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!
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?
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 verse 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 which is in heaven" (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 1981Heaven, 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!
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?
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 verse 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 which is in heaven" (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
|
Mansions in Heaven?Jesus said He went to prepare us a mansion. Will you go to heaven to obtain it? If you think you will, you are wrongThe evangelist in the tent camp meeting shouts, "Brother and
sister, rejoice - let not your heart be troubled, Jesus has gone
to prepare for you your mansion in heaven and He's promised to
return and take you back to it with Him, to your mansion."
This teaching is absolute "gospel" as they say, to many. And
they point to JOHN 14:1-3 for proof of its truth. But does this
section of scripture really say we are one day going to heaven to
inherit a mansion?
Let's not assume anything but carefully search the word of God
and put scripture with scripture to arrive at the real truth of
the matter.
"In my Father's house are many mansions..." The, LAMSA
translation from the Aramaic reads, "In my Father's house are
many ROOMS..." The GREEK INTERLINEAR by Berry says, "In the
house of my Father there are many ABODES..."
The MODERN LANGUAGE reads, "In my Father's house are many
dwelling places..."
THE FATHER'S HOUSE
What is meant by the "Father's house"? Jesus is speaking to His
disciples. We see in John 17 that if we are Christ's we have a
very special relationship with God the Father. If we have the
Spirit of God in us we are His SONS (Rom.8:14; 1John 3:1-2).
We are His CHILDREN (Rom.8:16).
We can all understand what it means to say of our children, they
are part of our house - we mean, they are part of our FAMILY. It
is no different with God the Father; to be a disciple of Christ,
to have the Spirit of God is to be part of God's FAMILY, to be
part of God's HOUSEHOLD - a member of His HOUSE (For a full
understanding of what it means to be a Son or Daughter of God,
request the free article called "THE CHRISTIAN'S DESTINY").
The Father has lots of available space in His family or HOUSE.
He has lots of ROOMS or ABODES for as many as want to come in.
Jesus was also drawing an analogy from the TEMPLE which He called
"my Father's house" (JN 2:13-16). The Temple or tabernacle in
Jerusalem was patterned after the tabernacle that God had
Moses construct, which in turn was patterned after the heavenly
Temple ( Heb. 9). In the Temple at Jerusalem there were many
ROOMS for the officiating priests to dwell in while serving and
performing their duties. There are many abodes in God's
Temple, many offices to fill. Christians are the TEMPLE OF GOD -
we are His HOUSE, HIS FAMILY (2 COR. 6:16-18). All that belongs
Christ also belongs to the Father. All that belongs to the
Father also belongs to Christ (JN 17:10). Now notice Heb. 3:6,
"But Christ as a son over HIS OWN HOUSE; whose HOUSE ARE WE..."
Christ's house is the Father's house. The Father's house is
composed of those who belong to Jesus. Those who are His sons
and daughters belong to His FAMILY. In that HOUSEHOLD of God
there are lots of positions to fill, as David said, "....I had
rather be a door keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in
the tents of wickedness" (Ps.84:10).
PREPARING A PLACE
Jesus said He was going back to the Father to prepare a place for
each of His disciples. Part of that preparing is His continual
daily work of INTERCESSION on behalf of the Father's children -
true Christians (Heb. 4:14-16).
Why do we need this PREPARING on Jesus' part?
Very few understand its importance. Without it we could never be
in God's household - we could never inherit eternal life!
You have probably thought or been taught that Jesus' DEATH on the
cross COMPLETED Salvation, that it was FINISHED at Calvary. After
all, didn't Jesus say "it is finished" (JN 19:30). But WHAT was
finished on the cross? Let Paul answer: "For all have sinned
(broken God's Law 1 JN 3:4) and come short of the glory of God:
Being JUSTIFIED (declared righteous) freely by His grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God had set forth
to be a propitiation (an atoning sacrifice) through faith in His
blood (death on the cross) to declare His righteousness for the
remission (forgiveness) of sins THAT ARE PAST..." (ROM. 3:23-25
Amplification mine). The sinner upon REPENTANCE, accepting Jesus
as his personal saviour can have ALL HIS PAST SINS - sins up to
that very moment in his life - FORGIVEN, washed away by the blood
and death of Christ on the CROSS. Jesus' DEATH secured our
justification from the sins we HAVE ALREADY committed. His DEATH
took away the penalty of death that hung over our heads because
of our sins (Rom.6:23). What Jesus finished on the cross was the
sacrifice for our past sins to justification and reconciliation
with the Father.
Listen, friends, this may shock some of you, but the truth is
that it takes BOTH the DEATH and LIFE of Christ to SAVE you. If
Jesus had only died and had never been raised to life, you could
never be SAVED, you would never inherit eternal life - you would
be dead in your sins. Read these verses in your own Bible, mark
them, and never forget them.
"And if Christ be not RISEN, then is our preaching vain, and your
FAITH IS ALSO VAIN....... And if Christ be not RAISED, your FAITH
IS VAIN, you are yet IN YOUR SINS! Then they also which are
fallen asleep (dead) in Christ, ARE PERISHED" (1 COR.
