How to live in heaven but on earth. What awaits us in paradise

For man to dwell, the Lord settled him in paradise- a beautiful garden, created by a special action of the omnipotence of God (Gen. 2.8). 4 Being in paradise, man had to cultivate and keep it. Among the many beautiful paradise trees, there were two special trees - tree of Life and tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was chosen by God as a means of testing and educating man in obedience to God. The Lord gave a commandment to man not to eat the fruit of this tree: And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You shall eat of every tree in the garden, but you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day that you eat of it you will die by death.» (Gen. 2:16,17).

At first glance, it seems strange to mention death when describing a person's life among the bliss and beauties of paradise. But by giving a commandment, God shows that a person had to cultivate and preserve not only paradise, but also himself - through the fulfillment of God's commandment. Speaking of death, God warns Adam about the consequences of breaking the commandment. Death can be understood in two ways: spiritual death which consists in the removal through disobedience from the Source of life - God, and how bodily death, which is only a consequence of the first, spiritual death. But neither one nor the other was in the world and never should have been, because. people created in the image of the Creator are called to eternal communion with God: God created man to be incorruptible and made him the image of His eternal existence.” (Wisdom 2.23) - this is the plan of God.

The life of the first people in paradise was distinguished by moral innocence, which consisted in the absence of the very thought of something unclean and sinful. " And they were both naked, Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed» (Gen. 2.25). Living in paradise, they enjoyed all its fruits and enjoyed all its joys. In material terms, they were surrounded by an abundance of the richest gifts of paradise nature. But the main thing that the first people had was direct communication with God, who appeared to them " in paradise during the cool of the day» (Gen. 3.8) and talked with them.

The Fall of the Forefathers and Its Consequences. The promise of a Savior

In paradise, the tempter also appeared to people 5 - in the form of a snake, which “ was more cunning than all the beasts of the field» (Gen. 3.1). At this time, Eve was near the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent turned to his wife: Did God truly say: Do not eat from any tree in Paradise?» (Gen. 3.1). The wife answered that God allowed them to eat from all the trees, except for one, which is in the middle of paradise, because they could die from eating the fruits of this tree. Then the tempter, wishing to arouse distrust in God in the wife, said to her: No, you will not die, but God knows that on the day you eat them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.» (Gen. 3.4-5). At that moment, the woman looked at the forbidden tree differently: it seemed to her pleasing to the eye, and the fruits are especially attractive due to their mysterious property to give knowledge of good and evil and the opportunity to become a god without God. This external impression decided the internal struggle, and the woman " took its fruits and ate, and gave also to her husband, and he ate» (Gen 3.6) .

The greatest upheaval in the history of mankind has taken place - people have violated the commandment of God and thereby sinned. Those who were supposed to be the pure source and beginning of the whole human race poisoned themselves with sin and tasted the fruits of death. Having lost their purity, they saw their nakedness and made themselves aprons out of the leaves. They were afraid now to stand before God, to whom they had previously aspired with great joy. Horror seized Adam and his wife, and they hid from the Lord in the trees of paradise. But the loving Lord calls Adam to him: « [Adam,]where are you?» (Gen. 3.9). The Lord asks not about where Adam is, but about what state he is in. By this, the Lord calls Adam to repentance, gives him the opportunity to bring sincere repentance. But sin had already darkened the spiritual powers of man, and the calling voice of the Lord aroused in Adam only the desire to be justified. Adam tremblingly answered the Lord from a thicket of trees: I heard your voice in paradise and was afraid, because I was naked, and hid» (Gen. 3.10) . - « Who told you that you are naked? Have you not eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?» (Gen. 3.11). The question was put directly by the Lord, but the sinner was not able to answer it just as directly. He gave an evasive answer: The wife You gave me, she gave me from a tree and I ate» (Gen. 3.12). Adam puts the blame on his wife and even on God Himself who gave him this wife. Then the Lord turned to his wife: What did you do?"But the wife followed the example of Adam and rejected the guilt:" The serpent seduced me and I ate» (Gen. 3.13). The wife told the truth, but the fact that they both tried to justify themselves before the Lord was a lie. By rejecting the possibility of repentance, man made it impossible for himself to continue communion with God.

Then the Lord spoke His righteous judgment. The serpent was cursed by the Lord before all the animals. He is destined for the miserable life of groveling in his womb and feeding on the dust of the earth. The wife is condemned to be submissive to her husband and to severe suffering and illness at the birth of children. Addressing Adam, the Lord said that for his disobedience, the land that feeds him would be cursed. " It will bring forth thorns and thistles for you... in the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken, for dust you are and to dust you shall return.» (Gen. 3.18-19).

Terrible were the consequences of the fall of the first people. In sin they turned away from God and turned to the evil one, and now it is impossible for them to communicate with God as it was before. Having turned away from the Source of life - from God, Adam and Eve immediately died spiritually. Bodily death did not immediately strike them (by the grace of God, who wanted to bring the forefathers to repentance, Adam later lived 930 years), but at the same time, along with sin, corruption entered people: sin, the tool of the evil one, gradually became through illness and aging to destroy their bodies, which, in the end, led the forefathers to bodily death. But sin damaged not only the body, but the whole nature of the primordial man - that original harmony was violated in him, when the body obeyed the soul, and the soul - the spirit that was in communion with God. As soon as the first people departed from God, the human spirit immediately, having lost all orientation, turned to spiritual experiences, and the soul was carried away by bodily desires and gave rise to passions.

Just as harmony was broken in a person, so it happened all over the world. According to app. Paul, after the fall all creation was subjected to vanity”and since then has been waiting for deliverance from corruption (Rom. 8.20-21). After all, if before the fall all nature (both the elements and animals) was subordinated to the first people and without difficulty on the part of a person gave him food, then after sin a person no longer feels himself the king of nature. The land has become less fertile, and people need to make great efforts to provide themselves with food. Natural disasters from all sides began to threaten people's lives. And even among the animals that Adam once gave names, predators appeared, representing a danger to other animals and to humans. It is possible that animals also began to die only after the fall; many holy fathers speak of this (St. John Chrysostom, St. Simeon the New Theologian, etc.).

But not only our forefathers tasted the fruits of the fall. Having become the ancestors of all people, Adam and Eve passed on to humanity their nature, distorted by sin. Since then, all people have become both corruptible and mortal, and, most importantly, all have been under the power of the evil one, under the power of sin. Sinfulness became, as it were, a property of man, so that people could not but sin, even if someone wanted to. Usually they say about such a state that all mankind inherited from Adam “original sin”. Here, original sin is not understood to mean that the personal sin of the first people was transmitted to the descendants of Adam (after all, the descendants did not personally commit it), but that it was the sinfulness of human nature with all the ensuing consequences (decay, death, etc.) .). The first people, following the evil one, sowed human nature with the seed of sin, and in each new born person this seed began to germinate and bear fruit of already personal sins, so that every person became a sinner.

