The article below is a small
portion of my manuscript, Waiting For The Day And Hour:
I do not believe that ouranós (heaven) is someplace beyond the physical universe. I disagree with those who say it is lightyears away in some heavenly galaxy. I remember an American televangelist[1] used to say that heaven is 64 million trillion, light years away from planet Earth (or some fantastic number like that). And then, with a big happy smile, he would say that when the rapture happens, we will be there in less than 64th of a second; in the twinkling of an eye (or something like that). Maybe you can remember the exact numbers this televangelist used to quote? When I was young in the faith, I believed this outer universe heavenly theology also; because that is what I was told. And then my view changed when researching material for teaching I was doing in my church. I had come across the teachings of a Bible Expositor, Ray Stedman.[2] He taught that heaven was not beyond the universe but in another dimension. I had never heard that before. But after reading his material on the subject it was like my mind was illuminated. Immediately the Spirit of God confirmed what I just learned was true. This is why I stand firm that heaven is in another dimension, and the inner sanctuary of God is situated in multiple dimensions beyond the lower dimensions or regions (sectors) of the heavenly realm. I can explain it like this: If I were to hold an object several inches in front of my face so that I cannot see around it, what I see in my sight is physical time and space. But on the other side of the object, that I cannot see, is the spiritual realm extending endlessly. The spiritual realm is there, right in front of my face, but I cannot see it with my human eyes. The spiritual realm extends one realm or region after another unseen from the physical realm. Sadly, I have been unsuccessful in finding the article I read more than 20 years ago by Ray Stedman. But below is an excerpt from an article called, The Other Side of the Vacuum, written by, Lambert Dolphin:
“Although we
can neither visibly see nor scientifically measure the spiritual world, this
unseen dimension of the universe is of supreme importance. The notion of three
vertical tiers to the heavens is however misleading--tending to imply that the
spiritual dimension is “up” and far away—light-years beyond the farthest stars.
We should think instead of matter and spirit intermingled together as an
integrated whole. The physical world is a small region of heaven, embedded, as
it were, in the vacuum. The cosmos is not really merely scaled in the vertical
direction with hell at the bottom of the stack deep in the heart of the planet
and heaven at the top inaccessibly high above the reach of space ships and
telescopes. To think of heaven as above means that heavenly realities transcend
the physical—the Creator is greater than His creation. Isaiah (57:15) says that
God is “the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity;” who declares “...my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways...For as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts
higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)” … “It is the invisible dimension
of the spiritual world where God himself dwells. The heavenlies are also
inhabited by the “heavenly hosts,” that is by “myriads” *** of angels. These
beings were created and named one by one by God and appointed as “ministering
spirits”; they have special bodies suited for the spiritual real which they
inhabit (see Heb. 1:7, 14; 1 Cor. 15:40). Our material world is embedded in the
spiritual—this is the meaning of the vacuum as a plenum or substrate. Every day
we sense and participate in, but cannot see, happenings in the invisible world
of the spirit, for instance in spiritual warfare we are part of God's armies in
company with His angels. We are buffeted and influenced constantly by unseen
events occurring in the heavenly places, (Eph. 6:12).”
*** “The Greek
word for ten thousand” is often used to signify “countless numbers of.”
So, I believe the argument can be made that the spiritual realm exists in multiple dimensions that extend endlessly. It co-occurs with the physical dimension (space and time). In physics, it is called extra dimensions.[3] I am not saying that the spiritual realm is exactly like what the author of, Pedagogical Introduction to Extra Dimensions (endnote #3), writes in his research. However, you may be able to understand my theory to the multidimensional spiritual realm by what, Thomas G. Rizzo, has written in his research journal.
What do I mean when I say that the
spiritual or heavenly realm coincides or co-occurs with the earth and the universe’s
physical dimensions; the physical realm (space and time)? According to physics,
the general notion is that the properties of the earth and the universe are merged
by, absolute space and time.[4] This
means three-dimensional space, plus one-dimensional time, is equal to the
four-dimensional world that God Almighty created for humans to live in. Physics
calls it, spacetime, where three-dimensional space and one-dimensional time
combine to create four-dimensional topological space.
