Question: “What is meant by 'Heaven' in the Bible?”
'Abdu'l-Baha: “Christ said that nothing could ascend into Heaven except that which came down from Heaven. He also said, 'I came from Heaven and will return to Heaven,' and 'The Son of Man is in Heaven.' He said this while still upon the earth and notwithstanding the fact that He had been born of Mary. There is no doubt Christ came from Heaven and always was in Heaven, but when He spoke He did not mean the literal sky. What then is meant by 'Heaven'? Science proves that there is no heaven or sky, but all is limitless space and one universe. In this limitless space the heavenly spheres revolve and have their orbits. But the 'Heaven' of Christ is that invisible world which is beyond the sight and comprehension of mere man. It is the spiritual condition. Therefore, the 'Heaven' of Christ is the Will of God. The Sun of that Heaven will never set. In it the Moon and Stars are always shining. It is the limitless Kingdom of God. It is sanctified from all place. Christ is always there. There Elijah and the Holy Prophets live eternally. It is sanctified from all comprehension. The Jews were deprived because they could not understand this spiritual condition.”
“The 'heaven' of the material world is something else. It is the sky overhead in which the clouds move. This heaven is ‘up' to us and 'down' to those upon the other side of the earth, while vice versa their material heaven is 'down' to us. In the Heavenly Book it is said that the ’stars will fall from heaven.' Where will they fall? Science proves that nearly all the stars are larger than the earth. Where will they find room to fall?”
“When the heart is pure and filled with the light of the Spirit, we will know that we are in the true 'Heaven.' Christ came from Heaven, and still the Jews are sleeping. The Kingdom of Heaven is within your soul. Let all people see that you have the Light, that they may recognize something in you which they themselves do not possess.” (‘Abdu’l-Baha, a table talk recorded by Julia M. Grundy in 1905, ‘Ten Days In the Light of ‘Akka’, Baha’i Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill., 1979)
