For all my older christian friends - Page 2

Gouda darling,,You sure are in quick wit for being up so early..,I am typing this from my IPhone as I have not even attempted at this point to get out of bed yet!,,,Nope, I am not an early bird save for the fact that I need to get my youngest to school. Anything particular thing on your mind besides me falling out of bed ,,lol,,? You were worried about lil ole me.;) I am headed back to sleep, be back after noon!!,,

 

so when you got to heaven do you spend eternity at the age and medical status that you were when you died, or is it like the JW version we are all somehow restored to youth, do we still take dumps and fart. are grossly deformed babies still grossly deformed in heaven - how does this all work???

Not likely you will never find out.

  gouda

Indeed! only those will see the light who was created...

oh well there are some christians that have a less bone-head approach to their own religion;


source:  http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/what-does-the-bible-say-heaven-is-like/

 

The Three Heavens

There are actually three heavens described in the Bible.  The first heaven is what is called the firmament or sky that covers the earth.  This is the realm of birds and clouds that surrounds the entire earth.

The second heaven is where the stars, the sun, and the moon reside.  This is the space beyond the earth and it covers the entire universe.  It is as far as the human eye can see with the help of gigantic telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope.

The third heaven is unseen and is the residence of God, including Jesus Christ. This is where the dead martyrs and saints are today.  This is the location of the throne of God and where the holy angels surrounding His throne sing day and night, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord our God.

Biblical Eye Witnesses to Heaven

There are several people in the Bible who have been eye witnesses to the heaven before they died.  Elijah was caught up into heaven, taken up in a whirlwind; he never tasted death (II Kings 2:1-12).  Like Elijah, Enoch who was said to have walked with God, was taken up into heaven without ever tasting death.  The apostle John saw heaven through an open door so that he might see and record in the book of Revelation some of the things he saw in heaven (Rev. 4:1).

While Paul was on the Damascus Road on his way to persecute Christians, He saw heaven open up but whether this was heaven itself or just the first heaven where he saw the light, we cannot be sure.  Acts 9:3-4 described what Paul saw, “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  We do not know for sure, according to the scriptures, whether this was the third heaven, where the throne of God was or not, but can assume it was not for Paul only heard a voice from heaven and he saw only a light from heaven.  Nonetheless, heaven is for real and it exists today in every sense of the word.

You may have read or heard about many who have died and seen heaven for themselves.  They describe such a realm that is beyond description.  Some who died and came back to life have said they have seen their lost loved ones in heaven, their family, friends, and some even their pets.  This is difficult to prove, yet the sheer number of those who have seen heaven and came back from death is hard to refute; only they themselves know this for certain.  But the Bible does describe some of what heaven is like in the scriptures.  It is, from the human standpoint, indescribable (I Cor. 2:9).

Biblical Descriptions of Heaven

There is a constant chant of holy angels that are continually proclaiming Holy, Holy, Holy over the throne of God.  The Mercy Seat in heaven where God sits is surrounded by magnificent angels full of glory and power that proclaim and bless the holy name of God without ceasing.  Some of these are described as beasts, full of eyes, with six wings and neither rest day or night in their proclaiming the holiness of God (Rev. 4:8-11).

Heaven Descends to the Earth

After the Kingdom of Heaven begins on earth, after Christ’s return, the New Jerusalem descends out of heaven and heaven, in the New Jerusalem, will then be on earth.  Revelation 21:1-2 describes this:  “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. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”   The very tabernacle of God will be with humans then and heaven is any place where God is (Rev. 21:3).  All pain, suffering, and tears will absent there (Rev. 21:4).

John was carried away to heaven in Revelation chapter 21 and this chapter is perhaps the best description of heaven that we know of; at least the heaven that will be seen by those who are Christ’s today.  John describes it in Revelation 21:10-27:

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 [or 1,400 miles!] in length, and as wide and high as it is long [1,400 miles wide and tall!].

17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits [that is 200 feet!] 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 [these last two stones are unknown or only exist in heaven today].

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.

How You Can See Heaven

There is only one way for you to see heaven and Jesus Christ is the one and only access to it (John 6:44, Acts 4:12, 16:30-31).  There is no other way possible to get to heaven but by the Son of God.  Getting to heaven is a one-way trip.  If you die before Jesus Christ’s Second Advent (return) you will go directly to heaven and be in the presence of God.  If you never see heaven, you will most certainly see hell and that is also a one-way trip from which there is no return.

Revelation 21:7-8 shows the fate of those not going to heaven: “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 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.”

Like the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man who died without Christ is forever denied access to heaven and to God.  It is an everlasting location from which no one can depart.  My hope and prayer is that no one would ever go there.  There is one simple way that you can go to heaven.  Jesus died after living a perfect life.  He spilled His blood to take the Holy Father’s wrath upon Himself.  This bridged the gap from heaven to hell.  It is a free gift; to not accept it is to seal your fate forever.  To accept it is to be with God in heaven for eternity in joyful bliss.  Right now if you ask Jesus Christ to be your Savior, ask for the forgiveness of your sins, admit you are a sinner in need of saving, and place your faith and trust in Him, He promises to never, ever forsake you.  He will keep you in His own hand and never caste you away, even when you die (John 6:37, 10:28-29).  If you do this right now you will see heaven for yourself.  And you will be with the Lord our God forever and ever when you leave this earth.

Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/what-does-the-bible-say-heaven-is-like/#ixzz2u6YjJJw1