Q: "If you believe in Jesus Christ put this on youe wall. DON'T JUST IGNORE THIS because in The Bible, it says if you deny Him...

...He will deny you in front of His Father in the Gates of Heaven." - I  found this on Facebook. Will God really "deny you in front of His Father in the Gates of Heaven"? I think if I believe in God I don't have to do that, so many pros and cons. I know it isn't a big problem, but what to do/believe?

 
A:  I find these chains laughable...really, they are just a waste of time.  And what's more is that they are completely wrong, taken out of context and do not represent the Christian faith at all.   


Firstly, I find no need to be scared of such posts.  You are right when you say that you believe in God and feel that you do not have to forward this post on your wall.  Salvation (entering the gates of Heaven), is based on our hearts and our acceptance of Jesus Christ.  No amount of wall posting can prove what is in our hearts and putting this on your wall certainly does not indicate that you are a Christian. 


Secondly, the repercussions of not putting this on your wall is not true.  Just because you don't post it, doesn't mean that you are denying God, and thus resulting in Him denying you.  It just means that you refuse to perpetuate this hoax and continue the wrong teachings. 


I have seen this on Facebook as well and have chosen to ignore it.  My faith does not rest upon updating my status to this post and thus I will not continue the chain on Facebook.  I know who I am in Christ, where my faith is and certainly where I am going after death.  Regardless of updating my status.  


[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: In heaven, are we all equals? What exactly does that entail?

A:  In essence, we are all equals as we are all sinners and only enter heaven through the grace of Jesus Christ.  However, the Bible does talk about different levels of rewards.

Revelation 22:12 says,

“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." 

This indicates that Jesus will reward each person differently.  This is not a matter of salvation (every believer receives this), but it shows us that there will be a time that all will essentially reap what they sow.  Exactly what those rewards are are unknown. 

And so although all Christians are granted eternity in heaven, not all Christians are the same in a sense that some simply believe, but others believe and DO!

For more information, please read this blog post:  http://www.gotquestions.org/levels-heaven.html 



[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: When people pass away, can they look down on earth and see us?

A: Great Question! There is no clear biblical passage to answer your question but consider the following.

Within the Christian faith, there is a significant amount of confusion regarding what happens after death. Some hold that after death, everyone “sleeps” until the final judgment, after which everyone will be sent to heaven or hell. Others believe that at the moment of death, people are instantly judged and sent to their eternal destinations. Still others claim that when people die, their souls/spirits are sent to a “temporary” heaven or hell, to await the final resurrection, the final judgment, and then the finality of their eternal destination. So, what exactly does the Bible say happens after death?

First, for the believer in Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that after death believers’ souls/spirits are taken to heaven, because their sins are forgiven by having received Christ as Savior (John 3:16, 18, 36). For believers, death is to be “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8;Philippians 1:23). However, passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 describe believers being resurrected and given glorified bodies. If believers go to be with Christ immediately after death, what is the purpose of this resurrection? It seems that while the souls/spirits of believers go to be with Christ immediately after death, the physical body remains in the grave “sleeping.” At the resurrection of believers, the physical body is resurrected, glorified, and then reunited with the soul/spirit. This reunited and glorified body-soul-spirit will be the possession of believers for eternity in the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21-22).

Second, for those who do not receive Jesus Christ as Savior, death means everlasting punishment. However, similar to the destiny of believers, unbelievers also seem to be sent immediately to a temporary holding place, to await their final resurrection, judgment, and eternal destiny. Luke 16:22-23 describes a rich man being tormented immediately after death. Revelation 20:11-15 describes all the unbelieving dead being resurrected, judged at the great white throne, and then being cast into the lake of fire. Unbelievers, then, are not sent to hell (the lake of fire) immediately after death, but rather are in a temporary realm of judgment and condemnation. However, even though unbelievers are not instantly sent to the lake of fire, their immediate fate after death is not a pleasant one. The rich man cried out, “I am in agony in this fire” (Luke 16:24).

Therefore, after death, a person resides in a “temporary” heaven or hell. After this temporary realm, at the final resurrection, a person’s eternal destiny will not change. The precise “location” of that eternal destiny is what changes. Believers will ultimately be granted entrance into the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21:1). Unbelievers will ultimately be sent to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). These are the final, eternal destinations of all people—based entirely on whether or not they had trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation (Matthew 25:46; John 3:36).

