Eternal life in heaven?
By Lars Hyldgård
DOES A GREATER HOPE THAN THIS EXIST… in a world filled with distress and pain? Unfortunately, this world is filled with broken friendships, marriages and agreements. It hurts us when the trust is broken, or when we lose someone that we care for. Does an eternal life without this pain exist? We hope that we will meet people who we have lost, again. We have a longing for something more, something better. Where does this longing come from? The Bible says that God “put eternity in our hearts” (Eccl. 3:11). The more you sincerely seek for these things, the clearer this becomes to you. Heaven is a reality! How can I become more certain about the reality of heaven? The internet is in fact full of stories of near-death experiences and with presently living people’s experiences with heaven. People who have been dead and experienced heaven, describe heaven as being much more real than this world. God can place a deep certainty about heaven into your life. This certainty comes from walking with Jesus. Shortly before she died, my grandmother said that she looked forward to coming home to Jesus and to Ernst (her husband who died first). She said this with joy and great peace in her eyes! My grandmother has told me, that when my great grandfather died, a great light entered the room, and that he died with the happiest smile on his face. Someone in the room said: “It’s evident to see that Jesus is coming to get him now.” Two family members both expressed how this was the strongest moment in their lives – seeing my great grandfather die! My great grandfather had been a burning Christian. To be born again Human beings consist of spirit, soul and body. But many look past the fact that they have a spirit, and that because of this, they have spiritual needs. At the creation in Paradise, man had a dimension of spiritual life that we lost in the fall. The loss of the spiritual life was tragic, because death came into the world, and we lost the presence of God. Heaven was in a way pulled out of our hearts – and left an empty space in us. We are in fact designed to be able to register the reality of the kingdom of God while we are here on earth. But this ability was lost to begin with. This is why Jesus explains it this way: Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3) To be born again This means that we have a basic need that needs to be met, in order for us to see the kingdom of God again. Jesus says, that we need to be born again. Remove the barrier In His wisdom and love, God has created all of us, but we have all turned our backs on Him with our choices and actions. Sin unfortunately brings us at a distance of God. If we do not know what our problem is, how can we then value its cure? If you have been bitten by a deadly venomous snake, you will want the antidote. AT THE MOMENT you understand that your sin is as deadly poison, you can come to Jesus – and receive the antidote. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1. John 1:9). God keeps His promises. The barrier will be removed, and God’s Spirit will flow into your inner being, so that you can begin to see the kingdom of God and understand how He works. Sincere repentance unto Jesus makes us become spiritually alive, and that is the greatest and most important miracle a person can experience in this lifetime! Jesus also warned! The Bible does not only speak about heaven, but also about hell. Therefore, it was also part of Jesus’ message to warn us. Here’s an example of what He said: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Here, Jesus is saying that we need to have a serious respect for God. At the end of this life, there are only two possible places to go, namely heaven or hell. The Bible describes hell as a place of torment, as a lake of fire, and as a place “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Hell is not a place that God wants people to go. But He will not save those that are not willing to grab a hold of the lifebelt. There are people that experience life on earth as an extremely painful thing. I know someone who suffered from depression for seven years. Today he is well. But how terribly awful would it not be to have to suffer forever!? Heaven, on the other hand, is far more wonderful than we can imagine. There is no fear, loneliness or pain there. Going to heaven will be like coming home! There, we will be completely freed from everything that has made our lives on earth difficult. “And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1. Thess. 4:17). He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and we will rejoice with an inexpressible joy, the Bible tells us. It will also be a place of meeting for everyone who, throughout the ages, have received the salvation of God. That is why, in His great love, God is also calling you today. The Lord... is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2. Pet. 3:9) God loves people, and sincerely desires for people to come to repentance. Satan, on the other hand, hates us and wants to deceive us. There is a spiritual battle going on for your soul. “Satan,” which means “God’s adversary,” tries to plant his rebellion against God on the inside of people. Right from the beginning, he tempted man to doubt the good guidelines that God laid out for them, and since then, he has been working behind the scenes to affect and destroy people. But the amazing thing is, that if you cling to what Jesus has done for you on the cross and put His word above your life, the devil has no power over you. Jesus has paid for you with His blood on the cross, and neither death nor the devil can do anything against this. A vision from God One day God gave me a vision that deeply moved me: In this vision, I saw, that when Jesus completed His suffering on the cross, it released a kind of inexpressible joy. It seemed as if though millions of angels and people were shouting with great joy. In every single soul there, there was a place of deep joy wherefrom that joy sprang forth like a fountain - it was the most real and unrestrained kind of joy imaginable! I look forward to experience this kind of joy in heaven – but the incredible thing about it is that we can have a foretaste of it already here on earth. Turn to God by receiving Jesus as your Savior and Lord! I want to become a christian - what do I need to do?
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The Bible - About heaven:After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:9-17). Life after this lifeBasics:
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