“God made the world to enlarge heaven.” Manuscript 78, 1901. In terms of physical distance, heaven is very far. No man can tell how many kilometers away from earth are those celestial courts above! No estimations or speculations can be close to the truth, for the word of God has not revealed this to us. In our world we know that distance affects many operations. Even now when transport technology is advanced, people may have to wait for days for a person to arrive from a far country to conduct a meeting, seminar, or some kind of task requiring his personal presence. In this article, we look at whether the physical distance between heaven and earth affects the way God works with us. We will be inspired to see that it is possible to live in Him in heaven, even while we are here on earth.
From the beginning, distance was no issue to limit heaven’s access to this world. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” Genesis 3:8. Before the entrance of sin, the Lord often personally visited the holy pair in Eden and they had the joy of communing with their Creator and enjoyed His presence in the garden. The inspired writings attest also to this fact, that in their innocence, God Himself and His angels made frequent visits to see them.
Something disrupted that sacred communion and harmony. Through disobedience, sin entered. Thus, a great gulf was fixed between heaven and earth. “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you.” Isaiah 59:2. The earth was cut off from heaven and would remain utterly desolate, and ripe for its final destruction. Thanks to God, infinite wisdom devised a plan by which man could be reconciled to his Maker and the communion that he had lost would be restored. A life of probation was granted during which the image of God, which was lost through transgression, could be restored in man. The beautiful image of the way God would reconnect the world to Himself was shown in a dream to the patriarch Jacob on the night he fled from home.
“And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.” Genesis 28:11–13
“In the vision the plan of redemption was presented to Jacob, not fully, but in such parts as were essential to him at that time. The mystic ladder revealed to him in his dream was the same to which Christ referred in His conversation with Nathaniel. Said He, ‘Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.’ John 1:51. Up to the time of man’s rebellion against the government of God,
there had been free communication between God and man. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker. . . . The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed medium of communication. Had He not with His own merits bridged the gulf that sin had made, the ministering angels could have held no communion with fallen man. Christ connects man in his weakness and helplessness with the source of infinite power.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 184
Angels are “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” Hebrews 1:14
Christ Jesus is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8. All people that lived before His condescension found salvation by faith in Him as the coming Deliverer. To such, Christ identified (and still does) His interests with their interests and worked for their uplifting. He would be present personally, or by means of His holy angels. When the three Hebrew captives in the Babylonian realm were thrown in the fiery furnace, kindled seven times hotter than usual, He [Christ] came down personally to “suffer” with His faithful servants. As He walked with them in the furnace, the fire lost its power and could not do its destructive work before Him who created it. The heathen king was astonished! In haste he rose up; inquiring of his counsellors, to whom he said: “Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered. . . True, O king. [Then] He answered. . . Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire. . . and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:24–25. When Daniel himself refused to have his interaction with His Creator disrupted, he was thrown into a den of lions. What happened? God sent His angel to seal the mouths of the lions and they hurt him not (Daniel 6:22). “Heaven is very near those who suffer for righteousness’ sake.” –Prophets and Kings, p. 545
How can we be thus connected with heaven? It is through prayer. Through prayer we are able to commune with heaven and obtain answers to our needs.
Daniel recounts his experience: “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.” Daniel 9:21. Daniel did not have time to finish his prayer before he was interrupted! Just as he began to pray, a command was given and Gabriel the mighty angel who fills the position from which Lucifer fell was sent in answer to Daniel’s prayer.
“From the time it takes to read Daniel’s prayer down to the point at which Gabriel made his appearance upon the scene, the reader can judge of the speed with which this messenger was dispatched from the court of heaven to this servant of God. No wonder that Daniel says he was caused to fly swiftly, or that Ezekiel compares the movements of these celestial beings to a flash of lightning. (Ezekiel 1:14).” –Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, p. 76
The question of distance does not arise with these divine beings. They could travel from heaven to earth in moments to execute the command of their Creator. What a wonderful and solemn thought!
“To the worker for God the record of these angel visits should bring strength and courage. . . . Heaven is brought near to earth by that mystic ladder, the base of which is firmly planted on the earth, while the topmost round reaches the throne of the Infinite. Angels are constantly ascending and descending this ladder of shining brightness, bearing the prayers of the needy and distressed to the Father above, and bringing blessing and hope, courage and help, to the children of men. These angels of light create a heavenly atmosphere about the soul, lifting us toward the unseen and the eternal.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 153
Prayer must be done in faith. “Faith is trusting God—believing that He loves us and knows best what is for our good. Thus, instead of our own, it leads us to choose His way. In place of our ignorance, it accepts His wisdom; in place of our weakness, His strength; in place of our sinfulness, His righteousness.” –Education, p. 253
“Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17. What must we pray for, then?
“For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for a Christlike temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift He has promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive, and return thanks to God that we have received. . . . Through faith in Christ, every deficiency of character may be supplied, every defilement cleansed, every fault corrected, every excellence developed. . . .
“Many, even in their seasons of devotion, fail of receiving the blessing of real communion with God. They are in too great haste. With hurried steps they press through the circle of Christ’s loving presence, pausing perhaps a moment within the sacred precincts, but not waiting for counsel. They have no time to remain with the divine Teacher. With their burdens they return to their work. . . .
“They must give themselves time to think, to pray, to wait upon God for renewal of physical, mental, and spiritual power. They need the uplifting influence of His Spirit. Receiving this, they will be quickened by fresh life. The wearied frame and tired brain will be refreshed, the burdened heart will be lightened.
“Not a pause for a moment in His presence, but personal contact with Christ, to sit down in companionship with Him—this is our need.” – Ibid., p. 258, 257,260–261
Christ said: “Abide in Me and I in you.” John 15:4. So great is this mutual connection! If we are in Him; where is He now? It is said of the Father that “when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:20. If we are in Him, He then, “made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6. His second coming will just be the completion of a process. We have been with Him through His Spirit, through lifelong communion and obedience; we then will have the privilege to live physically with Him in heaven.
How many times have we been in heaven? Countless times! “Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.” –Steps to Christ, p. 93. It means that while in prayer we are carried into the presence of the Father who is in heaven. The more often we pray, the more we visit heaven for our needed supplies.
“We are seldom, in all respects, placed in the same position twice. We continually have new scenes and new trials to pass through, where past experience cannot be a sufficient guide. We must have the continual light that comes from God.” –The Ministry of Healing, p. 509
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.” Joshua 1:8. Some herbivores are ruminant animals. These offer us a good example. After they gather their food during the day, they busy themselves regurgitating at night. As the sun sets in the western horizon they retire to rest in their places. Yet at night while lying down, you can hear the sound of chewing. They are busy chewing the cud! Nature is a good lesson book. We too can train ourselves to “chew the cud” at night. Our thoughts and dreams would be glorious and our atmosphere beautiful.
In Revelation 8:1 it is said that “there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” In prophetic time this is about seven days. This will be the time taken for our journey to heaven. “We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass.” –Early Writings, p. 16. This will be the last act of God to bring us physically to Himself. We have been with Him all along in heaven spiritually; we have lived a life of heaven on earth, now time is ripe for us to be physically with Him for eternity. Heaven is near indeed! Let us put all our efforts to prepare for our journey to heaven. Amen.
Joel Msiska, Malawi