15:14,17,18).
If Jesus is not alive - if He was not RESURRECTED we are yet in
our sins! We are yet sinners - doomed to perish.
The Death of Jesus is absolutely necessary for salvation but SO
IS HIS LIFE! It takes not only His death but His LIFE also to
save you. Now, how much of that part of the Gospel have you
heard? You hear a lot about the death of Jesus - His blood
shed to cleanse your guilty past - but how much do you hear about
His LIFE to cleanse your present and future sins?
Let's understand this wonderful truth. Upon your repentance and
accepting Christ as your savior, you are forgiven of all your
sins through His death UP TO that very second. But what about
the sins you'll commit AFTER, in the next hour, day, week or
month? You say, "Oh, I'll not sin again." This is a great
attitude - we should indeed not want to ever sin again. But the
painful truth is WE DO! Christians do sin. If we say we don't,
we are deceiving ourselves. That's what John was inspired to
write, "......if we (justified Christians) say that we have NO
SIN, we DECEIVE ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 JOHN
1:8).
How are all our present sins forgiven? John answers, "If we
CONFESS (which includes REPENTANCE - Prov. 28:13) our sins, He is
faithful and just to FORGIVE us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.......And if any man sin, we have an advocate
(an intercessor) with the Father - Jesus Christ the righteous
(raised-alive from the dead, interceding in heaven for us). And
He (the risen Christ) is the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for
our sins......." (1 JOHN 1:9; 2:1-2, Amplification mine).
Christ was raised to life and He ascended to heaven as our HIGH
PRIEST to work in the heavenly sanctuary for us, to daily
INTERCEDE for us so our PRESENT sins can be forgiven. He is
pleading to the Father on our behalf that His sacrifice be
continually applied to us. Notice it in Heb. 4:14-16: "Seeing
then that we have a great HIGH PRIEST that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God...... For we have not an high
priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we ARE, yet
without sin. Let US (converted Christians - we who have already
had our guilty past justified by Christ's blood) therefore COME
(today and tomorrow) boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
OBTAIN MERCY (now, today) and find grace to help in time of need"
(Amplification mine).
We are not only JUSTIFIED - declared righteous, forgiven of our
past sins by the BLOOD of Jesus, by His DEATH (Rom. 4:23-26).
But Jesus was raised again for our JUSTIFICATION, (ROM. 4:25).
He was raised to life so He could intercede for us, so our
present and our future sins could be forgiven and we could be
declared righteous. And so it truly is that, "..... when we were
enemies, we were RECONCILED to God BY THE DEATH OF HIS SON, much
more, being (already as converted Christians) reconciled, we
SHALL BE SAVED (inherit life eternal) BY HIS LIFE" (ROM. 5:10).
Jesus said He was going to PREPARE a place for us in the Father's
household. He is doing just that. He's working to make sure we
can be there.
Christ also is preparing our REWARDS - what we shall be given,
determined by what we have done with what we had to work with
(see the parables of the POUNDS and TALENTS in LK 19:11-27 and
MAT. 25:14-30). Jesus brings those REWARDS with Him on His
return (REV. 22:12).
We know from Christ's own words that the 12 apostles will have
the reward of each ruling over one of the tribes or nations of
Israel during the 1,000 years (REV. 20:4; 5:10; MAT 19:27,28).
"I WILL COME AGAIN AND RECEIVE YOU..."
Although much of Christianity today does not preach or believe
that Jesus Christ will LITERALLY and bodily RETURN to this earth,
Jesus SAID HE WOULD!
Will you BELIEVE what is written in ACTS 1:9-11? "....... while
they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of
their sight. And while they looked....two men stood by them in
white apparel, which also said, you men of Galilee.......this
SAME Jesus..... SHALL SO COME IN LIKE MANNER as you have seen Him
go into heaven."
Will you believe REV. 1:7, "Behold, He COMES WITH CLOUDS; AND
EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM..."
Though MANY do not, will You believe what Jesus Himself said in
MAT 24:30? "...... then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn,
and they shall SEE the SON of man COMING in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory."
Over and over again the writers of the NT wrote about, spoke
about, the literal return of Christ Jesus. In JOHN 14 Jesus
said, "I WILL COME AGAIN." Plain and so simple that a little
child can easily believe and understand. If you stand in front
of a child and you say, "I am going away for a short time, but I
will come back" what does that child expect? He expects you to
literally COME BACK to HIM! He is not expecting that he will go
to YOU, but that YOU will COME TO HIM!
Jesus said, "I will come back." He would depart from where He
was going (to the Father JN 17:13) and return to where He
departed FROM. This is precisely what the angels said to the
disciples as they watched Christ ascend into heaven (ACT 1:11).
On His return Jesus said He would, "receive you unto myself."
