Jesus Appearance (2) - Spiritual Interjection

The Appearance of Jesus is a massive interjection of the spiritual dimension into our physical world. It is difficult to describe in human words, so we should be careful when interpreting the bible passages that describe it. The popular view that Jesus will come down from space like a bungee jumper on a skyhook is misleading. The idea that Christians will shoot into the sky like a crowd of human skyrockets fails to understand the reality that we live in.

We tend think of heaven and earth as two different places, with heaven way up there and earth way down here, and a huge gap in between. This gap is real, but the assumption that these two worlds are far apart is misleading. We live in a multi-dimensional universe in which the spiritual dimensions exist in parallel to the four-dimensional physical world. Angels can move between the spiritual and physical dimensions, but humans only see the physical side of existence.

At the ascension, Jesus appeared to go up into the air and behind a cloud. He was not shooting for a far distant planet, like an interstellar rocket. Rather, he moved back into the spiritual realm from which he had come. Because the eyes of the disciples were calibrated to see the physical world, he was seemed to go into the sky and disappear. If they could have seen into the spiritual world, they would have realised that he had simply moved across the spiritual divide into a different realm.

Jesus appears when our seeing changes. The spiritual realms are currently hidden from the people on earth. They will be be opened up for everyone to see. Paul referred to the “epiphaneia” of Jesus’ “parousia” (2 Thes 2:8). “Epiphaneia” means “manifestation. Paul was explaining that the spiritual dimensions will be blown open and be visible to everyone on earth.

The limits of our human seeing make the physical world appear bright and real. The spiritual dimension seems distant and dim to us, as it must be perceived by faith. When our seeing is changed, the physical world will fade into obscurity. As the spiritual world will come into clearer focus, we will be stunned by its glory.
Jesus does not come back to earth. The spiritual world is opened up and joined with the physical world and everyone sees the result.

Before Jesus was born as a baby, he existed with the Father and the Spirit in the spiritual realm.

He was with God in the beginning (John 1:2).

He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness (Phil 2:7).

After his resurrection, he returned to the spiritual realm from which he had come (Acts 2:32-33; Phil 2:9).

He raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the spiritual realms (Eph 1:20).

When our spiritual eyes are opened to see clearly, the spiritual dimensions of life will suddenly be real. It will seem like he has come down to us. The truth is that he has always been close; just hidden from our eyes. He has always been there, but when the curtain is opened, everyone will see the indescribable glory of his presence. When we begin to see reality clearly, Jesus will suddenly be very close. Everyone on earth will see Jesus seated on the throne at the right hand of the Father. He has always been there, but from our human perspective, it will seem like he has returned.

Jesus will appear on the stage. He has always been there, but when the curtain is pulled back, everyone will see him.