How do we create heaven on earth and in the spirit world?

Creating heaven on Earth and in the spirit world involves humanity's spiritual maturation and restoration to God's original design. This process requires individuals to cultivate their spirit through good deeds, faith, and the Word, ultimately establishing a world of true love where God's presence can be fully realized, both in this life and the next.

The desire for a perfect world, a "heaven on Earth," resonates deeply within the human heart. Yet, our current reality often seems far from this ideal, marked by conflict, suffering, and a pervasive sense of separation from God. This prompts us to ask: how do we bridge this gap and establish heaven not only in our earthly existence but also in the spiritual realm that awaits us?

This profound aspiration is rooted in God's original purpose for creation, which was always to build a world where humanity could live in perfect harmony with Him and with each other. Our journey towards this divine ideal involves understanding the nature of our spiritual growth, the path of restoration, and our indispensable role in bringing about this ultimate transformation.

God's Original Purpose and Humanity's Fall

God created humankind with the potential to reach perfection, to become temples of God and live fully according to His will. This state of perfected individuality would allow God to dwell within us, eradicating any desire to sin, for “your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you” (1 Corinthians 6:19). If the first human ancestors had completed their individuality free from sin and had children, they would have established a heavenly family, society, and nation. This ideal society would function like a perfected body, with all its parts working in harmonious relationship, centered on God's vertical commands. Such a world, where individuals love and steward nature, would be heaven on earth, and those living this life would transition to heaven in the spirit world.

However, this original plan was derailed by the fall of humanity. Instead of becoming divine, we became one body with Satan, inheriting a sinful nature. This led to a world of "hell on Earth," where the vertical tie to God is broken, and consequently, the horizontal ties between people are also broken. People lose awareness of God and the spirit world, failing to feel their neighbors' pain and often seeking to harm them. This fallen state on Earth inevitably creates hell in the spirit world as well. The history of humanity since the Fall has thus been God's long providence of salvation and restoration, aiming to return us to our original, sinless state.

The Process of Spiritual Growth and Resurrection

The growth of our spirit, which determines our ultimate dwelling place in the spirit world, is inherently linked to our life on Earth. Just as a baby develops in the womb to prepare for earthly life, our physical life on Earth prepares us for eternal life in the spirit world. Our spirit, like all creation, undergoes three stages of growth: formation, growth, and completion. To mature, our spirit requires "life elements" from God – His Divine Love and Word – and "vitality elements" from our physical body, supplied through our good deeds and words.

Living a good, altruistic life, practicing faith, prayer, worship, and studying truth are crucial for receiving these life elements. Conversely, immoral conduct and self-centered living prevent this growth, allowing "evil elements" to permeate the spirit. Whatever spiritual level a person attains on Earth is precisely where they will reside as a spirit person after death. God has been carrying out a process of resurrection throughout history, raising spirits from the "form spirit stage" (Old Testament era) to the "life spirit stage" (New Testament era, where believers enter Paradise through faith in Jesus Christ). As Jesus told the thief, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

The Role of the Second Advent and Divine Spirits

The complete salvation that creates heaven on Earth and in the spirit world comes with the Lord of the Second Advent. While Jesus brought spiritual salvation, the Second Advent brings salvation that is both spiritual and physical. Those who attend the Lord of the Second Advent will gain admission to the Kingdom of Heaven, which is at hand. This is the Age of Justification by Attendance, where living one's life completely in God's hands, with great effort and love, allows us to be freed from original sin and become Divine Spirits. We receive guidance to achieve this through attending the Lord and his bride. This complete restoration signifies becoming physically and spiritually one with God. The Bible speaks of those who are “born again” (John 3:3) into God’s Kingdom, emphasizing the need for a new, sinless birth that can only come from sinless Parents. Jesus, as the True Father, came to give this spiritual rebirth, and the Holy Spirit, as the True Mother, works with Him to bring forth reborn believers. The ultimate goal is to fulfill the three great blessings and create heaven on earth, enabling us to live eternally in heaven in the spirit world.

