philbymon wrote:
The kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom for christians? They are not interchangeable.
Christianity is merely a religion. And religion is merely a
TOOL for building self-discipline and a deeper relationship with God.
TOOLS SHOULD
NOT BE WORSHIPPED!
We don't worship hammers or screwdrivers.
They serve a specific purpose, in the proper context, and nothing more.
I think God looks forward to the END OF RELIGION.
That is my personal belief.
Religion is a MEANS to having a deeper relationship with God, but it is NOT the relationship itself. THAT is what is most important. THE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD... not the tools used to facilitate it.
If religion were to continue forever, it would mean that the individual utilizing that tool, was ALWAYS inept at developing an independent relationship with God. It would mean he was PERPETUALLY in a state of separation from God. That is
NOT God's ideal or goal.
philbymon wrote:
Either way, are you talking about a "perfect" existence? No more death? No more suffering of the little children? No more aging & the pains that go with it? No more hunger or strife or anything bad ever again?
Wow. You really DON'T read any of my religious theories and beliefs all the way through, do you?
Death was ALWAYS intended for the "physical" world. It is NOT a product of the fall of man. Our physical existence serves a specific, but BRIEF purpose... as such, it was ALWAYS intended to end. The natural state of the PHYSICAL world is "death" and "decay". It is DESIGNED to be temporal and not permanent. It is a SHADOW of the spiritual existence. It is the OPPOSITE of the spiritual existence. The natural state of the physical world is NON-PERMANENCE (as the 2nd law of Thermodynamics attests) whereas the natural state of the SPIRITUAL world is ETERNAL, NOTHING DECAYS, NOTHING DIES. The natural state of the PHYSICAL WORLD is "darkness"... remove the few things (sun, fire, etc...) providing us light, and it is BLACKNESS... COMPLETE DARKNESS. Whereas the natural state of the SPIRITUAL world is ONLY LIGHT... the Bible describes it as not even having SHADOWS... that God Himself ILLUMINATES that existence, so that it is ONLY LIGHT.
The physical world, and the spiritual world, are nearly POLAR OPPOSITES.
So... "No"
The KOH on Earth, has nothing to do with PHYSICAL DEATH and PHYSICAL PAIN... both of which are NATURAL (in this world) and have PURPOSE.
It is people (including some Christians) who do not understand the SPIRITUAL aspect of life, that wish for longer lives, the absence of death, etc... They do not relate much with spiritual things, so they want the things they DO relate with (physical things) to last forever!
But our physical existence was never designed to last forever.
philbymon wrote:
Describe it as you see it to me.
Heaven is a SPIRITUAL STATE of existence. When your spirit is in oneness with God, communing with Him, then your spirit LITERALLY EXISTS in Heaven, for as long as that lasts. The Bible says we should "pray without ceasing" which incidentally, beats the heck out of the commands of other religions who say to pray 3 times daily, or 5, etc...
And it is for that very reason. We should learn to WALK WITH GOD, to be in a prayerful state... EACH MOMENT, of EVERY DAY. Because we are in Heaven SPIRITUALLY when we do.
The Bible claims that Lucifer was
THROWN DOWN from Heaven to Earth, after he sinned. But the Bible also claims that Adam and Eve, were
CAST OUT of the Garden of Eden, when THEY sinned. Both statements are BASED in truth, but not accurate LITERALLY.
The part that is true in reality, is that SIN REMOVES US from the PRSENCE OF GOD! But it is not God doing the kicking out. It is a NATURAL LAW, much like gravity, only spiritually based.
Lucifer and Adam and Eve sinned, and this REMOVED THEM
AUTOMATICALLY from the presence of God!
Prior to sinning, Lucifer was in Heaven, but... SO WERE ADAM AND EVE!
The "Garden of Eden" is not a PHYSICAL PLACE, but a SPIRITUAL PLACE! The Garden was HEAVEN. Before sin, Adam and Eve enjoyed a PERFECT RELATIONSHIP with God, in the PRESENCE OF GOD, meaning... IN HEAVEN!
So, what does this mean for the KOH on EARTH?
The KOH on EARTH, simply means that the PHYSICAL STATE OF EXISTENCE, resembles a perfect SPIRITUAL STATE OF EXISTENCE!
In other words, when the majority of the world's peoples, enjoy a relationship with God THROUGH LOVE, in their hearts, on a consistent basis, then THE PHYSICAL WORLD, where our ACTIONS are realized, would begin to resemble this change of heart.
When our HEARTS are more loving, our ACTIONS will become more loving.
That is ALL the KOH on EARTH is... Societies ruled by LOVE... above money, above self, above even LAWS.
Many societies have improved throughout history... with equal rights, civil rights, termination of slavery, fading of dictatorships, etc... Society is already approaching this NEW AGE. Widespread media and Internet, makes this process that much easier. But the forces aligned against goodness and love and equality, do not want that reality to come about.
Growth, whether physical or spiritual, involves PAIN!
The world is currently going through birth pangs, as the new age emerges, but also GROWING PAINS, as societies progress past historic fears and resentments, and move toward a world based more upon compassion, and equality, and sacrifice for the good of all.
This NEW AGE of common direction, and cooperation, does not mean that sin can never exist again. Sin is sometimes merely a JUVENILE related thing, involving lack of experience or naivety. Children are GROWING and LEARNING... they will sin, as long as the physical world exists. We make mistakes before we learn to correct them, before we fully understand why another way, is smarter and better.... like a child stealing toys from another child.
The difference will be...
That sins by ADULTS would be greatly diminished. And that when children grow up, seeing GOODNESS and KINDNESS and LOVE all around them, as the more normal state of a community's existence, then THEY TOO would emulate those traits FAR MORE EASILY and QUICKLY!
It would be ODD and UNUSUAL and result in SHAME, to be one of the few expressing violence, in a world of peaceful communities. That person would quickly fall back into line, when he was embarrassed at everyone's disappointment... he being the one, that was behaving in a way, reminiscent of the "old ways" or the "primitive ways" that history had been progressing us away from for many millennia.
When such society's progressed, with minor set backs here and there, until there were no set backs any longer... and no one could even remember in recent memory, when the last war was... and eventually even, when the last murder was, then the force of history's lessons, becomes even more profound, and the SHOCK of betraying civility again, would become even more pronounced and abhorrent.
When the world was finally living in peace, for the common good... countries in cooperation with one another... ANYTHING that began to betray that enlightened state of existence, would be rectified immediately, as NO ONE would be in a hurry to return to the days of HATRED, and FEAR and INTOLERANCE.
THAT would be the KOH on EARTH.
And God is working to see those days arrive, so that we (humanity) can explore the Cosmos, and find other worlds to settle. god did not create such a vast Cosmos merely to impress us, or to look at little pieces of it, through telescopes. He created it, for us to have room to EXPAND into countless future generations.
But until we realize our common destiny as a SPECIES, and learn to cooperate and turn away from a history of war, He cannot allow us the knowledge that could accomplish this. We would pollute the Cosmos as opposed to Earth alone. He cannot allow us to spread our FIGHTING, and SELFISHNESS into the greater Cosmos, which would in turn result eventually, in wars between PLANETS, rather than merely countries. He wants us to solve those issues NOW, and then, He will open our minds to greater levels of scientific understanding, which would then be used for the BENEFIT of humanity... and not it's DESTRUCTION!