THE GOSPELS: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: BEATITUDE 1, the meaning of the KINGDOM of HEAVEN, Part 2, PARADISE

20 February 2026

We are proceeding to study the SERMON of YESHUA on the MOUNT.

We are mainly reading from the Complete Jewish Study Bible – insight for Jews and Christians. We use the Hebrew letters for the name of God, YHVH (Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh) where the word LORD in English is indicated in capital letters in the Scriptures. The reason being that the Jewish writers removed the vowels in God’s name out of fear of transgressing the third Commandment of taking His Name in vain. And today there is a lot of controversy about the pronunciation of His Name.  We also refer to Him as Abba Father and use the Hebrew Name Yeshua the Messiah instead of the English Name Jesus Christ translated from the Greek.

We commenced last week studying the first BEATITUDE in Matthew 5:3 where Yeshua taught: “‘How BLESSED (meaning happy and fortunate) are the poor in spirit! For the KINGDOM of HEAVEN is theirs.’”

We then commenced discussing the meaning of the KINGDOM of HEAVEN, and the FIRST DIMENTION we looked at was:

1. IT HAS A PRESENT AND A FUTURE REALITY

AND THE NEXT DIMENTIONS of THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, also known as THE KINGDOM of GOD, is:

2. PARADISE

Yeshua the Messiah told the criminal on the cross who repented, I PROMISE that you will be with me today in Gan-Eden (literally the Garden of Eden, also called PARADISE) (read Luke 23:43).

Ecclesiastes 12:7 confirms: “…the DUST (referring to the BODY made out of the same elements as the earth) returns to earth as it was (as God said in Genesis 3:19), and the (human) SPIRIT returns to GOD who gave it!”  But as we see in the WORDS of Yeshua to the criminal on the cross, ONLY the SAVED through HIM will go to the GARDEN of EDEN, also called PARADISE. He did not tell it to the criminal who hurled insults against Him and who did not repent.

In 2^nd Corinthians 12:1-4 Paul talks of a man, probably himself, who in union with Messiah Yeshua was snatched up to the THIRD HEAVEN, calling it Gan-Eden (the Garden of Eden/ Paradise) And we read in Revelation 2:7 Yeshua says to the congregation of Ephesus: “To him wining the VICTORY (referring back to verse 2-6, this means: turning from sin and persevering in obedience to HIS WORD, thereby proving our LOVE for Him), I will give the right to eat from the TREE of LIFE which is in God’s Gan-Eden (the Garden of Eden/ Paradise).” And in Revelation 22:14 we read: “How BLESSED are those who WASH their robes (the KJV says: DO/ OBEYS GOD’s COMMANDMENTS), so that they have the RIGHT to eat from the TREE of LIFE and go through the gates into the city!”

Believers who are still physically alive on earth, are BORN AGAIN when they BELIEF in Yeshua the Messiah and accept the price He paid for their sin on the cross at Calvary. And thereafter renew their MINDS EVERY DAY by READING, HEARING and MEDITATING on HIS WORD and then being FILLED with the HOLY SPIRIT and therefore become SPIRITUALLY ALIVE. And when they die they go to PARADISE (The GARDEN of EDEN) where they wait for the SECOND COMING of YESHUA the MESSIAH during which their spirit and soul will return WITH HIM and their bodies will be resurrected as we read in 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18. And in Revelation 19:14 they, together with those who are still alive during the SECOND COMING of MESSIAH YESHUA, will be changed in an twinkle of an eye and join them in the air and together they are described as part of the ARMIES of HEAVEN, clothed in FINE LINEN (described in Revelation 19:8 as the RIGHTEOUSS DEEDS of God’s people), PURE and WHITE, following Yeshua the King of kings and Master of masters on white horses.

As confirmation that the RIGHTOUES go to PARADISE upon physical death (known as the FIRST DEATH) being still alive spiritually, we also read Yeshua’s Words to the Pharisees explaining to them that although Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were physically dead when YHVH appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He called Himself, YHVH the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (read Luke 20:38 referring to Exodus 3:6) and then He makes this remarkable statement: “Now He is not God of the dead, but of the LIVING – to Him all are alive”! (Also read Mark 12:27). 

