Should We Bring Heaven Down to Earth?

As the world’s Christians prepare to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, a debate over heaven is not as sexy or politically charged as other familiar battles in the American culture wars. It’s hard to argue for more air time for eschatology than contraception, but the theological and cultural conflict over heaven is, in the end, perhaps more important than most such battles, for it is about how Christians view the purpose of life.

The conversation about the nature of heaven that we tackle in the April 16 issue of TIME is challenging popular piety. “Heaven is a new state of affairs in which God’s grace, God’s love, God’s mercy is coming into the present situation,” Christopher Morse, professor of theology and ethics at New York’s Union Theological Seminary, told my colleague Elizabeth Dias. “It is breaking in and breaking up all that opposes love and freedom in the world.”

My own interpretation of, and interest in, religion is both personal and historical — which is to say, my personal experience led me to a historical inquiry about the nature and course of the faith of my fathers. I grew up in the Episcopal Church, attended Protestant chapel services every day in school from the time I was 4 until I was 18, and then attended an Episcopal university.

History is an essential element of my attraction to religion both in terms of writing and living. Who wouldn’t want to understand the forces that, at least in terms of Christianity, determine the very nature of how we tell time and whether we believe in the Christian story or think it a fairy tale?

Continue reading at ideas.time.com

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http://www.missiontoisrael.org Ted R. Weiland

Bringing heaven to earth, began when Christ, the Word made flesh, came to earth and made possible individual forgiveness and renewal via His blood atoning sacrifice and resurrection from the grave. It continues when, as Christians, we pursue (not just pray) Yahweh's will here on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Pursuing His will requires we pursue His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Pursuing his righteous requires we pursue His morality as codified in His commandments, statutes, and judgments in all areas of life.

For more, see "Law and Kingdom: Their Relevance Under the New Covenant" at http://www.missiontoisrael.org/law-kingdom.php.
- http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
  
  How about you pursue one of God's real names which is described as YHVH which none knows how to pronounce anymore instead it bastardized and idolized spin of "Yahweh"? That would be a good start before anything else Ted.
  - Evermyrtle
    
    You can change HIS name if you want to, in your mind but HE will remain YAHWEH. Whether you can pronounce it or not is immaterial. If you want to call HIM JESUS CHRIST, that is fine, because it is the English form of the same YAHWEH, I understand. I call HIM JESUS CHRIST, too but I honor more the name "YAHWEH" because that is the absolute correct way to say it.
    - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
      
      "…because it is the English form of the same YAHWEH…"
      
      Mrs. are you aware that there is no "W" in Hebrew? Therefore it could not possible be "…the same YAHWEH…" to begin and the list of problems with this bastardized version of tetragrammaton only goes down from here but I am not going to bore you with it since obviously it is all the same and meaningless to you.
      - Evermyrtle
        
        The Bible was not written entirely in Hebrew. Did you think it was??
      - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
        
        No, but it surely it was not written in English. Therefore bastardized English version of "YHVH" made up in XVI century about 3000 years since writing down of initial tetragrammaton will not do. At least for those who care about truth and also in terms of the truth about that name one of many more.
      - Evermyrtle
        
        True it was not written in English, I do not ever remember anyone who said it was.BUT if nobody had ever transcribed into English I would not be reading it. How about you? Would you be able to read it?. Perhaps you are one who was wise enough to learn to read Hebrew or Arabic.
      - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
        
        Whatever you have written it is completely and utterly besides the point I was making. If you cannot add on point why do you bother to respond?
Chris

What a meaningless pile of gobbledygook. There is nothing measurable or provable in the article. No factual data to support anything. Pure drivel.
Evermyrtle

BELLY ACHING IS OUT OF STYLE!! especially when it about absolute truth. If you can't accept the truth, that won't change it.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  That is true. However, you are confused about what that truth actually is.
  - Evermyrtle
    
    Point out the part that is not true!! I am in the dark about the untrue part!! I do not claim to know all there is to know in GOD'S WORD, but I do read and study it every day, and have done so, for many years. I always like to know when I am wrong so that I can change.
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      Start with the creation event itself. Plants were created before the sun. Plants cannot survive without the sun.
      
      Take the flood story. If the entire world was filled with water, then a salt water ocean filled the world. Salt would be present in the land after the water receded (where the water went is another absurdity) and therefore new crops could not be grown. That is why armies used to spread salt into the land of the people they attacked, so that the land was unable to be used for farming.There is also no fresh water anywhere in the world, as all fresh water supplies have been destroyed.
  - http://conservativebyte.com Michael G.
    
