that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city'

(Heb. 11:13-16).

After a further and fuller expansion of the theme of Hebrews 11:1, the apostle returns to the subject of the

heavenly city in chapter 12, but approaches it from another angle, upon the significance of which, however, we

reserve comment until we have established the fact of the revelation of all three spheres. Meantime we pass on to

verse 22:

`But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an

innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in

heaven' (Heb. 12:22,23).

Other references to this sphere of blessing are found in the Revelation:

`Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write

upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh

down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name' (Rev. 3:12).

The significance of the fact that this is associated with the overcomer, together with the similar significance of

the context of Hebrews 12, will be considered when we come to deal with the subject of the individual spheres

themselves: at present we confine ourselves to establishing the fact that the Scriptures do speak of such spheres:

`And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride

adorned for her husband' (Rev. 21:2).

`He carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy

Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God' (Rev. 21:10).

The testimony of Hebrews 11:16, alone, is sufficient proof that this heavenly city is a separate sphere of blessing

from that of the earth, and while much must yet be studied if we would appreciate its true significance, we can,

without hesitation, affirm that there is full, scriptural testimony to the existence of this second sphere of blessing.

Granting that these two spheres of blessing are actual, scriptural facts, the question that now awaits an answer is:

Do they exhaust the teaching of Scripture on the subject? In other words, is there a third sphere of blessing, distinct

from both the earth and the heavenly city? We believe there is, and proceed at once to state the evidence for this

The Third Sphere, `Far above all'.- The Epistle to the Ephesians was written by Paul as `The prisoner of Jesus

Christ' (Eph. 3:1). As recorded in Acts 28, Israel, as a nation, had been set aside by the quoting of Isaiah 6:9,10,

and, with that setting aside, had, of necessity, gone the hope and the blessings of which they were the appointed

channel. While Israel remained as a nation before God, the Gentile believer could be `blessed with faithful

Abraham' (Gal 3:9); could be associated with Israel under the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3:6); could entertain the hope

of Israel (Rom. 15:8,12,13), and partake `of the root and fatness of the olive tree' (Rom. 11:17); but, with Israel set

aside, there arose the necessity of a further revelation from God - unless all was to be plunged into confusion and

end in despair. This revelation is claimed by Paul in the epistle to the Ephesians.

`If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward (Gentiles): how that by

revelation He made known unto me the mystery' (Eph. 3:2,3).

This mystery has particular reference to the new position assigned to the Gentiles:

`That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the

gospel: whereof I was made a minister' (Eph. 3:6,7).

Here we have a `dispensation' which was particularly concerned with the Gentiles; a `revelation' that makes

known that which was a `mystery', and that, hitherto, this mystery had been `hid in God' (Eph 3:9). And not only

was it `hid in God', but it was hid `from the ages and from the generations, though now made manifest to His saints'

(Col 1:26 author's translation).