Religion & Spirituality >
Heaven, Hell & Afterlife
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedIs Heaven a real place or a state of being?
Results so far:
| Being | 44% | 572 votes | Total: 1304 votes | |
| Place | 56% | 732 votes |
Being
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesHeaven is a state of being. It exists in consciousness and is experienced through what I call the "right brothers" - right thoughts, right words, right feelings, right actions, and right reactions. I have never really understood it when I heard people waiting to "die" to go to heaven,and often wondered what good it would do then. Then as I began to contemplate and understand my own existence, I realized that heaven exists in the here or now. Indeed, the very bible that serves as a road-map for many of us, quotes the way-shower Jesus as saying that the "kingdom of heaven is within" and "at hand". Never once is he quoted as saying that it was a place where one should aspire to reach after death.
Anytime one can experience the type of happiness, gratitude, joy, bliss and prosperity that comes from living one's purpose, serving unselfishly, and loving lavishly and unconditionally, that is a heavenly state. We each have, at every moment of every day, if we so choose, the opportunity to "be in heaven". It is however a conscious choice; a choice between bondage or liberty which begins in mind (thought). What and how we choose to think will always determine our life experiences, and this gives each of us the power to live in heaven or hell. As the great John Milton wrote "The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell and hell of Heaven".
Learn more about this author, Yvonne Morris.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Place
Is heaven a state of mind or an actual place? In a vague way heaven can be a state of being, anything in your imagination can be, but I still conclude that heaven is an actual place.
What IS heaven? In a childlike, black-and-white explanation, heaven is the place or dimension where God dwells in the fullness of his power and characteristics, and hell would be then the dimension where there is a complete vacuum, or emptiness, of God and all he is. If God is love and life, as the Bible scriptures say he is, heaven is where pure, unadulterated love, life, and goodness dwells. Hades, the word for hell, means, "the home of the dead." I believe that includes those that have passed on that are spiritually dead (those unresponsive to the spirit of God, our spiritual life-source), and angels of darkness as well as all that death is: pure sorrow, suffering, pain, destruction, etc. The dimension we live in on the earth is like a middle ground, or bridge, that we walk between heaven and hell, and in our world we experience characteristics of both heaven and hell.
According the the Holy Bible, heaven is in a spiritual place where the throne of God is. It is referred to as the "third heaven" among theologians. That is because in scripture texts, the sky is referred to as heaven, as well as the atmosphere beyond the sky. These would be the first and second heavens. The third heaven is the term describing the location or dimension where God himself dwells and sits on the throne of His kingdom. All scripture refers to heaven as being "up", or if something is originating from heaven it is described as coming "down", which means that heaven is outside of the earth and beyond its atmosphere.
However, even if heaven is located millions of miles from the earth, His spirit is near to all those who call upon Him. That is the beauty of God. Even though He is large enough to create the universe, He is small enough to care about us in every way. The Bible says He knows the very number of hairs on our head. Distance is irrelevant for Him. Just as we can call upon light, we can also call upon darkness, which is why it is so important not to dabble in dark arts. We do not understand other-worldliness, and what we find there can potentially dominate or destroy us.
Heaven is a place of light and life, and if we choose to make our way to heaven after this life, we must choose life. Jesus said he is the way, the truth, and the life. Here are a few more scriptures about life:
"...As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Ezekiel 33:11 King James Version.
"...I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him." Deuteronomy 30:19 Today's NIV
Learn more about this author, Kristina Emmons.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Heaven, Hell & Afterlife
- Is Hell a real place or a metaphor to deter evil-doers?
- Can you get to heaven by being good?