This is also what He said in MAT. 24: 30-31. At His coming in
CLOUDS (please remember - clouds are relatively very close to the
earth) the angels would be sent out to gather the elect together
AT THE SOUND OF A TRUMPET! Now turn I COR. 15 (known by many as
the RESURRECTION chapter) and notice verses 51-52, "Behold, I
show you a mystery - we shall not all SLEEP" (be dead - death is
a sleep), "but we shall all be CHANGED. In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised INCORRUPTIBLE, and we (which
are alive) shall be CHANGED. For this corruptible must PUT ON
incorruption" (we are not born with it, we do not have any
natural immortality by the way of an immortal soul), "and this
MORTAL must put on immortality." Why? because, "...flesh and
blood (mortal man) CANNOT INHERIT the Kingdom of God (verse 50).
For Christ to receive us unto Himself at His return we must be
GLORIFIED just as He was glorified at His resurrection. No man
(mortal flesh and blood) can look upon God in His glorified form
and live (EX 33:20). And Jesus is God (Heb. 1:2-8). Request
our article "Jesus Christ - God of the Old Testament."
Does the word of God tell us WHERE we shall be when Jesus shall
receive us unto Himself? Yes indeed! Turn to I THES. 4:13-17.
"But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren, concerning
them which are asleep.. For if we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so these also which sleep in Jesus will God
bring with Him." Will God (Jesus Christ) bring them with Him (to
where He'll bring them we'll answer later) because they are NOW
in heaven? NO - look at the next verse - Paul goes on to explain
HOW God will be able to bring them with Him. "FOR..." This is
the connecting word, "For this we say unto you by the word of
the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of
the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep
(dead). For..." Paul is still connecting the thought and
explanation, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from
heaven...." Here's Christ's literal, visible, bodily return, as
we've already seen in other scriptures - not some invisible
"secret rapture" that nobody knows about. Request our indepth
study called "Christ's Coming and the Secret Rapture."
Let's continue, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
WITH A SHOUT, with the voice of the archangel, and with THE TRUMP
OF GOD: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them..."
Yes, the angels are sent to gather the elect (MAT. 24:31).
".....in the CLOUDS, to meet the Lord....." So He can receive
us unto Himself. "...in the AIR..." Notice it! Where shall we
be when we meet the Lord, when He receives us? IN THE AIR - IN
THE CLOUDS of this earth, just above the surface of this planet,
NOT in heaven where the Father is. Christ will leave the
Father's right hand. He is coming again and as He gets to the
atmosphere of this earth, as He gets to the CLOUDS, the
RESURRECTION of all dead saints takes place. Those saints who
are still living are CHANGED. All are now immortal and
glorified. The angels are sent out to gather them together and
bring them to Jesus so He can receive them. And so, the last
part of verse 17: "..... shall WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD." And
as Christ said in John 14, ".....that WHERE I AM, there you
may be also." Where will He be when He receives us - in the
CLOUDS, the air of this earth?
Now, do we stay in the clouds for all eternity? Do we go to some
planet? Do we go back to be with the Father in heaven? What Paul
did not say in I THES 4:17 was WHERE we go to AFTER Christ has
received us in the air. All he stated was that we would remain
with the Lord. Other scriptures must tell us WHERE the Lord goes
after this event described by Paul.
ON TO JERUSALEM
The prophet ZECHARIAH speaking about the DAY OF THE LORD and all
nations gathered against Jerusalem to battle (this is the
proverbial BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON - REV. 16:12-16. Request our
literature on this topic) says, "Then shall the Lord go forth
(Jesus' return) and fight against those nations... And HIS FEET
SHALL STAND IN THAT DAY UPON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, which is before
Jerusalem..." (ZECH 14:1-4).
Which day is this? "...and the Lord my God SHALL COME, and ALL
THE SAINTS WITH YOU..." (verse 5). It is the DAY of Christ's
COMING - the day of His return - the day the saints are
resurrected and gathered to Him - the day He continues from
the clouds with them down to the MOUNT OF OLIVES by Jerusalem to
FIGHT the armies of the warring nations. It is the day - one
day - that is only known to the Father (compare verse 7 with MAT.
24:3, 36) - the day that "the Lord shall be KING OVER ALL THE
EARTH..." (verse 9).
After we have met the Lord in the AIR we do not go to Mars, Venus
or back to the third heaven for 7, 100, or 1,000 years, but we
continue down to this earth, to the city of Jerusalem and to the
very mount which Jesus ascended from when He went into heaven.
Truly Christ will then have fulfilled His promise, "I WILL COME
AGAIN."
We shall reign ON THIS EARTH with Jesus our Lord for 1,000 years
(REV. 20:1-4; 5:10) after which Christ will hand over the Kingdom
to the Father (I COR. 15:24-26), when DEATH will be destroyed,
the new earth will be a reality, and the heavenly Jerusalem
together with the FATHER Himself shall come to the new earth
(REV. 21, 22).
"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the
tabernacle of God is WITH MEN, and HE SHALL DWELL WITH
THEM.....and GOD HIMSELF SHALL BE WITH THEM....."
