Today we continue our new series entitled, “Heaven on Earth,” by going back to the beginning. If you read the first two chapters of Genesis you see a beautiful picture. While every human born after the fall of man has had to experience life after God judged the serpent, the woman and the man, we see a different picture in the beginning.
The Bible describes Eden as a beautiful place. There was no rain to water the earth, but no water was needed. The Bible says, “water came up from the earth and spread over the ground.” God put in His own irrigation system to ensure the garden was fed with enough water to bloom and flourish. Eden was also fed with four rivers. It had everything it needed to grow and prosper. Adam was charged with taking care of the garden, but as you can see, God had already setup Adam for divine success.
God brought the animals He created to Adam and allowed Adam to name them. Adam didn’t go to school. So where did he learn to work the ground? And how did he come up with the names? The answer is simple: God. Adam did not have an education, but he did have revelation. Adam had God Himself living on the inside of him. Adam received downloads from heaven. Equipped with supernatural insight, wisdom, revelation, knowledge and understanding, Adam was prepared to rule, govern and dominate this planet. Adam was supposed to do, in the earth, what God was doing from heaven. Adam was created in God’s image and he was supposed to emulate God on this planet. The earth was never intended to go to heaven. Heaven was supposed to be extended to the earth, through Adam.
Adam fell. He sinned. From that moment on Old Testament is a picture of a people disconnected from God. When Adam sinned his eyes and the eyes of Eve were opened. They realized they were naked. They were ashamed. God told Adam that he would die if he ever ate of the forbidden tree. He ate and they died. They did not die physically. They died spiritually. They lost the privilege of housing the Holy Spirit. This left them to live life as mere humans. Prior to the fall, everything Adam and Eve had was simply given to them by God, by His grace. After the fall, they would have to work for everything they got. There were resigned to living a life based on human effort.
If we fast-forward to the New Covenant, the one established by Jesus, we see a covenant of grace. John said, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17 NIV). Notice the language John uses. He teaches us that while the Law was GIVEN through Moses, but grace actually CAME through Jesus. The Law was given to people on tablets of stone. There was no direct connection between God and man. But when it came to the New Testament, God did not simply GIVE something, He CAME HIMSELF! The Law was given, but GRACE CAME!
I could go on with this, but I will stop here for today.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Man was created to rule, govern and exercise God’s dominion authority on this planet. As God rules and reigns from heaven, He created man to rule and reign over the earth. The earth was intended to be an extension of heaven. What God sees in heaven, He intended for man to establish in the earth.
2. Adam sinned. He lost his authority. He was disconnected from God. So all throughout the Old Testament the Holy Spirit lived inside of the temple, in the Most Holy Place. Only one person, the High Priest, could visit the presence of God. He could only do this once a year, on the Day of Atonement. Think about it. One person, once a year, could visit what Adam had living on the inside of Him. This is NOT a picture of God’s best. When Jesus came He restored our access. On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out and the New Testament church was birthed. The Holy Spirit no longer lives in a temple. We are now the temple of God and the Holy Spirit lives in us. The power and authority of God has been restored to man. We are now supposed to rule like Adam was ruling before the fall.
3. Jesus got us OUT OF everything Adam got us INTO. Because of Jesus we are redeemed. We are not redeemed to back to Abraham. Jesus redeemed us all the way back to Adam, in the Garden, before the fall. Adam was charged to represent God Himself in the earth. That charge is now ours. God lives in us as Born-Again believers. He now charges us to represent, or RE-present Him in this world. When you get this revelation you don’t spend your life daydreaming about going to heaven someday. You spend your life focused on bringing heaven to the earth everyday!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, thank You for sending Jesus to repair the breach between You and man. It was Your original intent for man to RE-present You in this world. Adam was supposed to emulate heaven on this planet. Adam had kingdom, dominion, power and authority. He lost it. Jesus got it back. Adam had direct access to You. He walked with You in the cool of the day. He received downloads from heaven. He lost that access. Jesus got it back. Now, because of Jesus, I am filled with Your Spirit and I have Your power and authority. I hear from heaven daily. I receive my marching orders from You. Since I am connected to heaven daily, I don’t live my life focused on going there. I will go there someday. For now, I live my life focused on bringing heaven here! My life is an example of HEAVEN ON EARTH! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