And in Revelation 1:17-18 Yeshua our Messiah, who was VICTORIOUS over death, by dying for our sins and being RESURECTED by GOD the FATHER through the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT (Romans 8:11) declares: “I am the FIRST (the ALEF in Hebrew with the pictograph of an OX, meaning, STRENGTH, POWER and LEADERSHIP) and the LAST (the TAV in Hebrew with the pictograph of a CROSS, meaning, a MARK, SIGN and COVENANT), the (capital letter) LIVING ONE. I was dead, but LOOK! – I AM ALIVE FOREVER and EVER! And I hold the KEYS to DEATH and SHEOL (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit and the Abyss). Also read the prophesy in Hosea 13:14 and Paul quoting it in 1 Corinthians 15:55. And Revelation 1:17-18 clearly confirm YESHUA the MESSIAH (in whom AL the fullness of GOD dwells as we read in Colossians 1:19 and who is indeed ONE with GOD the FATHER) has authority over LIVE and DEATH as we read in Deuteronomy 32:39 (also read 1^st Samuel 2:6, John 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:7 and Hosea 6:1).

THE AGE we live in will end with the SECOND COMING of YESHUA the MESSIAH which will result in the WAR OF ARMAGEDON (read Revelation 16:12-21, chapter 17 and 19:11-21, Malachi 3:1-3 and 2 Peter 3:7-10) (day is a thousand years and a thousand years a day).

And the following will happen during this period:

• The FIRST RESSURECTION consisting of the faithful BELIEVERS in Yeshua the Messiah (read Matthew 24:29-31, Matthew 8:11, 1^st Corinthians 15:52-54, 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation 20:5-6).

What happened in Matthew 27:50-52 when Yeshua died on the cross and yielded up His SPIRIT to the Father and the parokhet (the heavy curtain separating the Holiest place from the Holy Place) in the Temple ripped from top to bottom; and there was an earthquake, with rocks splitting apart. Also the GRAVES were OPENED, and the BODIES  of MANY HOLY PEOPLE (those who lived lives set-apart for God) who HAD DIED were RAISED to LIFE; and after Yeshua rose; they came out of the GRAVES  and went into the HOLY CITY (Jerusalem), where MANY PEOPLE SAW them. The Roman officer and those with him who were keeping watch over Yeshua saw what was happening and they were awestruck and said, “He was really the Son of God.” This served as a picture and confirmation of the FIRST RESURECTION that was now possible due to the FULL PRICE of SIN paid by Yeshua the Messiah. 

• We also read in Zechariah 12:7-14 a prophecy of the MESSIAH, indicated as the capital letter Angel of God, who will just like in Exodus 32:34 go out BEFORE THEM and HE will SAVE the HOUSE of DAVID (referring to the Southern Kingdom, including Juda and the smaller tribe of Benjamin, known as the Jews) from their enemies and pour out SPIRIT of GRACE and PRAYER and they will RECOGNISE HIM as their MESSIAH whom they crucified and they will mourn. And He will open a FOUNTAIN for them to be WASHED CLEAN from their sin and impurity. He will cut of the idols from the land and expel the false prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.  And a third part of them will be brought through fire and be REFINED and TESTED (read Zechariah 13).

• YESHUA the MESSIAH will WIN the WAR of ARMAGEDON (read Revelation 16:12-21, chapter 17 and 19:11-21).

• The beast (the antichrist/ anti-messiah) and the false prophet will be thrown alive into the LAKE of FIRE that burns with sulphur (read Revelation 19:20). So, they will be the FIRST to be thrown into the LAKE of FIRE.

• The people who chose not to worship God the Father, but to rather follow Satan, the antichrist/ anti-messiah and the false prophet will be killed during the WAR of ARMAGEDON, called THE UNRIGHTEOUS (the sinful, wicked, evil) DEAD, and they will REMAIN DEAD and kept in the UNDERWORLD (also called Hades/ the bottomless pit/ and outer darkness) until the THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF PEACE OF YESHUA THE MESSIAH AND KING is completed then they will be raised as part of the SECOND RESURRECTION to appear before God (the Creator) at the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT on the LAST DAY (Read Revelation 19:21 and 20:5 and verses 11-12).

