WILL WE GET TO HEAVEN?

 Heaven, will we go there?

Does the Bible promise that we shall go to the heaven where God dwells?

    by

    Keith Hunt

     The belief and teaching that all humans have natural

immortality via an immortal soul can be traced back thousands 

of years. We can see from history that nations like Egypt and

Babylon taught their people with teaching (some even as

"religious" teachings) about an immortal soul dwelling in every

human, that continued to live, to think, to experience life,

after the body had died. Depending on the nation and on their

spiritual theology they had, would come various teachings about

where and under what conditions this immortal soul would

experience after the death of the physical body. Some nations

would bury the dead body in graves with all kinds of physical

accoutrements for the departed to take with them and to use to

enjoy the after life.

     Different nations may have had different places where the

departed soul would live when it left the dead body, but to put

it in simple language, the immortal soul was in a "heaven" of

some sort. They even had gloomy underworlds for those not 

thought to have done enough good in their physical lives to 

warrant the prize of "heaven."

     Adolph Erman writes in "The Ancient Egyptians" (translated

by Aylaward M. Blackman): "The Pyramid Texts are mainly 

concerned with the desire of the august dead to avoid leading a 

gloomy existence in the underworld - the fate of ordinary mortals - 

and to dwell in the sky like the gods. There he might voyage with 

the sun-god in his ship, or dwell in the fields of the blessed, the

Field of Food-offerings, or the Fields of Iaru (or Alu). He might

himself become a god, and the fancy of the poets strives to depict 

the king in this new role. No longer is he a man whom the gods 

graciously receive into heaven but a conqueror who seizes

heaven from them" (page 2).

     The Egyptians believed that before the soul of the dead

could reach the Egyptian "heaven" and appear in the presence 

of Orisis, they must traverse a vast underworld region which was

inhabited by gods, devils, friends, demons, good and bad spirits

and souls of the wicked. Also in this underworld were snakes,

monsters, and serpents. The Egyptian sacred book, "The Book

of the Dead," prescribed spells, incantations, prayers, charms

and amulets to help the dead man overcome the dangers of the 

Tuat and to reach Sekhet Aaru and Sekhet hetep - the other names

for the Egyptian "heaven" and to take his place among the

subjects of Orisis in the "Land of Everlasting Life" (E.A. Wallis

Budge, "The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians" pages 40-41).

     The Egyptians taught that the arriving dead were ushered

into a Hall of Judgment over which Orisis presided. 

     "When the verdict is favorable and he has been cleared of

any impurity, his heart is restored, and after several other

ordeals, he is ushered into the bright Elysian Fields (the Fields

of Alu) beyond the water....Henceforth, he enjoys the perennial

life of the blessed under the shadow of the tree of life, or the

sycamore of Nut, the goddess of the sky, a true Orisis" (Kohler,

"Heaven and Hell in Comparative Religion," page 22).

     If the verdict was un-favorable, the sinner experienced the

"second death." He was dismembered and fierce tortures awaited

him. These included burning by hot coals, plunging into deep water, 

or cutting the body into pieces by sharp swords. Says Kohler: 

"We have here the very origin of the Inferno and Paradiso" (page 23).

     Ah,  all this should start to sound somewhat familiar with

certain teaching and beliefs of many "Christian" churches and

organizations. Many have certain heard the "hell-fire and

brimstone" sermons preached loud and vigorously by many 

a Christian minister or Camp-meeting tent revivalist. Such

preaching of course includes telling you that if you "give your

heart to the Lord" and turn from sin, you can "go to heaven" 

and live in bliss, doing...well they are not sure, except for the

singing and plucking on a harp.

     Just about ALL Christians today believe they shall "get to

heaven" one day. They firmly believe that going to heaven is one

of the basic rewards of Christians. To think, and to teach

otherwise, to them, is pretty close to being a nutty and strange

heretic. They are convinced the Bible shows and tells us that

going to heaven is the automatic enclave of the children of God.

And most believe that going to heaven takes place when the

physical body stops breathing and dies.

     Yet this common and prevailing theological view was not, to

the surprise of many, the common view or teaching of the early

New Testament Church of God. Here is what The New International

Encyclopedia has to say on the subject of "heaven" in volume 9,

pages 700-701.

