"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) [KJV]
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) [KJV]
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:3) [KJV]
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." (Revelation 21:1) [KJV]
The Lie.
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When I die, I want to go to Heaven. This is a common phrase echoed throughout the realm of Christendom. Because of our worldly attachments rarely heard is the phrase, "Lord I am tired, I want to go home." The ideology of dying and going to Heaven is a part of our Christian indoctrination because Heaven is where Jesus is and we want to be with him, but we have an issue with dying. The early Christians had a longing to be with Christ therefore dying was not an issue. They were willing and some were glad to die for their beliefs.
Often when we speak of Heaven, a mental condition which I refer to as cognitive dissonance is exposed. Heaven may be all of those great things but if given a choice of going to Heaven, or staying here which would you choose? Cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory or conflicting beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time. We speak of going to Heaven but are we ready to go, we pray and performs actions that are contradictory to one or more of our beliefs, ideas, or values.
A lack of knowledge is the cause of mental stress or cognitive dissonance over dying and going to Heaven. In many of Jesus' teaching sessions, he explained the process of dying and the Kingdom of God. The conversation with Nicodemus and the story of Lazarus should put us at ease, but what varies widely among different groups today is the description of Heaven and its location. The English word "Heaven" has become synonymous with favors and enjoying the good life. Not scripturally founded this definition is the result of various personal interpretations. The word 'Heaven' is used 552 times In the King James translation, where as 'Heavens' is used 130 times. There are three major meanings to the word Heaven.
(1) The word "Heaven" (Hebrew: shamyim, Greek: ouranos) can mean God’s dwelling place. "The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all." (Psalm 103:19) [KJV] God’s throne is mentioned in connection with the mountain of God, (Ezekiel 28:16) [KJV].
2) Heaven may also refer to the endless planets, stars, and galaxies of the universe. "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in, place…," (Psalm 8:3) [KJV].
3) The Bible also speaks of the atmosphere that surrounds the earth as Heaven or Heavens (Genesis 1: 7, 8). Bible students must study the biblical context to understand which of the three meanings are implied. Failure to do so can result in the perpetuation of lies.
Certain Christian groups proclaim that Christ will return and establish a Kingdom called the "Kingdom of Heaven" or the "Kingdom of God" on earth, whereas other insist we will all be given celestial bodies and spend eternity flying around in outer space. Between those two concepts of Heaven, and whether the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God is the same there are numerous variations. These variations based personal interpretations and what sounds good to a particular class or creed and is used to amass followers.
Since early 1600, the concept of Heaven has undergone numerous changes. This was the age when the proliferation of the Christian faith took a firm root and began to flourish. Splits and denominations became common place all based upon the teaching of one person or a group. Understanding the Word of God suffered greatly as humanity began to shape and twists the Word of God. The knowledge of "good and evil" increased and humanity began questioning the value of Christianity and the existence of God.
During the early years of my upbringing, Heaven was a prepared place for a prepared people. This simple explanation in a simpler age seems to suffice a childish yearning for knowledge of this mysterious realm. We would often look up to the sky and in our naive mindset, we could visualize God sitting on a cloud looking down and smiling on his creation.
While enduring the hardships of the land the ancients wrote songs that depicted the wonderful life in Heaven. Heaven became a place where we would have nothing to do but fly around all day shouting, "Holy, Holy" This proved to be a rather boring conceit of eternity. Taught that there were two choices in the afterlife, Heaven or Hell, the alternate made it an acceptable conclusion of our earthly journey.
Heaven has always been the escape route for the poor. The little child growing up without shoes could look up to the sky and say, "When I get to Heaven I am going to put on my shoes and walk all over God's Kingdom. The naive concepts of Heaven soon began to crumble as knowledge began to increase but not before enterprising messengers learned ways to capitalize on the lack of knowledge thus preying of the gullibility of Christianity.
The gullibility of the ethnic divide is the greatest weapon yet the Devil has used against God, Heaven, and Christian values. Pastors, Teachers, and Church members are distracted, they are chasing after fame, glory and earthly treasures and many are trying to determine the color of a supernatural or metaphysical God. Moses saw God as a burning bush, Eve saw the Devil as a snake. What does that tell us? Imagine what a mess it would be if all who say they are going to Heaven ended up in Heaven. The cauldron of hate that is been stoked and stirred would be transferred to Heaven and in simpler terms, the Devil will have won the war.
To further amplify the ethnic divide the charlatan priests proclaimed Christianity to be the religion of the oppressor and the pie in the sky bye and bye was no longer viable goal. The poor, the disenfranchised, and the gullible rushed to fill the coffer of those who promised Heaven here on earth. This destruction of a belief structure created a vacuum and that vacuum filled with opposites. Lying, hate, drugs, violence and other vices become an acceptable part of life.
Because of the lack of a consensus, within the household of faith, some have begun to ask the question, "Do we go to Heaven when we die." The lack of an example or constructive dialog has caused many of the emerging generations to reject the ideology of Heaven and Hell and live for the now. There are many doctrines, whether it was their intent or not give credence to this ideology. Jesus posed an interesting question in Matthew 16:26. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" The answer to this question does not prevent humanity, whether in the church or in the world "as we say" from seeking gain by misleading or defrauding their fellow man or fellow woman.
In a Bible Study setting, a provocateur went even further and asked, "Why does everybody want to go to Heaven but nobody wants to die?" Both the question and the statement deserve consideration, but the consideration should not be in the form of a debate. Debates create confusion as both sides seek to score points using the same Bible and the same scriptures. We are quick to proclaim, "the bible said".
Before any discussion of Heaven can proceed, both parties must accept the existence of the natural and supernatural. We must also have in our possession that God given sense that I call common sense. Heaven is above and the Earth is below. In an attempt to question the existence of God the provocateur asked, "With all of the telescopes and satellites exploring outer space why has no evidence been found to prove that Heaven exist?" When we look up to the sky, we see the heavenly bodies, but we do not see the throne of God. If we traveled throughout the universe, we could see God's works but we would not see God.
Now let us establish several points that you may or may not believe. There is the Heaven or Heavens and there is the Earth. The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven occupies the Heaven(s) within the supernatural realm, unseen by the natural eyes. The Devil and his demons also occupy the Earth in a supernatural realm. We cannot see God or the Devil with our natural eyes but we can see the manifestation of God or the works of the Devil.
Jesus speaking to Nicodemus established the parameters of the spiritual realm. He stated that flesh and blood could not enter the Kingdom "or even see" the Kingdom of God. John 3:5-6 "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
(To be continued in Part 2)
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