Lesson III On The Lord`s Prayer
Fr. Christos Christofidis

(This outline is dedicated to the faithful who for a good reason where not present when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church on the day of Pentecost)
"Our Father WHO ART IN HEAVEN"
Lesson # 2 finished with the words " If anyone has trouble seeing God as a loving Father, just take Jesus` word for now that He is".
Beloved Brethren in Christ:
Saint Ambrose says" The words ` who are in heaven` are placed there to teach us that heaven is the place where sin has stopped. Heaven is where death exists no more. And God has nothing to do with either one”. God is holy and immortal and all merciful to those who call upon His name. He is also almighty and has abolished the power of the devil.
Saint John Chrysostom says, “The words are placed there in order to turn our attention toward heaven and the upper citizenship. God is not only there. He is everywhere and next to you but He wants you to leave the earthly things and join Him in heaven”. Saint Gregory of Nyssa says, “I think this phrase-who are in heaven- is a reminder to us of our true country. That we belong in heaven and the sad reality that once before we lost that privilege”. (Jesus corrected that mistake). And Gregory reminds us of the words of the Prodigal son-why should he say I have sinned against heaven and in front of you-. He would not have said it if he did not believe that heaven is the place where he belongs. That heaven is his true home.
Let us now outline lesson # 3. What is heaven like? Where is it located?
In this day of space exploration with men walking on the moon, building cities in space, perhaps it is not too fantastic for modern people, non-Christian as well as Christians, to contemplate a place in the universe called heaven. It is not surprising that there are hundreds of references to heaven in the Bible, starting at the beginning and going through to the end but in scripture as in our everyday speech, the word heaven can be used in different ways. It can refer to the visible sky, as " the heavens were covered with clouds". Let`s call this the `first` heaven. In the Bible it also can refer to a region sometimes called "the air", which does not mean the atmosphere, but a local spiritual realm where Satan and his forces make their headquarters. This is what Saint Paul is talking about in Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in heavenly places". Let us call this the second heaven. The third heaven is the one the Lord`s prayer is referring to. The heavenly home where God dwells. The same place Saint Paul saw either in his body or out of his body on his way to Damascus. This third heaven Paul mentions " It is the present abode of God and His angels and the ultimate destination of His saints on earth".
I hope no-one got offended when I said, " Do you care about such things? or you would rather listen to political messages about peace on earth, and a better world, and tolerance and mutual understanding and co-operation among nations by denying our Christian identity". Do you know why the saints of God were peaceful and loved everything God created? Because they never considered the first heaven as their permanent home. They always wrestled against those evil spirits of the second heaven and their only true desire was to be where God dwells, third heaven, their true country. If we want peace in this temporary world we must make the One who sits upon the throne in the middle of the heavenly city.
What is heaven like? In the book of revelation (chapters 4,5,21,22) John the Apostle described his vision of the glorious City of God. " It has a wall around it made of jasper. The city and the highway running through it are made of pure gold ‘like clear glass’. Its foundations are each adorned with a different kind of precious stone. The twelve gates of the City are made from 12 gigantic pearls.  In the center  of the City are God`s throne and that of Jesus, the Lamb of God, encircled by a rainbow like an emerald. Before the throne is a fountain of living water flowing into a sea of crystal, and a crystal clear river of life surging out from the throne. By this refreshing river grows the Tree of Life, which constantly bears twelve kinds of nourishing and delicious fruit. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations” apparently even the leaves have healing properties in them which people need when they first arrive in heaven.
Have you ever wondered, if God is so merciful how come there is so much disease and illness around us? We have given responses to such questions in the past when we briefly explained the Genesis account, here and there. What I want of you is to believe that God has placed in His creation medicines for our bodily illnesses but we prefer due to our greed to ignore His providence, to destroy His creation, and instead throw pills down our throats. Let us never blame the Good One for our sins. There was no good reason for man to play God and `brake the atom`.
The Book of Revelation records further that in the heavenly City there are no more tears of sorrow, no more pain or sickness, no more death (this in exactness we mention in every memorial service). It is a place where the uncreated light that the disciples saw on mount Tabor always is . Obviously, John is using visionary language in trying to describe the indescribable, but that means the reality is not less than he is saying BUT MORE.
Where is heaven located? As wonderful as it is to know we have a heavenly home awaiting for us -for now it is even more important to know that heaven has come to dwell in us. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" Jesus said, " The kingdom of God is within you" and " The kingdom of God is at hand". Saint Paul said that this truth, which has been rvealed to the Church by the Holy Spirit of God, is the greatest mystery of all ages and of all generations: that is , "Christ in you, the hope of glory". The most important thing about heaven`s location is that it is within you now, if you confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. At your baptism you confessed this, at your baptism, which was your personal Pentecost, you received the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit which made manifest in you the kingdom of God. That was then, how about now? Do we confess Jesus as the Christ of God with our actions, deeds, words, or when people encounter our evil ways they wonder: "Jesus Who? Jesus Where? I do not see Him in His followers”.
Yes, the Holy Spirit makes God`s kingdom real and present in us. For this reason, today, Sunday of Pentecost, Christ cried aloud saying: "Whoever thirsts let him come to me and drink. He who BELIEVES IN ME, as scripture says, rivers of the living water will flow from his belly". This is the feast that seals-completes all feasts but very few remember her. Very few want to drink from the living waters. Very few want to be spiritually reborn. And when the Antichrist and his prophet (public relations man) will come .......................................
" And in the Holy Spirit, The Lord, The giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father............"

Father Christos