     "The dominant view in the early church seems to have been

that until the return of the Lord upon the clouds of heaven to

raise the dead, those who had died were ASLEEP, and  that

they would be suddenly awakened to be given their new bodies,

after which they would reign with Him on earth for a thousand

years....."

     It would seem from this that the early NT church did not

teach or believe in going to heaven at death, for those faithful

Christians. But, gradually things began to change. The

aforementioned Encyclopedia goes on to say:

     " But, largely under the influence of Greek thought, other

conceptions (gradually) prevailed. The fate of the patriarchs,

prophets, and pious men of the old dispensation naturally

occupied much attention and led to the idea that they (their

'immortal souls') were detained in a preparatory abode which the

fathers called limbus patrum, awaiting the advent of the

Redeemer. The general belief of the Christians has been that

since the resurrection of Christ the just who are free from sin

are admitted immediately after death into heaven, where their

chief joy consists in the unclouded vision of God."

     Church history shows that through the teachings of people

like Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others, most professing

Christians gradually came to adopt the belief of the immortal

soul, and going immediately "somewhere" after the death of the

body.  Many were coming into the popular church of the Roman

Empire, founded in Rome, who already held to Hellenistic

philosophy, Egyptian mythology, and Babylonian Mystery religions,

with the after death life of some sort as the foundation of it

all. They did not want to give up this teaching and belief, just

as they did not want to abandon many other false teachings and

practices. So, to accommodate them the large popular church took

many of these old pagan beliefs and re-clothed them with

Christian garments. Hence, as the millenniums came and went

today's doctrines of the immortal soul as taught together with an

ever burning hell fire for the wicked, a purgatory for those who

may not have sinned unto eternal torment, and can possibly yet be

granted heaven, and a heaven where God is for the righteous, all

came into formation.

     We have covered in very deep detail, through the writings of

Basil Atkinson PhD. what the Bible has to say on death, hell, and

immortality, as well as the resurrection and fate of the un-repented 

wicked. I refer the read to these studies for the answer to those topics. 

I shall continue in this study to focus on the word "heaven" as used 

in the New Testament.

     I grew up believing, just as most Christians believe, that

if you live a good Christian life here and now, you will go to

heaven at death, but if you do not live that good Christian life

then you will at death go to an ever burning hell. Most Christians 

believe they will at some point "get to heaven" where God is 

dwelling, somewhere out there in the universe. Some like

the Seventh Day Adventists do not believe you go to heaven at

death, but that death is a sleep until the resurrection, then when 

Jesus returns to raise the righteous dead, all go back with Him 

to heaven for a thousand years, until the new earth comes

into being. Others believe that Christ returns to "rapture" His

church away from the terrible tribulation taking place on the

earth, and that they spent either 7 years or 3 and 1/2 years in

heaven, before returning again with Christ to set up the

Kingdom of God on earth for a thousand years.

     Whatever the various beliefs of certain religious sects and

denominations is on this matter, just about all of them teach and

believe that the good Christian will some day for some period

of time "go to heaven" where the Father lives and dwells in the

heavenly Jerusalem.

            IF WE SHALL GO TO HEAVEN ONE DAY....

     And if this is a fundamental plain teaching of the Bible,

then surely we should be able to find many verses ALL OVER the

Bible saying things such as: "When we get to heaven," - "When we 

see each other in heaven," - “They are up there in heaven with God,”-

"We shall go to heaven at Christ's return," - “We shall be in heaven 

where God is, one day." BUT VERSES LIKE THIS  CANNOT BE 

FOUND IN THE BIBLE!

     Paul when writing to Timothy, knowing his days of physical life 

were just about up—— why did he not say something like, “I have 

fought a good fight, and now I’ll be soon up in heaven with Christ

Jesus.” 

      When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, why did he not talk

About being in heaven for 4 days? Why did he not tell the 12 apostles

what it was like in heaven? Or was he hovering over his 4 days 

decaying body, waiting for Jesus to put him back in his body, and bring 

him out of the tomb?

     But Christians and especially ministers are forever using the 

phrases “When we get to heaven” - “We will see them again when

we are in heaven.” Christians [vast majority] are saying to children

“They are now in heaven.”

