What is there in heaven? What to do in paradise? Ancient knowledge and equipment of the deceased
God created man differently from other creatures. Before his creation, God, in the Most Holy Trinity, confirmed His desire, He said: “Let us make man in our image and after our likeness”.
And God created man from the dust of the earth, that is, from the substance from which the entire material, earthly world was created, and breathed into his face the breath of life, that is, he gave him a free, rational, living and immortal spirit, in His image and likeness; and there became a man with an immortal soul. This “breath of God” or immortal soul distinguishes man from all other living creatures.
Thus, we belong to two worlds: with our body – to the visible, material, earthly world, and with our soul – to the invisible, spiritual, heavenly world. At the moment of death, the soul is separated from the body, and the body ceases to live and suffer. But the soul continues to live in the invisible world.
And God gave the first man the name Adam, which means “taken from the earth.” For him, God grew a paradise on earth, that is, a beautiful garden, and settled Adam in it so that he would cultivate and preserve it. An earthly paradise or a beautiful garden in which God settled the first people, Adam and Eve, was located in Asia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
In Paradise there grew all kinds of trees with beautiful fruits, among which were two special trees: one was called the tree of life, and the other was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eating the fruit of the tree of life had the power to protect a person from illness and death. About the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God gave Adam the commandment: “You may eat from every tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if you eat from it, you will die.”
All the animals in paradise obeyed man and served him. At the command of God, Adam gave names to all the animals and birds of the air, but did not find among them a friend and helper similar to himself. Then God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep; and when he fell asleep, he took one of his ribs and covered that place with flesh. And God created a wife from a rib taken from a man. Adam named her Eve, which means “life,” because she became the mother of all people.
God blessed the first people in paradise and told them: "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it". By creating a wife from the rib of the first man, God indicated that all people come from one body and soul, must be united - love and take care of each other. The life of people in paradise was full of joy and bliss. Their conscience was calm, their heart was pure, their mind was bright. They were not afraid of illness or death, and had no need for clothing. They had prosperity and contentment in everything. Their food was the fruits of the trees of paradise.
God created people, as well as Angels, so that they would love God and each other and enjoy the great joy of life in the love of God. Therefore, just like the Angels, He gave them complete freedom: to love Him or not to love Him. Without freedom there can be no love. Love, among other things, manifests itself in the joyful fulfillment of the desires of the one you love.
But since people, like the Angels, had not yet become so established in goodness as not to sin, the Lord did not allow them to immediately and forever make their choice: to accept or reject His love, as was the case with the Angels. God began to teach people love. For this reason, He gave people this small, not difficult commandment - not to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
By fulfilling this command or desire of God, they could thereby demonstrate their love for Him. Gradually, moving from easy to more complex, they would strengthen in love and improve in it. Adam and Eve obeyed God with love and joy. And in paradise the will of God and God’s order were in everything.
The Fall of Adam and Eve
But the devil was jealous of the heavenly bliss of the first people and planned to deprive them of heavenly life. To do this, he entered the serpent and hid in the branches of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And when Eve passed not far from him, the devil began to inspire her to eat fruit from the forbidden tree. Turning to Eve, he cunningly asked: “Is it true that God said: Do not eat from any tree in paradise?”
Eve answered the serpent: “We can eat the fruits of the trees, only the fruits of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, do not eat them or touch them, lest you die.”. But the devil began to lie in order to seduce Eve: “No, you will not die, but God knows that on the day that you eat them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.”
The seductive, devilish speech of the serpent affected Eve. She looked at the tree and saw that the tree was pleasant to the eyes, good for food and gives knowledge; and she wanted to know good and evil. She picked fruit from the forbidden tree and ate it, then gave it to her husband, and he ate.
People, succumbing to the temptation of the devil, violated the commandment or the will of God - they sinned, fell into sin. So it happened the fall of people. By refusing the repentance offered to them by the merciful Lord, our first parents brought upon themselves the full extent of the grave consequences of their crime.
In such a fallen state, our first parents were no longer able to dwell in paradise and were expelled from there by God. At the entrance to the Garden of Eden, the Lord placed a guard - a cherub with a fiery sword, to prevent any more evil from entering there.
This first sin of Adam and Eve, or the fall of people, is called original sin, so how exactly this sin was the beginning for all subsequent sins in people. Its consequence was spiritual death and physical death.
Spiritual death consisted in the separation of the soul from God - the source of eternal life, in the openness of the soul to demonic influences and in the captivity of the main forces of the soul by sin: mind, will and feelings.
Bodily death consisted in the rupture of the integrity of human nature, in its corruption, which led to the separation of soul and body.
