Category Archives: heaven

How To Enter Heaven

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The first and most basic thing to nail down in order to prepare ourselves for heaven is to know how and to be assured that we will get there. If we know all about heaven—if we have studied the subject thoroughly from the Scriptures—and we fail to be assured of our entrance, then all our effort in study will be in vain. But the good news is, we can know for sure that we are going to heaven; the bible tells us how we can get there.

We Enter Heaven By Faith And The Gospel

I would like to start this section from Revelation 21:3-4, because it gives us a clear picture of what heaven will be like. Then we will travel backwards in time to the cross and show what Jesus did for us on the cross to accomplish heaven. So, in Revelation 21:3 and 4, John wrote,

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them,and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

So, here we see the presence of God in heaven and what He will do for us. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. And He will abolish death. And He will eliminate any mourning, or crying, or pain.

And He does that for us based on His own suffering and death on the cross. He suffered and died for our sins. Let’s look at Isaiah 53:3-6.

He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

From this passage, we could say that Jesus was a “substitute recipient of God’s wrath on sinners.”1 And by His scourging we are healed. Everything, every blessing we see in Revelation 21:4 will come to us as our healing of sin that He worked out for us. Our having no pain, no mourning, and no crying is our healing from His cross. It is our new body which He has made for us through the cross.

Yet we must receive it by faith. We must acknowledge what He did for us on the cross. Then we must respond to it; first, seeing our sin and separation from God (Rom. 3:23; 6:23); then to see that we need His remedy for our sin—that if we believe in Him (Jn. 6:40) and ask Him, He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us of sin (1 Jn. 1:7), making us His children (Jn. 1:12). And if anyone chooses to believe in Him, He gives us a new heart and a new life. His old life is passed away and a new life is come (2 Cor. 5:17).

Now let us return to Revelation 21, and we will start reading from verse six to verse seven.

Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

From these verses we find two key words: “thirst” and “overcomes.” Jesus says to us, first of all, that He will give the water of life to the one who thirsts. Jesus here is bringing us back to the time when He provided for us a living example on this very subject from John 4:7-14. In this story He said to a Samaritan woman who had come to a well to draw water, “Everyone who drinks from this water [from this well] will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

So here in Revelation 21:6, Jesus is saying to those in heaven, if you thirst, that is, if you desire anything from Me, I will give you living water—water of life from Me—without cost. That is our heavenly blessing.

Then in verse seven, Jesus gives us the condition for this heavenly blessing. We must be overcomers. And John clearly tells us in 1 John 5:4 what this means. He writes, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” Hence, we who are Christians are overcomers, and so we will inherit the blessings of heaven. We will drink from the water of life freely whenever we thirst.

1 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2006), John MacArthur’s notes of Isaiah 53:5.

Plans To Build The Third Temple

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My last blog, if you have been following along, was about the war of Gog and Magog. And I am suggesting here that after that war Israel will be starting to make plans to build the third temple—with the Antichrist wanting to take a leadership roll in it. But none of us really know for sure all the details of what will happen or the order of the events. But anyway, here is my post…

 As the people of Israel (after the Ezekiel war) are busy burying the dead bodies and are in the process of burning the weapons, they will have a chance to think about what comes next. Of course, we know now how we think about the Antichrist—he is evil! But the Jews and the world at that time don’t know him. They think he is wonderful and a man of peace. Since he and the EU were not involved in the war, and were in fact against it, they probably will see him as a peacemaker and a good man. They will also see him as a religious person—maybe even a Christian—since he will be taking steps to be unified with the new global religion. More importantly, he will at this time be cultivating a friendship with Israel, and very soon will announce his seven-year peace plan and the building of the third temple—and I’m sure the rumors are spreading.

As for the temple, what do you think Israel and the world are thinking about it? Are they in favor of it?

Let’s take the Jews first. There is quite a mixed bag of Jewish beliefs. Mainstream Orthodox Jews, which is by far the largest group, want the temple, but they believe it can only be built by the coming Messiah. Another group called Ultra-orthodox Judaism, a much smaller group, believe they already have a command of God (Ex. 25:8) to build the temple. And there are already several organizations that are in the process of carrying out this order. Then there are a few more liberal denominations that see no need for the temple—and especially for animal sacrifices.

True Christians, of course, see no need for a temple, since every Christian believes that he is a temple and God dwells in him (1 Cor. 3;16). Even so, we see the building of a temple as prophetical; and so, it is a sign that His coming is near.

The Antichrist may not know all of what his future is, but I’m sure Satan will fill him in as to what his role is; and so, he will have somewhat of a plan to sign a peace agreement and also to take charge of building the temple for the Jews. He may even know what he will do half-way through the seven-year peace plan.

