Heaven on earth
Life on this earth is not only characterised by beautiful moments. There are numerous challenges and difficulties. The Bible outlines a different future here. A future in which everything is peaceful and healthy, a future in which there is no war and death. This future kingdom has dawned on this earth with Jesus. However, only imperfectly and in a tension of already there and yet not yet there. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of God that has dawned on this earth can already show us new freedoms and perspectives.
Last Thursday, the Generation+ excursion took place. We travelled together to the Jura and immersed ourselves in the history of the Mennonites. I was really looking forward to this trip. However, since the morning of that day, I had extreme pain in my neck. So when we were on the bus for about 10 minutes, a big wish came up in me. I wished that the day was finally over. At some point I took a painkiller and so the day was bearable for me. In the end, the day was even very nice. Yes, it was so painless that I had energy to think again and so I discovered that my paternal grandparents had grown up only about 10 kilometres away as the crow flies.
Heaven on earth without suffering, death and evil
Since time immemorial, people have had the feeling that all the suffering and illness on this earth cannot simply go on like this. The deep desire to leave suffering, dying or other difficulties behind accompanies people. That is why people keep inventing new things to make life more bearable, more pleasant and more beautiful. These make life easier, but unfortunately they cannot hide the fact that life has not only sunny sides, but also many dark sides.
The wish that the whole world can enter into a state of healing is not by chance. It is man’s desire to return to the state of creation. To the state where everything coexisted peacefully. A state where no life was ended by death. A life without worries about tomorrow. The prophet Isaiah predicts a future that sounds too utopian, too far-fetched and weird. Such a future cannot be imagined.
«Then the wolf and the lamb will live together in harmony; the leopard and the goat will camp together. The calf, the lion and the fatling will become friends and a little boy will shepherd them. Cow and bear will graze together. Their cubs will rest next to each other. The lion will eat straw like the cattle. The infant plays at the otter’s loophole. Yes, an infant puts his hand into a poisonous snake’s den. In all my holy mountain no one will do evil or cause mischief, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.» (Isaiah 11:6–9 NLB). When I imagine these scenes, it sends shivers down my spine. I shudder even more when I imagine my son with the infant at the snake hole. These descriptions are too far removed from my whole experience. But actually it is nothing other than the restoration of creation. It is Eden 2.0.
Man lost this state because he wanted to be God himself. Since then, everything on earth is transient. We humans now try to give our lives a different meaning. We try to redeem ourselves. Be it through success in work, school, family or in some other way. But this burden literally crushes us humans. We do not manage to give our lives long-term meaning. Through Jesus Christ there was a new beginning. God’s kingdom is beginning on this earth. 2000 years ago, the restoration of creation began.
The first four books of the New Testament, the four Gospels, describe how Jesus intervenes in this world. The Kingdom of God begins on this earth. Heaven on earth begins, and this through God’s intervention in this world.
Jesus Christ performs various miracles there, which can be roughly classified into three broad categories. First, Jesus Christ performs healing miracles. The blind can see, the lame can walk, lepers are healed. People who had been dominated by demonic forces are freed. Secondly, Jesus breaks the laws of nature with his natural miracles. Where there was a storm before, there is calm. The sun darkens for a few hours during the day. Fishermen make the catch of a lifetime. The third type of miracle combines the previous two, they are the resurrection miracles. A girl, a boy and a man already dead for a few days are brought back to life by Jesus after their death. But Jesus Christ himself also dies and rises from the dead three days later. In this way Jesus shows once and for all that where the kingdom of God dawns, even death is overcome. Where the Kingdom of God breaks into this world, it breaks through our imagination.
Heaven on earth – already now and yet not yet
Through Jesus Christ, heaven on earth has begun, but it is not yet complete. Therefore, followers of Jesus Christ are always in the tension of already now and yet not yet.
Already now:
The Kingdom of God has already visibly dawned on earth. On the one hand, this is clearly visible in the life of Jesus Christ. With him comes the kingdom of God and much of this can be read in the Gospels. Even today, a miracle is an event that cannot be explained. But believing in miracles is frowned upon today. In our enlightened age, any supernatural intervention by God is not regarded as such. Nevertheless, there are things that natural science, but also medicine, cannot explain. People in earlier times were often accused of being naïve and simply not knowing any better. But even at the time of the New Testament, miracles were nothing ordinary. They amazed people even then and were not accepted as such by everyone. Since miracles always unhinge our surrounding and familiar environment for a moment, they are difficult for us humans to grasp.
If too much emphasis is placed on the «already» versus the «not yet», then too strong and easy a solution to problems in this world is expected. Followers of Jesus Christ who emphasise the already too much are often stunned by the suffering and tragedies that still happen on this earth.
But not yet:
It is much easier for us humans to perceive that heaven on earth has not yet been completed in all its fullness on earth. Jesus Christ himself testifies that the kingdom of God has begun on earth. In other words, the restoration of creation has begun, but he also makes it clear that the kingdom of heaven is not yet here in all its fullness. Although Jesus performed miracles, there were still sick people and people died in his time. The laws of nature are overcome by the miracles, but not simply annulled.