Spiritual death struck Adam and Eve immediately after eating the forbidden fruit. And physical death, as a consequence of spiritual death, overtook them after the time allotted by God. This state of being infected with sin and death began to be transmitted to all the descendants of Adam and Eve like a hereditary disease.
The disease of sin turned out to be so strong that it was impossible to heal it with human forces. This required special Divine intervention. And the Lord, expelling our first parents from paradise, promised them that in due time the Savior of the world would be born among their descendants, Who would “bruise the serpent’s head” - defeat the devil, sin and death.
The earthly paradise, or beautiful garden, in which God settled the first people - Adam and Eve, was located in Asia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The life of people in paradise was full of joy and bliss. Their conscience was calm, their heart was pure, their mind was bright. They were not afraid of illness or death, and had no need for clothing. They had prosperity and contentment in everything. Their food was the fruits of the trees of paradise.
There was no enmity among the animals - the strong did not touch the weak, they lived together and ate grass and plants. None of them were afraid of people, and everyone loved and obeyed them.
But the highest bliss of Adam and Eve was in prayer, that is, in frequent conversation with God. God appeared to them in paradise in a visible way, like a father to children, and told them everything they needed.
God created people, as well as angels, so that they could love God and each other and enjoy the great joy of life in the love of God. Therefore, just like the angels, He gave them complete freedom: to love Him or not to love Him. Without freedom there can be no love. And love manifests itself in the joyful fulfillment of the desires of the one you love.
But, since people were less perfect than angels, the Lord did not allow them to immediately and forever make a choice: to accept or reject this love, as was the case with the angels.
God began to teach people love. For this reason, He gave people this small, not difficult commandment - do not eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. By fulfilling this command or desire of God, they could thereby demonstrate their love for Him. Gradually, moving from easy to more complex, they would strengthen in love and improve in it. Adam and Eve obeyed God with love and joy. And in paradise the will of God and God’s order were in everything.
He responded with the words of Allah:
“I have prepared for the faithful in Paradise something that not a single eye has seen, not a single ear has heard, that not a single person could even think about.” One can talk endlessly about the beauty of Paradise and its grace. It is said that in Paradise Firdavs there will be all the treats and drinks that a person has seen and a thousand times more than those that he has not seen in his life. It is also said that rivers of honey and milk flow in Paradise. Paradise consists of eight levels. Each subsequent Paradise is located higher than the previous one. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “ The inhabitants of the lower Paradises look at the inhabitants of the upper ones as we look at the stars ».
Heavenly vegetables and fruits are different from earthly ones. The Almighty called the heavenly treats grapes, dates, honey, milk, meat; heavenly clothes - silk, velvet; heavenly houses - houses made of silver and gold, pearls, yachts, etc., so that we understand, for these names are familiar to us. And if the Almighty called the fruits of paradise, his treats, clothes, houses by their proper names, we would not understand what we are talking about, and we would not have any desire to be worthy of them. How can the fruits of this world be similar to those of heaven, while it is said that if the people of this world see even a grape from the lowest Paradise - Dar-us-Salam, they will forget about all earthly blessings? And if the people of Dar-us-Salam see a grape from Jannatu Na'im, they will have an aversion to all the fruits of their Paradise. To the same extent is the ratio of the gifts of Paradise at a higher level to Paradise at a lower level. Their ratio is similar to the ratio of the lowest level gifts of Paradise to worldly gifts.
Those who have been awarded Paradise will have a palace made of pearls and other jewels. In each palace there will be seventy thousand gates, at each gate there will be seventy thousand trees, on each branch of these trees there will be seventy thousand varieties of fruits. In each courtyard there will be seventy thousand gold benches, each bench will be 330 cubits long, on each bench there will be seventy beds. Next to each yard there are seventy children, in their hands are golden bottles, in each bottle there are different drinks. Honey, milk and other rivers will flow in front of the palaces. When a person wants to climb onto a bench (like a couch), it will become an elbow lower, and when he sits on it, it will begin to rise towards the sky. When people want to go somewhere, the shops will carry them. If they want to fly into the sky, the shops will fly with them like birds.
Angels from Allah will come to each inhabitant of Paradise five times a day with various treats and fruits on golden trays. This is a gift for prayers performed on time.
There is no night or darkness in Paradise. The roof of Paradise is the Arsh of Allah, and light will emanate from it. The sign by which the inhabitants of Paradise will be able to distinguish night from day will be the closing of the gates of Paradise and the lowering of the curtain on them. Then people will go into their tents along with their houris and the wives they had in this world. In the morning, birds of paradise greet the Almighty.
