What will WE be Like in Heaven?

-James- · 03-11-2007, 06:40 AM

I guess this is a spin off of all the "what is heaven" threads popping up. I'm curious, as it would seem to me that whatever you envision yourself to be in heaven, that it might not be a bad idea to try to accomplish the same disposition, and/or temperment in this life.

I think that is what being born again is about, losing your old life and becomming a new creature in christ. Not a bad goal if you ask me, and it CAN be accomplished through Christ's Spirit. This could be the "Wedding Garment" talked about in Matthew 22? (Just a thought) To put on the new in Christ, which means to actually be Changed instead of coming to the feast wearing your old carnal nature.

James

Faithfulservant · 03-11-2007, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -James-

I guess this is a spin off of all the "what is heaven" threads popping up. I'm curious, as it would seem to me that whatever you envision yourself to be in heaven, that it might not be a bad idea to try to accomplish the same disposition, and/or temperment in this life.

I think that is what being born again is about, losing your old life and becomming a new creature in christ. Not a bad goal if you ask me, and it CAN be accomplished through Christ's Spirit. This could be the "Wedding Garment" talked about in Matthew 22? (Just a thought) To put on the new in Christ, which means to actually be Changed instead of coming to the feast wearing your old carnal nature.

James

God made us for His good pleasure.. He made us for Him so Im guessing He will make us in what pleases Him the most. I hope He decides to take off some of these pounds Ive gained after having my kids

-James- · 03-11-2007, 07:00 AM

^^That made me smile, FS.. . ..I could stand to lose a few pounds myself, lol!

Seeker_of_truth · 03-11-2007, 05:16 PM

And now concerning thy question regarding the soul of man and its survival after death. Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of 156 God, His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure. It will manifest the signs of God and His attributes, and will reveal His loving kindness and bounty. The movement of My Pen is stilled when it attempteth to befittingly describe the loftiness and glory of so exalted a station. The honor with which the Hand of Mercy will invest the soul is such as no tongue can adequately reveal, nor any other earthly agency describe. Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise. The Maids of Heaven, inmates of the loftiest mansions, will circle around it, and the Prophets of God and His chosen ones will seek its companionship. With them that soul will freely converse, and will recount unto them that which it hath been made to endure in the path of God, the Lord of all worlds. If any man be told that which hath been ordained for such a soul in the worlds of God, the Lord of the throne on high and of earth below, his whole being will instantly blaze out in his great longing to attain that most exalted, that sanctified and resplendent station.... The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men. The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the 157 straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying Their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High. The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating force through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest. Through them the clouds rain their bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth its fruits. All things must needs have a cause, a motive power, an animating principle. These souls and symbols of detachment have provided, and will continue to provide, the supreme moving impulse in the world of being.

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 156)

Silas · 03-11-2007, 07:54 PM

Can we please not pollute the Christian forum with pagan idolatry? As for what Heaven will be like? Wow, that is almost too wonderful to think about. Have you heard of Rany Alchorn? He has a book about Heaven, where he speaks about Heaven having a lot of the same things we have on earth, except without sin. He mentions people going out a resturant where all the food is so amazingly exquisite. He mentions us having music, and a lot of the things that brings us joy, but again without the sin. I never read the book, but I find these ideas fun to think on. That said, the reason why I know that Heaven is so infinitely amazing, is because God is there. Jesus is there! Since He himself is eternity, we being finite, will have to spead the rest of our lives growing to know and enjoy Him. Everyday will be greater than the last, and this will go on for forever. I think that is why the Bible says "eyes have not seen, nor ears heard, nor has it entered into man's heart what God has prepared for those who love him."

Faithfulservant · 03-11-2007, 08:43 PM

I just ignore it... lol

Promethium · 03-11-2007, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Since He himself is eternity, we being finite, will have to spead the rest of our lives growing to know and enjoy Him. Everyday will be greater than the last, and this will go on for forever.

"Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God"

Quote:

I think that is why the Bible says "eyes have not seen, nor ears heard, nor has it entered into man's heart what God has prepared for those who love him.

"The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men"

wil · 03-12-2007, 01:22 AM

I'm just hopin we'll be able to recognize each other by our glow..

Quahom1 · 03-12-2007, 01:28 AM

Sorry guys. I'll be out and about for awhile exploring this cosmos, and I expect God's best angel guides to be showing me around, or else I'm asking to go spelunking on my own (I'm sure God will expect a trip notes journal from me when I'm done...in about a million millenia).

Dor · 03-12-2007, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeker_of_truth

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 156)

Isnt that the dude who tried to say he was Christ?

Quahom1 · 03-12-2007, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dor

Isnt that the dude who tried to say he was Christ?

A religion founded in the 1850s in Iran as a combination of Judeasm, Islam and Christinity (Muhhamad's concept of a super faith).

v/r

Joshuah

Dondi · 03-12-2007, 06:24 PM

Hmmm....let's see.

