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ISLAM |
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Heaven
by
Abu Atallah |
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Dear Friend:
Thank you for asking the question about heaven. I would like to share
with you three passages from the Bible and comment briefly on them. They
are very clear to understand.
Revelation 21:3-8
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "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!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy
and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink
without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes
will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the
sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all
liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is
the second death.
Revelation 22:3-7, 12-13
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the
Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will
see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be
no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of
the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign
forever and ever. The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy
and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his
angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.
Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the
prophecy in this book…. Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with
me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the
End."
The last two chapters of the Bible are both part of the book of
Revelation.
These are visions God has given to display what heaven would be like.
As you can see the most important thing in heaven is the eternal
relationship that we will have with God. We will see him face to face;
we will dwell with him in heaven. Now we live our lives in obedience to
God who we do not see, but in heaven we will see him. This is why we say
that if you do not have a relationship with God you are dead
spiritually.
The other part of it is more for us: that is, God "will wipe every
tear from their eyes," which means no more sadness, and eternal and
everlasting joy. "There will be no more death." The pain, mourning and
sadness associated with death would be no more. We will also live
forever with God and enjoy him to the fullest.
As you read the first chapter of the Bible, in the book of Genesis,
the first story is about Adam and Eve in the Garden. They sinned against
God and they were cast out from the Garden. Then the Bible closes with
the above two chapters where the relationship between man and God is
restored.
Another important point to emphasize here is that in heaven there
will be no marriage. Jesus stated this in the Bible in Matthew 22:30:
"At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage;
they will be like the angels in heaven."
The third diminution is related to the animal world where things will
be changed. In the Bible the prophet Isaiah stated the picture that God
has shown to him. In heaven there will be no poverty, no injustice, but
man will be a righteous man. I wanted to emphasize that when we speak of
man we speak of human kind or the human race, male and female.
Isaiah 11:2-9
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear
of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or
decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will
judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of
the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with
the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be
his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will
live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf
and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead
them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down
together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will
play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into
the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy
mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as
the waters cover the sea.
To summarize this, in heaven man will have peace with God, peace with
one another and peace with the world we live in.
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DR. JOHN ANKERBERG'S RESPONSE TO CREATION QUESTIONS
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Does Scientific Evidence Today Show
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Copyright 2006, Ankerberg Theological Research Institute
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