After death, the believer in Christ is in heaven and is most assuredly perfectly content to enjoy the glories of heaven and worshipping the majesty of the Lord without worrying about the Earth and its inhabitants. For those who do not receive Jesus as Savior, the story of the rich man and Lazarus is instructive (Luke 16:19-31).

[answered by Pastoral Intern Ray Lee]

Q: Suppose a Christian did something really sinful, but died in a car accident the same day before they had a chance to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Will this person still be saved?

...And if the answer is yes, then won't haven be a non-perfect place because that person still hasn't been forgiven of their sins, but still entered the Kingdom of God?

A: This is quite an interesting question!  Let's tackle it one step at a time.

Yes, a Christian who did something very sinful and died in a car accident before repenting will be saved.  You have to remember that salvation does not rest upon a constant confessing of every sin a person has ever committed.  When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, the Scriptures tell us that we are granted salvation.  We do not have to keep on asking for forgiveness in order to maintain our status of being saved.  Look at this passage from Colossians 1:13-14

¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

This passage clearly outlines the fact that Christ has brought us out of darkness and into the light and we have been redeemed by His sacrifice.  This sacrifice results in the forgiveness of sins.

So having established the fact that we are forgiven of our sins once and for all through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, a Christian who has full knowledge and acceptance of this is redemption will enter heaven "clean".  The need to literally and legalistically ask for forgiveness and seek repentance after each and every time we sin is unnecessary since we have been given grace already.  However, a mature Christian should possess an attitude of repentance in which he/she recognizes that they are sinners and accept the need for a Saviour.

For further understanding on this topic, please go HERE and read this blog post.

[answered by Pastor KJT]

If a Christian is cremated, how does his/her body "rise from the ground" when Jesus coming in the 2nd coming?

Great little question. The answer is straight-forward: Christians will be given new, glorious, resurrected bodies. Our old bodies do not rise; they stayed burned in the ground. Philippians 3:20-21 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Jesus will return one day and give us new glorified resurrected bodies. Think of a seed that is buried in the ground and dies. After a while, it will emerge as something more glorious and beautiful than we could ever imagine. When a Christian dies, we too are buried but likewise spring forth with a glorified resurrected body. The difference between our body now and our future resurrected body is that our body now is mortal and can be subject to sin, but our glorified body is not. It cannot be subject to sin or suffering.



[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: What happens to our relationships in heaven?

Will we know the people we know on earth in heaven? Will our relationships remain in heaven? Will we recognize others? Also, we've heard that you can look down at hell- which means we'll see our peers that didn't follow Christ. Wouldn't we feel sad to see our friends in hell? Isn't heaven supposed to be full of happiness and no sorrow? To summarize all the questions, ''What happens to our relationships in heaven and our emotions?''

Great questionS! Let me try to answer them briefly.

Will we know the people we know on earth in heaven? Will we recognize others? Yes. But only those who have faith in Jesus. John 20:16 tells us that though Jesus had a physical, glorified and new body, the disciples still recognized him and 1 Corinthians 15:49; 53 tell us that we will bear the likeness of Jesus' glorified body in heaven. Therefore, we will be able to recognize, interact with and be relationship with each other. That gives Christians great hope! It also gives us great motivation to evangelize our unsaved loved ones.

Will our relationships remain in heaven? Matthew 22:30 says, "At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” - which indicates that the nature of our relationships will be different. In fact, they will be better. We will be surrounded by great numbers of believers (Revelation 7:9), and all our needs will be met, including the need for companionship.

Wouldn't we feel sad to see our friends in hell? Isn't heaven supposed to be full of happiness and no sorrow? This is a difficult one to answer. If you read Revelation 21-22, you find that heaven is a perfect place with no suffering, tears or sadness. Additionally, we will in be in complete agreement with God (1 John 3:2). What does this mean for our loved ones in Heaven? We will agree with God that they do not belong there because they are refused to accept God's offer of salvation. As hard as it is to comprehend this: We will not be saddened by their lack of presence. For more information, please read this previous post.

