Explain heaven to me please.

[FaithLikeARock]

So I get that when Christians go to heaven they're going to have new bodies and there will be a new heaven and earth but what then? What is going to be keeping us from sin? And don't tell me "Satan isn't there to tempt us" because once you commit a sin once it because a habit and Satan's work is done. I don't think a demon is going to stand over your shoulder your whole life telling you to be a kleptomaniac. You become one become one from the first temptation on. So what is going to keep us from not sinning again? And on top of that, what is going to keep the angels from rebelling again? What is going to prevent this new world from falling again?

Is God going to remove our free will? Or is He going to make sin permissible? Is He going to condemn any saved human to hell if they sin even once in the Kingdom? How is this possibly going to work? Because honestly if the world is going to fall again and history repeat itself forever and ever, why should I bother trying to perfect and getting into heaven when in heaven I'll be doomed anyway?

 

[Autumnleaf]

If God is love and his presence is most felt in Heaven I suspect we will feel better than we have ever felt before. To be loved and understood as we truly are without any pretense is a rare feeling many people never experience.

 

[allhart]

So I get that when Christians go to heaven they're going to have new bodies and there will be a new heaven and earth but what then? What is going to be keeping us from sin? And don't tell me "Satan isn't there to tempt us" because once you commit a sin once it because a habit and Satan's work is done. I don't think a demon is going to stand over your shoulder your whole life telling you to be a kleptomaniac. You become one become one from the first temptation on. So what is going to keep us from not sinning again? And on top of that, what is going to keep the angels from rebelling again? What is going to prevent this new world from falling again?

Is God going to remove our free will? Or is He going to make sin permissible? Is He going to condemn any saved human to hell if they sin even once in the Kingdom? How is this possibly going to work? Because honestly if the world is going to fall again and history repeat itself forever and ever, why should I bother trying to perfect and getting into heaven when in heaven I'll be doomed anyway?

Life in heaven I only can imagine. Lets ask a question first about your free will. Do you want to be God. Thats truly what got Lucifer kicked out.I think about my free will also, asking God to save me from myself. Have you read two books one is 666 the other is 1000 millennium in the mill Jesus rules on earth with Satan bound up in the pit for the 1000 years and no one dies and sin full boundary's stop only peoples choices and they still choose there own self will. In one way God shows us there is not one of our conditions that hasn't been tried and none of them work.The condition of temptation are gone for things are perfect however pride and ruling or trying to take over his dominion. To be a God. thats where most of us get in trouble right now.

 

[Foolish_Fool]

I can't imagine people never getting mad or jealous, even if they are in heaven. They would have to be mindless zombies not to. It's impossible that people wouldn't take offense to some sarcastic remarks. Or even worse, that people wouldn't be able to be sarcastic in heaven. Either way it would be pretty lame.

 

[allhart]

I can't imagine people never getting mad or jealous, even if they are in heaven. They would have to be mindless zombies not to. It's impossible that people wouldn't take offense to some sarcastic remarks. Or even worse, that people wouldn't be able to be sarcastic in heaven. Either way it would be pretty lame.

and to say that your God that created all of what you know to be true. That he would numb all your sense.No! Know that some of what we know to be reality may not be in effect like sex, marriage,death,no sorrow ect.Who created laughter, Love Our God love's to create. Look at the joy in our creating in our homes lives. My Faith and hope in what is to come. What Joy!!!!

 

[Solidlyhere]

What is Heaven Like?

Well, whatever it IS . . . it will MUCH better than the people who don't get to go to Heaven.

The Bible claims that God is there, sitting of His throne.
Jesus Christ is also there, with His throne.
There's a bunch of Angels there, and some Elders.

The BIG question is: Which parts of Heaven will people get to go to?

I think the OP should FIRST worry about getting into Heaven at all, before she gets too much in what color the wallpaper will be in the Throne Room.

 

[TheManeki]

I couldn't resist...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEpUHnvfCzQ

 

[elman]

So I get that when Christians go to heaven they're going to have new bodies and there will be a new heaven and earth but what then? What is going to be keeping us from sin? And don't tell me "Satan isn't there to tempt us" because once you commit a sin once it because a habit and Satan's work is done. I don't think a demon is going to stand over your shoulder your whole life telling you to be a kleptomaniac. You become one become one from the first temptation on. So what is going to keep us from not sinning again? And on top of that, what is going to keep the angels from rebelling again? What is going to prevent this new world from falling again?

Is God going to remove our free will? Or is He going to make sin permissible? Is He going to condemn any saved human to hell if they sin even once in the Kingdom? How is this possibly going to work? Because honestly if the world is going to fall again and history repeat itself forever and ever, why should I bother trying to perfect and getting into heaven when in heaven I'll be doomed anyway?

We don't know what heaven will be life. Explaining heaven is like explaing God---to big a task for us. I believe we will exist after death, it will be pleasant and not painful, we will still be us with our memories and we will still have our ability to leave God and heaven anytime we wish, but I don't think we will want to do that.

 

[elman]

I can't imagine people never getting mad or jealous, even if they are in heaven. They would have to be mindless zombies not to. It's impossible that people wouldn't take offense to some sarcastic remarks. Or even worse, that people wouldn't be able to be sarcastic in heaven. Either way it would be pretty lame.

Heaven is not subject to being within your imagination.

