Locating heaven is the subject of this article, and not only locating it, but upgrading our understanding--ascending into the heavenlies--concerning the beauty hidden in our old dusty concepts about life after death. When we have thought of our departed friends and loved ones as arriving in heaven, it has given comfort and peace to something beyond our grasp and out of our control. We need to feel they are safely tucked away somewhere while we are carrying on alive. But where did the concept of “dying and going to heaven” come from? The patriarchs and prophets of old spoke of going to Sheol (the grave) or sleeping with their fathers, in reference to their destination upon physical death. Somewhere in the development of the Christian faith, and probably largely because Jesus spoke of the kingdom of Heaven--and then disappeared--a visual was turned into a doctrine, albeit one that comforted. But my desire is to shine light in a dark place, for belief in a distant place or planet called heaven is merely a religious concept. The reality of heaven is more intelligent and contains more passion than the fantasy. Locating heaven is not about a “where”, but about a “Whom”!
Truthfully, when Jesus walked the earth, he brought the Kingdom with him. He announced:
“ ....The Kingdom of God does not so come that you can stealthily watch for it. Nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' --for the Kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20-21 *
He spoke in parables of spiritual truths, and the symbolism could translate to the natural to be applied on the street level (as I call it), in the psych, or in our spiritual understanding. Because of the dark religious minds all around him, the truth in the words of Jesus was veiled. Even though he spoke in literal terms, any ulterior human motives could not interfere with God’s purpose and deliverance standing (& hiding) in plain sight. Yet for those who had ears to hear, the words were explosively insightful, and he did share the meanings of parables with his elite called-out.
"Again the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a jewel merchant who is in quest of choice pearls. He finds one most costly pearl; he goes away; and though it costs all he has, he buys it.” Matt13:45-46
This merchant knew value when he saw it, and he was willing to put all that he had toward the one precious pearl. What a passion! The jewel merchant and the jewel were “like” the Kingdom of Heaven. God was that merchant, knowing the value of pearls (produced under great duress). We were the most costly pearl that the buyer was willing to sacrifice all for. And yet God himself was in all of the pearls, because there is no separation between Father and his creation. We came out of Him, and the selfless, long-suffering beauty of God was the beauty of the pearls. That potential and beauty with Divine luster also abides within us, though hidden. Yet duress causes it to shine forth, and even the ability to endure the duress comes from His nature hidden in us. He is the pearl of great price, and we are the pearl of great price. There is no separating the two; neither can we separate Heaven from our domain.
“The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.” Psalms 37:29
"Blessed are the meek, for they as heirs shall obtain possession of the earth.” Matt 5:5
Our world today is greatly populated with followers of Jesus Christ. They exist in different degrees, but they do exist, all the same. And yet--as a whole--they have NOT obtained possession of the earth. Oh, religious establishments have appeared as mighty fortresses (like in Rome), but they do not command any governments as I speak. While other religions (Islam, for example) do greatly influence countries in the Middle East, Christianity has not gained that ground. Even though we have some sincere political leaders who try to keep biblical standards expressed in our society, the success of those efforts fall short of “obtaining possession”. Yet scriptures point to the earth as being the inheritance of the righteous. In Psalms (above), the word “land” means “earth, land”, according to Strong’s #776. The Hebrew “erets” means regular terra-firma, with nothing mystical attached. In the quote from Jesus in Matthew (above), he was talking about a long term consequence, for none of those sitting before him would ever know a possession of the land around them. On the contrary, for in a few decades the Roman government would totally annihilate Jerusalem, and they would all either be killed or would be of the remnant who escaped before the “end of the world” (Matt, chap 24).
Since Jesus was talking about the visible earth and land around them (Strong’s 1093, Greek “ge”), and since they were not going to directly inherit it, what was he speaking of? We know he wasn’t lying, so there was a vision of something settled in finality, a permanent condition that would result. He was giving them hope and promising them (even if they couldn’t see or hear it yet) that everything was going to be perfected and restored right where they sat. The Son of God was establishing a spiritual reality about Heaven and earth--that they would no longer be separated. Yet the Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God) and earthy mankind were separated--temporarily--at the time Jesus spoke, but the situation was soon to be remedied!
