By Tony V. Hammack
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The Third Heaven
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
2I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4was caught up to paradise.
The Second Heaven
Daniel 10:12,13
12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
A Peek into the Second Heaven
2 Kings 6:17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
It’s generally accepted, considering first century Jewish thought, that the second heaven was a place of chaos. Some believe this is the realm between the dwelling place of God and the dwelling place of man. It’s possibly the place where the Prince of the Persian kingdoms resisted the heavenly messenger.
The First Heaven
It’s also generally accepted that the first heaven is the visible world or cosmos. Revelation 21:1 talks about the first Heaven and the first Earth passing away.
A Literal Portal into the Third heaven
Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
Jacob’s Dream
Genesis 28:10-15
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Mark 1:10
Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
John 1:51
He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” (see also Gen 28:12)
Acts 7:56
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Mark 7:33-35
33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
Our Lives as a Portal into the Third Heaven
Matthew 6:9,10
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
54 of 65 references to the “Kingdom of God” refer to a present or relative to our time, past kingdom. 11 times when the term Kingdom of God is used in the New Testament it’s referring to a future or coming kingdom.
Luke 11:20
But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Luke 17:21
`21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”[a]
Footnotes: Luke 17:21 Or is within you
2 Corinthians 4:6,7
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
2 Corinthians 3:3,18
You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Timothy 2:20,21
20Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
Conclusion:
I’m believing for an open heaven over my life and over the members of our church. We will be able, by faith to declare third heaven realities and “bring them down” into the 1st heaven or realm of the Earth. Whether it happens in the Spiritual realm and or in the lives of individuals I’m believing for it. Let’s pray.
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