I like Socrates' "dreamless sleep" analogy. That would be nice.

When my son was 4 and someone asked him what heaven was like. He said,"The streets are paved with gold and everyone wears moccasins." Have no idea where he got this idea.

What do I think Heaven will be like?

To start with - everyone goes there. But it isn't any distant place because it isn't physical. It is rather a state of mind.

Initially you will experience what ever you think you should. For some this could be kind of Hellish, for others they will be eating a lot of cream cheese. Eventually you will "wake up" and realize you have to get on with things. There will be lots of help available and you will continue learning and planing for your next life.

James K, I like your description (not that I'm against gold roads and moccasins!) I'm hoping to go to a "state" where I am more awake, can understand the way things are more clearly, and am able to experience the presence of God more directly. I don't know if I believe there will be things to learn or a new life to prepare for though. But how does anyone know anything about what heaven will be like? Aren't we all just guessing? Or perhaps the very spiritual among us have tasted this state and the wisdom they share tells us something about heaven?

I was just thinking that maybe we are not suppose to know what heaven is like - it will be a happening!

Like we didn't know what it was like to be in the womb. Birth was the happening.

I like the Moslum idea of Heaven where you get all those virgins.

Hi Austin: The Nordic heaven is like that, too: Valkyries and lots of mead for the fallen heroes. But you have to die in battle to qualify. No gory — no glory!

Austin Powers, I thought you had all that here on earth all ready??

Ok, and what about being reunited with your loved ones in heaven? This is something that is implied or said outright at every funeral I've ever been to.... is there any basis for this claim, biblical or otherwise? If not, it seems kind of cruel to say to somebody who is griefing the loss of a loved one.

In the immortal words of Talking Heads "Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens".

Personally I think that when we die we experience all the pain and joy that we have caused others.  We also gain a profound understanding of the people that we have been involved with in any way.  We can 'see' thier motives and how they understand the world.  Really I can only speculate but this feels right to me.

Science tells us that energy is forever, and that we are energy. This is irrefutable proof of our eternal existence.

There is also the possiblity that we, in addition to our physical body, have a memory body that survives the death of the pysical body. But there is no scientific proof for this — yet!

Hi Arminius, I also believe that we exist eternally, but I don't think your examples from science offer irrefutable proof. In science, energy exists forever, but it is continually changing forms -- many times radically. I am not sure that energy could still be considered to be 'me' if it turns to, say, simple heat after I die.

A memory body sounds interesting, but I'm more skeptical about that. I could see a spiritual body continuing on though, taking off from the place it left while part of me. Does that make sense?

Xango - what would I do with all those virgins?

Hey, the virgins aren't my idea. I'm not even sure virgins go to heaven.

Xango, are there many virgins left any more?

Yes. They are being made every day.

The Bible describes heaven as being where God is. (shenakah glory) There will be no need for night. (revelation 22:5)

It is mentioned 276 times in the New Testament alone. If you go to wwwgotquestions.org  you can click on "search site" and type in "heaven" for more biblical descriptions of heaven. Paul is decsribed as having gone to a "third heaven".

Personally I believe that the Bible offers us some insights about heaven as would be described by someone of this earth. We are limited as to what our understanding of heaven will be because what it will be is beyond our human capabilities to describe. Therefore I don't feel that we will have full knowledge of heaven until we die but I trust that there is another life for us---an eternal life.

I like this - " a new heaven and a new earth, And the old one will pass away"

Heaven is not so much a place as it is a state of awareness. Image one of your cells somewhere in your body suddenly raised in awareness so that it could experience life they way you expierence it.

Heaven is a relative term. The highest and most holiest level of heaven that we could ever reach is still the lowest level of expression for some Being that we couldn't image about. This is, I believe, what 'a new heaven and a new earth' is about. Once we raise our level of awareness on this earth so that we experience a little 'heaven on earth', then that will automatically raise the bar or the goal of the 'new' heaven.

First off you totally butcher'd the word 'Muslim' lol.   It's supposed to be spelled Muslim, although some people see it as acceptable to spell it Moslem. 

