WHO IS IN HEAVEN AND HELL? (CONCLUSION)

Seriously consider Paul’s words here:

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

Galatians 5:19-21 (Emphasis mine)

Again, again, again, consider what Paul said! 

He used the word “obvious” to describe the acts of the sinful nature and “those who live like this.”  What they are can be seen and known, so much so that one can distinguish between those who are following the Spirit and those who are following the sinful nature.  Paul’s warning is to the Galatian Christians!  (That is a topic in itself!)  But this warning doesn’t leave room for doubt or last minute salvations!  From what Paul said, from his clear warning, the Galatians could know for certain that if they observe these OBVIOUS behaviors in a person’s life, this person will not inherit the kingdom of God.  This means if someone dies while living like this, he or she, and anyone observing him or her, should  KNOW that they will not inherit the kingdom of God!  How can this be a warning if there is uncertainty in Paul’s words?

Read Jesus’ words to the Church at Smyrna as recorded in the Book of Revelation:

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.  Revelation 1:10

It was clear that some of the believers in the Church at Smyrna may die after this 10 day imprisonment of suffering and persecution.  From what Jesus said, it could be OBSERVED that if these believers were faithful, even to the point of death, they would indeed receive the crown of life IN HEAVEN!  In other words, they, AND ANYONE WHO OBSERVED THEM AND KNEW JESUS’ PROMISE, would KNOW they were going to heaven.  While the ones who live according to their sinful natures, AND ANYONE OBSERVING THOSE LIVING ACCORDING TO THEIR SINFUL NATURES, can be CERTAIN that they will NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

In other words, if there is such a thing as objective moral truth--real good and evil, real justice—then there MUST be people on earth who live in such a way that on their death beds, any sane person would KNOW they will enter heaven or hell after they die! 

(This is not about assigning seats in heaven and hell from pure judgmental arrogance.  It is about the meaning of life on earth, the hope of seeing loved ones again, and the certainty of justice now and eternally.  It is very good and true that the unsaved can be saved at the very last minute of their lives, with their very last breath.  And it is wise if the dying unsaved use their last breath to trust in their Savior.  Yet it is even more wise to see that the scriptures warn against waiting to the very last minute, as if the last minute is guaranteed!  Today, right now, is the time to be saved.  Each day of resisting God makes the next days' resistance that much easier.  The next day may very well be the last day.) 



I conclude by using a personal illustration. 

I was arrested for a crime I did not commit.  Later I was gloriously vindicated.  But while I spoke to a detective I said something like this:

“Sir, I know you hear criminals claim innocence all of the time.  But I’m sure you are skilled at reading people.  Surely you can look into my eyes see the difference between guilt and innocence.  If this is not possible, then law enforcement is useless and hopeless.”

As a corrections officer, I know the difference between those who are “career criminals” and those who are arrested for the first time in their lives AND HAVE NO INTENTION TO BE ARRESTED AGAIN!  There are very distinct behaviors between the two.  The career criminal is calm and at home in jail.  The first time offender with no intention to continue crime is nervous and very much out of place, and rightly so.  Jail should not be considered a home away from home!  The judge is usually very lenient and merciful to these first time offenders, but hard on career criminals. 

He or she KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE. 

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. 

THIS DIFFERENCE CAN BE KNOWN, NOW AND ON DEATHBEDS. 

This is comforting. 

This is also a warning. 

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I write these as my last words on the last day of 2012:

 "Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life."  Psalms 39:4

Many did not live to see the end of 2012, and the coming New Year.  These thoughts on heaven and hell may not seem like Happy New Year sentiments.  Many seek to begin anew.  What better way to begin than with the certainty of heaven.

May these last words give that certainty, so that the new year will be truly happy. 

Who is in heaven and hell? (The Saved and Unsaved)

What is the difference between a Christian and a Non-Christian?  A believer and an unbeliever?  The saved and the unsaved?  Is there a difference?  Can one distinguish?  If so, then it is a matter of life and death to know.  If not, then all is hopeless and meaningless.  There is no good news.  Now or ever. 

But Christ did not speak as though His followers could not be known or distinguished.  His followers agreed with him, and expressed the same conviction of distinguishing Christians from Non-Christians.  They believed the saved and unsaved could be known, in life and in death. 