If a person wants to see someone, the shop will get him there faster than lightning. And after the meeting he will take you back to the inhabitants of Paradise. Angels sometimes visit people and greet them. At the time when the inhabitants of Paradise eat the fruits of Paradise, the birds in the trees will praise them (tasbih) with their beautiful voices. They will eat for pleasure, and not to quench thirst or hunger. Also, they will not have any discharge, even if they eat continuously. Their bodies will produce sweat that their robes will absorb, but they will never get dirty.
May Allah grant us Paradise! Amine.
What’s interesting is that two words are said about paradise, but the noise around does not stop, neither about the specifics nor about what it was - before...)
The question is what kind of person are we talking about? About the one Adam, he is not yet one. About an individual soul, so what can these billions say beyond arm's length or their own religious nose?
The question is about what kind of heaven, what is it, if it is faith, then what, if knowledge, then what...
The question of occupations... What kind of occupations are we talking about if there is a difference and not a merging of the earthly and heavenly, but at the same time the unity of heaven and earth through the body of a physical person. How to equalize work in order to have a comparison. And don’t talk about anything...
If the question comes up, that is, if there is no confidence in living life, then is it possible to multiply life without imagining the future of one’s own and the common one...
Don’t sleep - you’ll freeze... The person will thaw with all his complex being. Spring…
Recently I was asked - what will we do in heaven? Of course, we’ll figure it out on the spot - the main thing is to get there - but we already know some things now.
The most important thing that will happen in heaven is that we will see God. As the Apostle says, “Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be. We only know that when He is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Christ promises that we will see His glory (John 17:24). It is said about the Heavenly Jerusalem “And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to give its light, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23) In Latin this is called visio beatifica - “beatific vision” ", the ability of angels and saints to directly see God, to know him directly, and not indirectly, as now. The Holy Apostle Paul says: “Therefore we are always in good spirits; and since we know that, being settled in the body, we are removed from the Lord - for we walk by faith and not by sight - then we are complacent and wish better to leave the body and...
Will people work in heaven? Author of the question: Eric, Ufa Eric asked us the following question: “Will we be able to do in heaven what we did in life on earth? Will people work in heaven?
The Lord God, having created Adam, placed him in the Garden of Eden. What was Adam supposed to do in Eden? Communicate with your Creator, enjoy life and all God's blessings, lead a blessed family life, have dominion over all living beings, and cultivate a garden. As you can see, Adam was not created for inactivity, but at the same time he was not designed for hard, exhausting work. Cultivating a garden was not a burden to Adam. The garden did not need to be fertilized, because... the land was generous and fertile. She herself produced all the necessary trees and plants in the Garden. Adam didn't need to weed because... There were no weeds in the Garden of Eden. The trees did not need to be pollinated, protecting them from harmful insects, because... the insects were not harmful. Nothing was needed in the garden...
Hieromonk Kirill (Zinkovsky), candidate of theology, teacher of St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and Sports, answers them
90 percent of all believers imagine hell and heaven exactly as Dante described them: completely material. Similar ideas can often be found in Orthodox literature intended “for the general reader.” To what extent are such ideas acceptable?
First of all, it must be said that the crude ideas of the medieval Catholic West in no way correspond to the patristic Orthodox Tradition. The Holy Fathers of the Church, thinking about heaven and hell, always based their reasoning on the immeasurable goodness of God and never savored in detail (as we find in Dante) either the torment of hell or the bliss of heaven. Heaven and hell never seemed to them to be crudely material. It is no coincidence that St. Simeon the New Theologian says: “Everyone imagines hell and the torments there as he wishes, but no one really knows what they are”….
In 1999, the Miramax film company presented the comedy film Dogma to the general public. The plot of this picture is built around two fallen angels, Loki and Bartleby, expelled by God from paradise. And this couple lives on earth among people and dreams of forgiveness and a return to the Garden of Eden. In the story, apostates find a technical loophole among various church dogmas that allows them to become sinless again. After this, they should immediately die - then they automatically go to heaven. And so the angels go to great lengths to make their dream come true. This comedy film touches on a question that worries many people, although not everyone can admit it even to themselves: “How to get to heaven?” Today we will try to figure this out, despite the fact that this topic is, so to speak, in the department of faith and religion. To date, science has not been able to provide evidence of the existence of paradise, nor has it been able to provide evidence of its absence. Well, let's go to...
Archpriest Alexander Saltykov, rector of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi, dean of the Faculty of Church Arts of PSTGU, for a long time studied the reasoning of the holy fathers about the creation of the world and paradise in the primordial world. We asked Father Alexander to answer our questions about heaven.
All-honorable paradise, the most beautiful kindness, a god-created village, endless fun and pleasure,
Glory to the righteous, beauty of prophets and holy dwelling, Pray to the Creator of all with the noise of your leaves,
I opened the gates that I closed with crime.
Lenten Triodion, raw food week, stichera to the Lord I cried.
