Heaven

Eternal life?

1. Ha-olam hazeh = ‘present age’

2. Ha-olam ha-ba = ‘age to come’

zoe aionios = the ‘life of the age to come.’

eg Luke 18:18,

‘what must I do to inherit zoe aionios?’

John 3:16 – God so loved the world?

“This, you see, is how much God loved the world: enough to give his only, special son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost but should have the life of the age to come.”

Heaven is the dimension of God’s creation where God’s will is done => and only God’s will is done.

Heaven is that place where things are as God intends them to be.

Earth?

Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed be your name: Your kingdom come, your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Hell on earth?

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (cf. Lk 16:19-31)

Called to be image bearers

in the grace and love of God

Purgatory

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.

Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi (44-48)

“The fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour.“ [47]

“Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone. The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve...” [48]

As heaven crashes into earth

Building for the kingdom of God

• Every act of love
• Every work of art or music
• Every minute spent teaching
• Every act of care or nurture
• Every prayer

makes the name of Jesus more honoured

Remember – heaven is important – but it is not the end of the world!

The Apostles’ Creed concludes with “I believe in … the resurrection of the body and life everlasting”; and the Nicene Creed closes with “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

New Creation

True or false?

01 After death the spirit is reincarnated in a new earthly form, and lives again on earth.

(Mostly) True or false?

02 When we die, there are

three possible options:

we will go to either

heaven or purgatory or hell.

(Mostly) True or false?

03 When we die, there are only two possible options: we will go to either heaven or hell.

True or false?

04 After death the spirit (or soul) lives on forever in heaven (perhaps via purgatory),

without any body.

True or false?

10 There is no such place as hell, or if there is, no one is there because the love of God is so great that everyone will be saved.

True or false?

05 Heaven is best imagined as a place with white fluffy clouds, there are lots of harps, people spend lots of time praying, eat low-fat spreads, and everyone has wings.

True or false?

09 Purgatory is part of heaven – if you like, heaven’s bathroom, where we get cleaned up before we are able to enter heaven.

True or false?

06 After death the spirit (or soul) lives on forever, to be reunited (one day) with the risen body.

True or false?

08 Purgatory is a place of immense suffering and terrible turmoil that is almost identical with hell.

(Mostly) True or false?

07 Heaven is the ultimate destination, the final ‘home’.

DEATH

Rev 21 - 22

hell

nothing

heaven

Jesus

Saved?

justice

hope?

funeral

creation

purgatory

cremation

I Corinthians 3:12-15

Luke 18:18-30

zoe aionios

Hell

In Hebrew

Sheol

In Greek

Hades

Heaven

In the Old Testament:

Not really about hell as a final destination...

real place / space

Mark/Luke: “kingdom of God”

In the New Testament:

Matthew: “kingdom of heaven.”

Baruch Hashem Adonai

Gehenna

- the valley (Ge) of Hinnom -

the garbage dump for Jerusalem

You become what you worship

Sometimes you get to experience the 'age to come' right now!

What if you’re a really good person, but you get into a really, really bad fight and your leg gets gangrene and it has to be amputated.

Will it be waiting for you in heaven?

photo credit Nasa / Goddard Space Flight Center / Reto Stöckli