There is so much more we could say about the progress made for the building of the temple and about all the obstacles they are encountering; but we will put that off for another time.

However, I’m thinking that if mainstream Orthodox Judaism comes to believe that this great man of peace is their Messiah, everything may very quickly fall into place.

The Rise of the Antichrist

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We have been looking at seven events that may happen between the Rapture and the Tribulation. The first two were the setting up of a global government and a global religion.  Here is the third event: the rise of the Antichrist. Of course, all this is just my opinion—what I think is logical.

The Antichrist is somewhat of a mystery man. At this present time nobody really knows who he is. And even during the time between the Rapture and the Tribulation, I don’t think people will know this man as the Antichrist, only that he is a great and popular leader. It won’t be revealed who he is until the midpoint of the Tribulation when Satan enters into him and God removes his restraints to do evil (2 Thess 2:6-7).

I suppose a general description of him from his earlier life is that he will grow up loving the military and war. And then, out of his great popularity and giftedness he will also be elected to a high government position in the EU—and eventually will become a world leader (Dan. 11:37-38). But, through it all, I believe he will be controlled by demons. Everything he does will be Satan inspired.

 Now, as for his world influence and how he rises to power, ten leaders of the EU will rise up first, and then he will rise up after them and among them (Dan 7:24). And he will very soon gain popularity and power over them all. And I think it will be due mainly to his great emphasis on world peace.

Also, we see in Scripture that he will work closely with the harlot (the new global religion). At first she will have control over him; she will use him to help her build the false religion. Later he will control her, using her to help him control the people so that they will serve him and do His will. In fact, she will help him to get rid of the Christians—to kill them (Rev. 17:6).

Now, at the middle of the Tribulation to the end, when God removes his restraints to do evil, a number of terrible things will happen.

  • Satan’s power is unleashed through him so that he becomes known as the lawless on (2 Thess. 2:6-8).
  • He breaks the covenant of peace with Israel (Rev. 9:27).
  • He exalts himself in the temple as God (2 Thess. 2:4).
  • A fatal wound of his is healed and the world is amazed, but is deceived (Rev. 13:3-4).
  • He and the ten kings destroy the harlot (Rev. 17:16-17).
  • He is aided by the false prophet to do evil works (Rev. 13:11-18).
  • He wages war on the world—but in the end he dies in battle (Dan. 11:40-45; Rev. 13:7).4

4 Ibid., pp. 103-125.

After the Rapture Events

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After the immediate effects of the Rapture such as fear, panic, grief over losses, dealing with rioting and looting, and with economic collapses, and with all kinds of false teaching and false theories; there will also be major ongoing changes on the earth and in heaven. Here are seven of those changes.

1. Efforts to set up a new global government. Key leaders will no doubt gather together from all over the world to discuss and make decisions on a global currency, the form of government, and the controls of government. The new world government will likely be a revived Roman empire headed by the European Union (EU). Here are a few reason why:

  • The EU has a power structure required to unite and control the world.
  • The EU is already working to control its people.
  • The EU’s stated goal is to unite the world in peace.
  • The EU has a plan for Israel that is fitting with bible prophecy (Dan. 9:27).
  • The EU has conflicts of authority that match with what we see in Daniel 2:41-43.
  • The EU is moving closer to a ten-nation federation as is required by bible prophecy.2

2. Efforts to set up a new global religion. There really won’t be too much effort needed to set up a new global religion, because man’s heart will already be bent toward evil. In fact, the roots of an evil system of religion—which will be called the harlot—have gone back as far as ancient Babylon. Since then, it has corrupted the church (the Catholic church); and soon, shortly after the Rapture, it will draw all of its power from Satan and the Antichrist. And just like her title of harlot suggests, she will be attractive, alluring, and deceptive—especially to the younger generation. She will supposedly prop herself up as Christian, but secretly she will hate true believers and rebel against God. This soon will become evident when she set out to kill all true Christians.

As far as when this false religious system is officially set up, this will depend on a few things.

  • The harlot system will officially begin when global religious unity is established between all world religions.
  • It will begin when the spirit world of demons are at their peak of evil influence.
  • It will begin probably when the Ezekiel war (Ezek. 38 and 39) is finished; the killing of most Muslims in the war will be an advantage to the harlot system—since they insist on the worship of only one god.
  • It will begin when the harlot and the Antichrist think they can work together peacefully (but at the end the beast will destroy her, Rev. 17:16).3

The next five events will be on upcoming blogs.

