Heaven (Again)

[resurrection33]

I suspect a lot of people think they are going to heaven, yet they refuse to do the thing they need to do to get there:

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt 4:17 RSV

[19] Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.

[20] This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
Psalm 118:19-20 RSV

The people who have repented are already in heaven.

 

[Rudimental]

The people who have repented are already in heaven.

Interesting. Do you mean literally?

 

[Depleted]

I suspect a lot of people think they are going to heaven, yet they refuse to do the thing they need to do to get there:

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt 4:17 RSV

[19] Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.

[20] This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
Psalm 118:19-20 RSV

The people who have repented are already in heaven.

How about somewhere in the middle? I do know I'm in the kingdom already, but this isn't heaven. If there will be a time when there is a new heaven and a new earth, then this can't be heaven. BUT God is the king of all, and we belong to him, so we are in his kingdom.

Heaven is a place where there will be no sorrows or tears. That's not here.

 

[MsSuzanna]

The OP sets himself up for some serious scrutiny. I wonder if he is aware of this. Its easier to point out sin in others than to look inward.... I see a whole lot of hypocrisy on this site. Oh my! LOL

 

[MsSuzanna]

When we look at others and say" I am so glad I am not like this", it makes us a liar. Because we are ALL guilty of not being the witness we should be day in and day out!

 

[Depleted]

The OP sets himself up for some serious scrutiny. I wonder if he is aware of this. Its easier to point out sin in others than to look inward.... I see a whole lot of hypocrisy on this site. Oh my! LOL

One of the things I like to do to stop people from going off on each other is to paint a huge bullseye on myself and take such a big shot that everyone points my way. If people are attacking me, at least they aren't attacking my friends. I'm an empathizer, so if someone attacks a friend, I probably hurt more than the friend hurts, becuase I don't know how much that friend hurts. Attack me, and I know I have rhino skin. If it hurts, at least I know how much it hurts and I can take it. Better yet, my friend doesn't need to anymore.

Does it matter why anyone else does anything? Isn't it better to think out how we'll respond? And ultimately, isn't that response supposed to be Christ centered, not me centered?

 

[Zmouth]

I suspect a lot of people think they are going to heaven, yet they refuse to do the thing they need to do to get there:

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt 4:17 RSV

Don't you mean 'heavens'? If it was written that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth then wouldn't it be 'heavens' afterall, Jesus wasn't the first one to come prophesying to repent for the kingdom of heaven was at heaven.

Making inquiry is not an attack on the poster.

 

[Blain]

I don't think it's our place to say who gets to go to heaven or not, I can't say that someone isn't going to heaven for several reasons I don't know their hearts I don't know how God is going to change them and also it isn't my place to say.
Now an unrepentant non Christian I can say at the moment he is not going to heaven but to say he won't go to heaven is incorrect because for all I know he could be saved the very next hour.

But I have repented and as far as I know I am not heaven

 

[MsSuzanna]

One of the things I like to do to stop people from going off on each other is to paint a huge bullseye on myself and take such a big shot that everyone points my way. If people are attacking me, at least they aren't attacking my friends. I'm an empathizer, so if someone attacks a friend, I probably hurt more than the friend hurts, becuase I don't know how much that friend hurts. Attack me, and I know I have rhino skin. If it hurts, at least I know how much it hurts and I can take it. Better yet, my friend doesn't need to anymore.

Does it matter why anyone else does anything? Isn't it better to think out how we'll respond? And ultimately, isn't that response supposed to be Christ centered, not me centered?

No disrespect meant to you but sometimes you are so wordy that you lose me. I have no idea what you are trying to say here. Are you agreeing with me or are you disagreeing?

 

[Zmouth]

One might say that the Kingdom of God is the place where the LORD is King.

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 17:20-21

Of course it is written;


But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. Luke 11:20

 

[resurrection33]

How about somewhere in the middle? I do know I'm in the kingdom already, but this isn't heaven. If there will be a time when there is a new heaven and a new earth, then this can't be heaven. BUT God is the king of all, and we belong to him, so we are in his kingdom.

Heaven is a place where there will be no sorrows or tears. That's not here.

Repentance makes the tears go away.

 

[resurrection33]

The OP sets himself up for some serious scrutiny. I wonder if he is aware of this. Its easier to point out sin in others than to look inward.... I see a whole lot of hypocrisy on this site. Oh my! LOL

The OP doesn't mind being scrutinized. The OP hasn't pointed his finger at anyone.

 

[resurrection33]

When we look at others and say" I am so glad I am not like this", it makes us a liar. Because we are ALL guilty of not being the witness we should be day in and day out!

Jesus requires us to repent, so it's something we should talk about, unless we are all perfect. Are we all perfect?

 

[resurrection33]

Don't you mean 'heavens'? If it was written that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth then wouldn't it be 'heavens' afterall, Jesus wasn't the first one to come prophesying to repent for the kingdom of heaven was at heaven.

Making inquiry is not an attack on the poster.

There was nothing disrespectful about your post.

I just ran a search on my online Bible software. I searched for the word "heaven" and there were 832 hits. This included the word "heavens." Then I ran a search on the word "heavens." I only got 189 hits. Subtracting the 189 hits from the 832, you wind up with 643 hits on "heaven" and 189 hits on "heavens." But all that aside, I think you will find heaven is what your life turns in to when you repent of your sin.

 

[resurrection33]

I don't think it's our place to say who gets to go to heaven or not, I can't say that someone isn't going to heaven for several reasons I don't know their hearts I don't know how God is going to change them and also it isn't my place to say.
Now an unrepentant non Christian I can say at the moment he is not going to heaven but to say he won't go to heaven is incorrect because for all I know he could be saved the very next hour.

But I have repented and as far as I know I am not heaven

Jesus told people their sins were forgiven. Some thought he had no authority to say such a thing, but he only said it because he knew the Father in heaven had forgiven them of their sins.

And so it is with me. I have no authority to say who goes to heaven and who doesn’t, but I’m quite sure that heaven is what our lives turn in to when we repent of our sin.