“God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) And Jesus said that we
should “Seek first the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33) Also, as we come to
the penultimate chapter of the Word, John says, “I saw a new heaven and a
new earth.” (Revelation 21:1) The order is always the same: heaven first, and
then earth; first comes the internal, then comes the external. The Writings put
it like this:
It is in accordance with Divine order that a new heaven should be formed before
a new church is established on earth, for the church is both internal and external,
and the internal church makes one with the church in heaven, thus with heaven
itself; and what is internal must be formed before its external, what is external being
formed afterwards by means of its internal. (True Christian Religion 784; emphasis
added)
The Lord’s teachings must first be received in our minds and hearts (as in
heaven) before they can put into our lives and lived (so upon the earth).
It seems clear, then, that the literal wording is very significant. The internal
(heaven) must always precede and infill the external (earth). When loving,
wise and useful intentions (the heaven in our minds) precede, the external
actions which follow (the earth of our words and deeds) will be truly loving,
truly wise and truly useful.
When this is understood, arguments about whether we should say “on
earth as it is in heaven” or “as in heaven so upon the earth,” fade away – as
the darkness fades away before the dawn. Whatever our cultural background
might be, and however we recited the Lord’s Prayer as a child, we come to see
that the literal words “as in heaven, so upon the earth” (or) “on earth as it is in
heaven,” can open our minds to a deeper spiritual principle.
We come to see that these words are a divinely given prayer, instructing us
to pray that the Lord’s kingdom come, and that the Lord’s will be done – right
here on earth – in the same way that it is done in heaven. This is the truth that
transcends wording; it is the truth that can open heaven; it is the truth that can
bring heaven to earth.
As the perennial philosophy puts it, “As above, so below.”
If we understand this well, and put it into our lives, we can share it with
others in ways that can bring heaven to earth.
The Rev. Dr. Ray Silverman is Assistant Professor of Religion,
English and Moral Philosophy at Bryn Athyn College. He was
ordained in 1984 and into the second degree in 1985, and has
served congregations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Atlanta,
Georgia. He and his wife, Star (Bruner), live in Meadowbrook,
Pennsylvania. Contact: [email protected]
593