Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things

by Brian Zahnd

Why It Matters Here and Now Have we forgotten heaven? Bestselling author and pastor Brian Zahnd invites us to remember heaven, to experience and embrace the divine mystery of the spiritual realm in this lifetime. This slow and steady progression of a deeper Christian faith that draws us nearer to God—a "pilgrimage of the soul"—fosters in us a love for both the heavenly and the earthly. For too long, the conversation about heaven has been caught between two extremes. On one hand, there is the shallow "escapist" theology that reduces salvation to a reservation for the afterlife, unconcerned with God's good earth or issues of justice in the world. On the other hand, many of us have overcorrected, hyperfocusing on the here and now and losing sight of the spiritual reality beyond—a fatal mistake if our Christianity is to have a compelling message in the twenty-first century. Our faith must once again speak confidently and humbly about the reality of the spiritual world—the reality of unseen existences. In Unseen Existences, you'll find a fresh way of looking at heaven that pushes back against extremes, a vision for life as a pilgrimage to our true home in heaven and union with God, and encouragement to persevere through the injustices of this world with hope. Unseen Existences will help you renew your faith, expand your perspective, and re-embrace the divine mystery of heaven. Though life can be uncertain and unjust, our pilgrimage is preparing us for the world to come, where we will see Christ face-to-face. With the company of our Helper, Advocate, and Comforter, we press on, trusting he will lead us home.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity

190 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2026

About the author

Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. As the lead pastor, he is the primary preacher during our weekend services, and he oversees the direction of the church. Pastor Brian is a passionate reader of theology and philosophy, an avid hiker and mountain climber, and authority on all things Bob Dylan.

He and his wife, Peri, have three adult sons and five grandchildren. He is the author of several books, including Unconditional?, Beauty Will Save the World, A Farewell To Mars, and Water To Wine.

Reviews

[Pete]

As a reader of most of Brian Zahnd’s other books, this book left me unsatisfied. It felt like a book of disconnected essays. Zahnd said some interesting things, but I wish we could have seen where he was headed, why the order of the chapters, how it all connected to the titular topic. I was especially unclear on the middle chapters: “Under the Oaks,” “Under the Fig Tree,” and “Under the Stars.”

Each chapter just got interesting…then I turned the page and was on to the next chapter. I think particularly of the angels chapter near the end: he mostly said, What if there is more going on than we can see empirically? and we turn the page to the conclusion.

**received early access via NetGalley from the publisher**

[Steve Croft]

Brian Zahnd is a poet. An ex 'American evangelical' pastor who is deeply spiritual and takes the reader along on his faith journey in each book. His writing is such delicate prose like Eugene Petersens, that you feel like you are reading a song. His theology is mature, to me that means he has been willing to question the traditional dogma and develop his own 'heretical views' similar to NT Wright and Francis Chan. His works are quite scathing of the politically entangled American evangelicalism and fundamentalist movements.

Here are some of his quotes from this book that Im in violent agreement with:

"Christians who engage in acrimonious politics with fierce religious devotion have forgotten our citizenship is in heaven.."

"The spiritual experience called conversion, is not to be confused with the final destination, its merely the initial moment of setting out on the road of salvation. This is the problem with salvation sold cheap as a package deal in the sawdust trail of the tent revival alter call. Salvation hawked as a ticket to heaven, redeemable when you die. This then leads to theological combatants engaging in mosguided debates about whether you can lose your salvation. Salvation as a ticket is a deeply floored metaphor, Jesus never talked about tickets, but he did talk about roads"

"Ecclesiastes is an excellent example of the silly hermeneutic of; 'The bible says it, I believe it, that settles it'. A flat reading of scripture, where every verse carries equal weight and worth, and in which every verse is perfectly true in its own right makes the bible impossible.."

