Paradise Regained

I want you to turn tonight to Revelation chapter 21, and I'm going to read just one verse here, verse 1 of Revelation chapter 21. We've been looking at searching for a city with foundation. We've been looking from Abraham all the way through, how the real saints, the righteous of God, those redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb, justified by faith, they're searching for a city while they're here on earth.

We're just going to read this one verse, one verse, but I'm going to deal with many verses and many portions of Scripture here tonight. My message tonight, this is part 6, Paradise Regained, reading from Revelation 21, verse 1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, and the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for your word. Thank you for this series, Lord God, that sets even our eyes upon eternity, upon things that are heavenly and above, not of things on this earth, O God, not of things that are close by, nor, God, that we can see and touch, but, O God, things, nor, God, that have no end, that come out of eternity and go back into eternity. Father, I pray, nor, God, that you'd show us, nor, God, paradise regained, nor, God, your heart, your plan, your desire for those that love you, that serve you, and that walk with you for your creation, nor, God, that you've always had a plan to raise up an environment, nor, God, for them to dwell in and live in, nor, God, that's a paradise.

Will you open our eyes even tonight to see it? In Jesus' mighty name, amen. My message, paradise regained. John Milton, by 1652, at the age of 43, was totally blind in both eyes, and I hope I'm not prophesying, but I'm past that just slightly.

But listen, by 1652, John Milton was blind in both eyes. That same year, his wife died, followed just several weeks later by his third child, his only boy, who also died. All these tragedies hit in one singular year.

Your boy, your wife, your eyes, all left him in the year 1652. In the year 1656, four years later, he began to sit down and write every single morning a remarkable work of literature. It was called Paradise Lost.

This actually became the greatest poem in English history. It was an astounding work of art. John Milton actually said he sat down every single morning and led and dictated to, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he began to write one of the greatest poems in all of literature, maybe in the world today.

It is an epic poem. By 1667, he published the first version of it. It was 10 books long.

This is a poem, 10 books long, 10,565 lines long. Christy beat that. It was called the greatest work of English literature.

It was remarkable. It was astounding. This was a man who was blind, who had lost his wife, who faced many, many tragedies.

And so he called it Paradise Lost. But in 1671, he released a second book called Paradise Regained, and that's the title of my message here tonight. Paradise Regained.

It was all about not the fall of Adam. Paradise Lost was about Adam and Eve in the garden. And what he'd done was take the whole biblical story of the fall of Adam and Eve, the temptation, the creation first, the temptation by Satan, the fall, the sin, everything, and he wrote this poem out of it.

But in Paradise Regained, which he published in 1671, it was the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. It wasn't long. It was far, far shorter.

It was only four books long, 2,065 lines in length. This man was a remarkable man. He was a Puritan.

He had sound doctrine. I can't say much about his morals or his character or if he was really born again. I can't say that.

But I want to tell you, he wrote one of the greatest works in English literature. Most Christians today don't know about it, and yet it is biblically sound. It is birthed out of puritanical doctrine, which is what I believe in preaching.

It is sound, sound doctrine. He died at 66 years old, having married three women. He was on his third wife at 66, and there he died.

It was in his latter days that this became the greatest work of English literature. Saints, I want to give you a message here tonight called Paradise Regained. It's not quite what his poem was.

It won't be as eloquent or powerful or dynamic, but all I'm doing is playing my part in telling you about paradise regained. Not paradise lost in the garden, not paradise regained in the wilderness by Christ, but I want to depict paradise regained in the city that we've been dealing with. That's where I'm going to finish, but I've got about six points here.

Number one, paradise created. Number two, paradise lost. Number three, paradise preserved.

Number four, paradise promised. Number five, paradise exalted. Number six, I don't have a title for that.

Number seven, but I might tell you by the time I get there, paradise restored. I want to give you these seven points here concerning paradise to understand God's plan, God's heart, God's purpose. When we think of the new Jerusalem, heaven to come, of running and fleeing the wrath to come, do you know what? The Bible depicts God's plan for paradise for those who love him and serve him.

God actually has a plan. He wants to reveal his heart, and I want you to see that as we look at the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem is paradise regained again.

Heaven is paradise regained, but man, sin, the flesh of man has forfeited paradise. Do you realize that Satan himself is the enemy of paradise? This world is opposed to paradise. Your flesh is in opposition to all that it is, but let me give you these seven points here tonight.

Number one, paradise created. Let me take you into scripture and begin to show you what the Bible teaches about God's plan for paradise all through time straight into eternity. In order to look at paradise created, we need to go back into Genesis chapter one and verse one.

It says in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. There had to be a beginning of all created things. This was it in Genesis chapter one, verse one, in the beginning.

See, beyond that, you've got eternity. You've got heaven. There's no beginning to heaven.

