The historical, venerable goal of the Divine redemption is to bring the believer to eternal residence in Paradise in the spirit realm, to Heaven. It is commonly believed that part of the future blessing will be a mansion, a beautiful house not made with human hands, perhaps surrounded by parks of unsurpassed beauty. We often view Heaven as the home we long for where we will dwell for eternity in peace and joy among our loved ones.

It may be true that faithful believers will go to such a desirable place when they die and before the resurrection from the dead. Reputable visions of the saints suggest that this is the case.

However, we who revere the written Word of God must confess that there is no basis in the Scriptures for the belief that the goal of salvation is eternal residence in the spirit Paradise. The Greek term translated mansions, in John 14:2, means "dwelling place" and not a splendid house. In my Father's house (which actually is not Heaven but the Lord Jesus Himself) there are many abiding places, not expensive houses. There are many living stones in the great Temple of God. Neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament points toward eternal residence in Paradise as the goal of the Divine salvation.

The fact that eternal residence in the spirit Paradise is not the goal of the Christian salvation is central to the teaching of the current essay and must be given considerable thought. One cannot change a basic belief of people without causing strong reactions. Nevertheless it is impossible to understand the Kingdom of God if one views eternal residence in the spirit realm as the goal of salvation.

Any endeavor, if it is to be successful, should have a clearly defined goal. If it does not, it is impossible to measure how well the program is working. There is no way of judging how effective a specific effort is. There is no way of measuring progress in achieving the objectives of the process. If you do not understand where you are going there is no way of knowing when you get there. Confusion reigns all along the line.

Perhaps we do not realize it, but when we attempt to describe Heaven what we actually are picturing is the restoration of the Garden of Eden on the earth—the redemption of mankind and the earth. Man was created on the earth and the earth is his eternal home.

Most of us probably are not overjoyed with the prospect of standing on a sea of glass and fellowshiping with creatures who are covered with eyes or have four faces. We are unable to picture Heaven apart from trees, lakes, grass, flowers, because the memory of Eden, of the earth as it was then, is in our personality. Our main hope (perhaps without realizing it) is that we will be with the Lord and our loved ones will be there with us.

To be continued.