I don’t particularly care about Ron Rhodes beliefs, but I do care about the Apostle Pauls.
Paul further described his understanding of the heavens in 1 Cor 15:40-43 By identifying the three heavens as the Celestian, Terrestial and Terrestial glories.
I don’t suppose that Mr. Rhodes made that correlation ... did he?
“Paul further described his understanding of the heavens in 1 Cor 15:40-43 By identifying the three heavens as the Celestian, Terrestial and Terrestial glories.
I don’t suppose that Mr. Rhodes made that correlation ... did he?”
Are you just going to repeat the same thing again in response to someone else? Paul speaks nothing of the Mormon heavens.
1Co 15:39-43 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. (40) There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. (41) 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. (42) So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: (43) It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
Notice the context is on the difference between our bodies now and the resurrection bodies we shall have in the hereafter. It speaks nothing of three levels of Mormon heavens, nor does it even use the same terms as the LDS does.
When Paul speaks of going to the third heaven, it is according to the Jewish understanding, not the Mormon.
We know, first of all, that the word for “heaven” literally means heights in the Hebrew.
The first heaven is the Earth’s atmosphere:
Deut. 11:17 ... Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce.
Where the stars dwell is heaven:
Jeremiah 8:2 ... They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens which they have loved and served.
And then the highest heaven. Literally ‘The Highest heights’:
1 Kings 8:27 — “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.
Deut. 10:14 — To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.
And it is worth noting that no unbeliever ever goes to heaven. All unbelievers go to hell, and only those in the book of the lamb dwell with God.
Mat 25:41-46 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (42) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: (43) I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. (44) Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? (45) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. (46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
According to your religion, there is no hell. Only three lesser glories of heaven, described by your prophets as being profoundly wonderful, yet the punishment is that these poor unbelievers will never get to become gods of their own planets.
The scripture declares that all those who are not with God, are against Him, and therefore these people are cast forever into the lake of fire where the smoke of their torment rises forever:
Rev_20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev_20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
I'm sorry, but 1 Cor 15:40-43 does nothing of that sort
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but one is the flesh of men, another of beasts, another of birds, another of fishesThat does not describe 3 heavens but points out that just as there are different celestial bodies, there is a difference between the flesh of man and of animals
. 40 And there are bodies celestial, and bodies terrestrial: but, one is the glory of the celestial, and another of the terrestrial.
41 One is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars. For star differeth from star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it shall rise in incorruption.
43 It is sown in dishonour, it shall rise in glory. It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power.
And in which one will your worthiness place you for eternity?
"Now, it may be contended that a judgment, with some degree of salvation for all, encourages the sinner to pursue his dark ways. Not so. However generous the judgment, it is measured by our works. Our punishment will be the heavy regret that we might have received a greater reward, a higher kingdom, had our lives conformed more nearly to truth. Such remorse may yield keener pain than physical torture." (Understandable Religion, p. 89)
While Widtsoe is careful not to call a heavenly kingdom "hell", he is nonetheless certain that there will be a keen regret for lost opportunities:
"Humanity will be grouped according to their works in three main divisions: Celestial (like the sun), Telestial (like the moon), Terrestrial (like the earth). Within each group there will be many gradations and divisions, until from the lowest to the highest in all groups there will be a series of gradually ascending glories. There can be no talk of a hell, except for the few 'sons of Perdition,' but undoubtedly the regret for lost opportunities will be keen among those in the lower degrees of glory." (Program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, p. 226)
Joseph Fielding Smith, on the other hand, considers the tormenting regret experienced in the bottom two heavenly kingdoms and concludes "in that sense it will be hell":
"This earth will become a celestial kingdom when it is sanctified. Those who enter the terrestrial kingdom will have to go to some other sphere which will be prepared for them. Those who enter the telestial kingdom, likewise will have to go to some earth which is prepared for them, and there will be another place which is hell where the devil and those who are punished to go with him will dwell. Of course, those who enter the telestial kingdom, and those who enter the terrestrial kingdom will have the eternal punishment which will come to them in knowing that they might, if they had kept the commandments of the Lord, have returned to his presence as his sons and his daughters. This will be a torment to them, and in that sense it will be hell." (Answers to Gospel Questions, v. 2, p. 210)
This line of thinking is interesting in light of Joseph Smith's following teaching:
"A man is his own tormenter and his own condemner. Hence the saying, They shall go into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The torment of disappointment in the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone" (TPJS, p. 357)
The entry in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism on "Damnation" essentially explains that the bottom two kingdoms of heaven are kingdoms of damnation:
"Just as there are varying degrees and types of salvation, coupled with eternal progression in some areas (D&C 76:96-98; 131:1-4), so are there varying degrees and types of damnation. In LDS doctrine, to be damned means to be stopped, blocked, or limited in one's progress. Individuals are damned whenever they are prevented from reaching their full potential as children of God. Damnation is falling short of what one might have enjoyed if one had received and been faithful to the whole law of the gospel. In this sense, all who do not achieve the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom are damned, even though they are saved in some degree of glory."
HEAVEN-The Mormon church teaches there are three levels of heaven (three "degrees of glory"):
HELL: A place of torment from which the worst of sinners are resurrected (if they repent) into the Telestial kingdom; only a limited number remain in hell forever, - the devil and the demons and apostates who consciously reject and work against Mormonism.