|
How Far Is Heaven?
based on 2 Corinthians 12:1-5 and
various other passages
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
2 Corinthians 12:1-5:
1 I
must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on
to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in
Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether
it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3
And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do
not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard
inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5
I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself,
except about my weaknesses.
Here, we have a
Biblical report from someone (most likely, the apostle Paul himself) who
saw a vision of heaven. Of course, the most prominent account we have is
the entire book of Revelation to which I will also refer to many times
today.
I chose this passage
for our reading to wet our appetite, to raise our interest; this passage
is just doing that with its intriguing language of “inexpressible” things
that “no one is permitted to tell.” And what exactly is the “third
heaven?” Believe it or not, that’s probably the easiest question to
answer, as we will see later.
Is this like one of
the reports we hear from those with near-death experiences? We have heard
about report where dying people moved toward bright lights, met deceased
loved ones, and even encountered Jesus. Is this similar to what Paul is
talking about in this passage? It’s impossible to find a certain answer,
but regardless, the important thing is that those experiences provide
insights into what “heaven” might be like.
In order to
understand the Biblical concept of heaven, we need to start with a
Biblical survey:
Old Testament
References to “Heaven”
The earliest biblical references of heaven
are synonymous with “sky” (Gen
1:1;
Gen 2:1; etc) However, the sky
was believed to be the realm of God.
[show slide #3]
Keep in mind that early biblical writers
believed in a flat earth as well as a universe that was contained within
the realm of the heavens above the earth and the deep waters below. In
other words, the sun, the moon and the stars were all seen as objects
fixed to the firmament of the earth’s sky instead of being viewed as
different planets in outer space.
Now here is a clue as to what Paul meant by
the third heaven, as this image shows the three levels of 1.the firmament
(sky), 2.the ocean of heaven and 3. the heaven of heavens.
What is important, theologically, is that
from very early on, God was associated with a realm outside of the earth,
while still being involved with the affairs of God’s creation and God’s
creatures.
There are indications that the early
biblical authors believed that heaven possessed a geographic dimension,
whereas today we believe heaven to be in a different, spiritual
dimension. For instance, the Tower of Babel is one biblical example
that shows that people actually believed that they could construct a tower
so high that it would give them entrance to God’s realm.
Genesis 11:4:
Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that
reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves…”
I find it humorous that the author also
seemed to have bought into this theory as he or she portrays God as
feeling threatened by the building of this tower: Gen. 11:6 reads like
this: The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they
have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for
them.”
Of course, we know what happened; suddenly
the people became confused and they realized they were speaking different
languages and working together became increasingly difficult.
One of the more interesting points about
this story is that in antiquity, high buildings and mountains were viewed
as a place where heaven and the earth were connected; Mt. Sinai or Horeb
as well as Mt. Zion were examples of that.
God was first believed by the Israelites to
have chosen to enter the earthly realm on Mt Horeb. Moses went up the
mountain and brought down the Ten Commandments believed to have been
written by the finger of God. By the time David became king, God was
believed to “dwell” on Mt. Zion, in Jerusalem and the
temple, built under King Salomon in Jerusalem was said to be God’s
footstool. In other words, the temple was held to be an extension of Mt. Zion, a holy place where the
presence of God dwelled.
So, the early Biblical concept of heaven as
God’s realm was very much limited geographically to the sky above with
only a few connecting points, where God’s presence was manifest in special
ways in holy places.
[slide #4]
During the Babylonian captivity, however,
after the Jerusalem temple had been destroyed (587 B.C.), the theology
about heaven as the realm of God was refined again. The prophet Ezekiel
reflects this change in his vision which described God sitting on a
movable throne (Ezekiel chapter 1). Ezekiel’s break-through realization
was: God is present with us anywhere on earth; God’s throne is moveable,
God rules over all parts of the earth. From that time forward, God’s
realm / heaven was seen more and more as a spiritual realm rather than a
geographical one—long before it was discovered that the earth is a sphere
and is not the center of the universe.
Perhaps the earliest notion of heaven in
terms of a blissful afterlife for the faithful believers can be found in
Isaiah 26:19:
“But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the
dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.” The thought of heaven as a
blissful afterlife became more accepted with the apocalyptic passages of
the prophets Isaiah, Joel and Zechariah and Daniel.
New Testament References to “Heaven”
By the time we get to first-century Judea,
religious leaders were split on the notion of heaven as an afterlife.
Some priests and the sect of the Sadducees did not believe in it. The
Pharisees (who are the founders of the modern rabbinical school), on the
other hand, presented the more popular Jewish view of an afterlife with
God (as we explored in our discourse on “Gehenna and Sheol” in last week’s
sermon).
