The Answerer

No, not at all! Far, far better! I am looking forward to it. No night, no pain, no crying, no tears or suffering. Why? Jesus said to His 12 disciples, He was going to be killed and then go and prepare a place for them in heaven. He said: “Let not your heart be troubled. You are trusting God, now trust in me. There are many homes up there where my Father lives, and I am going to prepare them for your coming. When everything is ready, then I will come and get you so that you can always be with me where I am. If this weren’t so, I would tell you plainly.” (John 14: verses 1 to 4)

So, Jesus has gone to prepare a place for the 12 disciples (that would be a small family indeed). No, it’s for everyone who loves and follows Jesus. And in the last part of the Bible John writes of a vision he had and messages he heard: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth…(and) I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.” (Revelation Chapter 21: verses 1to 4)

So – no crying, no suffering and no more death. Who could want more? Be sure you are there.

Boy I like this question and thank you for asking it. We are made to fall in love. God made us that way, thank goodness! And being in love is just beautiful, exotic and quite magical.

Not to be infatuated! Big difference. (My 1998 Collins dictionary and thesaurus says: infatuated: ‘foolishly enamoured’ – and the Thesaurus bit: beguiled, besotted, bewitched, captivated, obsessed, and fascinated. (1998 ed.)

All these can seem like being in love, so do be careful because often the opposite sex can be so fascinating that people confuse love with infatuation.

I believe God made us to fall in love (fortunately, not all with the same one) because that is part of the wonderful time of growing up. Can often be confusing, even frightening too. Only fools rush into it without thinking carefully.

There is a story in the Bible that exposes infatuation. A guy fell for a girl and is sick with ‘love’ for her and contrives to have sex with her – then he strongly despises her. (The story is in 2 Samuel chapter 13 verses 1 to 39). It is a story of false love (infatuation) rape, hate, shame, disgrace for the girl and later murder of the guy.

It happens today. We must choose carefully who to marry. There is quite a Bible ‘Soap Opera’ in that chapter 13.

Note well: “If a guy tells a girl who likes him very much – but will not have sex with him: “If you really loved me you would.” (have sex). THAT’S BLACKMAIL! He does not really love you and is putting himself first – not the one he says he ‘loves’! So take care. N.B. If a person truly loves someone, they will never pressure that person to do something they don’t want to do.

Mostly because that’s how their parents taught them. Until we are older we do not think if ‘my Religion’ is right for me, and stands up to close examination. Later on, some of us – the thinkers, get to examine in our mind if is it a true way of seeing things. Maybe you have just been told, or heard of a ‘New religion’. A thinking person asks themselves: ”Is this new ‘Religion’, a real and better answer to the questions that persist in my mind?”

This is dangerous in some Muslim lands where converting from Islam to Christianity can result in loss of job, being expelled from family and community, or death. I kid you not, people get killed quite often for ‘converting’ to Christianity.

Thinkers are rare in some communities. Most do not like to change, or will not change their ways. It takes time and real effort. I thank God for thinkers. We need ‘em!

There is a question above: “What is the meaning of life?” (172). Such things do not bother most people – they think it is too much trouble and think: “I’ll just wait and see, I’ll take what luck offers and hope for the best.” Well, they live, sleep, drink, have fun and decide not to think about death and what lies beyond death. That’s gambling with the highest stakes I can think of. Moses has been dead – in heaven – with Jesus, for 3,000 years and came back once to be with Jesus. Peter, James and John saw it all. (Matthew Ch.17:verses 1 to 17).

If you asked me: “How come you think Christianity is the true ‘religion’?”, I would ask you to read the gospel of John, or Luke who was a doctor – an educated man. Read it carefully from beginning to the end while sitting by yourself. Then think about who Jesus was, what he did and how come he could do things nobody else has ever done. And is his resurrection from the tomb to life again in three days, exactly as he said he would, true or false? And another question: “After 2,012 years were Jesus and his 12 disciples mad – or is it all true?”

