So Close to Heaven

The whole world seeks the Kingdom of Heaven—that is a fact.

Even the most ardent atheist seeks the Kingdom of Heaven; it’s just that his conception of it relates purely to the earthly realm—he seeks, so to speak, “heaven on earth.” In principle, every human being seeks heaven or God, and it doesn’t matter at all what an individual—or an entire cultural group—chooses to call it.

People seek bliss.

They seek it in religion, in esotericism, and in spiritual asceticism. They seek satisfaction for the soul in love and sex, in wealth and success, in health and sports, as well as in popularity and the accumulation of possessions. Even people who are excessively committed to environmental causes and all sorts of social issues are, in some way, trying to bring about bliss. Others go down the wrong path of drug use, but alcohol, pills, and drugs have never been the solution to human problems; they have only created millions of new problems.

King Solomon, who is described as the wisest and richest man of all time, had everything a person could ever wish for and came to the following conclusion: “For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners walk about in the streets—; before the silver cord is severed and the golden bowl is shattered, and the pitcher is broken at the spring, and the wheel falls broken into the well, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. ‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher; ‘all is vanity!’ (Ecclesiastes 12:5–8)

King Solomon did not find happiness in the things “under the sun,” where the phrase “under the sun” refers to all that is earthly and transitory.

“What benefit does a person derive from all his possessions, for which he toils under the sun?” (Eccl. 1:3)

“What has been will be again, / what has been done will be done again: / there is nothing new under the sun.” (Eccl. 1:9)

“I observed all the deeds done under the sun. The conclusion: It is all a breath of wind and a web of air.” (Eccl. 1:14)

People filled with the Holy Spirit know where bliss is to be found—namely, in the throne room of God. It is wherever the worship of the Most High takes place!

Psalm 22 says, “God dwells in the praise of His people!” So God is at home wherever people rejoice in Him and with Him and give Him glory.

King David, Solomon’s father, said it so well: “For one day in Your (God’s) courts is better than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked!” (Psalm 84:11)

So what are God’s courts, and what do people do there? This refers to the courts of God’s temple—or, in David’s time, the Tabernacle. And what do people do there? They worship God!

Bliss is total peace and inner fulfillment with joy in the tangible presence of God. When the Shekhinah* fills the space, this is the absolute pinnacle of anything a person can experience in their life. Experiencing God firsthand and feeling His holy presence cannot be described in words. It is akin to the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain, except that Moses and Elijah do not appear. Suddenly, possessed people begin to scream because the spirits within them cannot bear God’s holy presence, and all manner of illnesses vanish for the same reason. This is utter glory!

• In the Jewish religion, the Shekhinah (Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה šəchīnāh) is the “indwelling” or “dwelling place” of God in Israel, which can be understood as the embodiment of God’s presence among His people. Among the secondary meanings of the term are “rest,” “happiness,” “holiness,” or “peace”—always as attributes that characterize the sphere of influence of God’s presence and make it tangible to people. (Wikipedia)

The Anointing Breaks the Yoke! “And it shall come to pass on that day that his burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; indeed, the yoke will be shattered because of the anointing.”(Isaiah 10:27)

What does this mean? The term “the anointing” is derived from the anointing of a king or priest. In those days, a new king or priest was anointed with a special, fragrant oil; only then was the candidate confirmed in office. In the Bible, “oil” is a synonym for the Holy Spirit, and the term “the anointing” is based on this.

And now I’ll get to the point. Just as the Israelites were freed from the yoke of their enemies through the anointing of the Holy Spirit back then, so today the Spirit breaks Satan’s chains! Wherever the Holy Spirit goes, every demonic yoke is broken! Addictions, illnesses, hatred, depression, satanic bonds, etc.—everything must disappear! Where the light shines, darkness vanishes—no ifs, ands, or buts! It is the very presence of God that brings this about—without God even being specifically asked for healing.

We attend a worship service with the sole purpose of offering God our praise and thanksgiving. To ask God for something, there are other, specific worship services you can attend.

You don’t need a sermon in a worship service, because experiencing God’s presence is the best sermon there is!

Today I also know why the “anointing oil” in the Bible symbolizes the Holy Spirit—namely, because at the moment of being filled with the Spirit of God, it feels as if something is slowly being poured into you from the top of your head down to your feet, but it is not oil—it is the Spirit of God Himself!

On closer inspection, the anointing with the Holy Spirit is a fundamental prerequisite for ministry in the Kingdom of God, but it doesn’t necessarily have to happen the way I experienced it, because God doesn’t follow a set formula.

Sadly, most Christians don’t know what I’m talking about here, and that is extremely regrettable. Even many pastors have no idea what I’m talking about. They know God/Jesus only in theory, but they’ve never had a genuine encounter with the Lord of Glory. They’re simply “Christian” because their parents and grandparents were already Christian. Some even sit in church or at a church service every Sunday, sing in the choir, or are involved in other ways, yet have never truly experienced Jesus Christ. It’s like Job’s situation before he received personal guidance from God.

“I had heard of you by hearsay, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I confess my guilt and repent in dust and ashes!”(Job 42:5–6)

I am not speaking here of religion, for religion is a dead thing! Every religion is a collection of dead rituals, practiced by the spiritually dead, for the spiritually dead. Religion is the attempt to offer God something that God does not accept, just as Cain did with his fruits.(Genesis 4:3)

I’m not talking about dead religion here; I’m talking about an encounter with the One who is more alive than the entire universe put together. I’m talking about an encounter with the One who lives from eternity to eternity, and His name is Jesus Christ! (John 8:58)

How, or where, can one experience something like this? Personally, I’ve had the most powerful encounters with God’s presence at large worship gatherings (not “Christian rock concerts”) that lasted several hours, and the longer they went on, the more intensely I could feel the presence and glory of Jesus.

But I also remember a time of singing and worship in the small youth group at my church back then. As it says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”(Matthew 18:20)

There were no more than eight of us young people, and suddenly Jesus joined us in the form of the Holy Spirit. We didn’t see Him, but we felt His presence—all of us.

We were deeply moved because God’s love flowed into us and literally touched our hearts. God’s nearness also brings healing, because no sickness can withstand it! This experience is worth more to me than all the money in the world. These are priceless experiences that not even Satan himself can steal, and in times of trial, the memories of them help us stay the course and not give up.

As I’ve already noted, it’s extremely regrettable that so many Christians have never experienced a direct encounter with Jesus Christ; therefore, I would simply advise everyone to reach out for this and ask Jesus to allow them to experience His presence as well. Since this is not some cheap trinket, but rather the most precious thing in a person’s life, a humble and pure heart toward Jesus is the minimum requirement. At that moment, we stand together with the angels of heaven in God’s throne room (in spirit) and worship Him—it doesn’t get any better than that!

Keep an eye out for worship services dedicated to the worship of Jesus, and participate in them. That is my recommendation. There are also so-called “praise services” that I would rather describe as rock concerts—that’s not what I mean. While the worship of God does involve singing, it is fundamentally a quiet, awe-inspiring experience.

I would like to conclude this wonderful topic with one of my favorite Bible passages, found in the Book of Revelation, chapter 5, verses 11–14:

“And I looked, and I heard a voice of many angels around the throne and around the living creatures and the elders; and their number was ten thousand times ten thousand and a thousand times a thousand; who cried out in a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ And every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and whatever is in the sea, and all that is in them, I heard saying: “To the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power from everlasting to everlasting!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the One who lives from everlasting to everlasting.”