Heaven |
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:1-3). The place Jesus was referring to in John 14 is heaven. Heaven is a locality, and not a frame of mind as many cults teach. While the Bible teaches that heaven is an actual place, very little information is given regarding its physical aspects. Much of what is said about heaven concerns the spiritual aspects of heaven: "'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:3-4). In heaven there will be true fellowship between God and man. The effects of the Fall will have been eliminated. "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him ... There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 22:3-5). Only those who have accepted God's sacrifice through Jesus Christ will enter heaven. Those who have rejected God's offer of salvation will not enter. "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27). Some cults teach that heaven is only accessible to a select few (the cult members), or that to gain access to heaven requires the permission of the cult's founder. Such teachings are rightly classified as doctrines of demons. Heaven is available to all who, by faith, trust in the risen Savior. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God'" (Revelation 21:3). |
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