From the dawn of time the faithful have knocked at heaven's gate, seeking clues to eternity. In the Divine Comedy, Dante writes of entering " the heaven of pure light " where he sees Christ, who is " painted with our likeness, " and whose "love moves the sun and the other stars."Thomas Aquinas describes eternity where we shall live pure bliss, fully knowing and being known by a God of Light. Erasmus of Rotterdam spoke of a friend who died and was met in a sublime meadow by St. Jerome. As the mortal and immortal met in an embrace, the heavens opened and a channel of divine light and music broke through, linking the entrance gardens of paradise with the celestial world.
In the twentieth century, Oxford don C.S. Lewis fancifully takes a dream-like bus ride from hell to heaven in The Great Divorce. Upon arrival he writes, "I got out, The light and coolness that drenched me were like those of summer morning, early morning a minute or two before the sunrise, only that there was a certain difference." A distinct difference to be sure. The hero from hell soon meets heaven's "solid people." He discovers to his amazement that he is the phantom - the truly "real" are those who live in paradise. One of the solid people tells one of the little humans, "Don't you understand ? The Glory flows into everyone: like light and mirrors. But the light's the thing."
In the stories and visions that follow, the light is indeed the thing. A constant, transforming, illuminating Light is reported by those who have peeked into paradise throughout the ages.
Perpetua. a second - century martyr, asked for a glimpse of things to come as she awaited her turn to be thrown before ravenous beasts. In a vision she saw a " bronze ladder reaching up to heaven, but it was so narrow that only one person could ascend at a time.... At the summit I saw an immense garden, in the center of which sat a tall, gray-haired man dressed like a shepherd, milking sheep. Standing around him were several thousand white robed people. As he raised his head he noticed me and said, 'Welcome, my child.' Then he beckoned me to approach and gave me a morsel of the cheese he was making. I accepted it with cupped hands and ate it. When all those surrounding us said, ' Amen,' I awoke, still tasting the sweet cheese." Saturus, her brother in martyrdom, in his own vision hours before his death saw a splendid garden before entering a "place where the walls seemed constructed of light." There he and Perpetua met the Lord and elders who told them to enjoy themselves.
Today, thanks to advances in medical technology, more people are resuscitated from the brink of death. Accounts abound of people who leave their physical bodies behind and are shown what Lewis labels "the valley of the shadow of the living." Millions are estimated to have had near - death experiences, and legions have testified to the similar characteristics commonly associated with them: a feeling of peace and calm; leaving the physical body; traveling through something like a tunnel; meeting others - including a Being of Light; seeing a life review; reaching a threshold or border; coming back with an altered view of the importance of life; and having no more fear of death. Some of these people tell of heavenly things. Some return to tell of the brush of angels' wings and celestial choirs. Some are met at heaven's gates by beloved relatives and friends. But sometimes what is seen is odd, unearthly, or even funny. The one thing that pervades nearly every story is the Being of Light, called by various names, but always experienced as the source of love. Even a fleeting glimpse of the Light transforms those who adventure into the beyond. Most return with a heightened awareness of themselves as spiritual beings and have no fear of dying. More time is spent in enjoying life and helping others and less in worrying about material goods or others' opinions. Relationships change - living with first - hand knowledge of heaven is not easy for the earthbound.
Shared from: ( G P )
http://houseofelijah.blogspot.com
http://likeangelsandmiracles.blogspot.com
http://theartoflula.blogspot.com
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