In dealing with spiritual things, one must guard against materialistic conceptions of the after life which prevailed previous to the Messianic advent. Only as associated with the physical and material is spirit cognizant of time and place. Jesus had to use these forms of speech in order to make his teachings comprehensible to the people; but on many occasions he strove to raise and enlighten their minds to a clearer spiritual understanding. God is Spirit, incomprehensible, indescribable. God is in heaven, yet God is everywhere, hence heaven is everywhere. See Matt. 6:33; Luke 17:20,21; Luke 23:43 and other passages. From these it must be evident that by the term "heaven" is meant a state or condition of existence Resurrection and final judgment were taught in Egypt centuries before the days of Moses; were in a modified form incorporated in the teachings of the Hebrews, and so passed down into the doctrines of the Christian Church. They are an appanage of the belief in immortality, and mark the boundary to which the human mind can soar. But when we come to question the why and wherefore, we are seeking a deeper revelation of God's purposes than he has been pleased to give us. John 3:13 must not be separated from its preceding verse. No one can explain or throw light on spiritual conditions without having first entered into such spirituality for himself or herself, neither can such teaching or explanation be understood or accepted by any who themselves have not so entered. This is why materialistic ideas of a future state still so universally prevail. See Eph. 4:9,10.
