I have little clue what heaven will be like and kind of like it that way: a surprise.
In the Bible I have read a few thing about heaven, most notably that we'll all get new bodies. If they'll resemble our corporeal forms or not is debatable; when Jesus rose people recognised him, but not right away. But then there's the question of wether that was his corporeal or physical body they were seeing. After all, he still had his wounds.
Maybe the spiritual body is like Jesus after the transfiguration: a much, MUCH shiner version of your corporeal form.
But I'm kind of hoping we'll be able to shapeshift.
That said, maybe it's a form that can't be comprehended by mortal minds, a form that has dimensions our brains can't understand.
That'd be cool.
Revelations describes a "new Earth" similar to the old one, but is so steeped in metaphor there is no telling if this was meant to be an accurate description of heaven or not.
The Bible does seem to make it pretty clear that sex doesn't go on in heaven, but I'm assuming there will be plenty of other stuff. Things that corporeal minds cannot comprehend.
I don't believe in the whole "sitting on a cloud playing the harp" thing, or like it's eternity in church. Paul talks about our souls and the holy spirit praying to God in ways we aren't even aware of, and that everything we do, save what is considered het, glorifies God in some sense. So there isn't a need to sing forever because we're already doing that and just don't realize it.
In short, I don't believe we're told what heaven is because I don't believe we're capable of understanding it yet.
As for wether it can be heaven without your family and friends, Jesus said himself that whoever loves their family more than him isn't worthy of him.
I assume I will still be obsessive-compulsive/aspie in heaven.
Unlike many other christians I've met, I believe that animals can and will go to heaven due to several passages in the Bible, most notably in Isaiah.
12 Dec 2012, 6:52 pm