The humbling but wonderful truth friends is that we are not going
to heaven, but God and heaven are coming to us!
..........................................
Written 1983
Are Enoch, Moses, Elijah, in Heaven?Enoch was translated not to see death. Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind. Moses appeared at Christ's transfiguration. But your Bible says they are not in heaven. Here's the answer to why they are not.by Keith Hunt
Hundreds of years after Enoch, Moses and Elijah had
supposedly "gone to heaven," Jesus, who was WITH the Father from
the beginning(Jn.17:5, 1:1-2,14) came down from the Father (Jn.
17:4,8) as a flesh and blood human and plainly said, "NO MAN has
ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven - Son of
man... (Jn.3:13).
Jesus said that HE alone of all humans was the only one to
ascend to heaven. (For a full understanding of how Jesus
ascended to heaven, request the article "GOD OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT"). Enoch, Moses and Elijah were not IN HEAVEN! It is
written, "Enoch walked with God: and HE WAS NOT: for God took
him." (Gen.5:24).
Notice what this verse DOES NOT SAY. It does not say Enoch
went to heaven. It says he was NOT FOUND, for God TOOK
HIM. But this verse does not say WHERE God took him! To say God
took Enoch to heaven is only human conjecture that has no basis
in Biblical FACT.
Concerning this event Paul said, "By faith Enoch was
TRANSLATED that he should not see DEATH: and was not FOUND,
because God had translated him: for before his translation he
had this testimony, that he pleased God" (Heb.11:5). Many have
just assumed again that the word "TRANSLATED" must mean "made
immortal". They have assumed WRONG! The Greek word for
"translate" is METATITHEMI. According to VINE'S Dictionary of NT
Words, this word means, "to transfer to another place."
This same Greek word is rendered "REMOVED" in Gal.1:6. In
ACT 7:16 it is rendered "CARRIED OVER" where we read that after
Jacob DIED his body was "carried over" - removed, TRANSLATED -
to Sychem.
God took Enoch. God removed him - translated him - so that
HE WAS NOT FOUND. Nobody knew where he was! The LAMSA
translation renders Gen. 5:24 as "And Enoch found favor in the
presence of God, and DISAPPEARED; for God took him away."
(emphasis ours throughout).
In Deut. 34:6 we read also how God TOOK Moses from the
people, after which he DIED and was BURIED by God. "But no man
knows his sepulchre unto this day." God REMOVED Moses - God
translated him also - and HE WAS NOT FOUND either!
LAMSA translates the Aramaic Heb. 11:5 as, "By faith Enoch
DEPARTED and did not taste death, and was not found, because God
took him; but before he TOOK HIM AWAY, there was a testimonial
about him, that he pleased God."
ENOCH DIED!
Does Heb.11:5 mean that Enoch NEVER experienced PHYSICAL
death? Is this what Paul was trying to convey to us? Oh no!
For after Paul had spoken about a number of FAITHFUL people of
God (Enoch one of them), notice what he says in verse 13: "These
ALL DIED in faith - NOT HAVING RECEIVED the promises..." Later
in this same chapter, after talking about yet more of the
faithful, Paul, as if to emphasize his point, again says, "And
THESE ALL, having obtained a good report through faith, RECEIVED
NOT THE PROMISE" (verse 39). What promise? The "...hope of
ETERNAL LIFE, which God, that cannot lie, PROMISED before the
world began" (Titus 1:2).
Enoch did NOT - has not, as yet - received the promise of
eternal life. Why? Paul answers in Heb. 11:40: "Because God
had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for
US, so that THEY (those heroes and heroines of faith) should not
come to PERFECTION apart from us, (that is, before we could join
them)" The AMPLIFIED BIBLE.
And when do we join them? When do we ALL come to
PERFECTION together? AT THE RESURRECTION! See 1 THES.
4:13-18, 1 COR. 15:49-54.
Paul says the faithful ALL died. Enoch was one of "all
these."
Enoch, then, DID DIE. Jesus said only the Son of man had
evee ascended to heaven, so Enoch never went to heaven!
Now GEN. 5:24 and HEB. 11:5 should start to become plain.
Enoch was a man of God, walking with God by obeying and seeing
His maker. He was a man of whom the world was not worthy (Heb.
11:38). Evil and sin were all around him, yet he had FAITH. It
was nearing the time when the wickedness of man became so great
that only Noah and his family were found worthy to escape
destruction. Enoch would have had MANY enemies - enemies that
would want to see him DEAD. After only 365 years (relatively a
short period for the length of days they lived back then) God
REMOVED Enoch - took him away from his enemies and spared
his physical life from destruction and death at their hands.
NONE could find him. Just like Moses was removed from
Israel and died sometime after (only known to God), so too Enoch
was removed by God to live in safety and eventually DIE at some
point and place only known by God.
Enoch, like all the faithful, awaits the promise of eternal
life at the RESURRECTION.
WAS ELIJAH TAKEN TO HEAVEN IN A WHIRLWIND?
If Jesus said NO MAN had ascended to heaven except Himself,
then WHERE did Elijah go?
