According to the post-biblical Midrash, eight people went to (or will go to) heaven (also referred to as the Garden of Eden and paradise) alive: Enoch, Noah's great grandfather (Genesis 5:22–24) Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) Serah, daughter of Asher, son of Jacob (Midrash Yalkut Shimoni (Yechezkel 367))
The Bible does not say in any part that it is only the 144,000 that will go to heaven. The revelation to John supports Matthew 8:11, which says that many will come from every corner of the earth to sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The number 144,000 that were sealed or chosen are not pre-chosen.
You enter heaven by forgiveness and through the righteousness that Jesus gives you. You do not enter into heaven by the Christian life. It's always true that where faith is birthed, works will follow, but salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
In religious or mythological cosmology, the seven heavens refer to seven levels or divisions of the Heavens. The concept, also found in the ancient Mesopotamian religions, can be found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; a similar concept is also found in some other religions such as Hinduism.
Our old, physical body will be left behind; our new, spiritual body will be “raised up.” The Scripture reveals that our resurrection body will be a spiritual body perfectly suited to be with the Lord forever in Heaven. The apostle Paul agreed with Jesus' words and timing according to 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (ESV).
God will give us new bodies in heaven -- bodies that will be similar to Christ's body after His resurrection. The Bible says that Christ, "by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:21).
. He says the heavenly city has four sides, each with three gates, corresponding to the 12 tribes of Israel. Then he mentions 12 huge foundation stones, which correspond to the 12 apostles. After this, John says the heavenly city is a perfect cube, each side being 12,000 stadia, or 1,400 miles.
The First Heaven is the heaven (reality) we see with our natural eyes. the Second Heaven is where Satan has his throne and the fallen angels dwell (unholy dark realm). The Third Heaven is where God has His throne (celestial kingdom) and rules and reigns over the universe.
The “Twelve Gates” have their origin in folklore, mythology and scripture. In the Book of Revelations (Revelation 21:12), there is reference to the twelve gates, each of which represents a different passageway to heaven.
Sacred Scripture teaches that Enoch and Elijah were assumed into heaven while still alive and not experiencing physical death.
Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (I Cor. 6:9-10).
Even so, God "sits" in the heavens, a reference to His throne (Isaiah 6:1), from which He rules heaven and earth.
Heaven will be an infinite world of new discoveries, and Jesus Christ will unfold them to you. Thomas Boston says: The divine perfections will be an unbounded field, in which the glorified shall walk eternally, seeing more and more of God; since they can never come to the end of the infinite.
"Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven" (Matthew 7:21).
There is one God in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. All three are separate, distinct and possessing specific roles while at the same time one God.
Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy is considered an epic masterpiece and a foundational work of the Western canon. We offer this short guide to the nine circles of Hell, as described in Dante's Inferno.
In fact, the Bible indicates we will know each other more fully than we do now. The Apostle Paul declared, "Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). It's true that our appearance will change, because God will give us new bodies, similar to Jesus' resurrection body.
According to Dr. Mortimer, heaven lay within the sun as a vast globe, “at least 500,000 miles in diameter.”
That means the sky holds 4,824,146,196 gallons of water. At eight pounds per gallon, that's another 38,593,169,564 pounds of water in the air. Add it all up, and the total weight of our sky is 12,107,415,382,493,169,564 pounds, more than 12 quintillion pounds!
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
The news of man's fall spread through heaven. According to another theory, Adam and Eve were about 15 feet tall. After the sin of Adam and Eve, death and decay appeared. [children] to them; these were the heroes, who of old were men of renown.
Many Christians rely on Matthew 22:30, in which Jesus tells a group of questioners, "At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”
Your heart stops beating. Your brain stops. Other vital organs, including your kidneys and liver, stop. All your body systems powered by these organs shut down, too, so that they're no longer capable of carrying on the ongoing processes understood as, simply, living.