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Footnote:
Just as Hell is a place as well as a condition, so Heaven is a place as well as a condition. For while the condition of the soul determines just what Heaven it shall occupy and find its harmony and happiness in, Heaven, as a place, is real and independent of the state of the soul. As A.G. Riddle explains ("Heaven is a Place as Well as a Condition of the Soul,") "While the condition of the soul determined its place of living, yet that place is also existing and real and awaits the coming of that soul in a condition of harmony. In these Heavens there is nothing nebulous or impalpable or only a reflection or image of the soul's condition, but everything is real and substantial and lasting as the eternal hills; and when the soul finds a habitation it is not the effect of its own condition, but a place already prepared for the habitation of that soul and in accord with its true condition. (...) The mansions are there and change not, and whether or not they shall have occupants depends upon the harmony of souls in their correspondence with the harmony of God's Laws creating these mansions."
While Heaven, as a place, is real and independent of the state of the soul, it is, naturally, necessary for the soul to be in a corresponding state in order that it may enter into this Heaven and fully realize that it is a home suitable for its condition and enjoyment. In fact, as John explains ("John - Describes the Difference Between the Spirits of the Celestial and the Spirit Spheres and Their Happiness,") "As you may know these Celestial Spheres are above the spiritual spheres, and are inhabited only by spirits who have received the New Birth and who believe in the truths as taught by Jesus. No other spirits are permitted to enter these spheres, and no other spirits could possibly find any happiness in them, for in them Divine Love is so developed in the souls of the spirits who live there, that any spirit not having that Love would find that he is in an atmosphere that is entirely foreign to his qualifications, and he would be most unhappy."
As Riddle continues, "If Heaven were not a real objective and perceptible place, then the soul would be limited by its own condition that would be very narrow, as I may say, and confined to the limits of its own state, and separated from the states of other souls, and without the social intercourse that makes Heaven a place of such happiness and contentment. Every soul would then be in the condition of the ascetic in human life, and introspection and contemplation would be the source and only means of possible bliss, and knowledge of those things that are spoken of as beyond the heart of man to conceive of, and which are truly and certainly provided by the Father's love for the continuous and never ending progress of the soul towards higher and greater enjoyment, would have no real, conscious existence in that soul.
As man in his earth life, in which condition of the soul determines his Heaven, is provided with those surroundings and material things that are intended to make him happy or miserable, so in the Heavens things material are provided to enable the soul of man to better enjoy its own condition. The things of Heaven are not all spiritual, as conceived by so many men, but are partly composed of the material of the universe and are so constituted and formed as to supply the desires and wishes of the soul with that which will satisfy the soul's longings for beauty and harmony and perfect enjoyment. In the several Heavens are homes, real and substantial, suited to the states of the souls and differing as those states differ in their requirements." |