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Another thing about bodily assumption: heaven and hell are not 'physical' places to be taken to. We think of hell as a "state" of the soul of a person who was unable to let go of anger and love for the world and other passions.

But that goes directly against the liturgical tradition of Orthodoxy where we sing "Thou [Christ] didst descent into hell." The Apostolic Creed also establishes that. Even the Gospel expression "the gates of hell" suggests a physical place.

That's interesting. I have always thought of heaven and hell as places, even if in a dimension not currently observable to us. I actually have no problem with that idea. It's just that I am sure that no matter what happens I am going to exist, and I've always thought of existence as requiring space. But before I dig myself into too deep a hole, perhaps we should consult the resident expert on such matters. :) AG, could you please help us understand this?

I have always thought of heaven and hell as places, even if in a dimension not currently observable to us.

Do you believe that God takes up space in a location or a dimension? How much does God weigh? How big is He? What area does He exist within this place called "heaven"? Perhaps for people who do not think much about it, heaven can be called a "place". But for theologians who take seriously the idea that God is a spirit (and spirits do not take up space), it would be better to consider heaven as a "state of existence" rather than a physical place. Such anthropomorphic views of God do not make sense with the view that God is spirit.

Regards

I have always thought of heaven and hell as places, even if in a dimension not currently observable to us. I actually have no problem with that idea. It's just that I am sure that no matter what happens I am going to exist, and I've always thought of existence as requiring space

It is a different "dimension;" it's called God. The saints in heaven share in His divinity (by grace), but outside of that we have no clue what it is, or what it means.

Physical space as such is irrelevant when it comes to God, as we would surely say that God is present in all parts of the Creation, immensly vast and it is, and all at the same time. This is a highly transcendental concept which we know of but cannot comprehend.

Our vision is limited to perceive - and our minds limited to thinking - in four dimensions, three of space and one of time.

I've often mused that God created us this way according to His will, that there likely exists additional dimensions of space and time we cannot directly perceive. As it turns out, geometric physics supports this view mathematically both with compactified string theories (Kaluza/Klein) and with higher or expanded dimensional theories (Vafa, Wesson, et al).

Also, Jewish mystics have mused that the firmament is not a geometric location. Heaven or the spiritual realm is not spatially separated from the physical realm but rather there exists a boundary which prevents the physical but not the spiritual (kind of like a two way mirror.) They go on to muse that the boundary may be the speed of light, the "speed limit of the universe."

The first part of that rings true in the Spirit - but I have no leaning as to whether the firmament is the speed of light.

Neverthless, even if the spiritual and physical are not spatially separated, heaven and hell are according to this:

And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence. - Luke 16:26

The bottom line is that this heaven and earth - regardless of dimensionality (temporal or spatial) - will be replaced by the new heaven and earth. That is the one that matters - and AFAIK the structures, physics, dimensions, etc. are not knownable to us.

Hell, btw, gets thrown into the Lake of Fire in the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20) - so its being spatially separated is a non-issue to the new heaven and new earth.