Cooperation Between Earth and Spirit World

The creation of heaven is not solely an earthly endeavor; it involves the active cooperation of those in the spirit world with those on Earth. As the Scripture states, “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). Spirits who have passed on, even those in Paradise, return to assist believers on Earth. This "returning resurrection process" allows spirits to grow to the level of Divine Spirits with the help of those living on Earth, who in turn are inspired to break down barriers and unite.

This is a virtuous cycle where spirits inspire the faithful, leading to revelations, visions, and healings. Even spirits who did not believe in Christianity or other religions will return to work with conscientious people on Earth, contributing to God's providence of restoration. This process will ultimately bring all religions and all humanity together, centering on the Savior, leading to harmony, unity, and peace. This is the fulfillment of God's universal salvation.

Achieving God's Sovereignty

The historical struggle between good and evil, often manifested in world conflicts, is also part of God's providence to establish His sovereignty. These conflicts serve as "indemnity conditions" to restore God's three blessings at various stages (formation, growth, completion). For instance, the two World Wars were providential battles where God's side (those upholding religious freedom and democracy) prevailed over Satan's side. The ultimate goal is to restore God's sovereignty over the entire world, establishing a realm where “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15).

This culminates in a final struggle, which can be fought either through armed conflict or as an internal ideological conflict to bring unification. Regardless of the form, this conflict is inevitable to harmonize the world and establish God's dominion. The fulfillment of this purpose means that this physical world cannot literally end, as God's salvation is universal and aims to restore all humanity, not just a select few. The New Testament speaks of “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13), a day when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4).

What the Two Realms Look Like When Heaven Is Built

Heaven is not manufactured by decree but grown by people, and it takes a recognisable shape in both worlds. On earth it appears first as families where husband and wife are faithful, where children are raised in the love of God, and where the elderly are honoured rather than discarded. It spreads as neighbourhoods where doors need no locks because no one covets, workplaces where authority is used to raise people rather than to control them, and nations that measure success by whom they have lifted rather than by whom they have defeated. The prophets described this concretely: each man under his own vine and fig tree with none to make him afraid, and swords beaten into ploughshares (Micah 4:3-4). Nothing in that description requires new technology; it requires people whose hearts give before they take.

In the spirit world the same character produces the environment directly. There the surroundings arise from what is inside a person, so a heart trained on earth to give lives in light, in gardens and halls of great beauty, among constant gatherings and celebration, with family across generations restored. Thought becomes action there, so intention is immediately deed: to want to be with someone is to be beside them, and to want to understand something is to grasp it quickly. The levels of that world are divided by degrees of love rather than by walls, so growth on earth decides not a verdict but an address. Those who never learned to give find themselves in the opposite conditions — darkness, confinement, hunger while watching others eat, and the old grudges still being pressed with no possibility of settlement. Neither outcome is arbitrary; each is the natural environment of the person who arrives.

Why Earth Comes First

This is why the work must be done here. The spirit world is a harvest, not a workshop, and a physical body is what makes real change possible: only on earth can a person love someone who does not love them back, forgive at genuine cost, and give from limited resources. That is why Jesus taught his followers to pray, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10), and told them that what is bound and loosed on earth carries into heaven (Matthew 18:18). A family that becomes heaven on earth simply continues as heaven when it moves; a family that never does must be repaired later at far greater cost.

Living the Principle

To create heaven on Earth and in the spirit world, we must actively participate in God's providence. This means striving for individual perfection by cultivating a spirit centered on God's love and truth, living an altruistic life for the sake of others, and continuously purifying our deeds and words. It involves recognizing the Lord of the Second Advent and working together, transcending religious and national divisions, to build a world of true love and harmony. By establishing God's family as the foundation, we lay the groundwork for a society and nation that mirrors the divine ideal, allowing God's presence to be fully realized on Earth and paving the way for eternal life in a perfected spirit world. Every day we pray and live the prayer Jesus taught: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

These answers explain the Bible in the light of the Divine Principle, the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. .

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