LORD, WHO MAY ABIDE IN YOUR TABERNACLE?                 

                                         QUESTIONS ABOUT HEAVEN

Home to the spirits of the just

Most people believe that they will go to heaven when they die.  If you ask this people why they think they will go to heaven, they will tell you that they are good people and that heaven is where good people go when they die.  Obviously, these people must have heard about heaven being a blessed place, a place of rest and a place of eternal joy.   It is home to the spirits of the just.  All the religions of the world, not surprisingly, also teach their adherents that if they are good people and follow all prescribed rituals thoroughly, they will end up in heaven when they die.  Other names for heaven among people include AL JANNAH and NIRVANA.

                                           THE TRUTH ABOUT HEAVEN

However, it is important to know the truth about heaven.  This is because people are bound to stop deceiving themselves once they know the truth about heaven.  The relevant questions then are: What or where is heaven?  What are the qualifications for entry into heaven?  Can everyone actually go to heaven?

 WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HEAVEN

Being our final court of appeal, we need to consult the holy bible, the Word of God, in order to be able to know the truth about heaven.  No other book knows or tells the truth about heaven like the bible does.  From all indications, it is clear that when people talk about heaven, they are referring to the third heaven where you have the throne of God and Paradise.  The first heaven is the heaven of atmosphere which is directly above us as humans who live on earth.  The second heaven is the heaven of space where you have the Solar System.  The book of Genesis talks about the heavens.  Gen. 1 verse 1 states, ‘IN the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’

Now, let’s hear what the holy bible says about heaven, that is, the third heaven where Paradise is.  The only person qualified to speak about heaven with an authority that cannot be questioned is Jesus of Nazareth.  This is because He came from heaven having been with the Father.  Considering that he came from heaven, He surely must know the way to heaven.  Let us consider some of the things He said about heaven in the bible.  In John 14 verses 1, 2 and 3, the Lord Jesus says, ‘’Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.’’  Here, the Lord Jesus is speaking to those who had believed in Him.  He describes heaven as His Father’s house.  This indicates that talking about heaven without any reference to Jesus Christ is totally senseless.  It is like someone planning to go and settle in someone else's mansion without that person's knowledge.  Hear the Lord again in verse 6 of the same John 14. ‘’I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.’’  This simply means that all those who think that they can come to God or go to heaven through any other route different from Jesus are simply just deluding themselves.  Finally, in Matthew 18 verse 3, the Lord Jesus says, ‘’Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.’’  This again indicates that no one can enter heaven without being converted from being a sinner to a saint.  This can only happen through Jesus Christ.

Therefore, if anyone really wants to go to heaven when they die, he or she must start the journey with Jesus Christ.