18. Imagine heaven
Beta Version from October 5, 2018
Copyright 2018 by Donald R. Tveter, don@dontveter.com

This document may be freely distributed provided it is complete and unchanged.


First, read Marshall Brain's essay: Imagine heaven

The conversation between Chris and Norm is pointless. Yes, at some point Christ returns to take His people off to Heaven, very likely before all hell breaks loose on Earth as THE anti-Christ takes over. Will clothes and dentures and gold fillings be left behind? Well, maybe and maybe not. It's anybody's guess. What difference does it make? Although leaving those things behind will probably be very effective in spooking a lot of people and getting them to take the Bible seriously. Of course it all sounds impossible if you believe in 19th century science. Miracles are easy to do in the block universe. (See Miracles Are Easy.)

As to what's in Heaven, consult chapters 21 and 22 of the Book of Revelation. It's a real physical world with buildings, trees, water, fruit and so on. It will be much like Chicago in the summertime, except much nicer :-). No crooked politicians. No taxes. No thieves. No litter. No traffic jams. No need for money. No sinners of any sort. No atheists! Plastic shopping bags will be free! People will have new bodies that will never wear out or get sick. Here on Earth now, God follows the "laws" of physics very closely. The so-called "laws" of physics that science has found are really just patterns that God usually follows very closely. But God doesn't have to follow them so closely in heaven so things that we now consider miraculous will be routine there.

As to where it is, who knows? Maybe it could be somewhere in this universe but far, far away. Or in another universe. Most people are convinced that they have an immortal soul (even if they aren't Christian) so they expect their soul will go somewhere. Physics hasn't discovered everything yet so it is way too soon to say that no such place exists.

Brain wants you to think you are delusional if you believe in heaven. Or is Brain delusional by clinging to the 19th century understanding of the world and assuming that he knows everything?