Is this in line with Scripture? Several questions stir in me.
- When does the Bible first delineate a heaven/earth separation?
- Did/does/will heaven and earth ever co-mingle?
- Is the traditional interpretation (summarized crudely in the opening sentence above) correct?
I am studying, thinking and praying about these issues. I'll post more later. Any thoughts?
1 comment:
The original line of demarcation for the heaven and hell dualism is not surprisingly, from Greek dualism. They believed that the world was composed of light and dark, good and evil, and these things were always at war with each other. The ancient jews didn't believe that, and this is why the only description of the afterlife we have is sheol, or the grave.
Once Greek thought was imported with Alexander the Mediocre's conquest, and the subsequent Hellenization, we can see a change in Jewish literature, and there is an idea of Satan in a much more prominent way. He is depicted in an eternal struggle with God, resulting from a gigantic prehistoric battle in the heavens.
Much of our mythology surrounding Satan is from these extrabiblical Jewish writings. It makes you question a lot, doesn't it?
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