Summarily, heaven is a place of exploration, fun, community and worship. The best life you can imagine on this planet cannot even compare to heaven. This gives Christians great hope but also a great burden to evangelize as many people as we can.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: Many people have claimed to come back to life after dying and meeting people in heaven. Is this true? And if it is, why?

Indeed, there are individuals such as Don Piper (author of "90 Minutes in Heaven") and Bill Wiese (author of "23 Minutes in Hell") who claim to come back to life after dying. This is event is known as "revivification."Of course, I cannot verify or prove whether their claims are true. Likewise, I don't know WHY these events happened to them. Is it possible that God is taking people to heaven and/or hell, and then sending them back in order to deliver a message to us? Yes. This idea does not seem to contradict the Bible. The Apostles Paul and John both received visions of heaven and hell, in 2 Cor. 12:1-6 and Revelation 21-22 respectively.

As with any literature, however, be sure to test it according to Scripture. If you hear of an account of someone coming back from the dead, compare what the author says with the Bible (1 Thess. 5:21-22). If the vision is truly from God, it will not contradict the Bible. Moreover, different visions from different people should not contradict each other. My advise is to be skeptical of such claims, and focus on God's Word. Scripture is the primary way God has chosen to reveal Himself to us - not through visions of heaven and hell.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: Why is being "good" not sufficient enough?

How do I explain this to a non-believer?? My cousin thinks that by donating money to charities and helping the poor...its good enough, but I don't know how to explain! Help?


Great question. Your cousin's question is really a question of being good enough for WHAT? I think he means being good enough to meet God or to go to heaven. Millions of people have debated this question for years and years. And the result has been that many people believe as he does: Good people go to heaven. We are "good" enough based on what we do (e.g. donating money, helping the poor). The logic goes something like:


There is a good God in a good placed reserved for good people. This God goes by many names. He is behind all major religions. Therefore, all major and possibly minor, religions provide a legitimate path to God and, therefore, heaven. Whether you make it to this good place is, of course, determined by whether you are good. Each religion has its own criteria of good. But what they all have in common is that men and women must do certain things, and not do certain thing, in order to assure themselves a spot in this good place with a good God. After all...


1. It is fair. If you do well in school, you move to the next grade. If you do well in tryouts, you make the team. Being rewarded for your efforts is part of our human experience, so it makes sense that perhaps this idea came from God. After all, the religious books of the world (The Bible, Koran and even the Book of Mormon) tell of God’s eagerness to reward good behavior in this life. So it makes sense that if you do enough good in this life, you should go to heaven.


2. There is a good god. If there is a good God, and if dwells in a good place, then it makes sense that God would fill heaven with good people. Good God + Good people = Good place.


3. It keeps everyone on his or her best behavior. If good people get to go to heaven, then you and I should try to be good. This is good for law and order and makes a healthy society.


4. It makes all religions equal. Since there is a God behind ALL religions, as long as you are good –you get to go to heaven.

This makes sense right? Actually, NO, it doesn't. Once you get past the emotional appeal, the “good people go to heaven” has some MAJOR problems.

1. If good people go to heaven, then we need a clear & consistent definition for what good is.

If God is good, why didn’t he do a better job of telling us what his expectations are, so we don’t have to live our whole lives wondering where we stand? If good people go to heaven, a good God should have communicated that directly to us. Instead we have all sorts of religions (& their leaders) telling us all sorts of different ways to get to heaven. But all religions aren’t the same. The Koran is very different than the Bible. Mohammed /Buddha/Krishna/Gandhi – they have different messages. As open-minded as you might try to be, everyone can’t be right. In order for our theory to work, we need rules the reflect God’s standards rather than the standards of these religious leaders. BUT how do we know what God’s standards are?

2. This line of thinking also makes you wonder how good God really is.

If you were an employer, you wouldn’t withhold a job description from your employees and then evaluate them by a standard they never had the opportunity to see. You would refuse to work at that company. If your teacher did this, you would drop the class. You’d complain to the principal. You’d leave the school, because let’s face: “be good” is not only impractical but also unfair.

