The actual Kingdom of God, that for which we have been appointed, may still be barely discernible for most of us after we die. The Kingdom of God is at once an external Kingdom and an internal Kingdom. In the eons ahead of us, God will install His Person in us so He may be Present in us and through us wherever He desires throughout His creation. The Divine love of God that fills Christ will continue to be expressed in us. We shall be the temple and revelation of God, just as the Lord Jesus is today.

The joy and peace of the inner Kingdom of God will be far superior to any paradise of external delights we can envision in the present hour. God, fully understanding our immaturity in spiritual matters, holds out "Heaven" as a paradisiac environment, knowing that we find joy and peace in the idea of going to a country where all is love, beauty, peace, and joy.

It is not at all unlikely that the righteous individual, upon dying physically, will be ushered into a wonderful world of beauty and joy, there to live in bliss among relatives and acquaintances. Perhaps the musician will be provided with an instrument, the artist with a brush, the gardener with a garden. We personally believe this to be highly probable.

The incomprehensible joy of the inner Kingdom of God, of being able to bring the Presence of God to the nations of saved peoples of the earth, is not clear enough to us yet to provide a strong hope—not as much of a hope as the prospect of returning to the Garden of Eden in Heaven.

It seems true that when the righteous individual dies he enters another world that is marvelous. He would never return to the former world voluntarily. When we are able to look back on the present world, after having seen the beauty and peace of the next, we will understand we now are attempting to survive in the darkest of caverns, in the very environs of Hell.

The present world is the "valley of the shadow of death." The spirit realm of the righteous dead is Paradise.

The wicked person faces no such release. He is living in Hell now by his own choice. When he dies physically he will continue in the chains of Satan. In the present hour he is able to pull down righteous friends and relatives into the darkness he has chosen as they attempt to encourage him to serve the Lord and live righteously.

After he dies he no longer will be able to oppress the righteous. He will be placed among those who prefer the works of Satan just as he does. But then he no longer will be able to enjoy the goodness of the Lord, the light and life of his righteous relatives and friends.

To be continued.