The heaven that we talk about is God's heaven, the third heaven. But when we look at the earth or when we look at this statement, the heavens and the earth, and I'm going to show you this just shortly, you actually see God's created order. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

Notice there's two things he creates. Then zoom forward to Revelation 21, verse one that we read, and listen to what John says. I saw a new heaven, a new earth, both of the things, a new heaven and a new earth.

For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. This is paradise created. God created paradise.

When you begin reading Genesis one, Genesis two, you see paradise created. What did it look like? In Genesis chapter one, verse 26, it says, and God said, let us, that is God. God is talking to God.

Let us make man in our image. He wasn't going to make men in the image of angels. He wasn't speaking to angels.

He's speaking to God. God is speaking to God. Just like Psalm 110, my Lord said unto my Lord, God is speaking to God.

Jehovah is speaking to Adonai. So you have it in Genesis chapter one. You have the trinity.

You have the Godhead communing, fellowshiping together, talking, saying, let's make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the fowls of the air and over the cattle and over all of the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. Do you see what paradise is? God is creating everything for man. All things, all the animals, all the earth, all the plants, everything is created for man.

God created all good things for you. Everything that tastes, every color, every sight, every flying creature was created for you. You were to have dominion over it.

It was put under your power. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he, him, and male and female created they, him, they, them. Then verse 28, and God blessed them.

I want you to start seeing that God's created order was a thing of great blessing. Verse 28, and God blessed them. And God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over all the fish of the sea, over the fowls of the air, over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth. Some people are so naive to say, look, all the herbs are given to us. That includes all of the drugs that make you high, poppies, etc.

But then it's got power over you. You don't have power over it. God has given man power over all these things.

They're for your good, your benefit. You have power. As soon as they gain power over you, something has been lost.

You've lost your dominion. Nothing, no substance should have power over you. You know what? That loses God's plan and purpose.

But I want you to get a grip here. Look at God's blessing. Look at God's order.

God has created man and woman to replenish. Why? This is all of his desire for paradise. He is bringing forth paradise.

He creates every seed bearing herb for your blessing. Do you see all the things that were in paradise? Animals, created order, man and woman, bringing forth children, all the animals, all the beautiful plants, all of these things are actually, they were always meant to be in paradise. This is the mind of God.

This is the heart of God for his children. He desires to bless you. He desires to pour out beautiful plants.

Do you realize plants were created by God to be in paradise where his people were to dwell and abide? You begin to understand God's mind. You begin to understand his plan. You begin to understand his emotions, his literal thoughts towards you and I. When you begin to doubt, does God want to bless me? Does God want us to even smile or be happy or to enjoy a dog like Shiloh? I enjoy my dog.

Some Christians have a job, certain or less art. How can a God of wrath, of judgment, of holiness, of purity actually even want a Christian preacher to enjoy a dog? Now, I'm not just a fan. I'm not trying to defend myself.

I just use that as an example. I want you to see it's God's desire that we enjoy the trees, the flowers, the dogs, the animals, that we enjoy fragrance, smells. God has created them.

All the colors, all the tastes, all of this is his provision and in paradise created, you begin to see what God's original heart was for Adam and Eve, for mankind. This is within his heart and it's utterly remarkable. And it says in Genesis 2 verse 1, and the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them.

And on the seventh day, God ended his work that he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had made. And notice the next part, verse 8, and the Lord God planted a garden in Eden. The garden wasn't Eden.

The garden is in Eden. Okay, do you see that? God planted it. And who planted it? God planted the garden.

God literally, Eden was the entire earth, the entire created earth. But in Eden, he planted a specific garden. The entirety of Eden wasn't just a garden.

He planted a specially designed garden for man. It was called Eden. It was only one small part of Eden.

The garden isn't Eden. It's called the garden of Eden. But don't think that Eden is only the garden.

God put or planted our design. I actually believe this was a fully grown garden. It was mature.

How did God create Adam? When you saw him, he had a beard. He didn't have to grow a beard. This is day one.

Adam had a beard day one. Why? It was God's order. When you see Adam, he's one day old and he's got a fully grown beard.

That's just the fact of reality. Saints of God, when you begin to see this garden, the garden of Eden was fully grown. It was designed.

It was brought forth by God himself. What is this garden? It is paradise created. So you get all of these things functioning together.

God chose a garden for man. Of all the things he could put man within, he chose a garden. Just think about this.

If you don't like gardens, you're in trouble here tonight. I want to tell you, gardens are God's plan. The only thing is in God's plan, it was never meant to take dealing with all those weeds, all of that rubbish that grew up to destroy it.

That was never in God's original intention. And so we see that God planted the garden and there he put the man. God put man right in the garden.

Of all the places in Eden, which is the entire earth, he put man in a garden. That's where he placed him. The man that he formed, he put him there.

The word Eden here for the entirety of creation or the earth, it means pleasure or delight. Are you getting a picture with all of this? Are you beginning to see something of God's heart for you and for God's created order? We know it doesn't mean we don't suffer. We do suffer.

