…that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being…
Summary: The Bible packs a lot of information into small sentences. Understanding what the heavens are means understanding the temporary nature of the universe.
The first words in the Bible are, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Peter’s words in today’s passage reflect this passage. There are three parts in Genesis 1:1 that are helpful to understand.
First, God is the creator. God exists before “the heavens came into being.” It is easy to imagine that the Bible is just another story made up in ancient times. To use our Yiddish word from yesterday’s meditation, mankind has hutzpah. We are conceited enough to believe that the physical realm is more real or important than the spiritual realm.
God is spirit (John 4:24). The spiritual realm existed before the universe was made, and it will exist after the earth and all that is in it are gone. The physical realm seems more real to us because until we know God, we are dead spiritually (John 3:6).
The second part is how God created the physical realm. Peter tells us that it was by God’s Word that the “heavens came into being.” John’s Gospel account goes further. He tells us:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1: 1-2)
Jesus is the Word, and “through him all things were made.”
Zechariah affirms this when he writes, “The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person…” (Zechariah 12:1).
Third, Peter tells us that the “heavens came into being.” The “heavens” Peter refers to are not the spiritual realm where God exists. In Deuteronomy 4:39 it says, “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.” The text refers to “God in heaven” and the word used for “heaven” means “most high.” In effect, God points our thoughts beyond the stars above. When Peter writes that the “heavens came into being,” he is referring to those things in the sky that we can see, the physical heavens.
What Peter is telling us here is more than how the heavens came into being. He is telling us that there is something beyond the heavens, a heaven above. This “most high” heaven is not part of the physical realm. Instead, it is all-encompassing. The highest heaven is the reality that existed before the universe was made. It will exist after this universe is gone.
As we ponder our future and wonder about what is to come, it is good to remember that all that we see will one day be gone. Our future does not depend on surviving in the physical realm. Rather, our future is all about living in the spiritual realm.
Application: Live as though this world were made of paper mache. Reality is only seen after we are done playing with the paper world and move on to the real one.
Food for Thought: What was the spiritual realm like before God made ”all things?”
I think we, as people, tend to look at things in the perspective that we are the center of the universe. As Christians we know that is not true. Of course there is not way for us to truly know (yet) what the spiritual realm was like before God created “all things”, I imagine it to be as a spectacular kingdom with God sitting on His throne.
Isaiah 66 This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?
As hard as it is to imagine, God has always been, and always will be. There was never a time when God was “floating out there” and suddenly became a “sentient being.”
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Not a chronological creature like us, but timeless.
Thanks Chris!
Today’s question is a tough one. Even though we do not know the answer, I believe it is helpful to think about it.
Well we do know that God has always existed in a loving relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Since God is love (1 John 4: 8, 16), we know love existed in that relationship. Since God is not changing in His character (James 1: 17), we know that the other characteristics of God existed as well – holiness, omniscience, etc.
Rich,
That is an interesting perspective. Instead of thinking in terms of physical comforts, being in a loving relationship cuts to the chase. That is the goal at the heart of every human. It is what we hunger for. If that condition is met, everything else is secondary.
12-14-2021, 2 Peter 3:5b, What was the spiritual realm like before God made ”all things?”
God alone is Self-Existent, Incomprehensible, beyond our comprehension. All that ever was and all that is today are creations of God.
Before He created all things, there was nothing.
At one time there were angels, His creation, spiritual beings with free will to choose as we do today. Satan and his followers chose to rebel against God. They were defeated by Michael and cast out of heaven. The remaining angles surrendered their free will to God and today live in obedience to His will over their own, just as all believers have chosen to live.
SELF-EXISTENT, He does not depend on anything for His continued existence. Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Revelation. 1:8, 17; 2:8; 3:14; 21:6; 22:13
TRANSCENDENT: God is entirely distinct from the universe,
Isaiah 66:1-2; Acts 17:24, Psalm 102:25-27; I John 2:15-17
ETERNAL: God is perfect, He transcends all time and temporal limitations, and is thus infinite with respect to time.
Psalm 90:2; 93:2; 102:12; Ephesians 3:21, Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8, Hebrews 1:2; 11:3
OMNIPRESENT: The universe cannot contain God, He is present everywhere, and fills all things
1 Kings 8:27; Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:48-49, Psalm 139:7-10; Acts 17:28; of Christ, Matt. 18:20; 28:20, Jeremiah 23:23-24; of Christ, Ephesians 1:23; 4:10; Colossians 3:11
INCOMPREHENSIBLE: God cannot be fully and directly known or ever understood by His creation.
Exodus 8:10; 9:14; 15:11; 2 Samuel 7:22; 1 Chronicles 17:20; Psalm 86:8; 1 Kings 8:23; Isaiah 40:18, 25; 44:7; 56:5, 9; Jeremiah 10:6-7; Micah 7:18, 1 Corinthians 8:2-3, John 1:18; Matthew 11:25-27
Ron,
Reading through your meditation today, the word that comes to my mind is, “Amazing!” Our God is amazing and the spiritual realm will reflect God’s amazing qualities. My first thousand years in heaven will be standing there slack-jawed in amazement. 🙂
I’m with you Jeff! I have actually stopped putting God in a box. Thrown away all boxes and now rest knowing I will never be able to fully comprehend the Majesty and Glory of the one God who has taken time to call out to His creation, “Come Join Me!” I am happy knowing God is much bigger than my mind and I look forward serving Him through all eternity in the company of men and women like those in your Blog. It will be beyond anything we can imagine.
What will heaven be like?
I guess, my mind says quiet…. Not as in silent, because we know there will be sound, songs of angels and of men to be more precise, and trumpets certainly aren’t quiet.
But this world is so full of noise…
I babysat the other day and the little boy was playing a game where his ‘boat’ got stuck. He’d cry “Help! Help!” To get his supposed boat ‘unstuck’. I guess I feel like that. I cry to God “Help! Help!” so much. We all cry out for His help and He wants us to know and rely on Him, but still…. How much different will it be in heaven? Quiet. We won’t cry in despairation, because we won’t fear that God won’t hear or won’t be there in time. We will be in His presence.
Before us all?
God in three persons may talk to Himself, but without angels and men, yeah, I’d still say quiet. I’m not sure I could make any other claim.
A –
Your comment about noise makes sense. Like smells, there are noises that are pleasant and noises that are noxious. Our world is full of noxious noise. In heaven, the “noise” or sounds will be glorious, like being in the middle of a choir.