Heaven in Christianity

In Christianity, heaven is traditionally the location of the throne of God and the angels of God, and in most forms of Christianity it is the abode of the righteous dead in the afterlife. In some Christian denominations it is understood as a temporary stage before the resurrection of the dead and the saints' return to the New Earth. In the Book of Acts, the resurrected Jesus ascends to heaven where, as the Nicene Creed states, he now sits at the right hand of God and will return to earth in the Second Coming. According to Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox teaching, Mary, mother of Jesus, is said to have been assumed into heaven without the corruption of her earthly body; she is venerated as Queen of Heaven. In the Christian Bible, concepts about Christian eschatology, the future "kingdom of heaven", and the resurrection of the dead are found, particularly in the book of Revelation and in 1 Corinthians 15.

Description The Bible does not provide much information on what Heaven is supposed to be like. As a result, Christian theologians are usually not very specific when describing heaven. The Book of Revelation states that the New Jerusalem will be transported from Heaven to Earth, rather than people from Earth going to Heaven. The idea of the Pearly gates, which is the informal name for the gateway to heaven according to some Christian denominations, comes from a description of the gates of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:21 : "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."

Philosophy One argument about the nature of heaven is whether it is possible for someone in heaven to have free will, which would normally include the freedom to sin. The nature of the issue varies depending on the specific type of freedom being discussed. One claimed solution is Augustine's view that people in heaven will no longer be tempted to disobey God. Another issue is how happiness could be possible with the knowledge that some loved ones are suffering eternally in hell. This argument was published as early as the 1800s by the theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, who said that the knowledge of anyone's suffering is incompatible with salvation. This can be framed as an argument against the doctrine of eternal hell, but also against the concept of heaven. Traditionally, theologians said that knowing the suffering of the damned would actually glorify God and therefore increase the joy in heaven. More modern responses to this argument include that bliss in Heaven would overwhelm this knowledge, that people would be at peace with the idea of eternal suffering, or that they would have no knowledge of Hell. Philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche have criticized the notion of heaven as a doctrine which was developed by people with suspicious motivations, who desired to prove that God favored their group at the expense of others, or who tried to enforce their conception of religion or morality using methods that often involved manipulation and intimidation.

Theology

Early Christianity

Scholars say that 1st-century early Jewish-Christians, from whom Christianity developed as a Gentile religion, believed that the kingdom of God was coming to Earth within their own lifetimes, and looked forward to a divine future on Earth. The earliest Christian writings on the topic are those by Paul, such as 1 Thessalonians 4–5, in which the dead are described as having fallen asleep. Paul says that the second coming will arrive without warning, like a "thief in the night," and that the sleeping faithful will be raised first, and then the living. Similarly, in the earliest of the Apostolic Fathers, Pope Clement I, expresses belief in the resurrection of the dead after a period of "slumber" at the Second Coming. In the 2nd century AD, Irenaeus, a Greek bishop, quoted presbyters as saying that not all who are saved would merit an abode in heaven itself: "[T]hose who are deemed worthy of an abode in heaven shall go there, others shall enjoy the delights of paradise, and others shall possess the splendour of the city; for everywhere the Saviour shall be seen according as they who see Him shall be worthy."

Orthodox Christianity

Eastern Orthodox cosmology Various saints have had visions of heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2–4). The Orthodox concept of life in heaven is described in one of the prayers for the dead: "…a place of light, a place of green pasture, a place of repose, from whence all sickness, sorrow and sighing are fled away". In the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, only God has the final say on who enters heaven. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, heaven is the parcel of deification (theosis), meaning to acquire the divine nature by grace and complete one's hypostasis via Christlike behavior, due to Jesus having made human entry into heaven possible by his incarnation, hence evidence of one's deification is usually miracles akin to those of Christ. Vladimir Solovyov (1853–1900), a philosopher with a Russian Orthodox background, wrote of "the Creator's theandric aim, that earth may be oned with Heaven".

Catholicism

Official teaching In Catholic teaching, heaven is the state of perfect communion with God, centered on the beatific vision. Because God transcends created understanding, heaven cannot be fully comprehended or described by human language, except insofar as God has revealed it through Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church.

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