Is Heaven for Real?

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whomever believeth in Him shall not perish but have an everlasting life."  -John 3:16-

Most of us are familiar with this Bible quote. This is one of the most popular Bible quotes commonly used by evangelists of any religion. I would say it's quite catchy. The promise of an eternal life if you will be one of the believers and followers of God. You will not only exist with your dearest but you will have a great life in the plain filled with flowing milk and honey; the plain of existence called Heaven. 

What most people fail to notice is that the existence of Heaven actually have quite a few loopholes. Some irregularities that normal people doesn't really notice. Or maybe they did notice but chose to ignore. Let me discuss to you a few things about the magnificent plain of existence called Heaven. 

Not All People Go to Heaven

There are a three versions of what awaits you in the Gates of Heaven :  

• The gate is guarded by a cherubim and a flaming sword. I don't know though how you can enter heaven with a sword blocking the way. 
• St. Peter is guarding the gate and he will check the book of life to determine if you're qualified to enter heaven or not. Your actions will determine your qualifications so you must give him a good reason to let you pass. 
• Jesus welcomes you personally. (This one must be for VIPs)

These are the three scenarios of what you will find once you reach the gates of heaven. However, not all people are going to heaven. Some or should I say, most of the people will be thrown to the lake of burning fire and sulfur. (Rev 21:8) So how can you be happy, if some of your friends or relatives will not be there? You might say, "I tried to save them. I told them to believe in God. It's not my fault." Right ! So you must be happy that you're in a good place while the other persons you knew are sufferring. Lay ministers and church leaders however have an answer to that, "There will be no more brothers, sisters, sons or mothers, everything is equal." That solves it right? But does that mean that God will manipulate our memories? Hmmm... so suspicious. 

Qualifications to Enter Heaven 

Despite knowing that not all of the people will enter heaven, some still pursue it. Fine, fine. Go enjoy yourself with your God. But how can you really enter heaven? 

One of the common lessons in Bible Study is that Sin separated Man from God. (Isaiah 59:2). But that's not the only problem. No person in this world is perfect and doesn't commit mistakes. (If you're a perfect person reading this, send me your details and I will send you to heaven right away.) Even the Bible said that everyone have sinned (Romans 3:23)  "For everyone have sinned and fell short of  the glory of God." So we're all doomed. No one is going to heaven. 

Luckily, God loves us so much that he gave us a way out, He sent his son Jesus to redeem our sins (2 Corinthians 5:18). But there is an additional requirement God gave us so that we will be saved. You have to believe.  In Ephesians 2:8-9 it says, " For by Grace are ye saved through faith and not by works." In other words, you will be saved as long as you will believe in Jesus as Saviour. Easy, You can still commit mistakes here and there since you're not perfect as long as you believe. Just look at how many have been molested by priests. They will still be saved because they believe in Jesus. Hell yeah!!

However, God realized that faith alone is not enough reason for him to give you a ticket to heaven. So he changed his mind. In James 2:24 he said, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." Oh okay. So we're back to square one. You have to be perfect to enter heaven. You have to justify your actions before you get a gate pass. Confusing now, isn't it? Some mistakes can be justified like the time when Jesus stole a donkey. It's okay because it's for God. Don't raise your eyebrow and read the book. (Luke 19:29-34). Don't ask me. I know you're smart enough to figure that out. 

Eternal Punishment

God gave us limited life as a gift. He can take it anytime he wants so make it count. Sounds familiar? Yes, this is one of the common homilees you can hear in church. You have to serve God because he gave us a limited life to test us. Real life begins at death they say. You can either suffer or you can enjoy afterlife for eternity. Eternity is quite a long tme isn't it? You think it's fair? You may say yes because it's only a gift. Let me ask you, do you demand anything in return if you give a gift? Do you threaten your recepient that if they will not take care of your gift? "I will hang you upside down and will let you in a boiling water if you don't take care of my gift." Yeah right. 

How about if God will not be happy with how your life turned out? Well, he knows already about it anyway since he can see the future but he just enjoys watching you mess up. And after you did, he will punish you for eternity. For eternity. He gave you a limited life but the punishment is eternal. Some may say, "Well he gave you a chance and you failed". Great!  Let's look at this scenario : 

Your father gave you a rubix cube. He presented in a beautiful box and you're happy about it. He told you to make the best out of it and enjoy it. So you played with rubix along with your other toys. After 1 month, you're Dad asked you to show him how you solve the rubix. You failed. He's not satisfied with you and as a punishment, you can't watch TV or play computers for your entire life. He will follow you around and will make sure that the punishment is standing. Do you think that's fair? He gave you 1 month to solve the puzzle but the punishment is for your entire life. That's what God does.

That concludes my lesson about Heaven. If you like this, please hit  like and share, Thank you so much for reading ! 

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE IN HEAVEN?