We're in a fallen world. But there's a day coming, this is all going to get restored again. The same mind, the same plan, the same heart, and I believe it will far exceed all of this.

But I just want you to feel this. I want you to understand that. Do you see in this already, in paradise created, do you see God's heart of bountiful supply, his full provision, his goodness, his kindness, his love, his desire, his delight in you enjoying colors, flowers, animals, gardens.

This is all in God's plan. Think about it. He designs the garden.

He plants the garden. He makes man. He puts man there.

He gives man a partner called Eve. He raises up all these animals. He says, Adam, you name them.

All of this is God's delightful place to live and dwell. It was Eden. It was a place of pleasure.

There was no sorrow, no sadness, no death, no destruction, no animal devoured one another. All of this blossomed beautifully. No weeds, no thorns, nothing that was destructive in all of God's creative order.

It was amazing. It was extraordinary. And this all came out of God's heart.

You see, I believe Eden was one entire piece of land upon the earth. The so-called scientists and experts secularly in our world, they call it Pagonia. It's a Greek word meaning the whole earth.

If you ever see on a map, this is what all the experts say, our entire earth fit together like a jigsaw. Doesn't it, on a map, doesn't it nicely fit together? All of them say it was the plates rend and asunder that tore continents apart. But originally there was only one singular big mass of land.

Do you know what that mass of land? See, they call it Pagonia and other names. There's several names they give it. Do you know what the Bible calls it? Have a guess.

Eden. Eden is the name for that one mass of all the continents together before they got ripped apart. You may be doubting me here.

You may be questioning and going, hmm, I'm not sure about this. There was one giant super continent. Let me prove it just a little bit.

Genesis 1 verse 9. And God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place. Talking about the sea, all the sea, there weren't two seas. The waters were not separated.

All the waters were together and the dry land did appear and it was so. So you got the dry land coming up out of all this water. I believe it was one singular bit of land and its name was Eden.

Then it says in Genesis 2 and 9. And out of the ground made the Lord to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. Do you see everything is soaked in God's goodness. Pleasant for the sight.

Every kind of tree. God's making trees that you would look at and you go, wow, that's beautiful. God actually created them like that.

It was important that you find them pleasant and good for food that they tasted good. So do you see everything is saturated in this? This is paradise. This is the garden of Eden.

This is God's original dwelling place for man where he come down in the cool of the day and walked with man. Never doubt God's desire to bring pleasure to you. He does have a desire because he's creating all these things.

It's important that you enjoy the taste. It's important that you enjoy the sight with your eyes. The tree of life also was in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Then listen, and a river went out of Eden to water the garden. One river. One river.

God makes this river flow. This one river is going to flow into this garden. What a mighty river.

Do you know how big this river was? And from thence it was parted. So after it waters the garden, it parts, it splits into two and became into four heads. And the name of the first is Pissin which compasses the whole land of Havilla where there is gold.

And the gold of that land is good. Of course it would be. And there is Bedlam and Ungstone.

See the precious stones there? Isn't that interesting? The precious stones have to be there. And the name of the second river is Gion. The name of it compasses the whole land of Ethiopia or Sudan.

And the name of the third is Hekel. And it is that which goes towards the east of Assyria and the fourth river, the Euphrates. Do you know why I believe God gives us? If you go to the Middle East, you've got four massive ginormous rivers that encompass nations, entire nations.

You know what God is saying here? Originally, the one river that flowed into Eden was bigger than four massive rivers that are known right across the Middle East that divide nations. One river God made to come up and it's going to water Eden. It's going to saturate it and soak it and bring forth all these beautiful plants.

This is all God's provision. God thought about everything, absolutely everything. And it says in verse 15, and the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

I want you to see as we begin, paradise created. Begin to see God's heart, begin to see his desire. See, this is nothing compared to eternity, nothing compared to the time to come.

There is something so remarkable. It can't even enter into your mind and heart, the fullness of it. You only get a little tiny glimpse.

But yet, saints, this begins to give you a taste of God's original plan. Second of all, paradise lost. What a loss.

See, all of this created for a man's pleasure and goodness to enjoy his sight, his taste, his feelings, his emotions, company, animals. All of this was created for him. But second, paradise lost.

In Genesis chapter 2, 16, it says, and the Lord God commanded the man, only one command saying, of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.

Saints, only one simple command, and it's a remarkable provision of God. One simple thing, don't eat of that tree. Then it says, Genesis chapter 3 and 1, now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

And he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said. Do you see God's provision, God's heart, God's desire? What's the devil come doing? Hath God said. You can't imagine how wicked the devil's lies are, how he challenges God's goodness.

Never believe the lies of the devil. Hath God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden.

See how it's all about the garden. Where did the attack come? In the garden. They're in the garden.

Do you know what the devil's temptation is about? The garden. That's where he targets his attack. God's good provision.

And the devil walks right into the midst of it. Can you imagine being in paradise? Paradise on earth. All the animals, all the creation, the river, everything is for you.

