What is Heaven supposed to be?

Question

I am interested in the views and educated answers of Christians of all denominations.
Most preachers, pastors and priests that I have heard (and this seems to have become the most generally accepted idea) say that Heaven is supposed to be like another dimension where the saved ones exist only spiritually. Yet this seems to contradict the "the Kingdom of Heaven is near, is coming, etc..." that you hear all the time- echoes, of course of Jesus's prophecy of what heaven is or should be perceived as by Christians. In fact, I have heard a few preachers, pastors or priests say something quite different about Heaven: that it is simply the future of humanity. When we learn to love so unlimitedly that we can live forever and bring back loved ones who are dead. This may seem like a fantasy movie, but it makes more sense with the descriptions and prophesies given in the Bible.
What do you think? Or, better yet, what do you believe?

Answer 1

+ Heaven +

Heaven is eternal life with God; communion of life and love with the Trinity and all the blessed.

Heaven is the state of supreme and definitive happiness, the goal of the deepest longings of humanity.

+ Hell +

Hell is the state of complete and final self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed, reserved for those who refuse by their own free choice to believe and be converted from sin, even to the end of their lives

No one really knows what hell is like. It has been described by people who have not been there as everything from flames to a frozen lake (Dante).

+ Heaven vs. Hell +

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like." The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, "I don't understand."

"It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves."

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1023 and following: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art12.htm#1023

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Julius,

I believe 'heaven' can involve physicality AND an etheric spirituality........if this is our creator's wish/purpose/desire.
Nonetheless, the spiritual aspect/form would be sufficient for the joy and wonders which have been promised.

Answer 3

Your question cannot be explained.

Heaven in a sense is being brought back into perfection.
Similar to Adam and Eve before the fall.

However, i can say it will have absolutely no comparison to Earth.

Answer 4

I personally do not believe that Heaven or Hell are actual 'places' or even planes of existence other than right here, right now.

You make your OWN Heaven or Hell every second of every day.

Just my take on it.

Namaste:)