Apologetics

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What Is Heaven Like – Part One

Over the years of being a Christian and a Minister I have almost never come across someone who didn’t want to go to “Heaven”, even people who said they didn’t believe in God, especially the Judaeo/Christian God. It almost goes without saying though that there are just as many versions of what people say that Heaven is like as there are those who want to go there when they die, or even visit before they die. And of course there are different religions that actually do say there is a Heaven but again, they have their own “take” on what it’s like. And everybody’s Heaven seems to be primarily a place where everything will be to their liking and set up just for them.

Well I’m giving a “take” from the point of view of the Christian Faith, as it is described in the Holy Bible. Of course there are a couple of difficulties with this “expose”. The Christian Bible, which is a collection of writings over a period of hundreds of generations, not only doesn’t give us a lot of specifics, but we are told and understand that we are not likely to fully comprehend what we are told. But there is enough in there, including from Jesus the Christ, the Lord, in his own words when he was here the first time, and also from him through the hearts and minds and pens of his devotees.

Part one will be mostly introductory to the “series” and also with some view to the kinds of things we’ll be looking at in the sequels. Please, look forward to the “rest-of-the-story”. [PH]

This historical figure Jesus Christ used a term quite frequently when he spoke, either publicly or privately, that we read as “The Kingdom Of God” and/or of His Heaven. These are for the most part synonymous with each other, although the parts directly referring to Heaven itself are many times just merely “descriptive” declarations more than the explanations of the “ways” that the Kingdom of God operate. It’s like the difference between telling a person of the deep jungles of the Amazon that we have “cars”, or “vehicles” but then don’t say why they are used, or how, and in what different ways and reasons.

In the Bible there are literally hundreds of references to Heaven and the Kingdom of God. Other similar terms used are the “City of God”, the “Heavenly Jerusalem”, “Mount Zion”, the “Father’s House”, “Paradise”, and even more. We will not be looking at every one of them, not even most. I will be selecting different ones to examine for the purpose of a particular aspect of life and existence in Heaven, especially as it relates to our existence here on “this side” of Heaven. Jesus Christ we are told by the Bible, was in Heaven as “The Word of God”, long before he came to earth for his “Mission”. Likewise and because of this we are also told that he “embodies” the very essence of all who “Live” there. So in even examining Him when he was here and what he said and how he conducted himself, etc. we can get a better idea of what it’s like, where he comes from and where he went.

Here’s one example. Most people I’ve either talked with and/or heard about what they’ve said about the Kingdom of God and of His Heaven describe it in such terms as though they are wishing and hoping it will be like they are saying, more-so than as though they have been there and “seen” with their eyes. That’s not necessarily a sin or a crime to do so but you can read a lot about that person and how well they know the God of “His House” [Heaven]. Even how well they know what the Bible or even Jesus and his Apostles and Prophets said about it. And many of them have actually seen it in part. And of course, you can also tell by their particular description of their “dream” of “their Heaven”, is whether or not anyone else seems to be there or not or maybe everyone there is “there-for-them”.

Let’s refer to the aspect of what we might call “giving”. A stark contrast of the Bible and it’s recollections of Jesus and those he has allowed to see as he saw, with those here concerning “giving” is that in the Kingdom of God you are more likely to see it’s “Citizens”, [as the Bible also refers to them] almost “stumbling” as it were, all over themselves and each other trying to find ways and means of doing things for others, instead of themselves. Jesus called it “giving-without-hoping-or-expecting-to-receive-back”. Wanting to give, even all they might have, to others, instead of to themselves. A Place of little or no self indulgence yet a place also of every need and desire being made available and provided in opulent extravagant abundance. [Have you ever experienced what it’s like to do something “For” someone just to do it for them, out of love, or even out of doing them a favor, with no strings attached. In Heaven it won’t be the exception, as it is here, it will be the rule, or the “norm”].

How can that be? How can it be both? Imagine if you can, every single individual there doing all they can to “serve” and bless and accommodate, etc. all of the needs and desires of everyone else, except themselves. You do the math, that indicates clearly that there will be absolutely no one there who will ever be without or not abundantly taken care of, yet they didn’t do so for themselves. Well I can hear many of you thinking, “that don’t sound too bad at all. Kind of like a Prince being waited on hand and foot for all his needs and desires. But wait, if you yourself are there you will be waiting on everyone else and not being interested in “being Indulged” yourself. Others in your life won’t have to do as they may have to do now from time to time [or maybe a lot] and that is “wait-in-line” so to speak, for you to get done with taking care of yourself and then trying to squeeze everyone else in last. If that’s you now, you won’t like “Heaven”. Sad to say that we see far far too many marriages, and parents who have a relationship with their families that is exactly like this. But God made us, from the beginning, to life sacrificially around others, especially our family members, and especially either in marriage or as parents.

Imagine someone somewhere even in this life who, no matter what they were given, they found someone else to give it away to. All the time. And it seemed very clear that they wouldn’t have it any other way, as though that was the very reason they existed, was to be what we would call a “sacrificial” giver, to the Lord first and then to others, and then to the “community”, so to speak, at large, etc. and so on. When we see that here on this-side of Heaven it is usually seen as a wonderful sight to behold and even refreshing. At least for many of us. Quite literally it is really very difficult for us even to “Imagine” what it would be like to live in a place where all of “Life and Living” were not set up to provide every individual with opportunities to “indulge themselves”. No advertisements to “attract” your selfish or self centered base desires. No “places to go and things to do and people to see” that are for your benefit. And in Heaven there isn’t even the need for a “Law” or a rule to follow that says “don’t be self-indulgent or don’t be wanting “Me-Time”. No one there would ever even want to even come close to even slightly thinking about that, because while they were here “On-this-side” they wanted to be “just-like-Jesus”, and being like him then became their reward.