Archpriest Alexander Saltykov
Father Alexander, please tell us about the conclusions you came to by studying the writings of the holy fathers about paradise.
My own task is very modest in view of the scope of my capabilities. I think that, first of all, we should thoroughly study the teaching of the Holy Fathers about the cosmos and the creation of the world and systematize it. Here you can find…
Hello Lets.
Actually, I already left the forum. It seems that I have liquidated all subscriptions. And I asked the moderators to remove my account from the forum. But somehow a notification arrived via E. Mail. about your answer.
I decided that I needed to say goodbye to you. With Tolstoy, Walken via
I said goodbye to Tolstoy via E. Mail.
You have correctly noted that believers have nothing to say about heaven.
About the peak, the final goal of their journey. No one knows where they are called.
This all reminds me of a Russian fairy tale about a soldier. When the king speaks to the soldier. Go there I don’t know where. Bring something we don’t know.
Christians do not know what heaven is. Common phrases. I knew there would be no answers. I just wanted to show the absurdity of this situation.
When those calling themselves do not know where they are calling people. And this speaks so eloquently that, in general, no other words are needed. It is not necessary to understand that the concept of a pure paradise is the folklore of ancient man. Beautiful, alluring and unattainable. It just amazes me how...
Is it possible to find out where the soul of a loved one ended up after death?
Probably, every person wants to believe that his loved ones reach heavenly abodes after death, enjoying the blessings of heaven together with the holy saints, and do not at all want to believe that the person’s soul has gone to hell. Every time, hearing from different people the question about whether it is possible to find out where the soul of a loved one ended up after death, you have to think about it in order to give an answer to this question, which seems to not require special consideration. It would seem that what could be simpler than to say: if a person sinned, that means he will go to hell; if he lived righteously, that means he will go to heaven? But it's not that simple. We cannot pronounce a verdict on the afterlife fate of the soul for God. Only the Lord executes judgment on man. Therefore, all reflections in this article have the right to exist only as assumptions. In different cultures one can observe completely different descriptions of the afterlife of people. And even within the culture itself sometimes...
From the letter:
“...I am tormented by the question of where people who were killed by violent death end up, because the person who was killed did not have time to confess before his death, and is it true that all their sins are forgiven? The fact is that almost two years ago my husband was killed (we were not married), and I always think about whether his soul has found peace? I also wanted to ask you when the second coming of Christ will be, I’m so tired of everything. I feel very sad and miserable without him, there is no support.”
About your question: “Is it true that a murdered person is forgiven all his sins?” I think that only the Lord God can know the answer to this question. He alone decides who to pardon and who to execute. Judge for yourself, for example, the person who himself killed people and was killed in a shootout or in a fight, how can you say whether his sins will be forgiven if he, even if not of his own free will, did not have time to confess and receive communion before his death. On the other hand, there is an opinion that those people who died on Easter for...
What happens to the soul after death: theories and hypotheses about where the human soul ends up
Sooner or later, every mortal thinks about the upcoming afterlife. Most people are terrified by the prospect. A detailed answer to the now popular question of what happens to the soul after death can be read below.
Structure of the Universe
The universe can be described as a structure consisting of three layers:
Reality. Physical world. Our current location. Correct. The world of the subtlest energy. Here a new soul is born. Nav. A certain layer between “Reality” and “Rule”. The soul that appears in “Rule” passes through this world and strives for “Reality”. The soul of the deceased travels this path in the opposite direction.
The path of the soul after the death of a person:
Death. The soul leaves the physical body. For some time, and we will describe this period in more detail below, the entity is in the world of Reality. Cleansing. The soul rises to Nav. In this high world there is a cleansing...
Christian believers know that every word in the Bible is the word of God himself, and therefore is the absolute truth. Those who have read the Bible know very well that women and even men who have had sexual intercourse with women have no chance of going to heaven. Catholic priests and Orthodox monks read the Bible, therefore, they try either not to have sexual intercourse at all, or have sex exclusively with children or men. Women and men who “know” women will go straight to hell, without options (Bible, Revelation of John the Theologian-14, 1-4):
1 And I looked, and behold, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him an hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of great thunder; and I heard the voice of harpists playing their harps. 3 They sing, as it were, a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn this song except these hundred and forty-four thousand, redeemed from the earth….
“After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice, which I heard like the sound of a trumpet, spoke to me, saying, Come out here, and I will show you what must happen after this” (4:1) .
“And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, there was a throne in heaven, and there was one sitting on the throne” (4:2).
“And he who sat was in appearance like a jasper and a sardis stone; and a rainbow around the throne, like emerald” (4:3).
“And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and I saw sitting on thrones twenty-four elders, who were clothed in white robes and had golden crowns on their heads” (4:4).