3. Your conscience is not enough.

You say, “But wait, maybe God HAS given us a standard. It’s called the conscience. Isn’t there a built-in sense of right and wrong inside all of us? Doesn’t everyone know that it’s wrong to steal, kill, and lie?” And the answer is yes. There is a general sense of morality that resides in all of us and I believe that God designed it. If people made it up, it’s really hard to explain how people of every nation throughout recorded history have continued to arrive at similar conclusions regarding right and wrong; fair and unfair. BUT what the conscience cannot do is give you direction in terms of how good you have to be to go to heaven.

Think about it. That’s where religion takes over. If your conscience had the power to tell you where you stand with God, there would be no need for religion. We would know exactly where you stand. But we don’t. That’s exactly my point. It’s hard to find even two people (w/ two consciences) that are on the same page regarding what good is, let alone how much good we must be to make to heaven.

4. The Bible (or other religion texts) can't help you get into heaven.

You say: “Ok, let’s assume ‘be good’ is not as helpful as I once thought. So I’ll follow a set of religious rules. I’ll read The Bible and do what it says in there. Or I’ll go to church and listen to what they tell me.” The problem here is if you look at the Bible for a list of things to ensure your place in heaven, the standard is way too high. The Bible actually has 248 commands and 365 prohibitions, making 613 rules in total. Can you imagine trying to even read through all the rules, let alone try to follow every single one to ensure your place in heaven? I’m not arguing the Bible is correct, I’m just saying the Bible offers no help in our quest to find a magic list of being good enough to go to heaven.

5. You may just run out of time.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume you're going to try to follow a set of rules. Even if that were the case, you are still left with where you stand at any given time. When you die, what percentage of your overall deeds are required to be ‘good’? 70%? 80%? 51%? Let’s assume that God is really laid back and that only 10% of your deeds need to be good to get you into heaven. Even then, you could find yourself one good work away from the passing grade. Can you imagine that? Because you didn’t help that old granny cross the street, you could miss out on heaven and go to the ‘other place’? Or what if God is a really hard marker: 90% of your deeds need to be good to secure a place up there. Then most of us would probably not make that cut. Heaven would probably be pretty empty. Or have you considered what if you simply run out of time to perform your good deeds? Think about it. You could be destined to be the next Bono, but you walk out these doors, and a car hits you. Then all those wonderful, good acts you were going to do… well, tough luck. Do you see why religions of the world and most people cling to one form of this view or another? It’s because there aren’t good options out there. What else can you believe? If good people don’t go, who does?

6. Everyone does not go to heaven.

First, that’s not fair. It means whatever you do in this life doesn’t matter. You could do whatever you want, and you’d be there. Second, it means most of the major religions in the world have misled hundreds of generations because they don’t believe this. Lastly, if everyone’s going to make it, why doesn’t God just tell us?

The Alternative: Jesus

As you can see, the "good people go to heaven" view is actually full of many holes. So what is the alternative? The alternative is the Gospel. The Gospel teaches us that good people DON’T go to heaven (Jesus actually taught the best in the culture were not good enough). WHY? Because there is really no such thing as a "good" person; we are all sinners and therefore bad people. So what we need is forgiveness of our sins and not fairness.

Do you really want God to give you what’s fair and nothing more? If you believe that only good people go to heaven, I think the only honest answer to that question is, “I don’t know.” Why? Because none of us knows what we deserve! We think we know what’s fair, but I am convinced when people complain about something NOT being fair, it is almost always an excuse for the fact they are NOT getting something they want.

This is where Christianity is really different than other faith systems. The God of Christianity never claims to be fair. He claims to be forgiving. Romans 5:8 says:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

In other words, while we were treating God and others unfairly, God decided to forgive us and pay for our sins himself. Jesus lived the GOOD life I could never live. And Jesus died the UNFAIR death I should have died. I get what Jesus deserved; Jesus gets what I deserve. Jesus opted for forgiveness rather than fairness.

So friend, read this answer carefully, pray for your cousin and explain it to him. He may not understand it at first, but it is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). And be sure to live this out. Treat people (including your cousin) as God has treated you - with grace, forgiveness and love.

[Answered by Pastor HM, who is glad God opened my eyes and made me realize I'm really not a good person, but rather just a prideful, sinful one]

Q: What is the joy of eternal life?

Good question. The joy of eternal life is Jesus. Let me explain. All people seek joy (happiness).
Blaine Pascal, the great mathematician, once wrote:

All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.