     Christians use such terminology all the time. Preachers use

it from the pulpit. Why then didn't the people of the Bible use

such language? Could it be that they knew that going off to

heaven where God the Father now dwells, was NEVER promised 

to any earthy mortal person after death?

                        HEAVEN...HEAVENLY...HEAVENS

     The word "heaven" is used 570 times in the Bible. "Heavenly"

appears 23 times and "heavens" is used 121 times. Surely,

somewhere, in all those uses we can find a statement:

"When we are in heaven" or "We are going to go to heaven" or

maybe "He has gone to God in heaven." If you take a concordance

of the Bible such as "Strong's Concordance" you can find all

the verses where "heaven," "heavenly," and heavens" are used

throughout the Bible. Look them up! See if you can find a verse

that says, "We shall go to heaven, “ -  "Heaven is our eternal

abode," -  "They are up in heaven" or ANY plain statement about

Christians or children of God going to be with God in heaven for

ANY length of time. You have over 500 places where "heaven" is

used. Try to find such language that tells us clearly we shall

one day, some day, go where God the Father is now living.

     There are THREE heavens mentioned in the Bible. 1) The

heaven where the birds fly. 2) the heaven where the planets and

stars are. 3) The heaven where God's throne is, where God now

dwells.

     Notice, "I knew a man in christ....such an one caught up to

the THIRD heaven....He was caught up into PARADISE, and 

heard unspeakable words...." (2 Cor. 12:2-4). And, "To him that

overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the

midst of the PARADISE of God" (Rev.2:7).

     And also, "And he showed me a pure river of water of

life....proceeding out of the THRONE of God....in the midst of

the street of it....was there the TREE OF LIFE...." (Rev.22:1-

2). 

     The THIRD heaven is where God dwells!

                     KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ?

     Some will say, "Well Christ talked about our being in the

Kingdom of heaven. Surely that proves we shall 'go to heaven'."

     If it does, then some shall be in heaven while others are

not. Read Matthew 5:3-5. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for

theirs is the Kingdom of heaven....blessed are the meek, for

they shall inherit the earth."

     Will some then be in heaven while others will be on earth?

     The word "OF" denotes OWNERSHIP, not place. If I say to you

that this house is "the house of Smith" you instantly know I mean

it is the house that BELONGS to smith, not that it is the house

INSIDE Smith.

     The Kingdom OF heaven is the Kingdom that BELONGS to heaven.

It is owned and operated by heaven. 

     The Gospels according to Mark and Luke uses "Kingdom OF God"

- the Kingdom that BELONGS to God, not the Kingdom inside God.

                     REWARD IS IN HEAVEN

     Is not our reward to go to heaven? Someone may ask that

question. Are there not some verses that say something to that

effect? Yes, there are verses that talk about a "reward in

heaven." Here they are: "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for

great is your reward in heaven...." (Mat.5:12). "Take heed that

you do not your arms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise

you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven" (Mat.6:1).

"But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven....." (Luke 6:23).

"To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth

not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4).

     Now, let's be honest. Do the above verses say: "Our reward

is to get  to heaven" or "When we get to heaven we shall be given

our reward." Do these verses say: "Our reserved inheritance is to

get to heaven to be with God"?  No, they do not!  Truly, Christians 

are to receive rewards and we are to inherit eternal life, but when? 

Eternal life comes at the resurrection. Read 1 Cor.15; Rev.2:10; 

2 Tim.4:8 and see our studies on death, hell, immortality and 

resurrection. Our rewards are to be given to us by Christ at His return. 

"And, behold, I come quickly, and MY REWARD IS WITH ME, 

to give every man according as his work shall be" (Rev. 22:12).

     Our rewards and inheritance are reserved in heaven. They come 

down out of heaven with Christ at his return.

                   NAMED TO GO TO HEAVEN?

     Are not Christians named and written down in a book to go to

heaven? Are there not some verses that say so?  There are these:

",,,,but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" 

(Luke 10:20). "To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, 

which are written in heaven...." (Heb. 12:23).

     Do these verses say, "Because you will go to heaven" or "The

church of the firstborn will one day get to heaven"?  No!  Our

names (God knows who are His) are written down in the book of

life, the book of life being in heaven. But we receive life eternal 

at Christ's return in glory, when the resurrection of the righteous 

saints takes place. See John 5: 25-29; 1 Cor. 15; 1 Thes. 4: 16; 

and John 6: 37-39.

