The article below is a small
portion of my manuscript, Waiting For The Day And Hour:
Both holy and fallen angels are
not limited to entering Earth’s atmosphere only but can also enter Earth’s
outer space, through portals. A lack of oxygen and gravity does not affect
these angelic beings. You might ask why angels would travel into Earth’s outer
space. What would be the purpose? I can think of one reason fallen angels would
travel to Earth’s outer space, and it has to do with man’s exploration of
Earth’s outer space. Their purpose is to lead the world astray by deception.
Gateways in the invisible wall separating
the spiritual and physical realms are how the angel Gabriel arrived to visit Zechariah,
the priest, and the virgin, Mary. Gabriel would have come through a spiritual
portal to talk to Daniel. In Jacob’s dream at Bethel, he saw a gateway into the
heavenly realm where he witnessed angels going back and forth on a stairway;
Yahweh even spoke to him through this gateway—Jacob called it שַׁעַר
הַשָּׁמָיִם (shaa'ar hashemhamyim) “Heaven’s Gate” (Gen.28:10-17).
When the apostle John was on the
Island of Patmos, he heard a loud voice like a trumpet, which told him to write
the things he saw and send them to the seven churches in Asia (Rev. 1:9-11).
When he turned, he witnessed Jesus in a vision (Rev. 1:12-20). After writing
down the messages he received to the seven churches in Asia (Rev. 2-3), he
looked and saw a (spiritual) doorway open leading into heaven (Rev. 4:1a). The
voice like a trumpet he had heard at the beginning of his vision spoke again: υσα,
Ἀνάβα ὧδε καὶ δείξω σοι ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι μετὰ ταῦτα (ysa, Anáva óde kaí deíxo soi
á deí genésthai metá tafta) “Come up here and I will show you what must happen
after this.” (Rev. 4:1c, Textus Receptus). John was then immediately taken deep
in his vision: εὐθέως ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι (efthéos egenómin en pnévmati) “I
was born directly in spirit” (Rev. 4:2a, Textus Receptus). This phrase, efthéos
egenómin en pnévmati (I was born directly in spirit), may mean that John lost awareness
of his earthly body and was only aware of his spirit-being. This allowed him to
see deep in his vision, so, he could witness the inner sanctuary of heaven.
When this spiritual encounter occurred, he could go through the spiritual doorway
that leads into heaven where he saw God the Father on his throne and the
twenty-four elders on their thrones (Rev. 4:2b-4). In John’s vision, he was transferred
from his earthly body so he could function in his spirit-man, he could then go
through the doorway in the invisible wall that separates the physical realm and
the realm of heaven. John’s spirit-man at this time was sealed with the Holy
Spirit of God.
When the apostle Paul was
translated up into the inner sanctuary of God, he too would have been
translated from his earthly body to function in his spirit-man (2 Cor. 12:2-3).
He too was sealed with the Holy Spirit at the time.
When Isaiah saw the אֲדֹנָי
(Adonai) Lord sitting on his throne (Isa. 6:1-13), he would have lost awareness
of his body and been only aware of his spirit-being. Was Isaiah’s spirit born
again? I believe it was. The Scriptures record that the Old Testament men of
God had the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Scriptures say the Spirit came upon them,
and sometimes they say the Spirit was in them. This means they were sealed with
the Spirit. In the book of Numbers, it says: אֶל־מֹשֶׁה קַח־לְךָ אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
בִּן־נוּן אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־רוּחַ בּוֹ (el-moshue kach-lech et-yehoshoo'a been-noon
ish ashuer-roo'ach bo) “Moses took Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom was the
spirit” (Num. 27:18, Masoretic Text). King Belshazzar of Babylon said to
Daniel: “I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods [or Spirit of
God] is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are
found in you (Dan. 5:14, ESV). Ezekiel said: “As he spoke to me, the Spirit
entered me and set me on my feet, and I listened to the one who was speaking to
me” (Ezek. 2:2, CSB).
How could the Old Testament
prophets communicate with Yahweh unless the Spirit of God dwelled within them?
Sometimes their communication was conveyed by angels, but at other times the
prophets heard God speak within their spirit-being. The apostle Peter recorded
that the Spirit of God was in the prophets (1 Pet. 1:10-12). When Elijah was raptured,
he would have had to be born again or he could not have entered heaven (2 Kgs.
2:11). Neither would he have been able to appear to Jesus with Moses on Mount
Hermon without his glorified body. Moses must have had the Spirit of God dwell
in him or he would not have been able to enter heaven, and he would not have
been able to visit Jesus with Elijah without his glorified body. It is believed
that when Michael, the archangel, disputed with Satan over Moses' dead body, God
then raptured Moses' dead body into heaven so that the fallen angels would not
desecrate his body. That would explain how Moses was able to be in a heavenly
body on Mount Hermon—Moses’ dead body resurrected into heaven was a template to
the dead-in-Christ having their dead bodies resurrected into heaven at the
moment the body of Christ is raptured (1 Thess. 4:13-14).
Jesus said to Nicodemus the Pharisee:
“Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again [or from above], he cannot
see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3, CSB). The born-again effect is not something
new with the birth of the church. For the Old Testament prophets and saints to
be in heaven, they would have had to be born again at their death—their renewed
spirit-being was how they were ushered into the kingdom of heaven. The saints
and prophets of the Old Testament were looking to the day when their Messiah
would appear which means they had faith in Jesus before he made his first
appearance. When the rapture of the body of Christ happens the Old Testament
prophets and saints will meet Jesus in the air with all those who have fallen asleep
in Christ because they had faith in Yahweh. People like Abraham: “Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad” (Jn. 8:56, CSB). Like
Isaiah: “Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him”
(Jn. 12:41, ESV). Like Moses: “For had ye believed Moses, ye
would have believed me: for he wrote of me” (Jn. 5:46, KJV).
The Old Testament prophets and saints
were not saved by keeping the Law because no one is saved by keeping the Law (Rom.
3:20; Gal. 2:16a; 3:11a). Rather the Old Testament prophets and saints were
justified by faith: “For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart
from the works of the law” (Rom. 3:28, CSB). Just like the church, the prophets
and saints of the Old Testament are in heaven because they had faith in Yahweh
(Hab. 2:4b; Rom. 1:7; Gal. 3:11b; Heb. 10:38a). They could not be saved by
obeying the Law but saved by the gift of God, his grace (Eph. 2:8-9). They are
in heaven with the dead-in-Christ waiting for the rapture to occur so their
dead bodies can be resurrected into heavenly bodies.
Picture: Pixabay (jcoope12)
Free for use under the Pixabay Content License
[1] What is the
significance of Mount Hermon in the Bible?
https://www.gotquestions.org/mount-Hermon.html
(Accessed
2/7/2025)
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