If I [Jesus] go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be
also.
—John 14:3
Science
fiction gives me the ability to travel to faraway places—and I like the exotic.
In reality, Scotty can’t beam me up, I can’t travel to Mars, and I can’t live
under the ocean.
But
what if I could walk through walls? What if I could die and come back to life?
What if I could read other people’s minds, talk to animals, travel through
time, and visit the spiritual world through a hidden door?
*~*~*~*~*~*
From Seventh Dimension – The Door, a Young Adult Christian Fantasy:
“Will
the king always be with me?”
“Always.
The seventh dimension is within you.”
—Shale
Snyder and Astella, chapter thirty-seven
*~*~*~*~*~*
The seventh dimension is a place beyond time.
It’s within you and amongst the stars, but a heartbeat away and a prayer close
by in times of need. God is ever mindful of what we do and where we are. If we
feel estranged, we have moved—not God.
The
Bible says many unusual things happened on the night of Jesus’ crucifixion,
events often overlooked by the casual reader. I mention some of those strange
apparitions in The Door to draw
attention to the fact that much of what happened at the cross was supernatural.
Supernatural means what it says—unnatural to the world we can see and feel and
touch. I call it the seventh dimension.
Matthew
27:45 says from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, darkness came over all the
land.
Matthew
27:46 says Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me!” He didn’t cry out to one of his followers or his family. He cried
out to God.
When
Jesus gave up his spirit, Matthew 27:51 says the curtain of the temple was torn
in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. Tombs broke
open and dead people came out of them. After Jesus’ resurrection, they went
into Jerusalem and appeared to many people.
Those
that saw this exclaimed, “Surely he was the son of God” (Matthew 27:54).
A
violent earthquake shook the ground following Passover. An angel rolled away
the stone from the tomb and sat on it. Matthew 28:3-4 says, “His appearance was
like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards shook for fear
of him and became like dead men.”
Later
that day, Jesus met the women who had followed him and his disciples. Over and
over, he told his followers, “Do not be afraid.”
Stop
and think. Imagine you had been there. You witness two earthquakes, see
something strange in the sky, hear about the tearing of the curtain in the
Jewish temple, and are told dead people have come back to life. One of them
even appeared to you—your uncle who died five years ago. You hear rumors of an
angel appearing before the guards in the garden.
Reports
spread about several appearances of Jesus, even though you saw him die on a
cross. You witnessed a spear stuck in his side and nails driven into his hands
and feet.
In
today’s world, with all of our medical technology, how long would it take
someone to recover from that kind of injury, if it were even possible?
When
have dead people come back to life and greeted hundreds of astonished onlookers?
With the Internet, Twitter, Facebook, and around-the-clock television reporters
looking for the story of the century, we would know about it immediately.
When
has there been an eclipse associated with two earthquakes that occurred
simultaneously?
What
is the boundary between the spiritual world and the natural world? Spiritual
beings can go back and forth—humans can’t. Jesus’ resurrection is proof that a
person can come back from the dead. He was the first to be raised.
While
his disciples recognized him, he appeared strangely different. They witnessed
him travel through walls. He was no longer bound by the limitations of a human
body. Something supernatural happened—that had never happened before.
All
these things were possible because there’s a seventh dimension—a reality we
can’t see or touch or feel—a reality that is outside of time as we know it. God’s
reality is bigger than we can perceive because we are mortal.
When
sin entered the garden and tainted God’s creation, it took away the immortality
of humans. The unique relationship that man had with God in the garden ended.
Death began and time took on a different meaning. Man would count the days,
grow old, and die.
When
Jesus died, he conquered sin once and
for all. We will still suffer a physical death if the Lord tarries, but God
will resurrect us so we can live with him forever in heaven. Those who have not
received Jesus’ salvation will also suffer a physical death, but they will be
resurrected to spend an eternity in hell.
We
only have glimpses into the world of angels and demons—like we can see the
introduction to a movie, and catch scenes of what’s to come, but we can’t “see” the
movie until the movie hits theaters.
We
have visual clues into a world beyond this one—evidence that demands our
attention.
Jesus
said in Luke 17:21 that the kingdom of God is within us. Because we are made in
God’s image, his image is imprinted on us—in our synapses and in every breath
we take. We long to be known by our Creator. We are the created: loved and
molded in the Creator’s image.
