Where are you going?

15th of February

Is there a life after death?

I have recently seen a video about people who died and were on their way to hell. It is not long ago since I read a book describing a four year old boy’s experiences in heaven. All of these people seemed very trustworthy and I had no reason to doubt the authenticity of their testimonies. I have also seen other books and material on the same subject. In the video we saw many interviews with people on the street. They were asked if they believed in a life after death. Many believed in heaven, but very few believed that hell exists. Many of them were surprised by the question and the answers were quite confusing and rather blurred. There is no doubt about the fact that many people live in a “make-believe” world where there is no God or One who says: “Let everyone believes what he or she wants.” THIS IS NOT BIBLICAL.  I believe that the truth will set us free and the Word of God is truth and I will therefore show you what the Bible says.

We will start in John 14. Jesus tells His disciples that in His Father’s house there are many mansions and He should go before them and prepare a place for them. If you have received Jesus in your heart and made Him your Lord, you are his disciple. Jesus continues to say to them that they know the way, but Thomas looks like a question mark and says: “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said: I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”(Jon 14:6) I have talked to many who believe in a god, but they do not believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father. This is one of many reasons why we Christians have to talk about Him, Jesus-Christ.

A few years ago I was seeing revival in a country that was earlier closed for evangelization. In one meeting people were rushing forwards in order to receive Jesus as their Savior. The Holy Spirit opened my spiritual eyes for a short time and I could see how the empty places in heaven were filled one by one. It was great.

God does not want anyone to get lost and he therefore sent His only begotten Son to save the whole world. He does not only call a few, but everybody. Some people have yet to hear about Jesus and we have to hurry up in order for everybody to hear about the salvation of Jesus. It is entirely up to each individual to say yes or no to His offer. The tragedy is that many do not understand the consequences of saying no. I do not believe in scaring people into heaven, but we have to tell the truth.

Hell is mentioned many times in the gospel of Matthew. You can go with me to Matt.5:22. The headline in my Bible goes like this: “Murder starts in the heart.” In this verse Jesus uses the expression: hell fire. The hell will often be connected with fire. Some of those who have looked into the torments of hell, can say that they saw fire. It did not take the lives of people, but tormented them. There is no mercy there. Others have seen how people’s skin was torn. Whatever I have heard or read, it is awful. One cannot imagine what it is like.

In verse 29 in the same chapter we are warned. Jesus says that it is better to kill our sinful desires than being killed by the sin and end in the pit of hell. Jesus often speaks in parables and I believe that this was one when He said that we should pluck out our eye if it causes us to sin. It shows us the seriousness of sin. Jesus loves us and He does not want us to suffer and absolutely not for eternity. That’s the reason for His warnings. If we have sinned and confessed it, He is just and gracious and will forgive us our sins. We have hope.

Jesus did not particularly like the Pharisees and the scribes. He says that they travel land and sea in order to win one proselyte, and then make him twice as much a son of hell as themselves. What is characteristic for the Pharisees and the scribes? They were false, but had a nice outward appearance. Inside they were lawless and greedy. They were also religious. No one can impress God with a nice outward appearance. He sees to the hearts.

In James 3:6 we read that the tongue can be set on fire by hell. I believe that it means that the devil can use the tongue for his purposes. I am so glad that the tongue can be used by God as well. I have earlier written that words have creative forces in them. The tongue can therefore create both something positive and negative. The choice is yours and mine.

Are you conscious about where you are going? Do you know if you are on your way to heaven in order to live an eternal life with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and all the other saints? We will also meet angles in heaven. I can almost hear that some of you young people say: “I can think about those things when I get old, not now. Have you gotten a guarantee for getting old? Those who had died on the video, had died all of a sudden and they were not old. They were saved by the name of Jesus, by remembering a word, a song or a psalm from their past. Some people had a person who had prayed for them. Others experienced the rescue as pure grace. They were so horrified by what they experienced that they really want to tell others about it as a fact and a warning. They all became saved. Some of them cried when they told about the love of Jesus and had difficulties finding the right words. Many people have shared their testimonies and many say that they strongly regret the fact that they waited to become a child of God till late in life. They compare the life before and after and think that the life after is so much better. I do not believe that life with Jesus is a life without problems. I know that from my own experiences, but I could not think of a life without Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Whom should I go to with all my problems then? He is my closest and best friend.

The four years old boy who had been in heaven said that he really wanted people to know that heaven was a real place. It is not a fantasy world.. He described relatives he had never seen and some he had not even heard about and his parents could confirm that these people were dead. He described many details that the father knew were written in the Bible, but the little boy had never read the Bible nor had he heard about it. He saw and experienced it. Jesus said that he should return to the earth since they prayed for him. Many have actually said that. They themselves would prefer to stay in heaven, but their friends and relatives want them back. Many of them should also tell others about their experiences. That was a purpose of its own.

If you hear about people who have seen light and strange things, but not Jesus and God, I can assure you that they have not been in heaven. They might have had a spiritual experience, but I sometimes wonder about the source of the experience.

I will close this chapter by telling a story told by one I know very well. He had been on drugs for seven years, but had chosen to follow Jesus, but the desire for drugs and girls dragged him back to the old life. I and another prayer-partner had asked God to show him a glimpse of heaven and hell. It did not take long before he mixed three different drugs together with alcohol and he injected it into his body. He knew it was way too much and took even a little more. He was lying on a couch, but he has no idea of how long he was gone. His friend had looked for him for three days. He describes the death experience like this: “My body was over me and a strong force dragged me down all the time. I had no choice because the power was so strong. I finally came way down where there were a lot of people. It was a place of no life, nor any hope. Everything was gray. One man wanted to contact him, but no one was allowed to. He had not entered hell, but was in the kingdom of death. He was in total despair and knew he was at the wrong place. He could not utter anything loud, but finally he screamed Jesus on the inside. First he saw a little light and then Jesus got bigger and closer. Jesus said that he would get the last choice of choosing Him. The man looked into the most beautiful and loving eyes he could imagine and he chose Jesus. It was then as lightning went through him and he finally woke up. He was beside a telephone and he called me. Then he went back to sleep. I immediately took the car and drove to him. That was the beginning of a long journey of rehabilitation. He is to-day living with his wife and three children. The journey has not been without problems, but he has kept his faith in Jesus and can tell others about his experiences.

I do not wish that anybody should come to hell and that is the reason why I write what I do. Besides that, I want to say that heaven and hell are real places.

RECEIVE JESUS AND MAKE HIM LORD OF YOUR LIFE. YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK TOWARDS HEAVEN THEN.

Mother Else