The beauty, the songs, everything designed specifically for you, for your pleasure, for your good. There's no sin, no sickness, no death, no corruption, no weeds, no sorrow, no pain. But you know what? Right in the midst of that, the devil marches in disguised as a serpent and he makes his attack.

But of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ye shall not eat, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not die. For God does know that in the day ye eat thereof, that your eyes shall be open and you shall be as God's, knowing good and evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to made one wise. Hold on. All of creation is designed with that.

Everything is pleasant to the eye. Everything is good to the taste. But the serpent homes in on just one thing.

It says, look how pleasant. It'll taste good. It'll make you wise.

All of God's creation is created with that. You're being lied to. You're being deceived.

And so the devil still pinpoints things God has created. Things where there's a forbidden mark on. He'll use sex.

Who created that? Look at all the things that he'll point at. And he'll actually say, look, go this way. Why not go God's way? God's got all this provision, but Satan's saying, oh, look over here.

Look at her. Look at him. Look at it.

Look at this money. Look at that. Do you realize he's a liar? He's a thief.

He's a deceiver. God has provided all these things for you. But here is Eve actually saying, yeah, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

It is pleasant to the eye. It is to be desired to make one wise. And she took the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat.

Chapter 3, 22, and the Lord God said, behold, and this is the consequence. That one act, everything was pleasant. Everything was amazing.

Everything was created for your order. But the devil says, you know what? God's trying to keep something back from you. See over there, that one thing, that only thing, that one thing he's keeping back from you.

All of this is provided for you. But that one thing is what you want. The devil hasn't changed.

God hasn't changed. The devil hasn't changed. God's plan hasn't changed.

Temptation hasn't changed. It's all the same that you see here. Now look at the consequences.

Genesis 3, 22, and the Lord God said, behold, the man has become as one of us to know good and evil. And now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, not from Eden, the garden of Eden to till the ground from thence he was taken.

So he drove out the man. Look at God doing this because of sin. You go after only the one thing that God says no to.

The one thing he warned you about, you have to have it. Isn't that man's heart still? They destroy themselves. They actually lose everything by going after the one thing.

And you and I are prone to that. We go for that one thing. God gives us everything.

He's bountiful. He is good. He is kind.

He gives us all good things. He gives us eyes to see, ears to hear. He gives us taste buds to enjoy.

He gives us all these blessings. What do we do? We demand the one thing that makes us lose everything of God's creation order. And actually God has to drive us out of the garden of Eden, out of paradise on earth.

What a tragedy. If you go to the British Museum, and I've done it several times, and I'd encourage you to do it because only a Christian can enjoy the British Museum in London. Or the museums there in Germany, the Pergamon Museum.

See, if you're not a Christian, you can't enjoy those. You need a Bible to enjoy those things. If you go around the Assyrian display in the British Museum, and you'll see these big, massive statues.

And it's everywhere. Once you see it, once you see it everywhere in the museum. And it's depicted a big tree.

And these men and women standing there reaching forth for the fruit. It's the tree of life. It's all through Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian culture.

It goes right back to just after Noah's Ark. Right back to Iraq. This is, it come out of all those cultures.

They were utterly fascinated by that tree. Go and see for yourself. Third of all, paradise preserved.

So paradise created, paradise lost. Sorry, let me finish that paradise lost. It says God drove them out.

And he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden, cherubims. Not one, cherubims. And we're not told two.

But there had to be at least two. Because cherubims are never alone unless you're the cherub, Lucifer. Lucifer's a cherub.

And he's the only one that the Bible talks about being alone. What happens? They get driven out of paradise. And what happens? Cherubims are placed there to protect it.

And a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way to the tree of life. Do you know in all of that pagan architecture, you know what? You get creatures, angelic beings in the British Museum. Creatures with wings, with swords.

Where do you think that came from? It's all there in the museums, in the ancient architecture. This Garden of Eden, this paradise was known. Do you know the word paradise is not a Greek word or just a Hebrew word? The experts on language say the word paradise that we're using is a very ancient language word.

It originally comes, flows out of the original language and languages of the earth. It was first of all a Persian word. Persian is in Iran next to Iraq.

It became a Hebrew word. It then become a Greek word and a Roman word. It eventually become an English word and a German word and an American word and a Chinese word.

Do you realize the word paradise is a worldwide international word? It's known in every culture through history since the days of Noah. Every single culture has talked about paradise. And in fact, they use the word paradise.

There's always been this belief in paradise. What is paradise? It is heaven on earth. Man always sought after paradise.

They depict it in a very small way. How do we depict paradise? Some beach, some foreign land, some isolated island away from everyone else. It's got to have palm trees, beautiful beach.

It's got sand and people say it's paradise. Do you know what? It's within our culture, paradise. It actually is there.

But this third point, paradise preserved. What happened after the flood? So the Garden of Eden was planted in the east of Eden. It was an entire mass of the entire earth's continents together.

