HEAVEN
THE FINAL HOME OF THE REDEEMED

Death is often called a curse, a riddle, a mystery, a tragedy, the grim reaper, the equalizer, the fearful end, the appointed time, and man’s final enemy.  For many, death is a reality that enslaves people with fear of the unknown, the pain of dying, and the judgment to come.  Some will say with Woody Allen, “It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”  Jesus understood man’s fear of death.  He sought to comfort His followers by paying the penalty for sin on the Cross and promising to prepare a place for them to live with Him.  Christians find wonderful help and consolation from their family, their friends, their Church, God’s Word, and God’s presence.  They can recall the words “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” (Rev. 14:13). They can even praise God that their loved ones are with Him.  However, as loving human beings, we mourn for those who are no longer with us.  Some say to mourn is to focus on ourselves and not on the departed who is rejoicing in Heaven.  Is it selfishness or self-pity to feel deeply the absence of your loved one?  It’s true, we should never get angry with God for taking our loved one.  Neither should we wish for their return to such a world as we live in.  They are in Paradise!  Yet, we groan because we have been left behind.  Some of our attitudes and emotions may correctly be labeled as selfishness.  However, death remains a crisis in our life.  The hurt remains, tears still flow, pain leaves us speechless, the days and nights are flooded with memories, grief leaves us empty, lonely, and sad.  Our loss weighs heavy upon our hearts.  Dreams are filled with the wonderful events of yesterday.  And now, life is filled with the great expectation and strong anticipation of falling at the feet of Jesus in the City of God and anxiously awaiting on a family reunion filled with the shouts of joy, praise, laughter, and tears of Home at Last!

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​How Death Has Been Painted​​ 

• Death has been wonderfully and beautifully painted in Scripture and by Christian writers as:

• A bright light,

• Of a return from exile,

• Of the coming out from a raging storm,

• Of coming to the goal of our desires, and the summit of our wishes,

• Of leaving the campfires of worldliness and away from lower loves, desires, pursuits, and aspirations,

• Of coming to eternal rest after long days of labor,

• Of a great family reunion – home at last with God the father and all his children,

• Of life’s journey completed in victory

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         A Christian’s death is a blessed time when the beautiful flowers say, “Congratulations on your New Location!”  It is a celebration in a perfect place called Heaven where saints will be able to render the perfect worship, the perfect service, and live the perfect life.  On earth, this vision is but a dream.  We still live in a fallen world.  The wages of man’s sins are still being paid for. Even the Christian’s salvation is still incomplete.  We are still being saved, being sanctified and only in Heaven will we be glorified.

         Yet, even now, we have the guarantee from God Himself that because of the Cross, the Christian’s sins have been paid for and forgiven.  Satan stands defeated and will one day be cast into Hell (Rev. 20:10).  The Marriage Feast of Christ with His Church is already in preparation!  Don’t miss Heaven’s Banquet! You ARE invited!

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The Challenges Faced by The Crisis of Death

 

         Before we gain our victory over death, we must struggle with the devastating problems that the crisis of death has dumped on our lives.  How are we to face the challenges that confront us?  Let us name but a few of these problems of our crisis that “cry for” and deserve answers. Our losses by death leave us with:

• Splinters in our hearts of voices silenced

• Big holes in our lives because of feet that have been paralyzed

• A loneliness which smothers our souls       

• Grief that results in floods of tears and sobbing that take away our breath

• An emptiness that is debilitating

• A deep longing for heaven to be with Christ and to be reunited with our loved ones

• The need to feel the embrace of our heavenly father

• The cry for help, strength, comfort, and a strong word of faith from family and friends

• The desire to know God’s purpose in leaving us behind and how to fulfill his plans in our world which has suddenly fallen apart

• Wondering how to face each day alone in our newfound chaos of having a “house” but “no home”

• The need to regain the serenity of life in spite of the disorder

• The urgency of the reaffirmation of our eternal hope in Christ alone

• The unfinished task of telling his story to our lost children, grandchildren, relatives, friends, and a dying world

• The wiping away of tears, and the healing of heartbreak for those who continued to crucify our lord Jesus by rejecting his love

 

The Way to Meet the Challenges of the Crisis of Death

 

There is only one way to overcome the challenges that the crisis of death has poured out on our earthly lives.  That one way is a faith which banishes our fears by laying hold on to the promises of God. 

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Faith is confidence, trust, assurance, belief, and hope.  It is a hope that is certain and not a “hope so,” “maybe,” or a “wish for.”  It is a “know so” because God “says so.”  And God can be trusted. 

• Faith is the only antidote to fear.

• Faith tells us that death cannot destroy us.  God has the last word, not death. 

