Had Paul been allowed to reveal what he knew of heaven, do you think he would have sold it in several books or given the information away?
Upvote
0
Paul already had a calling that saw him being influential for God across much of the world. He had the thorn in the flesh and suffered many, many hardships in his life including being imprisoned and shipwrecked. God knows us all perfectly and Paul clearly had a calling and personality that could ave lead to him becoming proud. There are plenty of other people who dont have such a special calling who have spoken of their visiting heaven. While I would certainly agree we should not question God (but being human we do at times) it was not for Paul to reveal what heaven is like, but there are people God has revealed it to that I believe. The link I provided being just one.
I should say that we will not live in heaven for eternity. Our eternal home is in the "new earth" and the "new heaven" will descend to it.. So our final residence will be on a new perfect earth with heaven existing with us there.Over the last couple of weeks there have been a couple of threads that have left me with the impression of the title of this post. It seems to me that people really do not know what to expect when in heaven. I've just done a reply to one but would like to do a thread based purely on what peoples expectations of heaven are. In that post I linked the article below and put in these quotes from it which really highlight my views on what to expect in heaven. I really think heaven is far more amazing than most Christians think and there is a real lack the concept of what it is like.
"and as startling as the impact of first love."
"I understood that they made the music because they could not contain it. It was the sound of sheer joy."
"filled to overflowing with indescribable, unconditional love."
(I will just add that some of this does appear to be metaphorical, such as the speck on a wing a of a butterfly)
What heaven's really like - by a leading brain surgeon who says he's been there: Read his testimony before you scoff...it might just shake your beliefs | Daily Mail Online
So what I want to ask is have you ever done any study on what heaven is like, have you had any revelation of it and whatever the answer to these what do you actually expect heaven to be like?
I always say the best mansion on this earth will look like the ghetto compared to the City the New Jerusalem.I should say that we will not live in heaven for eternity. Our eternal home is in the "new earth" and the "new heaven" will descend to it.. So our final residence will be on a new perfect earth with heaven existing with us there.
Also, I would like to add that heaven will be so wonderful that it is beyond our imagination.
I can imagine some pretty fantastic and wonderful things.. and heaven will be greater than any of those... by far.
God also says that everything will be as new every day... I can't imagine what it would be like to have everything new everyday.
We will never be bored.. if we are seeing new things every day.
To be fair, there is precious little in scripture about what Heaven is actually like. I do not believe we should take the word of those with "near death" experiences who wake up to tell about what Heaven is like. There is no evidence in scripture that people go to Heaven for a brief moment and then return. We should merely trust God on this matter and move on to more edifying theological topics.Over the last couple of weeks there have been a couple of threads that have left me with the impression of the title of this post. It seems to me that people really do not know what to expect when in heaven. I've just done a reply to one but would like to do a thread based purely on what peoples expectations of heaven are. In that post I linked the article below and put in these quotes from it which really highlight my views on what to expect in heaven. I really think heaven is far more amazing than most Christians think and there is a real lack the concept of what it is like.
"and as startling as the impact of first love."
"I understood that they made the music because they could not contain it. It was the sound of sheer joy."
"filled to overflowing with indescribable, unconditional love."
(I will just add that some of this does appear to be metaphorical, such as the speck on a wing a of a butterfly)
What heaven's really like - by a leading brain surgeon who says he's been there: Read his testimony before you scoff...it might just shake your beliefs | Daily Mail Online
So what I want to ask is have you ever done any study on what heaven is like, have you had any revelation of it and whatever the answer to these what do you actually expect heaven to be like?
"Chuffed"I love that!
I just think we'll all have to tread so carefully as we wander and gaze around, so that we don't accidentally step on our or anyone else's jaws
Well, we're given some clues throughout Scripture.
1. We have the description of the Holy City, right down to its size and the jewels and materials crafted into its gates and walls and streets (Rev 21:9-21). I'd post it here but it's a long passage.
2. We know that there will be a new earth, too! (Rev: 21:1) Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
3. I think it's really curious that the sea/ocean will not exist anymore, if you take this verse literally. There may no longer be a sun or moon, though this verse doesn't specifically say that, only that they won't be needed to light the city: (Rev 21:23) The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
I also get far more excited at the idea of a new earth than I do about the Holy City, because I love nature and wildlife and solitude. And the thought of having a whole new planet to explore and enjoy, without any of the curses of sin (thorns, stinging insects, dangerous wild animals, sunburn) just sounds so wonderful! And even more wonderful is that we'll be communing with the Lord the whole time. Even if I'm wandering over some far-off mountain, I'll never feel alone or away from God.