"In fundamentalism, spiritual growth is sacrificed on the alter of doctrinal certitude"

[Beckie Hinze]

My brother gave me this book after our mom passed away. It is full of wisdom- not many answers- but caused me to think deeply. I needed a dictionary on every page- pondering new words and new ideas. “A beautiful and robust theology of life as a pilgrimage” Sarah Bessey

[Dave Courtney]

Feels redundant to keep saying after every new release from Zahnd that this feels like his most personal and vulnerable project to date. That was true for The Wood Between the Worlds. It seems equally true for his newest, Unseen Existences. A book that arguably works to break into the present trend in Christian scholarship towards reclaiming a theology of the body and of creation and suggest that for as necessary as that reclamation has been, there is inevitably something important that gets neglected with any such paradigm shifts.

For Zahnd, this is the simple belief in heaven.

It’s not that Zahnd is looking to rewind the clock and return to a space and time before the theological giant N.T. Wright popularized and made accessible the forgotten idea that in the Christian story Heaven is in fact being brought down to earth, not us escaping earth to go to heaven.

Or, for example, to borrow a lyric from a recent collaboration between Neal Carpenter and Drew and Ellie Holcomb:
"Since when, since when is it not okay. To dream of what’s right here in the room instead of world’s away, What if the future I am after is right here today, Since when, since when is it not okay, So help me Lord, help me Lord to keep carrying on."

Zahnd is taking the heaven come to earth idea and suggesting that something happens when Christianity neglects and forgets one of it’s core and most fundamental truths: that heavenly realities nevertheless “lie beyond the human senses.” As he suggests, “At it’s core Christianity confesses a participation with the unseen existences of heaven… and sets forth the sacred paths into these unseen existences.” (page 37)

What’s interesting, and perhaps a bit more subtly intertwined, is the ways he bemoans a Christianity that has quietly taken on some of the markings of materialism and physicalism, both hallmarks of modernity. Instead of not being at home “in the land of their sojourn,” we have lost the art of life as a pilgrimage towards that mysterious true home to which we belong. Here he speaks of “the tyranny of materilialism” being made manifest in a world that has quietly become skeptical and, dare he say it, a bit ashamed of that Christian profession in an unseen realm. Here he begins to appeal against that predominant tendency in Wright to jettison all things platonic, and find instead a value in becoming comfortable with the sort of dichotomies that materialism readily finds ludicrous. Not at the expense of the created world, but as a way of keeping in view the redemptive story that holds our sacred pilgrimage in it’s hands.

We traverse this earth with a strident belief that the Divine Mystery has and does and indeed is breaking into our midst. Just because modern materialism shouldn’t lead us to bury this simple fact in favour of something more tolerable. In doing so we lose sight of the stories that wtness to this basic fact of our religious and spiritual convictions. We are taught to see religious experience as some lesser and less trustworthy and less demonstrable form of truth. And yet to sit in the company of these stories, something we know deep down, is to suggest otherwise. We need not be ashamed of the simple nature of this truth about how such conviction works and operates. Unseen Existences isn’t the same as saying it is unknowable, unencouterable, undemonstrable.

If Wright’s premise holds true, that to rip apart heaven and earth is to be left with a Christian narrative unable to speak to either, Zahnd’s claim that “When heaven is removed from our cosmology, earth loses it’s meaning” just might be the present crisis that emerges in the wake of this needed correction.

“The image of the invisible God” is indeed a premise that hinges on the invisible God being made visible in our midst. This is the shape of our sorjourn. it has always taken this shape. He gives a final chapter to his walking of the Camino de Santiago to give this a flesh and blood and tangible image, but all throughout his impassioned plea to remember the mystery that informs the journey breaks through, not just with his story but with the endless stories of those who have walked before him and us.

And yes, I can see this book sitting in that uncomfortable middle space, being at once too conservative in some of it’s theological outlook for some (how dare you take the scriptures and the death and resurrection of Jesus this seriously), while similtaneous feeling too liberally minded (how dare you speak of the divine mystery in all things). But for what it’s worth, this is nothing new for Zahnd. It is in fact part of his appeal. He critiques the Tradition he belongs to from the inside, but also is one of its biggest defenders.

