Now we all, with uncovered face, mirroring the Lords glory, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the spirit.
2 Corinthians 3: 18, Concordant New Testament
Do you believe in ghosts? I do for sure. As a kid growing up I had a lot of interest in ghostly happenings. The spirit world has always fascinated me. Of course, if I were to watch a good horror movie it would scare the crap out of me. Yet I was still interested. Recently the actor Russell Crowe was cast as the character "The popes exorcist." Traditionally, the Roman catholic church has taken a dim view of the occult. While acknowledging it's very existence, they have dismissed the spirit realm as that of the evil one (Satan). Yet, the new Russell Crowe film has been said to be based on true stories of people possessed by evil. If this is to be seen as true, what need then would the Pope have for an exorcist if the spirit realm was not that relevant? I have always believed that the spirit realm that surrounds us is a very real part of our lives. Our experiences on this earth are never one dimensional. In fact, research has suggested that there are indeed more than a few dimensions surrounding us. This isn't something out of star trek, but a proven fact. How does this affect us as believers? Ask yourself this question, where is heaven? In your understanding, where is it that heaven exists? Up in the sky? In space? Well, neither of these may in fact be correct. There have been a few Christian leaders who have come out to proclaim that heaven as we know it is simply another dimension adjacent to our own. Michelle Meyers, author of the book Famous In Heaven And At Home claims that the scriptures do not "Give us a GPS to heaven's location," but of a promise of a place where we will be in the Fathers presence. I tend to agree. Throughout the scriptures we're told of the beauty and wonders of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus proclaimed that He went to prepare a place for us {John 14:3}. Jesus also often used parables to describe the glories of heaven to his listeners. Jesus would obviously know where heaven was, yet His words were more to what we will experience there than its actual location. The second piece of this puzzle is the understanding of our own identity, who we truly are. Are we simply cells, flesh and blood? Or, as I believe , is our identity tied to something far greater than we have come to comprehend? We're told that we are created in Gods own image {Genesis 1:27}. Is God flesh and blood? Or, is He spirit? For whatever identity the Father has, we share with Him.
"The bible doesn't give us a GPS to heavens location, but rather, the promise of a place where we will forever worship around the throne of God. Heaven is where God is, longing to be gracious to us, and where Jesus awaits the command of the Father for His triumphant return for all who believe in Him."
Michelle Meyers ~ Famous In Heaven And At Home
Whether you believe in the words which Ms. Meyers speaks or not, most will agree that they grew up knowing heaven as a place and not a specific location. For most of my childhood, I grew up going to Sunday School classes where pictures of Jesus walking in sunlit meadows with children were common descriptions of what we would find in heaven. Of course, this was the churches version of what heaven will be like. Yet it seems the church version of heaven and the way it's described in the bible are not really too much different from each other. We're told that if we make the test, that we will be there among others who have done the same. I get it. This is the church position. So, now that we have established that there is definitely a heaven somewhere surrounding us, what exactly does that have to do with the existence of ghosts and the like? Well, what if those spirits which so many people have sworn to have seen are simply our eyes being temporarily opened to another dimension? Could it be possible that many have witnessed those from heavens dimension interacting with our own? Could you wrap your understanding around the possibility that those from heaven could interact with our physical world? Why not? You believe that a man was raised from the dead, why would this be any less possible? Whether or not you believe in the spirit dimension existence of heaven or not, it cannot be denied that there are spirits that exist around us. Not all of them need the Popes blessing to be sent away.
If, then, you should be beholding the Son of Mankind ascending where He was formerly- - -? The Spirit is that which is vivifying. The flesh is not benefitting anything. The declarations which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
John 6: 62-63, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
1 comment:
The transfiguration is a good example.
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