The Dwelling Places of God: A Scriptural Survey of the Places God Has Chosen to Live

By C. F. Smith

In this book, C. F. Smith asks the question, Where does God live? As the subtitle indicates, the author has carefully surveyed the scriptures to identify and examine the places God has chosen to dwell (live or reside) on the earth throughout history. He first takes the reader on an imaginary biblical journey as an eyewitness to Gods dwelling places. And then he carefully documents what the Bible says about those dwelling places. From Genesis to Revelation, the book is an examination of Gods residences from creation to the new heavens and the new earth. The author states in his introduction, It is with robust intentionality that I present my case with the Bible says . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973631125

C. F. Smith

C. F. Smith (Charles) is a lifelong student of the Bible, earning an undergraduate degree in Bible and Ministry in 1970, and an M. Ed in 1999. He has spent his life studying and teaching the Bible, in small church settings as a pastor, in Christian school classrooms as a teacher, and in small groups and classroom situations of a fast-growing megachurch. ( Church attendance is about 8,000 per week on six campuses.) Charles grew up in Greenville, South Carolina and married Becky Mitchell (Montgomery, Alabama) in 1970. They have been happily married for forty-eight years. The first twenty-five years Charles and Becky served in pastoral ministry in small churches across the southeast. Later Charles enjoyed twenty years in the field of education as a middle school teacher. Now retired, he is beginning to write professionally in order to continue his teaching career through books and articles. In 1995 Charles and Becky became members at Savannah Christian Church (now Compassion Christian), and he began to teach the Adult Bible Fellowship Class. After twenty years, Charles continues to teach that class, along with his good friend Dennis Meeks.

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Copyright © 2018 C. F. Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover art work and design by Randolph Davis Smith, Jr., Savannah, Georgia.

Cover photo used by permission of Beth Bock, Savannah, Georgia.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-3111-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3110-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3112-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018907004

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/26/2018

Scripture quotations marked AMP taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scriptures marked PHILLIPS are taken from The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Preface: A personal reflection

Introduction

Chapter 1 — An Imaginary Journey

Chapter 2 — God’s Address

Chapter 3 — The Temple in Heaven

Chapter 4 — The Tabernacle

Chapter 5 — Jesus Was God’s Temple

Chapter 6 — Now We Are the Temple

Chapter 7 — The Millennium – When Christ Returns

Chapter 8 — The New Heavens and New Earth

Postscript

Acknowledgements

There are some people who have helped me get this first book ready for publication, to whom I wish to express my gratitude. Working with the representatives of WestBow Press has been a pleasure. I appreciate the careful pacing, guidance, and direction all of them have given me on this my first journey into writing. My wife Becky has been a great encourager throughout this journey, always believing in me. She has been so patient and understanding through the entire process.

Also I received valuable feedback and editorial assistance from members of my Life Group: Jane Cox and Lillian Neal, and my wife. My good friend Dennis Meeks wrote some kind comments to be included in recognition of the author’s ability and diligence. Finally, I am very proud of my grandson Davis (Randolph Davis Smith, Jr.) for the beautiful background and art work he created in designing the book cover. Davis is a rising high school senior at the Savannah Arts Academy here in Savannah Georgia.

Dedication

I am dedicating this work to the wonderful members of

The Adult Bible Fellowship Class at

Compassion Christian Church,

Savannah Georgia.

These faithful men and women have loyally attended this class for years, giving me the opportunity to share God’s Word with them Sunday after Sunday. My brother in Christ and co-teacher of the class, Dennis Meeks, and I have been wonderfully blessed by their spiritual hunger and thirst, and their strong support and encouragement.

Thank you, ABFC!

Dennis Meeks is also a member at Compassion Christian Church, where he serves as an Elder. He has oversight for Adult Spiritual Growth, including all men’s and women’s ministries, as well as small group ministries (Life Groups), with several hundred groups participating. Dennis’ life career was in the financial services industry — banking, insurance, and investments. Also married for almost 48 years, Dennis is co-teacher of the Adult Bible Fellowship Class at the church.

"Charles Smith has been a friend of mine for close to twenty years. I first met Charles when I joined the bible class that he was teaching at Savannah Christian Church in 2000 (now Compassion Christian Church). From the beginning, sitting under Charles’ teaching, I was impressed by his knowledge of God’s Word and his dedication to his preparation for each lesson. That friendship has grown over the years as I have continued to learn and be challenged by his teaching. Charles and I have also enjoyed fellowship outside the church setting. He has become one of my closest friends as we both continue on our spiritual journey, and now co-teach that same class. I believe this book Charles has written will be a great blessing to anyone who reads it. It will be a great resource for future reference and I recommend it as a permanent addition to your library."

Preface: A personal reflection

I have loved God’s Word (the Bible) for almost six decades now. Beginning to read the scriptures seriously and systematically when I was a mere child, ten years old, God placed in me a love and appreciation for the stories of the Bible, and all its rich truths. That love has kept me coming back through all the stages of my life. I have read and studied God’s Word intentionally, diligently, my whole life, and love it more now than when I began almost sixty years ago.

God has graciously given me the privilege to teach His precious Word for the last five decades, in many different settings. Early on, upon graduation from a Christian college, with a baccalaureate degree in Bible and Christian ministry, I was blessed to teach the Bible as a pastor in small church settings for about twenty-five years; later in life, after returning to education for a master’s degree, I was privileged to teach God’s Word to adults in a local church setting as a lay member for many years, and to