Connections Between Heaven and Earth
Christ uses the phrase “earth and heaven” to refer generally to what is seen and what is unseen. “Heaven” (ouranos =heavens, sky, universe) can be generally understood as all the universe that we don’t know. The “kingdom of heaven” is discussed in detail here, but refers to all universal laws. The term “earth” in this phrase is from gê (ge), which means “the element of earth,” “land (country),” “arable land,” “the ground,” and “the world” as the opposite of the sky, but it has the general sense of the physical world that we depend up.
We have discussed the four (the spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional) keys to the symbols used in the Gospels and the development cycles based on these symbols.
However, Christ also used a larger pattern of connections to describe what is important in the world. These are a large part of his use of symbols and language. We have mentioned these connections, but we should explain the larger pattern they form.
First, Christ defines earth (the seen or known) as made up of three components: the physical world, the mental world, and the emotional world. We can describe these elements as our material bodies, our mental ideas, and our relationships with other people. Out of these three elements, we get three “connections.”
Sex connects the physical and emotional worlds.
Wealth connects the physical world and the mental world.
Society connects the mental world with the emotional world.
Notice all three of these connections are problem for people. They all create the temptations of adultery, greed, and status. All of which Christ deals with directly throughout his teaching.
If we add a four element, spirit, we get three more connections:
The Father connects the spiritual with the physical world. (This is associated with the past, the act of creation, establishing the physical world and its laws.)
The Son (as the Word) connects the spiritual with the mental world. (This is associated with the present since our minds are always working now.)
The Spirit connects the spiritual with the emotional world. (This is associated with the future, since emotions are our sense of the future.)
