We all know the story of Eden as a former place of paradise on earth from where Adam and Eve were evicted by God because of sin. But where can we find paradise in the Bible now that mankind has lost it?
Today’s short take from Scripture will take us on a brief journey we find in the New Testament.
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
“Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Acts 7:56b NASB – a final witness of Stephen before the Sanhedrin
Jesus also gives us several glances at life after death in the Gospel. And we could be taken up into John’s vision of heaven in Revelation.
But today’s Short Take on Paradise comes from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians.
Could this have been at the moment when Jesus met this man on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus? Paul later writes about his own imminent death as if he prefers it!
among the Persians a grand enclosure or preserve, hunting ground, park, shady and well watered, in which wild animals, were kept for the hunt; it was enclosed by walls and furnished with towers for the hunters
a garden, pleasure ground
grove, park
the part of Hades which was thought by the later Jews to be the abode of the souls of pious until the resurrection: but some understand this to be a heavenly paradise
the upper regions of the heavens. According to the early church Fathers, the paradise in which our first parents dwelt before the fall still exists, neither on the earth or in the heavens, but above and beyond the world
heaven
Let’s Talk of Jesus and our possibility in Paradise
Want to know my opinion from Scripture and experience?
January 6, in the year of our Lord, 2022: Remembering a Year of Disaster
Note: Realizing that this 'quick take' includes several statistics, a quick scan of these will get you to the point of these few Scriptures and their implication for our future at the mercy of our Lord.
(I also project some political opinion which may offend both sides of these issues in the U.S. & the world.
Glad to hear your opinion IF it connects to Scripture. RH)
“They have lied about the LORD and said, ‘He won’t bother us! No disasters will come upon us. There will be no war or famine.
The Prophet Jeremiah 5:12 NLT
WORLD POPULATION = 7 [BILLION], 918 [MILLION},291,561 *Current – Source: worldometers.info
Considering the Disaster of A.D. 2021
These are the 10 deadliest natural disasters of 2021:
August 2021: Earthquake Kills 2,248 in Haiti
December 2021: Super Typhoon Rai Kills 375 in the Philippines
July 2021: Floods, Landslides in China Kill at Least 302
July 2021: Floods Kill More than 200 in Germany, Belgium
April 2021: Cyclone Seroja Kills at Least 222 Indonesia, East Timor, Australia
October 2021: Flash Floods, Landslides Kill 201 in India, Nepal
May 2021: Cyclone Tauktae Kills at Least 200 in India
August 2021: Hurricane Ida Kills 91 Across 9 U.S. States
December 2021: Tornado Kills 90 Across 5 U.S. States
December 2021: Volcano Eruption Kills 45 in Indonesia
Don’t let liars prosper here in our land. Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.
Psalm 140:11 NLT
“So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will never be found again.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 18:21b
“Now behold, I Myself am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.
12 The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.
20 The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.
21 So all creatures that moved on the earth perished:
birds, livestock, animals, and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth,
and all mankind;
22 of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
So He wiped out [all existence] every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from mankind to animals, to crawling things, and the birds of the sky, and they were wiped out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
What is your short take on this look at violence from Genesis, Jeremiah, Psalm 140 & Revelation?
Which disaster from A.D. 2021 impacted you most. And what do you think God will do about it SOON?
ASK your question in the Comments below OR give us your short take on the God of Creation.
ALL COMMENTS ARE WELCOME, but MODERATED. And all links provided for your further study are secure.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.COM
This may seem like a new series, but I want to add insight to three original posts from July 2014. And what does an obituary of sweet Georgia Brown have to do with it?
Simple, her life little remembered resounds in a melody which has always haunted my mind with the futility in death.
I’ll share some interesting background of the melody I did not know in the year of our Lord 2014, history familiar to my own youth and life stories forgotten by then.
(You can go ahead & play it in the background if you like.
A You-Tube version of the original will open here and play while you scroll through all the rest.)
Best-know performance of song by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller – 4m37s
Who is sweet Georgia Brown?
Since I have chosen her obituary as cover for this 3-post series, I owe you some of her interesting background.
For more: (including a picture from 1968) Source - Wikipedia bio
Think of it as a brief fitting memorial to one of so many entertainers of the 60's now forgotten in the 21st c.
During her initial performing career as a nightclub singer, she adopted the professional name Georgia Brown with reference to two of her favourite repertoire items: “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Georgia on My Mind.” After an attempt at a recording career, with three overlooked singles released on Decca Records in 1955, Brown moved into musical theatre..
Brown’s career role was that of Nancy in the musical Oliver!, a role she created in the original 1960 London production. When she first came in to audition for the musical’s author and composer, Lionel Bart, he recognized her as a childhood neighbour, and greeted her as “Lily Klot”.
On 9 February 1964, she appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show with 18-year-old Davy Jones (pre-Monkees) recreating two scenes from the musical then showing on Broadway.
This happened to be the same evening that the Beatles made their first live U.S. appearance on the show.
In 1974, Brown married producer Gareth Wigan, with whom she had been involved for at least seven years; the couple married in order to expedite the emigration of themselves and their son Jonathan (then aged six) to the U.S. Brown and Wigan separated in 1979, with their divorce becoming final in 1981 after protracted legal wrangling.
Death Brown died at the age of 58 in London on 5 July 1992.
Although she had become a permanent U.S. resident and lived in Hollywood, she had flown to London to appear on the bill for a tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. held that week at the Drury Lane Theatre. Before the date of the tribute she became ill, and underwent emergency surgery to remove an intestinal obstruction at Charing Cross Hospital where she died from complications.
What do the lyrics say?
“Is that all there is,” do they cry out?
Or is their proclamation, “I Did It MY WAY?
The lyricist who wrote these and many more influential songs for entertainment of the 20th century is Jerry Leiber..
“Careful little ears what you hear,” reminds the lyric of the old children’s Sunday school song.
Philosophy or Biblical Truth?
Therefore, your food for thought in this series is wisdom (or lack of it). What do the songs and questions really ask?
The presumed answer of questions like, ‘Is that all there is?’ is YES.
And, ‘I did it my way,’ presumes NO god and that death of the matter of the body is in fact, the end of it all.
Want to know the philosophy of the music?
Read the link above to the lyricist of these songs.
Just think of your 'applause' in life as an early song heard at your funeral or a fond memory in your obituary.
Is that all there is? No, it's not, says the Lord God. - RH
Original post July 1, 2014 – Topic: Does life have meaning?
For those philosophers among our readers:
Don't miss the Victor Frankl link in this post.
(We'll talk of Jesus AND Jewish philosophies tomorrow
& in a post conclusion from Scripture next Monday, God-willing.)
Summer 2021 AD {Scriptural} Reruns
CLICK “…Continue reading ” above,
THEN Ask a question or comment at the end of this post
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