     These verses in Luke and Hebrews do not say we shall go to

heaven to live for a short or long period of time.

                OUR HOPE....TO GO TO HEAVEN?

     "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof

you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel"

(Col.1:5). What is the hope for Christians? Paul answers in

another letter he wrote: "But if there be NO RESURRECTION 

of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, 

then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.....then they

which are also fallen asleep in Christ are PERISHED....For as in

Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every 

man on his own order: Christ the firstfruits: AFTERWARDS

they that are Christ's AT HIS COMING" (1 Cor. 15: 13-23). 

     Our HOPE is Christ, who has been raised from the dead and is

now in heaven, waiting to be sent back to this earth when He

shall RESURRECT the DEAD (1 Thes.4: 16). 

     This verse in Colossians does NOT say, "Our hope is to get

to heaven"  -  “The church's hope is to be with Christ in heaven."

It does not say WE are to be laid up in heaven. But our HOPE is

laid up in heaven. That hope is Christ and His return and the

saints to be resurrected.

                     OUR CONVERSATION...

                   IS IT TO GO TO HEAVEN ?

     Is not  the verse in Philippians telling us that Christians

are to talk about "going to heaven" ? The verse reads: "For our

CONVERSATION is in heaven; from whence also we look for the

Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3: 20). Does the verse say,

"our conversation is about being with Christ in heaven" or "our

talk should be about going to heaven"? No! This verse is not even 

talking about "words" we speak. The word "conversation"

used here is a very poor translation of the original Greek. 

It should have been translated "citizenship." See Strong's

Concordance of the Bible. The Amplified Bible translation renders

this verse: "But we are CITIZENS of the state (commonwealth,

homeland) which is in heaven...."

     Notice! This STATE is in heaven that we are citizens of. 

If we be Christ's, we belong to His family. We are brothers of His

(see Hebrews 2). We are part of God's family, His children, and so 

His government, kingdom, which is now in heaven. Not that we 

are in heaven, for we are on earth, but the STATE, where our

citizenship is, that we now belong to, is in heaven. 

     "And," the verse continues, "from it,' that is from heaven,

"also we earnestly and patiently await (the coming of) the Lord

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, (as) Savior" (Amplified Bible).

     Yes, again Paul says we look to, wait, hope in Christ's

return and the resurrection.

               NO MAN HAS EVER GONE TO HEAVEN

     Here is a plain and easy to understand verse: 

"And NO MAN has ASCENDED up to heaven, but He that came down 

from heaven, even the Son of man ……” (John 3: 13). 

     Will you BELIEVE what Christ said? He should know. he was in

heaven with the Father from the beginning, and He did not see any

human ever come from earth up to heaven. That's correct, Enoch

did not go to the third heaven, neither did Moses, nor did Elijah.  

All humans who have ever lived, or will live, up to the return of the 

Christ, and are not still alive when Jesus comes, will have DIED. 

They will be in the grave, ASLEEP, and waiting to hear the voice 

of the Son of man, to rise from the dead in a resurrection. They will 

meet Christ is the clouds, in the air, and will on that same day return 

with Jesus to the Mount of Olives and to the city of Jerusalem. 

From there, and for a thousand years they shall reign with Christ 

on His throne over this earth, as they establish the Kingdom of God. 

     At the end of the thousand years comes the new heavens and

the new earth, as foretold in the last chapters of Revelation.

Then the heavenly Jerusalem together with God the Father will

come from heaven to this new earth, which will then become the

new heaven of the throne of the universe for all Eternity.

     I guess we could say that we, the children of God, will one

day be in heaven.....yes.....when heaven comes to earth.

     For all the truths on this subject please read the studies

on "Death, Hell, and Immortality," "Mansions in the Sky," "Enoch,

Moses, and Elijah, are they in Heaven?" "Lazarus and the Rich

Man."

                .............................

Written in 1981

All studies and article by Keith Hunt may be copied, published,

e-mailed, and distributed as led by the Spirit. Mr.Hunt trusts

nothing will be changed (except for spelling and punctuation

errors) without his consent.