But the merciful Lord did not leave the primitive people (and all their descendants) without consolation. He then gave them a promise that was to sustain them through the later trials and tribulations of their sinful lives. When pronouncing His judgment on the serpent, the Lord said: and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it(in the translation of seventy - He) will hit you in the head, and you will sting him in the heel» (Gen. 3.15). This promise of the "seed of the Woman" is the first promise of the Savior of the world and is often called the "First Gospel", which is not accidental, since these brief words speak prophetically of how the Lord intends to save fallen mankind. That this will be a Divine action is clear from the words “ I will put enmity”- a person weakened by sin cannot independently rise up against the slavery of the evil one, and God's intervention is required here. At the same time, the Lord acts through the weakest part of humanity - through a woman. And just as the conspiracy of the wife with the serpent led to the fall of people, so the enmity of the wife and the serpent will lead to their restoration, which mysteriously shows the most important role in our salvation of the Most Holy Theotokos. The use of the strange phrase "seed of the woman" points to the unmarried conception of the Blessed Virgin. The use of the pronoun “He” instead of “it” in the LXX translation indicates that even before the birth of Christ, many Jews understood this place as an indication not so much of the offspring of the wife as a whole, but of the only person, the Messiah-Savior, Who will crush the head of the serpent -devil and save people from his dominion. The serpent can only sting Him "on the heel", which is prophetically indicated on the Savior's suffering on the Cross.

After the judgment of God, the Lord made leather garments for Adam and Eve. These clothes are both a reminder of sin, through which people have lost their purity and innocence, and evidence of God's mercy, because clothing was necessary for a person to protect against the action of external forces on his body. In addition, many Christian interpreters believe that when creating leather garments (that is, from animal skins), the Lord taught the first people to sacrifice animals to Himself, which figuratively indicates the future Sacrifice of the Savior.

After putting people in leather clothes, the Lord drives them out of paradise: “ and he set up in the east by the garden of Eden a cherub and a flaming sword turning to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen. 3.24), whom they now became unworthy through their sin. Man is no longer allowed to him, " lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and taste, and live forever» (Gen. 3.22). The Lord does not want a person, having tasted the fruits of the tree of life, to remain forever in sin, because the bodily immortality of a person would only confirm his spiritual death. And this shows that the bodily death of a person is not only a punishment for sin, but also a beneficence of God in relation to people.

To be in Paradise is the dream of any Muslim striving for the pleasure of Allah. After all, Jannat is a great reward promised by the Almighty to the most God-fearing slaves.

The largest community in Paradise will be the ummah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is confirmed by the hadith cited by Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja and Ahmad: "The inhabitants of Jannat will line up in 120 rows, 80 of which will be occupied by the Islamic Ummah."

What will the inhabitants of Paradise look like?

After entering the heavenly abode, the appearance of people, by the will of Allah, will be changed for the better, as stated in the hadith: “The bodies of the inhabitants of Jannat will be perfect. They will not have extra hair, including on the face. They will be forever young, and their garments will be kept new” (Tirmidhi). At the same time, their faces will glow and radiate radiance, as they will be gifted with the good news.

In addition, the inhabitants of Paradise will be much taller than their earthly stature. This is due to the fact that the first man - Adam (AS) had a height of 60 cubits. As evidenced by the hadith cited by Bukhari and Muslim, all people in Jannat will be of the same size. Considering that one cubit equals approximately 45 cm, the average height of people in Paradise will be 27 meters.

Also, all the inhabitants of Jannat will stay there at the age of 33, regardless of how old they were at the time of death.

The robes of the inhabitants of Eden will be made of silk Green colour and decorated with gold.

Paradise places

For many, Paradise is associated as a place where the souls of people become happy and do not need anything. So what awaits us in Jannat?

1. Kausar

One of the most important Paradise awards is the river called Kausar (or Kyausar, Kyavsar), which means "Abundance" in translation. Its significance is evidenced by the fact that this river is dedicated to Holy Quran, which millions of Muslims read daily during prayer.

A lot is said about the river Kausar in the hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who called it “his reservoir”. Describing the paradise stream, the Messenger of God (s.g.v.) said: “Its water is lighter than milk, its smell is more pleasant than musk ... whoever drinks from this source will never be thirsty” (Bukhari, Muslim).

As follows from the hadith cited by Muslim, the distance between its banks exceeds the path from the Jordanian city of Aqaba to Aden, located in southern Yemen. Considering that there are more than 2100 km between these settlements, the Kausar River is large and abundant.

In addition, its significance lies in the fact that on the Day of Judgment the Muslim Ummah will be brought to a paradise source and everyone will fill their vessel with its water (Muslim).

2. Guria

Another delight for the faithful will be the women of paradise - houris. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) spoke about these creatures as follows: “If one of the houris turned her face into this world, she would illuminate (with her beauty) the whole space” (Bukhari).

Gurias are beautiful creatures that will become a consolation for the faithful Muslims in Paradise. They have a perfect face and are devoid of any external or internal flaws. Men in Jannat will enjoy their company. At the same time, the inhabitants of Paradise themselves will be able to choose the hour that they wish. This is stated in the hadiths narrated by Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi.

At the same time, it should be noted that here we are talking exclusively about communication with houris, and not about sex, as some people try to present it. In Paradise, people will be deprived of the instincts that they have in earthly life. In addition, there they will not differ by gender, which means that there will be no need for sex either.

According to Islamic sources, if in earthly life a man was married and was pleased with his wife, then she will remain his companion forever and will be more beautiful than all the houris of paradise.

If the woman was not married, then in Paradise she will become the companion of whomever she wishes, since the inhabitants of Jannat will not need anything. In addition, any woman who finds herself in Paradise will surpass the houris in her beauty. This is the reward of the Almighty to the best of his creations.

If a Muslim woman was married several times and all her husbands end up in Paradise, then the question arises with which of the spouses she will end up in Jannat. There are 3 points of view on this subject among theologians. Some believe that a woman will be with that of the spouses who had the best temper. Others believe that a Muslim woman will have the right to choose the one with whom she wants to be together. Still others are sure that a woman in Paradise will be with her last husband.

3. Paradise Bazaar

The third delight for the inhabitants of Jannat will be the bazaar, which people will visit every Friday. There will be a wind that will increase the beauty of all the inhabitants, and they will all come out of the market more beautiful (Muslim).

Upon returning to their spouses, they will delight them with their beauty and radiance.

4. Paradise wine

Another delight will be a special drink called heavenly wine. It should be noted that this nectar has nothing to do with alcohol. The fact is that he will have perfect taste and from him “the head does not hurt and they do not lose their minds” (56:19).

This drink will be in the jugs of the inhabitants of Eden in unlimited quantities, although one sip of it will be enough to quench their thirst.