4. We also know that there will be feasting and drinking in Heaven! Woohoo! (Matthew 8:11)
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
5. No one will be married or get married. There won't be any need for it. All of our longings for love and companionship and intimacy will be fulfilled. (Matthew 22:30) At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
6. While we are assured that our earthly lives will be but a distant memory, and all of our tears will be wiped away by Jesus Himself, I don't think we're going to lose our personalities in Heaven, or that we'll become some conglomerate, Borg-like mass of consciousness. There are several verses where individuals are named after they've died and gone to Heaven (Matthew 17:2-4) There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” And I'm honestly glad about this one, because the thought that I'll somehow FORGET who I am, or not be MYSELF anymore, is terrifying to me.
7. We won't be idle! The long-sustained image of people just sitting or standing around, smiling and doing nothing but singing, for endless millenia...does not sound appealing to me! We know that at least some Christians (this verse seems to indicate only those who endured the last tribulation and died for their faith) are going to reign with God (Rev 20: 4-6). Reigning is work! And if we think back to the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve weren't idle. They tended the garden and the animals. The work was pleasant, though. Not back-breaking, sweaty labor, but rewarding, enjoyable, useful work, as God intended it to be. I imagine there will be endless things for us to do, whether it be a role we're given or a choice we can make ourselves. I like to imagine that the Holy City has vast, vast libraries, where all the answers to all the mysteries of the universe can be researched. And even if you study for ten thousand years, there will always be more to study!
8. The last one that comes to mind is that...whatever is most delightful and pleasurable for us, will be ours, forever. This remains very vague, perhaps because what delights one soul may not delight another. Sounds pretty nice to me(Psalm 16:11) You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Revelation chapters 21-22 give a detailed description of heaven.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
Revelation 21
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 22
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
hope this helps !!!
I have this image of it being the biggest, wildest, most epic party of all time. Which is what it WILL be! People laughing, running about, hugging and jumping up and down and just going crazy with joy and excitement
2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
hope this helps !!!
I should say that we will not live in heaven for eternity. Our eternal home is in the "new earth" and the "new heaven" will descend to it.. So our final residence will be on a new perfect earth with heaven existing with us there.
1)Why are the Nations in need of Healing at this point, if everything has been made anew and perfect?
Shouldn't they already be healed? yet this passage indicates they continue to be in need of perpetual healing or all eternity.... what affliction do you believe the nations here need constant, perpetual healing from?
2) How does the tree yield fruit every month if there is no night or no sun there? How is a month there measured?
We'll all have "YAHWEH" tattooed on our foreheads there? Or will it be a microchip?
Over the last couple of weeks there have been a couple of threads that have left me with the impression of the title of this post. It seems to me that people really do not know what to expect when in heaven. I've just done a reply to one but would like to do a thread based purely on what peoples expectations of heaven are. In that post I linked the article below and put in these quotes from it which really highlight my views on what to expect in heaven. I really think heaven is far more amazing than most Christians think and there is a real lack the concept of what it is like.
"and as startling as the impact of first love."
"I understood that they made the music because they could not contain it. It was the sound of sheer joy."
"filled to overflowing with indescribable, unconditional love."
(I will just add that some of this does appear to be metaphorical, such as the speck on a wing a of a butterfly)
What heaven's really like - by a leading brain surgeon who says he's been there: Read his testimony before you scoff...it might just shake your beliefs | Daily Mail Online
So what I want to ask is have you ever done any study on what heaven is like, have you had any revelation of it and whatever the answer to these what do you actually expect heaven to be like?
I picture a lot of huge family cook outs with lots of barbeque.
Martin Luther said that he believed that his dog would be in Heaven.We'll have a new earth with animals on it, so one can hope that our beloved pets will be there
There's nothing that I've seen in Scripture that indicates that the healing of people, and thus nations, will be an instantaneous action. We know there will be a Second Judgement, we know Jesus will be wiping tears away; for all we know, these events may take a long time (though obviously "time" itself will be redefined in eternity).
Because God can do anything, and nothing is impossible for Him?
But does really it help?Perhaps John was describing it in earthly terms to help us understand what he was seeing.
It doesn't say tattooed. It could also be a metaphor. Talking about something being "written on his brow" is a common tactic in classic literature. It means a defining characteristic.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?