Hierarchy in Heaven and Virginity

[another_lost_guy]

“There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.” - 1 Corinthians 15:41–42
Luke 19:17
“Well done, good servant; because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.”

Matthew 5:19
“Whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

1 Corinthians 7:38
“So he who marries his fiancée does well, but he who refrains from marriage will do even better.”

Matthew 19:12
“There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Revelation 14:4
“These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins… These follow the Lamb wherever he goes.”

what do all these verses mean?

 

[Delvianna]

1 Corinthians 15:41-42 - From 35-58 is explaining several concepts at once using metaphors by using some of the same terminology that is described else where. So essentially, We cannot be born again in Christ unless we die to our flesh which is the same concept Paul uses here but hes making a different point. So, we will be raised with a heavenly body which is a different type in general vs the one we have now which perishable and hes giving examples of the differences in other things to illustrate his point.

Luke 19:17 - Is a parable about the different kinds of servants. 2 kinds used what God gave them and expounded on the nobles kingdom and was rewarded based on what was returned to the noble when he came back as King. This story is noble = Jesus. The 3rd servant didnt do anything with what God gave him which upset God, so he took back what was given and gave it to the guy who did the most. He says he should have at least put it in the bank which he would have gotten interest at least. So essentially: The 2 good servants brought people to Christ, corrected people etc. The 3rd servant could have helped others, taken part in the church, would would have at least passively helped in growing Gods kingdom but instead he did nothing.

Matthew 5:19 - Who ever teaches Gods commands (10 commandments and others like baptism and the last supper), God views as "great" in his kingdom.

1 Corinthians 7:38- Paul says it's better to remain single, because you can do whatever you need to do for God and you don't have any responsibility for anyone else (a wife) that could hinder what you could do for God. So if God told you to go somewhere, if you're single you can just pack and go but if you have a wife to look after, that creates issues in Pauls opinion because of "divided interests".

Matthew 19:12- Jesus is saying simply to accept how God's kingdom IS. It's like complaining about how someone runs his house and Jesus is just like, it is what it is, just accept it. The topic was divorce, where Jesus says if you divorce for any other reason other than sexual immorality, you are committing adultery. The pharisees didn't like that answer because back then they would write a divorce decree if the woman just got on his nerves... it was ridiculous. So clearly, they didn't like Jesus's answer.

Revelation 14:4 - This is a very very long study... and is not a simple answer. I will try to sum up because to explain would need a whole post for... so in the context of the verse "virgins" who haven't defiled themselves with women is debated among a lot of people... some people take this literally, and people like myself see the symbolic context to it. Woman = religion, virgin = being righteous, so someone who isn't a spiritual adulterer and has another god while also trying to follow Christ. So for me, in this context, these 144,000 are pure, undefiled (spiritually speaking), people who follow Jesus where ever he goes because he is their shepherd.