“What about Jesus’ parable of the wheat and tares,” some ask.  This is the parable they are talking about: 

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.  “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’  “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Here is the explanation Jesus gives of this parable:

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.  “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

• The first significant thing is this:  the “field” in the parable is the world, not the church.  Many apply these words to the church, and there may be some application, but Jesus said the field was the world, not the church. 
• Second, it is clear that there is a distinction in origin and identification between these two groups: 

Wheat= “sons of the kingdom,” whose origin is “The Son of Man,” or Christ.

Tares= “sons of the evil one,” whose origin is “The devil.”

Again, there is a distinction in origin and identification.  This distinction is difficult to see IN THE BEGINNING OF GROWTH. Literal wheat and tares are hard to distinguish when they FIRST grow.  When they are FULLY grown, they are very distinct.  The primary point Jesus made was the coexistence of the children of God and Satan in this present world:  Literal coexistence, and the coexistence of the carnal and spiritual.  But as the unbeliever grows in unrighteousness, and the believer grows in righteousness, they will be very distinct.  Yet the main point in this parable isn’t their growth, but that on judgment day the Kingdom of God on earth will be rid of evil and all who cause evil. 

So does this parable mean there is no difference between the saved and unsaved on earth, and that they will only be distinct in the very last day?  Does this mean that because of immaturity in the church, many members of the church will be so “worldly” or “carnal” that they will look and act exactly like unbelievers?  Does this therefore mean that neither life nor death beds are places where there can be any certainty of anyone’s eternity?  That only the one on the death bed, and God, know what is in his or her “heart?”

This may seem so to some, if they considered no other scriptures. 

The scriptures below suggest that believers can most surely be distinguished from unbelievers.  They suggest that believing observers can see certain behaviors and KNOW if they are dealing with a child of God or of the devil.  (They even suggest that nonbelievers can know the difference!) 

Consider:

·         Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.   1 John 2:9

·         This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.   I John 3:10

·         Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.   1 John 3:15

These verses agree with the words of the Lord Jesus Himself:

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."  John 13:35

The saved and unsaved can be known.  Therefore, the inhabitants of heaven and hell can be known as well… (Click here for the conclusion.)

Who is in heaven and hell? (Knowing the heart-Part 2)

Many feel afraid to “judge the hearts of others,” saying things like, “Only God knows the heart.”  They make it seem as if human behavior is a mystery that can only be solved on judgment day.  Yet they live every day of their lives contrary to this.  They expect the police to arrest law breakers, and psychologists to help the mentally ill.  They expect these things based upon the assumption that words and actions reveal motivations.  They think in terms of cause and effect relationships. 

For example, if a murderer kills 27 people, then shoots himself in the head and dies instantly, there are  assumptions concerning his motivations.  The least that is assumed is mental disease.  The most, evil’s incarnation.  With either assumption, the murderer’s actions communicate what is in his heart before he shot himself.  God knows this perfectly.  People know imperfectly.  But they know that someone with the remorse that leads to “salvation” wouldn’t shoot himself in the face to avoid earthly consequences.  This is neither justice nor righteousness.  In other words, people assume that certain words and actions are impossible when there is real remorse.  They also assume that if there is a God who is good and just, He wouldn’t receive some convenient “last minute confession” before murderous suicide. 

Murderous injustice. 

Humble repentance and confession is the expression of a heart that truly seeks salvation.  By these kinds of words and actions, one can know the saved from the unsaved...

Who is in heaven and hell? (Knowing the Heart)

(Click each number to read all that has been said on this topic thus far:)

Who is in HEAVEN and HELL?  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Readers experience the thoughts of bloggers.  They assume what they read is an accurate expression of what’s in the blogger's heart.  This assumption is made in general conversations.  People usually trust that words and actions express thoughts and intentions.  Yet when it comes to making moral judgments, some disregard this basic intuition and assume the heart and its expressions are normally contradictory mysteries. If people acted upon this false assumption, basic relationships would be impossible.  Furthermore, moral judgments of any kind, which people make regularly and daily, would also be impossible.  But moral reasoning continues because what is in a person’s heart can be known. 