It may surprise many, but there are THREE heavens mentioned
in the Bible, not just ONE!
The first heaven is the ATMOSPHERE, the air surrounding the
earth. Birds fly "in the heaven" - certainly NOT to God's
throne. We read in Gen.l:2 of "foul that may fly ABOVE THE EARTH
in the open firmament of heaven." Jacob, when blessing Isaac,
said: "God give you of the DEW of heaven," and Moses was joyful
that the "heavens shall drop down dew" (Gen.27:28; Deut.33:28).
The DEW comes from the FIRST heaven - the atmosphere. The SECOND
heaven is the expanse of this awesome universe - where the stars,
comets, moons and planets are. The Psalmists often wrote about
the "HEAVENS, the work of Your fingers, the moon, and the stars,
which You have ordained" (Ps.8:3; Gen.1:15-17). The THIRD heaven
is where the throne of God exists, where the heavenly temple is
found and the heavenly Jerusalem. It is the heaven where Paul
and John were caught up to in vision (2 Cor.12:l-4; Rev.4:l-2).
As Elijah could not have gone to the heaven where God's
throne is found, then into which heaven did he go? We read, "and
Elijah went up by a WHIRLWIND into HEAVEN" (2 Kings 2:1,11).
The answer should be obvious! Elijah was carried by the
whirlwind into the FIRST heaven, where physical whirlwinds
function.
WHY WAS ELIJAH TAKEN UP?
Did God intend to make Elijah IMMORTAL by taking him up
into the atmosphere? There is not one word to that affect in the
scriptures !
Turn to 2 Kings 2:3,5 and see for yourself WHY Elijah was
to be taken away.
Elijah had been used by God as head or leader of the sons
of the prophets. Now God wanted Elisha to assume leadership.
God wanted Elijah to by-and-large "retire" - at least in an
active and open directorship.
Elijah granted Elisha a request before he was taken away
(verse 9) and Elisha requested that "a double portion of your
spirit be upon me." If he was to see Elijah taken away it would
be granted (verse 10). Elisha DID SEE Elijah taken away and he
inherited his MANTLE (verses 12-14). The mantle had great
significance, it was, "worn by PROPHETS and PRIESTS as the simple
insignia of their office" (CLARKE'S COMMENTARY VOL. 2: p. 484).
The purpose of removing Elijah was to replace him with
another man who would assume his office in Israel as head of the
prophets. Elijah, having ascended into the AIR by a whirlwind was
carried away out of sight - beyond the horizon.
WHERE DID ELIJAH GO?
He did not go to the THIRD heaven of the throne of God.
Jesus said so! But he also could not logically remain in the air
forever either. And God did not say Elijah was to die at that
time, otherwise there would have been no need for such a
spectacular removal of him from his office of head prophet.
The sons of the prophets who KNEW Elijah was to be removed
DID NOT BELIEVE he was to DIE then or to go "to be with the
Lord." That's why they were fearful that the Spirit of God might
have allowed him to drop " upon some mountain, or into some
valley " (verse 16). Upon their hard pressed persistence Elisha
allowed 50 men to go out and try to FIND Elijah - "they sought
for three days, but found him not "(verse 17).
Now if Elijah knew it was time to go and "join the Lord" it
would have been easy for him to have told Elisha, who then would
have told the sons of the prophets. The whole happenings before
and after this miraculous event would clearly indicate that
neither Elijah, Elisha or any of the fifty prophets understood
that the removing of Elijah was to make him immortal and take him
off to the third heaven.
Where was Elijah taken? The Bible itself gives us the
answer.
Several years AFTER he was taken away, King Jehoram
received a LETTER from him! How long after? There are some
difficulties in figuring the EXACT chronology, it varies from 2
to 10 years or more. A note in JOSEPHUS (a Jewish historian of
the first century A.D.) says 4 years, while the JEWISH
ENCYCLOPEDIA figures it at 7 years.
Regardless of the exact number of years, "there came a
writing to him (Jehoram) from Elijah the prophet, saying..." (2
Chron 21:12). Now the wickedness of Jehoram, for which he was
being rebuked in the letter, took place AFTER Elijah was taken
away, yet the letter speaks of these things as PAST events, and
the punishment to come upon him as yet FUTURE. So the idea of
some, that Elijah wrote the letter BEFORE he was removed by the
whirlwind, is proved wrong..
Elijah was taken up by the whirlwind into the first heaven
and transported to another location ON EARTH. God did not see
fit in His purpose to reveal his whereabouts.
Some copies of JOSEPHUS come right out and offer this
explanation: "For he was yet upon earth" (ANTIQUITIES OF THE
JEWS, 9, 5:2).
ELIJAH DIED!
A marginal note found in SOME editions of the Bible
concerning Elijah's letter says this: ".. .which was written
before his death," meaning, the death of Elijah. There is a
traditional site of Elijah's TOMB near a tributary of the Jordan
River. HARPER'S BIBLE DICTIONARY (p.760), which lists various
feasts and fasts of the Jewish calendar, says the tenth day of
the second month ZN was a "fast to commemorate the DEATH of
Elijah."
