Heaven on earth It is an ancient longing for the human mind often, because heaven has always been related to everything good and desirable, not only in the Christian religion, but also in other religions, heaven turns out to be the most aspired and desirable goal of all existence. human.
However, Is it possible to see heaven on earth? Will the perfect will of God find a place among us mortals with the same accommodation as among the heavenly hosts? What was Jesus referring to when he mentioned that the kingdom of heaven had drawn near? These and other questions take place in our minds as time goes by, and we aspire more vehemently to go to that heavenly place.
“…Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.” Matthew 6:10
To bring the power of heaven to earth, it is a good start to start praying in the way that Jesus indicates in the way that he does in the Our Father…
The heavens according to the people.
Many people who consider themselves Christians would agree with the definition of heaven given by the Encyclopedia of the Catholic Religion. According to this work, heaven is “the reward given to the just, a room reserved for the blessed.”
For Jewish thought things are a little different, according to the famous Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz, Judaism focuses more on the present than on life after death. But he explains that “In heaven, the soul enjoys the greatest possible pleasure: to be closer to God than ever before.” However, he acknowledges that “although the Jews believe in heaven, the Torah says very little about this subject.”
Hindus and Buddhists for their part believe that heaven has many spiritual levels. They consider it a place of transition where the soul waits until it is reborn on Earth or goes to nirvana, a place apparently superior to heaven.
The Genuine Believer: An Agent of Heaven on Earth
Some people also think that making heaven spiritual or religious is absurd and childish.
What is heaven according to the Bible?
The word heaven appears 371 times in the Bible and can refer in summary to different things or places, first, we can consider the biblical sky as the earth’s atmosphere, that is, the densest gaseous area of the same atmosphere, where we find the clouds, the birds move, we observe the thunder and aircraft fly.
A clear reference to this use of the word is found in Genesis 1:20 in the creation account.
The sky as firmament…
The Bible can also refer to heaven as outer space, where the sun, the moon, the stars and the constellations of stars are, as is the case of Deuteronomy where it says:
“Lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and seeing the sun and the moon and the stars, and all the host of heaven, be moved, and bow down to them and serve them; for the LORD your God has given them to all peoples under all heaven.” Deuteronomy 4:19
Finally, the Bible can also refer with the word heaven, to a level of existence higher than the physical universe and that is beyond its reach, in this heaven God and his angels live, who are ministering spirits in favor of those who inherit salvation (Genesis 28:17, Isaiah 66:1, Matthew 5:16, 45) this concept of heaven is very different from the aforementioned concepts, and the apostle Paul refers to it as the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).
One of the things that characterizes this last place that we refer to as heaven, is that in that place of purity and holiness there is no sin, and God’s will is done, in this sense, it is a place that can be transferred to the earth and manifest itself among men to some extent, on the basis of those characteristics.
The kingdom of heaven among men.
It is true that the kingdom of heaven It is a place of absolute holiness very distant from what we see in humanity today, and therefore sin cannot enter it, but it is also true that the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven can manifest itself to the men in an immediate present through the action of the Holy SpiritFor this reason, the kingdom of heaven is a fundamental part of the preaching of Jesus during his time on earth.
For Jesus It was very important that somehow people understood that heaven can influence and manifest itself on earth, when through intimate communion with the Holy Spirit humanity allows it.
The kingdom of God has drawn near…
We see Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, in the Our Father and in countless other references, speaking about the kingdom of God as something tangible, valid and as palpable by human beings as life itself.
It is characteristic of his actions on earth that while he was carrying out miracles and wonders He said that the kingdom of God had drawn near, an example of this is in Luke 11:16-20 where the events that occurred after he released a demon-possessed man are described as follows:
“(…) Others, to tempt him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is devastated; and a house divided against itself falls. And if Satan is also divided against himself, how will his kingdom remain, since you say that by Beelzebub I cast out demons.
Well, if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Luke 11:16-20
An inevitable conflict…
In this way Jesus highlights the conflict that exists in the universe between the forces of God and the forces of the devil at the time of establishing heaven on earth, but it also shows us how the direct intervention of God changes things, noting that his presence on earth brings comfort and relief to those tormented by the devil and his demons was a genuine manifestation of God’s will for man, and therefore also a demonstration of the way things work in heaven.
His teachings and actions meant a clear victory over the forces that dominate the world for evil.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin, because He who was begotten by God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the evil one. 1 John 5:18-19
The apostle John writes these revealing and enlightening words, making it clear that those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ and serve him are of God, but nevertheless we face an inevitable conflict because of sin, Satan and his demons that dwell and wreak havoc in the midst of humanity, sin (disobedience to God) It is the way in which Satan rules the world.
a promise of triumph
The only way then deal this reality and defeating the domain of these evil forces is by sticking to God and his word, living in holiness (obedience to god) and letting God manifest through us the aspects that can be perceptible of the kingdom of heaven on earth, regarding this there is a promise of triumph as Paul writes, the Bible says:
But thank God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ Jesus, and through us manifests in every place the smell of his knowledge. Because for God we are a pleasant smell of Christ in those who are saved, and in those who are lost; to these certainly the odor of death unto death, and to those the odor of life unto life. And for these things, who is enough? 2 Corinthians 2:14-16
We are therefore all Christians agents of change in favor of the government of heaven on earth. It is a difficult task but not impossible, the most important thing is that we always remember that only God can make us capable and sufficient for the task of representing him and manifesting his kingdom here on earth.
Do not stop reading also: 6 Vital Aspects You Should Know About the Kingdom of God