Why are we promised this?

Question

In the bible it says we will receive mansions and walk on streets of gold when we get to heaven. Doesn't this sound materialistic? Are we to be lured into heaven by material wealth? It is also said that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. If riches is the route of all evil, why make me rich and put me in a mansion when I die?

Answer 1

LOL. i cant believe i never thought of that question myself. i guess the only way i could explain it is to make it sound tempting to people who are naturally greedy and materialistic. But does sound sooo wrong for the Bible to say that being materialistic is a sin when heaven sounds materialistic itself. btw, what when your die and do become rich if everyone up there is rich i guess that wouldnt make you rich. right?

Answer 2

Not everything in the bible is the way it was originally written. There are no originals left, and no first hand copies. The bible we use today is made from copies of copies. The earliest copy we have for any of the new testament books was one made 150 years after the original was written. All books were hand written and hand copied. And they were translated by hand and by thousands of individuals over a period of 16 centuries. We use the copies that have survived to produce a coherent bible from, but since we don't have the originals, we don't know which copies are accurate. There are copies that don't have those passages about streets of gold in a new Jerusalem. If the very oldest copy we have of the page where we find that passage is missing that passage, then it had to be added later. Suppose the earliest copy we have that does contain those passages was written 450 years after the original. Should we use the one with or without the passages? What if the earliest one that include them was made by someone who, at the time, had the original in his possession, even though we don't have the original now, and the guy who made the earliest copy without them didn't have the original but was copying from a bad copy? We will never know. So a judgment call has to be made in every case where there is a difference, just as judgement calls had to be made in every translated copy. There have been over 30,000 differences identified between copies that we have of the New Testament. That is more than the number of words in the New Testament. Judgment calls have been made in every case. Have you ever read a newspaper article that you disagreed with because you knew what really happened and the reporters got it wrong? How accurate do you think a newspaper article would be if it were written 150 years or more after the event it was about? Now suppose the article was translated into your language from a dead language that nobody alive has ever spoken, including the translator? How do you think it would compare to a video recording of the actual event? I'm guessing it would be hilarious.
Don't believe everything you read. Putting words in print doesn't make them true.

Answer 3

No where in the Bible does it say that being rich is evil, no where does is say that having a Manson on this earth is evil. Where the sin comes in is when we put the richest of this earth before God and His Love for us. As for the eye of a needle, this has been addressed on here before but, here goes again. Around the Holy City in the Bible there is a wall in this wall is a door, this door is very low to keep out those who may want to come in and harm the people. This door is call The Eye of Needle, when camels go through this door this have to get down on their knees and crawl through. Our Mansion in Heaven is not built by us , but by Jesus and His Love. These Mansions will be far better then anything we can imagine on this earth

Answer 4

Salam (Peace)!
An Islamic perspective on your question is that for us Muslims, life is a test and Heaven is our reward. When you are promised all of the wealth and the best of everything in Heaven, it's not bribery, but it's a reward for hard work. We believe that this life is a test that we must bear with patience. Our goal is to worship our Lord and try to please Him. Stay away from evil. Do good and inshallah (God Willing), we will enter Heaven. And being rich doesn't have to be route to evil. It depends on how you use your wealth. If you use your wealth wisely and use it to help others and do not act selfish, then you are not evil. Rich and wealthy people who are evil are those who indulge in their wealth and do not share it. They make money and all the riches their posession and do not believe in helping others or giving charity. And in Heaven there is no material wealth. In Heaven, everything will be real and in fact, it is this world that contains materialistic wealth. That's why you shouldn't go after the wealth of this world but hope for the best which is heaven.
Take care!

Answer 5

Riches can be good if you seek to serve God first, because then you have wonderful resources to use for good (I'm thinking of that guy who recently donated millions of dollars to charity -like 90% of his assets).

The difficulty is that for many people, riches become a stumbling block for serving the Lord because they start to care about all their stuff more, and become idle when they don't need to work.

I think the people that get those mansions in heaven are the kind of people that would know how to use their riches for good, so it really would be a wonderful circumstance. The mansions aren't stated to be a lure, it's just a description of what it will be like.

best wishes.

Answer 6

OK - when it says it is easier for a camel to pass through an eye of a needle it is because when you are rich and wealthy - money consumes you. Even if you are a Christian, when you become wealthy you are consumed by power and money and then are not obviously living like a Christian and putting God first. It isn't because he has money that he can't get to Heaven but because he only thinks of the money, he lives for the money and he worships the money. It consumes his every being. So, saying that, it would be hard to get to Heaven when you live like that.
You have to admit - Christian or a non Christian, it is easy to think and act like that because the power of money.
Heaven is a beautiful place and it talks about the riches in Heaven because of the beauty. We will not know of money - sickness- grief, pity greed,jealousy, etc in Heaven.

Answer 7

Oh ho! That's because earthly riches are only temporary. This earth has been corrupted by Adam and Eve's sin so it's no longer the perfect paradise and so it's foolish to store up riches here on earth.

You should store up riches in heaven, where everything lasts forever because there's no sin.

Er, um, except that we will still have free will in heaven, so eventually at some point someone will sin just like Adam and Eve did, and so heaven will become corrupted just like Eden was, and all of those riches will be destroyed too.

Never mind. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Answer 8

Interesting point. I'm not sure where it says this. I know the Gospels best, out of any portion of either Testament. But I'm no expert, and memory can be faulty. Jesus speaks of "riches" and His Father's mansion. I always thought that was a metaphor.

Also, I remember reading that the phrase was mistranslated. It should be a rope passing through the eye of a needle. Whether that's true or not, it makes more sense.

Answer 9

First, a "mansion" in the 1st century didn't indicate a big house, it was simply a comfortable resting place, out of the weather.

Regarding the "streets of gold" - we don't know if they're really going to be gold, or just look like gold. And it doesn't really matter, as God can make whatever he wants to make, whenever he wants to make it.

If gold was indeed as plentiful as common street materials like gravel, tar, and concrete, there would be no need to accumulate it or "lust" after it.

Think of it this way:

God will give everyone who makes it to heaven the best he has to give, and it will certainly be more than enough to make us perfectly happy, comfortable, and secure.

No worries.

Answer 10

Easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.....then it goes on to say that with man, this is impossible...with God, anything is possible. And it is not riches that is the route to evil....it is the LOVE of riches.
And don't forget....the bible was not written by God.....but by men....men with agendas.