God Is Not on Earth

Despite hundreds of millions of people who believe otherwise, we know for a fact that God is in Heaven.

Jesus Told Us God Is in Heaven

None of these people have listened to Jesus. Jesus clearly says, several times, that the Father is in Heaven. The most known prayer starts out as, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.^{Matthew 6:9b cf. Luke 11:2b}

Jesus incessantly tells us where our Father is: In Heaven.

• Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.^{Matthew 5:16}
• That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.^{Matthew 5:45}
• Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.^{Matthew 5:48}
• Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.^{Matthew 6:1}
• After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.^{Matthew 6:9 cf. Luke 11:2}
• If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?^{Matthew 7:11}
• Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.^{Matthew 7:21}
• Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.^{Matthew 10:32}
• But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.^{Matthew 10:33}
• For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.^{Matthew 12:50}
• Blessed art thou, Simon Bar–jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.^{Matthew 16:17b}
• Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.^{Matthew 18:14}
• Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.^{Matthew 18:19}
• And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.^{Matthew 23:9}
• And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.^{Mark 11:25}
• But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.^{Mark 11:26}

It is critical to understand this as it pins together the truth that Jesus spoke. You should desire to be by God's side. And he is not on Earth. God is in Heaven.

If you cannot understand this, then it is impossible for you to understand the will of God as Jesus uttered it: And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.^{John 6:39-40}

Contradictions Occur if God is on Earth ^{Back to Top ↑}

Believing that God is on Earth causes so many contradictions with what Jesus has told us.

If you believe God is on Earth, then Why do listeners to his word become unworldly? Jesus says, I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.^{John 17:14} Surely if God was on Earth, then his words wouldn't cause listeners to become "not of the world." Instead, they would become more of the place where God resides.

If you believe God is on Earth, then Why does Jesus tell us to hate our own life here? If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.^{Luke 14:26} Shouldn't we be rejoicing that we are with God? Instead Jesus wants us to hate our existence here. Should you believe God is on Earth, it is impossible to understand why. But I'll tell you the truth: Jesus wants us to hate our life here because we are separated from God. If we love this life that God doesn't even dwell in, then how could we begin to love him?

If you believe God is on Earth, then Why does Jesus say, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.^{Matthew 6:19-21} Surely, if God is on Earth, we can lay up our Earthly treasures here and use them for God's good. Jesus directly discourages this. Why? Because God is not on Earth. According to God's will, nothing here matters except for our resurrection at the last day, when we join God.

If you believe God is on Earth, then Why is it God's will for you to be resurrected? Surely, bestowal of the Holy Spirit would be enough. But since God is not on Earth, we understand we need to die to be resurrected in Heaven, and thus we understand God's will for us.

If you believe God is on Earth, then How do you make sense of the Parable of the Prodigal Son? The prodigal son is in the far country. What else can the far country be except Earth? And what then does the father's household in that parable represent? It must represent where God dwells: Heaven.

If you believe God is on Earth, then Why does Jesus say, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.^{Matthew 6:24} There such a harsh separation between this Earth and God. But why? If God was on Earth, then surely we can serve God through Earth. Of course, since he is not, there is no Earthly means to serve him with. No amount of mud or sweat will persuade God to allow us to serve him.

If you believe God is on Earth, then Why does Jesus have to choose us out of this world? He says, If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.^{John 15:19} Surely if God is here, then we don't need to be chosen out of the world, and the world wouldn't hate us, because we would be one with the world and God. It is only because God isn't here that this is possible.

If you believe God is on Earth, then Why did Jesus specifically say, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.^{John 8:23b} Jesus is from a place where God is, that is why Jesus repeats what God told him. But since God isn't on Earth, Jesus knows he isn't of Earth, he is of Heaven, where his father dwells. How then could we understand this statement from him, if God is on Earth?

If you believe God is on Earth, then Why didn't Jesus do anything to stop the long term suffering of people throughout these last two millenia? Are you implying that it is God's will for people to suffer?

I can go on and on. The fact remains that God is in Heaven. We are on Earth. There is an inexplicably massive void between us that can only be covered when we take our cross and follow after Jesus.^{(Matthew 10:38.)} Only by death can we be resurrected and thus fulfill God's will as Jesus gave it to us.^{(John 6:39-40.)}

Jesus alludes to the gulf that separates us from God. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the son goes to the "far country," while his father remains at his house. There is no communication between the father and son while the son is gone from the father's presence. Why? Because the father was not in the far country where the son resided. How could they talk?

God isn't the only one who isn't on Earth. Jesus isn't here either. Jesus also alluded to this in his parables, where he gave analogies such as, For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.,^{Mark 13:34} For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.,^{Matthew 25:14} A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.^{Luke 19:12}

Let me be clear: God is not on Earth. Jesus is not on Earth. The closest you'll get are the words that Jesus spoke in the gospels, followed by the people who have the Holy Spirit. Only by death can you cross the gulf between this horrid life to living with God.

If you still believe that God is on Earth, then let me ask you one final question. Do you truly believe that God would allow sin to occur in his presence?

Regarding Omnipotence ^{Back to Top ↑}

• For an in-depth look at God's Omniscience, see God's Omniscience and the Problem of Evil

There are a few more things to comment on. Several people will say that God must be on Earth because he can see everything that we are doing, and he knows everything that we have done. These people are correct, God does have those attributes. However, that does not mean that God is on Earth. I can sit on my chair and look out my window and see the trees and grass. That does not mean I am outside: I am very clearly inside. So too is God sitting in Heaven watching us: He is not here, merely watching us to ascertain who is doing his will, as Jesus defined it for us.

Some people get incredibly mad at this very obvious teaching that Jesus stated multiple times in multiple different contexts that logically corresponds with everything else Jesus said. These people clearly do not listen to Jesus, and thus they will come up with any non-biblical excuse possible to continue to believe in a lie.

The most heinous of them will claim that anyone who is just repeating what Jesus said is doubting the full abilities of God. These people say that God can be on Earth and in Heaven at the same time, and that because Jesus doesn't say, "God isn't on Earth," that we cannot assume that God is not on Earth. This is awful logic. Using this logic, we can assume nearly anything that isn't directly denied by the prophets and Jesus about God.

For instance, we could say that God has female organs. The Bible never says that God doesn't have female genitalia, therefore it must be true! Never mind the fact that God is always referred to as male with male pronouns and responsibilities,^{(e.g. being a father)} simply because the Bible never said that God isn't a female we can believe it! After all, isn't God omnipotent? Doesn't he have the ability to be both male and female?

This is nonsense. Just as God isn't female, neither is there any valid argument from silence that says that God is on Earth. Jesus directly told us where God is at least 16 times. God is in Heaven.

Conclusion ^{Back to Top ↑}

Thus, it is quite simple. If you believe that God is on Earth, you do not listen to Jesus, and you are unable to understand God's will for us as Jesus gave it to us. This means that when you die you will not join God in Heaven because you are unable to do his will, and therefore unqualified to join him. Jesus said, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.^{Matthew 7:21}