Heaven 3.0

Welcome to Heaven 3.0. I trust I grabbed your attention by using one of the most pleasant names and places known to all human kind. It would appear that I can’t go wrong writing about one of the most pleasant, yet mysterious places known throughout the history of the world. I could cross all continents, all religions, all tribes, and all tongues and find that most people have a common-ground by using the word ‘heaven’ or ‘paradise’ or the ‘hereafter’. Even though heaven would conjure up many images, we would still find that there is commonality around the thoughts and images of a peaceful destiny called heaven. Everyone loves the great death-bed stories of a friend or relative that shares about their glimpse into heaven just prior to passing away. The mere thoughts of eternal peace and rest give people hope, comfort, and joy.

One of the reasons we would find common ground around the topic of heaven is that most people have a pleasant and futuristic view of heaven. As an old saying goes “I can’t wait until I go to heaven, I just don’t want to be the first one to get there!” The reason our thoughts remain consistently pleasant is because very few people have tarnished the ‘virtual’ or ‘futuristic’ place we view as heaven. This place called heaven remains somewhat of a mystery for many people; however a very positive and hopeful type of mystery. Our view of heaven is quite the opposite of many of the other faith-on-earth elements… called religion, church, denominations, beliefs, clergy, etc. We have built many idols, false illusions, scams, earthly heroes, palaces, churches, shrines, temples, buildings, organizations, and even taken political stands over most of the ‘faith-on-earth’ elements of religion. Stepping further into the reality of our day we have even taken the one person who came from heaven (Jesus Christ) and made Him a stumbling block among most of humanity. As humans, who have touched most of the elements of religion or faith-on-earth, we can easily develop tainted views of faith-on-earth. Simply put, faith-on-earth has been modified by so many human filters, that we have become rightful skeptics who find it hard to distinguish the purest form of the truth. This has resulted in hundreds of religions and sects, and is the main reason that there are still eight ‘rival’ religious groups in the world who have a religious-war mind set. These groups will be described in a later chapter, but for now let’s focus on the common ground called heaven.

The fact that heaven has remained untarnished should be considered a mystery in and of itself. Considering that most religions want to own, claim, stake, and/or brag about their knowledge and wisdom in areas of faith, it is amazing that we have not tarnished the common image of heaven. The closest to tarnishing the image of heaven are the few people who have made false claims about when the world is coming to an end. But, even these claims have not tarnished the majority of people’s view of heaven. Heaven is the one remaining place that still provides humanity with images of hope, peace, surrealistic visions, grandeur, peace, and the ultimate meeting place with our image of God, as well as loved ones we have lost on earth.

I have purposely taken the common view of Heaven and attached it with a suffix called 3.0. I believe you will enjoy the journey and be challenged to realize that we live in a day in which knowledge and revelation are at an all-time high. The Prophet Daniel speaks of a day when knowledge would increase; while the Apostle John shares that the mystery of the Gospel would be fulfilled, as spoken by prophets such as Daniel. (Daniel 12:4; Revelation 10:10). As we are approaching these events there is no doubt that knowledge will continue to increase. In addition, the mysteries of the world will continue to unfold and have clearer meaning.

I stand amazed at the amount of attention people place on the fear towards a ‘one world’ government, the anti-Christ, and end time happenings, while seldom giving thought about the promise of God’s Kingdom. The end of time events may be true and plausible, but it should never over shadow God’s promise of His Kingdom of Heaven and praying that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Doing so, only gives more credit and mind-power to the negative side of life, and robs people of living in the strength, faith, and power of Gods promises for the very people He created in His image.

It is the intent of Heaven 3.0 to allow people to see and explore faith-on-earth in a purer form by understanding that faith-in-heaven is becoming nearer to us, and therefore easier to see. The untarnished view of heaven with increasing knowledge is already starting to allow millions of people to see and/or experience heavenly aspects of God’s Kingdom in a clearer manner. In essence, the purity of heaven along with increased knowledge, is giving us a clearer filter of who we really are in God’s Kingdom. In the process of seeing who we really are, we start to see who God ultimately made us to become.

The context of heaven 3.0 can best be explained by visualizing a reference point of what would be considered Heaven 1.0 and Heaven 2.0, which will be described in the introduction chapter.

“But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."

~ Daniel 12:4

“Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.”

~ Isaiah 49:13