5. Paradise gardens

In addition, in Jannat, believers will recline in the Gardens of Eden, as stated in the verses:

"Verily, the God-fearing will succeed, Gardens of Eden and vineyards..." (78:31-32)

The Messenger of the Lord (s.g.v.), describing Jannat, stated that two gardens would be silver, and two would be golden (Bukhari).

The gardens of Paradise for the faithful will be resting places where people will enjoy the fruits of the trees, the taste of which cannot be compared with any earthly fruit. At the same time, food and drink will always be in abundance and in any quantity. Beautiful dwellings will be built in the gardens of Eden, in which the inhabitants of Paradise will dwell. These buildings themselves will be built of gold and silver, and the earth there will be of saffron (Tirmidhi).

6. Plants

In Jannat, its inhabitants will be able to take refuge in the shade of a large tree, through which “a rider can ride for a century without moving away from it” (Muslim).

Another plant in Eden is the Lotus of the extreme limit, which was shown to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at the time. 4 rivers flow near it - two of which are in Paradise, and the other two are the Nile and the Euphrates (Bukhari, Muslim).

The most fragrant in Jannat will be a plant called henna (Bukhari).

Note that all the pleasures that await people in Paradise cannot be counted, since they are known only to Allah. In addition, we are able to imagine only through the prism of earthly goods, although the rewards of Jannat are many times greater than them. The pleasures of Paradise in this world we cannot fully comprehend and feel. We should only strive to gain the pleasure of the Most High, in whose power our future is, and ask that we all be awarded a better abode.

By comparing the human and chimpanzee genomes, science draws conclusions about their evolutionary relationship. Religion says: the man was not, but BECAME like a monkey - after being expelled from Paradise.

Archpriest Oleg Mumrikov, theologian, biologist, lecturer at PSTGU and the Department of Biblical Studies of the MDAiS:

Optionally immortal

A person in Paradise was incorruptible, immortal, not in need of sensual food, not burning in fire, not drowning in water, and even with an inexhaustible potential for immortality and self-improvement, provided that he voluntarily followed the divine will, as the patristic tradition says.

Only the disobedience of Adam and Eve, despite the fact that God warned them about the possible danger, becomes the cause of the appearance of corruption and mortality.

It is interesting that even in antiquity there were writers who spoke about the perfection of the first people, for example, Philo of Alexandria (1st century) in his treatise “On the Creation of the World”: “This first man born from the earth<…>arose, it seems to me, the best in both respects - body and soul, and in many respects differed from his descendants in terms of both. After all, he was truly beautiful and truly virtuous.<…>

Together with symmetry, He [the Creator - Fr. O. M.] put [in a person] and perfectly arranged flesh,<…>desiring that the first man in particular should look the fairest. It is clear that in regard to the soul, he was the best. After all, God, for its creation, apparently, did not use any other model from emerging entities, but only<…>With your own Logos. Therefore He says that man arose as the image and likeness of the Logos, which was given to him by inhalation through the face.

However, the immortality of man in Paradise was not necessary, "mandatory." What does it mean?

The early Christian apologist St. Theophilus of Antioch writes: “Man was created by nature neither mortal nor immortal. For if God had made him immortal at the beginning, he would have made him God; if, on the contrary, he created him mortal, then he himself would be the cause of his death.

So He made<…>him capable of both, so that if he strives for that which leads to immortality, fulfilling the commandment of God, he would receive immortality from Him as a reward for this and would become God; but if he turns away to the works of death, disobeying God, he himself would be the cause of his own death.” . We encounter similar thoughts in St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Augustine.

Adam. Fragment of an ivory panel from a casket with the story of Adam and Eve. 10 - 11 centuries, Constantinople.

Rev. Symeon the New Theologian clarifies:

“Adam was created with an incorruptible body, however material, and not yet spiritual, and was appointed by the Creator God as an immortal king over the incorruptible world, and not only over paradise, but also over all creation that exists under heaven.”
According to St. Maximus the Confessor, the composition of the body of primitive man was "light and incorruptible", and therefore Adam "could not burden himself with the care of maintaining his sensual nourishment."

There is no contradiction here with Gen. 2:16 - « And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You shall eat of every tree in the garden. although Adam and Eve were created perfect spiritually and bodily, these are only the first degrees of perfection, open to further deification, spiritual growth and, as a result, spiritualization, transformation even of that imperishable, primordial bodily nature.

What is the Tree of Life?

Not what, but Who, and the paradise tree of Life, according to the patristic tradition, expressed, in particular, by the Byzantine theologian St. Nikita Stifat (XI century), is called

"God himself, the Creator of all ... having ... life, and bearing edible fruit only to those who are worthy of life, as not subject to death", giving "indescribable sweetness to those who have a part in His divine communion and gives them from immortal life."

A complete analogy of the Paradise tree from the book of Genesis, which nourishes the human race, we also meet in the Revelation of St. Apostle John the Theologian (Rev. 22:2, 14). Such an exalted interpretation, based, we note, on real spiritual experience, does not negate the literal-historical understanding, just as the most exalted understanding of the sacrament of the Eucharist, timeless "The Marriage Supper of the Lamb" does not cancel the material and space-time component of everything that surrounds him during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the temple.

Man is a macrocosm

Creation of Adam; Mosaic of the Cathedral of Montreal, 12th century.

Man is more than once called the king of the universe in patristic tradition. In what sense? Adam was called to keep and cultivate paradise, and his descendants bear full responsibility for the created material world, which is a kind of continuation of the human corporeality.

The Monk Maximus the Confessor, reflecting on the Gospel text (John 19:23), which speaks of the division of the clothes of the crucified Savior by the soldiers, writes: The Lord, and how He is exposed because of our non-doing good, and the demons divide the passions through us to serve, as if [His] garments are His creature.<…>

If, in addition to what has been said, you wish to understand the world of incorporeal and intelligible essences as a tunic woven from above, and to think of nature as outer clothing, which Scripture divided into four parts, as into elements, then you will not sin against the truth. Of these two worlds, the body [the demons] destroyed by corruption, having received power against us in the transgression of the law of the commandment, but they did not tear the soul, as akin to the heavenly world.

Commenting on these words, patrologist prof. A.I. Sidorov remarks: “Rev. Maxim proceeds here from the idea of ​​man as a "microcosm", which is similar and closely related to the "macrocosm", consisting of the intelligible and sensual worlds corresponding to the human soul and body.

It is also interesting that a number of holy fathers (St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Simeon the New Theologian, St. Nikita Stifatus, St. Gregory Palamas) considered man as a "macrocosm" in relation to the world - "microcosm". This approach is due to the approach to man as to the image of God, placed in the "center of the universe" and responsible for the entrusted universe.

Paradise didn't rain and there were no hurricanes

"Paradise"; Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, 1909

Today, natural science states that the modern universe exists, completely obeying the so-called Second Law of Thermodynamics - the principle that establishes the dynamics and irreversibility of macroscopic processes characterized by entropy - a function of the state of systems that describes free mutual transformation various kinds energy.