• Faith in the resurrection of Jesus reveals that all tombs for burial are sealed in vain.

• Faith tells us that death is not a great tragedy.  Rather, it is a glorious promotion and a rebirth to eternal life.

• Faith reveals that our loved ones are not leaving home; they are going home.

• Faith says that loved ones are not leaving a good party on earth; they are going to the best party ever – and we will arrive soon.

• Faith tells us that Jesus is all the Heaven we need for in Him all of our needs will be met.

• Faith declares that our “death day” is our true “birthday” to life forever.

• Faith teaches that death is the gate of Heaven, the door to endless joy, love, and peace.

Jesus describes the character of true faith in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-11).  The word “Blessed” means happy, fortunate, and blissful. It is a description of the well-being that is divinely bestowed only on the faithful.

• Faith connects us with divinity,

• Clothes us with God’s power,

• Ensures every attribute of God in our defense,

• Enables us to defy the host of Hell,

• Makes us victorious over God’s enemies.

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To the weary, feeble, faint, and fearful who struggle with life that is stormy, harsh, and disorderly, God promises strength and power for our journey (Isa. 40:29-31).

God declares that even though we are:

• Tested in the furnace of affliction,

• Chastened, rebuked, scourged, and refined, that we may be trained to become participants of his righteousness and his peace by bearing his reproach, and

• Destined to walk through the shadows of death, His promises will remain. “I will never leave you!” (Heb. 13:5). “to those who have faith in me, all things are possible!” (Mk. 9:23).  “Those who believe in me will never be cast out.  When they die, I will raise them up from the grave to everlasting life and they shall live with me for all eternity” (Jh. 6:35-40 my paraphrase”.

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Therefore, we have the Lord God Almighty as our Shepherd who:

• Supplies for all of our needs ----nothing left out,

• Provides grace and guidance to walk in his way,  

• Blesses and protects with his presence,

• Banishes fear and evil,

• Secures our comfort with the power of His might,

• Makes our cup of joy overflow,

• Provides a feast at His table,

• Guarantees that his goodness and mercy will follow us all of our days,

• Makes God’s house our home --- forever! (Ps. 23).

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Our reaction to life’s challenges, difficulties, perplexities, and the unimaginable mysteries must be met with complete dependence upon God.  He is all powerful.  He knows what we are facing.  He will always be the God of all comfort. In kindness and goodness, He shares our hurts and tribulations.

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We must never forget that Jesus in Heaven is praying for us, and on earth the Holy Spirit is our Comforter who leads us into all truth and never leaves us.  He is our Guide, Helper, and Counselor.  He is the source of our life in Christ.  To not trust God is not only a serious sin; it is disastrous!

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Therefore, we must focus on Jesus.  Walk in His light. Cling to His tender love.  Life faithfully for His glory.  Remember that our name is in His Book of Life. Never forget that the world is not our home.  Let hope ignite our love for His Word, His witness, His work, His return, and His Home.

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When these holy exhortations are taken seriously, then God will enable us to feast on and exercise our faith and claim His promises of unending grace.  He will give us His grace to live courageously, lovingly, and faithfully in order that His name be glorified as we live out His purpose for our lives on earth.  We then can give thanks to God who has won the victory over Hell, over all weeping and sorrow, and death itself.  And, because of Christ’s victory, we are commanded to take up our Cross and follow Him and “to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

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Who is the Worst Villain of Death – God or Man?

 

         The atheists, skeptics, and the evolutionists who compose as many as 90% of academics in some countries, ask the questions: “If the Christian’s God really exists, why does He allow so much human suffering and death?  Why is He so unjust to permit the geophysical forces of nature to be catastrophes (earthquakes, storms, floods, plagues, viruses, etc.) that claim an untold number of lives?”

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         In their own response, they insist that the Christian’s God is dispassionate, blood-thirsty, and the greatest villain in all of earth’s history.

 

         The Christian’s response must be one that contends earnestly and truthfully for the faith given to God’s people by the revealed salvation truth in the Scriptures.  This battle must be founded on the authority of God’s Word as to His plans and purposes for mankind, and on the nature and character of God Himself.

 

         The questions raised by the atheists, skeptics, and evolutionists can be refuted by discovering: “Who or What is the cause of most unnatural deaths?”

 

         The Christian’s response begins with the fact that God gave the dominion over the earth to mankind.  He gave man the freedom of choice to love Him and be obedient to Him.  Man chose his own way and not his Creator’s way.  Satan stepped in and became the Prince and Ruler of a fallen, evil, and rebellious world.  The fallen world became so wicked that God sent the Great Flood of Noah’s day to cleanse the earth and start over.  The flood changed landscapes, climates, weather patterns, the decline in health, problems to earn a living, and increased sufferings.  There was even a reset or longevity collapse.  Up to the Flood, the average span of life was 930 years.  In the post-Flood era, Abraham lived only to the age of 175 years – 20% of the pre-Flood longevity average.