The Mosaic order (old covenant) of law prevailed during that time, with the Jewish temple being the “location” of God (if you wanted to find him). The Levitical priesthood was the appointed group to carry out legal functions of temple worship. At that time, that was as good as you could get, being a form and order to represent God. Even though God already existed everywhere and had access to everyone (because of his sovereignty, omniscience, etc.), no one knew it, because the human nature was dead to these things. Jesus said everyone was dead (but Him). Yet his coming to rescue us from this death was on display even before his death and resurrection. The living, breathing Kingdom walked among us, talked to us, touched us, and gave us insights too high to appreciate until after he arose from the dead.
Thus, the birth of the new order where communication was restored between God and his race of men. Jesus died, entered and enlivened the invisible realm of soul and spirit (where our only life is), and gave all mankind a permanent ability to understand we were not separated from God; this ability (through the Holy Spirit) would be roused upon our own personal awakening. But we still have the problem of not being able to see people after they die.
Speaking of which, I want to bring light to a unique happening spoken of in the gospels, a happening after--and because of--the resurrection of Jesus. Matthew, chapter 27, speaks of graves opening and those who had been entombed being seen walking around. The interesting part of this happening is that it isn’t spoken of again. There seems to be no resolution of what happened to them. It is probably assumed that they went on “to heaven” because Jesus had opened the door.
Obviously, they didn’t stay around and this was a temporary visitation, because there is no more mention of it. Basically, they were there for a short time, demonstrating the power of God. In my own understanding, because they lived before their Savior appeared, they had not had time to receive truths and be changed in their soul content (their mind, will, emotion, desires). Yet the same is true for anyone who has died in an unenlightened state. Let me expound on this.
Jesus was the first to ascend back into Father (where we all came from). He was the unspotted sacrifice, having conquered the spirit of the world, being conformed in all ways into a perfect man. When he gave himself again as the Holy Spirt, he quickened the whole soul/spirit realm with enablements that we may walk out successfully the transforming and renovating work that speaks of true salvation in all three "dimensions" of our make-up: the spirit realm, the soul realm, and the body realm. Unbeknownst to most Christians, just claiming Jesus as our Savior doesn’t change us. We are just assenting to our reconciled status to God, but the salvation process begins only as our self wills and carnal minds are overtaken and conquered inwardly, Holy Spirit style. This takes time, especially since we won’t willingly die out to living for ourselves. Since flesh and blood (attitudes, not the actual body) cannot enter the Kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50), and because through much tribulation (pressure) do we enter therein (Acts 14:22), I guarantee that time is needed. But the good news is that we are not separated from God during any of it! We just aren’t keen in our ability to approach yet.
Religion teaches us that we go to a literal heaven (or hell) when we die a physical death, but that assumption is not grounded in truth. The truth is, since heaven is not a place “out there”, we wouldn’t really know if we were there or not, if our spiritual senses haven’t tuned in to God being with us (Emmanuel). So whether we still have a body on or not, we continue on in our journey back into God (spirit man vs carnal man). But it’s our spiritually enlightened perspective that makes the difference. We are always in heaven, because where God is, heaven is. And God is everywhere! But if we cannot feel him or hear him, we are in hell (death and darkness). Some have ascended while they stand on this planet and they know they are in heaven. But our atmosphere and surroundings still look the same as for those who are still in hell. We walk among each other in different spiritual statuses, and only the Creator regulates these things.