WE read about the UNDERWORLD (also called Hades/ the bottomless pit/ and outer darkness) where THE UNRIGHTEOUSS DEAD will go and remain until the GREATH WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT in several parts of Scripture like:

• Numbers chapter 16 telling us about the REBELLION of Korah against the authority of Aaron and Moses and in verse 33 those who rebelled with him, their households and everything they owned went down alive into Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss). After the earth split apart, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up. The earth closed over them and their existence in the community ceased.

• In Isaiah chapter 5 the prophet pronounces several woes (anguishes, distresses, despairs) including on those who pursue intoxicating liquor and wild parties, paying no attention to how YHVH works and never looking at what His hand have made (not acknowledging Him and fearing Him as the Creator) and for such lack of knowledge going into exile, their respected men starve and their masses are parched from thirst. And then we read in verse 14: “Therefore Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss) has enlarged itself and opened its limitless jaws – and down go their nobles and masses, along with their noise and their revels (celebrations/ partying).”

• And in Isaiah 14:9 we read: “Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss) is STIRRED UP to MEET you when you come. It awakens for you the ghosts (the spirits) of the dead who were leaders on earth; it makes all the kings of the nations arise from their thrones. They all greet you with these words: Now you are as weak as we are, you have become like us! Your pride has been brought down to Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss) with the music of your lyres (harps/ musical instruments) under you a mattress of maggots, over you a blanket of worms.” This is referring to the kings of the earth following Satan instead of following YHVH the Creator and ending up where Satan himself is.

• Ezekiel 31:15-18 is a prophecy against Egypt (a picture of the world) descending into Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss).

• Psalm 9:17-18 says: “The wicked (evil/ morally wrong or bad/ sinful) will return (go down) to Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss) all the nations that forget God.”

• In Psalm 16:7-10 David says; “I bless YHVH, my COUNSELOR, at night my INMOST being (my heart and mind as part of my soul) INSTRUCTS me. I always set YHVH before me; with Him at my right hand, I can never be moved; so my heart is GLAD, my glory rejoices, and my body too rests in safety; for You will not abandon me to Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss), You will not let your FAITHFUL ONE see the Abyss. This is a prophecy of the RESURECTION of Yeshua the Messiah as we read the confirmation in Acts 2:25-33 and 13:33-35.  

• And David says in Psalm 86:11-13 “YHVH, TEACH me YOUR WAY, so that I can LIVE by YOUR TRUTH; make me SINGLE-HEARTED (focussed on You and faithful to You) so that I can FEAR YOUR NAME. I will THANK YOU, YHVH my GOD, with my WHOLE HEART; and I will GLORIFY YOUR NAME FOREVER. For YOUR GRACE toward me is GREAT! You have RESCUED me from the lowest part of Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss).

• Proverbs 15:11 says Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss) and Abaddon (the king/ angel of the bottomless pit/the Abyss, the Destroyer) lie open to YHVH (meaning He knows what is going on there because He is omniscient/ all-knowing and all-seeing) so how much MORE (does He know) people’s HEARTS! David knew this saying in Psalm 139:8 “If I climb up to HEAVEN, You are there; if I lie down in Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss) You are there.”

• Proverbs 15:24 says: “For the PRUDENT (sensible, wise), THE PATH of LIFE GOES UPWARD; thus, he avoids Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss).

• Proverbs 23:13-14 says: “Don’t withhold DISCIPLINE from a child – if you beat him with a stick (a rod), he won’t die! If you beat him with a stick (a rod), you will SAVE him from Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss).

• Proverbs 27:20 says Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss, synonymous with DEATH) and Abaddon (DESTRUCTION) are never satisfied and neither the eyes of humans. Also read Yeshua the Messiah’s WARNING in Matthew 5:27-30 about our eyes that can make us stumble with lust leading to the sin of adultery and ultimately leading to death and destruction.

• Peter explains in 2^nd Peter 2:4 the holding place of the angels who sinned, is GLOOMY DUNGEONS lower than Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss). So it seems as if the fallen angels are separated from the unrighteous dead.

