Heaven

As Genesis, likely offered from the pen of Moses, is entirely appropriate as the opening book of Scripture, commonly identified as the Bible, so is The Revelation, given to us from the pen of the Apostle John, the fitting narrative closing the canon of Scripture.  John makes clear that his message is not something from his own search in learning, but something given to him from God.  It is up to the reader to interpret and generalize from the document to round out the understanding of the denouement of the story of the plan of God for the redemption of those electing his plan.  It has a happy ending for those embracing the promises of God.  His script was generated like that of an Old Testament prophet.  It compelled him.  He seemed to wonder at what he was doing in telling about a vision that he did not invite, and parts of which he feels some reluctance or wonder.  At the same time he makes clear that this is the final word from God to appear in written form, and comforts the reader at least in the feeling that there is nothing more to say – that God wants to say.  No other document will be issued from God to current creation.  The Apostle is relieved to learn that human beings are to live normal lives as they choose (22:11), and that the story ends with God’s victory and a magnificent conclusion for mankind that with a new creation evil is banished.

The nature of God is dominated by love.  There are many positive factors in God’s nature such as truth and peace.  They will have full expression not based on good and evil, but benefit with no concept of denial.  We tend in life to live on a continuum somewhere between the extreme of evil (negative) and the fullness of virtue (affirmative).  God’s kingdom is recognized only in the affirmative.  Evil is banished.  There is no need to find evil by contrasting it with righteousness, or finding holiness by contrasting it with evil.  The standard will be one – the Holiness of God.  All power, knowledge, truth and any other dimension of conscious life, like freedom, will emanate from the divine, never threatened with negative infection.  All conduct will be in wisdom, and creativity will be a part of the ongoing experience not only for the citizens of the kingdom of God, but for God himself.  The concept of forever repose and rest is a misrepresentation of the way God works and he means for mankind to work.  There will be no weariness or pain.  All work will be creative and fulfilling to the creative purposes of God.  The context will be entirely different.

Heaven unifies our lives.  Emotions will join the cerebral life, and cerebral will join the emotions in some form of ecstasy.  What is related to the ecstatic in earth’s natural environment becomes standard in God’s kingdom environment.  Heaven will be something like that experienced by a tourist to a foreign country.  There are differences and some similarities that form into a unity that can be identified as a different life, a shangri la for immortals where the status is citizenship.  The light swallows up earth’s memories as earth light swallowed up the womb life of nature’s child.  This does not diminish love and fellowship with those we loved in the earth sojourn.  In the new environment the righteous experience will be enhanced.  There is a mystery of community that belongs to heaven, with the special relationship of unity with all mankind represented in that kingdom.  Angels, with their Archangels, will remain Angels, on their own.  Seraphim will remain Seraphim.  We can be sure there are other communities, interacting fellowships with all the communities.  Without something of this sort of scenario we would not have a Kingdom for God.  Even with care in our reverie of thought we cannot adequately capture the context of the kingdom of God.  However, given the hints of Scripture and the journey of possible logics, we can form something of the meaning of heaven, and its environment.  That they may seem fanciful does not mean they are impossible.  We have just enough to assure us that our highest hopes related to immortality are likely less than anything we can form to give some sense to our expectations.  It is likely that some matters we want memorable will be resolved in the period of transition from our traditional earth to the establishment of the earth as God meant for it to be on the introduction of mankind in the Garden.  As we speculate about that beginning so we speculate about the next in idealism, with limited but assuring information. The beginning begins again.