When I learned that the Bible speaks of a restored Garden of Eden and the restoration of mankind to the perfection and endless life that Adam forfeited, I was thrilled. Who doesn't want to keep living on this beautiful earth, with our loved ones, and being able to do all the things we love to do---endlessly?
If God said to you today, "When do you want to die?" would you say "now!!"? I don't think very many people would say that.
We CAN live forever here on Earth. The Bible tells us that we can.
Matthew 5:5
Psalm 37:9-11,29
Paradise on Earth
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onewithhim
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onewithhim
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JehovahsWitness
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Post #752
On that we can agree. Will there in your opinion be any trees, plants, flowers? Will there be animals on the earth during this time?tam wrote: We do inherit the earth. ... that Paradise (the garden of Eden) ... is once again upon the earth.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
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tam
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Post #753
JehovahsWitness wrote:On that we can agree. Will there in your opinion be any trees, plants, flowers? Will there be animals on the earth during this time?tam wrote: We do inherit the earth. ... that Paradise (the garden of Eden) ... is once again upon the earth.
Yes, to all.
Peace to you.
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JehovahsWitness
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Post #754
tam wrote:JehovahsWitness wrote:On that we can agree. Will there in your opinion be any trees, plants, flowers? Will there be animals on the earth during this time?tam wrote: We do inherit the earth. ... that Paradise (the garden of Eden) ... is once again upon the earth.
Yes, to all.
Peace to you.
So there will be all these fruit trees and animals enjoying them. There will be oceans and beautiful mountains; Do you think any of the righteous living on the earth will be able to climb the mountains to enjoy the view or swim on the prestine oceans or lakes?
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
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RightReason
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Re: Paradise on Earth
Post #755[Replying to onewithhim]
I think the following is a more accurate view of what is to come. It is based on what we can know from Scripture and doesn’t come to specific speculation like what, IMO, JW and One seem to be presenting. It also doesn't focus solely on our physical destination and leave out the most important part -- being with God.
*********************************************
At the end of time, we will be raised from the dead and reunited with our bodies (cf. 1 Cor. 15:16–18).
.
Of course, ordinary bodies are not able to survive for all eternity. Paul explains that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (1 Cor. 15:50).
Our bodies will be modified somehow when we are reunited with them after the resurrection. What these modifications will be even Paul did not claim to understand, though he compared the difference between our bodies now and our bodies then to the difference between a seed and the plant that is grown from the seed (1 Cor. 15:35–44).
Elsewhere he states that Jesus "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body" (Phil. 3:21), raising the possibility that in our resurrected bodies we will be able to do many of the things that Christ was able to do in his resurrected form, such as appear or disappear from places at will, without locked doors or other barriers obstructing us.
These images are meant to convey a sense of wonder at what God has in store, but we must be careful of how literally we take them. Paul warns us that "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor. 2:9; cf. CCC 1027). In a weekly catechesis, Pope John Paul II wrote:
In the context of Revelation, we know that the "heaven" or "happiness" in which we will find ourselves is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds but a living, personal relationship with the Holy Trinity. It is our meeting with the Father that takes place in the risen Christ through the communion of the Holy Spirit. It is always necessary to maintain a certain restraint in describing these "ultimate realities" since their depiction is always unsatisfactory (July 21, 1999).
The images Scripture gives us of heaven point to the realities that God has in store for his people. When we experience the realities that these symbols point to, we will find them more amazing, not less, than what human language could express.
The fundamental essence of heaven is union with God. The Catechism explains that "perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity . . . is called ‘heaven.’ Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness" (CCC 1024). It also states that "heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ" (CCC 1026).
Traditionally theology has explained the chief blessing or "beatitude" of heaven as "the beatific vision"—an insight into the wonder of God’s inner, invisible essence. "Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man’s immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory ‘the beatific vision’" (CCC 1028).
Because humans are made for having a conscious relationship with God, the beatific vision corresponds to the greatest human happiness possible.
Many people wonder how our relationships with others will work in heaven. Some have even wondered whether we will retain our own identities. The answer is that we will. The Christian faith assures us that those in heaven "retain, or rather find, their true identity" (CCC 1025). We do not become anonymous, interchangeable entities in heaven. Rather, we each receive our own reward (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11–15).
This does not mean that there will be no changes in our relationships. Jesus was clear in teaching that we will not be married in the next life (Matt. 22:30). But because we retain our identities, we will continue to know and love those we were close to in earthly life. Indeed, in heaven our love for them and our spiritual intimacy with them will be truer, purer, and stronger than it was in this life.
