uage, for it was the only language which she whom he addressed
would understand; and although, literally interpreted, it conveyed
the idea of a local heaven on high, yet at the same time it
conveyed, and in the only way intelligible to her, all the truth
that was important, namely, that when he disappeared he would
still be living, and be, furthermore, with God.

When Christ finally went from his disciples, he seemed to them to
rise and vanish towards the clouds. This would confirm their
previous material conceptions, and the old forms of speech would
be handed down, strengthened by these phenomena, misunderstood in
themselves and exaggerated in their importance. We generally speak
now of God's "throne," of "heaven," as situated far away in the
blue ether; we point upward to the world of bliss, and say, There
the celestial hosannas roll; there the happy ones, the unforgotten
ones of our love, wait to welcome us. These forms of speech are
entirely natural; they are harmless; they aid in giving
definiteness to our thoughts and feelings, and it is well to
continue their use; it would be difficult to express our thoughts
without them. However, we must understand that they are not
strictly and exclusively true. God is everywhere; and wherever he
is there is heaven to the spirits that are like him and,
consequently, see him and enjoy his ineffable blessedness.

Jesus sometimes uses the phrase "kingdom of heaven" as synonymous
with the Divine will, the spiritual principles or laws which he
was inspired to proclaim. Many of his parables were spoken to
illustrate the diffusive power and the incomparable value of the
truth he taught, as when he said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a
grain of mustard seed, which becomes a great tree;" it is "like
unto leaven, which a woman put in two measures of meal until the
whole was leavened;" it is "like a treasure hid in a field," or
"like a goodly pearl of great price, which, a man finding, he goes
and sells all that he has and buys it." In these examples "the
kingdom of heaven" is plainly a personification of the revealed
will of God, the true law of salvation and eternal life. In answer
to the question why he spoke so many things to the people in
parables, Jesus said to his disciples, "Because it is given unto
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but unto them
it is not given;" that is, You are prepared to understand the
hitherto concealed truths of God's government, if