When Jesus was asked if He was a king, He gave a remarkable answer. “My kingdom is not of this world […] My kingdom belongs to another place.” (John 18:36) Apparently there is another world over which Jesus reigns. At the same time, Jesus told the people around Him: “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21) How does that work?
Two worlds?
Followers of Jesus live in two worlds at once. They are here on earth, but they also live in the ‘heavenly places’ or ‘heavenly spheres’. Paul writes in the book of Ephesians: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-6) Paul goes on to say in Philippians 3:20, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” That sounds rather cryptic, doesn’t it? How can someone be on earth and somewhere else at the same time?
Is the spiritual world a different place?
In various passages in the Bible, the spiritual world is presented as a place outside of this earthly reality. Jesus, for example, tells His disciples: “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” (John 16:28) A little earlier He had promised, “After I have prepared a place for you, I will return. Then I will take you so that you will be with Me. You will be where I am.“ (John 14:3 EASY)
God the Father does not live on earth, but somewhere else. We often refer to that place as ‘heaven’. God the Son was there too but He temporarily came to earth as a human being. “…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). When His mission was complete, He returned to heaven.
The heaven where God lives is beyond the reach of human beings. But God has on several occasions given people a glimpse through visions or dreams. When Stephen was stoned to death for his faith, God comforted him in a special way: “full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55) And in Revelation 7:11, John writes: “All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.” So in heaven, besides God, there are also angels, special creatures and deceased people.
Is the spiritual world something of the future?
When Jesus speaks of God’s Kingdom in Luke 18:29-30, He is talking about “the age to come.” This statement is echoed in Hebrews 13:14, where the writer says: “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” John also had a vision of this future city: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:1-2) So the new world comes from God, but has its destination on a renewed earth.
At the same time, the kingdom of God has already begun. Jesus says to His opponents: “If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28) Jesus also urged His disciples: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” (Matthew 6:31-33) This is not something for the future alone. Jesus wanted the Kingdom of God to be at the centre of their lives: that was more important than material things. Colossians 1:13 also describes Kingdom of God as an existing reality: “He (=God) has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son…” This is not a pie in the sky — it is a reality.
A spiritual dimension in our world
Jesus was human, but also God. His birth was announced by an angel accompanied by “a multitude of the heavenly host” (Luke 2:9-13). At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry on earth, satan tried to tempt Him to sin. When Jesus resisted these temptations, angels came to minister to Him. When He travelled through the land of Israel to tell people about the kingdom of God He backed up His words with miracles. Among other things, Jesus cast out demons and evil spirits (Matthew 8:16).
These examples show that there is no strict division between our earthly reality and the spiritual world. If we understand the spiritual world as an invisible dimension, we can also better understand that God can be in our hearts with His Spirit. Paul asks: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
However, the Bible also makes it clear to us that the spiritual world is not only good and kind. Besides the Kingdom of God, there are also evil forces at work that can influence mankind. For example, we read in Luke 22:3, “Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.” Satan incited Judas to betray Jesus.
Although we usually cannot perceive spiritual beings such as angels and demons with our senses, we sometimes notice their influence. We call this ‘supernatural phenomena’. And that reality was not only present when Jesus was on earth. Even today, the influence of the spiritual dimension on our lives is real. When we have given our lives to Jesus, His adversary the devil will be hostile to us. In Ephesians 6:11-12 we are warned about this:
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12)
The division between the material and spiritual world will be lifted
We have seen that the spiritual world is not a place you can go to. It is a spiritual dimension that is largely beyond our ability to observe. That is why the Bible uses images to describe it, to give us some idea of God’s Kingdom.
However, the spiritual reality of God and the material reality here on earth are not completely separate from one another. In fact, in the future they will completely overlap! An angel tells John: ”…the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them…” (Revelation 21:3).
To make this possible, the earth must be cleansed of evil. The people who will live with God must also be cleansed of sin. That is why the Lord Jesus came to earth. He made reconciliation possible, and at the end of time He will finally settle the score with all evil and with satan and his demons. In this way He will be able to make heaven and earth one. He will create a perfect world where God and man can live together in harmony.
It remains difficult to imagine God’s Kingdom and the spiritual dimension. Perhaps a film from the Bible Project can help you get some more understanding of this subject. But even if we do not understand how it all ‘works’, we can trust that God is with us, that He hears us when we pray to Him, and that everyone who believes in Him can be with Him for eternity.