The text is riveting, mesmerizing, what sounds like an eye-witness
account of heaven: “And I kept coming into heaven until I approached a wall
which was built of white marble….and drew near to a great house which was built
of white marble, and the inner walls were like mosaics of white marble, the
floor of crystal, the ceiling like the path of the star and lightnings between
which stood fiery cherubim and their heaven of water, and flaming fire
surrounded the walls, and its gates were burning with fire.”
This fascinating text isn’t from some current best-seller; it dates
back more than 2000 years, written before the birth of our Lord by someone long
lost to history, but who attributed it to Enoch. Do you remember who Enoch was?
He was the seventh descendant of Adam and Eve, a man who, the Bible tells us,
did not die. We read in Genesis, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took
him.”
(Genesis 5:24). Stories have abounded for centuries that God took Enoch
to let him see heaven so that he could return to tell others what he’d seen.
The apocryphal book we now call 1 Enoch purports to tell the story of
Enoch’s visit to heaven.
We have always hungered to know more about heaven. The Bible itself
tells us very little. Perhaps the most compelling glimpse came from Jesus when
he said to the penitent thief, both of them dying on that first Good Friday, “Truly I
tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Paradise – the word our Lord uses to describe
Heaven – is that what truly awaits us? Is it any surprise that having been
given a glimpse, we would want to know more.
Since the publication of 1 Enoch 2100 years ago, there has been
a steady stream of stories from people who have claimed to have made the trip
to heaven and then returned to tell their stories. I tend to be skeptical of
such accounts and I was not surprised when, a few weeks ago, the young boy who
told his story in the best-selling book, “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven”,
recanted everything, saying that he had made it all up just to get attention.
Melissa Kirkpatrick and I will explore what the Bible does and does not
tell us about heaven in our Lenten Series that will run on Thursday evenings
starting on February 26th. We’ll gather for a simple soup supper
before the class and then explore and learn together from 7:30 till 9:00 pm. We’ll
look at biblical texts, texts from outside the Bible, artwork, and even listen
to music that has shaped our thinking about heaven. And we’ll also examine what
the Bible does and does not teach us about hell.
Is heaven a place that sits behind “pearly gates” with streets paved
with gold? Come explore with us as part of your observation of a most holy
Lent.
Grace &
peace,
Pastor Skip