    What is truth?
    - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
      
      We have been through this before… Check Pilate.
msjallen

Even when Jesus Christ was here on earth it wasn't heavenly. Heaven is where Jesus Christ is preparing a place for all believers to be with Him for all eternity. It certainly is not the planet we live on now.
John 14:1-4 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.”
I am looking forward to meet The Lord Jesus Christ face to face in heaven.
keyboardshark

"Should We Bring Heaven Down to Earth?"
No, because we do not want it corrupted by the filth of planet earth. Let's leave it where it is in its unspoiled condition so we can enjoy it for eternity when the time comes.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  Satan rebelled in heaven. Therefore, there is sin there as well.
  - keyboardshark
    
    That is a fair issue to raise. We read about God interacting with Satan primarily in 3 places. In the Book of Job, it talks about Satan presenting himself before God, but does not say that it was in heaven.
    
    "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them." 1:6
    
    "Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD." 2:1
    
    In Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4, we read about Jesus being tempted by Satan while He was on earth, so that obviously did not occur in heaven either.
    
    In Revelation 12, it does seem to indicate that Satan was in heaven and was cast out:
    
    "7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
    
    8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
    
    9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
    
    Two things to remember, though. Satan is an angelic being, different from humans, and was allowed into heaven at some point in the past. God apparently does not place the same restrictions on angels that He does on humans, namely, that humans cannot appear in heaven until they have died and had their sins covered by the blood of Christ. There is no indication that Satan ever died, nor is there any redemptive program for angelic beings similar to the one for humans that is ever mentioned in the Bible.
    
    Secondly, when Satan did sin, he was cast out of heaven (verse 9), so the sin is no longer present there. Once a human arrives in heaven, his sins have already been covered, and there is no possibility that he could ever be cast out of heaven. He is saved for eternity.
    
    While you are technically correct that there was apparently a rebellion by Satan and other fallen angels in heaven, which we could indeed say was sinful, neither Satan nor those angels reside in heaven any longer, so there is now no sin present. And since angelic beings are a different form of creation than humans, their sin is dealt with differently than humans–it is apparently non-redeemable and fatally final:
    
    "10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Rev. 20:10
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      If it happened once it could happen again.
      - keyboardshark
        
        We could speculate that, but it is unlikely. Why? Because we know that sin brings death….
        
        "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
        
        …and we also know that there is no death in heaven….
        
        "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2
        
        "54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
        
        55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
        
        56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
        
        57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." I Corinthians 15
        
        …and so we can conclude that no death also means no sin.
        
        We do not have enough information about angels to say definitively whether they could sin again or not, but we do know that the ones which did, including Satan, have already been cast out. If a similar rebellion occurred at some point in eternity future, we could assume that they also would be cast out.
        
        The words "angel" or "angels" appear almost 300 times in the KJV, but there is surprisingly little information about how they operate or what their relationship is to heaven, at least judging from a quick scan of the passages where they are mentioned.. I have not studied angels in any great detail, and so do not feel highly qualified to discuss them with any authority. Maybe someone else who has studied them more closely can offer some additional insights.
Hurricane

Actually, Heaven touches down to earth every single time a catholic priest consecrates the bread and wine on the alter. The bread and wine transubstantiates into Jesus Christ, our Lord. Truly present. Body, blood, soul and divinity.

How totally awesome is that?

Amen.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  How about when the priest is molesting little boys? Does heaven touch down to earth as well then?
- http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
  
  This is not "awsome" at or but most horrible and blasphemous conjuration of satan and fallen men being played on it the houses of spiritual slaughter.
- http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
  
  This is not "awesome" at or but most horrible and blasphemous conjuration of satan and fallen men being played on it the houses of spiritual slaughter. Roman sacrificial mass and Roman sacrificial "priesthood" is completely and utterly extra and counter biblical.
  - myth buster
    
    No, what is blasphemous is to deny the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. John 6 and 1 Corinthians 11 are quite graphic about the Real Presence. Jesus said, "Unless you gnaw on (Greek: trogon) My Flesh and drink My Blood, you have no life within you." Paul said, "Whoever eats this Bread or drinks this Cup in an unworthy manner is guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord."
    
    And how is the presbyterate unbiblical? The entirety of 1 Timothy is about clergy and religious orders, and one of the ranks of clergy is presbyter, and another is bishop. The term "priest" (Latin: sacredos), refers to both presbyters and bishops collectively. What is unbiblical is a man daring to call himself a pastor without being ordained by a bishop through the Laying of Hands (1 Timothy 5:22). Paul did not write to the Ephesians to tell them how they shall choose their clergy; rather, he wrote to Timothy, the bishop of Ephesus, to teach him how to appoint clergy for the Ephesians.
http://twitter.com/lambsev11 @lambsev11

Isaiah 2
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
aceituna

God is here now and always has been. His heart aches to see the terrible things we, the crown of his creation" do. He devised a way to redeem us through Jesus our Savior. He came down here and assures us, the believers, that he has prepared a place for us and will take us there to live with him. This earth will then be destroyed and the unbelievers will be sent ot hell for eternity. Of the day and time of this happening noone knows. We only know that it WILL happen.