Another lyric from a song that could be the soundtrack to this book. From Pilgrim Way by Stillcreek:

Verse 1

This is my comfort in affliction
That Your promise gives me life
When I’m fearful and surrounded
This I call to mind

Verse 2

Lord You’ve always been a shelter
The safest place I know
I remember what You’ve spoken
It’s my only hope

Chorus

I set Your words to a melody
I keep Your words
Right in front of me
As I walk this pilgrim way
As I walk this pilgrim way
Your statutes have been my song

Verse 3

When I look upon the wicked
Holy anger burns within
But when I rest upon Your justice
I take comfort yet again

Chorus

I set Your words to a melody
I keep Your words
Right in front of me
As I walk this pilgrim way
As I walk this pilgrim way
Your statutes have been my song

Bridge

This is how I spend my life
I remember day and night
Trusting every word You’ve said
Treasuring Your promises

Bridge

This is where I find my hope
I know You will lead me home
Following for all my life
Carried by the love of Christ

Chorus

I set Your words to a melody
I keep Your words
Right in front of me
As I walk this pilgrim way
As I walk this pilgrim way
Your statutes have been my song

Outro

Your statutes have been my song

[Lizzy Brannan]

"Our modern 'existential discontent' will not be healed unless we remember what our ancestors knew: A spiritual world underlies what we think of as the ordinary world."

Nothing stirs more wonder and hope in me than to read about the world that lies just beyond our eyes. Nothing sets my circumstantial perspective right like a glimpse of heaven. And nothing can "shake my inmost calm" when I am faced with deep theological insight into heaven and earth meeting through Jesus. Throw in some C.S. Lewis, and I'm ready for orbit. This book did all of the above.

"What is needed is a pilgrimage - a pilgrimage of the soul toward the homeland where we've never been. If our pilgrimage is true, it is a journey inspired by wonder, waymarked by beauty, and ultimately a quest for a forgotten realm called heaven."

In this gem of a book by Brian Zahnd, the reader has the opportunity to gain or regain perspective on our truest reality - the unseen existences beyond the material world. Zahnd uses his own spiritual journey, the pilgrimage of ancient and modern theologians, and scripture to point the reader toward beholding the wonder and mystery of allowing God to dazzle his children gradually through the ordinary. His book gives us charge to go "further up and further in" (C.S. Lewis), deepening our theology, finding our true identity, and sharpening our senses to the spiritual world, the "unseen existences"(Walt Whitman).

"We often describe places of exceptional natural beauty as 'heaven on earth'. And I suspect that in this casual remark we are saying more than we know."

I've followed Brian Zahnd on social media before I knew he was a writer. I found his theology and his story to be relatable. In some capacity, I have been a part of nearly every denomination. I, too, have grown tired of "kitsch" churches that dish out platitudes during worship. It is refreshing to see a hunger rising for theological depth in this generation. Zahnd is not afraid to talk about what the church is missing. It isn't numbers. It isn't talent. And it definitely isn't willing servants. It's depth. It's a return to our roots. It's wonder. And it's perspective on the divine mysteries. We have Jesus, but we are missing Him as a bridge between worlds. I have studied several texts on this concept of "unseen existences", including how the Hebrews, the ancient saints, and Jesus viewed it. But in this book, Brian connects this to daily life. The chapter on the tears of Jesus specifically impacted me. I also found the chapter, Dazzle Gradually, to be a fresh view of God's manner in revealing Himself. I'm thankful to have read this dense, yet completely accessible work.

Thank you NetGalley, Brian Zahnd, and Intervarsity Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Joshua Langford]

Completing this review for Brian Zahnd’s latest book, which I received from #NetGalley, has been a challenge. In the macro sense, the purpose or message of this book was uncertain and lacked unity. In the micro, I really enjoyed the experience of reading the book, and it caused me to think deeply about the metaphor of being a pilgrim toward heaven.

What I enjoyed about Unseen Existences:
-Zahnd writes in a conversational and educational way that doesn’t come off as a sermon masquerading as a chapter in a book, which is a real problem in Christian books, at least in my opinion. Each chapter truly felt like a well thought out essay.
-I loved his use of sources from throughout Christian history and popular culture. He referred to the Church Fathers and Dale Allison and C.S. Lewis—and also Pink Floyd and Bob Dylon and T.S. Eliot and Dostoevsky. This book felt very universal.
-Anyone reading this book, even non-Christians, I feel can take something away from the wisdom throughout.