Simply put, the Second Law of Thermodynamics speaks of the "arrow of time", "fluidity" and "perishability" as ontological properties of the universe. But to what extent did the state of the surrounding cosmos correspond to the physical state of man before the fall?

Were animals and plants corruptible in the universe before the fall of man? Was there a time in paradise?

Turning to Holy Tradition, we can find a variety of patristic opinions on this issue. A number of fathers completely identify the state of man and the whole creation. St. Simeon the New Theologian teaches that “In the beginning, before God planted paradise and gave it to the primeval, in five days He arranged the earth and what is on it, and heaven and what is in it, and on the sixth day He created Adam and made him master and king of all visible creation.

Paradise didn't exist then. But this world was from God, as it were, a kind of paradise, although material and sensual. God gave him into the power of Adam and all his entourages, as the Divine Scripture says.<…>(Gen. 1:26-30). [after the fall of the forefathers] “God did not curse paradise<…>, but cursed only all the rest of the earth, which was also incorruptible and grew everything by itself, so that Adam would no longer have a life free from tedious labors and sweats.<…>

So, he who became corruptible and mortal because of the transgression of the commandment, in all justice it was necessary to live on the corruptible earth and eat corruptible food.<…>.

Then all the creatures, when they saw that Adam was expelled from paradise, no longer wanted to obey him, the criminal<…>But God<…>He restrained all these creatures by His strength, and in His goodness and goodness did not allow them to immediately rush against man, and commanded that the creature remained in subjection to him, and having become corruptible, served the corruptible man for whom it was created.

So that when a person is renewed again and becomes spiritual, incorruptible and immortal, all creation, subordinated by God to man in his work, will be freed from this work, renewed together with him and become incorruptible and, as it were, spiritual. All this was predetermined by the all-merciful God before the foundation of the world.”

Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) was of almost the same opinion:

“The earth, created, adorned, blessed by God, had no flaws. She was full of grace.

Now the earth appears to our eyes in a completely different form. We do not know her condition in holy virginity; we know her in a state of corruption and damnation, we know her already doomed to be burned;

it was created for eternity.

The God-inspired Writer of Genesis says that the earth, in its original state, did not need to be cultivated: it itself produced abundantly and of excellent value grain and other nutritious herbs, vegetables and fruits.

There was no change in the weather: it was always the same - the clearest and most favorable. There was no rain: the spring came out of the earth, and soldered her face.

Lucas Cranach the Elder, "Paradise" (1530). Image from germany-art.com

Beasts and other animals were in perfect harmony with each other, eating vegetation (Gen. 1:30). The wrath of the Creator changed the earth. "Cursed is the earth in thy deeds"(Gen. 3:17), He said to the man who trampled on His commandment: and the taking away of the blessing from the earth was immediately expressed by its various general disorder.

Winds whistled, storms raged, lightning flashed, thunder roared, rains, snows, hail, floods, an earthquake appeared.

Animals have lost obedience and love for man, who has lost obedience and love for God<…>leaving food that was originally intended for them, feeling changes in their very nature, which joined the curse that struck the earth, they rebelled against each other, began to devour each other.<…>

The destruction of the world has become a necessity: its destruction is a natural consequence of its mortal illness.<…>The small features of the original state of the earth, preserved for us by the book of Genesis, show what a huge, what a sad, incomprehensible change for us took place over the earth after the fall of man.

Was there a time in Paradise, or about the polyphony of the Holy Fathers

Studying more deeply the interpretative heritage, we also come across other patristic opinions in this area, and sometimes from the same authors.

Blessed Theodoret of Cyrrhus speaks of the initial creation of predatory animals by God with a twofold purpose: firstly, in anticipation of the fall of man (as well as the division of the primordial into two biological sexes); secondly, with a pedagogical goal, in order to “bring to the need to call on God to help oneself.”

Blessed Augustine also speaks of primordial mortality among animals: “God was pleased to carry this blessing [Gen. 1:22 – Fr. O. M.] to productivity, which is found in the succession of offspring, so that, being created weak and mortal, [animals] maintain their kind by birth by virtue of this very blessing.

St. Basil the Great in his “Conversations on the Six Days” especially touches on such inherent, fundamental properties of created matter, originally laid down by God, as dynamism and variability in time :

“And when it became necessary to add to the existing [intelligible world of incorporeal spirits – Fr. O. M.] and this world is mainly a school and a place for the formation of human souls, and then a seat for everything that is subject to birth and destruction;

then a succession of time, akin to the world and to the animals and plants in it, is produced, always hastening and flowing, and nowhere interrupting its flow.

Is not time such that in it the past has passed, the future has not yet come, but the present escapes the senses before it is known? And such is the nature of those who are in this world; it either increases or diminishes, and obviously has nothing fixed and permanent.

Therefore, the bodies of animals and plants, which are necessarily connected, as it were, with a certain stream, and are carried away by the movement leading to birth and destruction, it was fitting to be enclosed in the nature of time, which received properties akin to things that change.

The theological and philosophical understanding of the inseparable ontological unity of matter and space-time allows a deeper understanding of the fact of the reflection of ancestral sin on everyone world being, incl. on the primordial heavenly space-time, which were originally measures of improvement, and not decay in the pursuit of non-existence:

“This inheritance is ours, or our share ... i.e. what spoken about us from above destined or awarded... the lot of our weakness and our superiority, the gift of god-like creativity, is time-space" , notes Fr. Pavel Florensky.

Leather robes - clothes of death

"The Creation of Eve". Book miniature, 13th century, England. Image from pinterest.com

The task of the first people was to transform the entire created world to a heavenly state, because. the deification of the cosmos is possible according to the Creator's plan only through man - the king of the universe, the bearer of the divine image and likeness.

“For a person in a state of original perfection, every point on the earth's surface could be a place of bliss, since it depended not on the external environment, but on the internal, spiritual state. At first, from the outside, paradise was centered around the Tree of Life.

But if a person refrained from sin and, multiplying, would spread throughout the earth, then indeed the whole earth would become for sinless people the same as paradise in Eden was for the primordial couple, ”wrote prof. Ya.A. Bogorodsky.

Growing in love involves sacrifice. The first lesson of such sacrifice was the commandment not to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17).

But even in paradise, in his sinless, passionless state, man could not fulfill this commandment, and his fall into sin changed both him and the whole world around him.

Of particular importance for understanding how man and the world have changed are the biblical words: “And the Lord God made leather garments for Adam and his wife, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21).

Without denying their literal meaning, the fathers also pointed to a deep symbolic and ontological meaning:

dressing in leather robes after transgression of the divine commandment, a person takes on the “bestial nature”, his biological nature changes qualitatively, the body becomes mortal and perishable.

Saint Gregory the Theologian writes: “But when<…>a man tasted prematurely of the sweet fruit, and put on leather robes - heavy flesh, and became a corpse-bearer, because by death Christ put limits to sin; then he went out of paradise to the earth from which he was taken, and received a hard-working life as his inheritance ...

