Re-reading all the posts, it is evident then, that there are two heavens according to Catholic theology. One is the spiritual heaven that your soul resides in while your body is dead in the coffin (which begs the question, what happens to the cremated ones when Jesus Returns?), and the other is the physical one that we all come back to when Jesus heralds a “new heaven and a new earth” upon His return.
The questions arising from this are too numerous, but I will try to put them all for your consideration.
- Why is it written in the Scriptures that there will be a “new heaven AND a new earth”, when in reality heaven and earth are all the same place when Jesus Returns.
- What is the purpose of our souls when they have been “re-attached” (if you like) to our bodies come Judgement Day, since there is no longer a need to go to the spiritual heaven again since everything heavenly is all now physical?
- Do we therefore have eternal physical life on this “new earth”? How do you reconcile this new reality with the current reality that all physical things decompose? Or is there no such thing as physical decomposition in this new earth?
- Is this going to spiritual heaven, only to come back to physicality not some form of reincarnation?
Thanks again
Kam
Kam,
There is the third invisible heaven of the eternal God and the angels, heavenly Jerusalem and of all the saints. There is the second heaven of celestial stars, planets, etc.
There is the first heaven of the atmosphere and clouds where there is spiritual warfare.
There is a difference of opinion when the new heavens and the new earth will take place. Will it take place at the time of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, or after a period of time (called the millenium) during the reign of Jesus Christ on earth when the earth will be restored to its pre-Adamic fall into corruption and death. When the earth will be restored in its former Eden-like state, as the prophet Isaiah says in chapter 65:
Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reacha a hundred
will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.They will not toil in vain
or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,
they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
Ultimately, the purpose of God is that
‘God might be all in all’ This is thought of by some to represent the new heavens and the new earth.
**For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. ** (from I Corinth. 15).
So, to answer at least one of your questions, Jesus Christ must come to restore to the human race and to creation what was corrupted by the enemy of our souls, who is called Satan. “
But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world” Wisdom 2:24.
Through his temptation, Adam and Eve sinned and the entire human race now suffers from spiritual and physical death. Creation itself became corrupted. If Jesus Christ does not restore to God’s creation what Satan destroyed, then Satan would be the victor. As it is, by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ is the hope for ourselves, and for all of creation.
Kam, these are my comments that I have come to understand from the scriptures and some of the early church fathers. They do not necessarily reflect all that is Catholic teaching on this subject. So, take my comments with a grain of salt.
By the way, the previous post explains Catholic teaching, as by now you discover.
God’s peace be with you.
Micah
