Not long ago, I attended a funeral of an avid fisherman. during the service the preacher said he could picture the deceased with a great smile on his face sitting on a river bank in Heaven fishing for the "big ones".

 

Well, that sounded nice to those in attendance and it gave solace to loved ones but the preacher's words were not exactly based on any scripture of which I am aware.

 

On the other hand, the thought of sitting on a cloud playing a harp has, at least to me, little appeal.

 

Therefore, let me solicit from you other BGPers just exactly what you expect. And, please no over generalizations like saying that our human minds cannot comprehend the wonder. That's too easy and really meaningless to our finite minds.

 

What do you expect and upon what do you base your conclusion?

Well we really arent for sure according to the scriputre and I believe it will be indiscribable by mans words. The scripture does say we will be going back and forward in and out of the city, so we must be doing something. Acorss it is going to be centered around God and praising God. But I believe in my own little stress little thoughts haha that they will be pleasurous things there that we enjoy doing here on earth.

I might be wrong though that is one thing I cant prove by scripture, but a place that is perfect, sadness, pain, hurt, troubles, and tears all gone away is a awesome place for me, especialy a place in the presence of a God we have served our whole life.

Plus you know BGP will be there, they just wont let Guru charge to join haha.

It's amazing how we humans plan our careers, plan our vacations, plan for our retirement, and plan our estates, but we give very little thought to our eternal destiny until we're faced with stepping into it.

 

This is a good question Kingfish, and I would like to give it some thought before dribbling out worn cliches.

 

I will say at this moment however, I am more enthused about who awaits us on the other side of time than what awaits us.

 

Jesus said: Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

I never fully grasped this teaching until I lost someone very close to me that I have no doubt is in Heaven. As time has passed, I have lost more friends and family who I know with all my heart are already in Heaven. When I got right down to it, there is no treasure more valuable to me than the loved ones I miss terribly. I look forward to reuniting with them in the presence of our Lord.

 

Golden streets and mansions are icing on the cake compared to the real treasure of being with those I love so dearly.

KFS-I'll say this....For a long time, because of circumstances in my life, I believed that hell was life, there could be nothing worse, and that heaven was the release from Earthly trials. I've reverted back to more of a Catholic belief, but I've never been taught to have an expectation of what Heaven would be in a mortal sense. It simply is beyond our comprehension. We measure and evaluate everything we know in terms of our humanity. But, as heaven is the hoped for ultimate destination of our soul, I don't believe it has any semblence of anything we know in our human consciousness. I believe it's the unfettered joy of being in the presence of God, that nothing else is at all relative. It's not a "place', it's a state of Grace.

 

I hope that makes sense....

I often wonder not only what heaven will be like but exactly where heaven is. I can't truly say that I think heaven is a place in the sky where we will all sit around on clouds all day with a totally carefree attitude. I have to agree wtih RockMom when she says that it's not a place but a state of grace. I have to believe that we will all see our loved ones again because I am so banking on actually having a conversation with my father as an adult and I get so excited about the possibily of seeing my two brothers again.

 

I don't know where heaven is or what we will all do, but I do know that I have spend my life preparing myself for it

I think we can expect a perfect, sinless new earth for starters. I absolutely believe that when God says they'll be a new heaven and new earth, that He intends us to dwell there. And He will dwell there with us. So, while I don't have a Bible verse that specifically says there will be fishing in heaven, I think it's quite possible there will be.

 

I'm going to think about this a little more before I post much detail because I'd like to make sure I get my words to accurately convey what I think...I may just break it down into several posts.

First, speaking of life after the second coming, Isaiah wrote this...

 

Isaiah 65:21, 22 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit...and my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

 

That would suggest that we will continue to live and do things that we have done in this life.

As for fishing, Ezekiel chapter 47 may offer some insight on that...again speaking of some time after the second coming (whether it be the millennial kingdom or the new heaven and new earth after satan's final rebellion, I'm not sure), Ezekiel wrote this...

 

Ezekiel 47:9-10 And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.

5 wide nice analogies.

It has to better than here, where ever it is.

I want to go there, but I'm in no hurry to arrive there.

 

I also want to take as many folks I can with me.

 

I'm very curious about heaven.

I want to go there, but I'm in no hurry to arrive there.

 

I also want to take as many folks I can with me.

 

I'm very curious about heaven.

 

Your lawyer might want this statement suppressed later on.

The only guidance scripture really gives us is that we will "know" God and our loved ones who are there with us.

 

I wonder how we will know them.

 

And if the door is open for knowing them, what other things will we know? Good, peat scotch whiskey? Baseball, will there be baseball in Heaven? I like to think that the joys we have known in life are magnified and the sorrows we have known are eliminated, but I'll admit that is pretty narrow thinking.

I love life and I look forward to an afterlife. It's the transition between the two that scares the heck out of me. As far as what to expect....what did you expect of life on earth before you were born?

I would say that it is beyond anyones imagination or wishes. God said that he "has went to prepare a place for us" (Christians) I don't know what it will look like , no one does. By faith I accept that it will be beyond any imagination for all of eternity. I don't need to know anything else...................I don't know what it looks like, what is there (other than mansions that the Lord promised) or anything. I just know that I am going (by his promises of eternal security for all his children) and that is all I need to know.