The first myth to debunk regarding Heaven is the internal
feeling you would have while experiencing it.
Start with joy, add a huge portion of bliss, throw in some perfect
contentment, pour on the excitement and you are only beginning to get the
feeling. Every drug in use in this world
is such a POOR counterfeit to the unbridled happy feeling of experiencing
Paradise. Now add to this incredible feeling,
a completely clear head. There is no
need to have your judgment and perception impaired in order to feel this
good. There are no problems to escape
from, no pain that nags at you in any way to offset. Better than sex, maybe. Adrenaline, endorphins, you name the
chemical, they can’t begin to touch what is possible here.
Remember too that your new body is aged
perfectly (no longer a senior citizen, or a teenager, but
somewhere perfect in between). Your new
body will be revised / recreated in perfect health. Those who suffered through infirmity here on
Earth will have this incredible new sensation of perfectly functioning bodies
in Heaven. No moles, freckles,
disfigurements of any kind; perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect nails, you
name it. All mental disability wiped
away forever. And what’s more you will
not be neutered; there will still be man and woman as before. All the sensory organs sharpened 10 times
greater than today. Your strength and
size will be increased to the levels before sin decayed us over the years.
You will not be overweight.
What you eat and drink (and you will eat) will be transformed directly
into energy the body needs without any waste by-products (no more need for a
bathroom, although I love a large tub).
The food in Heaven will consist of a seemingly endless variety of
fruits, grains, nuts, spices, and vegetables.
No flesh foods, as there will be no killing of any living creature
throughout the rest of eternity; but these former foods we so crave here on
Earth will mean nothing in comparison with tasting the absolute perfection of
Heaven grown offerings. Not too certain
about animal by-products such as dairy, eggs, etc. – but I hope to use these
ingredients to make the best pizza I have ever eaten J
And what is there to do in this perfect place? How about imagine,
create, or learn. How
about expanding your mind regarding history, mathematics, physics, other world
studies, God’s character, etc.. How
about sports. Want to swim, surf, scuba,
skate, and ski in settings that would astound both the eyes and the body? How about music, art, or sculpture? How about exercise. Want to run for miles without getting tired,
climb incredible mountain peaks, fly through the air without the need of wings
(a simple matter of learning to adjust gravity). And what would all these activities be without
good old company. You could do them all
with God Himself. You could invite
generations of family members and friends to join you. It might be a little weird watching your
Great Grandmother, your Mom, and your Daughter all go skiing with you (especially
when they all look like they are maybe 30 years old), but this is all real.
Then comes the truly mind expanding ideas about Heaven, like
for instance the ability to travel at the speed of thought (perhaps bending
time and space). How about the idea of
space exploration without the need of technology, or protection from the
elements that exist in space; find out what is at the end of a black hole. The idea of sitting at the feet of the
Creator God of the Universe and just listening to what He says directly to
you. Imagine how good it would feel to
be asked by God to do something for Him, which only you could do. Direct two-way communication with the
infinite God of the Universe. Socialization with people
from all walks of life, from all time periods on planet earth, with beings who
have never experienced the curse of evil; and this is just the beginning of
what Heaven would be like.
So the reality is perfect food, perfect weather, perfect
place, perfect people, perfect bodies and senses, and endless activity to do,
think, or invent. That is the Ultimate
definition of a party. And unlike any
party you have ever been to here on Earth, this one you don’t get tired of, you
don’t need a rest from, and can keep going forever. So how did we come about having such a lame
alternative posited rather than this picture?
It starts with concept of ‘when’ do you get to Heaven. Heaven is a literal place. It is also known as the city of God, a place
where Christ builds out homes for each of us who have accepted His sacrifice
for our penalty.
And when do we arrive at this place? When He comes to take us home to it, is the
simple answer. He described this future
moment in time in His own words saying “as you have seen the Son of Man ascend
into the clouds, so it shall be on His return”, “as lightning shines from the
east to the west”, and “With a loud voice and a trumpet”. These words of Christ Himself portray not a
secret rapture but a worldwide event, witnessed
by everyone. He goes on
“the dead in Christ shall arise first”.
This means everyone who has ever lived will be awakened out of their
sleeping state to greet their Lord in the air.
Notice He did NOT say, He was bringing back disembodied souls from their
puffy clouds in order to re-inhabit their bodies once again. The dead “who know not anything” are called
to arise first as Christ comes back to this planet to reclaim His own. The text goes on stating “then we which are
alive and remain will be caught up in the air”.
This states there will be living servants of God, who are eagerly
awaiting His coming when it occurs, we are the living ones, not those who have
died before us.
The idea of a disembodied soul can be traced all the way
back to the Garden of Eden, when the snake told Eve she would NOT die. If Eve’s soul lived past her body’s death, if
she was capable of intelligent thought, interacting with others, enjoying
Heaven or being punished in Hell (another myth we debunked earlier), then the
Devil was telling the truth. Eve did not
really experience death. She was in fact
immortal. She simply transitioned from
one form of intelligent life to another using death as the portal. This simply was NOT true. When Eve died, she decayed and “returned to
the dust from whence she came”. She had
no more a part in the living world. The
breath of life God had breathed into her which then made her a living soul,
returned to God. She was dead. No ability to communicate with others, no
enjoyment or punishment, much more like dreamless sleep. She still sleeps and awaits the trumpet sound
that will call her forth out of her grave, away from the bondage of this world
of evil, to a world of perfection and association with God Himself. At that time, she will eat, she will drink,
she will make-love with Adam once again.
She will talk to God, and to us, just like every other person who
accepts God’s gift of salvation. I would
love to meet Eve, along with a long list of folks I have read about who lived
before me. It’s another one of the perks
of Heaven.
Some Christians have a hard time accepting the idea that
going to Heaven may not be an immediate result of a loved one dying. They are looking at it all wrong. For the sleeping lost loved one, time is passing by in the blink of an
eye. Almost as soon as that
person takes their last breath, their next one will be to a visibly returning
Lord. For them, the time seemed like an
instant. It is for us, who live on, that
time drags its feet. Eve has no idea
that more than 5000+ years have passed since she died. For her it was just a second ago.
Another group who has a hard time living without the soul
somehow transcending our bodies in a next stage of existence are atheists, pure
scientists, and agnostics. The concept
of complete and utter non-existence is too hard to swallow for these folks as
it leaves them NO hope at all past their meager years on earth. So the idea that while science can explain
none of it, an intrinsic ability to preserve what makes us us, becomes the only
acceptable rational for those who deny the existence of a loving God.
Yet the truth offers so much more hope to all of us. The idea that there is hope past a grave, there
is a heaven that exists and offers us more than we can even imagine while
confined to this mortal existence. We
will experience it together with our loved ones for the first time. This is the very essence of hope itself. And the absolute ease of attaining this goal,
we do not need to work for it, it is a gift to us. We were given this gift by a God who loves us
this much. Eternity will be anything but
boring. It will be the ultimate
party. It will surpass anyone’s wildest
ideas about happiness. And best of all,
it will never end. That reality is what
God has in store for each of us.
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