Some object by quoting Jeremiah,

“The heart is deceitfully wicked, who can know it?” 

But the answer is in other scriptures:  God, and people can know the deceitfully wicked heart. 

God, of course, knows all things and all beings, each being naked before him.  God searches the heart, according to Psalms 139, and other scriptures.  He does so of His own will, and will do so when people ask Him.  The Apostle Paul also commands the believers in Corinth to “examine themselves, to see if they are in the faith.”  Evidently, Paul considers self-examination possible.  God and people can know what is in the human heart. 

The Epistle of James compares the heart to a well spring.  (Other scriptures do the same.)  He makes it clear that as a spring can not give clean and unclean water SIMULTANEOUSLY, so it is with what is in the human heart.  Both praises for God and curses against God cannot come out of one’s heart at the same time.

The Lord Jesus tells his followers that “from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  In the book of Hebrews, the heart is described as a person’s “thoughts and intentions,” both discerned by the word of God.  Jesus compares the heart to a tree, with words and actions as the fruit.  He, like James, makes clear that a tree will bear the kind of fruit that identifies the tree:  apple trees bearing apples, orange trees bearing oranges. 

So, what is overflowing in a person’s thoughts and intentions will come out of his or her mouth, or be expressed in his or her actions.  In this way, the human heart can be known. 

(Click here for PART 2)

Who is in HEAVEN and HELL? (PART 4)

God cares about the inhabitants of heaven, earth, and hell, right now.  He wants everyone in heaven and no one in hell.  Jesus Himself descended into hell when He died for all sin, proclaiming the truth of salvation.  Those in heaven are conscious of those who remain on earth, and of those who are in hell.  Those in hell are conscious of those who are in heaven, and of those who remain on earth.  Those before God’s altar remembered their murderers, and cried out for vengeance FROM HEAVEN on those who remained ON EARTH. The rich man was aware of Abraham and Lazarus IN HEAVEN, as well as his five brothers ON EARTH.

Why do some assume that it is irrelevant to think on these things?  Is heaven and hell irrelevant?  Is eternal destiny irrelevant? Is the eternal destiny of the living or the dead irrelevant?  The very meaning of every life, whether of the living or the dead, is summed up in our eternal destinies—heaven or hell. 

True, people may not know every detail of every life or every death.  True, people should not make it their goals to “judge” who is or is not “saved,” and thus who is or is not in heaven or hell.  Yes, C.S. Lewis said there would be “surprises” on judgment day.  But surely none of this means in heaven, black is white and white is black?  In heaven, on earth, and in hell, justice HAS to mean the same thing.  In heaven, the righteous are rewarded.  In hell, the unrighteous are punished.  But rewarded and punished for what?  THEIR LIVES ON EARTH!

Surely those sinned against have a case, on earth and in heaven, as we have seen.  Those in heaven who cried out before God’s throne were not waiting for judgment day to ask for justice.  God didn’t say, “Maybe those who murdered you will be saved in the last milliseconds of their lives.  Maybe there will be ‘surprises.’”  Justice, in life or death, is relevant.  To think anything less is to make an unscriptural and illogical division between the spiritual and physical life

As will be shown:

The heart can be known, in life and on the death bed.

The saved and unsaved can be known, in life and on death beds.

The inhabitants of heaven and hell can be known, by their lives and deaths on earth.

Who is in HEAVEN and HELL? (PART 3)

Consider again Jesus’ story of a rich man, and a poor beggar named Lazarus:

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”  Luke 16:22-31

The rich man in hell was concerned about his five brothers on earth.  He wanted them to be warned, “so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”  If a man in hell can be concerned about his brothers on earth, surely those on earth can be concerned about who is in heaven or hell. 

They are connected!

True justice and happiness are the same in heaven, earth, and hell! 

(CLICK HERE FOR PART 4)

Who is in HEAVEN and HELL? (PART 2)

Hearts can be known.

The saved and unsaved can be known.

The inhabitants of heaven and hell can be known.

Before finding out how, consider these things.

For those who think it none of anyone’s business whether someone is in heaven or hell, God Himself disagrees.  The Bible says, “It is not God’s will that any perish, but that all come to repentance.”  Jesus said He came to “seek and save the lost.”  The Spirit convicts people of “sin, righteousness, and judgment.”  God clearly cares who goes to heaven or hell.  Those in heaven and hell care as well.

