“Jesus said, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away…Behold, I am making all things new.’” – Revelation 21:3-5
This week, we begin a new devotional series about Jesus’ miracles. To understand how miracles work, we first need to understand the seen and unseen realms. According to the Bible, there is one reality ruled by God over two realms: 1) the spirit world, where God, divine beings (including angels), and departed people live right now, and 2) the physical world, where we as human beings live.
Originally, these two realms were connected. The Garden of Eden in Genesis was literally Heaven on Earth, where the unseen and seen realms connected. This explains why Adam and Eve met with God there, were not shocked when a divine being showed up (Satan), and saw an angel keep them from the Tree of Life once they sinned. Miracles were constant until humanity sinned, and the realms were disconnected. So, upon death, the two parts of our being are also disconnected. Our body goes into the ground awaiting resurrection while our soul goes to be with God.
When Jesus returns to earth, He will bring Heaven with Him to restore things as they were before sin entered the world and establish the eternal Kingdom of God (also referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven in the Bible). Those who love Jesus will be joined to their resurrection bodies to live forever on the New Earth, which is home to the Kingdom of God, while unbelievers will spend eternity in Hell. Far too many people think of Heaven only in terms of the intermediate spiritual state and not the earthly physical reality God has planned for all eternity.
Until Jesus returns to bring the Kingdom once and forever, we have temporary Thin Places. Old Celtic Christians referred to the times when the unseen and seen realms intersected and God showed up in supernatural, miraculous ways, as Thin Places. When the two realms come together, miracles happen as the unseen realm invades and supersedes the seen realm.
Thin Places prefigured the coming of Jesus Christ as the connecting point between God in Heaven and people on earth. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “…there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…” In Jesus Christ, God became a man, and He became the Thin Place between Heaven and earth.
The Bible records around 127 miracles. (1) Along with these daily devotions, there is a study guide and a corresponding sermon series that are devoted to looking at miracles in general and Jesus’ miracles in particular. As you learn about Jesus’ miracles as recorded in the Bible, it is helpful to remember that they fall into one of four categories:
- Ruling over nature
- Restoring health
- Removing demons
- Raising the dead (2)
Come back for tomorrow’s devotional where we discuss the greatest miracle of all.
What miracles of Jesus come to mind as we start this series and do you have a favorite?
(1) John G. Butler, Jesus Christ: His Miracles, vol. 2, Studies of the Savior (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications, 2001), 14.
(2) https://christiananswers.net/dictionary/miracle.html
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