When, due to the envy of the devil and the deceitfulness of the woman, to which she herself was subjected as the weakest, and which she carried out as skillful in persuasion<…>, a man has forgotten the commandment given to him, and is overcome by a bitter taste: then through sin he becomes an exile, removed at the same time from the tree of life, and from paradise, and from God; clothed in leather robes (perhaps in the coarsest, mortal and opposing flesh), for the first time he knows his own shame, and hides from God.

Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Fresco of the vestibule of the Refectory Church. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. Image from stsl.ru

If St. John Chrysostom, as noted above, mainly adhered to the view that before the fall the whole world was incorruptible, then St. Gregory of Nyssa, following Basil the Great, defends the opinion of the incorruptibility and immortality of only one primordial man, who, after the fall, assimilated the corruptible nature of animals, which is symbolically indicated by dressing him in leather vestments:

“So, since all that was mixed with human nature from the life of the dumb, before we did not exist until humanity fell into passion due to vice;<…>so then we will also put off this deadly and vile tunic, imposed on us from the skins of dumb animals (and when I hear about the skin, I think to understand the appearance of a dumb nature, in which we have clothed ourselves, having mastered with passion);

then everything that was in us from the skin of the dumb, we will overthrow from ourselves after taking off the chiton.

And what we received from the skin of the dumb is carnal mixing, conception, birth, impurity, nipples, food, eruption, gradual coming to perfect age, maturity of age, old age, illness, death.<…>

For wrinkledness and stoutness of the body, leanness and fullness, and everything else that happens to the fluid nature of bodies, what do they have in common with life, which is alien to the fluid and transient pasture of real life?

St. Ephraim the Syrian, although he attaches more importance to the literal meaning (like St. John Chrysostom), however, does not ignore the symbolic side of Genesis. 3:21:

“These robes were either made from the skin of animals, or created again, because, according to Moses, the Lord created these robes and clothed Adam and Eve with them. It can be thought that the ancestors, having touched their girdles with their hands, found that they were clothed in vestments made of the skin of animals, slaughtered, perhaps before their own eyes, so that they would eat their meat, cover their nakedness with their skins, and in their very death they saw death. own body."

St. Gregory of Sinai (XIV century) also says that after the tragedy of the fall, man became like corruptible animals by physical nature:

“Smoldering is a product of the flesh. To eat food and vomit superfluous food, proudly hold your head and lie down to sleep, is the natural property of animals and cattle, in which we, having become like cattle through disobedience, fell away from the God-given blessings inherent in us and became bestial from rational and bestial from divine.<…>

When the soul was created rational and mental through inspiration, then together with it God did not create rage and bestial lust, but put one desirable force into it and the courage to fulfill desires. In the same way, having created the body, He did not put into it at the beginning anger and unreasonable lust, but afterward, through disobedience, it received into itself deadness, corruption and bestiality.

The body, the theologians say, was created incorruptible, which it will be resurrected, just as the soul was created impassive; but just as the soul had freedom to sin, so the body had the opportunity to undergo corruption. And both of them, i.e. the soul and body were corrupted and dissolved, according to the natural law of their combination with each other and mutual influence: moreover, the soul became endowed with passions, more so with demons; but the body became like foolish beasts and sank into corruption.”

Here we can note another important aspect. According to St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Maximus the Confessor, John of Damascus and other St. fathers,

man was not originally subject to the law of "bestial birth from seed": the original intention of God did not include the multiplication of people in the "familiar" way for us, although man was created as a man and a woman.

"Dressing in" leather clothes " meant that<…>man was not only deprived of the incorruption of his nature, but also condemned to a passionate birth from the seed in the image of animals.

His body was completely subordinated to the laws of a voluntarily chosen bestial life,” wrote St. Maxim the Confessor.

Will animals be resurrected?

Adam names the animals. Fresco in the church of the monastery of St. Nicholas Apanavsas in Meteora (Greece). 16th century, master Theophan of Crete.

In general, the Orthodox tradition does not recognize the immortality of not only the bodily, but also the spiritual nature of animals. Saint Basil the Great says about this:

Why does the earth bring forth the living soul? That you may know the difference between the soul of cattle and the soul of man. You will soon learn how the human soul was created, and now listen to the soul of the dumb. According to the Scripture The soul of every animal is its blood (Lev. 17:11), and congealed blood usually turns into flesh, and decayed flesh decomposes into the ground; then, in all fairness, the soul of cattle is something earthly.<…>

Consider the connection of the soul with blood, blood with flesh, flesh with earth; and again in reverse order, go from earth to flesh, from flesh to blood, from blood to soul; and you will find that the soul of the cattle is the earth. Do not think that it is older than their bodily composition, and that it remains after the destruction of the body. St. Gregory Palamas writes: “The sensual and speechless creatures of the animal world have only the spirit of life in themselves, and even that, by itself, is not able to exist, but they are completely devoid of an immortal mind and the gift of speech;

beings that exist above the entire sensual (material) world - Angels and Archangels - although they are spiritual and reasonable, have an immortal mind and word (mind), but do not have a life-giving spirit in themselves, and therefore do not possess a body that receives life from a life-giving spirit;

man, the only one created in the image of the Trinitarian Nature, has an immortal mind and the gift of speech and a spirit that gives life to the body (associated with it) ”;

“The soul of each of the unintelligent living beings is the life of the body, animated by it, and having this life not in essence, but in action, as life in relation to another, but not in itself.”

Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that after the fall of man, the nature of animals changed so much that it led to the death of the immortal souls of "speechless" living beings. Apparently, they were created initially as transient and limited in existence in time.

At the same time, it can be assumed that before Adam's crime, their transition to non-existence was not associated with the same physical sensations and suffering as in the present era.

Which Adam is compared to a chimpanzee?

Adam. Ivory, 10th - 11th century, Constantinople.

The cited patristic texts, which reveal the theology of the "leather garments", lead us to the conclusion that in investigating the related genetic, physiological, and anatomical continuity of animals and humans, science deals only with man, who has already been expelled from Eden.

Studying its bodily nature, clothed in "leather clothes", natural science quite naturally and "legitimately" speaks of an evolutionary, historical relationship with primates. However, from the point of view of Orthodox theology, these conclusions essentially, ontologically do not apply to the primordial Adam and his descendants, but in themselves are one of the paradoxical consequences of the fall of the forefathers:

the likeness of God is not destroyed, but, as it were, fades into the background before the likeness of "the cattle of the field."
The created world exists in accordance with the good divine meaning, plan (logos), but the image of its existence ( tropos- according to prep. Maximus the Confessor) may not correspond to this plan. Having realized his freedom as a resistance to the Divine will, Adam receives the bitter right to an “autonomous” existence ( And the Lord God said, Behold, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil– Gen. 3:22).