According to I Corinthians 15, we will be changed in an instant at the resurrection. Our bodies will be changed at that time from the corruptable bodies we have now to incorruptable. In Revelation 21:4, it says that "...there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." for "there shall be no more curse" (Rev 22:3). Our bodies will be perfect, as we are being perfected by the Spirit now. We will be in perfect harmony in body, mind, and spirit.

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." - I John 3:2

This indicates to me that we will be like Jesus. So the best example we can turn to is the portions of scripture after His Resurrection.

"And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God." - John 20:26-28

It is evident that Jesus had some physicality to him, for He still had the marks on His hands, feet, and side from the crucifixion. He further demonstrated this by eating fish and honeycomb in Luke 24:42, proving that He was flesh and bones (Luke 24:39).

Yet He had abilities that go beyond normal fleshly means. For example, he was able to appear (Luke 24:36, John 20:26), behind closed doors, and disappear (Luke 24:31), suggesting the ability to teleport. And He was able to disguise himself (Luke 24:13-16, John 20:14-15). And finally, He could rise up in the air (Acts 1:9). My guess is that if we are going to be as He is, we will inherit these abilities also. Why?

I have a theory.

When the Sadducees confronted Jesus about the Resurrection, seeing as they didn't believe it, they asked about whose wife would a women be after being married successive number of times. What Jesus said was profound:

"The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." - Luke 20:34-36

So it stands to reason that we might possibly function like angels in the afterlife, as ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14). I do not believe that we will be just sitting around playing on our harps all day. No, I think God will have work for us to do, but it won't seem like work, certainly not in the tedious task that the curse brought on us. I think we will be glorifying God in our work in heaven by ministering to those in need.

But if we are in heaven, who would we minister to?

Ahh...this is where it gets dicey and where my theory really comes into play. And from this point on, I take some liberties for conjecture.

My Sci Fi side now kicks in, for I am not so naive to think that there is no possibility that we are alone in this vast universe. And that God might have created life on some other world somewhere in the Cosmos. Certainly, God can do whatever He wants, right? All things are possible.

Suppose for a moment that He did. Would it be too out of line to think that perhaps another world could be populated creature made in the likeness of God, and that they are experiencing the same kind of situation that we are in. Maybe with the same need for salvation and restorations we need. And that He has need of angelic beings, "sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" in that world. And what if He uses us as ministering spirits.

Farfetched. Maybe. But what else are we made for but to love others, giving drink to the thirsty, and encouragement to the hurting. Most of the descriptions of angels show them in human form, such as when Jacob wrestled with one. Hebrews 13:2 tells us that we may inadvertently be entertaining angels unaware. Maybe strangers you've met we actually angels.

Are we not going to judge angels? (I Corinthians 6:3) Which angels? Well, I think fallen angels are already judged to the bottomless pit. And if God created angels in their current form, they are doing the perfect will of God anyway, so what's to judge.

However, if angels were once like us, then our judgement toward them would be a human judgement, of how well they ministered to us.

Just some food for thought. Eat at your discretion.

Faithfulservant · 03-13-2007, 02:15 AM

Being co-heirs with Christ I believe the saints will be ruling as kings over the earth during the millineum with Him as the King of all Kings. I believe the saints will be judges over man and angels I believe that we will rule with rod of righteousness

Dor · 03-13-2007, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quahom1

A religion founded in the 1850s in Iran as a combination of Judeasm, Islam and Christinity (Muhhamad's concept of a super faith).

v/r

Joshuah

Yep by some guy who said he was God.

Pico · 03-13-2007, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dondi

My Sci Fi side now kicks in, for I am not so naive to think that there is no possibility that we are alone in this vast universe. And that God might have created life on some other world somewhere in the Cosmos. Certainly, God can do whatever He wants, right? All things are possible.

Suppose for a moment that He did. Would it be too out of line to think that perhaps another world could be populated creature made in the likeness of God, and that they are experiencing the same kind of situation that we are in. Maybe with the same need for salvation and restorations we need. And that He has need of angelic beings, "sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" in that world. And what if He uses us as ministering spirits.

We have God's Word telling us what he did (and God cannot lie). He made life on earth. The universe demonstrates God's creativity and power (and the stars help guide us at night w/constellations and such). Once Adam sinned he brought sin into all of creation. Jesus had to be born from Adam to bring salvation.

If there were other Image Bearers on another planet, then once Adam sinned, their world would be messed up too, for seemingly no reason, which is quite unfair for a Loving God to do something like that. Also, they wouldn't have any form of salvation because Jesus died for us, not them.

One last thing, man was made in God's image; Angels weren't. The Bible teaches that man is the most beloved thing out of all creation. Angels are God's messengers and administer to us, whereas we are God's children. Our roles are very different. Not only that, but God lives in us (through the Holy Spirit), and not in Angels. We are separated from God, and must have faith in him. Angels exist in God's presence with full knowledge of God's glory.