Heaven is a place of bliss. It is God’s abode, where He reigns supreme; therefore a place of order. Its doors are open to all true and obedient believers of the Sovereign God, Jehovah. When we are translated from earth we shall be either in one of two permanent abodes: heaven or hell. Our place of choice will depend on how we live this life. Only those with permits to eternal life will live the God-kind of life which is eternal. What makes us eligible is that our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27)
We do not gain access to heaven because we know Jesus or have heard about Him, but whether we love Him, have accepted Him as our Saviour and have carried out His commands.
God’s desire is that all would join Him in heaven but unfortunately we shall not all qualify. There is an alternative place of abode with permanent status called ‘hell’ where the wicked, the doubters and all those who have rejected Christ will sojourn.
Heaven on earth
This is what the devil would want you to believe with his lies. Heaven cannot be on earth. If the devil is proposing that to you and you have fallen for it, be sure you are going to get a fake copy, a counterfeit - meant to deceive. Earth and heaven are incomparable; heaven is matchless--a class all by its own. Be careful then who you are listening to. We are barely transiting this earth for our final destination in heaven. So lift your head up high and look to Jesus.
Having your heaven on earth means having it in a chaotic environment ridden with trials and temptations even tribulations. Heaven is trouble-free because the evil one has been denied access.
The wisest thing anyone can do will be to store up treasures in heaven, for all that we own here will be destroyed with the passing away of the earth. ‘Heaven now’ is the lie of the devil to deprive you of all what God has reserved for you in heaven. So we must do all it takes to have our names written in the book of life. We soon will have to turn our backs on all the possessions piled up on this earth-- even the money we strove so hard for. The fact is that everything in this world is temporary and fleeting in nature. Besides, the life we live is not our own.
Here’s what the Lord instructs: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
However much we accumulate, as we grow older and weaker our appetite for ‘stuff’ begins to wane. Our desire to hold out much longer will fail. In less than a hundred years that we have to live on this planet, it will be foolhardy to want to make it our permanent abode. Time is too short to realise all our dreams and our physical bodies will plainly not be able to cope. On the other hand, heaven is eternal; time has no place in eternity. It is best to invest our resources where we would spend the rest of our time rather than to waste them uselessly in a temporary setting.
Our Lord Jesus once recounted the parable of a rich man who died and found himself in hell. Whilst on earth, he had been uncompassionate to a beggar called Lazarus who “longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.” The beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and went to hell where it felt extremely uncomfortable because of the intense heat. From a distance he could make out Abraham and Lazarus. So he pleaded to Abraham “... have pity on me and have Lazarus dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.” (Luke 16:24)
Father Abraham replied: “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things whilst Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor cross over from there to us.” (Luke 16:25-26) When he heard this he begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers “so that they will not come to this land of torment.” Abraham reacted bluntly: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.” (verse 29)
We have a choice to make to delay gratification now and prepare for heaven or go head-long into hell, Satan’s abode. Jesus makes all the difference!