“And from the throne came lightnings and thunders and voices, and seven lamps of fire burned before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God” (4:5).
“And before the throne was a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind” (4:6).
“And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature...
Question No. 519
Is it possible to find out whether a person went to heaven or hell after death?
Yaroslav, St. Petersburg, Russia
21/01/2003
Hello, Father Oleg!
I would like to wish you health and continue to profess the true Faith and guide us, the weak, on the right path.
Is it possible to find out whether a person went to heaven or hell after death?
Answer from Father Oleg Molenko:
What can be known is whether a person has gone to hell or heaven, the word of God testifies through the mouth of the Lord Jesus Himself:
Luke 16:
22 The beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom
This is confirmed by the Tradition of the Church, which has collected the experimental testimonies of the holy saints of God.
In everyday life, this is possible for us if God blesses us to reveal the posthumous fate of a particular person. This is done not to satisfy idle curiosity, but for...
Children must be submissive to their parents and obey them. respect them, be lenient, grateful to them. The mother should be surrounded with special honor, as this stems from her maternal rights. She endures all the pain and suffering of pregnancy, childbirth, feeding, and raising children.
- “We have commanded man to do good to his parents; the mother carries it with burden and produces it with burden; (and gestation and weaning - thirty months).” (Surah Ahkaf, verse 151.)
Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Three people will not go to heaven;
- “A man who disobeyed his parents;
- a person who was engaged in pimping;
“a woman who aspired to be like a man.”
Children should look after their parents and take care of them when they reach a respectable, elderly age:
“And your Lord has decided that you should not worship anyone except Him, and be kind to your parents. If…
Where does a suicide go after death?
Suicide Stories
While the souls of people naturally experience relief and even joy in that world, the souls of suicides, on the contrary, once in that world, experience confusion and suffering there. One expert in the field of suicide expressed this fact with the following apt phrase: “If you part with life with a restless soul, then you will go into the next world with a restless soul.” Suicides commit suicide to “end everything,” but it turns out that that’s where everything is just beginning for them.
Here are a few contemporary stories that illustrate the otherworldly state of suicide. One man who loved his wife dearly committed suicide when she died. He hoped to be united with her forever. However, it turned out to be completely different. When the doctor managed to resuscitate him, he said: “I ended up in a completely different place from where she was... It was some kind of terrible place... And I immediately realized that...
In 1999, the Miramax film company presented the comedy film Dogma to the general public. The plot of this picture is built around two fallen angels, Loki and Bartleby, expelled by God from paradise. And this couple lives on earth among people and dreams of forgiveness and a return to the Garden of Eden. In the story, apostates find a technical loophole among various church dogmas that allows them to become sinless again. After this, they should immediately die - then they automatically go to heaven. And so the angels go to great lengths to make their dream come true. This comedy film touches on a question that worries many people, although not everyone can admit it even to themselves: “How to get to heaven?” Today we will try to figure this out, despite the fact that this topic is, so to speak, in the department of faith and religion. To date, science has not been able to provide evidence of the existence of paradise, nor has it been able to provide evidence of its absence. Well, let's hit the road...
What is "paradise"?
We suggest starting our research with an analysis of the concept itself. If you delve deeper into this topic, you will see that heaven is different from heaven. And in each religion the vision of this place is completely different, each confession describes it in its own way. For example, the main book of Christianity, the Bible, gives us the following information about it: this word refers to the Garden of Eden, which was the home of Adam and Eve, the ancestors of humanity. The life of the first people in paradise was simple and carefree; they knew neither illness nor death. One day they disobeyed God and gave in to temptation. There followed an immediate expulsion of people from paradise. According to prophecies, it will be restored and people will live in it again. The Bible claims that paradise was originally created on earth, so Christians believe that it will be restored there. Now only the righteous can get there, and even then only after death.
What does the Koran say about heaven? In Islam, this is also a garden (Jannat), in which the righteous will live after the Day of Judgment. The Koran describes in detail this place, its levels and features.
In Judaism, everything is somewhat more complicated, however, after reading the Talmud, Midrash and the book of Zohar, we can conclude that paradise for Jews is here and now, it was given to them by Jehovah.
In general, each religion has its own idea of the “treasured garden.” One thing remains unchanged. No matter what object is considered, be it the Buddhist Nirvana or the Scandinavian Valhalla, heaven is perceived as a place where eternal bliss reigns, granted after death. There is probably no point in delving into the beliefs of African or Australian natives - they are too alien to us, and therefore we will limit ourselves to the largest religious denominations. And let's move on to the main topic of our article: “How to get to heaven?”