 

         The results of the changes brought about by the Flood were the punishment of God that man brought upon himself in his rebellion against his Creator from the time of Garden of Eden.  Jesus said “in the world you shall have tribulation (Jh. 16:33).  God’s goal for man is to be conformed to the image of His Son.  This process requires much refining to purify us of our corruption to make us perfect like our Father in Heaven (Matt. 5:4-8).  Satan, the Ruler of this fallen world, is unwilling to lose his subjects. He is after man as a roaring lion walking up and down this earth seeking for opportunities to overcome man with temptations and persecutions to discourage man from knowing and serving the living God (1 Pet. 5:8).  We must never forget that we are strangers and sojourners in the enemy’s country, and that to be a friend of this world is to be the enemy of God (James 4:4).  Yet, if we had no devil to tempt us, we still have enough evil within us to painfully torment us.  The Bible says that man’s “heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). With this in mind, we can expect troubling days!

 

         Let us take a closer look at the history of mankind and disclose some of the devastation caused by the fury of nature.  When we roll back the curtain of natural disasters that affect millions of people every year, we are horrified, dismayed, and sadly astonished.  Our hearts go out to those afflicted.  The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has reported that there were as many as 7,250 disasters in the world between 1998 and 2017, killing over 1.3 million people.  Floods and storms are credited for the highest number of disasters, while earthquakes caused the largest number of deaths – close to 750,000.  Even in the year 2023, an earthquake in Turkey and Syria claimed the lives of some 50,000 people.  Tornadoes by the dozens throughout the year in the USA wipe out large parts of cities and kill many people.

 

         When we examine man’s record of killing, the tragedy of death is shocking.  Man-made wars present a staggering number of fatalities.  WWI took some 50 million lives.  WWII claimed another 20 million.  Some estimates of politically motivated deaths in the 20th century account for 167 to 175 million deaths.  That is a mortality rate of more than 50 times that of earthquakes and volcanoes combined.

 

         Just a few dictators during WWII (1939-1945) like Benito Mussolini of Italy, Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin of Russia, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito, and Adolf Hitler of Germany murdered millions of their enemies and their own citizens.  Hitler is responsible for murdering 6 million Jews in order to make Europe Jew-free.  And Hitler is charged with murdering some 3 million Russian soldiers who were his prisoners to eliminate communism.  Besides the terrible number of people known to have died in WWII, there were another 30 million displaced persons who vanished and never were to be located.

 

         History reveals that man and not God is by far the biggest killer on planet earth.  These facts are devastating to the atheists and their god of evolutionary forces.  History declares that the doctrine of evolution as an unfolding process or development through which mankind becomes more excellent in character and conduct is an unfounded claim.  Mankind in general is not in a progressive mode of moral conduct, but rather a regressive one.  Our everyday experiences reveal an evolution in reverse and not in progress.  Man continues to be the biggest killer of all times.  We still have the Vladimir Putins of Russia and the Ayatollah Khomeinis of Iran whose hands are red with the blood of children, men, and women.  These evil men have their ballistic missiles by the thousands aimed at Israel with the words “Death to Israel” written in Hebrew on the missiles.  Can we say that evolutionary progress is being made by the revolutionary forces of the leaders of China, North Korea, and the Muslim jihadist of the world who declare that they will one day enslave the earth to their way of life?  What about America, the country who claims to be the greatest place in all the world?  America holds the world’s record for killing innocent babies.  Over 60 million babies have been murdered “legally” and then applauded and celebrated by people who have no fear of God and call evil good.  Even after the Supreme Court struck down the legal right to abortion on the National level and returned the issue to the decision of each State, almost 60% of Americans favor the murdering of babies.

 

         Death comes as people take their own lives. Suicide is tragic and affects thousands of families.  The World Health Organization and the Global Burden of Disease estimate that almost 800,000 people die from suicide every year.

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What about homicides?

 

         The United Nations Office on Drugs on Crime reported some 50 million murders between 1900 and 2014.  This is a mortality rate of over 20 times that attributed to earthquake activity. 

 

         Again, whether by abortion, suicide, or homicide, the human being is the biggest voluntary killer on earth – not God!

 

         The solution to the crisis of death is not evolution but regeneration.  The Bible is God’s love letter to dying men.  It teaches man to have a reverential awe and total submission to his Creator as the way to truth, wisdom, and life.  To “fear God” means to have the state of mind where our own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God’s will for our life.

 

         From cover to cover, the Bible says to all men, “Repent or Perish!”

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