Heaven Is On Earth
Heaven Is Not In Sky
Planes that fly above the clouds help us to see no angels there or people other than those on the flying machine. The Scriptures point out that things must be seen with our spiritual eyes. God most likely would obscure the view of peering eyes into heaven if it was floating in the atmosphere of Earth. That, I am confident, is not the case.
I was led to believe by my cartoons, not at church, that a cloud is a resting place for the spirits of the dead. There is no concrete evidence of clouds being the home of those who have gone on in the Bible. As a child, I assumed if grown-ups allowed us to watch it on television, it must be true!
Childish things did not destroy my reasoning. Heaven is not in the sky, per se, and God does not live in the sky on a throne in a cloud. I have no idea where this concept of heaven came from, but it is not what I understand God's dwelling place to be.
All people, save a minority of humankind, will go to heaven. A bold statement, but it is true. The concept of heaven mentioned here is beyond what many are taught in Protestantism or is it?
Heaven Is Here
That is the great mystery solved. Heaven is on earth. When the spirits of the dead leave their bodies, they don't go floating off to some distant ethereal realm in a parallel universe. Actually, maybe that thing about the ethereal realm in a parallel universe part might be correct--but it is not in the clouds.
All of the people who have ever died, and have not resurrected, live here on Earth until they get resurrected. Dale C Mouritsen, who served as the president of the Santa Clara California Stake Seventies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote:
According to Latter-day Saint doctrine, the spirit world is the place of residence for all those who have died and are awaiting the resurrection and the inseparable connection of their spirits and bodies. Thus, it is not the place where God the Father, the resurrected Lord, and other resurrected beings dwell. Rather, it is an intermediate condition or state where people await the resurrection—a sphere where disembodied spirits live in one of several conditions according to what their mortal lives have merited. [1]
Righteous people become workers for God on our behalf. Call them guardian angels or not, they are constantly praying for us, with us, and helping us--trying to coax us by the power of the Holy Ghost to choose the right and qualify for the righteous state of heaven that awaits.
It is a great deception that Satan has unleashed upon the world that heaven is a hard to obtain place. Repentance is the key to Heaven.
Heaven is Eternal.
Heaven does not end. It begins with the spirits of the righteous living in peace and rest in paradise and continues after the resurrection of the souls of humanity.
I suppose we could say this is the heaven that is unique to the Christians of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As long as there are children of God who come to Earth [or one of many Earths] and live righteous lives there will always be a state of Heaven for them when they leave mortal life.
All people, save a minority of humankind, will go to heaven.
A bold statement, but it is true. The concept of heaven mentioned here is beyond what many are taught in Protestantism or is it? I was taught in my Pentecostal upbringing that in my Father's kingdom there are many mansions and that Christ went to prepare a place for us [John 14:2]. The mother of my wife, an avid Protestant, constantly speaks of getting into the basement of God's mansion and "being happy with that alone!".
She jokes about "sleeping on God's porch" with satisfaction--jokingly attempting to make the point that she'd be happy being in God's presence as a Christian who accepts Jesus, "just being in the same house!" How will all of us go to heaven, save a few?
God will have more souls saved than Satan will curse by far.
The hell that is prepared for Satan, his angels, and the lost souls of humanity is very exclusive--hard to obtain.
To sleep on the porch of God's mansion is enough for me! Just a bed in the Basement... a cot in the yard...!"
— Pamela R. G. LindleyBarbara Walters ABC '20/20' special on 'Heaven' - The Church of Jesus Christ's Perspective
Satan unleashed the great deception upon the world that heaven is hard to obtain. Repentance is the key to Heaven. Positive change, and repentance is the key to getting to heaven. Baptism is the door. The Holy Spirit is the host after entering the door.
Heaven is not impossible to obtain. Chances are high that YOU will make it. As with all great rewards, the highest mansions in heaven require hard work, learning to love, and keeping ALL of God's commandments in this life because Christ's grace is sufficient for those who love Him.
Jesus taught, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." [John 14:15-21] We are rewarded according to our faithfulness to God because of the Grace of Christ.
Our aim should be to sit at His table and join in His household as joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. We were never meant to be pets to God. We are His offspring and were meant to rule with Him in the heavens in all humility.
Summary
The spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. Alma 40:12
These words of Alma sum up heaven. Heaven is a place and a state of being. It is here on Earth and will serve as a waiting place until the resurrection of righteous spirits. Paradise is where the righteous go immediately after death, which is heaven here on this planet.
Heaven is also a term many Saints use to describe the state of all people who served God in life after the resurrection has occurred. When spirits and bodies reunite because of the Atonement of Christ, all the levels of heaven will be the home of humanity. There are degrees or multiple mansions in heaven--from the shacks or shanties to the palaces.
Exaltation, the highest manifestation of heaven, is where people who accepted their crosses in life and gave honor to the Father, just as Christ did, will abide. That is where God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit reside.
Resources Cited
- The Spirit World, Our Next Home [1]
We have a right, then, to understand the true nature of our existence. We also have a responsibility to search it out, for the more aware we become that the spirit world is a real extension of our mortal existence, the less likely we are to fasten ou
Related
- Heaven's Paradise
In this place, the righteous sons and daughters of God rest from all the cares in relation to the world--having to sleep, eat and work for sustenance. It is not a place where people sit idly on a cloud singing. - I lived in Heaven a Long Time Ago, So Did You!
Our lives extend beyond eternity because we lived with God as spirits for eternity learning to become like He is and maturing to a point. - Hell is Here on Earth
Devil and one-third of the host of heaven, 7 billion+ people, and dead people since Adam, who have not been resurrected, simultaneously live on Earth. - Hell's Prison
Pitch forks and burning physical lakes are the imagination of men, not the word of God. God revealed no person knows the horror of hell except those consigned to it.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2018 Rodric Anthony Johnson