What I didn’t get:
-I don’t think this is a Brian Zahnd problem necessarily, but I didn’t fully understand the connections between each chapter and how those connections led to an overall theme. The book felt more like a collection of essays on similar themes. But I guess that could be my expectations when I started the book.

With all that said, I definitely recommend this book. However, I would argue for reading the book almost as one would a devotional, one chapter a day. Take the message from that chapter into the world with you each morning and let it help you on your daily pilgrimage.

#UnseenExistences #NetGalley

[Joel Lakadosch]

A sorely needed book, one that focuses on wonder and mystery, on seeing God hidden in the world. Deep, substantial stuff here. Not deep as in hard to read, but deep as in “wow, that’s amazing. I just felt my heart and mind expand.” These are the kind of books we need more of when it comes to faith. Too many books reduce God to a kind of suburban Dad, how to balance a checkbook and have a good marriage, raise kids, etc. Which is good, but there are so many books about them. What we need is mystery and wonder, to see beyond the every day into the Mysterium Tremendum.

We need to stand before this immense mystery and tremble, and be lost in it. To quote Tom Hanks from Joe Vs. the Volcano when he saw the giant moon rise and thought he was about to die, said, “thank you for my life, I never knew how big it was.”

Brian’s book helps us realize and explore this big, big life where the mystery and the wonder lie hidden sometimes. Those of us with a mystic’s heart will appreciate this book, while others may begin to develop a mystic’s heart.

The theme of pilgrimage is key here too. Life as pilgrimage. Theology and even philosophy as wonder along the way. The God we meet at first, though the same all along, grows within us along the way, changing us, deepening our experience of Him and life. This is pilgrimage. Brian breaks all these themes open beautifully and in the end, you have encountered, in a small way, some of the mystery and wonder we need. Some of the chapters are just amazing. Jaw dropping. In the last chapter he kinda brings it all together and that chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

[Michael Culbertson]

Drawing on retellings of beloved biblical scenes as well as critical junctures from his own life, Brian Zahnd invites readers beyond the material world toward the heavenly, and thereby into the presence of God. The book seems to be organized around a set of issues and insights Zahnd encountered on his own spiritual journey as a pastor, formed in the Jesus movement, passing through the charismatic movement and flashy evangelicalism toward greater depth in liturgy, philosophy, and theology. Topics include openness to realities beyond the material world, cultivation of wonder (particularly through observing nature), appreciation of the spiritual life as a journey toward God, practice of patience and contemplation, coming to terms with the progressive nature of divine revelation, taking comfort in the two natures of Christ, and speculation on angels.

This book may work well for readers who share a similar cultural and church background with Zahnd. For me, formed in a different era and in a different church tradition, I had difficulty connecting with Zahnd’s narrative. I also wished there had been a stronger throughline connecting the chapters—while there were some recurring themes (rejecting materialism, cultivating wonder), each chapter seemed to take on a distinct topic without building on one another.

Thank you to InterVarsity Press and NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book.

[sir chester snickerdoodle]

Since BZ is my favorite living mystic and mentor (and not to mention a fellow enneagram 4) and I have season tickets to anything he even thinks about writing, it’s no surprise I devoured and savored every syllable of this book in a day.

I enjoyed this more than anything he’s written (and that’s saying something). There’s a tear-inducing beauty throughout. As someone who’s disillusioned with western christianity, it was a sigh of ecstasy hearing a pastoral voice uncontaminated by the schlamtz and sanctimonious pomposities of Americanized church speak.

When he spoke of the travelers on the road to Emmaus and Abraham sitting under the oaks, my heart burned within me anew. While I read on my lunch break at work, my eyes stung with tears and something was rekindled deep inside in the innermost crevices of my being that’s been dark for some time now.

This is not the kind of book that is read and discarded to the dust of a bookshelf. This is a treasure trove I will
savor again and again and again and again.

[Elsa]

This book leans heavily on philosophical and theological traditions, frequently drawing from thinkers like C. S. Lewis and engaging the ideas of writers and theologians throughout history. It feels like a conversation with those who came before him, with illustrations and reflections pulled from literature, film, theology, and history.

