For those who believe in heaven, how do you imagine it?

Question

for example:

the kind of heaven typified in religion, like Christianity, Islam etc?
a very spiritual or eastern (buddhist) type of heaven?
worshipping and singing praise to the lord (like the popular stereotypes)?
constant bliss and unconditional love and light (like depicted in NDE's)?
the kind of heaven that best suits your personal interests (eg, if you like a sport, you spend eternity playing it in heaven?)

Answer 1

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new.'" (Revelation 21:3-5)

There is much more..
http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/heaven.html

Answer 2

I am an open minded Christian(I really hate that label, but its the best I got, I believe open minded is more accurate), and I believe that heaven will be a much less painful continuation of the human experience. The Bible (i'm a bit iffy on that one too) says that everything is for the glory of god, and we are to worship God in everything we do, but it is not "church" that glorifies and worships God, but the character in our hearts that we live our lives with. Life is all about growing, mentally, spiritually, and physically. Without growth, we die, and so in the same respect, I believe that heaven will be the loss of the body and the freedom for the soul to develop. As for a visual reprensentation of "heaven" I could not even begin to imagine. We are (possibly) talking about another dimension here, the rules and principles of which cannot be known from our three dimesional state, so I do not even begin anymore to wonder about the physical aspects of the afterlife. Well, thats my thoughts...

Answer 3

I do believe in heaven as God's, as well as the spirit angels' place of dwelling. But as what I learned from the bible, not all people will go there...the bible speaks of 144,000 people brought from the earth (Revelations 14:3).

They were given a specific number compared to another group mentioned in Revelation. “...A great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues.” (Revelation 7:9) -these others would be on a paradise earth as subjects to the rule of JEsus and the 144,000.

Rev. 20:5 "...This is the first resurrection. 6 Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.

Answer 4

I don't necessarily believe in heaven (how could we ever know?) but isn't heaven supposed to be a land of perfect bliss? And doesn't bliss come from suffering? I mean, if you spend a day spring cleaning your kitchen, then the pleasure you take in it afterwards is far greater than if you hired someone to do it.

Heaven seems like an oxymoron to me... perfect bliss with nothing to compare it to.

Answer 5

The realm of the Gods is called Asgard, and worthy souls go there after death. There are many great halls in Asgard, for the many Gods and Goddesses. The greatest of these halls is Valhalla, where fallen warriors go after death. Those who did not live a life of glory would go to the underworld Niflheim, ruled over by the Goddess Hel. Niflheim is a dull and cold place, where you would be separated from your kin. Reincarnation does exist, but not all souls are reborn, and it's typically found within a family line, reflecting the importance of family and ancestors.

Yeah, thanks Christians for giving me thumps down just because I don't share your religion. Real Christ like of you.

Answer 6

Aaahhhh...I see flowing fountains and roses...the golden gates...the beautiful walls of white limestone, so stunning beneath the sun, like the walls of Jerusalem, only whiter....the stunning image of the Judean desert and the image of the Dead Sea come to mind, the beauty of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Lemons, olives, tropical fruits, large apples, peaches, cherries, divine fruits and nuts everywhere, tall desert palms, beautiful sunflowers, vinyards, truly God's country but in the North there are black mountains, snow, fjords, wild canyons of such rugged German/Scandinavian beauty, people making art and jewelry and dancing everywhere, the spirit of Job, 'my cup overfloweth with kindness and joy', all races and religions.

Nobody starves, nobody hates, all are under the Kingdom of God with the blessing of universal salvation, grace and redemption. The temples restored, the living Jesus walks through the streets, hugging and comforting all people and curing us of our woes, a gift to everyone.

We pray at Mount Zion. There is the Dome of the Rock, where all followers of God can pray and give thanks and sacrifices. Animals free and everywhere. People are accepted, are warm and friendly and free. Warm days, cool nights. We all turn Eastward to pray.

Answer 7

That is imagination. The kind of heaven the Bible teaches is not imagination. Nobody is willing to be fed to lions, burned on the stake, crucified and all kinds of other tortures for some kind of imagination.

Answer 8

I don't imagine it as an actual physical place. I imagine it to be a place where your soul is at peace and you feel love and feel loved. I imagine it to be like a great family reunion and you get all your lifes questions answered.

Answer 9

HEAVEN IS A HOLY DOMAIN/A SACRED REALM/WISHED ACROSS A SEA GLASS.AFTER YOU WALK INTO THE HOLY LIGHT AT THE END OF THE HEAVENLY TUNNEL.A SPIRITUAL WORLD OF EVER LASTING LIFE.WHOLE MADE WHOLE/FULFILMENT IN GRANDEST STAGE OF HOLY ENLIGHTENMENT.WHERE ALL DREAMS COME TRUE.

Answer 10

Heaven has delights which no person has ever imagined, or ever seen. Our imagination is limited into what we can know of it.