Then the flood came. They get torn apart. Where did paradise go? Where did the Garden of Eden go? Because after the flood, you don't have cherubims standing with a flaming sword.

That was pre the flood. I believe all those stories, there were people on the ark who saw those cherubims. People came off that ark.

The three sons of Noah, I tell you, they saw those cherubims and they carried it into the new world, a knowledge of those cherubims, angelic beings. They knew there was a Garden of Eden. It's been the search of man ever since.

Paradise, heaven on earth. Man has searched every culture, every nation, every civilization has searched for the key to eternal life, to crack it that you will live forever. And you know what? It all centers around that tree of life.

It's within our entire culture of the world. Saints, it's remarkable how accurate our Bible is in every single area. So we have paradise preserved.

Where did it go to? Where did paradise go to then? And I'll tie this in. So even if you don't see something, I'm going to tie it all together, okay? You have to go to the New Testament and you find out where from Noah to the days of Jesus, where is paradise? Paradise preserved, where was it preserved? Where was this place for God's people to live in, dwell in, be blessed, be preserved, to enjoy? In Luke 16, 19, Jesus tells a parable. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and he fared sumptuously every day.

And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.

The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, notice he was buried. He didn't stay in the grave.

His body went in the grave. But the man wakes up in hell. He lift up his eyes in hell being in torments and he seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

And he cried saying, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that poor man in life who now is in your bosom. I'm in hell. I'm in torment.

But he's woken up in Abraham's bosom, a place called Abraham's bosom. Do you see how they can see this? He sees him afar off. He lifts up his eyes.

He can speak to them. Listen to what he says. And he crieth and saith, Father Abraham, have mercy on me.

Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I'm tormented in the flame. I thought you didn't have a body in hell. He wants to satisfy his tongue with just a tip of a finger dipped in water.

He certainly thought he had a tongue. He felt like he had a tongue. And Abraham said, Son, remember that in thy lifetime receivest thou good things.

And likewise, Lazarus, evil things. Do you see, Lazarus is the good one in the story. He's the righteous one, the God-fear, the godly one.

Did he have a good life? Did he have paradise on earth? He's got sores on his body. He is poor. He doesn't have much money.

The prosperity gospel is false. Here he is. He has nothing to his name.

He is begging at the gateway, looking for crumbs to fall off the table. He's got sores. The dogs lick them.

He had nothing good. Here's Abraham answering, saying in his lifetime, he had no good things in his lifetime. He didn't have paradise on earth.

He didn't have the garden of Eden, but he was righteous. And you know what? He gets blessed and he gets rewarded. You know what? When he dies, he goes right into paradise.

This is paradise preserved. From Noah's ark, the flood, all the way through to Jesus. And this is Jesus telling the story.

It's not a myth. He's actually telling what happens here. He's showing us exactly what happens to the righteous and the wicked.

You can be very blessed on this earth. You can think you've got heaven on earth, but you're sinful. You're happy.

You have everything you want. You enjoy things, taste, smell, feelings, food, sex. You enjoy all these.

You'll go to hell and suffer. You can think you've got your paradise for a short time. It's the things of this world, but not Christ.

Any paradise without obedience to Christ is a deception. It is a lie. And so he said, but now he is comforted and are tormented.

How different? He's comforted. He's enjoying the pleasurable things of eternity. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great goal fixed.

A great goal fixed. So that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that would come from fence.

Once you go into one of these places, you can't cross over. You're there. You're stuck there.

You're there to stay. There's a great goal fixed. Do you know where this says? This is the place of the dead before Christ, before the cross.

This is where the righteous went. This is where Abraham went. This is where Adam went.

This is where Abel went. This is where David went. This is where all the great men and women of God, this is where Sarah went.

This is where Hannah went. And so you see all the saints, they're actually there in Abraham's bosom. It's called that because it's a place of faith.

It's those that are searching for a city. They're looking for an eternal dwelling place. You know what? It's a resting place.

It's not purgatory. It's not a halfway house. This is where all the righteous that died before the cross went to Abraham's bosom.

It was a place of great blessing. But they could see a cross into hell, a place of torment, suffering, punishment. And those in hell could look across to them being blessed.

Paradise. That is paradise preserved. Fourth of all, paradise promised.

Again, Jesus says in Luke 23, 39, and this is speaking about when He's on the cross, and He's got two thieves either side of Him, two criminals, two troublesome men, two convicts. Christ is nailed in between them. And one of the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on Him.

Notice it was only one of them. Railed on Him. If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

But the other answering, rebuked Him saying, does not thou fear God? Seeing that in the same condemnation. And we indeed justly, for we receive the reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing amiss.

And He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Do you see what paradise promised us? There's two men on either side of the cross. This is the dying faith.

But this isn't how He began. When He was first nailed on the cross, it said both of them railed on Him in one of the other gospels. Both of them railed.