In its commentary of modern Christianity, the book pushes back against the self-help style theology that often permeates modern evangelicalism, as well as the tendency to fuse Christian identity with partisan politics.

The book returns again and again to the image of the Christian life as a pilgrimage, and the writing is exquisite. It is dense in the best way, filled with biblical, historical, and philosophical references. This is a book worth lingering over.

[Ian]

Zahnd takes us on a pilgrimage of re-discovering heaven that is all around us. He lifts the veil on the mysteries and wonder that we can experience here right now.

He draws us back to Scripture to bring back heaven into both our theology and our everyday. Using philosophy, literature and his own personal spiritual walk he invites us to join him in this pilgrimage. Zahnd had his own awakening in the last decade or so, realising that heaven got lost in mainstream Christendom. This confused him due to its centrality in Scripture and in Jesus' Kingdom messages in the gospels.

This is a delight and a much needed awakening for the church. I encourage you to get yourself a copy.

I had received an early ebook copy from IVP via NetGalley, however, I also elected to buy my own copy on release date. Neither of these actions have had any influence on my review.

[Kelli]

4 ⭐️ with a disclaimer…

I do not agree with everything stated here. Pages 102-103 had some unbiblical statements about divinity and how it relates to humanity. But a well-grounded Christian could read through it and ignore the implications without it tainting the rest of the wonderful points made.

Also- his random and out of place rants against MAGA and trump did not further his points- they were unnecessary IMO. Seemed more like a check box to mark.

[Stephen Schmidt]

Not what I was expecting. It was more a soulful examination of the pilgrimage of life, rather than a look at our invisible companions as I'd anticipated. But I got a deeper look into Zahnd's life and walked away with a greater respect for him.

[Jamin Bradley]

It has been a good long while since I enjoyed a pastoral work as much as this one. Its depths are both spiritual and theological, a rare blend to come across these days. I’ve been considering running a book club around it at church. Highly recommend!

[Gail]

A bit of repetitive stuff if you have read any of his other books and/or listened to him speak. But, overall I really enjoyed it and there were some thought provoking things in it. Read it out loud to Gary.

[Jerry Catt]

Just WOW

Seriously just WOW! Pastor Zahnd has scored again with his transparent storytelling and biblical insights. His teaching has given me comfort and encouragement as I walk this world of the seen and unseen learning that truly ‘perfect love casts out fear.’

[Nathan Krupke]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Brian Zahnd. He helps the reader consider how we might see what we don’t see through a variety of scriptures and others who have traveled the path before him.

[Steven Untalan]

Brian Zahnd is AMAZING.

Second book I’ve read authored by him and I urge any follower of Jesus to read this book. 🙏🏽

[Fernando Soto-Dupuy]

Como todo lo de BZ, excelente. Esperaba más sobre la explicación de lo celestial.

[josh phillips]

I feel like I would've enjoyed the book more than the audio book, struggled to get into the rhythm of it. That being said, some excellent quotes and points made in this book.

[Shawn Small]

Another amazing book from Zahand. A powerful, thoughtful exploration of our journey toward the Eternal.

[Chip Watts]

The right book at the right time.
Just what I needed, right when I needed it.
Chapter two especially…

[Laura Griffith]

4.5⭐️ Really like Zahnd’s honest and sincere tone. Lots of respect for him after this read!

[John Chenoweth]

An important book for our Age

From chapter one, in which Brian Zahnd declares that our Age is a material one, he describes the existence of a spiritual realm that exists alongside the material. I was convinced. He shares from the perspective of a lifetime as a pilgrim, and as a pastor who has wrestled with many of the areas I know well. Some of the chapters are covering difficult areas, but his lucid writing and explanations always warmed my spirit.
This book is easily the best book I have read this year. I highly recommend it.

[Sarah M. Shakour]

Brian Zahnd wrote on my favorite topic: the triumphal hope for the restoration of all things!

Through this book, I felt like he was personally inviting me to slow down and reconnect with God’s presence as a re-enchanting of the divine mystery.