Heaven

Everyone is trying to get to the bar

The name of the bar, the bar is called Heaven

The band in Heaven, they play my favorite song

They play it once again, they play it all night long

Heaven (Heaven) is a place

A place where nothing

Nothing ever happens

Heaven (Heaven)

Heaven is a place

A place where nothing

Nothing ever happens

There is a party, everyone is there

Everyone will leave at exactly the same time

It's hard to imagine that nothing at all

Could be so exciting, could be so much fun

Yeah, Heaven

Heaven is a place

A place where nothing

Nothing ever happens

Yeah, Heaven

Heaven is a place

A place where nothing

Nothing ever happens

When this kiss is over, it will start again

It will not be any different, it will be exactly the same

It's hard to imagine that nothing at all

Could be so exciting, could be this much fun

Heaven (Heaven) is a place

A place where nothing

Nothing ever happens

Heaven (Heaven) is a place

A place where nothing

Nothing ever happens

Firstly, God created Heaven

Lol, you are in for a big and delightful surprise. Earth could be considered a type of heaven, perhaps one day it could become one (out of many others) but to limit God to this one planet is very unfortunate. And what a waste of unimaginable space on every level. 

Firstly, God created Heaven

Did God create his heaven, or ours? Genesis does not tell us. It does tell us there are multiple gods, however. Considering that string theory allows for the potential that the universe operates in cycles of expansion [from a big bang?] to contraction, in repeated cycles over timelessness, or, eternity, if you will, and that our God is a product of generations of gods before him, perhaps one of his Fathers created the heaven our Father now inhabits. Just so, as we are able to attain godhood, we will create the heaven our children will inhabit, distant from now into the future... and so on.

ASo, perhaps the "heaven" of "heaven and earth" as described in Genesis is a more local phenomenon than the entire universe., such as is suggested by Genesis, since the sun, moon and stars that volume describes are to be used for our "day from night, and times and seasons, and days and years." [Gen 1: 14] Not very many stars out there are used for those purposes for us on Earth, are they?

God used to speak to people from clouds and burning bushes, so why doesn't he go on Facebook and show pictures of Heaven?

Who says God stopped speaking with Biblical uttering?

That places limits on God, and we, certainly, have no authority to do that.

The Genesis creation account refers to multiples in the creation process:, specifically in the creation of man " in our image"  Gen 1: 26

Yes, there are plentiful verses that advise that we worship no other gods but God, our Father. 

 But that does not discount that there are others with whim he associates, who are the progenitors of other people not of this earth, as I am certain our Father has also populated other earths like ours. 

That I owe them no allegiance does not say they do not exist.

A.  Has been understood by different interpreters in different ways

B. God never uses the term anywhere in the bible.

 The bible does not tell us there are multiple Gods.

The Bible clearly distinguishes between the ONE true God and every other pretender.

God did. 

Jesus is not the Father.  

Well respectfully, you are not certain. 

Wow!

I don't think earth is a type of heaven or even heaven itself. 

Nor do I limit God to one planet.

I take the view that heaven is God's home on earth.

Not that earth is heaven.

In the bible - Heaven is described firstly as the Garden of Eden. 

And secondly in Revelation 21-22 as a city. When you read the different descriptions and compare the two - you notice the Garden of Eden is the original heaven and the City is the eternal or everlasting one.  The city is basically the Garden of Eden on Steroids.  The mature version.

When people die on this planet - if they are have trusted Jesus, they go to paradise.

And they have plenty of things to do there. Work, eat, sleep, make love, have recreation, worship God.

Then after the world is judged - say in Revelation 20, Jesus takes them with himself to the New Jerusalem on Earth. 

This is God's home.

I suspect it is not a second place - but a reconditioned - or restored place.

The beauty of course is that there is also a new earth.

God's city is a beautiful garden city on the new earth.  This is home on earth.

The thing about God is that he does not need a home for himself.  He was before heaven and does not need heaven.

Yet because he wants to have a relationship with his people - he has fashioned this city, similarly to planting a Garden in the first place, as his home for his people to visit.

We however live in the time between the Garden of Eden and Judgment Day. In the time often known as the now and not yet.  This means that we don't experience heaven until we die in the Garden or the City. Rather, due to God's wonderful grace - we experience heaven in the Church. The church performs  a similar function to heaven. It is God's place to dwell on earth to meet with his  people.  Again if you did a biblical search you would find a common theme throughout the OT.  The tabernacle in the desert. The temple in Jerusalem. People of God in the promised land. The church in the NT.  God meets and dwells with his people.