There have been many persons with death-bed visions. I respect their experiences and totally believe what they have to say. You see, visions and dreams are indeed pictures of some kind of a reality. But visions need interpretations. Visions are symbols or allegories of something with credence. That credence could be our own deceived belief system. And it is obvious that with so many varieties of these experiences that a consistency is missing. All of the experiences and visions of life after death speak of a happening unique with that individual. Our own journeys, weaknesses, fears, belief systems--or lack of them, are being projected like a movie in our subconscious. For many, God is expressing his love and presence; for others, fear and condemnation (religion) is speaking. Having been overtaken by God’s loving heart, I know the fear isn’t coming from Him. Unfortunately, dark visions can lead us astray (temporarily) and cause us to fear God. But there will come a day for each of us when the light and truth draw us back into an awareness of his presence and closeness to us.
Consider those people walking around fresh out of their graves after the resurrection; they couldn’t help but come out. Jesus had just overtaken the keys of death and hell, so the captives were surely free. But there was schooling still needed. And this is the case for everyone who dies a physical death. When a person dies, all that has happened is that their temporary corruptible body has had the “off” switch pushed by Father for His purpose in that life, and for that season. But that person still exists. Their soul and spirit is intact but unable to communicate with us because the realms have changed; and likewise, we can’t communicate with them (due to different frequencies of perception). Our physical bodies give us a visual to identify each other for that specific time and purpose, and our spiritual ascension (in the Christ) is enhanced because of them. But we are still in the flow of God's purpose beyond the former identity. Great reverence for God's Holiness is needed to embrace these high things! We must remove our shoes, bow our heads, and approach with total humility and trust. We have nothing to fear, for His foundation is love!
All of the things we live with in this realm will remain until a thorough purging occurs. Some things will be totally removed, while others will just be re-structured with righteousness (fairness and equity). That far-off heaven never seemed real to me, nor did it seem warm and friendly. How could we be comfortable with something so distant and untouchable? It all sounded like a fantasy (like the rapture). And it sounded boring. Nothing to do and all eternity to do it! How I rejoiced when I saw the truth--that God was pleased to place us here, and that this is where everything happens, invisibly or visibly. Our lives have an eternal purpose, and there is much to learn. All lives have been important and will not be forgotten, but incorporated into the present. If we don’t see Paul the Apostle walking among us, it’s because we aren’t able to perceive him. He is no longer needed as Paul (because of current, powerful affirmations and revelations of the Christ in the earth), but he is surely in heaven! Paul was God's chosen expression for that place and time. All that he learned before his death and all that he has become is here working invisibly in a way that we wouldn’t recognize, because our lack of spiritual understanding blocks the view. Our God is amazing and not hindered by time, for his mercy shines forth in it, providing spaces for adjustments. The present, the past, and the future are for our learning chapters (we are the books of life), and they are all segments of the eternal Now.
The Kingdom of Heaven is invisible but it is also visible in the new order that God has provided through Christ Jesus. Christ in us IS the glory of God, and Christ in those still walking in darkness is the hope of glory! He resides with us and within us to lead us into all truth. He never leaves us or forsakes us. When Christ in me speaks to the Christ in you, Heaven has shown itself, for He is heaven! We do not have to go to the grave to get to heaven, but all who have gone to the grave are experiencing some kind of productivity in the hands of the Almighty, and they are close by, for they are learning as we are learning. And the ultimate result will show itself when all darkness has been consumed by the brightness of His coming (2 Thess 2:8). Then will our incorruptibility show through in our permanent spiritual bodies (1 Cor 15:52-54), at which time trips to the grave will have ended.
I long to encourage any who worry about the status of their loved ones who have passed on. The expressions of sentimental journeys or “flights home” help us to cope and helps with the grief of our loss. Truly, those passed on--those who have crossed the river--are very close by. And they all are in the hands of Love. And, there is work being done to prepare them for their re-appearance back here, just as we who are alive and remain are experiencing. So great a renovation work has our Creator accomplished since the misty days of Genesis. So we need not worry about any “end-of-the-world” scenarios, because the Creator chose our present location as our home, and we are being re-instated to the status we originally had with Him. We don’t have to die to get to heaven. We only have to awaken from the dream to find that we are already here, in the Garden of Eden, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth!
* scripture references
old testament: King James 2000 Bible
new testament: Weymouth