Christianity and Islam
With these religions, everything is more or less clear: lead a righteous lifestyle, that is, live according to God’s commandments, and after death your soul will go to the “cherished garden.” However, for those who do not want to limit their freedom and are looking for easier ways, there are so-called loopholes that allow them to avoid hellfire. True, there are some nuances here. A very striking example is jihad in Islam - zeal on the path to Allah. Recently, this concept has been associated with armed struggle and self-sacrifice, although it is much broader and is a struggle against one’s social or spiritual vices. We will look at a particular case of jihad, advertised by the media, namely suicide bombers. World news feeds are full of reports of explosions carried out by suicide bombers around the world. Who are they and why do they decide to take such actions? It is worth thinking about whether these people are doing a godly deed or are they victims of behind-the-scenes manipulators who, in the struggle for power, do not hesitate to shed the blood of others? After all, as a rule, it is not enemy soldiers who suffer from the actions of suicide bombers, but civilians. So their actions can at least be called questionable; killing women and children is not a fight against vices, but a violation of the main commandment of God - do not kill. By the way, murder is also not welcomed in Islam, just like in Christianity. On the other hand, history remembers wars committed in the name of God: the Church blessed the crusaders, the Pope personally sent soldiers on their bloody campaign. So the actions of Islamic terrorists can be understood, but cannot be justified. Murder is murder, and it doesn’t matter for what purpose it was committed.
By the way, in Orthodox Christianity, military service is also considered a charitable deed, although this concerns the defense of the Russian land from an external enemy. Both in the distant past and today, priests blessed warriors going on a campaign; There are many cases where church ministers themselves took up arms and went to war. It is difficult to say unequivocally whether a soldier killed in battle will go to heaven or not, whether all his sins will be written off from him or, on the contrary, he will be dragged down into the flames of hell. So this method can hardly be called a ticket to the Garden of Eden. Let's try to find other, more reliable methods.
Indulgence
How do people get to heaven? In the first half of the 13th century, Hugo of Saint-Cher in his writings developed a Theological justification for indulgence, recognized a hundred years later by Pope Clement VI. Many sinners of that time perked up, because they had an excellent chance to get rid of their sins that stood in the way of eternal bliss. What is meant by this concept? An indulgence is a release from temporary punishment for sins that a person has already repented of, and the guilt for them has already been forgiven in the sacrament of confession. It can be either partial or complete. A believer can receive an indulgence for himself or for the deceased. According to Catholic teaching, complete forgiveness is possible only if specific requirements are met: confession, communion, it was necessary to pray in the intention of the Pope, as well as perform a number of certain actions (testimony of faith, service of mercy, pilgrimage, etc.). Later, the Church compiled a list of “super-duty good deeds” that made it possible to grant indulgences.
In the Middle Ages, the practice of issuing pardons often led to significant abuses, which can be characterized by the modern concept of “corruption.” The furry hydra was so entangled that it served as an impetus for the reform movement. As a result, Pope Pius V in 1567 “closed shop” and prohibited the issuance of pardons for any financial settlements. The modern procedure for their provision is regulated by the document “Guide to Indulgences,” which was issued in 1968 and supplemented in 1999. For those who ask the question: “How to get to heaven?” You should understand that this method can only work if you are on your deathbed (this way you will not have time to sin again). Although a person often manages to make unforgivable mistakes even in his dying state.
Sacrament of Baptism
How to get to heaven? The fact is that, according to Christian teaching, during this ritual the human soul is freed from all sins. True, this method is not suitable for the majority of people, because a person can go through it only once, and in most cases, parents baptize their children in infancy. Only representatives of the royal dynasty underwent the ceremony twice, and then only at the coronation. So, if you are already baptized and do not belong to the royal family, then this method is not for you. Otherwise, you have a chance to get rid of all your sins, but just don’t go to great lengths and finally do something that you will later be ashamed to tell your grandchildren about. By the way, some representatives of Judaism prefer to convert to Christianity in old age. So, just in case, because - according to their faith - heaven is here on Earth, and what will happen after death? So you can insure yourself, and at the end of your earthly existence, switch to another camp and ensure eternal bliss for yourself in Christian paradise. But, as you see, this path is only available to a select few.
