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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Heaven(13) - Animals and Plants |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Isaiah 11: 6-8 |
Date |
2007-03-04 |
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Passage
Isaiah 11: 6-8
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. [7] Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. [8] The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, members of over 5,400 branch churches in Korea and all over the
world including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, El Salvador,
Argentina, Germany, France, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Belgium, Netherlands, China, Japan,
Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, India, Mongolia, Egypt, Israel, Kenya, Uganda,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Swaziland, South Africa,
Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, and local sanctuary members, those who are attending the service on the
Internet all over the world, and television viewing audiences,
This is the 13th session on the heaven lecture series.
From the 10th session of this lecture series, I have been explaining the common elements of the kingdom of heaven, namely the basic environments of the heavenly kingdom.
First, I told you about the sky and ground of the heavenly kingdom, and next, I told you about the river of the water of life, which is the river flowing in heavenly kingdom. In this session, I briefly tell you about the animals and plants of the heavenly kingdom.
In the book heaven, you must have read we can talk to various plants and animals in heaven, and how is it possible there?
Do flowers and plants have mouths and they speak with them?
Also, on this earth many people raise their pet dogs or cats as if they were their own family members, and can we have pets even in heaven?
I will tell you the answers to these questions in this session.
Through this message, I pray in the name of the Lord that the kingdom of heaven will be realized in your heart as reality, so that though you are living in this world, your heart will be always filled with the hope of heaven.
Body
Dear Brothers and sisters, through today's passage Isaiah 11:6-8, we can imagine how the animals in heaven will be like.
"And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. [7] Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. [8] The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper' den."
How peaceful a place this is!
This is Isaiah's vision about the perfect peace that will be accomplished by the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. He wrote this down with the hope that there will be a world where there is no evil but only love, so that even ferocious animals will become mild, and there will be no harming or damaging.
Of course, in heaven, there is no animal like poisonous snakes that has poison, but during the Millennium Kingdom that will take place on this earth, we can see things that are described in today's passage.
Now, what kind of animals are there in the heavenly kingdom? There are countless kinds of animals and fishes in heaven. There are many kinds that are not present on this earth, too.
On the other hand, there are also some kinds that are here on this earth but are not existent in heaven. They are the animals that God considers abominable and unclean.
In Leviticus chapter 11, we can see in detail what kinds of animals, birds, fish, and insects are deemed abominable in the sight of God. And there are reasons when God considers each of these animals abominable.
First of all, the abominable animals are the animals that look like the images of the cherubim that stood against God and corrupted.
In Revelation 12:9, we can see the expression 'The great dragon and his angels'. They were the ones who were with Lucifer, when Lucifer rebelled against God.
'The dragon's angels' here refers to some of the cherubim that belonged to the dragon. Unlike angels have the form of human beings, cherubim are spiritual beings that have the form of animals.
These angles of the dragons were also cherubim that had beautiful forms, but since they rebelled against God and corrupted, their form also changed into ugly animals.
And those abominable animals are the ones that look like these corrupted cherubim. Next, unclean animals are some of the animals that had bad elements when all animals were created from the dust of the ground.
For example, some animals have crafty nature, some others violent nature, and still others greedy nature. Some of the kinds of animals that Bible mentioned are camels, rabbits, pigs, rats, weasel, and lizards.
In heaven, there is no unclean or abominable animals. There are so many lovely and beautiful animals, and so there is no reason for God to place unclean and abominable animals in heaven.
Brothers and sisters, the animals in heaven are a little bigger than animals of this earth, so they will look more majestic. Mostly they are of mild and obedient characters.
Also, the furs of animals and feathers of birds give out wondrous lights. Their smell is mild and aromatic, unlike animals that smell bad on this earth. Also, even lions, often called the king of animals, are not violent but very mild. Especially, they have golden and bright mane, so they look much more elegant.
Fish also have fins and scales with beautiful colors, and there are some fishes that change those colors from time to time.
When these animals in heaven see God's children, they jump with gladness. Especially, in New Jerusalem, people can have personal pet animals.
Sometimes, one can receive a whole zoo as a reward, and if you like any particular animal very much, you can have it in your house.
Those animals in New Jerusalem that are raised in individual houses will listen to their owner very well. They will also read their owner's mind and try to please them completely.
They also know how to receive love from their owner, and they please their owner sometimes doing some cute tricks, too. Then, is it that the animals in heaven have soul and they understand the mind of the owner and act according to it? It's not so.
