Heavenly Realm Surpasses Earthly
An all-creatures Bible Message

Heavenly Realm Surpasses Earthly
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
5 May 2019
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Psalm 30:1-12
Acts 9:1-6
Revelation 5:11-14

The heavenly realm surpasses earthly ways of living, and the most obvious example is that in the heavenly realm human beings are at peace with all of God’s creation, but on earth most humans seem to either be violent or support violence, such as in the way they treat and consume so-called “food animals.”
 
When people make a distinction between a “pet” animal and a “food” animal, it is proof that they are living in the corrupt and evil ways of this world.
 
When people pick fights with others, or commit acts of terrorism or take vengeance or support these kinds of acts, it is proof that they are living in the corrupt and evil ways of this world.
 
The Eden of God’s creation is an earthly or physical representation of God’s heavenly will, and Jesus tried to have all people return to this way of living in the heavenly realm of God, for the heavenly realm surpasses earthly corruption.
 
Let’s now take a look at Psalm 30, a praise psalm of David, and see, if we can see the things that are in the heavenly realm of God as opposed to the corrupt ways of this earth.

1. I will extol Thee, O LORD, for Thou hast lifted me up,
And hast not let my enemies rejoice over me.

The very fact that David has enemies is proof of the corrupt and evil ways of this world, and history tells us that David, instead of remaining in the heavenly realm of God, chose to take vengeance and fight wars, which the Lord taught us not to do.

2. O LORD my God,
I cried to Thee for help, and Thou didst heal me.

The heavenly realm surpasses earthly ways because in the heavenly realm we are already healed and don’t have to call upon the Lord to heal us, but because we still live in this corrupt world, we still need healing, as David did, and like him we should call upon the Lord for our healing, and not rely solely upon earthly remedies.
 
Additionally, being vegan is an excellent way to heal ourselves of many ailments that are not in the heavenly realm of God.

3. O LORD, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol;
Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

The Lord doesn’t want anyone to go to hell, but that all of us would come to the glory of God and live in His heavenly will.

4. Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.
 
5. For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

We all need to remember this, and do it and receive His blessings.

6. Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I will never be moved."

Yet David seems to have often forgotten this, because he did many corrupt and evil earthly things, before repenting, but how much better it would have been if he hadn’t fallen into temptation.

7. O LORD, by Thy favor Thou hast made my mountain to stand strong;
Thou didst hide Thy face, I was dismayed.

God only seems to hide His face when we return to the corrupt and evil ways of this world, but He supports and encourages us, if we do our best to live in His heavenly will.

8. To Thee, O LORD, I called,
And to the Lord I made supplication:

This is something that we all should be doing, but it should be something that is part of our nature, our very being, such as thanking the Lord for the deer we see, or the squirrels playing, or for the flowering trees, shrubs and wildflowers, for they are all a part of His perfect creation.

9. "What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise Thee?
Will it declare Thy faithfulness?

No it won’t; however, David or anyone else, for that matter, would not be in that situation, if they dedicated themselves to living as God desires us to live, for the heavenly realm surpasses earthly ways of living.

10. "Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me;
O LORD, be Thou my helper."

If we are living in the heavenly realm of God, this goes without saying, for God is always gracious and helps those who live in His heavenly will.

11. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing;
Thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness;

David constantly repented for the evil things he did, but he, nor we, would be in this kind of situation, if we remain in the heavenly will of God here on earth as it is in heaven.

12. That my soul may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to Thee forever.
NASB

We should naturally be doing this all the time, for this is what peacemaking children of God do.
 
Most people seem to look at Acts 9:1-6, which tells us about Saul’s conversion, but they fail to see or understand that God does similar things for us, because they fail to internalize the fact that the heavenly realm surpasses earthly ways of living.

1. Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,

We should immediately recognize the fact that breathing threats and murder is of this world and not in the heavenly realm of God, which to us is supported by the fact that Paul seeks human advice and direction rather than asking the Lord.

2. and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Paul is following the earthly ways of far too many people who believe that violence can bring people to the “violent god” of their own making that has never worked, even to this very day, but God saw something else in Paul, as we see next.

3. And it came about that as he journeyed, he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;
 
4. and he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 
 
5. And he said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,
 
6. but rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told you what you must do."
NASB

We should all note very carefully that the Lord, whom Paul was persecuting, is not holding any of Paul’s former actions against him, but instead He has work for him to do, which we believe He has for many of us too.
 
This is recognizing the fact that the heavenly realm surpasses earthly ways and understanding.
 
Let’s conclude our discussion for today by looking at Revelation 5:11-14, and see the animals happily living in heaven, for the heavenly realm surpasses earthly understanding.

11. And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,

It is very interesting to note that in the Greek, the term “living creatures” used here carries the meaning of a live being such as an animal; this absolutely means that there are animals in heaven.
 
And not only are there animals in heaven, but this verse tells us that their number is beyond counting which is the meaning of “myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,” and if we think about this in terms of today’s society, human beings kill over one hundred billion animals every year for human food.
 
This also means that there are far more animals in heaven than there are human beings; in fact, human beings are most likely a minority, which to us is a wonderful thing.

12. saying with a loud voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."

And this verse is telling us that the animals and the human elders were all praising God together in words that John could hear and understand, which to us is further proof that God created animals with souls and spirits just as He created us humans.

13. And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
"To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."
 
14. And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped.
NASB

And once again in this passage we see the term “living creatures” being used here in verse 14, and the meaning refers to animals, so don’t let anyone tell you that there are no animals in heaven, because the Bible tells us that they are, even if they are being somewhat disguised as “creatures” for political reasons.
 
We need to see the truth through the lies that some people, including some clergy, spread around to hide the fact that they are trying to justify the fact that they eat and wear animals and their by-products.
 
The heavenly realm surpasses earthly understanding with all its violence and hardness of heart, which causes millions of humans and billions of animals to suffer and die every year, mainly because human beings ignore the truth and follow the corrupt ways of this world.
 
We are not to be like them.
 
We are to live in the heavenly realm and will of God here on earth as it is in heaven, as witnesses against the evil and corrupt ways that the devil and his human followers have polluted this earth.
 
We can and must do this.
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

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