Dante's nine spheres of Heaven are the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and the Primum Mobile. These are associated by Dante with the nine levels of the angelic hierarchy. Dante also relies on traditional associations, such as the one between Venus and romantic love.
Ninth Sphere (Primum Mobile)
The last of the 9 Spheres of Heaven or the Primum Mobile is also the last stop before the Empyrean and the last of the physical Heavens as the Empyrean is beyond space and time.
Above this sphere of fire are the ten heavens: the Heavens of the Moon, of Mercury, of Venus, of the Sun, of Mars, of Jupiter, of Saturn, of the Fixed stars, the Primum Mobile and of the the Empyrean.
Paradiso consists of nine spheres: The first sphere is the Moon. Beatrice explains to Dante the structure of the universe. She says the Moon is the home for souls that broke their vows.
Purgatory proper consists of seven levels or terraces (Purgatorio X–XXVII) of suffering and spiritual growth, associated with the seven deadly sins. Finally, the Earthly Paradise is located at the top of the mountain (Purgatorio XXVIII–XXXIII).
A Spanish theologian from the late Middle Ages once argued that the average Christian spends 1000 to 2000 years in purgatory (according to Stephen Greenblatt's Hamlet in Purgatory). But there's no official take on the average sentence.
Lust. The final terrace of Purgatory is that of Lust. Here Dante and Virgil meet Guido Guinizzelli and Arnaut Daniel, both lyric poets, and an intense, purging fire that cleanses the souls in this terrace.
Saturn: The Contemplatives
The seventh heaven – that of Saturn – is that of contemplative thinkers. Here, Dante describes to us, Beatrice becomes even more beautiful, and Dante discusses the state of the church with St. Peter Damian and St. Benedict.
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.
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.
In traditions, each level of the eight principal gates of Paradise is described as generally being divided into a hundred degrees guarded by angels (in some traditions Ridwan). The highest level is known as firdaws (sometimes called Eden) or Illiyin.
On February 16, 1832, while working on translation of the New Testament passage John 5:29 in the upstairs bedroom of the John Johnson home, Smith and Rigdon received what was known to early Latter Day Saints as "the Vision." It detailed a heaven divided into three degrees of glory, the Celestial, Terrestrial, and ...
In fact, Deuteronomy 10:14 refers to all three in one verse: “Behold, to the Lord your God belong Heaven (#2) and the Heaven of Heavens (#3), the earth and all that is in it (#1).” During our time on earth, we dwell in the first two heavens.
McConkie said: “Speaking of himself, Paul says he was 'caught up to the third heaven,' which is the celestial kingdom” (The Mortal Messiah, 4:394).
The celestial kingdom is the highest level, with its power and glory comparable to the sun.
As we can see, the Bible offers many captivating glimpses into the nature of heaven. It is described as a place of beauty, perfection, and joy, where God's presence is fully experienced, and the redeemed worship Him for all eternity.
The Catholic Church states that, through the granting of indulgences for manifestations of devotion, penance and charity by the living, it opens for individuals "the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins".
Dante's version of Purgatory is extraordinarily detailed and, in some key respects, strikingly original. First, he imagines Purgatory as being divided up into seven terraces, each one corresponding to a vice (in the order that Dante sees them: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice and Prodigality, Gluttony and Lust).
Time is warped in Purgatory; a minute in the real world corresponds to a year in Purgatory. It is basically a universe separated from the mortal plane.
The souls in purgatory are called “holy” because they can sin no more and are guaranteed to enter heaven eventually; they are called “poor” because they cannot help themselves in their current state and can do nothing to lessen its pain or duration.
A Sixth Means of avoiding Purgatory is given us by some great saints: They say that when a sick person becomes aware that he is dying and offers to God his death with perfect resignation, it is very likely that he will go straight to Heaven.
"Birth of purgatory"
Le Goff also considered Peter the Lombard (d. 1160), in expounding on the teachings of St. Augustine and Gregory the Great, to have contributed significantly to the birth of purgatory in the sense of a physical place.
The telestial kingdom is the lowest of the three degrees or kingdoms of glory in heaven. The scriptures compare the glory of the telestial kingdom to the glory of the stars.