Shale’s
adventure into the seventh dimension is what happens to all of us at some level
once we begin our quest for truth—a truth that is unlimited. The spirit from
beyond teaches us about things we can’t understand naturally. Science has no
answers for spiritual truths. They must be perceived spiritually.
When
we die, we leave earth and go somewhere. We don’t stay here. No human has ever
escaped the inevitable except two men in the Old Testament. In both cases,
their being “taken up” without death was to glorify God.
Martyrs
throughout history have also glorified God in their deaths—a testimony to
everyone who comes after them. We are but a vapor, here today and gone
tomorrow, but we hold the truth within us. God wants us to share that truth
with a world that needs more love—God’s love.
In
the last book of the Bible, we are given a detailed account of the seventh
dimension. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was imprisoned on the island of
Patmos. He was an old man as this vision happened many years after the
crucifixion. John was told by an angel to write down everything he saw.
John
was given a glimpse into the future. He saw many events yet to take place, mysteries,
terrifying images for which he had no words. His writings make up what is known
as the Revelation.
…
and the living one; and I [Jesus] was
dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and
Hades.
—Revelation 1:18
I
can’t do justice to understanding Revelation, but I have thought about what
certain things mean many times—the receding of the scroll, how John could see
so far into the future, why God gave him the vision, and what God wants us to
learn. Revelation is the only book in the Bible that offers a blessing to those
who read it.
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear
the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the
time is near.
—Revelation 1:3
Imagine
there is a ruler timeline for the whole universe. You’re a tiny, insignificant dot
in the year 20__. You can see only a sliver of what’s on that timeline. That’s your
reality. But the seventh dimension covers the whole timeline and keeps on going
past the edge of the ruler forwards and backwards. A ruler is only two
dimensions—but the seventh dimension is, well, who knows how many dimensions? I
chose seven because it’s the most sacred number in the Bible.
Let’s
take another example. You’re a fish in an aquarium. That is your world, perhaps
located in the corner of the living room. When you look through the glass of the aquarium, you
see a world that you don’t understand. People outside the tank seem like gods
to you. They dump flakes of fish food in your tank—they keep you alive.
Your
three‑dimensional world is only as big as the fish tank. Because you don’t
understand the outside world doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You see distorted glimpses
of it through the aquarium glass.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then
face-to‑face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have
been fully known.
— I Corinthians 13:12
Shale
was known by Jesus long before she knew who he was. She sensed there was
something she wanted, but she didn’t know what it was. She longed for something
she could not name. Have you ever felt that way?
That
longing is for Jesus Christ. Jesus was fully human and fully God. He died and
was resurrected on the third day. He now assumes his godly position in heaven.
The Messianic Jews accept Jesus for who he said he was. They call him their
Messiah. The king resides in heaven now, his abode.
In
Seventh Dimension – The Door, the birdcage descended from heaven and alighted on the king’s out-spread palm. Then he opened
the door of the cage and set the small bird free.
The
symbolism is powerful. In the same way, the king set the bird free, Jesus freed Shale.
You are that beautiful bird in a cage waiting—to be freed from sin, freed from impediments
that blind you and bind you. You’re as free as you give yourself permission to
be—free to become all God created you to be.
Don’t
place limitations on yourself—your lack of belief, your lack of trust, your
lack of faith—your lack in these areas is because of sin. Sin limits your
ability to receive love. Jesus came to set you free. That freedom is yours once
you commit your life to him.
Your
freedom is a gift—Jesus Christ will not force himself on you. He is a gentleman
in every sense of the word—a perfect gentleman. You must choose to let him into
your heart.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in
you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
—John 15:7
You
have been given everything you need to live a godly life in the person of Jesus
Christ. Take a moment and ponder where you want to spend eternity. Remember,
you’re no more than a worm, but Christ was willing to become as lowly as a worm
in order to save you.
Out
of the seventh dimension greatness visited us in the form of a king. He left
his throne and entered the abode of man. He became one of us so we could become
one of his.
In
our flesh, limited by our ability to see the supernatural, we see God through general
creation. But we must open our eyes to see. We must not let depravity steal our
joy. We must not let evilness wax our love cold. The choice to heed God’s
calling is ours.
*~*~*~*
Dear Jesus, I have sinned against you and
others. You died for me on the cross, my only way to heaven. Please come into
my heart and help me to follow you.
Thank you for your gift of salvation.
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