Heaven

Conceptions of heaven and hell are found universally among the religions of the world. Descriptions of these abodes are often full of graphic and fanciful imagery, conveying in metaphor a reality that can hardly be part of the ordinary experience of mortals. Are these realms objectively real? The scriptures are unanimous in affirming they are. Yet they do not have any physical location: “up” or “down” is a matter of spiritual geography, not of astronomy or geology. The view found in some texts, that heaven or hell is derived from one’s state of mind, does not make it any less real. For the attitudes and desires of people’s hearts, which may be hidden by the external features of mortal life, constitute the spirit world’s “matter.”

The world’s scriptures describe Heaven as a place of rest, or as an exalted spiritual state, full of divine grace, whose inhabitants live in communion with God and in harmony with one another. A number of texts describe it as a place of fellowship with the spirits of the departed or a fellowship of saints. There are also descriptions using more graphic and materialistic imagery: gardens of delights, with riches and pleasures abounding. Father Moon’s colorful descriptions of heaven are in agreement with these themes of scripture. What’s more, he adds a distinctive note, affirming that heaven is also a place where families dwell together, enjoying perfect love.

We conclude with visions or tours of Heaven: a Buddhist description of the Pure Land, Muhammad’s Night Journey through the seven heavens, an Iroquois Native American journey in the Code of Handsome Lake, as well as Father Moon’s own descriptions. They describe a paradisiacal existence, a word of eternal youth and health where every wish is granted, where the senses are flooded with vibrant colors and melodious music.