God would forget the person and the person could not even worship. The most one could hope for was a good and particularly long life here and now. But Jews began to change their view over time, although it too never involved imagining a heaven or hell. About two hundred years before Jesus, Jewish thinkers began to believe that there had to be something beyond death—a kind of justice to come. Jews had long believed that God was lord of the entire world and all people, both the living and the dead.
If God loves his people and is sovereign over all the world why do his people experience so much tragedy? This new idea maintained that there are evil forces in the world aligned against God and determined to afflict his people.
Even though God is the ultimate ruler over all, he has temporarily relinquished control of this world for some mysterious reason. But the forces of evil have little time left. God is soon to intervene in earthly affairs to destroy everything and everyone that opposes him and to bring in a new realm for his true followers, a Kingdom of God, a paradise on earth. Most important, this new earthly kingdom will come not only to those alive at the time, but also to those who have died.
Indeed, God will breathe life back into the dead, restoring them to an earthly existence. And God will bring all the dead back to life, not just the righteous. The multitude who had been opposed to God will also be raised, but for a different reason: to see the errors of their ways and be judged.
Once they are shocked and filled with regret — but too late — they will permanently be wiped out of existence. This view of the coming resurrection dominated the view of Jewish thought in the days of Jesus.
It was also the view he himself embraced and proclaimed. The end of time is coming soon. God will soon destroy everything and everyone opposed to him and establish a new order on earth.
Those who enter this kingdom will enjoy a utopian existence for all time. All others will be annihilated. But Jesus put his own twist on the idea. Put most simply, that involves loving God above all things despite personal hardship, and working diligently for the welfare of others, even when it is exceedingly difficult. This may be simple, but it is not easy. Since your neighbor is anyone you know, see, or hear about, as in the parable of the Good Samaritan, true love means helping everyone in need, not just those in your preferred social circles.
Jesus was concerned principally for the poor, the outcasts, the foreigners, the marginalized, and even the most hated enemies.
Few people are. Especially those with good lives and abundant resources. Most people today would be surprised to learn that Jesus believed in a bodily eternal life here on earth, instead of eternal bliss for souls, but even more that he did not believe in hell as a place of eternal torment. It was where, according to the Old Testament, ancient Israelites practiced child sacrifice to foreign gods.
The God of Israel had condemned and forsaken the place. In the ancient world whether Greek, Roman, or Jewish , the worst punishment a person could experience after death was to be denied a decent burial.
Jesus developed this view into a repugnant scenario: corpses of those excluded from the kingdom would be unceremoniously tossed into the most desecrated dumping ground on the planet. Jesus did not say souls would be tortured there.
They simply would no longer exist. At one point he says there are two gates that people pass through Matthew The other is broad and easy, and therefore commonly taken. The wrong path does not lead to torture. What stories will they tell us, including what really happened that day at the lake thirty-five years ago when we almost drowned? Will an angel who guarded us be placed under our management?
The comment reflects a yearning for our bodies to be healthy, fit, and beautiful. I expect our bodies will be good-looking, but not with a weight-lifting, artificial-implant, skin-tuck, tanning-booth sort of beauty. The sculpted physique our culture admires would be regarded as freakish in other places and times. Some cultures consider what we call slimness as unhealthy and what we consider plumpness as a sign of vitality and prosperity.
If we saw Adam and Eve as they were in Eden, likely they would take our breath away. Had they seen us as we are now, likely they would be filled with shock and pity. Different heights and weights seem as likely as different skin colors. Racial identities will continue Revelation ; , and this involves a genetic carryover from the old body to the new.
The naturally thin will be thin, and the naturally thick will be thick. Will calories affect us the same way they do now? Of this we can be certain—no matter what we look like, our bodies will please the Lord, ourselves, and others. The sinless beauty of the inner person will overflow into the beauty of the outer person. Our DNA is often altered from various chemical, environmental, and medical exposures.
That is a great question Matthew! Furthermore, we know gender exists in heaven because Jesus is there, and he was incarnate and resurrected as a man before ascending into heaven see 1 Peter Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Spiritual Growth. April 8, March 18, Bestseller — Over 1,, Sold! What will heaven be like? Randy Alcorn presents a thoroughly biblical answer, based on years of careful study, presented in an engaging, reader-friendly style. His conclusions will surprise readers and stretch their thinking about this important subject. Tags: bodies , community , featured , Heaven. Matthew December 24, In the same way, I tell you that there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Well where exactly is this rejoicing happening? Its happening in Heaven. So how do those in Heaven who are doing the rejoicing know when to rejoice unless they KNOW that a sinner is now repenting on the earth?
Clearly those that are rejoicing in Heaven are those human believers who have died then gone to heaven, and FROM HEAVEN either saw or were told about people repenting on the earth and because of what they saw, or were told, they are rejoicing. Many believe that these Heavenly residents witnesses are like spectators in a great Heavenly stadium cheering on those of us they see as still in the race for eternal life.
He records that in Heaven he saw and heard the souls of those believers who had been martyred for their faith crying out with a loud voice for God to bring justice upon their murderers. Apparently these martyred saints KNEW while in Heaven that their killers were still alive on the earth and deserved punishment. To sum up, I believe that those in Heaven now are sometimes allowed by God to see or know things about what is happening on the earth.
But only those things that God, for his good purposes, allows them to know. Otherwise their eternal happiness and bliss would often be compromised. Email it to me at paulmassey earthlink. Sign in Join.
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