• And in 2^nd Peter 2:1 Peter warns the FALSE PROPHETS and FALSE TEACHERS introducing destructive heresies, even denying the Master (Yeshua the Messiah) who bought them (with His precious blood), and thus bring on themselves swift destruction. Many will follow their debaucheries (depravity/ immorality/ wickedness, corruption/ dishonesty) and because of them, the TRUE (capital letter) WAY will be maligned (slandered). In their greed they will exploit people with fabricated stories. And then he says in verse 9: “So the Master knows how to RESCUE the godly from TIRALS and how to HOLD the WICKED UNTIL THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT (referring to the Great White Throne Judgement on the Last Day) while continuing to punish them (probably referring to Sheol/ the bottomless pit/ the Abyss), especially those who FOLLOW THEIR OLD NATURES in lust for filth and who despise authority.

And in 2^nd Peter 2:10-16 they are described as: presumptuous (arrogant, disrespectful, rude) and self-willed (doing what they want and ignoring God’s instructions), insulting angelic beings, they act without thinking like animals without reason and insult things about which they have no knowledge. Their DESTRUCTION will be TOTAL to pay them back HARM for the HARM they are DOING. Their idea of pleasure is partying in broad daylight, they are revelling (drinking and dancing) in their deceptions, they have eyes always on the lookout for a woman who will commit adultery, eyes that never stop sinning (also read Proverbs 15:11); and they have a heart that has exercised itself in GREED, so that they seduce unstable people. They have left the straight way and wandered of in the way of Balaam (also read Revelation 2:14-15). Peter calls them: Waterless springs, MIST driven by a gust wind and for them has been reserved the BLACKEST DARKNESS (again a reference to Sheol/the bottomless pit/ the Abyss/ outer darkness.). Also read Jude chapter 1:1-13 and in verses 14-17 Jude indicates that Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam (referring to Enoch from the line of Seth as we read in Genesis 5:18-24) prophesied: YHVH will come with His myriads of holy ones to execute JUDGEMENT against everyone, meaning all the godless for their godless deeds which they have done in such a godless way, and for all the HARSH WORDS these godless sinners have spoken against Him. These people are GRUMBLERS and COMPLAINERS, they follow their EVIL PASSIONS, their mouths speak grandiosities, and they flatter others to gain advantage.

• In Luke 16:23 Yeshua told the PARABLE of the rich man and Lazarus with the rich man ending up in Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss) and he was in TORMENT indicating that he needed water to cool his tongue because he is in agony in the fire (also read Luke, 16:19-31).

• In Revelation chapter 9:1-11 we read about the fifth angel sounding his SHOFAR (trumpet) and a star (an angel) falling on the earth and he was given a KEY to the SHAFT leading to the ABYSS. He opened it and smoke went up from the shaft like the smoke from a HUGE FURNANCE. We then read of demon like creatures coming from the Abyss and in verse 11 it is indicated that they had a king over them namely the (small letter) angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, meaning DESTROYER.

• In Revelation 17:5-7 we read about the BEAST with SEVEN HEADS and TEN HORNS that was carrying the WOMAN called BAYLON the GREAT MOTHER of WHORES and of the EARHT’s OBSENITIES and she is DRUNK of the blood of God’s people who TESTIFY about YESHUA. And then we read the explanation in verse 8: The BEAST once was, now is not, and will COME UP FROM THE ABYSS; but it is on its WAY TO DESTRUCTION (meaning the beast is on his way to the LAKE of FIRE as we read in Revelation chapters 19-20).

• And in Revelation 20:1-3 we read about an angel coming down from HEAVEN, who had the KEY to the ABYSS and a GREAT CHAIN in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan (the Adversary), and CHAINED him up for a THOUSAND YEARS so that he could not deceive the nations until the THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF PEACE of YESHUA the MESSIAH is OVER.

This study can be upsetting and therefore it is VERY IMPORTANT to NOTE that YHVH the Father, did not create Sheol (the underworld also called Hades/ the Bottomless Pit/ the Abyss/ Outer darkness), neither the Lake of Fire (the Second Death) for people and the death and destruction of an UNRIGHTEOUS PERSON (a sinner) gives Him no pleasure and He wants ALL PEOPLE to BE SAVED and come to REPENTANCE so that NONE WILL PERISH. Therefore, as long as it is TODAY, we still have time to TURN from our sins, back to HIS WAYS and the FULL LIFE, HE ALREADY PAID for you and me to LIVE, now and FOREVERMORE.