Thought for Today
Psalm 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds-- his name is the Lord-- be exultant before him.
Proverbs 15:11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord, how much more human hearts!
Matthew 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory.
John 1:32 And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
Yesterday’s devotional in These Days began with, “Throughout the Bible, God appears in clouds.” That is true. As I read those words, I remembered a sketch in a book used in our Bible Study Class in Houston many years ago. The sketch was titled, “The Hebrew Conception of the Universe.” (The Mighty Acts of God, pg. 28) The book was the initial volume in a 3-year curriculum published by the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The series was titled Covenant Life Curriculum.
That sketch was based on the Creation Narrative in Genesis and other passages in the Old Testament. Any astrophysicist or astronomer today would probably snort in derision as they examined that sketch. It showed at the top the waters above the firmament, a dome below that with the sun and stars, then the firmament. Below that was the earth, and below the earth was Sheol. It doesn’t show clouds, but presumably clouds would appear in the firmament.
We don’t hear much about Sheol today. My Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms says of Sheol, “Biblical term for the underworld destination of the souls of those who die (1 Kings 2:6; Prov. 9:18). It is often translated ‘grave,’ ‘pit,’ or ‘hell’ (Job 17:13—16; Lat. infernus). It became associated with the Greek ‘Hades’ and the notion of judgment.”
I have always found it interesting that most of us associate heaven with the clouds and the sky. Irrespective of our understanding of judgment and/or the existence of Hell as a distinct place, any concept we do have is usually associated with belowground. Even those who are ‘spatially challenged’ with little or no concept of geometry use vertical concepts for Heaven and Hell.
Where is heaven? Is it up? Is it possibly in another dimension entirely, one not discernable by any of our God-given senses? I have read that string theory in theoretical physics posits the existence of multiple dimensions. Evidently, the superhero graphic novels also posit multiple dimensions and universes. Where is heaven?
Do you ever wonder? Does it make any difference to Christians here and now? I frequently think about and quote, “Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” If we do have faith, is the physical (?) location of Heaven relevant to our faith?
Jesus promised, “John 14:2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” Notice that there is no mention of up or down, nothing about where “my Father’s house” might actually be physically (?) located. Up or down, vertical or horizontal, either or neither, Jesus will take me to the place prepared especially for me; and, I will spend eternity with God and Jesus.
What are the specifics? I do not know. How many square feet in ‘my place?’ I do not know. Two stories? One story? Tudor, Colonial, English, ranch? I neither know nor care. One of the best reflections I have read on the whole subject is by C. S. Lewis in The Great Divorce. I highly recommend it to anyone puzzling about Heaven. I do know my special place will probably have many bookcases. It will assuredly have gardens for Greta to tend when she arrives.
Mostly, I know that my special place is part of God’s gift, “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—” All I need do is have faith and accept God’s gift. For that, I thank God each day.
Stay safe, thank God, trust God,
Pastor Ray