The temple is an image of heaven. As is the church, one reason it is called a temple of God.

This means heaven MUST be God's home on earth.  At least in accordance with the bible.

God did. 

Show me where God said he has stopped speaking to man, remembering that god wrote not one word or punctuation of the Holy Bible; men did, and men can make mistakes.

That is why James tells us how to properly interpret to gain wisdom.

I agree with your assessment that the Genesis account "Let us make..." is not a royal we; God is far greater than that need that royals have to be more than their subjects. I believe gods are stratified. Yes, God is the "creator god," but others can be delegated by him to perform certain functions of creation. We know a movie producer does not do all the work, just because he is called "producer."  Skilled delegates do much work of the work on God's word.

God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate, distinct personages who are completely aligned and one in purpose, but not one in body.

Jesus is not the Father.  

Since all three personages of the godhead are worthy of worship for all they individually do for us, I worship them for the individual roles they perform in and on our behalf. Worship is praise, not some unidirectional fawning over one person, alone.

Well respectfully, you are not certain. 

Well, respectively, back at you. You have no idea of what I am certain. Return to James' epistle, and read the entirety of it. We can be certain, but there are specific steps to follow, and they cannot be short-circuited and expect to have that which is lacking in certainty. Learning is a continuous process, and we'd best be about it with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. Therein is my evidence. It's called putting faith to work.

Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 13:8; Daniel 9: 24.  

Perhaps James is mistaken? 

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons - but they are all ONE GOD. 

I don't think earth is a type of heaven or even heaven itself. 

Yet you keep saying that it IS.

Nor do I limit God to one planet.

So.. as of yet, I have heard nothing from you that indicates you believe God is not limited to this planet.

I take the view that heaven is God's home on earth.

Here we are again, have you made up your mind yet?

Not that earth is heaven.

I'm not sure what you believe to be honest, but I'd love to help you figure it out.

In the bible - Heaven is described firstly as the Garden of Eden. 

Heaven, in the Bible is an actual city, and that city is located on a planet. Not the planet Earth, there is no city in the Garden of Eden lol. The Garden of Eden was created for man, it was very much like a paradise but it was not the city or the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven on earth is to be completed at a later time. "A new heaven and a new earth".

And secondly in Revelation 21-22 as a city. When you read the different descriptions and compare the two - you notice the Garden of Eden is the original heaven and the City is the eternal or everlasting one.  The city is basically the Garden of Eden on Steroids.  The mature version.

Again I have a hard time understanding what you are saying, the Garden of Eden and the City of Heaven are not the same things, Revelations is clear about that. So if the Garden of Eden (which exists on Earth) is not the Kingdom of Heaven, Heaven exists elsewhere. Revelations says " 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God"....."10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God."

Notice, it's coming down out of the Heaven from God, meaning it's not already there, it exists on another planet. We also know there is no city in the Garden of Eden that is described as this...

"11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[c] in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits[d] thick.[e] 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[f] 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass."

This does not exist on Earth.

When people die on this planet - if they are have trusted Jesus, they go to paradise.

Some Christians might go the paradise yes, some won't. Certainly that is not on earth. Many other souls have many other options.

Then after the world is judged - say in Revelation 20, Jesus takes them with himself to the New Jerusalem on Earth. 

New, yes new. Meaning not anything we have here now.

This is God's home.

No.

I suspect it is not a second place - but a reconditioned - or restored place.

Yes, it is. One of many, many places in creation. At a later time, earth will be something completely new.

The beauty of course is that there is also a new earth.

Yes, a new earth, meaning not the one we have now.

God's city is a beautiful garden city on the new earth.  This is home on earth.

No, God's city already exists elsewhere, but in the future God's city will come down out of heaven where it already exists. And I believe that just means a rebuilt earth...not that the city of heaven will literally fall down from the sky and plant itself here. It simply means what happens in heaven will be a reality on earth in the future.

The thing about God is that he does not need a home for himself.  He was before heaven and does not need heaven.

Correct, God is omnipresent and everything and all of creation exists within God. But an incarnation (Jesus) must exist to take form and have location to any specific place.

Yet because he wants to have a relationship with his people - he has fashioned this city, similarly to planting a Garden in the first place, as his home for his people to visit.

The Garden of Eden began as a paradise on earth for mankind, it is not a city of heaven. The city of heaven is described for you above. The garden was just a beautiful garden located on earth.