Another big problem for unselfish non-self-indulgent “giving” is that mankind on this side of Heaven always has been and will continue to be so [until the “New Heavens and the New Earth referred to in the last chapter of the Bible] far too “Independent” in mind, heart, soul, and life. [ Just think about our History and even all of the Movies we spew forth from Hollywood on the topic] And it would seem that maybe most all people here, especially if given the right circumstances, will fight for it with a vicious belligerence. It’s so deeply ingrained in all of our subconscious programming that we have even convinced ourselves that it is a God-given-natural-instinct for survival-and-self–preservation. Sorry folks, but that’s not the way God our Heavenly Father, Our Creator made us originally in Adam. Many will say that because it’s been in our spiritual and soulish “genetic-coding”, so to speak, that we can’t help it and don’t even know how to do so. Again, Not So. Just because we carry the defective, malfunctioning, corrupted, contaminated, polluted, spirit and soul and body from our ancestors doesn’t mean we cannot do-and-be what and how God made us at all. Only sometimes. On the one hand we say that we can do such and such acts of righteousness yet on the other hand we say that we can’t because of instinctive independent self-indulgence.

There are just simply far too many living and former peoples lives and testimonials and anecdotes over the thousands of years that prove otherwise. Even from those not professing to be born-again Christians. All that having the original sin-nature passed down to us means is that we can never get-it-right-all-the-time. And some more or less than others. But we still have the innate ability and capability to do so. Plus, having the “pre-disposition to sin” and even to be “illegally-independent” means that we need outside divine help and assistance more so than ever before not only to accomplish this level of uprightness but also the divine forgiveness and restoration when we do fail. And when someone is “clutching with a stranglehold” their “right”, as they call it, to be independent, and self-sufficient, they will have nearly an impossible time of being able to even do “random-acts-of-unselfish “Giving” without there being some strings attached. Folks, we are very far from “Heaven” and Heavenly-likeness, but not as far from a higher level of uprightness and from the Divine help of the Lord Jesus, as we think.

Here’s a very famous and popular passage from Scripture that gives somewhat of an indication of our “inability” to even “dream” about it correctly. In 1 Cor. Ch. 2: it reads vs. 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. vs. 10. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. We haven’t seen or heard or even imagined the things God has prepared. This doesn’t mean no one can know, but it can’t come through the mind, heart, and imagination of man. Why not?? In large part because our own nature, our urges, our instincts, even our “best intentions”, “compared to Heaven” are not only way off, but corrupt, contaminated and polluted by the mixture of good and evil we all inherited from Adam and Eve who partook of the Tree of that Knowledge of good mixed with evil. They were told not too. [ Also read the remaining verses of that chapter vs.11-16]

But as you can also see from that passage that those who have the Spirit of God in them can “know” and be “shown” many things that they otherwise would not have been able to see and hear and know. It’s part of the benefit of being a true Christian, having the same Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead and to have him, [at his discretion] “reveal” these kinds of things. And not simply about “What-Life-Will-be-Like”, in Heaven, but more importantly, what Life Will Be Like in our hearts and souls and spirits and minds, even in our character, personality, ethics, morals, etc. and so on.







Another big problem for unselfish non-self-indulgent “giving” is that mankind on this side of Heaven always has been and will continue to be so [until the “New Heavens and the New Earth referred to in the last chapter of the Bible] far too “Independent” in mind, heart, soul, and life. [ Just think about our History and even all of the Movies we spew forth from Hollywood on the topic] And it would seem that maybe most all people here, especially if given the right circumstances, will fight for it with a vicious belligerence. It’s so deeply ingrained in all of our subconscious programming that we have even convinced ourselves that it is a God-given-natural-instinct for survival-and-self–preservation. Sorry folks, but that’s not the way God our Heavenly Father, Our Creator made us originally in Adam. Many will say that because it’s been in our spiritual and soulish “genetic-coding”, so to speak, that we can’t help it and don’t even know how to do so. Again, Not So. Just because we carry the defective, malfunctioning, corrupted, contaminated, polluted, spirit and soul and body from our ancestors doesn’t mean we cannot do-and-be what and how God made us at all. Only sometimes. On the one hand we say that we can do such and such acts of righteousness yet on the other hand we say that we can’t because of instinctive independent self-indulgence.

There are just simply far too many living and former peoples lives and testimonials and anecdotes over the thousands of years that prove otherwise. Even from those not professing to be born-again Christians. All that having the original sin-nature passed down to us means is that we can never get-it-right-all-the-time. And some more or less than others. But we still have the innate ability and capability to do so. Plus, having the “pre-disposition to sin” and even to be “illegally-independent” means that we need outside divine help and assistance more so than ever before not only to accomplish this level of uprightness but also the divine forgiveness and restoration when we do fail. And when someone is “clutching with a stranglehold” their “right”, as they call it, to be independent, and self-sufficient, they will have nearly an impossible time of being able to even do “random-acts-of-unselfish “Giving” without there being some strings attached. Folks, we are very far from “Heaven” and Heavenly-likeness, but not as far from a higher level of uprightness and from the Divine help of the Lord Jesus, as we think.

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