Post by Jim Pate on Sept 15, 2016 12:51:47 GMT -5
Often times I hear the atheist or agnostic question the existence of Heaven and Hell as if they are some distant place in the sky or in the earth below.
Heaven is most certainly a real place. The Bible very definitely speaks of heaven’s existence—and access to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ—but there are no verses that give us a Mapquest-style location. The short answer to this question is, “heaven is where God is.” The place referred to in this question is called the “third heaven” and “paradise” in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, where the apostle Paul tells of a living man who was “caught up” to heaven and was unable to describe it. The Greek word translated “caught up” is also used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in describing the rapture, wherein believers will be caught up to be with the Lord. These passages have led to the conclusion that heaven is beyond the earth’s airspace and beyond the stars.
However, since God is spirit, “heaven” cannot signify a place remote from us which He inhabits. The Greek gods were thought of as spending most of their time far away from earth in sort of a celestial equivalent of the Bahamas, but the God of the Bible is not like this. He is always near us when we call on Him (James 4:8), and we are encouraged to “draw near” to Him (Hebrews 10:1, 22). Granted, the “heaven” where saints and angels dwell has to be thought of as a sort of locality, because saints and angels, as God’s creatures, exist in space and time. But when the Creator is said to be “in heaven,” the thought is that He exists on a different plane from us, rather than in a different place.
That God in heaven is always near to His children on earth is something which the Bible expresses throughout. The New Testament mentions heaven with considerable frequency. Yet, even with this frequency, detailed description of its location is missing. Perhaps God has intentionally covered its location in mystery, for it is more important for us to focus on the God of heaven than the description or location of it. It is more important to know the why than the where. The New Testament focuses on the purpose of heaven more than telling us what it is like or where it is. We have seen that hell is for separation and punishment (Matthew 8:12; 22:13). Heaven, on the other hand, is for fellowship and eternal joy and, more importantly, worshipping around the throne of God.
However, for those skeptics that continue to question the existence of Heaven (and conversely Hell), and you don't share my belief in the Holy Word of God - the Bible, then believe the greatest scientists who have learned a small amount of the total knowledge of infinite wisdom. No one has been able to define Infinity. Why, because we are limited in how we understand all matter and energy around us. However, Einstein found after exhaustive study that the Conversion of Energy (Of which everything exists) depends on the speed of light (e=mc2). Even this equation and it's derivatives fall short of the attainment of infinite energy - the energy which would have been necessary for the "big bang". So, what is the answer - scientifically speaking?
Well, since I don't claim to be all-knowing, all I can deduce from the current knowledge is that God is everywhere, ergo He is here, there, and everywhere. God is INFINITE POWER AND ENERGY. He occupies all space between all mass. He is what binds mass into physical objects. The antithesis of God than would be Darkness - or Dark Holes as our limited Physics Knowledge defines this. God is Light - Hell is Darkness. Dark Holes consume energy and those (mass) who would enter will experience Darkness for eternity or an infinite amount of time.
Heaven is God is Light is all encompassing time/space. Hell is the antithesis of this.
Just believe, it's so much easier.
Heaven is most certainly a real place. The Bible very definitely speaks of heaven’s existence—and access to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ—but there are no verses that give us a Mapquest-style location. The short answer to this question is, “heaven is where God is.” The place referred to in this question is called the “third heaven” and “paradise” in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, where the apostle Paul tells of a living man who was “caught up” to heaven and was unable to describe it. The Greek word translated “caught up” is also used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in describing the rapture, wherein believers will be caught up to be with the Lord. These passages have led to the conclusion that heaven is beyond the earth’s airspace and beyond the stars.
However, since God is spirit, “heaven” cannot signify a place remote from us which He inhabits. The Greek gods were thought of as spending most of their time far away from earth in sort of a celestial equivalent of the Bahamas, but the God of the Bible is not like this. He is always near us when we call on Him (James 4:8), and we are encouraged to “draw near” to Him (Hebrews 10:1, 22). Granted, the “heaven” where saints and angels dwell has to be thought of as a sort of locality, because saints and angels, as God’s creatures, exist in space and time. But when the Creator is said to be “in heaven,” the thought is that He exists on a different plane from us, rather than in a different place.
That God in heaven is always near to His children on earth is something which the Bible expresses throughout. The New Testament mentions heaven with considerable frequency. Yet, even with this frequency, detailed description of its location is missing. Perhaps God has intentionally covered its location in mystery, for it is more important for us to focus on the God of heaven than the description or location of it. It is more important to know the why than the where. The New Testament focuses on the purpose of heaven more than telling us what it is like or where it is. We have seen that hell is for separation and punishment (Matthew 8:12; 22:13). Heaven, on the other hand, is for fellowship and eternal joy and, more importantly, worshipping around the throne of God.
However, for those skeptics that continue to question the existence of Heaven (and conversely Hell), and you don't share my belief in the Holy Word of God - the Bible, then believe the greatest scientists who have learned a small amount of the total knowledge of infinite wisdom. No one has been able to define Infinity. Why, because we are limited in how we understand all matter and energy around us. However, Einstein found after exhaustive study that the Conversion of Energy (Of which everything exists) depends on the speed of light (e=mc2). Even this equation and it's derivatives fall short of the attainment of infinite energy - the energy which would have been necessary for the "big bang". So, what is the answer - scientifically speaking?
Well, since I don't claim to be all-knowing, all I can deduce from the current knowledge is that God is everywhere, ergo He is here, there, and everywhere. God is INFINITE POWER AND ENERGY. He occupies all space between all mass. He is what binds mass into physical objects. The antithesis of God than would be Darkness - or Dark Holes as our limited Physics Knowledge defines this. God is Light - Hell is Darkness. Dark Holes consume energy and those (mass) who would enter will experience Darkness for eternity or an infinite amount of time.
Heaven is God is Light is all encompassing time/space. Hell is the antithesis of this.
Just believe, it's so much easier.