Both of them mocked Him. Neither of them believed. But during those three hours on the cross, this dying faith, something changed.

He said, we deserve this. No longer railing. Now He says, He's innocent.

Where'd you get that? Before you're mocking Him. Now you're saying He's an innocent man. This man has done nothing wrong.

What you're saying, this man is perfect. How do you know this man? Hold on. What did you find out about this man? Because when you're first nailed on the cross, you're saying He's guilty.

You're mocking Him. You're making fun of Him. Something happened on the cross that this man realized.

This man is innocent. This man is the only hope for me. This man doesn't deserve this.

Look what He says. I believe He believed on Him. He said, Lord, remember me when thou enterest into thy kingdom.

I know where you're going. You're entering the kingdom of God. I know where you're going to go from this cross.

When you breathe your last breath and I want to go with you, remember me, act for me, speak for me, work for me on my behalf. Where does he want to go? Into the kingdom of God. Luke 23, 43.

Listen to what Jesus says unto him. Verily I say unto thee, today thou shall be with me in paradise. Do you see that word? This day you're going to be with me in paradise.

Do you know where they're going? Abraham's bosom. That's why I call Abraham's bosom paradise. Because they're not going to heaven.

Let me just prove it for you a little bit. What happened to Christ when He died? His body went into a sepulcher, His physical body. It could not be corrupted because He's perfect.

It's sinless. It cannot corrupt. We read that in Mark chapter 15.

Where did His spirit go? Listen to what it says in Luke 23. Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. But in Acts 2, 27, it speaks about His soul.

We are body, soul, and spirit. Where did His soul go? See, the spirit is that living part of you, that eternal part of you. What is your soul? It's your personality.

It's who you are. See, every spirit goes back to God. All bodies go in the ground.

But where does your soul go? Listen to what it says. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, Hades. Where did Christ go into? Down into Hades, the place of death.

Hades in the Old Testament, it had two compartments. It had the place of the wicked, place of the righteous. That's why Jesus actually was going to go down there.

You're not persuaded. Let me persuade you further. Ephesians 4.9, this is biblical doctrine.

Where did Christ go? His soul go? As a person, where did He go? The minute He breathed His last breath and gasped out, where did He go? Ephesians 4.9, this is what it says, that Christ also descended into the lower parts of the earth. Ephesians chapter 4, talking about giving gifts on the men, the fivefold ministry. When He died, it said He descended first into the lower parts of the earth.

Remember what Jesus prophesied. He said, as Jonah was three days and nights in the lower regions of the earth, the belly of the earth, so shall the Son of Man be. He didn't ascend to heaven first.

He descended into the lower regions of the earth. That's where hell was, but that's where paradise was. Remember what the dying thief said, remember me, I want to be with you.

What did Christ say? This day, today, the day I die, you're going to be where? Paradise. Where's paradise? Inside the earth. It was Abraham's bosom.

It says also in 1 Peter chapter 3 in verse 18, Christ also has once suffered for sin, that just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but quickened or made alive in the spirit. Then listen to the next verse.

It's talking about His death. Verse 19, but which also, by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison. When He died, He went and preached to the spirits in prison.

Listen to the next verse, it explains what He means, which sometimes were disobedient. So He's preaching to men that used to be disobedient when He died. When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing were in few, that is eight souls were saved.

So when Jesus descended, He went and preached to those in prison. What prison? Hell. Who specifically? Those that were disobedient in the days of Noah, that when the flood came, they died.

Now Christ wasn't preaching, giving them a second opportunity. That can't happen. He wasn't preaching the gospel of salvation saying, believe in me.

The word preach there means to proclaim, to make known. You know what? He descended down into Hades. He wasn't a prisoner.

He wasn't suffering. He wasn't a prisoner of the devil. He descended down and He proclaimed across that gulf.

He proclaimed who He was. He proclaimed their judgment, but they're going to stay there. It's a terrible thing.

Here's one last scripture just in this paradise promised, Matthew 27, 52. It talks about the resurrection. When Christ died, it says there was an earthquake and all the tombs rent asunder.

Christ's tomb rent asunder. Many tombs did. Listen what happened.

And the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. They'd been dead. But there were saints, the righteous, not wicked, not sinners.

They were dead. Their bodies were in the grave. Guess where they went to when they died? Paradise.

Abraham's bosom. Do you know what happens here? Here you have a miracle that no one really preaches on. At the time of Christ's death and burial and resurrection, it says that saints rose up who were dead.

They rose up out of their graves. But listen, and they came out of the graves after His resurrections. That means after three days.

What happened on the third day? Christ arose. Guess where paradise moves? Does paradise stay in the middle of the earth? Do Christians who die still go to the center of the earth, to Abraham's bosom, or to paradise or in the innermost bowels of the earth? No. This is my fifth point.

Paradise exalted. Do you know what happened when Christ rose from the dead? When He returned to heaven, He that ascended must first descend. Go and read it for yourself.