Egyptian, Tibetan and Mesoamerican "Books of the Dead"
How does a soul get to heaven? Few people know, but for this there are precise instructions that serve as a guide for the deceased in the afterlife. Many people have heard about them, Hollywood has made more than one film about these treatises, and yet almost no one is familiar with their content. But in ancient times they were studied with great zeal by both noble people and servants. In fact, from the perspective of a modern person, “The Book of the Dead” resembles a computer game like a quest. It describes step by step all the actions of the deceased, indicates who is waiting for him at one or another level of the afterlife, and what needs to be given to the servants of the underworld. The yellow press is replete with interviews with survivors. People who have seen heaven and hell talk about their feelings and experiences about this. But few people know that studies of these visions conducted by R. Moody showed a colossal coincidence of such narratives with what the “Books of the Dead” describe, or more precisely, those parts of them that are devoted to the initial moments of posthumous existence. However, all “returnees” reach a certain stage, the so-called point of “no return,” and they cannot say anything about their further path. But the ancient texts speak, and in great detail. Moreover, the question immediately arises: how did ancient civilizations living on different continents know about this? After all, the contents of the texts are almost identical, there are minor differences in details and names, but the essence remains the same. Either we can assume that all the “Books of the Dead” were rewritten from one, more ancient source, or this is knowledge given to people by the gods, and everything that is written there is the truth. After all, people who “saw heaven” (experienced clinical death) talk about the same thing, although most of them have never read these manuscripts.
Ancient knowledge and equipment of the deceased
In ancient Egypt, priests prepared and taught the citizens of their country for the afterlife. How? During his lifetime, a person studied “magic techniques and formulas” that helped the soul overcome obstacles and defeat monsters. Relatives always put items in the grave of the deceased that he would need in the afterlife. For example, it was necessary to leave two coins - this is the payment to the boatman for transporting him across the river of death. People who have “seen heaven” often mention that they met dead friends, good acquaintances or relatives there who helped them with advice. And this is easily explained by the fact that modern people know nothing about the afterlife, because they don’t talk about it at school, and you won’t receive such information in institutes either. The priests in the church won't help you much either. What remains? This is where people close to you appear who care about your fate.
Court of the Gods
Almost all religions say that after death a person will face a trial, at which all the good and evil deeds of the defendant will be compared and weighed, based on the results of which his future fate will be decided. Such a judgment is also spoken of in the Books of the Dead. The soul wandering in the afterlife, having passed all the tests, at the end of the path meets the Supreme King and Judge Osiris, sitting on the throne. A person must address him with a certain ritual phrase in which he lists how he lived and whether he followed the commandments of God throughout his life. According to the “Egyptian Book of the Dead,” the soul, after turning to Osiris, had to justify itself for each of its sins before the other 42 gods responsible for certain sins. However, no words of the deceased could save him. The main god placed a feather on one scale, which is a symbol (truth, justice, world order, truth), and on the second - the heart of the defendant. If it outweighed the feather, it meant that it was full of sins. And such a person was devoured by the monster Amait.
If the scales remained in balance, or the heart turned out to be lighter than a feather, then a meeting with loved ones and relatives, as well as “eternal bliss,” awaited the soul. People who saw heaven and hell never described the judgment of the gods, and this is understandable, because it is located beyond the “point of no return,” so one can only guess about the reliability of this information. But we should not forget that most religious denominations talk about such an “event”.
What do people do in heaven?
Oddly enough, few people think about this. According to the Bible, Adam (the first man in paradise) lived in the Garden of Eden and did not know any worries, he was not familiar with diseases, physical labor, he did not even need to use clothes, which means that the climatic conditions there were quite comfortable. That's it, nothing more is known about his stay in this place. But this is a description of the earthly paradise, and as for the heavenly one, even less is known about it. Scandinavian Valhalla and Islamic Jannat promise the righteous eternal bliss, they will be surrounded by full-breasted beauties, and wine will pour into their cups; the Koran tells that the cups will be filled by eternally young boys with cups. The righteous will be freed from the torment of a hangover, they will have everything in order with their virility. This is such an idyll, however, the status of boys and full-breasted beauties is unclear. Who are they? Deserving of heaven or exiled here as punishment for past sins? Somehow it’s not entirely clear.
Slaves of the gods
The Books of the Dead tell of a completely different idyll. In accordance with these ancient treatises, “eternal bliss” boils down only to the fact that there are no crop failures, and, accordingly, no famine or wars. People in paradise, as in life, continue to work for the benefit of the gods. That is, a person is a slave. This is evidenced by the books of both the Mesoamerican Indians and the ancient Egyptians, and, of course, the Tibetan manuscript. But among the ancient Sumerians, the ideal picture of the afterlife looks much darker. Having crossed to the other side, the soul of the deceased passes through seven gates and enters a huge room in which there is neither drink nor food, but only muddy water and clay. This is where the main afterlife torments begin. The only relief for her may be regular sacrifices, which will be carried out by living relatives. If the deceased was a lonely person or his loved ones treated him poorly and do not want to perform the ritual, then the soul will face a very bad fate: it comes out of the dungeon and wanders around the world in the form of a hungry ghost and harms everyone it meets. This is the idea of the afterlife that the ancient Sumerians had, but the beginning of their works also coincides with the Books of the Dead. Unfortunately, people who have “been in heaven” are not able to lift the curtain on what lies beyond the “point of no return.” Representatives of the main religious denominations are also unable to do this.
