7 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Going to Heavenfeatured
Hello friends and neighbors of the Rio Grande Valley, in this blog I share seven reasons why we, as children of God, should not worry about “going to heaven.” I am sure the title of this blog may cause controversy or even sound anti-Biblical, but I ask you to first read it and then let me know what you think
Before I begin, let me mention these points from the Epistle of Ephesians to clarify that we are heavenly by being children of God: 1) We are “seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6), and 2) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3), and 3) I am clear that there is medical and theological evidence of life after death and a state of “being in heaven.”
Our greatest heavenly blessing is that of being in Christ!
First Reason: In Genesis chapter three, after Adam and Eve partake of the forbidden tree, God speaks to Adam (Verse 19), “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food, until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; from dust you are and to dust you will return.” Notice that Jehovah God doesn’t mention anything concerning Adam “going to heaven” after his death.
Second Reason: Every time a person in the Old Testament is nearing death, wording that goes along the lines of being “gathered to his people” is used. For example, in Genesis 25:8 we see: “Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.”
Similar wording is found in the Old Testament for other persons including Ishmael in Genesis 25:17, Isaac in Genesis 35:29, Jacob in Genesis 49:33, Aaron in Numbers 20:24, and Moses in Numbers 27:13: “After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was.”
Again, noticed that there is no mention of “going to heaven” by God regarding these men after their death. Did the writers forget to include that after these men experience death that they would “go to heaven?” Not according to what we see in the Bible, and in the next examples, I’ll show you a few more reasons that make it very unlikely that the writers forgot to include their “going to heaven,” as their writing indicates a different belief.
You may be thinking the following: “Well, that was in the Old Testament; certainly things have changed and in the New Testament, and when believers die, they definitely go to heaven.”
To this comment I’d say that if you find a verse in the New Testament that says that when a person dies they then “go to heaven,” please send me an email, or post it here at the bottom. If that is the case, I will delete this blog. Please note that my position is not that I don’t believe in heaven. I do believe in the following: an earthly heaven (where the skies are), a heaven for the stars of the universe, and a divine heaven where God dwells.
Third Reason: In 1st Samuel, chapter 28, we read that King Saul reigns over Israel, but due to his disobedience to God, the presence of the Lord departs from him. King Saul becomes afraid of facing and battling the Philistines, and is in need of advice. It is interesting to note that he seeks the prophet Samuel for advice, but there is a little problem: the prophet Samuel is dead!
So what does King Saul do? He inquires with a woman who is a “ medium” and can somehow summon the dead. It is definitely an eery portion of the Bible, which at one point the medium says, “I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth (1st Samuel 28:13).” Notice that Samuel, who was deceased, ascended from the earth, and on verse 15 we find further evidence of this: “Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
So in those verses we clearly see that after the prophet Samuel had died, he had not gone up to heaven; rather, he was at a certain location inside the earth! If this is all new to you, I hope you take it well as I understand that in general, we are taught that when we die, we go to heaven.
Fourth Reason: In the Old Testament, we see that only two people of God were taken up to heaven directly, without experiencing physical death: Enoch and Elijah. Genesis 5:24 says, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Most people interpret that as Enoch having ascended to the heavens where God’s throne is. Second Kings 2:11 mentions Elija’s rapture: “Suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.”
Notice that those cases are of living people ascending to heaven, not people that die and then go to heaven.
(In the New Testament, the apostle Paul ascends to heaven, mentioned in second Corinthians 12:2, where he refers to himself in third person: “I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body I do not know, or outside the body I do not know; God knows) such a one was caught away to the third heaven.” In this case, Paul never died first and then went to heaven. He was alive and experienced this ascension, though only for a period of time and eventually returned to the earth.)
Fifth Reason: In Psalm chapter 6, verse 5, King David says, “For in death there is no remembrance of You; In Sheol who can give thanks to You?” Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, King David pleaded to the Lord so that he would be alive to “give thanks to You.” King David was clear that by his dying, he wouldn’t be in heaven, but rather in Sheol (According to Jewish tradition, Sheol is a place inside the earth where the souls are resting after death).
Further scripture supporting this matter is seen also in the New Testament, in the epistle of Acts 2:34: “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand.”
Sixth Reason: In Matthew 6:10, Jesus Christ gives a pattern on how we ought to pray: “Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.” The almighty and powerful God longs to unleash His heavenly kingdom (where His will is fully expressed) down to earth. But He needs us! If we are already in heaven, how will we express His kingdom on earth?
Seventh Reason: As Jesus Christ is hanging on the cross, surrounded by two criminals, one of them believes in Him and asks Him to remember him when He comes “into Your Kingdom” (Luke 23:42). The Lord Jesus replies, “Truly I tell you, Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Jesus Christ does not tell the thief, “Today you will be with me in heaven.”
Related to this, we see in Luke 16 an example provided by the Lord Jesus of a rich person and a poor person named Lazarus. In time, these two die, and this particular rich person is found suffering in Hades while Lazarus is found in Paradise, a comfortable resting place for believers. It is believed that Sheol in the Old Testament was the holding place of both Hades and Paradise. Please refer to this short blog at churchandculture.com for a quick explanation of these terms. According to the description found in Luke 16, these two places are divided by a “great chasm”, but notice that these two places (including Paradise) are not in heaven.
We see in the epistle of Ephesians, that even the Lord Jesus, after He died, did not go to heaven, but rather, He descended into the earth first: “He who descended, He is the One who ascended far above all heavens that He might fill all things (4:10).”
Conclusion
Praise the Lord that today we have an opportunity to witness and minister to people right in our own neighborhood and other places such as our jobs. Once we are in a different realm, we can’t do that anymore. God has given all of His children this opportunity on the earth today to reach out to others that need to hear the good news. Let’s focus on what we can do here and now.
Thank you for reading this post and may God bless you richly. Please drop a comment and let me know what you think. Feel free to ask a question also.
Previous
Next
