There are many concepts with similar names such as “Kingdom of Heaven”, the afterlife “Heaven” and “Heaven on Earth”. However, I believe these concepts are all slightly different and it helps to separate them out. This is especially important when we are trying to understand what Jesus meant when he talked about the “Kingdom of Heaven”, as if we blur the different concepts together it can get confusing.

(1) Kingdom of Heaven similar to the afterlife?

Perhaps a majority of people instinctively believe in some kind of immediate afterlife as deep down they sense they are spiritual beings and that heaven is real. In addition, people who have a Near Death Experience (NDE) found their consciousness continued and they encountered spiritual beings in range of different environments.

However, while I believe such an immediate afterlife does indeed exist (although the NDEs may not be an exact representation of it), I don’t believe this is what Jesus meant by the “Kingdom of Heaven” – even thought they have similar names. We are told the Kingdom of Heaven is within us and all around us and is something we should seek to enter now. This seems different to an afterlife we enter into later when we die. So whatever our belief in an immediate afterlife, I don’t believe this is what Jesus was referring to when he talks about the “Kingdom of Heaven”.

(2) Kingdom of Heaven on Earth when Jesus returns?

A slightly different perspective put forward by Christian scholars such as NT Wright is that when we die we go into a temporary state of being with God but the real action is when Jesus returns to Earth. At that point our bodies are resurrected and then a physical heaven is created on Earth. So instead of us going up to heaven, heaven comes down to Earth, but we have to wait for Jesus’s return for that to happen. This view can also be combined with the first view with the temporary state being the immediate afterlife.

Either way, I again don’t believe it is the same as the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus speaks about. In NT Wright’s version the arrival of a physical “Heaven on Earth” is dependent on Jesus’s return. In contrast, entering he Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus teaches about is something we are urged to do now and is dependent on us doing the will of the Father. Since we are urged to do this now I believe these are different concepts.

(3) Kingdom of Heaven on Earth through political or social means?

A more secular view of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth is that it will come about when Jesus’s teachings are followed as social prescriptions. However, while the world would almost certainly be a better place if Jesus’s teachings were followed, I don’t believe this matches Jesus’s use of the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven”. Again, We are told it is within us and all around us now – which would not be possible if it is a future secular state for the world. We are also urged to enter into now – which suggests it already exists but we don’t see it. Again, this doesn’t match a future secular transformation in the world.

So although an improvement in the physical world may be a by-product of people seeking and entering the Kingdom, I don’t believe it is the Kingdom itself, which is essentially spiritual in nature.

(4) The Kingdom of Heaven available as a spiritual dimension now?

This final view of the Kingdom appears to most closely match the view put forward by Jesus. In this view the Kingdom of Heaven is available to us now as a spiritual dimension or “Kingdom” we can enter into while on Earth. In terms of its nature we know it is divine in nature as it is referred to as the “Kingdom of Heaven” or “Kingdom of God”.

The way into the Kingdom is by following the will of the Father which is by following Jesus’s teachings of unconditional love. The Kingdom of Heaven is therefore a spiritual dimension of unconditional love, God’s love. It is also a dimension of power from which we can act and see miracles occur.

Jesus tells us we are to seek it first as it is of the highest value. And when we do everything changes.