All people seek joy. And they often try to find it in worldly things such as relationships, possessions, status or wealth. The Bible, however, teaches us that the ultimate, most satisfying joy comes from Jesus.

The most basic way to understand this truth is to recognize that apart from Christ, you and I deserve judgment and thus separation from the source of all things good (including joy): God. Jesus came on a mission to save us - not only from hell - but so that we can have joy in HIM. When we know we are loved, cherished and accepted by God in Christ, we do not need to seek other forms of joy. Indeed, we find joy in our children and careers, but they are not the ultimate source of our joy; Christ is! [If you've been attending our services, we've been going through the Gospel of John, which tells us that Jesus is the water that quenches all thirst and the food that eternally satisfies

Another truth is that eternal life does not start when you die; it starts now. You don't get the joy after you die. When you receive Christ, he fills you up with joy NOW. Even if sorrow and tragedy strike you, knowing that God loves you in Jesus and that one day you will be with Him in heaven (a place where there is no suffering, pain or sin) gives you this joy.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Recommends: Dr. John Piper has done a wonderful job talking about joy in his message here. If you have some time, try to listen to some of the messages on joy by Pastor Mark Driscoll.

What happened to Jesus' body when he went to heaven?

"It's not like only his Spirit went, because his body would be somewhere right? I'm sure his body didn't fall form the sky a few days later. But if it IS in heaven, and since we humans will only have the spirit going to heaven, would Jesus' body be the only physical body in heaven?"

Interesting question! Let's read Acts 1:9 for clues: "And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." Jesus' body was LIFTED UP, indicating Jesus retains a physical human body as he ascended to heaven. Acts 1:11 also tells us that Jesus will someday return in the same physical body. This is what is known as the Doctrine of the Incarnation: The eternal God took human nature on himself and became a person who is both fully God and fully man. These two verses show that he will remain fully God and fully man forever.

In regards to what happens to our bodies when we go to heaven, read Phil 3:20-21: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

We don't just go to heaven as spirits! Jesus will return one day and give us new glorified resurrected bodies. Think of a seed that is buried in the ground and dies. After a while, it will emerge as something more glorious and beautiful than we could ever imagine. When a Christian dies, we too are buried but likewise spring forth with a glorified resurrected body. The difference between our body now and our future resurrected body is that our body now is mortal and can be subject to sin, but our glorified body is not. It cannot be subject to sin or suffering.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: When babies/infants pass away and go to heaven, will they still have the mind of a baby or know what is going on?

A: Firstly, let us address the idea that babies WILL go to heaven after they die. I personally believe this and personally believe that God will judge accordingly and take into consideration that the babies did not have a chance to accept Christ. I believe there is a special measure of grace for such tragic situations.

For more reading on that topic, try this site.

Now, moving on to address if babies understand what is going on.

If we believe in Christ and we die, we have full assurance that we will go to heaven. And as we do, we are given new bodies as we lay to rest the ones that we currently have. We are not told how these "new bodies" will work or how they will look like, just that we are renewed.

Having said that, that doesn't mean that we'll forget everything. Isaiah 65:17 says this, "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind." What this verse means is not that we will forget all things, but that we'll forget all things that no longer matter in heaven. The the things that have helped us worship God in heaven and enhance that experience, we will remember them. The things that hinder us from our authentic worship, those are the things that we'll forget.

For more information, please read this post by Pastor John Piper.


[answered by Pastor KJT]

Q: If there is no heaven, will there still be Christians?

This one can be tricky to explain, but I'll try my best (!).

Scholar Dallas Willard once wrote: "The aim of God in history is the creation of an all-inclusive community of loving persons, with Himself included in that community as its prime sustainer and most glorious inhabitant."

Heaven wasn't created because God suddenly realized he needed a place to house Christians after they die. Heaven has always existed because it's the place where God lives.* Since God has no beginning and no end (Exodus 3:14), heaven has no beginning and end too.

What is heaven like? You can read more HERE.

To answer your question directly: There cannot be the absence of heaven, because that would mean there would be the absence of God.

Hope this helps!

[Answered by Pastor HM]

*In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself talked about coming "from heaven" (see chapter 6). Heaven was Jesus' home. He lived there "in the beginning" and will continue to live there forever, with those who are saved.

