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Hierarchy in Heaven: Difference between revisions
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Many Old Testament scholars regard the phrase “and he was gathered to his people” as being nothing more than a conventional way of saying that he died. It is to be explained, so they say, by the thought that the individual was being placed in the same graveyard as those who had died before him. But this is hardly satisfactory in the case of the Bible stories involved. When Abraham died he was buried in a cave at Machpelah in the land that was to become Israel, but it was not the burial place of his ancestors. They had been buried back in Ur of the Chaldees, and his father had been buried at Haran. Moreover, in reading the account of his death, it is hard to overlook the fact that Abraham is said to have been gathered to his ancestors in verse 8 of Genesis, but to have been buried only in verse 9. Consequently, the phrase “gathered to his people” cannot refer to the burial but must refer to the death itself as a result of which Abraham joined those who had gone before him.<ref>James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 1071.</ref> | Many Old Testament scholars regard the phrase “and he was gathered to his people” as being nothing more than a conventional way of saying that he died. It is to be explained, so they say, by the thought that the individual was being placed in the same graveyard as those who had died before him. But this is hardly satisfactory in the case of the Bible stories involved. When Abraham died he was buried in a cave at Machpelah in the land that was to become Israel, but it was not the burial place of his ancestors. They had been buried back in Ur of the Chaldees, and his father had been buried at Haran. Moreover, in reading the account of his death, it is hard to overlook the fact that Abraham is said to have been gathered to his ancestors in verse 8 of Genesis, but to have been buried only in verse 9. Consequently, the phrase “gathered to his people” cannot refer to the burial but must refer to the death itself as a result of which Abraham joined those who had gone before him.<ref>James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 1071.</ref> | ||
There is a doctrine in the Message that those who go to heaven will be presented to the Lord by the Angel of their age. At this time, they will be represented in groups under their pastor. The hierarchy of the earthly church will become the hierarchy of the heavenly church, and those that rule on earth will rule in heaven. Because of this doctrine, some message pastors teach that attending a church is like a marriage, and attending another church is like spiritual adultery. | |||
But the scriptures tell a very different story of what heaven will be like. | |||
Jesus said that anyone who is “least in the kingdom of God” will be greater than Elijah the Prophet (Luke 7:28). Paul wrote that in Christ Jesus, there is “neither Jew nor Greek…bond nor free…male nor female” (Galatians 3:28) so in heaven there will be no hierarchy or divisions like we have here on earth. | |||
For those who teach that attending a church is like a marriage, who will lead their flock into heaven if a church changes pastors, or a family moves between churches? Who will lead an individual into heaven if they live in two different ages? If churches really are like marriages, and people belong to the headship of one pastor on earth, heaven will be a confusing place. Thankfully, Jesus was asked about what happens to people in heaven who have lived in multiple marriages on earth, and his response is also appropriate to this doctrine. | |||
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29) | |||
=Quotes of WMB= | =Quotes of WMB= | ||