As a Christian, anything to do with heavenly spaces attracts my attention. As a theologian, I developed an interest in the topic of heavenly realms and its definitions ever since I was in theology school. I took it upon myself to do further research by reading the Bible keenly and deeper, consulting different but more qualified Theologians, and having talks with pastors about their idea of what Heavenly realms mean. I managed to get enough information from my research by the end of last year. So, last week, in our online Christian forum, someone asked the meaning of the heavenly realm, and the answers were so misinforming. Since I was well-versed in the phrase “heavenly realms,” I put the misconceptions to rest with a detailed answer. So, what are heavenly realms?
Heavenly realms are spiritual spaces where both angelic and demonic activities take place. Heavenly realms are made up of God’s home called Heaven, where He lives with Jesus, Angels, and Saints, as written in Ephesians 1:20. They are also made up of the dark side where Satan and his angels reside and always plan evil as written in Ephesians 6:12.
Join me in this article as I write about what the Bible says about heavenly realms. I will also write about spiritual blessings. Read on to find out more.
What does the Bible teach about heavenly realms?
According to the Bible, heavenly realms mean both Angelic and demonic occurrences. Ephesians 1:20 is written that God raised Christ and brought Him on his right hand in the Heavenly Realms. In the same book, Ephesians 6:12, we get a description of the real struggle we go through; the fight against evil forces residing in heavenly realms—the evil forces of the authorities and rulers of a dark age with their cosmic powers. The first verse tells us that God, Jesus Christ, and all the goodness are in the heavenly realm/ world/ place. However, from the last verse, we can see that evil is also present in the heavenly realm.
However, you should not confuse heavenly realms with Heaven because Heaven is part of the heavenly realms. The heavenly realm refers to a spirit world where all spirit beings reside. On the other hand, the Bible describes Heaven as God’s home as recorded in various Bible verses like Acts 7:55. Heaven is part of the Heavenly Realms, a place where God is seated on His throne with Jesus on His right-hand side and Angels worshipping him as they tend to His saints.
Similarly, the Bible says that in this Heavenly realm, there is a home or place where the devil and his angels exist—the dark side. Even though Satan and God exist in the same heavenly realm, it does not mean Satan is God’s counterpart because NO BEING can challenge God. Not even the beings in the heavenly realm.
Also, the Bible lets us know that there is always a continuous fight taking place in the heavenly realms. The devil and his angels are always working against the plans of God and trying to destroy everything while on their dark side. The book of John 10:10 describes what these spirits from the dark side of the heavenly realms attempt to do—to steal, kill and destroy. However, God, seated on His throne in Heaven, never lets that happen.
Also, the Bible tells us that we can only fight wars from the dark side of the heavenly realms by the use of God’s weapon. In addition, while we fight these wars from heavenly realms, we are not to rely on our own power because we are powerless. We are supposed to protect ourselves with the full armor of God as written in Ephesians 6:11-17.
What does it mean to be seated in heavenly places?
To be seated in heavenly places means to share in all the divine authority of Christ, including His seat in Heaven but in a spiritual way. Before accepting Christ, we were dead spiritually in sin. We had no position in the heavenly place, but upon accepting Christ, who died for our sins and was resurrected, we also resurrected in spirit. The book of Romans 8:38-39 explains that no rulers, authorities, sin, or anything also in heavenly realms or earth can keep us apart from God. For this, we share God’s love through Christ. In expansion, Colossians 3:1 says that we share in the life of Christ, who is seated on the right-hand side of God. Therefore we share the benefit of Christ’s position in Heavenly realms, meaning we are spiritually seated with Him.
How do you enter the heavenly realms?
You can enter the heavenly realms through Christ, which is the only way. Remember that the Heavenly realms are spiritual places, and to get there, we must be in spiritual form. However, without Christ in our lives, we are spiritually dead. Meaning that we have to be resurrected spiritually to get to the realms, and that is only by accepting Jesus Christ and believing Him. It is by sharing in the benefits of Christ who died for our sins. Therefore, we should be baptized into Christ according to 1 Corinthians 12:13.
What are the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms?
There are a number of spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm listed by Paul in the book of Ephesians 6:12. The first forces of evil are the Rulers. Christians say that Rulers are the highest rank of evil forces in the heavenly realms. Some Authorities are defined as evil forces that attack believers. Lastly, cosmic powers mean the spiritual battle with a worldly nature, yet it is beyond this world.
What are the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms?
The spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms refers to the gifts Christians receive when we unite with Christ, and He redeems us. The first Spiritual blessing from the heavenly realms is to be chosen and join the sonship through Jesus Christ, as written in Ephesians 1:4-5. In this blessing, we enjoy the privilege of being predestined, and God calls all of us His Children. All believers are spiritual children of God, and He treasures us so much that He gave His son out so that He can redeem us.
The second blessing from the heavenly realms is the gift of grace from God, as written in Ephesians 1:6-8. God is so rich in kindness, grace, wisdom, and understanding, and with all that He shares with us, He had to give Christ so we could be redeemed. It takes His grace for us to be alive and access Him through prayers.
The third spiritual blessing is the forgiveness of sins. God gave us a spiritual gift by making His only son pay for all our sins—redeem us. Hence, we only have to accept Jesus and believe in Him so that our sins are forgiven because He died on the cross for us. This means that all God wanted was to save us from the death sentence that we would otherwise serve had it not been for His mercy and Christ’s sacrifice.
The fourth spiritual blessing is God uniting all heavenly things and earthly things. In Ephesians 1:9, it is written that God shared with us His secret plan through Christ. The secret plan is for God to unite all of us and make Christ our head. It was always God’s plan to unite us because He already chose us right from the beginning.
What does it mean to be blessed with all spiritual blessings?
To be blessed with all spiritual blessings could mean that you are divinely favored by God, which makes you satisfied and happy in God. To have all the spiritual blessings means that by faith, you have manifested all of the spiritual blessings into your physical life. Remember, all that happens in the physical was initiated first in spirit. Therefore by faith in God, we can claim all blessings in the spiritual world to happen in our physical world, and in that way, we are blessed with all the spiritual blessings.
As a devout Christian, I have always been passionate about the Christian faith. This inspired me to pursue a degree in Religious studies and a Masters in Theology in college. I have also been privileged to teach 4 Christian courses in a college and university. Since I am dedicated to spreading the word of God, I am actively involved in the Church. Additionally, I share his word online and cover diverse topics on the Christian faith through my platform. You can read more about me on the about us page.