Q: Isaiah 65:20?

Q: If you look at Isaiah 65:20, it talks about infants that only lived a few days would die at 100 in this new creation. I know in Revelation it says that there will be no more death (Revelation 21:4). Why John would write one thing and then Isaiah speaks of something else?

The first thing to bear in mind is that both books - Isaiah and Revelation - are books of prophecy, and thus contain poetic and symbolic language. This means their interpretations should be considered carefully as much of the language is figurative. Moreover, the purpose of prophetic books are not simply to predict the future, but to express the redemptive plan of God in human history.

The two verses in question are (1) Isaiah 65:20...

No more shall there be in it, an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

And (2) Revelation 21:4...

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

For years, scholars have debated what Isaiah meant: (1) An intermediate "millennial" state or (2) the eternal state itself. The expression, "new heavens and a new earth" would seem to suggest an eternal state (such as the one described in Revelation 21:4), yet the mention of people dying, as well as the presence of sin, seem to suggest the opposite.

So what are we to make of this verse? The Bible Knowledge Commentary has a solid explanation:

In Revelation, however, the new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21:1) follow the Millennium (Rev. 20:4). Most likely Isaiah did not distinguish between these two aspects of God’s rule; he saw them together as one. After all, the Millennium, though 1,000 years in duration, will be a mere pinpoint of time compared with the eternal state.

Summarily, there is a period of time (the "millennium")* - described in Isaiah 65:20 - before the creation of new heavens and new earth - described in Revelation 21 by John.

Hope this wasn't (too) confusing. Remember, interpreting verses like Isaiah 65:20 are of importance, but not primary importance. What is of paramount importance is accepting Christ's gift of salvation while you still have time on this earth - before all of the events predicted by John & Isaiah occur.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

*According to this interpretation, one must concede that the millennial state includes both death and unbelief.

Q: Do Angels Sin? Isn't heaven a place of no sin? How was Lucifer able to sin in heaven?

Tough question! Let's review the historical facts, according to Scripture:

1. Satan was originally an angel (Isaiah 14:12-14)

2. Satan became prideful and wanted to take God's place (Isaiah 14:12-14)

3. God cast him out of heaven (Luke 10:18)

4. This happened before the creation of mankind (Genesis 3)

Now, let's take a stab at your questions.

1. Do angels sin? Yes. Satan was an exceedingly beautiful angel who sinned and was subsequently cast out of heaven (Ezekiel 28:12-15) by God.

2. Isn't heaven a place of no sin? Yes. By this, we mean that God cannot allow human beings that are still in their sin to enter into his presence. Angels are not human beings. They are a completely different order of being. Due to their role as special servants of God, they have access to heaven. However, like human beings, they can sin. There are good angels and evil angels (i.e. demons). Thus, when Lucifer sinned, God instantly cast him out of heaven; out of his presence forever.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: Why does everyone want to go to heaven, but no one wants to die?

Heaven is a place of goodness, beauty and perfect community, where sin does not exist. Revelation 21:1-5 says this concerning heaven...

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

From this description, you can see why everyone would want to go to heaven.

I can think of some reasons why some people (notice I didn't write 'everyone' because I truly believe some do not wish to go to heaven - they'd rather cease to exist or go to hell and spend eternity away from God):

1. Some people don't want to die because they will leave their loved ones behind. Of course, this is a reality each one of us will have to face. As Christians, it is also the motivation to spread the gospel to as many of our friends and family as possible. So when we die, we will do so knowing that our loved ones will eventually join us in the perfect community of heaven.

2. Some people are not afraid of dying and going to heaven. Rather, they are afraid of the way in which they will die.

3. Some people like the IDEA of heaven (i.e. "a better place"), but in their hearts, they believe that their life on Earth IS HEAVEN. Perhaps they are healthy, rich and powerful and do not wish to leave all of that behind. Sadly, many people in our culture believe this. They want to earn lots of money, build a good career, have a great family and save up for an early retirement. Yet they forget that life is short, fragile and does not end with physical death. It continues forever. Where they spend forever, however, depends upon their relationship with Jesus in this present life. See Luke 12:13-21.

[Answered by Pastor HM]