By the Numbers

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

What Will Heaven Be Like?

                                What Will Heaven Be Like?
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Will we talk with angels who ministered to us on earth? Will our babies who died at birth be there? Is Heaven merely a state of mind or inactivity? Will we be real people doing things like we do here on earth? Is Jesus preparing each of us a mansion? Can our good deeds earn us a place in Heaven? Let's consider what the Bible says about each of these ideas.
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Will we talk with angels who ministered to us on earth? Angels are said to be ministering spirits to those who are saved and there are thousands (Heb. 12:22). The Bible does speak of persons seeing angels in bodily form to bring people God's message or protection (Heb. 1:7, 14; 2 Kings 6:17).  I wish I could tell of experiences I've had with good angels, but if I've had them, I didn't recognize it. But I did mention some experiences I've had with evil or fallen angels in one of my articles. I have good reasons to believe it as corresponding with what the Bible says about demons. Yes, we will be with angels in the new Heaven on the New Earth and according to the Bible we will judge them (1 Cor. 6:3).  I recommend Billy Graham's book, Angels: God's Secret Agents.  
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Will our babies who died at or after birth go to Heaven? The Bible doesn't definitely  say so perhaps because parents would then kill unwanted children thinking they sent them to Heaven. We are all born with a sin nature and told salvation comes by true faith (Ps. 51:5; Jn. 3:36). The following are reasons for believing God in mercy will save infants and those mentally incapable of understanding. (1) Isaiah 7:16 seems to teach a child is not responsible if not old enough to choose between good and evil.  (2) David, believing in the resurrection of life after death (Ps. 16:10-11), implied that he would go to his deceased infant son who would be in Heaven (2 Sam. 12:23).  (3) Jesus  seemed to say spiritually blind persons which infants would be, don't sin (John 9:41). (4) Jesus implies in Mark 10:14  that children should come to him  for of such is the kingdom of God. Heaven being the perfect place, they likely will become adults.
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Is Heaven merely a state of mind and inactivity? No!  Then we will see God's face  and all His glory (the Beatific Vision), and we'll know our sufferings were worth it. Heaven's a place of greater fulfillment and activity than we could ever imagine (John 10:10; 1 Jn. 3:2-3; Rev. 22:3-4).  It's everything good and blessed of God that we experience in our lives now and a lot more. It's God's original idea for the Garden of Eden only now without the possibility of sin and its negative consequences. While this cursed world of sin and suffering is not the best world, God's wisdom knew it is the best way to the best world. In God's plan Jesus was slain before creation (Rev. 13:8). We will have new strong spiritual bodies of flesh and bone like Jesus, and made fit for Heaven with no reason to be ashamed (I Cor. 15: 35-49). Our experiences and testing here will enable us to understand and appreciate God and our new home far more than if we had never had them. God works all things together for good to those who love God, to those called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). God's apostle Paul tells us our present suffering are nothing comparable to the glory revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).  Praise God, then we'll know it was all worthwhile!  
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Will we be real people doing things like we do here on earth? During the thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6) the Lord Jesus rules earth righteously with an iron scepter. The devil will be put in the bottomless pit, and the curse will be partially lifted, and so many unfulfilled Scriptures will be fulfilled. Peace, prosperity, good health, and knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth. People will live hundreds of years like in Methuselah's time (Gen. 5). Animals will be harmless even to children. There will be nations and rulers, and people do many of the things we do now only without all the bad stuff. Yes, people will have their own name and identity and will eat, drink, enjoy friendships, have good times with little sickness, pain, misery, boredom, or despair. Afterward Satan's let loose, there's  the final rebellion and judgment of the wicked. Then the New Jerusalem descends to the New Earth and eternity begins with no more curse. See just a few sample passages Psalms 2:6-9; Isa. 11:4-9; 59:20-61:11; Acts 1:6-7; Matt. 19:28; Rev. 20:1-15. Jesus came the first time as the Suffering Servant (Isa. 53), and will come again as the Reigning King in fulfillment of all God's promises (Isa. 54). His second coming will be as true and real as his first coming.
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Is Jesus preparing each of us a mansion in Heaven? Jesus promised to prepare us a dwelling place perfectly suited to us and that he would return for us (John 14:2-3). But a better word to describe it is a room  or apartment rather than a mansion. Our New Jerusalem home on the New Earth will be 1400 miles square with perhaps hundreds of floors each with thousands of rooms.  The landscape of the New Earth will be radically changed so that there will be no more ocean, desserts, ice caps or wasted land. The new Heaven on the New Earth will contain many people which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues (Rev. 7:9). If we consider Old Testament saints, those saved in all the ages, the tribulation, the millennium and babies who died in childbirth, it may add up to trillions of persons and far more than are in Hell. The broad road leading to destruction Jesus spoke of in John 7:13-14 may have applied before the Christian era. The devil is the loser. I'll say more about this in other articles. An eye opening through discussion of Heaven is Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven.
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Can our good deeds earn us entrance into Heaven? No! Biblical Christianity has a different conception of man, God, Heaven and life after death from other world religions. Unlike reincarnation religions, we cannot work off karma to achieve Nirvana, or loss of identity, or be absorbed into Brahman as universal energy.  And unlike Islam, Christians cannot earn their way to Paradise with more good deeds than evil deeds (Titus 3:5). In Jihad, Muslim men defending Islam by killing Jews, Christians, and others who won't submit to Islam earn men sex in Paradise with many virgins (Surah 23:102-103; 3:195; Hadith 1:35). In contrast, the Christian Bible says seek to win others to faith in Christ, and loving service (Rom. 3;23; 5:8-9; Eph. 2:8-9).

Heaven for Christians is personal fulfillment in relationship with the God they love who loved them enough to bear their sin in his death on the cross (John 3:16; Gal. 2:16, 21). Bible teaching is that God is perfect who has prepared for us a perfect sinless Heaven. God made man--meaning both man and woman--in his image with the same dignity and for relationship with him (Gen. 1:27; Gal. 3:28), and there is no sex in Heaven (Matt. 22:30).  If we sinners choose our way rather than God's way, we're exempt from God and Heaven (Gal. 5:19-25). We must trust Jesus to save us and make us acceptable to God and fit for Heaven (2 Cor. 5:17-20). For if we want our own way rather than God and his blessings, He regretfully lets us have it in the place called Hell.
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God lovingly invites everyone to accept his way for Hell is darkness, despair, and self-inflicted torment forever. Dear friends, won't you say: Lord Jesus, I'm the sinner deserving Hell, but I trust you from this moment on to be my Lord, Savior, and Guide until I go to be with You in Heaven. Thank You, dear Lord.  Now U can serve God by sharing these articles with others.

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