Eternity - My Present Point of View

As I emphasized in my overview page, the points I consider important are:

• We are in a temporal world and can only describe eternity with temporal language and temporal analogies. We are forced to use the temporal to describe the eternal.  
• The temporal descriptions or analogies of various denominations are not worth dividing over, unless they distort the Gospel of Salvation through Christ.  I used to be up-tight about the phrase "going to heaven" because such phrases were not biblical.  If the phrase is taken to mean "entering into the realm of God for eternity" I have no problem with it.  If someone thinks of  "going to heaven" in the temporal sense of moving from one place to another, that's not a big deal either because we are all forced to use the temporal to describe the eternal.  It's not worth arguing over.  Peace, brothers and sisters!!
• The main difference between my personal past and present views of eternal life is that of attitude and emphasis.  We have no right to feel superior because we feel we understand eternal life better than somebody else.  We may privately hold a belief about the afterlife, but such knowledge cannot occupy more kilobytes of memory than the Gospel.  (Like I said, we are forced to use the temporal to describe the eternal!)  (1 Cor 13:2 NIV) If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Two more important points:

• My opinion is that the lives of most people are not directed by their view of the future.  I remember a local medical doctor doing a presentation on "Wellness" for our school district a few years ago.  One point he made was that people are not moved to live healthy lives because that will cause them to live longer.  Rather they are moved to live healthy lives because it makes them feel better.  I think the same applies to our spiritual health:
• For most of us, heaven and hell do not serve as "carrots" and "sticks" to keep us in line now, regardless of how much we think we know about them.

If our detailed understanding of heaven and hell does not make any difference in the way we live, the general belief statements of many Christian churches  is enough for us to understand.  If some feel that they understand eternal life in greater detail than is expressed in these statements of beliefs, such an individual cannot take the position that all other Christians must have the same understanding to be a part of the body of Christ.  See the creed section of Core Christianity for some examples of core beliefs on eternity.

With all of this said, we all probably still have many questions about eternal life.  I will not attempt to give authoritative answers.  If you hold to your denomination's view of the specifics of eternity, fine.  Just remember that the views you hold must not be stumbling blocks to the Gospel; holding these views do not define you as a Christian, and last but not least, remember that we are forced to use the temporal to describe the eternal.  I will suggest a few sources for what seem to be general, non-denominational, questions and answers on the specifics of eternity.  If you check these out, remember that we are forced to use the temporal to describe the eternal!   These sources are:

• R.C. Sproul's book, "Now, That's a Good Question", Chapter  11 titled "Heaven and Hell"  pages 277-374.   The book, copyright 1996,  is available from Tyndale House Publisher, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.  (ISBN 0-8423-4711-9, paperback version)  It can be ordered at any book store if they don't already have it.   The book contains 300 FAQ's about life and faith.
• Bibliography on views of hell
• Hell: Eternal Conscious Torment? The state of the wicked is not a one-sided issue.
• Billy Graham Evangelistic Association - To their keyword database search.
• Q & A's on Eschatology, Eternal Security, Millennialism, Hell & Salvation For All from Cross Road, a journal for Worldwide Church of God Ministers.