Eph 3:20

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
(from New International Version)

 

[FaithLikeARock]

This is all great but none of it answers my question. Fool got closest but all he really did was summarize the first post along with what I guess is an opinion.

 

[StarCannon]

Don't worry about it.

 

[FadingWhispers3]

My personal opinion is that it has to do with the nature of the new bodies and also of the revelation of knowledge in the afterlife.

Evil as it exists from human action comes from two sources. One is physical. Chemical imbalance, genetic weakness. The other is because of circumstances... what we do depends a lot on what happens to us and the understanding we possess of ourselves, of others, of everything.

The christian understanding of sin is that it is falling short of the glory of God. To put it another way, it is to not do what is best. Best for the doer, best for the receiver. To do the best is believed to be both pleasurable and beneficial. Much like eating tasty food.

Whether people can sin in heaven or not is something I do not know. My opinion, however, is that people will simply choose not to. If someone was able to see the future, they could cash in on the stock market and make a fortune. In the same way, the revelation of knowledge (of the value of other human beings and how to do right, etc) will do away with the ignorance that causes sin. And the with the new bodies, there will be the capability (sanity, emotional health) to do so right.

The only possible 'sin' I can imagine in heaven would be a desire to storm the gates of Hell and free everybody else.

 

[cantata]

The only possible 'sin' I can imagine in heaven would be a desire to storm the gates of Hell and free everybody else.

Telling!

I don't believe in heaven, but if I did I suppose I'd point out that much of what is considered sin probably won't be relevant any more. You won't be able to kill people, and I imagine that bodies won't be like they are on earth, so GBH, rape, molestation, adultery, abortion etc. won't be an option either. Since there won't be any sex, food or possessions, covetousness, gluttony, theft and hot lesbian action probably won't feature too highly. There won't be any false idols to worship - and anyway, once you've seen God, you're hardly going to start carving a golden calf, are you? Every day's a holy day in heaven (eternity praising God, whee!) so keeping the Sabbath won't be a problem, and you're not going to take the Lord's name in vain when he's looking over your shoulder. Since there aren't any of the other sins available to you, you wouldn't have much reason to bear false witness.

The big one I can see causing a problem is honouring your father and mother, especially if they're in Hell, but other than that I think you're probably in the clear.

 

[LouTheWicked]

If angels managed to rebel, what would stop the other souls from doing it?

 

[ArchaicTruth]

Ok, this is a frequent topic with me and my friend so I think I got something for you, nothing organized really, just food for thought

I always thought that a literal hell was silly, because for one you would eventually go mad and block out the pain, and two I recall the bible saying that hell is separation from God. Well God, being omnipotent, exists everywhere, and hell has to be where God doesn't exist, which is to say nowhere. So if going to hell means being obliterated into nothingness, then I thought perhaps heaven would be the opposite and instead of being separated from God entirely and permanently, you would be joined with him in some way, and become part of God.

Heaven will exist after earth and all time end right? So obviously time does not exist in heaven, yet heaven is eternal. In this context we must assume that this eternity is either akin to God's all existing outside of time-iness nature where past present and future are all splurged together in a mass of awesome mind blowing awesomeness, or that eternity is but one eternal moment.

 

[cantata]

Well God, being omnipotent, exists everywhere, and hell has to be where God doesn't exist, which is to say nowhere. So if going to hell means being obliterated into nothingness, then I thought perhaps heaven would be the opposite and instead of being separated from God entirely and permanently, you would be joined with him in some way, and become part of God.

God is everywhere by virtue of being omnipresent One could be omnipotent but not omnipresent!

Anyway, that aside, I really like this description of Hell.

 

[ArchaicTruth]

God is everywhere by virtue of being omnipresent One could be omnipotent but not omnipresent!

Anyway, that aside, I really like this description of Hell.

I make that mistake a lot, but only when I'm typing....

glad my senseless rambling could be of assistance

 

[elman]

=FadingWhispers3;42113668]Evil as it exists from human action comes from two sources. One is physical. Chemical imbalance, genetic weakness. The other is because of circumstances... what we do depends a lot on what happens to us and the understanding we possess of ourselves, of others, of everything.

Evil is always a choice. It is not what we are forced to do by chemical imbalance or genetic weakness or circumstancers.

The christian understanding of sin is that it is falling short of the glory of God. To put it another way, it is to not do what is best. Best for the doer, best for the receiver. To do the best is believed to be both pleasurable and beneficial. Much like eating tasty food.

Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor. To not do that is sin.

Whether people can sin in heaven or not is something I do not know. My opinion, however, is that people will simply choose not to.

I agree.

If someone was able to see the future, they could cash in on the stock market and make a fortune. In the same way, the revelation of knowledge (of the value of other human beings and how to do right, etc) will do away with the ignorance that causes sin.

I don't think ignorance causes sin. I think we sin when we know to do right and don't do it.

And the with the new bodies, there will be the capability (sanity, emotional health) to do so right.

Insanity is not sin.

 

[Floatingaxe]

I have purchased a book called, "Heaven", by Randy Alcorn, who has extensively researched all Scriptural references of heaven. His book so far is excellent and totally based on Scripture--no fantasy or ideation is involved. You'd be surprised about how much information God has actually given us about the Christian's eternal home.

I suggest you get the book if you want a Scriptural-only view, which would be the most accurate.

 

[ArchaicTruth]

Insanity is not sin.

I sure hope so, I was mentally unstable for a long period of time