We however live in the time between the Garden of Eden and Judgment Day. In the time often known as the now and not yet.  This means that we don't experience heaven until we die in the Garden or the City. Rather, due to God's wonderful grace - we experience heaven in the Church. The church performs  a similar function to heaven. It is God's place to dwell on earth to meet with his  people.  Again if you did a biblical search you would find a common theme throughout the OT.  The tabernacle in the desert. The temple in Jerusalem. People of God in the promised land. The church in the NT.  God meets and dwells with his people.

I've been submerged in the Bible and Christian teachings since I was a young boy. I'm well aware of what the Bible says and what is Christian fundamentalist teaching. There is some truth to it, yet there is much missing.

The temple is an image of heaven. As is the church, one reason it is called a temple of God.

Sure, not really sure what your point is though. We are talking about heaven itself. Heaven itself has a distinct location even though it can be tapped into from earth.

This means heaven MUST be God's home on earth.  At least in accordance with the bible.

Again you contradict your own statement..."I don't think earth is a type of heaven or even heaven itself. "

Let me break this down for you as a Christian so that this is very clear for you. Heaven already exists as a city on a planet (not earth). This is where the angels, Jesus, the prophets, the saints and all of God's people currently dwell. The Earth was created and the Garden of Eden was established as a paradise on earth for man (not God). It no longer is what it once was....One day, after the temporary rule of the gods of this world the earth will once again be rebuilt and ruled by the Kingdom of heaven which exists elsewhere. When this rule takes place, it will come down from Heaven where Jesus rules this particular Kingdom and all of those who will be a part of it will reign this planet. It will be a new earth and new heaven, meaning something that does not already exist on this planet.

Jesus' Kingdom is not currently on this planet, though his Kingdom is also channeled through every believer (on earth as it is in Heaven). This world is occupied by many various principalities, powers and rulers in high places but will one day be resurrected as a glorious planet and controlled by the Kingdom of heaven.

Hebrews: Nothing in these verses describe an end of God speaking to man. Yes, at Christ's beginning of his ministry, Jesus spoke as the Son of God, and he said on many occasions that what he spoke were not his words, but those given him by God the Father; iow, still God's word.

Corinthians: Nothing in this verse indicates a cessation of God speaking to man [except as through Christ, as noted in Hebrews]. Paul is saying that there may be prophesies, tongues, and knowledge, but that these shall fall when "that which is perfect [Jesus Christ] is come" that these other utterances will cease, because Christ, himself, will again be on the Earth. He is speaking of that future time, not in Paul's time in the first century. This would necessarily imply that god speaks to man by prophecy from heaven until the time Christ returns.

Daniel: Nothing in these verses say God stops speaking to man. Daniel and the Israelites have been allowed to return to Jerusalem, released by the Babylonians in ~525 BCE, after spending roughly 80 years in Babylon [from ~605 BCE, when Babylon sacked Jerusalem and destroyed Solomon's temple. Daniel is told to re-build the temple, which is completed ~505 BC. The "seal up the vision and prophecy" speaks to Daniels own vision and prophecy being sealed as  told in this chapter, but says nothing regarding a cessation of prophecy or visions to instruct on a further basis, else we should not have the records of Hosea through Malachi, 12 prophets in all. Do we ignore them based on your interpretation of Daniel, let alone the advent of Christ 500+ years later?

Perhaps James is mistaken? 

Did the Holy Spirit tell you that, too?

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons - but they are all ONE GOD. 

Three personages = one God? What's wrong with three personages = 3 Gods, united in purpose, but separate individuals? If nothing else, Occam's razor... makes more sense without having to noodle something out of "let us make man in our image." I also worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost - 3 persons of divine nature. 3 = 3 makes a whole lot more sense, and less contradiction, than does 3 = 1. Particularly sense my whole purpose here, on earth, is to ultimately become like them with my continued obedience. I am, after all, as all of us are, a child of God. Should I not try to become like my parents? [Implying that I also have a Mother in Heaven, a Goddess, yeah?]

NOW he speaks through Jesus. 

You don't worship Jesus since you don't worship the Trinity. 

 I also worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost - 3 persons of divine nature. 

Since all three personages of the godhead are worthy of worship for all they individually do for us, I worship them for the individual roles they perform in and on our behalf. Worship is praise, not some unidirectional fawning over one person, alone.

 our God is a product of generations of gods before him, perhaps one of his Fathers created the heaven our Father now inhabits. Just so, as we are able to attain godhood, we will create the heaven our children will inhabit, distant from now into the future... and so on.

Do you intentionally just misread the bible?  The vision was sealed up within a generation of Jesus being crucified on the cross. 

The Mormon church is not a Christian church. I

You continue to insist on limiting God. The greatest sin is to limit God. Don't.

