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Subject that is not our usual type of trail in the scriptures. This is informative. This gives you scope of God's perspective on creation and mankind. So what we're going to look at is the three heavens and the three earths. I don't know if you've ever seen this in the scriptures, but when I was shown this, I said, Well, wait a minute, wait a minute. What exactly is this saying? So what I had heard years ago is that there were heavens and layers. And you know, if you got with the right girl, you could get into the seventh heaven, right kind of thing, that kind of stuff. Well, that mentality came from the heavens and levels, but that is not what the heavens, the three heavens, are talking about or the three earths. They're referring to time as you're going to see from the scriptures. It's really clear. So then there's another subject, if we get that far, which talks about man's day and the Lord's day. So man's day is when man does the judging, man does the choosing. In the Lord's day, when he returns, no more man choosing. This is all what the Lord chooses to happen, and everything's going to be in submission to him. So if we get that far, but let's start off in 2 Corinthians in chapter 12. 2 Corinthians 12. This is the apostle Paul writing 2 Corinthians, and he spoke of going up to the third heaven. But there's a mistranslation with a word in there we've got to talk about. And you know, when we say something was mistranslated or could be translated clearer, if you're questioning that, look it up. There's so many tools to look these things up today. There's no reason to just be left in the dark. If you think it's questionable, look it up. The scriptures are clear to those who search them out. They become clear. That's why God gave us his spirit. So, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, we can start in verse 1, getting to verse 2. It says, Boasting is necessary. Uh, this is going to be a little different in translation, but boasting is necessary, though it is it is not profitable. But I will go on to visions and revelations in the Lord. So he's speaking of visions and revelations that he had received. You can keep reading, goes into verse seven and eight, making that clear. But verse two, he says, I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know. God knows such a man was caught up to the third heaven. This word up could be translated as away. It could be up, could be over. It's just away from what it means is away from the location that you're at. So Paul is talking about a man who's living in the earth and the heavens that we live in now being caught away to the third one. Now you don't see all that right here yet, but let's go keep that in mind and look at where it's clarified as 2 Peter chapter 3, toward the back of your Bible. 2 Peter chapter 3. This is where you clearly see that it's referring to time and not levels. These three heavens and three earths. Okay, so 2 Peter in chapter 3, we're going to start in verse 5. Where it says, For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of the water and in or through the water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. So this is talking about the earth that was was destroyed by water, it was overcome by water and essentially ruined or destroyed. So this is talking about the first earth. Now, this is going to become really clear in the next verse. Verse 7, but by his word, the present heavens. Which are now, yeah, because the this word present it refers to time. So some went with now, which is translated now many times, and the next amount of times it's translated is present because it's referring to time. Okay, now watch verse seven again. Understanding that. But by his word, the present heavens and earth, or the heavens and earth which are now, are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. So the heavens and earth we currently live in are the second one. Okay, he spoke of in verses five and six of the first one being destroyed by water. So now we're living in this current one, the present one, this present heavens and earth. Okay. And this one is being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. We can come back to, but watch. Verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens that we live in will pass away with a war, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. So the one we live in is being preserved until the day of future judgment, when this heavens and earth are going to melt with fervent heat. Now, someone said, you know, when the sun uh finally explodes, it's going to have intense heat. Okay, let's read that verse again. Verse 10. It says, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a war, and the elements of the heavens will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. This is far greater than the power of the sun blowing up. This is like melting down the heavens, plural, as we know them all around us, what we call the universe. All this is gonna melt. I mean, this is hard or difficult for our finite minds to fathom, but the heavens are going to melt with fervent heat. Watch, look at verse 12. But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. So, in the context, it talks about this first earth being overcome by water and being destroyed. Okay, then it talks about the heavens and earth in which we now live in, the present one. And then it speaks of in