Accordingly, both the history of formation and the current existence of the world, as well as its own existence, appear before it, being in a fallen state, as a random, blind, meaningless, dead, chaotic process, where there is a place not only for competition, natural selection, death, cruelty, suffering.

Ephemerally existing "autonomously from the Creator", it is impossible, based on rational and sensual experience, to "see" one's own origin otherwise.

“So, the demons divide the visible creation [consisting of] the four elements into parts, preparing us to see [it only] by feeling to arouse passion, not knowing the divine logoi contained in it,” says St. Maxim the Confessor.

Since ancient times, probably successively - from the ancestors themselves - humanity has preserved in various mythological images and hymns the mournful memory of the lost Eden as the past "Golden Age". Ethnographers, religious scholars, culturologists, and archaeologists who have been studying history since the Paleolithic have constantly paid attention to this feature. We see the difference only in worldview interpretations.

So, the first quarter of the twentieth century. (1923), the famous English ethnographer and historian of religion J. Fraser, considering the biblical narrative of the creation of man and the fall, disputed the uniqueness and inspiration of the first chapters of the book of Genesis and the entire Holy Scripture as a whole on the basis of the similarity of some of their details with other monuments of literature and mythology ancient world.

Archpriest Oleg Mumrikov, theologian, biologist, lecturer at PSTGU and the Department of Biblical Studies of the MDAiS. Photo from mpda.ru

Meanwhile, modern Christian scholars and apologists see this similarity as one of the most important proofs of the historicity of biblical texts.

He replied with the words of Allah:

“For the faithful, I have prepared in Paradise that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, which no man could even think of.” One can talk endlessly about the beauty of Paradise and its grace. It is said that in Firdavs Paradise there will be all the treats and drinks that a person has seen and a thousand times more than those that he has not seen in his life. It is also said that rivers of honey and milk flow in Paradise. Paradise consists of eight levels. Each next Paradise is located above the previous one. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The inhabitants of the lower Paradises look at the inhabitants of the upper ones as we look at the stars ».

Heavenly vegetables and fruits are different from earthly ones. The Almighty called heavenly treats grapes, dates, honey, milk, meat; heavenly clothes - silk, velvet; heavenly houses - houses of silver and gold, pearls, yachts, etc., so that we understand, because these names are familiar to us. And if the Almighty called the fruits of paradise, his treats, clothes, houses by their proper names, we would not understand what is at stake, and we would not have any desire to be worthy of them. How can the fruits of this world be similar to paradise, while it is said that if the people of this world see even a grape from the lowest Paradise - Dar-us-Salam, they will forget about all earthly blessings? And if people from Dar-us-Salaam see a grape from Jannatu Na'im, they will be disgusted with all the fruits of their Paradise. The ratio of the gifts of Paradise of a higher level to Paradise of a lower level is to the same degree. Their ratio is similar to the ratio of the gifts of Paradise of the lowest level to worldly gifts.

The one who is rewarded with Paradise will have a palace made of pearls and other jewels. Each palace will have seventy thousand gates, each gate will have seventy thousand trees, each branch of these trees will have seventy thousand varieties of fruit. In each courtyard there will be seventy thousand gold shops, each shop 330 cubits long, and each shop will have seventy beds. Next to each yard there are seventy children, in their hands are golden bottles, in each bottle there are different drinks. Honey, milk and other rivers will flow in front of the palaces. When a person wants to climb onto a bench (like a couch), it will become an elbow lower, and when he sits down on it, she will rise to the sky. When people want to go somewhere, the shops will carry them. If they want to fly up to the sky, the benches will fly with them like birds.

Angels from Allah will come to each inhabitant of Paradise five times a day with various treats and fruits on golden trays. This is a gift for prayers performed on time.

There is no night or darkness in Paradise. The roof of Paradise is the Arsh of Allah, and the light will come from it. A sign by which the inhabitants of Paradise will be able to distinguish night from day will be the closing of the gates of Paradise and the lowering of the curtain on them. Then people will go into their tents along with their houris and wives that they had in this world. In the morning, the birds of paradise greet the Almighty.

If a person wants to see someone, the shop will take him there faster than lightning. And after the meeting, he will take you back to the inhabitants of Paradise. Angels visit people from time to time and greet them. At the time when the inhabitants of Paradise eat the fruits of Paradise, the birds in the trees will praise them (tasbih) with their beautiful voices. They will eat for pleasure, and not in order to quench their thirst or hunger. Also, they will not have any discharge, even if they eat continuously. Sweat will be released from their bodies, which their bathrobes will absorb, but they will never get dirty.

May Allah grant us Paradise! Amine.

In 1999, the Miramax film company presented the comedy film Dogma to the general public. The plot of this picture is built around two fallen angels, Loki and Bartleby, expelled by God from paradise. And this couple lives on earth among people and dreams of forgiveness and return to the Garden of Eden. According to the plot, apostates find a technical loophole among various church dogmas, allowing them to become sinless again. After that, they should have died immediately - then they automatically go to heaven. And now the angels go all out in order to fulfill their dream. This comedy film touches upon a question that worries many people, although not everyone can admit it even to themselves: “How to get to heaven?” Today we will try to understand this, despite the fact that this topic is, so to speak, in the department of faith and religion. To date, science has not been able to provide evidence of the existence of paradise, however, as well as evidence of its absence. Well, let's hit the road...

What is "paradise"?

We propose to begin our study with an analysis of the concept itself. If you delve into this topic, you can see that paradise is different. And in each religion, the vision of this place is completely different, each denomination describes it in its own way. For example, the main book of Christianity, the Bible, gives us the following information about it: this word refers to the Garden of Eden, which was home to Adam and Eve, the progenitors of mankind. The life of the first people in paradise was simple and carefree, they knew neither disease nor death. One day they disobeyed God and succumbed to temptation. The immediate expulsion of people from paradise followed. According to the prophecies, it will be restored, people will live in it again. The Bible states that paradise was originally created on earth, so Christians believe that it will be restored there as well. Now only the righteous can get there, and even then only after death.

What does the Quran say about paradise? In Islam, this is also a garden (Jannat), in which the righteous will live after the Day of Judgment. The Qur'an describes this place in detail, its levels and features.

In Judaism, everything is somewhat more complicated, however, after reading the Talmud, Midrash and the Zohar, one can conclude that paradise for the Jews is here and now, it was given to them by Jehovah.

In general, each religion has its own idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe "cherished garden". One thing remains unchanged. No matter what object is considered, whether it is the Buddhist Nirvana or the Scandinavian Valhalla, paradise is perceived as a place where eternal bliss reigns, bestowed after death. Probably, it makes no sense to delve into the beliefs of African or Australian natives - they are too alien to us, and therefore we will limit ourselves to the largest religious denominations. And let's move on to the main topic of our article: "How to get to heaven?"