Consider these verses about souls before God’s throne in heaven:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

Revelation 6:9-11

There is sometimes a misconception that those in heaven could care less about earth.  They are carefree and happy!  Never sick or needy!  In the very real presence of the true and living God!  Yet these verses clearly show that those in heaven are concerned about justice on earth FOR THEM!  They want judgment and justice, while they are IN HEAVEN, for those who killed them and are still alive ON EARTH!  If the happy and heavenly care about justice on earth, why can’t God’s people on earth care about justice in heaven or hell?

Who is in HEAVEN and HELL? (PART 1)

 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting,

for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. 

Ecclesiastes 7:2 NIV

Usually it is assumed that the dead are “in a better place.”  Yet for some, this simply is not true.  But is that relevant at all to the living?  Would it be relevant at all in a funeral service?  Why is it ok to assume the dead are in a better place, when it would be considered judgmental and cruel if the pastor at a funeral assumed they were not?  Sensitivity, of course.  For the grieving, it seems highly insensitive to even bring up the possibility of a negative after life.   

Why not just remember the person’s positive earthly life?   

Because some lives were lived so negatively that few even showed up to the funeral.   

So why not remember the most good in the dead person's life?   

Because no one may be able to remember any good in his or her life.   

Still, is it even anyone’s business where others are for all eternity?   

Loving parents who believe in God would think it their business.  They’d want the hope of seeing their children again in heaven, not in hell.  Therefore, everyone's eternal end is much more relevant than some make out.   

As the writer of Ecclesiastes said, it is wise to contemplate the end of everyone's life.  But the funeral service is not that end.  Judgment before God is the end everyone faces.

On Judgment Day the heart will be judged--the heart expressed in words and deeds.  

As it is written,  

  

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NIV

Yet the Bible doesn’t make it so that people cannot know the secrets of the heart until Judgement Day.   

The heart can be known now.   

It can be known if someone is saved or unsaved.  

It can be known who is in heaven and who is in hell.

Raw Poetry

Twin spirits

I liked her and she liked me,

This our one reality,

For which no explanation came--

Two bodies

One spirit

One breath

One name.

 

Lock and Key

The Key Maker had her in mind,

In shaping me, the one she’d find:

To open doors of happiness,

Locked in her chest--

My loneliness.

The key would be set free,

Inside the lock, deeply.

 

Too many words?

Can one’s heart beat too many times?

Inhale exhale too many rhymes?

The cries of stillborns are too few

For the mother who wished she’d only knew.

 

 

 

Honor (1)

She laughed the scornful tone

Known by those who hear

The jeer.

He would not be taken lightly

He killed her for his

honor.

 

Honor (2)

He awoke

Having not choked the one who laughed.

The dream, one paragraph,

In his murder mystery.

She slept, the smile on her relaxed face,

His disgrace.

She dreamed of the morn

In which she’d laugh him to scorn.

 

Honor (3)

Both wake.

She waits for the perfect moment.

(Timing, the key to comedy, when the joke is you.)

True words behind jest make pain the best.

Yet he remained unmoved.

“What happened as he slept?”

She wondered, sadly.

 

 

Alone

The sun touching all,

Touched

By

No

One.

The moon’s light reflection

In the morning,

Gone.

A blue shooting star,

Unseen,

Unknown;

Without their Maker,

All,

Alone.

 

Feeling Strong

To know what I am talking about

No doubt

Truth released

Unleashed upon someone

Who would bathe in the pool of my wrongness

But instead float dead

In their own.

 

Being an African in America

In the sixth grade I decided I’d create a comic book. 

How would the heroes look?

I imagined the characters.

The Heroes.

Then a voice rose in my mind

Asking me,

“Why are they all white?

Even in your mind?”

I could see the beauty in them,

But wondered if they could see the beauty in me.

One day in class an Irish teacher said,
“There used to be a time when only the blacks ran to see fights.  Now the whites run too.”

Torrey looked at me.

I looked at Shaquel.

All three of us remained silent.

I vowed never to do so again.

It was clear I was an African,

Not an American.