The main proof that Elijah DIED is in the Bible itself.
Paul, speaking about the people of FAITH says, "And what shall I
more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon and of
Barak, and of Samson, and of Jeptha, of David also, and Samuel,
AND OF THE PROPHETS..." (Heb.11:32). Elijah was ONE of the
PROPHETS!
Did Elijah receive the promise of ETERNAL LIFE when taken
by the wind into the heaven? NO! "And these ALL (including the
prophets), having obtained a good report through FAITH (and faith
is the confidence of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things NOT
SEEN: Heb.11:1) RECEIVED NOT THE PROMISE." (Heb.11:39). Why?
"...that THEY without US should not be made perfect" (verse 40).
We shall all be made PERFECT together in the RESURRECTION!
MOSES DIED
Besides the verses in the book of Hebrews that show Moses
did DIE, we have also the plain statement in the book of
Deuteronomy, "So Moses the servant of the Lord DIED there in the
land of ....... And He(God) buried him in a valley in the land of
Moab... And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he DIED
..." (chap.34:5-7).
There's just one remaining section of scripture that
puzzles some: Jesus' TRANSFIGURATION. Did not both ELIJAH and
MOSES appear with Christ on the mount of transfiguration? The
record of the event is found in MAT. 17:1-9; MRK.9;2-1O;
LK.9:28-36. But the ANSWER is only given by Matthew. Leaving
the mountain, Jesus told his disciples: "Tell the VISION to no
man" (Mat. 17:9). In part the DICTIONARY defined VISION as,
"...the power of perceiving some-thing not actually present to
the eye..." A VISION IS NOT A MATERIAL REALITY but a
supernatural picture.
JESUS HAS PRE-EMINENCE!!
Of all that have ever been FLESH & BLOOD - born of women -
Jesus Christ ONLY has gained IMMORTAL LIFE! So says your Bible.
He alone of all humans was RESURRECTED to receive the promise of
ETERNAL LIFE. He alone is the only one to be changed from MATTER
into SPIRIT - from human to DIVINE! Read it in your own Bible,
never forget those plain verses. A child can understand them:
"But now is Christ risen from the DEAD and become the FIRSTFRUITS
of them that slept...For as in Adam ALL die (that includes,
Enoch, Moses and Elijah), even so in Christ shall ALL be made
alive (see Jn 5:25-29 and request our article "WHITE THRONE
JUDGMENT") BUT every man in his own order: CHRIST THE
FIRSTFRUITS..." (1 Cor. 15:20-23).
It was not Moses that was first from the dead, nor was it
Elijah or Enoch that first received eternal life - IT WAS CHRIST
JESUS! "And He(speaking of Jesus) is the head of the body, the
church: who is THE BEGINNING, the FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD..."
(Col. 1:18). Jesus was "the firstborn of every creature" (Col.
1:15). Yes, the FIRST Human to be BORN into life eternal.
Christ was the FIRST to be PERFECTED as an immortal being and so,
"...being MADE PERFECT, He became the AUTHOR (the one who wrote
the book on it - who led the way) of ETERNAL SALVATION unto all
them that OBEY Him" (Heb. 5:9).
Do you see friends? It was NOT Elijah, Moses or Enoch that
led theway to eternal life. It was not Noah, nor David, nor
Abel, Sarah or Abraham. It was not ANY other human person but
JESUS that wrote the book on how to attain IMMORTALITY. He ALONE
is the author. He is the CAPTAIN, the leader into eternal
Salvation (Heb.2:10).
Why? "...that ALL THINGS He might have the PREEMINENCE"
(Col. 1:18).
Read that wonderful passage of scriptures in COLOSSIANS
1:15-19. Jesus was and is the FIRST in creating ALL things (it
wasn't Enoch, Moses or any other man). He is the FIRST, the head
of the church (it's not Elijah, Paul, Peter or any other man).
He is the FIRST from the dead (it wasn't Moses or any other man).
Jesus is FIRST in CREATING, first in the CHURCH, and first of any
human in eternal SALVATION.
All children of God in by-gone ages who "died in faith"
(including Enoch, Moses and Elijah) are awaiting the TRUMPET
SOUND - when they, together with us who shall remain and be alive
at Christ's coming, will be raised and CHANGED from MORTAL to
IMMORTAL (1 Cor.15:50-54; 1 Thes. 4:13-17). So shall we ever be
with the Lord.
God speed that glorious day!
For further study on this subject of DEATH, HELL AND
IMMORTALITY read the articles "LAZARUS & THE RICH MAN," and
"MANSIONS IN THE SKY?"
................................
Written in 1981
Revelation 14:11?Will sinners live in a painful hell-fire for eternity? by
Keith Hunt
The subject of DEATH, natural immortality of the Soul, the
RESURRECTION, and the reward of the wicked (do they burn in a
hell-fire for ever?), has been covered by the late Dr. Basil
Atkinson, and by myself, in numerous studies on this Website (see
under "Death, then what?" - "Enoch, Moses and Elijah" - "Mansions
in the Sky?" - "Will we get to heaven?").