So when He ascended, He took captivity captive. That has various meanings. But I'll tell you one of the meanings.

He took paradise and He took it heavenward. Do you know why? His blood had been shed. Our great high priest is going to open up a way into the presence of God.

Even Abraham couldn't enter into the presence of God, the immediate presence of God, until the blood was shed. He was waiting in preparation in paradise. So point five, paradise exalted.

2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 1, and this is Paul writing to the Corinthians, and they're boasting about their miracles and their signs and wonders. So Paul speaks to them. He says this, it is not expedient for me doubtless to glory.

There's no point me doing that. You bunch of glory, and I could do the same. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

I'm going to give you a snippet here. I don't often boast like this, but Paul is saying, I am going to give you a glimpse of visions and revelations of the Lord, things the Lord opened up. So he says in the next verse, I knew a man.

That man is Him. I knew a man in Christ. It's Paul above 14 years ago.

Hasn't talked about it in 14 years, never told anyone. Whether in the body, I cannot tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell. God knows.

So here's an experience he has. He doesn't even know if his physical body experienced this, or merely his spirit within him. What happened to him? Such a one caught up to the third heaven.

Remember the heaven and the earth? God created the heaven and the earth. There is a heaven created. Remember the new heaven and earth? That's created.

But there's a different heaven. There's three heavens. Paul was caught up to the third heaven.

Heaven one, heaven two, heaven three. What is heaven three? It is God's heaven. Do you see the Bible teaches three heavens.

The first heaven is a created heaven. It's the atmospheric heaven in around our earth. That is heaven, heaven and earth.

Genesis 1 and 1, heaven and earth. The new heaven and earth, that's it. That's the created atmosphere.

What's the second heaven? That's the universe, outer space, the planets, the cosmos, the galaxies, all of the rest. All of that is the second heaven. Beyond that is the third heaven.

Outside of creation is the third heaven. Paul was caught up to the third heaven. But listen, I want you to see something about this third heaven.

Verse three says, and I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell God knoweth. But then listen, verse four, how that he was caught up into paradise. Where was he caught up in the paradise? Hold on.

Paradise is in the center of the earth, isn't it? Isn't that Abraham's bosom? Didn't Christ descend into it? Didn't the dying thief go down into it? Isn't that place with a gulf between hell and it? No. You see now when I say paradise exalted, it's in the third heaven where Paul was caught up to. From Christ's resurrection all the way through to now, where is paradise? Paradise is a place.

It's not on earth saints of God. Let me tell you, like the dying thief, like the poor man that had evil here, but oh boy, he got paradise when he died. You're not promised paradise on this earth.

See for the Christian, we are promised temptation, suffering, trial, disappointments we are, but there's a paradise. Don't let anyone deceive you. There is a real paradise.

It's as real as the garden of Eden. It is as real as Abraham's bosom. It is as real as heaven.

What is paradise? It is now located in heaven. Paul was caught up to paradise, which is the third heaven. The saints that die now, your body goes in the grave.

Your spirit returns to God. If you're saved and born again, your soul, was it to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Where's the Lord? He's in heaven.

You're immediately transferred to heaven, to paradise. The minute you breathe your last breath, you immediately enter paradise. Are you looking for paradise? That's the only way to it.

That's what the Bible teaches very clearly. Listen to what Jesus said again, Matthew chapter eight, verse 11. And I say unto you that many shall come from the east and the west, talking about the nations and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we are literally going to sit with them. And sitting is always feasting and eating. We're going to sit in the kingdom of God.

Talking about the paradise. Saints, do you realize what you're heading for? Do you realize? None of us are getting excited tonight. I don't know what's wrong with you tonight.

Saints of God, you are heading the redeemed of the Lord. This life, you will have persecution. You will suffer tribulation.

You will have to endure many trials. But saints, it's only for a short time. A mere flickering of the eye and it's all over.

Suffering, pain, agony. All of this is for a brief, short time. But there's a sixth point here, paradise one.

Revelation chapter two, verse one. You get the letter to the angel at the church of Ephesus. Seven churches, seven letters.

And see this letter to Ephesus. Listen to what the very last verse says. So, he commends them.

You've exposed all the false prophets. You've stood for truth. You've found out that those false prophets are liars and you expose them.

You're born. You've had patience. And for my name's sake, you've labored and you have not fainted.

What a church. It says, nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee because thou has left thy first love. It's a real church on its way to heaven.

Only here for a time. Trials, burdens, they're laboring, standing against false apostles, laboring, serving God. But do you know what? In the midst of that, they lost their first love as a church.

Oh yes, they were sound in their doctrine. They stood against what was false, but they're not in love with God as they ought to be. They're not burning hot.

And listen, he says, remember from whence art fallen. Remember. Repent.

Redo. Do the first works. Three things.

Remember. Repent. Redo.

That's how you get back. See, when you lose your first love, you're doing everything right. You're nice and doctrinal.