It's pronounced Müss- (as in puss, as in puss in boots) lim (as in limb, silent b of course).

<Müss-limb> The english transliteration of the arabic word Muslim, which means "One who submits to the will of Allah", or simply "One who submits".

I don't see how you could get that pronounciation out of the spelling Moslem, unless you were pronouncing the 'o' as a 'u'  in which case why not just spell it muslim? 

Ugh, sorry, but thats not the point.

The point is, you have gotten misinformation on the islamic concept of heaven.  There are no 40 virgins waiting in the afterlife to tend our every 'need'.  There are no 72 virgins in the afterlife waiting to tend to our 'needs'. 

The only reference in the Qur'an to virgins in the afterlife is that your companions will be virgin pure, as in uncorrupted, and chaste. 

Anywho, I believe heaven can be achieved on earth, although people have only ever gotten close, never all the way.  Heaven I believe, is pure, and unfiltered and undiluted love. For everyone and everything and yourself and others and the lord and the world and the universe.  For the sinners and the saints, for the dæmons and the angels, for the good and the bad.   Can one not be in perfect bliss if they are in a state of perfect love?

Hehe, I picked up a couple books on Rumi Arminius ^^

As-Salaamu Alaikum

-Omni

Hello xango.........God bless you......

Heaven is described throughout the whole bible......I believe as we inherit heaven and earth as a part of Gods Kingdom that this will in inself keep us pretty busy...I believe we will see all of our loved ones who have passed over before us and that as we will live in eternity will be able to spend us much time as we want with them..I also believe we will be able too speak with all of the bible prophets, judges, leaders and people who have gone before us...

Earth the bible says is just a shadow of heaven...now if this is true...then there must be other humans, animals, plants , trees, mountains, rivers, lakes..butterflies, birds...the list can go on...only they are much more beautiful then what we have here...

In heaven there is no death, sorrow, dishonesty, selfishness, hatred, wars, sickness, envey, jealousy, afflictions....none of these exist there as sin is perfected in heaven...there is no sin there....the love of God is the most important factor....we get to know God here by faith...but when we leave this world...by passing over or by the rapture we will then see Jesus as a physical person rather than  from the heart as we do now....

As we learn and grow here in the Lord we will do so there...the idea that the streets are paved with gold ...goes to show us just how important material things are ...they are available for the asking...before you pray and ask it will have already been given....at the resurrection we will recieve the physical body united with the spiritual body and this is the way it will be for eternity...our bodies will never age, get sick or break down...

Hell , I believe is the place we will reside for eternity without the Love of God....if we Love God we go to heaven and He knows who loves Him and who doesnt as He knows each and every one of our hearts....

When we look out into the night sky we see millions of stars, galaxies, universes all created by God ...does He not say we will inherit heaven and earth with Him..Awesome God we Serve....this earth will be brought to peace and will continue under the reign of the Lord with His servants under Him in leadership etc...I believe we will once again see the heavens touch the boundries of the earth as it was in the beginning when they could see heaven and travel back and forth...angels are also a part of heaven and we will be able to converse with them and learn what they know ...

The bible says humanity cannot comprehend what God has in store for them that Love Him....now some people may say ...oh I just want to live my life here I dont need to know about heaven....well the reason we know all about heaven is because Jesus ascended there to Sit at the Right hand side of God and wants us there with Him...the book of Revelations was given to John by Jesus Himself...and of the things to come as a guide for us to follow....reading Revelations we will see a lot of things going on now the bible refers too...

Heaven....I believe as we live here on earth we should be building our treasures in heaven...like the scriptures say....here and in heaven we will inherit substance...subtance of our Love and Hearts...the love we have for other humans, for the animals for the earth...for example if you kill animals here (outside of food) for fun... ...you will never be put in the position to have animals around you in heaven ..etc...these rewards will be taking from us....

Have no doubt xango ....look up the word heaven in the concordance and you will learn a lot about it ......read the visions of the prophets, Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Moses.....all of these decribe God and heaven in the lauguage of the time.....