There is one other passage, that gives people trouble, and
that is Revelation 14:9-11. It has not been covered in-depth, so
I want to try and do that in this study. But first there are
important Bible study principles we must understand.
1. There are passages in the Bible that are indeed hard to
understand. The apostle Peter acknowledge such was the case in
referring to the apostle Paul's writings. "And account that the
longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved
brother Paul also according to the wisdom given him has written
unto you. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these
things; in which ARE SOME THINGS HARD TO UNDERSTAND, which they
that are unlearned and unstable, wrest, as they do also the
other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2 Peter 3: 15-16).
God has at times, inspired some passage of Scripture to be
"hard to understand" on the surface, or putting it another way,
seemingly to contradict many plain easy to understand passage and
verses of the Bible.
2. People "unlearned" as Peter said, do often west or
misunderstand these hard to understand passage, to their own hurt
and even destruction. I do not think Peter had in mind here, when
he said "unlearned," those who did not have "theological degrees"
or theological training in some established Theology school,
after all Peter himself had none of that, for he was a fisherman
by trade. No, I think Peter meant by using the word "unlearned"
as those who had not studied the Bible from cover to cover,
reading it all, and able to rightly put together ALL passages and
verses on a particular subject, knowing that you understand the
hard verses in the light of the easy plain verses, not the other
way around. And that there cannot be any contradictions in God's
word, although there may seem to be some.
3. On just about all Bible subjects there are plain easy to
understand verses on that particular subject. Those verses should
be taken first and THEN the hard verses SECOND. When we do this,
in that order, we can usually come to understand and interpret
the hard verses.
4. It is important to remember that the original Old
Testament and the original New Testament of Hebrew and Greek (the
old being written in Hebrew and the New written in Greek) did NOT
have punctuation of sentences and paragraphs.
5. It is important to have in mind some of the keys to be
able to understand some of the passages in the prophetic books,
like Revelation. I have covered the basics of those in another
study called "Points on Prophecy" which I ask the reading to
study. It is under the heading "Prophecy" on this Website.
6. The Bible does use "figures of speech" at times. So much
so, that Dr. Bullinger thought it necessary to write a one
thousand plus page book on the subject of "Figures of Speech in
the Bible."
Now, with the above in mind and in hand, I think we can come
to understand Revelation 14: 9-11.
We enter by knowing that the Bible has many clear, plain,
easy to read verses, that show us that mankind was not ever given
a natural immortal soul, that death is death, not life, and that
people do NOT continue to think, speak, and walk around a heaven,
if they have been "good Christians" nor do they burn forever with
moans of pain in some fire that never burns them up, if they died
being "unsaved."
These verses then in Revelation 14: 9-11 do NOT contradict
the rest of the Bible passages on this subject of natural
immortality and hell-fire.
The context of Revelation 14 9-11 is NEAR the very end of
this age, when the end-time Babylon will come crashing down. It
is very near the time when the Son of man comes in a cloud with a
crown on His head, to reap the harvest of human lives (verses
14-20). We see that those who worship the beast and his image
shall "drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels, and in the presence of the Lamb" (verse 10.
This ties in with 2 Thessalonians chapter one. "And to you
who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
REVEALED from heaven with His mighty angels. In flaming FIRE,
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction (the destruction is everlasting or as the
Greek can be read, "age-lasting" destruction - the 1,000 year age
that is now going to commence with Jesus' coming in powerful
glory) from the glory and power. When (the time frame) He shall
COME to be glorified in His saints (when the saints will be
resurrected to glory in the resurrection at Jesus' return) and to
be admired in all them that believe...in THAT day" (verses 7-10).
Yes, Jesus shall come with angels, on a cloud, to punish
many wicked and to raise the dead saints and glorify them. All
this I have covered in detail in many other studies.
This passage in 2 Thessalonians is the same time as that in
Revelation 14: 9-11.
Jesus will use some kind of fire power to torment and
destroy His enemies. If fire is thrown at you, and you are on
fire, it is indeed torment and pain until you are dead.
So far, nothing too unusual here. The enemies of Jesus, will
upon His return, be put to death in the torment of fire and
brimstone. Their death will not be some painless "lethal
injection" of a drug that puts you to death quietly and
painlessly, but the death of Jesus' enemies at His coming will be
fire-fully horrific, and be torment until they are dead from the
fire and brimstone.
Then we have the words in verse 11, "And the SMOKE of their
torment ascends up for ever and ever...."
Notice, it does NOT say, "And they were living for ever and
ever in painful torment" or "And they lived forever in the fire,
with painful suffering."
It is the SMOKE of their TORMENT, yes the end result of the
fire and brimstone that will kill them, put them to death (and we
have seen in the many other studies on this Website exactly what
death IS), is that they will die, and the atom particles of the
smoke of the fire that burns up those physical humans, will in
one sense, go up floating around for ever, or as the Greek reads,
"the ages of the ages."