The New Testament witness of Heaven
represents a strong theology of a blissful afterlife.
In 1 John 3:2, for instance, we read: “Dear
friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been
made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.”
In terms of our new body this verse
suggests that we will possibly have a body much like Jesus following his
resurrection. This body could possibly have some features that resemble
our current bodies. Or else the disciples would not have recognized Jesus
when they did. However, this resurrection body seems also different
enough that some did not recognize Jesus—at least not right away (such as
Mary at the tomb and the Emmaus disciples)
If our body is to be
like Jesus’ body, then we may still enjoy meals like Jesus did after his
resurrection (I am hoping that calories will not be an issue). On the
other hand, Jesus was able to walk through closed doors, and appear and
disappear at will. Jesus says in
Matthew 22:30
“being children of the
resurrection, they will be like angels.” It’s mind-boggling! It’s going
to be some of the same, yet also different from anything we could ever
imagine!
Perhaps, the
incomprehensibility of heaven to the human mind is the reason
why the Scriptures
often define heaven terms of what it’s NOT!
In Revelation 21 we
read that every tear will be wiped from our face by God; there will be no
more pain no more sorrow no more hunger. no more death!
A chaplain in a rehab
hospital once asked a group of patients what they thought heaven was going
to be like. The most amazing answer came from a woman who could barely
move. She responded: "Heaven is a place without wheelchairs." What a great
answer!
How does Salvation
figure into the Christian theology of Heaven?
In Matthew 19
Jesus refers to "eternal life" and "being saved" as being equal to
entering the Kingdom of God once it arrives on earth.
Throughout the
synoptic gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus insisted that
“the Kingdom of Heaven is near,” or that “the Kingdom of God is upon us.
Kingdom of
Heaven permeates this world; it
permeates time and space; it permeates our lives. It may not be fully
realized and come to earth, but it already exists.
We have to understand that the Kingdom of
heaven is eternal, it has no beginning and no end. It existed in the past,
it exists now, it will exist in the future.
As much as Old Testament believers may have
struggled with getting beyond seeing the kingdom of heaven as a
geographical dimension, we are struggling today with getting beyond seeing
it as tied to the end of the physical world/earth. To us it seems logical
to speak of heaven like it is a place and time that will be in the future.
[slide # 5]
Following Jesus cue in Matthew 19,
theologians often describe the moment when Jesus died on the cross as a
cosmic event. It was (and is) that moment when human history and our
concept of time intersected with eternity and God’s ultimate purpose for
salvation.
Somehow, when we accept Jesus and claim
what he did for us on the cross for our personal salvation, we become a
new creation, we become born anew, we now belong to Jesus. And it all goes
back to that moment in history when Jesus died for us.
Except from God’s perspective there is no
time, there is only eternity. This means that Jesus’ salvific event is as
much present today as it was in the year 32 A.D. That’s why something
other-worldly happens to us when we are born again, when we become a new
creation. What happens is that we become eternal beings. Once we accept
Jesus as Savior we are now part of Heaven already!
Somehow, in ways we
cannot explain scientifically, Jesus says God’s Kingdom permeates this
earthly realm.
How can this be? No
one can answer this question with certainty, but perhaps we can borrow an
illustration from mathematics: In 1884 English Schoolmaster Edwin Abbott
published a book entitled:
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions.
In it he describes
the world of squares--flatlanders living in a two dimensional world. As a
flatlander, you have no perception of depth. You cannot see
three-dimensional objects like a sphere.
But here is the
curious thing: you can perceive a sphere when you encounter one as a
flatlander—even though you can’t see its real dimensions!
Now imagine that the
sphere would slowly pass through flatland
[slide #6]
What would you
actually see? A dot appears and starts to grow, then shrinks again until
it disappears.
Perhaps this is how
we can understand how heaven permeates the dimension of this world.
It’s already here,
even if we cannot presently grasp its form! As we draw near, as we are
surrounded by the Light of Heaven, a light that, somehow, gently
penetrates us, we awaken to an eternity consciousness.
God invites you and
me to be a part of this place called heaven
--starting right here;
--starting right now!
Can you hear God’s
call?
Can you
hear the Spirit whisper?
It
may be a faint, gentle whisper, from another world
yet, somehow, we can perceive it.
If we
really listen!
It’s an
invitation . . .
--an invitation to draw near;
--an invitation to wait for the coming of our
Lord;
--an invitation to wait with hope
and patience,
--longing for a better world to come.
“No eye has seen, not
ear has heard the marvelous things God is reserving for those who love
him.” (1Cor 2:9)
Maranatha, Lord
Jesus, come again quickly. Amen.
|