It's not that animals in heaven have souls to think and judge, and move, but they only do their duty in the spiritual space. They do not talk like men either.
Just as angels are made as spiritual being to move according to God's command, the animals in heaven are also spiritual beings existing and moving according to their duty.
Let me give you example for a better understanding. Some animals on this earth automatically respond to a particular thing once they are trained that way.
For example, some dogs are trained to smell the sugar level of their owners who have diabetes. When they smell that the sugar level of their owners go down to a certain level, they let their owners know it. Sometimes, diabetes parents may suddenly lose their consciousness if their sugar level goes down, and these dogs prevent this kind of disaster.
In this case, it's not that the dogs that are trained think, "My owner's sugar level has gone down! I have to let him know!" and act accordingly. They are just acting as they are trained.
Likewise, it's not that the animals in heaven move because they have soul, but they just respond according to their duty being spiritual beings.
Dear Brothers and sisters, from now, let me talk about plants in heavenly kingdom. In heaven also, just like on this earth, there are so many kinds of plants.
There are not only the tree of life on the bank of the river of the water of life, but also countless other kinds of fruit trees and flower trees and plants. The plants have the roots, stem, and leaves. Some of them have flowers, and some others have fruits.
Plants on this earth absorb water and nutrients through their roots, and they grow up, bloom the flower, and bear the fruit by doing the photosynthesis with their leaves.
But the plants in heaven do not need any operation like that to live. They just live forever with the life given by God.
So, one may think the plants in heaven do not need any roots, and why did God still make roots for them?
The roots of the plants in heaven are not there to absorb nutrients, but they are a way to show different traits of the plants.
Of course, we can understand the different characteristics of each plant by looking at the scent of the flower or the shape of the fruit, but even the roots show the identity of each plant.
Even on this earth, for some plants like ginseng, balloon flowers, arrowroots, radishes, carrots, and sweet potatoes, their roots are more useful, and we recognize their differences by looking at their roots.
In the book 'heaven', you can read that we will be able to talk to even the plants and various animals in heaven, and do flower or trees have mouths and they talk to us with their mouth?
It's not so. The shape of the flowers and trees in heaven have the same shape of those in this world. They do not have eyes, noses, mouths, or ears.
How then can we talk with plants in heaven?
Each plant gives out its scent, or shakes or bends their stems or trees to praise God and to express something.
For example, when a person who is at a very high rank in heaven approaches them, they show some kind of movement that express they are receiving him with reverence and respect. In Sokri Mountain in Choongbuk province, there is a pine tree that received the title of the second rank government position in Chosun dynasty.
When the King Sejo was passing by that place, he was worried that his chariot may get caught by the tree branches. Then, it is said that this pine tree lifted its branch by itself. So, King Sejo was so impressed and gave the second rank position to this tree.
Likewise, the flowers and trees of the heavenly kingdom also do something to show their welcome. They can also praise God.
Let me tell you how they praise God. When angels praise God lifting their hands, the flowers also move to the rhythm, and give out their scent sometimes strongly, or sometimes softly.
When you see many flowers move to the right or left all together or give out their scents bending or straightening themselves, you can really see that even flowers dance and sing. When God's glory if revealed in heavenly kingdom, not only angels but also flowers will give out their scent to praise the name of God and give glory to Him.
The plants in heaven live forever with the life given from God, so even with the passage of time, their leaves do not wither nor do their flowers or fruits fall.
If we take any of their fruits, another fruit will be born on that spot immediately, so the tree will always have the fruit.
It's the same with flowers. If you take one flower, another flower will bloom on the same spot immediately.
Also, even the flower that is plucked out will not wither, but it will remain as fresh as when it was first plucked out.
The flowers on this earth will begin to wither as soon as it is disconnected from their roots, and soon their pretty shapes and colors change. But it's not so with flowers in heaven.
According to the desire of the person, one can just keep them as long as he wants. If he wants to get rid of them, they will just dissolve into nothing and disappear completely.
But because everything is run by perfect justice and love in heaven, you won't be either able or willing to take any of the flowers that do not belong to you.
Therefore, in paradise where there is no personal belongings, people cannot pluck out one flower at their will. The can only smell the scent or watch.
On the other hand, in New Jerusalem, the plants please the heart of their owners.
As the owner wants, they can give out beautiful aroma or make some beautiful scenes.
For example, when the owner approaches the flower, the flower may close the bud for a moment and then open it wide and give out the scent to welcome the owner.
