A2. A Different Model
What if this universe of ours is actually the same universe that the angels are in, but we can only perceive 3 of its dimensions? Suppose this universe actually has 4 dimensions (or more, ie whatever the angels actually have) and the fourth is something that we cannot fully perceive. I would call, this extra dimension "glow". This glow is what connects everything to everything else. It's like the "ether" in the universe. It enables forces to act at a distance, because it provides the connection we cannot perceive. It would also allow the angels to travel between the planets and other bodies of the universe. Does this fit into the rest of the scenarios I have been proposing?
God would have created this universe long ago, even longer perhaps than the 15 billion years we currently think. It would have had angels in it, although there’s no info on how He put them there. Probably did it by “fiat”, ie He spoke and they happened. He could have had some long-term process of development for them, but I don’t see why that would be necessary, unless He was experimenting all along. Then, when He decides to create this Earth, He restricts us to perceive it in only 3D. It actually has more dimensions, which would explain the phenomena our physics has trouble with, eg gravity, the distinction between energy and matter, the vacuum of space, wormholes, black holes, where the hydrogen comes from, etc. Because we cannot perceive this extra dimension, we are not seeing things as they really are, any more than the character in the movie screen is perceiving the world around him. He would understand that the car he's driving has the same two dimensions that he has. He would see something when we stick our fingers into his world, but he would not see our fingers as they really are. He's only sees a slice of them and that would be a side view.
In this model, the 4th dimension is a physical thing that is totally different from length, width, and height. Yet, we can't perceive it unless we also have it, any more than the 2D guy can't perceive height unless he has it.
This model has some merit, but it would need to be developed in more detail to explain how it accommodates what we read in the Bible. Is there some mechanism where 3D can be boosted to 4D on demand so the two can interact physically? Perhaps there is a way, but I'll leave it to others at this point. I believe the logical explanation is that there are 4D properties that hold this universe together, the way that a 3D screen allows a 2D movie to be seen by a 3D audience. I would treat that mechanism separately and stick to the concept that thought is the only way to communicate between dimensions. Thought is something we can experience ourselves and thus we can accumulate some experimental data on it.
I'm in favor of trying to make the concept work with only one angel universe that includes us in it, but in a lower dimensional level. That was my initial intent. Initially, however, I settled on the concept of an auditorium with the angels in the seats and us on the stage. This visualization is analogous to us watching a 2D movie. From it I can suggest what interactions are possible in terms of what we can actually do. It all fits fairly well, but still needs more work, so let's try now to develop the alternate concept as suggested above. This model would be consistent with the observation that our 3D math cannot fully describe the projections we perceive.
Consider the following issues that must be explained in this new model:
- If angels actually lived in this universe, why can't we interact with them and perceive them at will?
- Is it because they can control something about their nature to make them invisible?
- Could we actually be sitting on an angel and never know it?
- Could we actually fly to where the angels are in some hi-tech spaceship?
- What then would be the case after this human drama is over?
- What does God mean when He says in Rev that this heaven and earth would pass away and no place will be found for them?
- Why did God create the stars for "Signs" not habitats, in Genesis 1?
- What did He mean when He said that those stars were created on the fourth day of our creation week?
My entire concept of thought as the medium whereby all this is possible, logically indicates that there must be multiple dimensions. Thought itself defies physical dimensions. (Note: When I say that there are 2D or 3D thoughts, I’m talking about how we visualize thoughts.) If these additional dimensions are also part of this 3D universe, then we should as a minimum, be able to perceive them constantly as their 3D projections. It wouldn’t seem necessary, but some folks model this with the angels located far away from this corner of this universe.
Okay, let's start with that. That fits with the idea in Daniel where Gabriel
had to take time to get back to Daniel. It fits with Christ
"ascending" into heaven. It could also fit with the idea of where the
devils were quarantined to live, but wherever that is, it has at least 4D.
In this case, how can angels be far away and interacting with us, eg watching
over Christians? Perhaps they do it all via their thoughts, afterall. Perhaps
they cannot actually see any of us, but they see and communicate with each
other. Then the only way they can know of us is via their thoughts and our
thoughts interacting. This fits in with my concept of how and why the occult
practices work the way they do. We are always transmitting something - usually
noise. They can listen in. Only the bad angels will transmit to us - via the
occult. But then, this fits my original model even better.
If this is all the same 4D universe, what then does it mean in Genesis 1, where it says that God created the stars on the fourth day? Perhaps in Genesis, God isolated our corner of that existing universe and set us up in 3D so that all we could perceive about that world around us would be in 3D, ie not the full story. What we know and perceive of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) would be the projection of what it really is. To use my original analogy, we can see visible light etc, but we can't see gravity. If we could see all the EMR out there, then perhaps we'd see what I call, "the Glow". Again, this glow is what I use to explain how forces can act at a distance without a physical connection.
Now, the Bible tells us about the New Heaven and the New Earth. Where is this located and what changes at that time, when we are all taken into heaven to be with the angels. Is the veil suddenly lifted? I guess it’s a possible scenario. I just don’t see any conclusive evidence.
The only issue, then, is whether there is a separate universe for the angels, which has more than our three dimensions or if we are living in their universe with extra dimensions, but prohibited from seeing them. I don't believe it changes the underlying logic in the model presented here. As far as I can tell, the Big Picture model presented in this work is very complete and fits both the Bible and the observable facts, so this is where I'll make my stand.
26 July 2001, updated 19 November 2001
For more on this and a response to any questions, please email any comments to nasamike@nasamike.com