But Scripture speaks of a new heaven and a new earth and seems to locate the dwelling place of man on the new earth. In Revelation, John sees "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" (21:2, emphasis added) and then hears: "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them" (21:3).
This suggests that heaven and earth may not be separated in the way they presently are.
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print ... eally-like
Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,� face to face ... The life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have believed in him and remained faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ. ..
Christians say we will have transformed bodies, but real, physical bodies, as Christ had after his resurrection. His body could be touched and could eat. Yet it could come and go as he pleased, with neither walls nor distance as an obstacle. It was the same body he had before he died, and it was recognized as such by his friends. Yet it was so different that at first they did not recognize him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. - 1 John 3:2
In the first place the blessed look like God and in the second place like Jesus, God-made-man. Scripture tells us what in his body he was able to do after the Resurrection.c : the bodies of the saints shall be distinguished by four transcendent endowments, often called qualities: "impassibility;" "brightness," or "glory;" "agility;" and "subtility."
https://christianity.stackexchange.com/ ... -catholics
Possibly the relative lack of visions of heaven stems from the sheer incommensurability of the experience of heaven to anything on earth. 1 John 3:2 says that the change in the afterlife will be so profound, that it is inexpressible: “We are now the sons of God; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know, that, when he shall appear, we shall be like to him: because we shall see him as he is.� And St. Paul (1 Cor. 2:9) seems to warn us not even to try to conjecture what heaven will be like: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.�
On the other hand, a few things seem to be clear: Before bodily resurrection, souls in heaven will have no body, nor hands and feet. And Jesus tells us those who are saved “shall be as the angels of God in heaven.� (Matt. 22:30)
https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2013/0 ... in-heaven/
I think the following is a more accurate view of what is to come. It is based on what we can know from Scripture and doesn’t come to specific speculation like what, IMO, JW and One seem to be presenting. It also doesn't focus solely on our physical destination and leave out the most important part -- being with God.
*********************************************
At the end of time, we will be raised from the dead and reunited with our bodies (cf. 1 Cor. 15:16–18).
.
Of course, ordinary bodies are not able to survive for all eternity. Paul explains that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" (1 Cor. 15:50).
Our bodies will be modified somehow when we are reunited with them after the resurrection. What these modifications will be even Paul did not claim to understand, though he compared the difference between our bodies now and our bodies then to the difference between a seed and the plant that is grown from the seed (1 Cor. 15:35–44).
Elsewhere he states that Jesus "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body" (Phil. 3:21), raising the possibility that in our resurrected bodies we will be able to do many of the things that Christ was able to do in his resurrected form, such as appear or disappear from places at will, without locked doors or other barriers obstructing us.
These images are meant to convey a sense of wonder at what God has in store, but we must be careful of how literally we take them. Paul warns us that "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor. 2:9; cf. CCC 1027). In a weekly catechesis, Pope John Paul II wrote:
In the context of Revelation, we know that the "heaven" or "happiness" in which we will find ourselves is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds but a living, personal relationship with the Holy Trinity. It is our meeting with the Father that takes place in the risen Christ through the communion of the Holy Spirit. It is always necessary to maintain a certain restraint in describing these "ultimate realities" since their depiction is always unsatisfactory (July 21, 1999).
The images Scripture gives us of heaven point to the realities that God has in store for his people. When we experience the realities that these symbols point to, we will find them more amazing, not less, than what human language could express.
The fundamental essence of heaven is union with God. The Catechism explains that "perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity . . . is called ‘heaven.’ Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness" (CCC 1024). It also states that "heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ" (CCC 1026).
Traditionally theology has explained the chief blessing or "beatitude" of heaven as "the beatific vision"—an insight into the wonder of God’s inner, invisible essence. "Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man’s immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory ‘the beatific vision’" (CCC 1028).
Because humans are made for having a conscious relationship with God, the beatific vision corresponds to the greatest human happiness possible.
Many people wonder how our relationships with others will work in heaven. Some have even wondered whether we will retain our own identities. The answer is that we will. The Christian faith assures us that those in heaven "retain, or rather find, their true identity" (CCC 1025). We do not become anonymous, interchangeable entities in heaven. Rather, we each receive our own reward (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11–15).
This does not mean that there will be no changes in our relationships. Jesus was clear in teaching that we will not be married in the next life (Matt. 22:30). But because we retain our identities, we will continue to know and love those we were close to in earthly life. Indeed, in heaven our love for them and our spiritual intimacy with them will be truer, purer, and stronger than it was in this life.