Father Diy about religions
In Russia there are many religious movements of the so-called pagan direction. One of these is the Old Russian Church of Orthodox Old Believers-Yinglings, the leader of which is Khinevich A. Yu. In one of his video speeches, Pater Diy recalls the assignment received from his teacher-mentor. The essence of his “mission” was the following: to find out from representatives of the main religious denominations what they know about hell and heaven. As a result of such surveys, Khinevich learns that Christian, Islamic, and Jewish clergy have comprehensive information about hell. They can name all its levels, dangers, trials awaiting the sinner, almost by name they list all the monsters that will meet with the lost soul, and so on, so on, so on... However, absolutely all the servants with whom he had a chance to communicate know amazingly little about heaven. They have only superficial information about the place of eternal bliss. Why is that? Khinevich himself makes the following conclusion: they say, whoever they serve, they know about that... We will not be so categorical in our judgments, and will leave this to the reader. In this case, it would be appropriate to recall the words of the classic, the brilliant M. A. Bulgakov. In the novel “The Master and Margarita” he puts into Woland’s mouth the phrase that there are many theories regarding the afterlife. Among them there is one according to which each will be given according to his faith...
Is there enough space?
Topics related to the Garden of Eden are often discussed on various information resources. People are interested in various questions. And how can you get there, and how many people are in heaven and much more. A couple of years ago, the whole world was in a fever: everyone was waiting for the “end of the world,” which was supposed to come in December 2012. In this regard, many predicted that the very “Day of Judgment” was about to come, when God would descend to earth and punish all sinners, and grant eternal bliss to the righteous. And this is where the fun begins. How many people will go to heaven? Is there enough room for everyone? Or will everything happen as in the plans of the globalists who want to leave the “golden billion” on the planet? These and similar questions haunted many, preventing them from sleeping at night. However, 2013 came, the “end of the world” did not come, but the expectation of “Judgment Day” remained. More and more often, Jehovah's Witnesses, evangelists, etc. are turning to passers-by with a call to repent and let God into their souls, because soon everything that exists will come to an end, and everyone must make their choice before it is too late.
Heaven on Earth
According to the Bible, the Garden of Eden was on Earth, and many theologians are confident that in the future it will also be restored on our planet. However, a reasonable person may wonder: why wait for the day of judgment, maybe you can build paradise on your own? Ask any fisherman who has met the dawn with a fishing rod in his hands somewhere on a quiet lake: where is paradise? He will confidently answer that he is on Earth, here and now. Maybe you shouldn't sit in a stuffy apartment? Try to go to the forest, to the river or to the mountains, wander in silence, listen to birdsong, look for mushrooms, berries - and, quite possibly, you will discover this “eternal bliss” during your lifetime. However, man is designed in such a way that he always expects a miracle... Like, some kind uncle will appear and solve all his problems - he will wean slobs from throwing garbage past the trash can, rude people from swearing, boors from parking in the wrong place, corrupt officials from taking bribes, and so on Further. A person sits and waits, and life passes by, it cannot be returned... Muslims have a parable called “The last person to enter heaven.” It most accurately conveys the essence of human nature, which always remains dissatisfied with the true state of affairs. A person always remains dissatisfied, even if he gets what he dreams of. I wonder if he will be happy in heaven, or maybe some time will pass and he will begin to be burdened by “eternal bliss” and want something more? After all, Adam and Eve also could not resist temptations. It would be worth thinking about this...
"Terraria": how to get to heaven
Finally, we will have to cover this issue, although it is difficult to tie it to the topic of the article. "Terraria" is a 2D sandbox computer game. It features customizable characters, dynamic time of day changes, randomly generated worlds, the ability to deform the landscape, and a crafting system. Many gamers are scratching their heads, asking a similar question: “Terraria”: how to get to heaven?” The fact is that in this project there are several biomes: “Jungle”, “Ocean”, “Ground World”, “Dungeon”, “Underworld”, etc... In theory, “Paradise” should also exist, only Can't find it. It is especially difficult for beginners. This is the biome that is taken out of the logical chain. Although experienced players claim that it exists. To get there, you need to craft harpy wings and spheres of power. You can get the necessary components near the “Floating Islands”. These are pieces of land floating in the air. Their appearance is not much different from the ground surface: there are the same trees and resource deposits as on the ground, and only a lonely temple with a chest inside stands out from the rest of the landscape. Harpies will definitely appear nearby, dropping the feathers we need so much, and other monsters. Be on the lookout!
This concludes our journey. Let us hope that the reader will find his way to “eternal bliss.”