If we dont believe in God though , how can we believe in heaven...you cannot have one without the other as this is where the Majestic God of the Universe Resides....

INL: bg

Boooriiiiing!

did socrates come back from the dead too, to tell us all about it? wow I did'nt know

Actually, this was one of two possibilities for heaven that Socrates proposes in The Apology after he is sentenced to death. The first possibility he describes is a "dreamless sleep", which is basically nothingness, or no afterlife. He says this is a blessing because we all know how it feels to wake up from a good night's sleep. His second possibility is a place where all the people who have lived go, so we will be able to talk to all the great people in history, and cross-examine them and gain wisdom from them, which will be even more of a blessing.

You should know that Socrates would never admit to knowing anything for sure. He always said that he had no knowledge. He just used logic to determine what the possibilities for the afterlife were to show his jury that his punishment was not much of a punishment at all.

Yes, Xango, it does make sense. By memory body I mean "spiritual" body, a body that does not consist of matter but electromagnetic energy, something like a moving hologram.

Actually, we are energy more surely than any form—or accumulation of forms—of energy. If we identify not with the separate individual organism that we think we are, but with the eternal energy that we undoubtely and ultimately are, then our "I" is surely forever.

It is not possible to draw a definite line separating individual from environment; neither in space, nor in time. The universe appears to be a singularity of energy, with the power to transcend to different states. This singularity appears to be in a state of synthesis, and implicated in constant change, and seems to be our ultimate "I:" The Sacred Universe.

Anyway, IT is my ultimate "I," and that's why I don't worry much whether there is a spiritual body or not.

I think heaven is anywhere Jesus is. To be with Jesus is heaven. To not be with Jesus, in my opinion, is hell.

point is, there have been and currenty are very intellegent people who use logic to determine possibilites for the aftre life, all there doing is best guessing.

I know that bb, and I was just saying I like Socrates' dreamless sleep idea.

nothing really wrong with liking it, i like alot of things too that are not true.

Wow bb. How hypocritical is that? You tell me this:

and then say this:

right after? It doesn't get more pathetic then that.

likeing something and believing and having faith in something are 2 very diffrent things

so what is heaven like?

i would say a very bussy place

Ariel,

That is a pretty accurate picture of heaven. The only problem is that those who don't know Jesus, at this moment, have no inkling of the wonderful life promised but those who believe have had it imprinted in their hearts and look forward to it.

They have buses in heaven?? 

What, they have buses in heaven?

I always thought the infernal combustion engine was a hellish invention.

But then maybe the heavenly buses will just teleport people, similar to the "magic schoolbus" of the children's show.

Arminius,"I always thought the infernal combustion engine was a hellish invention."

Fun Fact (off topic): Did you know that it was Hero of Alexandria that invented the first "steam engine"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolipile

Hi waterfall: Amazing! That was 2,000 years before James Watt!

Many of the basic principles behind modern inventions were first thought of in antiquity, but they didn't have the technology to put them to "good" use.

dont need them we can transport at will to anywhere we want to go, and the gas companies can go and s--- them selves

of course because Jesus is God

Is that the mode of transportation you used last time you visited heaven? And I'm having the hardest time trying to figure out what "s" word you are too afraid to use.

Hi killer: The "s" word of your choice, I suppose.

I wish we'd have this mode of transporation on earth, though. Didn't those mystics graduate beyond simple, personal levitation yet?

Oh, I think I figured it out. The word must be "screw". The three hyphens with the "s" suggested to me a four-letter word but none that I could think of fit. I feel much better now.

I personally don't think teleportation is causally possible but I do agree that it would be nice technology to have.

that is a good word, but i left the rest blank so we can use more words , why just stop at one when we can have abundance

sure wound be , i would call it Spirit Propulsion Inc.

Hi Xango, two thought spring to mind on this subject.

