Here's a thought that sometimes lurks in the back of my mind. I am not sure how to square it with the Bible. We affirm that a pure and holy God cannot tolerate sin -- Habakkuk 1:13, for example -- and that no sinner can stand in his presence unless he has been cleansed. But what about heaven? Satan fell from there, from a presumably sinless condition. Now if there was sin in heaven (jealousy, rebellion) once, could it happen again? Or, to put the question another way, will we still have free will up there? I have no doubt that when we eventually make it to heaven, all will make sense, but I'd love to know your thoughts on this. I assume you've been to the third heaven and can speak from experience on the matter (!). --Dave Hamilton
Well, when I was in the Third Heaven, I was only 99.44% pure. And yet they let me in! This confounds me. I am at a complete loss; bewildered, baffled, befuddled, nonplussed, stymied, knocked for six...
Seriously, the angels long ago made their decision and (apparently) can never change their minds again. Or wouldn't want to. The NT speaks of the elect angels (1 Timothy 5:21) and the angels already chained in Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4). The angelic rebellion apparently took place long before men and women were on the earth.
I suppose the absence of temptation in heaven. There will be nothing to make us stumble. (Isn't that the way you read the scriptures?) Or, even if the thought of rebellion were possible, it will hold no sway over us. Like the angels, we will have made our decision. No scripture intimates that, at some point "in eternity" we might forfeit what we have so long striven for. After we leave this earthly life, enter paradise, and later are resurrected, judged, and ushered into heaven itself, there will be no fear of sin. I do not believe it will even enter our minds. All things will be made new!
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