A spiritual dimension? So in Genesis 1:1 , the heaven and earth are just spiritual places?
While one might consider that heaven is the expanse of space, or firmament that forms the spherical body of this physical world we call the universe. The reason for such consideration is Genesis 1:6 & 7;
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
Since the waters upon the face of the earth were formed as the atoms of oxygen released from within would bond with the hydrogen particles from without. As thus these two types of gases bonded to form the new molecule, water. While the newly formed gas would formed as a gas, or water vapor, in less than a blink of an eye it would solidified as ice since the waters that covered the entire surface of the spherical terrestrial body called Earth was frozen as represented by the scriptures in Genesis. 1:2
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Don't need a rocket ship to reach Heaven. According to Genesis 1:8 And God called firmament [in midst of the waters] Heaven.
While it is written that God made the male and female, and they became one flesh, it is interesting to note, [me at least to me] that the hydrogen atom is the only atom known in universe which consists of only the proton and neutron. And thus, the hydrogen atom was formed by the proton and neutron which where joined together to form the first Atom. In a lighthearted looked at the Biblical account, on could look at it as when the Lights made atom in the their image after the likeness made he him, proton and neutron made he them. If they were made as atom with mass, then how many atoms did the Lights make? So if hydrogen is the only atom that consists of a proton and neutron, what other atom with only a proton and neutron could have told them they could eat of any of the particles in the garden? If the atom has the same atomic number, so to speak, then would it not also be a hydrogen atom.
I understand that is written we are not to judge others, and thus I neither a judge one based on the presumption of what they said without understanding what they meant., and when it comes to matters of faith, that is between them and their God but I love it when scientists say that those who have faith in Genesis are ignorant and don't understand how science works or those of us who do wouldn't believe the foolishness of the Bible. Not all scientist hold their fellow man in such contempt, and neither do I. That isn't to say that I don't hate them which speak lies and falsehoods, which I do with every color of my soul since it is written that we are to be perfect as our Father which is in heaven is perfect. Believe it or not.
Ummm, 'WaterRock', you would do better by not reading portions of Genesis as strictly literal. That's because portions of Genesis are something near a parable. "All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world".
Several other OT narratives too employ visible images to reveal invisible realities. It's precisely this failure which has caused many Christians to adhere to the utterly obscene and pagan idea that our loving and merciful Father would condemn all of creation and the entire humankind for the simple act of disobedience by the first human couple.
God, as the Great Architect/Creator of all things visible and invisible, did not behave in similar fashion as man. An earthly architect first designs a shadow of the concept, and then afterwards constructs the building itself. But God doesn't work in this manner. This is because God dwells in a heavenly/spiritual dimension where it could be said that eternity has is already past/passed for Him. No, God first created the building, (invisible world), and named it heaven. Afterwards, He created a physical 'shadow' of that invisible reality and named it 'earth'.
Additionally:
Yes, the Bible speaks to us about an invisible world an unseen reality, the eternal dimension of our existence. The invisible eternal world is just as real as that of the visible temporal world. The Bible calls this the " Kingdom of Heaven".
The Gospel of Jesus makes it abundantly evident that we are not only physical beings, but that we are also spiritual beings. We possess a spirit and that is why we are attached to the spiritual world. This invisible dimension of our existence was clearly pronounced and repeatedly taught by Jesus and His disciples as well as by the early apostolic churches. One only has to read the various discussions and teachings that Jesus addressed throughout His ministry for instance, Matthew 13.
The secret or mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven was "declared at first by the Lord", (Heb 2:3). He did this by means of parables. Indeed, this was His commission. He preached a new teaching and thus fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet, "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things that have been hidden since the foundation of the world", (Matt 13:35; Ps 78:2).
Repeatedly throughout the Gospel narratives we read the testimonies of the Apostles preaching, "the Gospel of the Kingdom". It was not a gospel about Jesus, rather, it was the Gospel OF Jesus.
When taking leave of the elders in Ephesus, Paul said that he had gone around "proclaiming the Kingdom", (Acts 20:25). He wrote to the Romans, "So that starting from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the Gospel OF Christ, the Messiah, in its entirety", (Rom 15:16-l9). It is clear from his statement in Ephesians 3:4-5 that He declared the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven: "When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery, (eg: the gospel), of Christ. This mystery was never disclosed to human beings in past generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit". His thoughts were not focused on the things that were seen but the things which were unseen: "Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal but the things which are invisible are deathless and everlasting", (2Cor 4:18).
The gospel
about Jesus is the indispensable milk. Nevertheless, of itself, it is insufficient to bring about the development from children of God to mature spiritual manhood. It is preaching the gospel
OF Jesus which is necessary for this development to take place and this gospel is the same message, which Jesus Himself preached when He lived on the earth.
The Gospel according to Mark begins with the words, "The beginning of the Gospel OF Jesus Christ, the Son of God". From town to town, Jesus brought a special message about the Kingdom of Heaven and signs and miracles of restoration went with His preaching. Matthew 4:23 says: "And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people". This was the Gospel of Jesus!
Addendum:
The evil one is constantly occupied with falsehood and insinuations that fasten suspicion on the plans and intentions of God. When his first falsehood was uttered on earth, (in the Garden of Eden), and believed by man, it ushered in a darkness which has prevailed over the mind of natural man from that point onward.
