Bible Question:
Do Good People Really Go to Heaven When They Die? Most churchgoers believe that when they die they will go to heaven. But will they? If heaven truly is a place of such everlasting happiness, why do so many do all they can to postpone going there? The Bible reveals some astounding and little-understood truths about heaven, the mystery of life beyond the grave and God’s great plan and purpose for us. To comprehend what the Bible teaches about heaven, we first need to understand that there is more than one heaven. Often the Bible refers to heavens, plural. In fact, three distinct “heavens” are mentioned in the Bible. The first of these is simply the sky above us—earth’s atmosphere, containing the air we breathe. It is in this heaven that birds fly and clouds give rain and snow (2 Samuel 21:10; Job 35:11; Isaiah 55:10). The second biblical heaven is the realm beyond earth’s atmosphere, what we commonly call outer space. Here we find the Obviously the deceased, Christian or not, are not floating around unnoticed in the first two heavens. No one seriously believes they can be found drifting about the sky or in outer space. Therefore they must be in the third of these heavens, right? Many people assume so, but the whole argument about heaven being the reward of deceased Christians runs into a brick wall with these words from the apostle Peter’s first sermon: “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day . . . For David did not ascend to heaven . . .” (Acts 2:29, 34, David off to heaven. The only one who had ascended to heaven, said Peter, was Jesus Christ (Acts 2:29-35). Was Peter mistaken? Did he simply misspeak? We might assume so, but notice what the Gospel of John says: “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man [Jesus Christ]” (John 3:13, NIV). Jesus never promised Christians heaven after they died. The New Testament plainly says that of the faithful men and women who had gone before—such spiritual giants as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, to name some of those listed in Hebrews 11—not one has ascended to heaven. In fact, says verse 39 of Hebrews 11, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised” (NIV). If they aren’t in heaven, where are they? And what was it they were promised, if it wasn’t heaven? |
Bible Answer: You asked: "Do Good People Really Go to Heaven When They Die?" NO, only those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior from the penalty of sin go to be with the Lord when their physical bodies die. Those who have been declared righteous (like the old testament saints you mentioned) by God also expected God to keep His promise of eternal life with Him.(Inherent in this was the promise of a Savior - though they didn't understand HOW God was going to accomplish His plan for their redemption, they still trusted Him to do it - we could take a lesson here too!) When we don't fully understand something, perhaps this is God's way of encouraging us to trust Him . . . John 14:1-6 My belief is that when Christ ascended, He emptied Paradise or Abraham's bosom, this was the place of the dead where those who were declared righteous by God (prior to death and resurrection of Jesus) waited.(Eph 4:8)See also the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 According to God's Word,(2 Cor 5:1-8) when we are absent from the body we are present with the Lord. How or where - who really cares? All that matters is that He is with me and I will be with Him. Lastly, what the righteous patriarchs and those who have been declared righteous IN CHRIST have been promised is new life with Him FOREVER in NEW BODIES. However, this will not be realized until Christ returns for His Bride, the Church. We will all be changed, in a twinking of an eye - the dead in Christ first and those who remain . . . 1 Cor 15:50-53 Respectfully, mommapbs PS: You claimed, "The Bible reveals some astounding and little-understood truths about heaven, the mystery of life beyond the grave and God’s great plan and purpose for us." What are these "little understoond truths"? What is God's great plan and purpose for us? |