NOW he speaks through Jesus. 

"Now" was then, in the time of Paul writing to the Hebrews; first century CE. But Jesus ascended to heaven, where God dwells. But, do not ignore Perter's words in Acts 2, 3. Read these entire chapters how, on theDay of Pentacost. the Holy Ghost descended on the crowd of roughly 3,000 souls, who spoke on tongues and prophesied contrary to your claim that prophecy ended with Christ.

Do not ignore that Peter prophesied that in the "times of trhe restitution of all things"  that would include the return of the Lord, Jesus Christ to Earth, that prophesies and miracles would again fill the Earth, contrary to your claim. Sure, you can pick out scriptures that appear, to some, to say others, and I challenge you to show me that the verses you idewntifi3ed say specifically that God should cease speaking to man, even through his Son, Jesus Christ. They don't say  that at all. Hebrews, Corinthians, Daniel, and Acts do bot contradict me. Period.

You continue to wringing your hands over James.  Just do what he says and see if he is wrong. Do all of it, in the order given, even, if you want to be that precise. If you do not want to try it, you cannot claim he might be wrong. You have the means to do everything he says. So stop bitching about it and do it. The entire epistle is a gold mine, Use it.

You don't worship Jesus since you don't worship the Trinity. 

Rather cheeky to accuse me of whom I worship. I said: [#44]

 I also worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost - 3 persons of divine nature. 

That equals the Trinity; three personages. I also said: [#41]

Since all three personages of the godhead are worthy of worship for all they individually do for us, I worship them for the individual roles they perform in and on our behalf. Worship is praise, not some unidirectional fawning over one person, alone.

I also said: [#33]

 our God is a product of generations of gods before him, perhaps one of his Fathers created the heaven our Father now inhabits. Just so, as we are able to attain godhood, we will create the heaven our children will inhabit, distant from now into the future... and so on.

Did I ever say that I worship these other Gods. No, I did not, and I do not. Acknowledging their existence does not mean I worship them. I have no reason to worship them; they have nothing to do with me, personally, nor anyone else living on Earth.

Do you intentionally just misread the bible?  The vision was sealed up within a generation of Jesus being crucified on the cross. 

Daniel 9 contains the visin and the visitation of Gabriel, who tells Daniel of seventy weeks which will pass with the following results

1. Finish the transgression,

2. Make an end of sins,

3. Make reconciliation for iniquity,

4. Bring in everlasting righteousness,

5. Seal up vision and prophecy,
6. Anoint the Most Holy.

So the vision was not sealed up in the first century CE, but within the seventy days Gabriel described and which Daniel records and bears record in his Chapter 9.

Do you intentionally misread the Bible?

The Mormon church is not a Christian church. I

It is not the Mormon Church. We do not worship Mormon. The name of the church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is self-described as being Christian. That others discount it as such, such as you, do so in ignorance. Do I accuse the Roman Catholic Church of being the Pope Church? No, I do not. I call it by the proper name that it gives itself. The members of that church deserve that appropriate respect. I'll thank you to do the same.

Were I to darken your door to seek enlightenment, tell me why I should, Christian, one who professes to be so, when I have been shown disrespect at every turn, regardless of my beliefs and my requests, to simply be called as I have described. I seek simple courtesy, and have been shown the door. Why, indeed, ought I knock rather than move on? I move on, my friend. Thanks for naught.

I leave you with my testimony of Jesus Christ, that he lives, that he is the atoning one, savior and redeemer of mankind.

 I would never base my theology on my own experience, let alone someone else's.

The truth is said in few words, most times. There are exceptions, but they are rare. Rare is not the case when the preponderance of evidence demonstrates verbosity.

 I would never base my theology on my own experience, let alone someone else's.

Mark 2: 27 "The sabbath was made for man [to experience], and not man for the sabbath  [for the sabbath to experience].

People's experience as presented by the Pharisees was wrong. 

 I would never base my theology on my own experience, let alone someone else's.

People's experience as presented by the Pharisees was wrong. 

Yet, you said 

 I would never base my theology on my own experience, let alone someone else's.

What of your experience as presented by Christ? Is that not also personal experience?

Why do you believe? Because you prayed and received a warm fuzzy feeling of peace - and now you know that you know that you know.

the Bible tells us that Jesus died and rose physically from the grave. I have never experienced people rising from the grave. I have heard stories - but never experienced it myself.  So do I start with my own experience or with the Bible? My answer is going to be - with the bible.  [..................................] When it comes to my theology - I do not have to experience Jesus rising from the dead to know he has risen from the dead.