Can Heaven Really Be Real?
How many times have we longed for a place where there is serenity and tranquility? While we may take trips to isolated areas of forest and wilderness to search for such things, they are temporal at best. We eventually have to succumb to the realization that the vacation will end. We have to return to our “normal” lives. Even if we were to move to such areas, our physical lives, and this planet, are not going to last forever (James 4:14; 2 Pet. 3:7-12).
With such truths, it might be that some decide to stop looking for such a place. Individuals may allow themselves to be believe that such a place could never be real. Let me encourage all of us to continue the search!
There is a place where serenity and tranquility exist, and will never end! It is called Heaven. Yes, that is right, Heaven is a legitimate place. It is not a realm of fiction/fantasy that was formed in the minds of men. If that were not true, then there are some serious and discouraging consequences. Let us consider a few of them.
If Heaven does not exist, then apparently there is no God! That is a strong statement! How can I make such a claim? Solomon wrote, “Be not rash with they mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Eccl. 5:2). Heaven is indicated as the realm where God is. If Heaven is not real, then would God, who is supposed to be there, be real?
Also, if Heaven does not exist, then this physical life is meaningless and empty for a Christian. Paul, by inspiration claimed, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor. 15:19). This statement is included in a segment of Scripture where Paul was instructing the brethren in Corinth about the resurrection of the dead. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then why live the Christian life at all. What would be the meaning? Paul’s point is that since Jesus was resurrected, then Christians can be assured of a resurrection as well. Now consider this. It is known that Jesus ascended to Heaven forty days after His resurrection (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:3,9-11). He ascended where? Heaven! Resurrection led to ascension to Heaven. What does that mean for a faithful child of God? Once his physical life is over, he still has something awaiting him. Heaven! A very real place that gives hope and incentive for those who make the decision to live their physical lives as Christians.
If Heaven does not exist, then some very good men were blatant liars. Jesus encouraged His disciples by saying, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3). Where did Jesus go, and where was He claiming that His disciples could be? We know from previous discussion that Jesus went/ascended to Heaven. Therefore, the place of which Jesus spoke is Heaven. Are we willing to call Jesus a liar? If Heaven is not real, then that is exactly what Jesus would be.
Also, if Heaven does not exist, then Paul lied as well. “And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him” (Eph. 6:9). Paul claimed that the Master of Christians, which is Jesus, is in Heaven.
Heaven really is real! If you obey the Gospel, and remain faithful as a child of God, then eventually you will have the privilege of being in a place where tranquility and serenity will never end. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away…And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev. 21:4, 27). Corey Barnette