But Scripture speaks of a new heaven and a new earth and seems to locate the dwelling place of man on the new earth. In Revelation, John sees "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" (21:2, emphasis added) and then hears: "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them" (21:3).
This suggests that heaven and earth may not be separated in the way they presently are.
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print ... eally-like
Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,� face to face ... The life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have believed in him and remained faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ. ..
Christians say we will have transformed bodies, but real, physical bodies, as Christ had after his resurrection. His body could be touched and could eat. Yet it could come and go as he pleased, with neither walls nor distance as an obstacle. It was the same body he had before he died, and it was recognized as such by his friends. Yet it was so different that at first they did not recognize him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. - 1 John 3:2
In the first place the blessed look like God and in the second place like Jesus, God-made-man. Scripture tells us what in his body he was able to do after the Resurrection.c : the bodies of the saints shall be distinguished by four transcendent endowments, often called qualities: "impassibility;" "brightness," or "glory;" "agility;" and "subtility."
https://christianity.stackexchange.com/ ... -catholics
Possibly the relative lack of visions of heaven stems from the sheer incommensurability of the experience of heaven to anything on earth. 1 John 3:2 says that the change in the afterlife will be so profound, that it is inexpressible: “We are now the sons of God; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know, that, when he shall appear, we shall be like to him: because we shall see him as he is.� And St. Paul (1 Cor. 2:9) seems to warn us not even to try to conjecture what heaven will be like: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.�
On the other hand, a few things seem to be clear: Before bodily resurrection, souls in heaven will have no body, nor hands and feet. And Jesus tells us those who are saved “shall be as the angels of God in heaven.� (Matt. 22:30)
https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2013/0 ... in-heaven/
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tam
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Post #756
JehovahsWitness wrote:tam wrote:JehovahsWitness wrote:On that we can agree. Will there in your opinion be any trees, plants, flowers? Will there be animals on the earth during this time?tam wrote: We do inherit the earth. ... that Paradise (the garden of Eden) ... is once again upon the earth.
Yes, to all.
Peace to you.
So there will be all these fruit trees and animals enjoying them. There will be oceans and beautiful mountains; Do you think any of the righteous living on the earth will be able to climb the mountains to enjoy the view or swim on the prestine oceans or lakes?
If that is what they wish to do, then sure.
Peace again...
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JehovahsWitness
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Post #757
tam wrote:JehovahsWitness wrote:tam wrote:JehovahsWitness wrote:On that we can agree. Will there in your opinion be any trees, plants, flowers? Will there be animals on the earth during this time?tam wrote: We do inherit the earth. ... that Paradise (the garden of Eden) ... is once again upon the earth.
Yes, to all.
Peace to you.
So there will be all these fruit trees and animals enjoying them. There will be oceans and beautiful mountains; Do you think any of the righteous living on the earth will be able to climb the mountains to enjoy the view or swim on the prestine oceans or lakes?
If that is what they wish to do, then sure.
Peace again...
Good to know there are other Christians that understand that we can look forward to live on a paradise earth enjoying God's beautiful creation.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
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tam
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Post #758
[Replying to post 757 by JehovahsWitness]
I am not trying to be contentious, but I have to refer you back to post 750.
I am looking forward to being with my Lord. My focus is on Him.
Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy
I am not trying to be contentious, but I have to refer you back to post 750.
I am looking forward to being with my Lord. My focus is on Him.
Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy
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JehovahsWitness
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Post #759
Fair enough but did I misunderstand that you believe the righteous will be living on the earth and that our beautiful planet will still have animals, mountains and lakes? So it's not inceivable that some of them will climb the mountains and swim in the lakes or play with the animals.tam wrote: [Replying to post 757 by JehovahsWitness]
I am not trying to be contentious, but I have to refer you back to post 750.
I am looking forward to being with my Lord. My focus is on Him.
JW
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
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onewithhim
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Post #760
Now I think you had said that people will have spirit bodies, right? If so, how could a spirit swim or really enjoy a swim?tam wrote:JehovahsWitness wrote:tam wrote:JehovahsWitness wrote:On that we can agree. Will there in your opinion be any trees, plants, flowers? Will there be animals on the earth during this time?tam wrote: We do inherit the earth. ... that Paradise (the garden of Eden) ... is once again upon the earth.
Yes, to all.
Peace to you.
So there will be all these fruit trees and animals enjoying them. There will be oceans and beautiful mountains; Do you think any of the righteous living on the earth will be able to climb the mountains to enjoy the view or swim on the prestine oceans or lakes?
If that is what they wish to do, then sure.
Peace again...
