Thursday, August 2, 2012

Mindwrap: Higher Dimensions

"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
2 Corinthians 12:2-4



Ever since man had fallen into sin, humans have dreamed of realities higher than our bleak three-dimensional existence.

Is Heaven a higher dimension? Can the spirit world be explained as a dimension removed from our universe?

But before I go on, I will lay down the basics. As the video shows, a point has zero dimensions. A line will have one. A square has two. A cube has three. We live in a world with a visible three dimensions. Our universe also experiences the dimension of Time, but this blog post only concerns itself with spatial dimensions, not temporal.

Why can we not see or interact with other higher dimensions? We can draw an analogy from the book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. In Flatland, the inhabitants are only limited to 2 dimensions. The inhabitants are circles, squares, triangles, and so are their surroundings. A 3-dimensional entity can look down on the flat land, but the inhabitants cannot look up to the higher dimensional being, so to speak. To the inhabitants, the being is godlike.

This will imply that God is probably residing in the highest dimension conceivable, or outside all dimensions, yet interacting with the lowlier dimensions. This reflects His attributes of immanence and transcendence.

There have been theories that the spirit world is simply another dimension. One theory states that living people have a fourth-dimensional spirit attached to the three-dimensional body until death. An interesting concept. I don't know if it has truth behind it or not.

Now, the idea that Heaven(or even Hell) is another dimension, or a dimension within our universe has more credence. The Russian cosmonauts always bragged on the fact that when they went to space, they did not find God. They haven't looked at other dimensions!

Some say Heaven is in another planet somewhere. The Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses believe God as an alien being of sorts. Songs like this support that theory:

"Somewhere in outer space,
God has prepared a place
For those who Him and obey.
Jesus will come again,
Although we don't know when,
The countdown is getting lower every day!

Ten and Nine,
Eight and Seven,
Six and Five and Four,
Call upon the Saviour while you may.
Three and Two,
Coming through the clouds in bright array,
The countdown is getting lower every day!"

It's a fine Sunday School song, but possibly theologically incorrect. God is not a physical alien being from another planet in space. God is a Spirit. 

So, just some of my ranting, perhaps, but I hope it made you think.

2 comments:

  1. Although the idea of a "higher/different dimension" for Heaven is an interesting thought, I do not see how it has any basis in Scripture. In passages like Isaiah 6, Revelation 4, Ezekiel 1, and innumerable other passages, the Heavens (including the Highest Heaven wherein the Lord Himself resides on His throne) are always spoken of in a three-dimensional sense. If we take the Bible at its word, then Heaven is three-dimensional.

    "If that is the case, where is Heaven located?" That is something that God has not revealed to us, and we will not truly know the answer until He brings us there.

    Have a blessed week!

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    1. We do not have anything in any language to describe extra dimensions. But the passages such as "whether in the body, I cannot tell" or "unlawful for man to speak" hints that possibly extra dimensions are in play, including the three dimensions. Anything I wrote is, however, speculation, as I admit, not a prescription.

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