Through baptism we are “buried” with Christ. (Col.

2:12) We cannot be buried with him unless he

is first buried (like a treasure hidden in a field). 1 Cor. 2:7, “we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a
wisdom that has been hidden” But the kingdom is so much more than wisdom and knowledge
although wisdom was with God during creation (Prov. 8:12-36)

We cannot lose sight of the analogy, “the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure”. Is God in the
kingdom of heaven or is the kingdom of heaven in God. We tend to think in physical terms such
as space and time however these are spiritual matters. We also get side tracked with the New
Jerusalem which is to come after judgment but this also is not the kingdom of heaven. So what is
the kingdom of heaven? We know God created it. We know it is spiritual not physical.

You have an omnipotent God who is everywhere and yet we cannot go where he is and no one
has seen him and lived (Ex. 33:20). You have angels who can pass for men yet are most often
invisible (Heb 13:2). You have a savior with a glorified body who can walk through walls then eat
food (Luke 24:36-42). In the pre-glorified state this same being can walk on water, raise the
dead, heal the sick and commands demons who are subject to his power.

The kingdom of heaven has more healing power than all the doctors and hospitals combined yet
this power is hardly ever accessed today. The kingdom of heaven has more firepower than an
atomic weapon as evidence at Sodom but is largely silent today. The kingdom of heaven is a
mystery.

Consider this, Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:13, “no one has EVER gone into heaven except
the Son of Man who came from heaven.” Now tell me where Elijah went, or Moses or Abraham?
Jesus was the door. So what did he mean by his statement to the thief on the cross with him
when he said, “this day you shall be with me in paradise”? Are paradise and heaven the same
thing?

Then there is John 6:39, “and this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose none of all that
he has given me but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who
looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last
day.” We know we have eternal life before us but do we really know when it starts?

Consider Heb. 9:27-28 “just as man is destined to die once and after that face judgment (not
immediately enter heaven?) so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people
and he will appear a second time not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting
for him. (if they are waiting then how can they already be with him in heaven?)

When Jesus came upon situations where people were grieving over dead loved ones why did he
repeatedly say, “She/he is only sleeping”. So at the last trumpet when the dead in Christ arise
and go up with those left alive why are the spirits of the dead not coming down in the triumphant
entry in their glorified bodies if they are already in heaven?

The kingdom of heaven is a mystery. We think we understand it but who really digs to find the
truth. We have the gospel according to Aunt Sally and a bunch of doctrines of men which cannot
stand up to the scrutiny of the word. I know for sure I haven’t figured it out. I have far more
questions than answers.

I know this concept of judgment day before heavenly mansions flies in the face of some of our
most fundamental, beloved concepts but where do those concepts come from? Do they have a
scriptural basis or is it the same stuff Santa Claus is made of (sounds good but not true)? If so,
where is the proof text