Through Christianity, I was taught, for most of my childhood, that being born again was as simple as asking Jesus, with faith, to save me by coming into my heart and forgiving me of my sins. But then, after experiencing Ayahuasca, I redefined both death and rebirth. And I found myself wondering if the primary perk to being born again was to facilitate the seeing of the kingdom of God. John 3:3 reads, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Back when I was a member of the non-denominational church in NC, I often attended Wednesday night Bible Study, where for weeks, the group sought out the answer to this question. What is the kingdom of God? Matthew 6:33 was the point of reference. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Presumably, “all these things,” are what’s listed in the previous verses.)
Having never found a satisfactory answer, I resumed, after many years, the quest to know.
Luke 17:20-21 reads, And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And that reminded me of what Sadhguru said about enlightenment, “You are only looking for what is within you.”
So does that mean enlightenment is the Kingdom of God?
Or is the kingdom of God enlightenment? And is enlightenment the knowledge of good and evil? And if so, is that knowledge obtained only when the seeker draws that one particular two sided card? I’m talking about the one where death is on one side and on the reverse, is rebirth. And is the reason Jesus said in John 3:3, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. I mean, to be born again, one first has to die. Right?
And then I wondered, is the Kingdom of Heaven the same thing as the Kingdom of God?
This writer says, “Speaking to the rich young ruler, Christ uses kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God interchangeably. Then Jesus said to his disciples, I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:23). In the very next verse, Christ proclaims, Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (verse 24). Jesus makes no distinction between the two terms but seems to consider them synonymous.”
So then, if the Kingdom of God is within me, and the Kingdom of Heaven is the same as the Kingdom of God, then is Heaven also within me?
Is Heaven really God and God really Heaven if their kingdoms are the same? Or, is God the kingdom within and Heaven the kingdom without? Or vice versa? Either way, if defined while acknowledging the illusion of duality, they are different but still one because within is just the flip side of the without card.
P.S. I came back to read this. It’s 12:29 am on May 9, 2025. Oh my God, I feel dizzy now.
Psss! It’s August 2, 2025 at 11:13 am. I’ve done some editing and now I feel less dizzy when reading this.