Firstly, I don't see Heaven or Hell as actual places - but a metaphorical way of describing your connection or disconnection with God, people and Nature in general. Thus, Heaven is feeling connected, Hell feeling disconnected. Another way of saying it is Heaven is when you feel part of the whole - Hell when you're living in your own ego. You can be in Heaven when you hear wonderful music, see a great sunset or get hugged by a small child.The clue is when you're unaware of yourself! Another clue is when tears spring unexpectantly to your eyes.

Secondly, what happens when you die? I have a hunch it'll be rather like being born. It'll just happen - and you'll have no memory of what came before it.

I have a few ideas of heaven. One fixed idea just won't do. The one I entertain the most would be the idea put forth

by JamesK. I often wonder why the Jews  didn't question Jesus more about heaven  since Jesus said he came down from heaven (reading the bible literally).  Biblical descriptions are vague.

An idea of the afterlife  not mentioned here is the one given by the Jehovah Witnesses. They believe all people go to the grave until the physical  resurrection of the body at the end of the world I presume. It was explained to me by the JW's that regarding the soul.... God keeps it in memory just as if you build a house you have the memory of it. Those who don't believe in God simply stay asleep; end of story.....extinquished forever. The believers live on earth with God for 1000 years or something like that.  I'm not 100% sure but I don't think the JW's believe in hell per se.

Jesus says in the NT "whosoever believeth in me shall not perish but have everlasting life". "Perish" means extinction as I understand it ? The Old T. also says : "The soul that sinneth shall die".

Of course I don't take the bible literally or understand it as such. It says there was war in heaven....that's nice....and also in the book of  Rev. God sends angels to destroy the earth....the angels don't sound very loving....lol...I read it as some kind of imagery.

P.S. I also agree with Pilgrim's Progress although reincarnation is a big  possibility  meaning we retain our earthly memories  or consciousness temporarily as a means of judging ourselves re our karma .

From the writings of Alice Bailey:

(1) Devachan: A state intermediate between two earth lives into which the Ego enters after its separation from its lower aspects or sheaths.

(2) There has been a great deal of misunderstanding of this experience (devachan). The general idea has been that, after the process of ridding himself of the astral and mental bodies, the man enters into a sort of dream state wherein he re-experiences and reconsiders past events, in the light of the future, and undergoes a sort of rest period, a kind of digestive process, in preparation for the undertaking of renewed birth. This somewhat erroneous idea has arisen because the concept of time still governs theosophical presentations of truth. If, however, it is realised that time is not known apart from the physical plane experience, the entire concept of devachan clarifies. From the moment of complete separation from the dense physical and etheric bodies, and as the eliminative process is undertaken, the man is aware of past and present; when elimination is complete and the hour of soul contact eventuates and the manasic vehicle is in process of destruction, he becomes immediately aware of the future, for prediction is an asset of the soul consciousness, and in this the man temporarily shares. Therefore, past, present, and future are seen as one; the recognition of the Eternal Now is gradually developed from incarnation to incarnation, and during the continuous process of rebirth. This constitutes a state of consciousness (characteristic of the normal state of the advanced man) which can be called devachanic.

Hi Xango, Good Topic

There is a lot of opinions as to what heaven might be like.  People who experience near death experiences often speak of going through a tunnel into a world of bright light that they experience as pure love. Some speak of seeing a white God or Jesus figure, some see loved ones who have died previously.    Our five senses make us aware of one reality that we are experiencing. There may well be other realities that are going on concurrent to our reality that some of us may experience in the dream state or in deep meditation. When we die we may go to another plane or reality. A very few very  sensitive people are apparently able to see and communicate with the spirits of deceased people.  Arminius suggests a memory body may survive death. Another possibility is that time and space as we know it does not exist in the spirit world. When you die you do not take your memories with you but you can review the past and the future at will.  For some of us being able to review the past and having everyone else who have every lived and died also being able to review our past could be punishment in itself.

I myself don't believe that there is a heaven and a hell and  a god  who decides where one will go. I also don't believe that this life is all there is, and when we die there is oblivion. What there is after death however, is open to speculation , and I am in no hurry to find out............