Heaven and Parallel Universes

As we Christians continue to celebrate the 40 days of Easter we rejoice in the hope we now have of heaven and the resurrection because of Christ's return from the grave. Biblical writers speak, however, of many heavens. Are these many heavens what moderns mean by multiple universes? Is our reference to the hope of heaven a reference to another universe? Or is all this speculation mere fantasy?

"The idea of multiple universes is more than a fantastic invention—it appears naturally within several scientific theories, and deserves to be taken seriously," stated Aurelien Barrau, a French particle physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) recently. If you are not a nuclear physicist with multiple degrees and well acquainted with the arcane and mysterious language of this group, do not try to read the following link: http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/31860. Rather, suffice it to note that there is much speculation about multiverses and parallel universes or many-worlds in our day.

Barrau concludes, "It could well be that the whole idea of multiple universes is misleading. It could well be that the discovery of the most fundamental laws of physics will make those parallel worlds totally obsolete in a few years. It could well be that with the multiverse, science is just entering a "no through road". Prudence is mandatory when physics tells us about invisible spaces. But it could also very well be that we are facing a deep change of paradigm that revolutionizes our understanding of nature and opens new fields of possible scientific thought. Because they lie on the border of science, these models are dangerous, but they offer the extraordinary possibility of constructive interference with other kinds of human knowledge. The multiverse is a risky thought—but, then again, let's not forget that discovering new worlds has always been risky."

A "deep change of paradigm" . . . and  "the extraordinary possibility of constructive interference with other kinds of human knowledge." What do those statements suggest?

• The idea that our universe is all that exists might have to change?
• History, philosophy, theology and even the arts will have to rethink their premises? 

Well, maybe not theology, at least not Biblical theology. Listen to the Apostle Paul—

 "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

The apostle's 'third heaven' refers to the view of the universe common in Paul's day—but certainly not based on science as we now know it. In that onion-peel view, we live in the lowest heaven with its seemingly solid firmament above. Above that is a great sea of water that once spilled down to engulf the world in a flood (Genesis 6). Beyond that is the third heaven where God's throne is and where the heavenly beings dwell.

Paul insists that he was 'caught up' to that third heaven. This probably refers to his experience on the road to Damascus when Christ appeared to him (Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-11). He was so focused on his experience that he was unaware whether it was a vision or an actual transportation to that heaven.

The Hebrew word for heaven is Shamayim. The word literally means the sky, that vaulted roof of earth (Isaiah 40:22), the first heaven. Beyond it are the second and third heavens, as indicated above. To speak about this the Greek translation of the O.T. and the Greek N.T. itself had to borrow a word for sky or air, Ouranus. The Latinized form for that word is Uranus, the mythological first god whose wife was Gaia, mother earth. The English word 'heaven' refers to the sky, but it can also refer to that place of bliss, contentment and joy where the favored departed dwell.

What does Paul's witness, along with other Biblical testimonies about heaven (Rev. 4:1; Luke 2:15; Luke 23:43; Matt. 17:1-11 and the huge host of other passages) tell us believers today? Obviously there is a whole lot more to God's creation than we might imagine. And that there is more 'interference' with our universe by beings from the other universes or heavens than we usually think about. Consider Jacob's vision of angelic messengers who move back and forth between heaven and earth as another example (Genesis 18:1-2; Genesis 28:10-22).

We shall have to wait and see whether quantum physics will ever be able to prove conclusively that there are many other worlds. From a Biblical viewpoint we already know that there are. We have learned to call them the heavens. "Behold, to the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it" (Deut. 10:14). This same Lord has come among us to redeem us from death. He is the man from heaven whose image we shall bear when death is finally swallowed up in victory and all things are made new (1 Cor. 15:47-58; Rev. 21:1-5).