If this view of «not yet» is emphasised too much, then followers of Jesus put too much focus on the unchangeability of this earth. This then results in withdrawal from this evil world in which nothing can be changed anyway.
Already now and yet not yet
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have to endure this tension. Certain things cannot be explained. This can be beautifully demonstrated by one of Jesus» miraculous healings. «Crowds of sick people – blind, paralysed or crippled – lay in the halls. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. […] Jesus says to him: «Get up, take your mat and walk!» In an instant the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began to walk around. […]» (John 5:3–9 NLB). Although dozens, perhaps even hundreds of sick people were lying there, Jesus healed only one of them. Why Jesus chose just this one, we do not know and would only lead to speculation. The fact is that Jesus healed this one and left the others all lying there.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have to walk on this middle path. But this path is very tense, especially when one area of life does not correspond to the desired ideal. An unfulfilled desire for a child. A child who is bullied at school. A love relationship that leaves painful traces. The unfulfilled desire for a partner. Struggling with sexual orientation. Career aspirations that have been blocked or denied.
Three freedoms of heaven on earth
Although followers of Jesus Christ have a share in this heaven on earth, the fulfilment of it is unfortunately still imperfect. Only with the second coming of Jesus Christ will the kingdom of God as we have seen it in Isaiah fully unfold. But we do not have to be put off just like that. If successors have a share in it in the future, there are already three freedoms of this kingdom which are already unfolding here on earth. The central element is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Freedom from fear of guilt and shame
One of the most unpleasant things for us humans is to be blamed or shamed. We can become indebted to other people or be shamed by them. But we humans also stand before God as guilty. By wanting to decide for ourselves what is good and right, we put ourselves on a par with God. But man’s real goal would be to worship God and give him all the glory, instead we want this for ourselves alone.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a sign for the conscience of all people who say that Jesus died for them on the cross and paid the full penalty for their sins. As human beings, we do not deserve to have a share in this utopian kingdom described by Isaiah. But Jesus paid the debt. We humans deserved to die, but Jesus paid. Just as when we go shopping we receive a receipt as proof that we have legitimately purchased the food, so the resurrection is proof that Jesus Christ has paid the debt for all his followers. In the resurrection Jesus says: I have paid, this is enough.
Freedom from fear of death
The guilt that weighs on us humans has a fatal end. Therefore, practically all people fear death. This is most evident in all the life-sustaining measures that are invested in long before the hospital visit. The aim is to postpone and suppress death as far as possible. But no human being can escape death. However, followers of Jesus Christ have a receipt through the resurrection that proves that their debt has already been paid. «Since God’s children are human beings of flesh and blood, Jesus was also born as a human being. For only in this way could he, through his death, break the power of the devil, who had power over death. Only in this way could he free those who had been slaves to their fear of death all their lives». (Hebrews 2:14–15 NLB). For the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not merely a receipt, but also a guarantee for the own resurrection of the followers of him.
Freedom from other powers that want to enslave us
In this world, we humans are always in danger of letting ourselves be strongly taken in by a goal or a thing. These things can supposedly give us meaning and therefore partially imprison us. Yes, they possibly enslave us and we can no longer decide freely. Such possible powers can be recognition by other people, wealth, a certain idea of the future, but also pornography and many other things. But Jesus has defeated these powers. «He has erased the list of charges against us; he has taken the indictment and destroyed it by nailing it to the cross. In this way God has disarmed the rulers and powers of this world. He has publicly exposed them by triumphing over them through Christ on the cross.» (Colossians 2:14–15 NLB). This makes followers of Jesus Christ free from such powers and authorities. So in prayer we can bring these things to God and in the name of Jesus point these things away. Perhaps it also helps to do this in pairs. But it also makes sense to tackle things at the root, for example by taking the course Life in Freedom, which you can still sign up for.
Life on this earth is not only characterised by beautiful moments. There are numerous challenges and difficulties. The Bible outlines a different future here. A future in which everything is peaceful and healthy, a future in which there is no war and death. This future kingdom has dawned on this earth with Jesus. However, only imperfectly and in a tension of already there and yet not yet there. Nevertheless, the dawn of God’s kingdom on this earth can already show us new freedoms and perspectives. In Jesus Christ, followers already have a share in God’s heavenly kingdom.
Possible questions for the small group
Read Bible text: Isaiah 11:6–9; Hebrews 2:14–15
- How does the future described by Isaiah sound to you?
- How do you personally classify the miracles of Jesus Christ? Do you have a miracle that you can least classify? What do you find difficult to believe?
- How do you experience heaven on earth already now?
- Where do you not yet experience the tension of this in your life?
- Do you understand the three freedoms of heaven on earth? Can you reproduce them? Which freedom do you struggle with the most?
