Photo by Nur Demirbaş
The concept of Heaven has captivated humanity for millennia. It is a place of infinite bliss, eternal life, and divine presence.
Yet, despite its ubiquity in human thought, the image of Heaven remains stubbornly elusive.
No matter how vivid our imaginations, we cannot fully comprehend or visualize the celestial realm.
Why Heaven Cannot Be Envisioned
At the core of our inability to imagine Heaven is the fundamental limitation of our senses. Some people who’ve undergone temporary death experiences have deep convictions about what they saw, but we can never know if what they saw was what they actually saw.
Our perception of the world is filtered through the five primary senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. These senses may have evolved to help us navigate and survive in the physical realm, but they are ill-equipped to grasp the nature of a spiritual existence.
By its very definition, Heaven transcends the physical world. It is a realm beyond space and time, where matter and energy as we know them do not exist. Our senses are designed to process information from the physical world, and they are, therefore, incapable of providing us with data about a realm that exists outside of our sensory experience.
Moreover, our brains are wired to process information in a linear, sequential manner. We perceive the world as a series of cause-and-effect relationships. Heaven, however, is likely to be a place where these linear patterns do not apply. The infinite nature of Heaven defies our understanding of time and space, making it impossible for our minds to construct a coherent image of it.
Photo by Victor Freitas
Paradise in the Mind: The Role of Language
Language is another tool that we use to make sense of the world around us. It is a system of symbols that represents concepts and ideas. However, language is also limited in its ability to describe the ineffable. When we try to describe Heaven, we are forced to use words that are rooted in our earthly experience. We talk about “streets of gold,” “pearly gates,” and “angelic choirs.” These images are based on our physical world and are, therefore, inadequate representations of a spiritual realm.
Furthermore, language is inherently subjective.
The same word can have different meanings for different people. When we try to describe Heaven, we are inevitably projecting our own personal beliefs and experiences onto the concept. This subjectivity further obscures our ability to create a shared image of the celestial realm.
Paradise in the Mind: The Power of Symbolism
While we cannot truly imagine Heaven, we can use symbols to represent it. Symbols are powerful tools that can evoke emotions and ideas without relying on literal representation. Religious art, for example, is filled with symbols of Heaven, such as light, water, and open spaces.
Symbols are crucial in helping us contemplate the divine and connect with our spiritual side.
However, it is important to remember that symbols are not the same as reality. They are simply representations of deeper meanings. While symbols have inspirational weight, they cannot obviously provide us with a definitive image of Heaven.
Photo by Johannes Mändle
Paradise in the Mind: The Mystery of Heaven
Ultimately, the inability to imagine Heaven is a testament to its awe-inspiring, transcendent nature. Heaven is a mystery that lies beyond the reach of human understanding. It is a place where our finite minds cannot penetrate.
This mystery is not something to be feared, however. By embracing the unknowable nature of Heaven, we can open ourselves to a deeper spiritual experience.
Working Towards Heaven
In the end, the true nature of Heaven may remain forever hidden from us. But that does not diminish its significance in our lives. Heaven can be a source of profound comfort, inspiration, and motivation, even if we cannot fully comprehend it. It is a reminder that there is something greater than ourselves, a realm of infinite possibilities waiting to be explored.
Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
– Job 11:7
Jacques LaFrance’s work, Heaven is Beyond Imagination, explores the concept of Heaven and its transcendence beyond human understanding. It is a thought-provoking piece that hinges upon the multiple testimonies of Heaven seen in NDEs.
For more information about this book, you can click this link!
- The Many Angels of Heaven: God’s Glorious Servants - September 25, 2024
- Fallen Angels: Origins of the Unforgiven Who Fell From Grace - September 12, 2024
- Paradise in the Mind: Why Heaven Cannot Be Envisioned - July 26, 2024
I guess one of the reasons why Heaven can’t be envisioned is because our minds simply cannot fathom its existence.
Cassandra says, “Some people who’ve undergone temporary death experiences have deep convictions about what they saw, but we can never know if what they saw was what they actually saw.” On that basis, we cannot trust any of the eyewitness reports in a trial. On the other hand, eyewitness testimony in a trial is worth far more than professional opinion. But multiple witnesses are preferred so their testimonies can be compared for consistency and different perspectives on the event. Also completely identical testimonies generally suggest collusion.
In Heaven Is Beyond Imagination we have exactly the support we need for the validity of these eyewitness testimonies with regard to their accounts of heaven. There is much consistency among the testimonies of those who have seen heaven, and their various views of what they saw add variety and additional details. This just gives us a greater view not a lesser one. So by the same measure as used in a court of law, we can definitely know that what they saw was what they actually saw. I suggest a reader here obtain and read Heaven Is Beyond Imagination to see for himself or herself that these testimonies are valid.
Her take on senses in heaven needs some expansion. Eyewitnesses to heaven report they do enjoy the same senses in heaven as they have on Earth, But those senses are more refined and more capable. They also say they experienced senses beyond those found on Earth.
Her note on the time dimension is accurate. Several eyewitnesses reported they do not have the words to describe their experience or their earthly minds cannot contain the knowledge they gained there. Reading Heaven Is Beyond Imagination will expand one’s understanding of time in heaven, especially the chapter on the Physics of Heaven.
The rest of her article is all right but familiarity with Heaven Is Beyond Imagination would give it a more tangible message. What she has written leaves the reader with a somewhat hopeless feeling, but God desires us to have hope. In fact, we CAN gain some understanding of heaven from the testimonies of the eyewitnesses. Jesus told several of them to go back and tell us what they saw and experienced because He wants to know and to be ready for His very soon return. We needn’t write it off as impossible to know. God wants us to know and has allowed these witnesses the evidence to show us, even with the limitations of language and the limitations of our minds. Again Cassandra needs to read Heaven Is Beyond Imagination.
I tend to view things as a scientist, not a philosopher, so I start with what the evidence shows and draw conclusions from that. When a scientist goes beyond the evidence, it is a theory which can be compared with later evidence or observation and affirmed or corrected. Theories are not truth, as actual evidence is, but as working hypotheses that may later be proven to be true or false. For example, the theory of gravity has been proven true, and the theory of the geocentric solar system has been proven false, but the theory of macroevolution has not been proven and could be true or false. The evidence at this point is tending toward the theory of macroevolution being false, but the jury is still out. Philosophers generally deal with opinions, usually based on rational thought rather than factual evidence. I find that Casandra is more like a philosopher than a scientist.
I do not use Raymond Moody’s term “near death experiences” because in most cases the individual was clinically dead (no heartbeat, no breathing, no brainwaves), not “nearly” dead. I think a better term is “temporary death experiences”. A good example is that of Don Piper, who was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident and was afterwards ignored. But 90 minutes later his heartbeat was seen resuming and he returned to life. The gentleman who observed this had trouble convincing the first responders to check Don again. He threatened to lie down on the road in their way if they didn’t check out Don again. Reluctantly they did and were surprised to find a heartbeat now. There are many other examples from Heaven Is Beyond Imagination that I could cite.