the future, in this beginning with this day of judgment, where God is going to melt down all the heavens and the earth and make a new heavens and new earth where sin does not dwell, where only righteousness dwells. And this is God's arrangement. So it's not earths and heavens in levels, it's earths and heavens in time. There was that first one overflow flowed with water, destroyed, the one in which we currently live, and then the final one, which is still future. And this isn't you know fairyland stuff. This is written the way it is because this is the way it's going to happen. And again, it's difficult for our minds to think that big that this whole heavens and earth are going to melt down, and all of its work, the earth's works, it says, right in verse 10. All of these great works. Well, I built that bridge with my bare hand, you know, all that's gonna melt. You see how green my lawn is, not on that day, it's not gonna be seen as green, right? All these great things man has done through the ages, gone. It's all going to melt because it means nothing to the kingdom of God, but everything that's done now in light of the kingdom of God is going to last into that future heavens and earth. Isn't that interesting? So the heavens and earth are in time, that which was, that which currently is, and that which will be. Get it? It's really simple. I want to show you something else. Now, see in verse 10, it says, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away. And goes on what we read. So the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The point is, you don't know when a thief is going to break into your house or car. That's the point. Don't know it, so you don't find out until after the dirty work is done, right? So he's saying that day of the Lord comes like a thief. No one is going to know exactly when that takes place. The day of the Lord is in contrast to the day of man. The day of the Lord is when the Lord judges. Remember, we read in verse 7 by which or sorry, and by his word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men, where God purges out things that are contrary to his kingdom. See that that is still coming. Well, that's the day of the Lord. That's not when man says whatever he wants to about God and his son Jesus Christ. Makes all these claims against the value of God's word. That's in now, but there's coming a day called the Lord's Day when the Lord does the judging. And no more is man going to be speaking against the system of God ever again. Remember, we read, it's interesting, we read in um Isaiah 11, it was in the last verse we read, but it says, as the knowledge of the Lord is going to cover the earth like the waters cover the sea, that means that the knowledge of him is going to be all over the earth. That is third heaven and third earth, wherein only dwells righteousness. And we get to look forward to that. What we're tasting of now, well, you know, when you experience God in some arrangement that you're in, whether you're reading his word, talking to another saint, listening to a teaching, listening to a song, whatever, but you experience him, you're only getting a little taste of the glory to come. And it is a small one at that. Because what's coming is where there's no more effects of sin anywhere on the earth ever again. Everything lives in harmony, and this is what God has promised his people from way back in the beginning. So the day of the Lord is in contrast to the day of man. So we just read about the day of the Lord, you know, the day of judgment, and he's judging. Well, the day of man is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 4. And to understand this, you have to look at this record. 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Correct. 1 Corinthians 4, toward the beginning of the chapter. Not 2 Corinthians, but 1 Corinthians. Where Paul uses this statement, and the translators didn't know how to translate it because the understanding the day of the Lord and the day of man was only understood in that culture unless you study the scriptures and work those phrases out. Day of the Lord, day of man, and compare them. Well, watch. Speaking of today, Paul says in verse 3, but to me, it is a very small thing that I may be judged by you or by uh man's day is literally the way it reads. Says, in fact, I do not even judge myself. So it's a very small thing that I may be judged by you or by man's day. Whatever man decides about my life, my ministry, what Christ has done, who God is, what he's done for me, whatever man decides, he can have any opinion he wants to today. But when the Lord returns, that stops on a dime. Do you get it? All of that stops. All opinions of man that man elevates above God and his word, all these great things that man has done, elevated above Jesus Christ's work for mankind. All these things of man stop on a dime, they become recognized as completely valueless. The day of man is today, man judges today. The day of the Lord is when he does the judging, and everything will drastically change on that day. So it's interesting. Let's close out here. We have time. I'm gonna look at uh 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. First Thessalonians 4. There's this record here speaking of those who believe on Jesus Christ, where it says that Jesus Christ is going to descend from heaven and stop in the air. And then those who have died that have believed on Christ are going to be raised from the dead, and those that are still alive will be gathered up together with the dead that just rose, and we all meet the Lord together in the air. We'll read about it, but let's read right into chapter 5, where it speaks of the day of the Lord. Okay, this today is man's day. Man chooses, man judges. We've chosen to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Good decision because of the result. Watch those that believe on him, verse 15 of 1 Thessalonians 4. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord. Yeah, for in verse, chapter 4 and verse 15, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. Verse 16 for the Lord, this is the event for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. That's a time word. Those that believed on Jesus Christ that have fallen asleep or died, they rise first, you know, like our beloved Muset and Dana. They're gonna rise first, then another time word. Then, verse 17 we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we forever be with the Lord. From this point forward, it won't be with the Lord. Yeah, I was with him this morning, but you know, the day moved on and I got distracted. Never again. We are always with him from this point forward. It's always a cognizance of his presence, of his provision, of his protection, everything. It's great. So the last verse says, Therefore, comfort, it's the same word as encourage uh or exhort, but comfort or encourage one another with these words. Now, watch chapter five, just keeps going. Now, as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of what? The day of the Lord, when He does the judging, the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. Huh? That's what it said in Second Peter, right? It's going to come like a thief in the night. While they are saying, peace and safety, then sudden destruction will come upon them, like the labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. It's interesting it says this because we even hear the governments of today trying to move toward, oh, yeah, we're gonna make peace and safety among ourselves, which working toward there being no more wars, so we can say that we have made peace and safety. And it says, when they get to this point, we will have just been gathered together, sometime shortly before. When they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction. Because man doesn't make anything for himself. The Tower of Babel proved that. Man was trying to make a name for himself, God confounded their languages, and the whole project failed. Man can't make a name for himself, he can't claim to make peace and safety. That's God's category. God makes peace and safety. So he doesn't allow men to do this. Men will pursue health through the health field, right? But they won't find health through the health field. They find a band-aid here and a little help there, but you know, fix one problem, two more arise, right? The medical field will not give man health. God says, I am the Lord, your healer. In Exodus 15. Money. Well, if I chase enough money and get enough put in a bank account, then I will be secure. Whenever man thinks he's secure by his own means, that's when things go south. God will never allow any idol to stand in the way of him providing for and taking care of man. So, what he's doing in showing us the difference between man's day and the Lord's day, and the first heaven and earth that was, and the one that now we are presently in, and the one that's going to be, is it gives you this scope that God planned us out from the very beginning, and nobody's changing these things. It's impossible. The day of the Lord is going to come following our gathering together unto him, and in that day, following the Lord does the judging. It's going to be very different than today. All these human courts we see all around us, they're going to be gone. They won't exist. Whatever the Lord says, that's what's going to be followed through. And it's interesting, I'm going to throw this in, but it says in Daniel that the saints who have believed on him are going to govern under him because we're conditioned to the ways of the kingdom. The grace of Christ, right? Righteousness, sanctification, redemption, these great things he placed us in. Because we're conditioned to his form of government, he's going to have us governing over the nations, it says. Like I don't know anything about governing. Oh, if you've submitted to righteousness, you do. If you've submitted that you are a son of God, you know what governing is about. Because you've allowed the truth to govern your mind, and that's what's going to be needed over all the nations of the world. I I don't I know myself. I'm not going to be much of a governor. It has nothing to do with it. You know what Moses said? God asked him to go speak to Pharaoh? I can't do that. I'm slow of speech. My tongue gets all twisted up. I can't do this. God says, who made your mouth? Who designed your tongue? Right? So what we think we can't do or aren't designed for is what he has designed us for. Because he knows what he's doing. So there will be the government of Christ over all the earth in the end, and he's going to need governorship under him. Right? Yes, folks, you're part of it. Yeah. Just doesn't know it yet. It's great, isn't it? So that's a little bit on you know, the three heavens and earth, and then the day of man versus the day of the Lord, which they all coincide.