Which one? I've been to about seven in my life, and none of them turned out well. The only one that sorta kinda did my parents wanted us out of immediately because they were allowing gays to be members of the church. This was back at a time when they were even MORE conservative about their beliefs than they are now.
Sorry, it was five crowns. Ten crowns refers to a book in Revelation regarding the Beast.Just wanted to say that the God I know gets very upset when someone hurts one of his children. I don't know what the ten crowns are about, but my only king is God. So I won't be wearing a crown.
I believe I saw heaven one time in a dream. My sister-in-law died in a jet ski accident. I felt very guilty because she often told me I kept her brother from her.
In the dream, I was outside a house. I went into the house and went upstairs. We were in a bedroom. A cat I lost was sitting on the bed. I was thrilled that I saw Pooch. My sister-in-law said, "No, look out the window." I saw rolling hills with trees on both sides and flowers running down the hills. There was a blinding yellow light in the middle which obscured the scenery.
But it wasn't what I saw. It was what I felt. For that brief instant I felt utter peace. It was something I had never felt before or after. Then I was outside the house. My sister-in-law said, "You don't have to feel guilty. Look where I am. I'm in heaven."
Then I woke up.
I know two other people who witnessed the same thing I witnessed. Without me telling them about my dream, they told me of their near death experiences. They described rolling hills with a yellow/white light. Then they said, "It wasn't what I saw. It was what I felt. Absolute peace. I'd never felt that before, nor since."
One of these people died for a longer time. She met in heaven her grandmother and her grandchild. But she didn't have any grandchildren at the time. She was told by her grandmother that time is different in heaven. What's a lifetime here on earth is only a moment in heaven.
My point is that I saw no ten crowns. I saw no righteous or holier than thou people. I saw my sister-in-law who had trouble believing in God there. My friend saw her grandmother who attended church sometimes, but who tried to be good to others. She also saw her granddaughter who ended up being a missionary. So all types of people were there.
1. The incorruptible crown: 1 Cor. 9:24,25. This is also called the imperishable crown. This crown is given to believers who faithfully run the race, who crucify every selfish desire in the flesh and point men to Jesus.
2. The crown of rejoicing: 1 Thess. 2:19, 20. & Dan 12:3 To those who faithfully are witnesses to the saving grace of God and leads souls to Jesus. This crown has also been named the soul winner's crown.
3. The crown of life: James 1:12. For those believers who endure trials, tribulations, and severe suffering, even unto death Rev. 2:8-11. This crown is also referred to as the martyr's crown.
4. The crown of righteousness: 2 Tim. 4:8. To those who love the appearing of Christ, who anxiously wait and look forward to the day when He will return for His saints. This crown is given to those who have lived a good and righteous life for God while living down here on earth.
5. The crown of glory: 1 Pet. 5:1~4. This is the pastor’s crown and will be given to the ministers who faithfully feed the flock of God. . This probably could also include preachers, teachers, Sunday School teachers, missionaries and all those who teach the Word of God in their respective ministries.
I just copy/pasted that.
I used to be a guy on the fence but again, like many decent Christians, I was always on the fence not realizing that I was the apostate this whole time because I didn't follow everything the Bible said. And to call myself forgiven and then brag about it like so many born-agains do to me is like poking fun at others because you have some big luxury that they do not. I feel like there is special treatment given to people who are Christians who brag about it to others and do good things in front of the Church. Notice I said in front of, I didn't mean that they were good people inside. I call it "Christian privilege". They feel this "privilege" allows them to be complete and total dicks and I've described a few of what I mentioned in another post.What I do remember most is that utter peace. It's what made me walk toward finding a God. If heaven is like that, I want that. But I'm comforted to know that I don't have to do anything to get there.
I try to not focus on people at all when it comes to my belief in God. People can suck big time and will drive you away from anything God-related if you give them enough time. I'm glad I decided to not depend on people to help me find that God relationship.
I feel like that dream was a gift. At the time of the dream I did not believe in a God nor in heaven. So if God reaches out to people who don't care, don't trust, don't even want to know..................then that's good enough for me.
Actually, I almost got over it until I was in the ER being diagnosed with Crohn's and all this happened. Now I'm even more hostile towards born-again Christians than I was in my days as an atheist in college. At least back then I backed off whenever one of those Christians got in college campus with an urge to proselytize. Now... yeah.Religion or Cult PTSD is fairly common. It can be caused by prolonged stress and if religion was used against you or you even got punished due to religion, it can most certainly cause PTSD. It sounds like your mother is the crazy one..............and the liar.