The theory that I hold, that the
spiritual realm co-occurs with the physical realm means that they both exist simultaneously:
The heavenly realm or spiritual realm coexists with the physical realm (space
and time), and the physical realm coexists with the spiritual realm—they
coexist at the same time. They coexist or are held together by the power of
God. Like Earth’s atmosphere co-occurs with the Earth’s surface. They coexist
by the power that God created in the earth’s gravity. The heavenly realm exists
in multiple dimensions right beside the physical dimension that God created man
to dwell in—the heavenly realm is a multidimensional space that coincides with
the universe and all the planets within it. Some believe that the spiritual
realm and the physical realm exist interdimensionally[5]
with one another. This means that both realms exist within one another. It is
similar to the idea of a parallel universe.[6]
This means that another universe exists with Earth’s universe. The theory that
I hold has an interdimensional aspect to it. Although the heavenly realm and
the physical realm both exist simultaneously, one does not have to go to the
edge of the heavenly realm to enter the physical realm, or, one does not have
to go to the edge of space and time to enter the spiritual realm. One can enter
space and time from anywhere within the heavenly realm or by certain spiritual
gateways, and one can enter the heavenly realm from anywhere within the
physical realm by these special gateways. I will explain further under the next
heading, Gateways.
When the Lord gives a person a dream,
he opens up their mind to see and hear into heaven the message he is releasing while
the person is asleep. Like when Joseph saw in a dream that he would reign over
his brothers, and in another dream where God prophesied that the sun, moon, and
stars would bow to Joseph (Gen. 37:5-10). While Joseph was asleep an angel of
the Lord would have opened up his mind so that he could see and hear into
heaven. The angel of the Lord was likely the one who produced the images Joseph
saw in his dream.
When a person receives a vision
from the Lord, an angel of the Lord opens that person’s mind so they can see and
hear into heaven the message of the Lord while awake. An example is, when Daniel saw and
heard a majestic angel in a vision, in the 3rd year after King Cyrus
conquered Babylon—Daniel was standing on the banks of the Tigris River (Dan.
10:1-6). Some think that Daniel had a vision of Jesus because of the vision
John saw of Jesus (Rev. 1:12-16). But I disagree. The angel Daniel saw in his vision
said that he had to battle the prince of the kingdom of Persia for 21 days, and
then get help from Michael so that he could deliver God’s message to Daniel
(Dan. 10:13). So, he could not have been the Lord. Daniel was awake when he saw
this fine angel clothed in linen, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. He
saw him in a vision rather than in person. This angel of the Lord would have
opened Daniel’s mind so that he could see and hear into heaven.
Sometimes an angel of the Lord is
sent to appear in person to the one God wants to speak to, like Zechariah, the
priest, the husband of, Elizabeth. When the angel appeared to Zechariah, the
angel was standing beside the altar of incense (Lk. 1:11). The angel appeared
in physical form which brought fear upon Zechariah (Lk. 1:12). This angel was
named, Gabriel. He stands in the inner sanctuary of God (Lk. 1:19). Gabriel
would have traveled from the inner sanctuary in heaven to Jerusalem to speak to
Zechariah face to face. This same angel traveled from the presence of God to the
city of Nazareth, in Galilee, to speak to the Virgin Mary (Lk. 1:26-27).
Gabriel stepped out of heaven to Earth’s space and time to speak to Mary one-on-one.
Gabriel’s journey would have been like walking through a door, going from one realm
to another. Daniel also saw and heard Gabriel in person (Dan. 8:15-26; 9:20-27)
after seeing a prophetic vision (Dan. 8:1-14, 27).
Picture:
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[1] American
televangelist, Jack Van Impe (1931 - 2020)
[2] The Ray C.
Stedman Library (1917 – 1992)
http://server.firefighters.org/stedman/stedmandvd/index2.html
(Accessed
1/31/2025)
[3] Pedagogical
Introduction to Extra Dimensions, by Thomas G. Rizzo
https://archive.org/details/arxiv-hep-ph0409309
(Accessed
2/3/2025)
[4] Absolute space
and time
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_space_and_time
(Accessed
2/3/2025)
[5] Interdimensional
[6] Parallel universe
