He saw what nobody else did. 

Living life on earth while having a heart set in heaven also explains how the sun and moon can be darkened from an earthly perspective, while those achieving victory shine as lights around the throne in heaven. The witness of the two lampstands in Revelation 11 appears darkened on earth. The dead bodies were exposed in plain sight of peoples from all nations, until the Lord breathes life into them in the sight of all who are looking on. 

The witnesses of heaven and earth are seen yet not seen because while they are shunned as dead as if the enemy has triumphed, as stars in the unseen realm, they shine ever more brightly among the victorious and the angels worshipping around the throne of God. The nations’ disregard for the truth and their rejection of the anointed witnesses becomes so blatant that their death is a cause for celebration. This is the suffering of those who choose to obey the voice of Christ. 

Oil That Never Runs Out

The witnesses, according to Zechariah 4, are the sons of oil. They are the olive trees and lampstands. The oil from the trees pours into the lampstands, and the messages to the seven churches (see Rev. 1-3) light the way back to the tree of life in Eden.

The humility of suffering accompanying serving the Lord produces a far surpassing weight of glory until the twinkling of an eye when we all will be changed. Isn’t this the pattern we see in Jesus, in His shameful death followed by His resurrection in glory? We, too, have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life is revealed from heaven, we shall be revealed with Him. Our suffering for Christ on earth is preparing us for that day we are revealed with Him in glory.

Distress the enemy desires for our destruction becomes the catalyst for our victory in Christ and His resurrection power in our lives. Although the enemy thought he had defeated Christ by putting Him to death, God turned the tables and overcame death once for all by raising Christ from the grave. Instead of derailing God’s plan, Christ’s death catapulted God’s redemptive purpose for all humanity to fulfill His command to the first man: be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Life reflects a pattern of suffering through obedience to produce fruit that remains. For example, we cannot change those we love. We cannot deliver them from their distresses, but we can pray that they will escape through Christ the things about to come upon the world. Our prayers go up as incense to God, and He sends His answer from heaven. 

Our prayers are not in vain, just as the request of a son to a father is not in vain. Like a human father who will certainly give a fish to a son who asks for it and not give him a stone, our heavenly Father longs to give us the Kingdom. Those who go in with weeping will come out with joy. As Paul said, this present suffering cannot be compared with the far surpassing glory to come.

As great pressure extracts the finest quality olive oil, God uses the circumstances of our lives to produce what is best for His purpose. Through grace we can walk in His light to produce the fruit of Christ’s Kingdom. More and more people are being drawn to Him while we become less and He becomes more.

The deeds of the righteous are unquestionably a tree of life, and just as Adam’s obedience in Eden guaranteed His portion of the tree of life in the midst of the garden, everyone who attains victory by obeying what the Spirit says to the churches will be granted to eat of the fruit of the tree of life in the paradise of God. 
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