How Can I Know I’m Going To Heaven When I Die? | Part 2

Job asked life’s most important question, “If a man dies, will he live again?” And, of course, if the answer is yes, where will he live for eternity? Last time, we began looking at the answers to his question by examining the following: 

1. The Evidence for Life After Death

While no one can “prove” there is existence from the grave, there are four powerful clues that point to the reality of life beyond the grave. 

• Near Death Experiences
• Transcendence of the Mind
• Discomfort with Humanity 
• The Empty Tomb

2. The Biblical Teaching About Life After Death

• The Inevitability of Death and Possibility of Heaven and Hell

The Bible teaches we all die, but then we exist in one of two locations for eternity. One fate, two destinies.

•  The Reality of Hell 

1. Hell is an actual location.
2. Hell is a place of indescribable and eternal torment.
3. Hell will contain the majority of humanity.
4. Hell is a forever destination.

• The Possibility of Heaven

Jesus, along with the writers of the New Testament, often talked about a place we commonly refer to as “heaven.” Admittedly, the details of heaven are incomplete-probably for good reason. If we actually knew what awaited us in heaven, Christians might engage in mass suicides to reach our eternal destination more quickly. At the very least, a full understanding of our existence after death might make it difficult to concentrate on every real responsibility God has given us here on earth, much like a child trying to eat his meat and vegetables at dinner while looking at an ice cream sundae that has been set before him. However, the New Testament provides us with a small enough taste of heaven to whet our appetites for this future possibility.

The Bible Reveals Five Important Realities About Heaven

• Heaven is an actual location. (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11)

Any attempt to relegate either hell or heaven to a state of mind rather than an actual location is contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ and the revelation of the New Testament. If you have ever attended a Christian funeral, you have probably heard the minister quote one of the most familiar promises from Jesus about the certainty of heaven.

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me [Jesus]. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Jesus uses the word “place” or “places” three times in these three verses to describe heaven. The word translated as “place” is the Greek word “topos,” which was often used to describe a geographical destination. Furthermore, Jesus described this “place” as containing many “dwelling places” where His followers would live, denoting an actual location rather than a state of mind.

• Heaven is both an immediate and an ultimate destination. (Luke 16:22; Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; John 14:2; Revelation 21:1-2)

The English word “hell” is used to describe both the immediate destination of unbelievers, “Hades,” and the ultimate place of eternal torment (“gehenna” or the “lake of fire”). Similarly, “heaven” is a generic term that is used to describe both the immediate and ultimate destination of Christians who die.

Admittedly, the Bible does not reveal a great deal about this temporary destination for believers when they die other than it is an immediate destination, is much more desirable than Hades, and is the same location where Jesus Christ is. 

However, when people use the term “heaven,” they most often think of the eternal destination of believers. Unlike “Abraham’s bosom” or “Paradise,” which Christians go to immediately when they die, heaven is a future location that is still under construction. Jesus told His disciples that He was going back to heaven to prepare a place for them.

• Heaven will be primarily a re-created earth. (Psalm 37:9 (KJV); Matthew 5:5 (KJV) ; 2 Peter 3:13; Romans 8:21; 2 Peter 3:10-11; Revelation 21:16; Revelation 21:3)

One of the greatest misconceptions about heaven is that it is located in some distant galaxy “far, far away” or in some invisible fourth dimension, which will be inhabited by the disembodied spirits of Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible teaches that the ultimate dwelling place for Christians will be a re-created earth, not an ethereal and undefined location in outer space.

Remember that God’s original plan was for man to dwell in and rule over the earth God had created specifically for him. Sin corrupts both man and the physical world in which he lives. But, God had no intention of forfeiting the human race or the physical world to Satan. Instead, God sent Christ to redeem not only from sin but the created world as well. 

God is just as intent on reclaiming sinful earth as He is in rescuing sinful mankind from Satan’s clutches. However, because both the earth and mankind have been infected with sin, God’s reclamation of each requires a re-creation. The moment someone trusts in Christ for salvation, the process of recreation begins with that person’s spirit and continues until he ultimately receives a new physical body. 

Similarly, the present heaven—referring to the earth’s atmosphere and what we term “outer space,” but not including the realm in which God exists—and the present earth will be destroyed, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth.

This new earth will be the center of God’s re-created universe, and the focal point of this new earth will be an actual city called the “new Jerusalem.” 

• Heaven is a continuum of our earthly existence.

Another common misconception about the eternal state—whether it be hell or heaven—is that there is no connection between our present life on earth and our eternity. However, the Bible describes our lives as a continuum that begins here on earth and extends beyond the grave.

1. Continuity between the present earth and the new earth. (Revelation 22:1-3a)
2. Continuity between our earthly bodies and our eternal bodies. (Colossians 1:18)
3. Continuity between our present choices and our future existence. (John 11:25-26; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 20:15; Luke 16:25)

• Heaven is reserved for those who trust in Christ. (John 5:24; John 6:40; John 11:25-26; John 3:16; Isaiah 64:6a, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9)

If you believe that there is strong evidence both inside and outside the Bible for life after death, and if you conclude that Jesus’ teachings both about heaven and hell offer the most reliable information about the possible destinations that await us when we die, it only makes sense that you would also embrace Jesus teachings about the way you can be assured of going to heaven when you die.