A huge misconception ive noticed ever since ive started reading the bible.

Jamdoc said:

It is a RAMPANT teaching within many mainline churches and I mean from very well known pastors that teach something like that view.
It might not be EXACLT that view but they will say something like
"You'll be so overwhelmed with Joy seeing Jesus that you won't even WANT to do anything but sing to Him"
they extend the praising in Revelation, particularly Revelation 4, 5, 7, and 15 into eternity.
It's easy to believe what they teach because they ARE getting the idea from Revelation 4, 5, 7, and 15 and from some of the Psalms.

I'm constantly confronted with that view and it does have enough biblical evidence from those passages and psalms that I start believing it, and I get overwhelmingly depressed about it, that God would change His mind and His plan from man being created to dress and keep God's creation, and minister to it, as His agents bearing His image... to a choir.

To complicate things for me, I absolutely do not like singing, not in church, I don't like to sing in the shower, I don't like to sing songs that I enjoy, I don't like to sing my friends happy birthday, even as a kid. Every time I've ever opened my mouth to even TRY singing, I've instantly regretted it. My voice carries too well and is too strong and so I really have to dial it down, and it also when I sing in particular it creates a really uncomfortable vibration through my chest.

so when it comes down to it, that teaching of "heaven" is basically telling me that I will do something I hate doing 24/7... or be tortured forever, no alternatives, and then I'm "comforted" with what essentially is God brainwashing me to enjoy something I hate doing. Which feels more like a rejection by my own creator that he replaces me with another person because I was so rejected that I shouldn't even exist.

When I start believing that teaching
I don't want to exist.

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Well that teaching is wrong. Remember the church is the bride of Christ not buildings with seats and a pulpit and a minster.
People are not God, they make mistakes or they may even be wolves in sheeps clothing knowing exactly what they are doing.
As to your voice this is your corrupted mortal body that feels and acts this way not your incorruptible resurrected body. What we view or hear as beauty now is probably like a muddy lake compared to how it will be.

Paul, a great man of God despaired over things that he did.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Now this was about sin that he committed but you can say you despair over your voice, well God will deliver you from that too.

coffee4u said:

Well that teaching is wrong. Remember the church is the bride of Christ not buildings with seats and a pulpit and a minster.
People are not God, they make mistakes or they may even be wolves in sheeps clothing knowing exactly what they are doing.
As to your voice this is your corrupted mortal body that feels and acts this way not your incorruptible resurrected body. What we view or hear as beauty now is probably like a muddy lake compared to how it will be.

Paul, a great man of God despaired over things that he did.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Now this was about sin that he committed but you can say you despair over your voice, well God will deliver you from that too.

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Well I mean well respected Pastors like John Piper and John MacArthur, Justin Peters, etc. Justin Peters will basically say "you'll see the resurrected Jesus Christ, you're not going to care about anything else", etc.
It's a very popular belief, VERY popular that you just.. stare at Jesus and praise Him and you're 100% totally fulfilled and want nothing else. Might as well skip the whole new earth thing all you need is a big empty room with Jesus in the center and some songs to sing according to them.
and I mean these are men who's doctrines are well respected and biblical, about so many other things.

So when I disagree with them on what the bible teaches about the New Earth.. I doubt myself, because who am I? They're elder to me, they've been in the faith longer, we're reading the same book, and so I must be wrong.

That's the trap I fall into, I must be wrong, even though them being right fills me with despair.

Ggz said:

I have spent ages dreading heaven. Literally ages. Why you may ask? Because I have repetitively read/been told that all it is singing praise to God and being on our faces before his throne 24/7. That may appeal to some people, but it doesnt to me.

Now this isn't a pride issue. I have no problem bowing down to God, and I in fact look forward to singing with everyone. But THATS IT?

Well no...its not...as im now learning. I should have caught on sooner when we are told that we will have "Eternal LIFE". Singing and praising forever doesn't sound like our definition of life. and Judging by Eden it isn't God's definition of Life either.

I mean come on, we are told we will be CO HEIRS with Christ. What does Christ inherit? ALL THINGS! Why would God hand over that type of authority to his saints, and then say "Welp, start singing forever". That wouldn't make any sense.

Secondly, Rev 22:5 actually TELLS us what the eternal activity of the saints will be: reigning on a new earth forever and ever. This makes sense if you think about it, thats what God always wanted. Satan didnt somehow stop his plan and now we are eternal choir boys. No, God will get what he wants, which is righteous humans, ruling the earth to his glory. So why then is there this huge misconception that we just sing forever? Where does this come from? I don't understand...?

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We will be changed. That I think is the answer. In this life we are burdened down with many things. We identify with these things and even believe that they are who and what we are. But they are not. They are just weights that are pulling us down and clouding our vision.
But we will be changed. We will see as we are seen, and know as we are known. It will all become clear. I have resolved not to resolve what heaven will be like, or what I will be like in heaven. What will I think about those in hell? What will I think about my current regrets, guilt, and shame. Today I think I would not like heaven. I would feel out of place and alone. But I know when I get there and when I am changed into His image, all will be well. I also think many of the things we regret and feel shame for will be forgotten. Not just by God, but by ourselves.
Just thoughts, but your post is understood. Trust God in this. It will be ok.