Then compare what you read with the vague and negative ideals of all the other ‘religions’ in the world and see if love, healing of the mind, caring for others and what if everybody followed ‘The ten Commandments?’. What sort of world would we have. A lot depends on what, and how, you think. “God bless.”

You are a ‘Thinker’ – thank you and God bless you.

Those who go there get it all. We do live forever and the ‘second life’ is in a ‘spiritual body’ same as Jesus had when he visited the 12 disciples after he rose from the tomb. On those two occasions Jesus just appeared, having come through a wall with a locked door. That happened twice. Thomas (his nickname was Doubting Thomas), who was not there the first time, refused to believe that it was really Jesus. He wanted to see the nail marks in his hands and where the spear had pierced Jesus’ side. Then,on the second occasion Thomas was there, saw and the marks and he believed. That record is in John Chapter 20 verses 19 to 29.

These are, to me, marvellous words from Jesus, when on the second time when Thomas was there, saw the nail marks and believed, Jesus said: “Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed.” (John 20: verse 29)

So you see, some need to see and be sure. Others know by hearing it, thinking about it and then believing. That’s faith.

About the ‘second life’ bit. Paul wrote to reassure and to encourage the church people at Thessalonica about death and the ‘Second coming of Christ’. Paul had been a strict Jew, an ‘upper class’ Pharisee and well respected. He hunted down Christians after Jesus went to heaven and had authority to have them chained and taken to Jerusalem for trial and probably death. He got ‘converted’ and did a ‘U-Turn’ when Jesus spoke to him from the sky, and Paul became a great evangelist for the Christian cause. He had a very high IQ! (Read about it in Acts Chapter 9;Verses 1 to 31)

One of his letters is to the church at Thessalonica tells of heaven when we die: “And now, dear brothers, I want you to know what happens to a Christian when he dies so that when it happens, you will not be full of sorrow, as those are who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and then came back to life again, we can also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him all the Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord: that we who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet Him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a mighty shout and with the soul-stirring cry of the Archangel and the great trumpet-call of God. And the believers who are dead will be the first to rise to meet the Lord. Then we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever. So comfort and encourage one another with these words.” (First Thessalonians , chapter 4: verses 13 to 18 The Living Bible)

So there it is – a bit long for this answer but 10,000 years is just the beginning of eternity with God in heaven.

What we will do there I know not – maybe fly across to other galaxies as a missionary? We are not told, but I’ll bet Moses and all other believers do not go to a Bible study every morning and sing hymns all day. ‘No Sir.’ There’ll be something far better

For many reasons. For a huge variety of reasons and in a huge variety of ways.

The worst are poachers in Africa who kill rhinoceroses just to cut off their horns to collect big money, like $10,000 a kilo from buyers who believe that ground up rhino horn is good medicine for many sicknesses and makes men have better sex. And worse still, maybe soon, the only rhinos left will be in captivity (the rhino horn is made of keratin – the same stuff as our hair and fingernails!) Better sex from keratin-rubbish!

Next: some Asian tigers are killed for their body parts, which are regarded as good medicine and are readily bought by herbalists in Asia for sale.

In more civilised countries cattle, sheep, lambs, goats, camels, horses, fish and such are killed for meat to sell in the local butchers shop and supermarkets for pets and people. Some people just hate the trade and refuse to eat meat.

Japan slaughters thousands of Minkie whales each year; maybe that’s what you are thinking about. That ‘slaughter’ causes many people to be unhappy. So the ‘Sea Shepherd Society’ gathers money from caring people and go down into the Southern ocean with a ship or two to harass (bother) the Japanese whaling ships and cause the Japanese to kill a lot fewer whales. The Japanese say that they are killing the whales for: “scientific purposes.” Not many believe them.

Jesus ate lamb and fish. Before Jesus came the Jews killed cattle, sheep, lambs and goats as a sacrifice to God for their sins. Strict methods as to how, are written in the Bible. And most of them were eaten for food too.