It receives the owner as if it were saying, "Master, welcome! I am so happy that you came to me!"
Also, if the owner wants to see a scene where petals being blown by the wind, the flowers can fly their petals by themselves to please the heart of their owner.
Even on this earth, when we see the cherry blossom petals fly by the wind, it looks like it's snowing, and we usually feel it's very beautiful.
But the flowers that have fallen to the ground soon change their color, and the parts from which the flowers fell off also do not look beautiful.
But in heaven, flower are immediately regenerated on the parts from which the previous flowers fell off, and the colors and scents of even the fallen petals do not change. So, if the owner wants to keep the fallen petals as they are, he can keep them as long as he wants.
Just as jewels do not decay but have their unique colors to have their own value, even the flowers that left the root do not change but can keep their unique colors and shapes.
And in heaven, there are some flowers that give out deeper aroma if you grind them and make them into powders.
So, if the owner wants to collect all the petals and keep them in a bottle as powder, the petals will be stored in a bottle and can stay as powder forever.
Likewise, in New Jerusalem, even about just one flower, the owner can do whatever he wants to do with it.
Now, what kind of scent do the plants in heaven have?
Plants and flowers on this earth have their unique scent, and even trees have their own scent. Pine trees have their unique scent, and junipers have their own scent. Likewise, not only the flowers but also the trees in heavenly kingdom have their unique scent.
But there is no plant that has bad smell. They have refreshing, sweet, elegant and mild smell; they only have the scents that give us good feelings.
Also, no matter how much scent they give out, the scent never runs out, and the concentration of the scent is also controlled automatically. As necessary, the scent goes out far, or at other times, it is only mild and soft.
When the Lord was explaining to me these things, I could also smell the scent of the flowers of heaven. Just by smelling it once, my whole body was energized, and I could feel the fullness of the Spirit.
But the fact is that in each heavenly dwelling place, the scent and embedded meaning of plants are different.
For example, in case of roses, the roses in paradise are just one of the many flowers. But if there is any rose in a house in New Jerusalem, this is not just one of the many flowers but in the scent of the rose will be embedded the heart of the owner.
So, when a guest visits this house, the rose will give out its scent to the guest, which is a way to express the heart of the owner.
Therefore, even the same kind of rose in paradise and in New Jerusalem have different meanings. Also, even the same kind of rose in New Jerusalem will have each one' unique scent according to the heart of their owners.
Also, not all the plants that are in New Jerusalem are present in other dwelling places, too.
Going from New Jerusalem to paradise, the number of kinds of plants decreases, and even for the same kind of plant, people have less authority to make use of it.
Also, the quality of the same kind of plants is different in different dwelling places. For example, there is lawn and grass-covered plain in both paradise and New Jerusalem, and the comfort when you sit on them, and the color of the lawn are different.
Even on this earth, just ordinary lawn in a park, and the lawn of a soccer field which is very carefully taken care of with a lot of money, are very different in their quality.
Also, the tree in a park where everybody can go, and a tree in a royal palace will be different in quality, even though they are the same kind.
In summation, all plants in heaven will be different in quality and scent, and the kinds of plants in each dwelling place will also be different.
From the next session, I will explain to you about the clothes and food that God's children will wear and eat.
Conclusion
Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ, in this session, I briefly told you about the animals and plants of the heavenly kingdom.
After all, all animals and plants, and every other thing in the kingdom of heaven are prepared by God for His children.
And true children of God who did not live as they wanted on this earth but only according to the will of God will be able to do anything as they want in the kingdom of heaven.
Even the animals and plants will serve them as their masters and please their hearts as they want.
There is a person who prays and toils day and night for the kingdom of God. One day she was passing by a certain place in a car, and she saw the cherry blossoms being blown by the wind.
For a moment, she thought, "Such beautiful flowers bloom every spring, and I have never walked this road for many years!" It was not a confession of dissatisfaction or complaints, but she just realized how busy she was working for the kingdom of God.
And some time later, she saw her heavenly house with her spiritual eyes opened, and she found out that God has made a beautiful promenade with cherry blossoms in her house.
Likewise, our God the Father is full of love.
He remembers all things that you gave up and did not take on this earth for Him, and He gives you back with things that cannot be compared with anything of this earth.
I hope you will fill yourself with this hope more and more with true deeds of faith. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be treated with the greatest honor even by animals and plants in the eternal heavenly kingdom. |
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