You're sound. You're living right. But you know what? You've lost your first love.

God help people who aren't sound in doctrine and aren't living right. The ones who are living right get warned about losing their first love. And then listen, there's a promise here.

Very last verse. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Do you see that? This is a promise to a church that's got to overcome in this lifetime. Overcome its temptations, its battles, its difficulties. How does it overcome? Him that overcometh.

The word means to triumph. Get the victory. Overcome.

Prevail against. What does this church have to do? It's got to get the victory over having lost its own first love. That's how you overcome.

That's how you get your victory. Get back your first love again. And you know what? If you go and get your first love back again, if you triumph, if you overcome, if you win the fight, if you get the victory, do you know what you're going to get? See when you die the reward.

All seven churches get seven promises and it's for all the saints of God, for the entire church of God. It's for all of us. And this is for us.

Those that overcome in this lifetime, those who run well, live for Christ, you get to eat of the tree of life. That's future. That's in the future.

That's yet to come. The tree of life still exists. The tree of life is going to be there.

And look, look what it's called in the midst of the paradise of God. So wherever you find this tree is the paradise of God. Now let me finish.

Sixth and lastly, paradise restored. Point six is our entire mini series. What we've been preaching, what we will preach.

And I'm going to go in more in detail in the paradise into the new Jerusalem. And the next message I'll be in a week's time because I'm away this weekend preaching. But in this entire mini series really is about paradise.

Paradise restored. What did we say? Paradise lost. Sorry, paradise created.

Paradise lost. Paradise preserved. Paradise promised.

Paradise exalted. Paradise gained. Paradise restored.

And I saw new heaven, new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. Do you know what you get inside this new heaven and this new earth? A new earth.

You know like Eden, the old earth was Eden. Eden was the old earth. There's going to be a new earth, a new Eden.

Do you know what you get in this new Eden? Oh, I'm sure there's going to be gardens, but there's going to be a city. And guess what you get in this city? You get the tree of life. You get trees.

You get a river flowing out of it. Read Revelation 22. We'll touch on some of these things.

And what does Revelation chapter 2 verse 7 call it? Paradise. You're going to eat, in eternity, you're going to eat of the tree of life constantly. The tree of life.

It's going to be your sustenance. And you know what? It's in the midst of the paradise of God. Where is the paradise of God? The new Jerusalem, the heavenly city, Zion, the city of God.

It's the new heaven and the new earth. Since within the new earth, God has a new city. And within that new city is the paradise of God.

So you begin to see the new Jerusalem. It is paradise. And you know what? You wonder, am I going to be bored there? No way.

Not a chance. The God who created taste, you're living in a fallen world, a world of suffering and of corruption and of brokenness. Everything is broken.

Color is broken. Taste is broken. You think you can taste? No way.

Your taste buds are dysfunctional. So are the things you taste. The colors you see, I don't believe are what they used to be at all.

They're poor imitations. They're just the leftover of a fallen world. And isn't it glorious? Color, taste, animals, creation, relationships, marriages, all of these things, they're fallen.

But yet, do you know what? Look how beautiful and wonderful they are. You haven't seen anything yet. You know what? The paradise of God, the new Jerusalem, it is glorious.

It is amazing. And you know what? The God who created all things, taste, smell, animals, human relationship, companionship, the God who created all of these things has created for you a city made of gold. It's glorious.

And I believe within Eden, I don't believe the garden of Eden will be confined to one little eastern corner. But out of the city of God, I believe the entire earth will be more beautiful, more amazing. Surely all the animals must be there.

I'm not sure if Shiloh's going to be there. I'm not sure. But I believe there'll be animals.

If he filled an earth before with animals, won't he have another earth filled with animals? There won't be any ocean there. No need for the ocean, but there'll be rivers. This river that flows out of the city will go into all of the earth.

Our God wants you to have pleasure, wants you to have joy. You know what? Often it flickers here. It's restricted here.

You lose it here. It's minimal here, but not there, not in that hour. Let's pray.

Father, we love you. We thank you that you're a God that desires our pleasure, our blessing, our joy. Lord God, you provided all these things, even here on earth.

Lord God, they're very temporary here. They're very fleeting. They're only momentary.

But Lord God, they give us a view. They give us a vision of our God who loves us, who cares for us, who blesses us, who bountifully supplies all things for us. And Lord God, we're looking for a city.

We're looking for a new earth. We're looking for a new heaven. We're looking for, Lord God, a dwelling place with God where we are gonna dwell with you, where there's no sin, there's no sickness, there's no pain, there's no separation, there's no anxiety, there's no suffering, there's no fears, there's no doubts, there's no worries, there's no concerns, there's no burdens, there's no darkness, there's no shadow.

Lord God, there's none of this. There's no weeds, There's no thorns, O God, we praise you, we worship you. Nor, God, that there is a paradise of God yet to come.

And nor, God, it's for those that overcome. It's those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and walk by faith and not by sight. In Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.