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The idea is quite generally taught in Christianity that at the time of resurrection a person is assigned either to heaven, a place in the presence of God, or to hell, a place in the presence of the devil. According to this belief there is no other alternative: If a person is not worthy of the presence of God, he is thrust into the presence of the devil … Paul identifies three degrees of glory and gives names to two of these heavens. In speaking of the order of resurrected bodies, he states: ‘There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead’ (1 Corinthians 15:40-42; emphasis added). Thus Paul indicates that the highest heaven, whose glory is like the sun, is called the celestial. The second heaven, whose glory is like the moon, is the terrestrial. The lowest order of heaven, whose glory is like the stars, is not named by Paul.Share
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