When do atoms, that you can no longer see with the human
eye, of burned things that fire consumes, ever not be atoms?
Then, the phrase "the ages of ages" in this context (it is
used of God Himself in chapter 5: 14, and that context is
obviously meaning "eternity" as God is and will live for
eternity) may well be a figure of speech used by the inspired
writer, John the apostle, to tell us that their destruction by
fire and brimstone, is very permanent, for the conditions
of their death at this time. Sometimes in the Old Testament, the
word "forever" in regards to some things was "forever, within the
limit of conditions." The reader can look at the word "forever"
in Strong's Concordance, and see that sometimes as used in the
OT, it was forever within conditions, and did not mean for
eternity.
Here I think John has ended his thought on the enemies of
God, which he started back in verse 9. He has finished his
telling us that those enemies of God who worship the beast and
his image, and who are living right up to the very coming of
Jesus in a cloud, with the angels, will be killed with fire and
brimstone and will be burned up as that is what physical fire
does, it burns things up, and the smoke ascends, the atoms of
fire and smoke eventually become invisible to the human eye, but
they are still up there, for all practical purposes (maybe no
practical purpose) for ever so to speak. For again I say,
when does physical atoms of anything physical give up being
physical atoms. I think only if God tells the physical to not be
physical and to not exist as physical any longer. Remember it is
written that God created all the physical and none physical
(spirit creatures etc.) of the whole universe from that which did
not exist (Colossians 1: 15-17).
I believe this is where we should have a full stop. After
the words "for ever and ever."
Then John goes back to another thought and to another time
period. The time period is when those enemies of God are fully
worshipping the beast and its image. They are living their
physical lives under the beast and its image. They have decided
to follow and live as the beast and its image tell them. They are
in a "big brother is watching you" life and society. Think what
it will one day be like to have the beast power and its image
ruling over millions of people. A dictatorship, a power that
governs your every move, how you must think, how you must act,
how you must live your life 24 hours a day. It matters
not whether it is day or night, if you are awake, if you are
doing anything while not sleeping, you must be governed by this
beast and its image power. Step out of line with its teachings,
orders, wishes, governance, and you are heading for such trouble
that such actions could cost you your life. The book of
Revelation tells us that many true Christians will indeed die
under the end-time Babylon beast and its image, when it rules
many nations.
Those who live under its power will have to watch their
every step, even their words of speech, certainly how they act in
their work time and in their leisure time. It will indeed be the
time when the all seeing eye of the Babylon beast will be
monitoring every person alive under its rulership. Such a way of
life for those under the beast and its image can hardly be said
to be "rest." God through the apostle John, said such people
living and worshipping the beast and its image will have "no rest
day or night."
This has nothing to do with after they are dead. It has
nothing to do with them having a natural immortal soul, that will
be punished forever in some fire that gives them pain but never
burns them up. It has all to do with when they are living their
physical life under the dictatorship of the Babylon beast power.
Truly they will have no peace of mind, they will have no mental
rest, no emotional rest, they will be in constant mental turmoil
knowing they are being watched in everything they say and do, at
night time or in the day time.
Christians will have peace of mind, they will have rest in
mind, for although they may be put to death for NOT worshipping
the beast and its image, they know they are one with God the
Father and Jesus Christ. Those who will keep the commandments of
God and have the faith of Jesus, may die under the beast
government but they will have "rest" both in their minds and in
the grave, until Jesus returns to raise them from the dead
into glorified life (Rev. 14:12,13; 11:15-19).
I see this passage of Scripture in Revelation 14 being
divided into two sections, two thoughts if you will. The first
starts with verse 9 and ends with "for ever and ever" in verse
11, and there we should put a full stop. It is the thought and
the teaching of what will happen to those who worship the beast
and its image, and who are alive at the coming of Jesus in power
and glory. They will be killed in a death of fire and brimstone.
Then the second thought and teaching begins in verse 11 with
"And they had no rest." This thought is concerning "rest" of the
peace of mind. Those worshipping the beast and its image will
have no rest of mind when awake either night or day, while those
who serve God and keep His commandments and have Jesus' faith,
will have rest in peace of mind, even if they rest in the sleep
of death from the persecution of the beast power.
This section of inspired Scripture does not in any way
contradict all the plain easy to understand passages of Scripture
that tell us that man does not have a natural immortal soul, that
if a person dies being a sinner and unsaved, that they will burn
in a hell-fire that will give them physical pain for all
eternity.
God is a kind and merciful God. If someone does not want to
be "saved" into His Kingdom and eternal life, then they will one
day be burnt up and be ashes under the feet of the righteous.
They will die and will never exist again, their punishment for
turning down God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ will be
that they die and do not exist in any way, shape, or form, with
no thoughts, mind....just simply not existing. For those
accepting Jesus as their savior and serving God, there will be
GLORIFIED LIFE that can hardly be imagined, so great and so
wonderful will it be for all eternity.
..........................
Written June 2003
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