Question about Heaven?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tom317
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Tom317

Guest
I have read that many people from many different faiths and traditions have the hope of receiving eternal life in Heaven. This includes Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists, et al…

I have also read that Heaven has different levels and different rewards and that Roman Catholics who remain faithful to the end of their lives will be the only souls to enjoy the fullness of the beatific vision…in other words the beatific vision has been reserved by God for Roman Catholics, though many other souls will still be saved.

Have your read anything similar to this?
 
Hello Tom,

I do not know of any Church document which exalts Catholics above non-Catholics in heaven.

One thought I have is that scripture uses the twelve tribes of Israel (non-Catholics) equal to the twelve Apostles, when describing the glory of heaven.

NAB REV 21:9 The New Jerusalem.

One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the woman who is the bride of the Lamb.” He carried me away in spirit to the top of a very high mountain and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. The city had the radiance of a precious jewel that sparkled like a diamond. Its wall, massive and high, had twelve gates at which twelve angles were stationed. Twelve names were written on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west. **The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
**
 
Steven_Merten said:
Hello Tom,

I do not know of any Church document which exalts Catholics above non-Catholics in heaven.

One thought I have is that scripture uses the twelve tribes of Israel (non-Catholics) equal to the twelve Apostles, when describing the glory of heaven.

NAB REV 21:9 The New Jerusalem.

One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the woman who is the bride of the Lamb.” He carried me away in spirit to the top of a very high mountain and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. The city had the radiance of a precious jewel that sparkled like a diamond. Its wall, massive and high, had twelve gates at which twelve angles were stationed. Twelve names were written on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west. **The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
**
Click to expand...
Great Scripture quote, thank you. However, it does not say that the twelve tribes of Israel are equal to the Apostles. It does describe two different places of honor for each group: (1) Israel is honored with the twelve gates; (2) The Apostles were honored as being the very foundation of the city. It seems to me the Apostles hold a higher place in that Scripture.
 
Tom317 said:
Great Scripture quote, thank you. However, it does not say that the twelve tribes of Israel are equal to the Apostles. It does describe two different places of honor for each group: (1) Israel is honored with the twelve gates; (2) The Apostles were honored as being the very foundation of the city. It seems to me the Apostles hold a higher place in that Scripture.
Click to expand...
Hello Tom,

We could imagine that there are no gates in heaven for the Catholics to enter through. The Kingdom of God only has gates for the twelve tribes of Israelites to enter through. So possibly there will only be Israelites living in the Kingdom of God built upon the foundation of the Apostles? I am just trying to be humorous.

The point you make could be valid. However, I think one would have to find other scriptures which also exalt the Catholic Church above the Israelite Church to use when forming such a Church doctrine. Especially a Church doctrine which will, no doubt, be offensive to non-Catholics.
 
Steven_Merten said:
Hello Tom,

We could imagine that there are no gates in heaven for the Catholics to enter through. The Kingdom of God only has gates for the twelve tribes of Israelites to enter through. So possibly there will only be Israelites living in the Kingdom of God built upon the foundation of the Apostles? I am just trying to be humorous.

The point you make could be valid. However, I think one would have to find other scriptures which also exalt the Catholic Church above the Israelite Church to use when forming such a Church doctrine. Especially a Church doctrine which will, no doubt, be offensive to non-Catholics.
Click to expand...
I think the Christian faith has been exalted by Christ–God and Scripture tells that story.
 
All those in heaven will be members of the Catholic Church. Adam was it’s first member, I’m it’s last 😛 (not really). The church is called the mystical body of Christ and all who are united to Christ are united to the head (Christ) through His body. The Church of Israel (as you are calling it) is part of this body, the Church.

The Catholic Church (abbreviated RCC) that many people talk about today is the Visible Church established by the Head of the Church before the Ascension. It is the part of His body that has authority on earth to teach, to govern, and to sanctify.

On the other hand (there is always another hand) I believe that there will be different experiences in heaven in that the more we are able to grow spiritually in this life, the more fully we will experience the beatific vision in the next. As my 8th grade teacher asked: God will fill us all with his grace in heaven, but are you going to be a thimble or an oil tanker?
 
Evan said:
All those in heaven will be members of the Catholic Church. Adam was it’s first member, I’m it’s last 😛 (not really). The church is called the mystical body of Christ and all who are united to Christ are united to the head (Christ) through His body. The Church of Israel (as you are calling it) is part of this body, the Church.

The Catholic Church (abbreviated RCC) that many people talk about today is the Visible Church established by the Head of the Church before the Ascension. It is the part of His body that has authority on earth to teach, to govern, and to sanctify.

On the other hand (there is always another hand) I believe that there will be different experiences in heaven in that the more we are able to grow spiritually in this life, the more fully we will experience the beatific vision in the next. As my 8th grade teacher asked: God will fill us all with his grace in heaven, but are you going to be a thimble or an oil tanker?
Click to expand...
I agree, everyone will be Catholic in the “universal” sense of knowing the full truth and loving God in that universal truth. Yet, the Bible speaks of rewards for our lives lived here, which reveals or implies that there will be many different levels or types of reward in heaven. I have read that a person who accepts and follows the complete universal faith (RCC), will enjoy the fullness of the Beatific Vision through eternity. Many others (Protestants, Buddhists, Muslims, etc.) can receive Heaven, yet not at the same level of reward.

I don’t think that contradicts Catholic teaching, in fact I think it goes quite well with the Church’s teachings.
 
Tom317 said:
I agree, everyone will be Catholic in the “universal” sense of knowing the full truth and loving God in that universal truth. Yet, the Bible speaks of rewards for our lives lived here, which reveals or implies that there will be many different levels or types of reward in heaven. I have read that a person who accepts and follows the complete universal faith (RCC), will enjoy the fullness of the Beatific Vision through eternity. Many others (Protestants, Buddhists, Muslims, etc.) can receive Heaven, yet not at the same level of reward.

I don’t think that contradicts Catholic teaching, in fact I think it goes quite well with the Church’s teachings.
Click to expand...
I doubt that God forces souls to relate to Him in any one way. One of the nice things about Catholicism is that you can give a great deal or only a little.

However we shouldn’t be too worried about levels of reward. On Earth men are terribly jealous, and conscious of the distinction between a janitor and a financial director, and financial director and mere human resources director. In heaven it most certainly won’t be like that.
 
Malcolm_McLean said:
I doubt that God forces souls to relate to Him in any one way. One of the nice things about Catholicism is that you can give a great deal or only a little.

However we shouldn’t be too worried about levels of reward. On Earth men are terribly jealous, and conscious of the distinction between a janitor and a financial director, and financial director and mere human resources director. In heaven it most certainly won’t be like that.
Click to expand...
I agree, yet the Bible does tell us about rewards in Heaven.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top