Christianity and Islam

With these religions, everything is more or less clear: lead a righteous life, that is, live according to the commandments of God, and after death your soul will go to the “cherished garden”. However, for those who do not want to limit their freedom and are looking for easier ways, there are so-called loopholes to avoid the hellfire. True, there are some nuances here. A very striking example is jihad in Islam - diligence on the path to Allah. Recently, this concept has been associated with armed struggle and self-sacrifice, although it is much broader and is a struggle with one's social or spiritual vices. We will consider a special case of jihad advertised by the media, namely suicide bombers. World news feeds are full of reports of suicide bombings around the world. Who are they and why do they decide to take such actions? It is worth considering whether these people are doing a charitable deed or are they the victims of behind-the-scenes manipulators who do not hesitate to shed other people's blood in the struggle for power? After all, as a rule, it is not enemy soldiers who suffer from the actions of suicide bombers, but civilians. So their actions can at least be called doubtful, the murder of women and children is not a fight against vices, but a violation of the main commandment of God - do not kill. By the way, in Islam killing is also not welcome, as in Christianity. On the other hand, history remembers the wars committed in the name of God: the Church blessed the crusaders, the Pope personally sent the soldiers on their bloody campaign. So the actions of Islamic terrorists can be understood, but cannot be justified. Murder is murder, no matter for what purpose it is committed.

Incidentally, in Orthodox Christianity military service is also considered a charitable deed, however, this concerns the protection of the Russian land from an external enemy. And in the distant past, and today, priests blessed the soldiers going on a campaign; there are many cases when church ministers themselves took up arms and went to war. It is difficult to say unequivocally whether a soldier who died in battle will go to heaven or not, whether all his sins will be written off from him or, on the contrary, they will be pulled down into hellfire. So this method can hardly be called a ticket to the Garden of Eden. Let's try to find other, more reliable methods.

Indulgence

How do people get to heaven? In the first half of the 13th century, Hugh Saint-Chersky in his writings developed the theological justification for indulgence, recognized a hundred years later by Pope Clement VI. Many sinners of that time perked up, because they had a great chance to get rid of their sins that stood in the way of eternal bliss. What is meant by this concept? Indulgence is a liberation from temporary punishment for committed sins, in which a person has already repented, and the guilt for them has already been forgiven in the sacrament of confession. It can be either partial or complete. A believer can receive an indulgence for himself or for the deceased. According to Catholic teaching, complete forgiveness is possible only if specific requirements are met: confession, communion, it was necessary to pray in the intention of the Pope, and also to perform a number of certain actions (testimony of faith, ministry of mercy, pilgrimage, etc.). The Church later compiled a list of "super-due good deeds" that allowed indulgences to be granted.

In the Middle Ages, the practice of issuing forgiveness often led to significant abuses, which can be characterized by the modern concept of “corruption”. The furry hydra became so entangled that it served as an impetus for the reform movement. As a consequence, Pope Pius V in 1567 "closes shop" and forbids the issuance of pardons for any financial settlements. The modern procedure for granting them is regulated by the document "Guide to indulgences", which was released in 1968 and supplemented in 1999. For those who wonder: "How to get to heaven?" it should be understood that this method can only work if you are on your deathbed (so you will not have time to sin again). Although a person often manages to make unforgivable mistakes in his dying state.

sacrament of baptism

How to get to heaven? This can help. The fact is that, according to Christian teaching, during this ceremony, the human soul is freed from all sins. True, this method is not suitable for the bulk, because a person can go through it only once, and in most cases parents baptize their children in infancy. Only representatives of the royal dynasty underwent the ceremony twice, and then only at the coronation. So, if you are already baptized and do not belong to the royal family, then this method is not for you. Otherwise, you have a chance to get rid of all your sins, but just don’t fall into all serious troubles and finally do something that you will later be ashamed to tell your grandchildren about. By the way, some representatives of Judaism prefer to accept Christianity in old age. So, just in case, because - according to their belief - paradise is here on Earth, but what will happen after death? So you can insure yourself, and at the end of your earthly existence, go over to another camp and secure eternal bliss already in the Christian paradise. But, as you can see, this path is available only to the elite.

Egyptian, Tibetan and Mesoamerican "Books of the Dead"

How does the soul get to heaven? Few people know, but for this there are exact instructions that serve as a guide for the deceased in the afterlife. Many people have heard of them, Hollywood has made several films about these treatises, and yet almost no one is familiar with their content. But in ancient times they were studied with great zeal by both noble people and servants. In fact, from the standpoint of a modern person, The Book of the Dead resembles a computer game like a quest. It describes step by step all the actions of the deceased, indicates who is waiting for him at one or another level of the underworld, and what needs to be given to the servants of the underworld. The yellow press is full of interviews with survivors. People who have seen heaven and hell talk about their feelings and experiences about this. But few people know that the studies of these visions, conducted by R. Moody, showed a colossal coincidence of such narratives with what the “Books of the Dead” describe, or rather, those parts of them that are devoted to the initial moments of posthumous existence. However, all “returnees” reach a certain stage, the so-called point of no return, and they cannot say anything about the further path. But the ancient texts speak, and in great detail. And the question immediately arises: how did the ancient civilizations that lived on different continents know about this? After all, the content of the texts is almost identical, there are minor differences in details, names, but the essence remains the same. Either it can be assumed that all the "Books of the Dead" were rewritten from one, more ancient source, or this is knowledge given to people by the gods, and everything that is written there is true. After all, people who have “seen paradise” (survived clinical death) are talking about the same thing, although most of them have never read these manuscripts.

Ancient knowledge and equipment of the deceased

In ancient Egypt, the priests prepared and trained the citizens of their country for the afterlife. In what way? During his lifetime, a man studied “magical techniques and formulas” that helped the soul overcome obstacles and defeat monsters. In the grave of the deceased, relatives always put items that he would need in the afterlife. For example, it was necessary to leave two coins - this is a payment to the boatman for transportation across the river of death. People who "have seen paradise" often mention that they met dead friends there, good acquaintances or relatives who helped them with advice. And this is easily explained by the fact that a modern person knows nothing about the afterlife, because they don’t talk about it at school, you won’t get such information at institutes either. In the church, the priests will not help you much either. What remains? This is where people close to you appear who care about your fate.

court of the gods

Almost all religions say that after death a person will be judged, where all the good and evil deeds of the defendant will be compared, weighed, as a result of which his future fate will be decided. Such a judgment is also spoken of in the Books of the Dead. The soul, wandering in the afterlife, having passed all the trials, at the end of the path meets with the supreme King and judge Osiris, who is sitting on the throne. A person must address him with a certain ritual phrase in which he lists how he lived and whether he followed the commandments of God throughout his life. According to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the soul, after turning to Osiris, had to justify itself for each of its sins before the other 42 gods responsible for certain sins. However, no words of the deceased could save him. The main god placed a feather, which is a symbol (truth, justice, world order, truth), on one side of the scales, and the heart of the defendant on the second. If it outweighed the feather, it meant that it was full of sins. And such a person was devoured by the monster Amait.