The lie of Satan was that God knows good and evil out of Himself; His thoughts produce not only good but also evil. The truth is this: Although God knows evil from the activities of the evil one, He never brings it about.
The people of Israel did not perceive the true causes of sin and sickness. In 1Sam 16:14 we read: “An evil spirit from the Lord tormented him”. In this people too, the forces of lawlessness were at work. However, the mystery of lawlessness --- its origin or secret --- remained unknown to them. The mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven --- the unseen world of the spirits --- had not yet been revealed. The New Covenant, however, was entered into with spiritual people, and to them the evil one is known as the originator of all evil and suffering.
Reading the Old Covenant we note that no one reckoned with the fact that God’s purpose with man far exceeded man’s natural development alone. The Old Testament faithful sang: “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth He has given to the sons of men”, (Ps 115:16).
Isaiah mentioned a “covering that is cast over all the peoples, a veil that is spread over all the nations”, (25:7). With the veil of the evil one’s lie darkening their minds, the people of the Old Covenant, ’ Israel after the flesh’, (not unlike many Christians in our days), failed to perceive the true causes of lawlessness and of sin and disease.
In the case of the Gentiles, the covering had become very dense. Paul said of the Gentiles that they failed to use their common sense, “for His invisible nature, namely His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So. They are without excuse”. They had become fools for they testified, (similar to Greek mythology), ‘Our gods are like us!'. They had exchanged the truth about God for that defamatory lie uttered in the Garden by the Ancient Serpent. The god of this world had blinded their minds. Their thoughts were darkened so that they failed to see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is in the likeness of God, (2Cor 4:3-4).
The ruthless lie of the Evil One that God knows good and evil of Himself penetrated to such a degree with the people of the Old Covenant that they ascribed all manifestations from out of the unseen world to God whether of good or evil intent. Their blind testimony was as such, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us", (Deut 29:29).
In the Old Covenant, the veil was not removed for Israel .God took these peoples by the hand as little children, "On the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt for they did not continue in My Covenant", (Heb 8:9).
At first, God also spoke to Moses through a veil. He said, "Go to the Pharaoh". The reply of Moses was, "I am not eloquent but I am slow of speech and of tongue". Then the Lord asked, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him deaf, or dumb, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Moses recognized that evil originated in the unseen world but he did not know of the Kingdom of God --- the Kingdom of Light --- and the Kingdom of Satan --- the Kingdom of Darkness. These Kingdoms were mysteries to him, for he lacked discernment of the spiritual world. Jesus was the first Who uncovered the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.
God did not discuss with Moses the fact that the evil one makes dumb, deaf and blind. Later, our Lord would go about to destroy the works of the Devil. God only said, 'Moses, I'll help you; trust in Me'. But Moses did not believe Him, and he said, "Send someone else". Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and what was the result? The Lord helped Moses in his weakness and promised him the assistance of Aaron his brother.
There also was a veil over Job's mind. He said: "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?", (Job 2:10). Yet the same chapter says quite clearly that Satan afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, (vs7).
Eliphaz also claimed that God was the cause of evil. He formulated it in these words: "Behold, happy is the man who God reproves; therefore despise not the chastisement of the Almighty. For He wounds and He binds up; He smites, but His hands heal", (Job 5:17-18). But the Lord said to Eliphaz that he had not spoken of Him what is right, as Job had.
Job, too, failed to see that God is only and completely good. But, at least he confessed this truth, "Who is it that hides counsel without knowledge?. Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful to me which I did not know. I had heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees Thee; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes", (Job 42:3-6).
Job finally saw that there was one who had given a false picture of the thoughts God had about man --- that it was the evil one who had put the veil over his mind. God does not do good and evil, but only good. James added this remark to the story of Job, "Have you now seen that God is the Father of lights? Look at Job. The Devil made him sick, but from the end that the Lord made to follow, you have seen that the Lord is compassionate and merciful", (James 5:11).
2 Samuel has another example: We read that God incited David to number the people. But a later record corrects this mistake and says, "Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel ", (1 Chron 21:1). The writer of Chronicles had a greater insight into the Kingdom of Heaven than he who wrote Samuel.
Up to this day, many do not know the mystery of lawlessness. They say, 'God may be good, but when you go too far, you have to look out for Him'. Thus, many thousands of people in their early years have the fear that God will throw the man, the woman and even the child into hell, where the worm will not die and the fire not quenched. However, man only perishes if he loves darkness rather than light. God does not throw him into the lake of fire, but man lands there by his own choice --- is dragged there by the same demons which were permitted by the person to attach themselves to his inner-man and thus share in their punishment.
This veil --- this covering that hid the insidious lie first uttered in the Garden of Eden --- can only be removed through Christ Who bore witness to the Truth, (2 Cor 3:14), of God’s being. In reply to Pilate's inquiry, Jesus declared of Himself, "To this end I was born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth", (John 18:37).
Finally, he who lives from out of the reality of the Gospel of the Kingdom can ban every fear from his life: fear of sickness, fear of daily bread, fear of failure, and the multitude of other opposition. He can possess the sure knowledge that God is only and completely good. He who consciously lives in the Kingdom of God experiences the glorious reality of it in daily living and comes to know true peace, joy and righteousness in the Holy Spirit.