1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV
9. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Jamdoc said:

It is true, God's definition of dominion is not the same as what Earthly Kings do, where they just have control over others and aren't responsible to them. God's idea of dominion is more that you're responsible for that dominion. okay so Adam and Eve were given dominion of the Earth, what did that mean?

That they'd dress and keep the garden., they take care of it, minister to it.
Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He washed His disciples' feet and used His own clothes to dry them.

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Bingo. Which is why it's not an accident that we see it written "they shall be kings and priests" or "a kingdom of priests", the role of the priest in a temple is to minister, to care for the temple and everything in it, and to act as an instrument of worship.

We were meant to be as priests in God's temple of creation.

I like the way N.T. Wright talks about what it means to be made in God's image, he makes the analogy of being an angled mirror. Not only were we created to reflect God to the rest of creation, but to also reflect the rest of creation back to God as worship.

We were made to be faithful stewards of God's gifts of creation, to be the reflection of God's love and glory to creation and to reflect the rest of creation through worship back to God. To be kings and priests; but in that way which genuinely reflects God's own character. As you say, Jesus demonstrates His Kingliness by washing His disciples' feet. The King of kings and Lord of lords chose to wear a crown of thorns for the sake of sinners.

Edit: I feel it worth noting that by "worship" I don't mean just standing around singing, but rather worship in the biblical sense as a fully-lived-out thing. We worship God by being fully human as God created and wanted us to be--which we see in Christ.

-CryptoLutheran

ViaCrucis said:

Bingo. Which is why it's not an accident that we see it written "they shall be kings and priests" or "a kingdom of priests", the role of the priest in a temple is to minister, to care for the temple and everything in it, and to act as an instrument of worship.

We were meant to be as priests in God's temple of creation.

I like the way N.T. Wright talks about what it means to be made in God's image, he makes the analogy of being an angled mirror. Not only were we created to reflect God to the rest of creation, but to also reflect the rest of creation back to God as worship.

We were made to be faithful stewards of God's gifts of creation, to be the reflection of God's love and glory to creation and to reflect the rest of creation through worship back to God. To be kings and priests; but in that way which genuinely reflects God's own character. As you say, Jesus demonstrates His Kingliness by washing His disciples' feet. The King of kings and Lord of lords chose to wear a crown of thorns for the sake of sinners.

Edit: I feel it worth noting that by "worship" I don't mean just standing around singing, but rather worship in the biblical sense as a fully-lived-out thing. We worship God by being fully human as God created and wanted us to be--which we see in Christ.

-CryptoLutheran

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I think it is an important thing to note regarding worship and something that has been laid on me is that singing and praise is lip service. obsequious gestures of religious worship is not what pleases God, unless of course, that was what you were purposefully created to do.
True worship, is living out the purpose that God created you for. If that is to sing, then singing is how you worship, however human beings were created to be caretakers, ministers, and, perhaps most importantly why we were created in His image.. so that creation could know God through us. A bird worships the God that created it by flying, singing, bathing, reproducing, everything that God designed them to do and they do it, is pure worship of God, because God commanded them to do these things, they do them, they're in obedience to their creator and their design, and that pleases Him. He said it was good.

I don't know if I'd call creation itself the temple scripturely, as Revelation identifies that there is no temple but God Himself and the Lamb are the temple, but as a concept I do get where you're coming from and agree with that concept, because in the beginning there was no temple and there was no religion. Man made no obsequious acts of worship, Man just obeyed God (temporarily) and related to Him directly person to person. All food but the tree in the midst of the garden was holy. There was no holy vestments, the flesh God created them in was holy. If they'd lived out their lives tending to creation, reproducing to fill the earth, and being in obedience to the Lord, God would have approved of it. It would glorify Him because His creation would be good and work the way He designed it to work, it would be in perfect worship of Him.

If we build something and it works the way we designed it to work, we're pleased with it. It doesn't have to animate and sing our praises. It just has to work the way we wanted it to work.

If you have children, do you expect them to sing your praises on end or are you pleased as long as they are obedient and live out their time as children without rebellion? If you give them a gift, do you expect them to just drop it and sing praises to you or do you want them to enjoy the gift (as long as they are thankful to you for it, I mean you want the acknowledgement and thanks obviously) and you're happy that they're happy and thankful for it?

These are illustrations, but such illustrations exist to show us what God wants with us.

Revelation 21

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

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anyway, I dunno, I just don't find it helpful when this line of thinking comes up, as OP has thought it, I have thought it, and many others, too often people will try to comfort by basically telling you about how good the singing's going to be because of new body, divine brainwash, etc.

I just don't find that helpful at all. The bible itself is more of a comfort because it basically exposes that doctrine as wrong.

Genesis 1 and 2 are righteousness, the way God wanted things to be
Isaiah 65 is righteousness, the way God wants things to be
and Revelation 21 and 22 are righteousness, the way God will make things be.