If the scales remained in balance, or the heart turned out to be lighter than a feather, then a meeting with loved ones and relatives, as well as “eternal bliss”, awaited the soul. People who saw heaven and hell never described the court of the gods, and this is understandable, because it is beyond the “point of no return”, so one can only guess about the reliability of this information. But we should not forget that most religious denominations speak about such an “event”.

And what do people do in paradise?

Oddly enough, few people think about it. According to the Bible, Adam (the first person in paradise) lived in the Garden of Eden and did not know any worries, he was not familiar with illnesses, physical labor, he did not even need to use clothes, which means that the climatic conditions there were quite comfortable. That's all, nothing more is known about his stay in this place. But this is a description of an earthly paradise, and as for heaven, even less is known about it. Scandinavian Valhalla and Islamic Jannat promise the righteous eternal bliss, they will be surrounded by full-breasted beauties, and wine will pour into their goblets, the Koran tells that the goblets will be filled with eternally young boys with bowls. The righteous will be spared the torment of a hangover, they will be all right with male power. Here is such an idyll, however, the status of boys and buxom beauties is not clear. Who are they? Deserving paradise or exiled here as a punishment for past sins? Somehow it's not entirely clear.

Slaves of the gods

The Books of the Dead tell of a completely different idyll. In accordance with these ancient treatises, "eternal bliss" comes down only to the fact that there are no crop failures, and, accordingly, hunger and wars. People in paradise, as in life, continue to work for the good of the gods. That is, man is a slave. This is evidenced by the books of both the Mesoamerican Indians and the ancient Egyptians, and, of course, the Tibetan manuscript. But among the ancient Sumerians, the ideal picture of the afterlife looks much gloomier. Having crossed to the other side, the soul of the deceased passes through seven gates and enters a huge room in which there is neither drink nor food, but only muddy water and clay. Here begins the main afterlife torment. The only indulgence for her can be regular sacrifices, which will be carried out by living relatives. If the deceased was a lonely person or relatives treated him badly and did not want to perform the ceremony, then a very bad fate awaits the soul: it leaves the dungeon and roams the world in the form of a hungry ghost and harms everyone it meets. This is the idea of ​​the afterlife among the ancient Sumerians, but the beginning of their works also coincides with the "Books of the Dead". Unfortunately, people who "were in paradise" are not able to lift the veil over what is beyond the "point of no return." Representatives of the main religious denominations are not able to do this either.

Pater Diy on religions

In Russia, there are many religious directions of the so-called pagan direction. One of these is the Old Russian Church of Orthodox Old Believers-Ynglings, whose leader is Khinevich A. Yu. In one of his video speeches, Pater Diy recalls the assignment received from his teacher-mentor. The essence of his “mission” was as follows: to find out from representatives of the main religious denominations what they know about hell and heaven. As a result of such surveys, Khinevich learns that Christian, Islamic, Jewish clergymen have comprehensive information about hell. They can name all its levels, dangers, trials awaiting a sinner, almost by name list all the monsters that will meet with a lost soul, and so on, so on, so on ... However, absolutely all the ministers with whom he had a chance to talk know amazingly little about heaven. They have only superficial information about the place of eternal bliss. Why is that? Khinevich himself draws the following conclusion: they say, whom they serve, they know about it ... We will not be so categorical in our judgments, and we will leave it to the reader. In this case, it would be appropriate to recall the words of the classic, the brilliant M. A. Bulgakov. In the novel The Master and Margarita, he puts into Woland's mouth the phrase that there are many theories regarding the afterlife. There is one among them, according to which each will be given according to his faith...

Is there enough space?

Various information resources often discuss topics related to the Garden of Eden. People are interested in various issues. And how can you get there, and how many people are in paradise, and much more. A couple of years ago, the whole world was in a fever: everyone was waiting for the “end of the world”, which was supposed to come in December 2012. In this regard, many predicted that the same “Judgment Day” was about to come, when God would descend to earth and punish all sinners, and grant eternal bliss to the righteous. And here the most interesting begins. How many people will go to heaven? Is there enough space for everyone? Or will everything happen as in the plans of the globalists who want to leave a "golden billion" on the planet? These and similar questions haunted many, making it difficult to sleep at night. However, the year 2013 came, the "end of the world" did not come, and the expectation of "Judgment Day" remained. Increasingly, Jehovah's Witnesses, evangelists, etc. turn to passers-by with a call to repent and let God into their souls, because soon all things will come to an end, and everyone must make their choice before it is too late.

Heaven on Earth

According to the Bible, the Garden of Eden was on Earth, and many theologians are sure that in the future it will also be restored to our planet. However, a reasonable person may ask: why wait for the Day of Judgment, maybe you can build a paradise on your own? Ask any fisherman who met the dawn with a fishing rod somewhere on a quiet lake: where is paradise? He will confidently answer that he is on Earth, here and now. Maybe you should not sit in a stuffy apartment? Try to go to the forest, to the river or to the mountains, wander in silence, listen to the birds singing, look for mushrooms, berries - and, quite possibly, you will discover this "eternal bliss" during your lifetime. However, a person is arranged in such a way that he always waits for a miracle ... Like, some kind uncle will appear and solve all his problems - he will wean sluts from throwing garbage past the trash can, rude people - to swear, boors - to park in the wrong place, corrupt officials - to take bribes and so on Further. A person sits and waits, and life passes by, it cannot be returned ... Muslims have a parable called "The last person who entered paradise." It most accurately conveys the essence of human nature, which always remains dissatisfied with the true state of things. A person always remains unsatisfied, even if he gets what he dreams of. I wonder if he will be happy in paradise, or maybe some time will pass - and he will begin to be burdened by "eternal bliss", he will want something more? After all, Adam and Eve also could not resist the temptations. This should be something to think about...

"Terraria": how to get to heaven

Finally, this issue will also have to be covered, although it is difficult to tie it to the topic of the article. Terraria is a 2D sandbox video game. It features customizable characters, dynamic daytime changes, randomly generated worlds, the ability to deform terrain, and a crafting system. Many gamers are scratching their heads, asking a similar question: "Terraria": how to get to heaven? The fact is that in this project there are several biomes: "Jungle", "Ocean", "Land World", "Dungeon", "Hell", etc. In theory, "Paradise" should also exist, only can't find it. It is especially difficult for beginners. This is the biome that is torn out of the logical chain. Although experienced players claim that it exists. To get there, you need to craft the wings of the harpy and the spheres of power. You can get the necessary components near the "Floating Islands". These are areas of land floating in the air. Their appearance is not much different from the ground surface: there are the same trees, resource deposits as on the ground, and only a lonely standing temple with a chest inside stands out from the rest of the landscape. Nearby, harpies will surely appear, dropping feathers we need so much, and other monsters. Be alert!

This is where we end our journey. Let's hope that the reader will find his way to "eternal bliss".