2 Stephen Nielsen, After the Rapture: What happens On Earth and In Heaven After the Rapture (published by Stephen Nielsen, http://www.stephennielsen.com, 2024), pp. 67-73.

3 Ibid., pp. 75-102.

The Rapture of the Church

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The Rapture of the church is the next great event for the Christian. Nothing needs to happen before this event, and nothing will happen before this event. Many think that the Tribulation could occur next, and some even think that we are in the Tribulation. But Scripture makes clear that before the Tribulation starts the Rapture will occur.

And for those who aren’t convinced that there even is a rapture, here are two points of evidence from the Scripture that proves it.

The Rapture of the church proved by Daniel 9:24-27.

Daniel 9:24-27

“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.  25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

If you read this passage carefully you will see that there are a great many details to consider. And I have been careful to highlight these details in my book, Biblical Evidence of a Pretribulation Rapture—which I recommend to you.1  But in our study here we will narrow it down quite a bit. The idea that I want you to see here is that God has decreed (or determined) for His people (Israel) a period of time, with suffering, to bring them as a nation to repentance and salvation. We see this in verse twenty-four. The period is seventy weeks, which means seventy weeks of years or 490 years. These weeks are broken down in this passage into three parts: seven weeks (or forty-nine years), sixty-two weeks (or 434 years), and one week (the last seven years). The first forty-nine years is from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (in 445 B.C.) to the closing of the Old Testament. The next 434 years is during the intertestamental period and to the first advent of Messiah, which was fulfilled at His triumphal entry in A. D. 30. The third and last seven years is during the seven-year Tribulation; that period is the period that “the people of the prince (or the antichrist) will promise to the Jews as a time of peace (v. 27).

Now you may notice that from the end of the sixty-two-week period to the beginning of the last week, there is a huge gap of time. This is where the church has fit in. This gap so far has been about 2024 years long. And please understand that the last week (which will be the Tribulation period) cannot begin until the church age is completed. So, you see what I am getting at. When God sees that it is time to end the church age and to continue again the program for Israel, He will rapture the church to heaven. But that last seven years of Tribulation doesn’t have to begin immediately—and I don’t think it will. It will not begin until the antichrist signs a covenant of peace with the Jews for seven years (v. 27).

The Rapture of the church proved by New Testament verses. There are several New Testament verses that designate the Rapture of the church. In my study I counted thirty-one such references. Here are three that are most well-known.

John 14:1-3

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  2 “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.  3 “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.

In this passage verse three is the key rapture verse. When Jesus comes again to receive us to Himself, this is the Rapture. And when He takes us up to heaven He will give us our own dwelling place that He has been preparing for us.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

In this passage the rapture itself (our being taken up to heaven) is not mentioned, but it is implied. It will happen just as, or immediately after we are “changed” (when our bodies are transformed); and it will happen when we are yet alive. Some people suggest that though our transformation will happen instantly— “in the twinkling of an eye,” we may go up slowly so that people will see us go up; perhaps just as Jesus was seen by His disciples when He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). I don’t know if I believe that, but it is a fascinating thought.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

This passage really shows quite vividly what will happen at the rapture. Our transformation is not mentioned, but it is implied. First the dead will be transformed and taken up; then we who are alive will be transformed and taken up; and we will be “caught up together with them [with those dead who went up first] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…”

You know, the more I read this passage the more I think this event will not at all be secret or unseen. People may see us go up, and they may also hear a shout and a trumpet sound. I wonder.

1 Stephen Nielsen, Biblical Evidence of a Pretribulation Rapture (published by Stephen Nielsen, http://www.stephennielsen.com, 2024), pp. 17-58.

Progressing Toward Heaven: the Church Age

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In the second chapter of my book on heaven I write on the timeline of events, ten events, progressing toward heaven. The church age is the first event—or the first period of time, from where we are now.

The Church Age

The church age, from Pentecost until now (for over 2,000 years) has been built on a firm foundation of faithful Old Testament believers—like Abraham, whom God chose to bless and to make of him a great nation. And it was Abraham who was looking for the city of God (Heb. 10:14); amazing isn’t it, that way back then he was looking for the city that we still have in view. And there are so many others that were also strong in faith, like Joseph who against all odds believed in God to preserve many people alive—the Jewish nation (Gen. 5:20). And then, of course, there was Moses who refused to enjoy the pleasures of Egypt in order to follow a greater calling—to lead God’s people out of Egypt. And we could not forget Joshua and Caleb who when they spied out the land of Canaan and saw that there were giants living there, they alone believed in God that he would go with them and deliver them. And there were so many others who were great in faith; but king David stands out as one of the greatest who had a heart for God all his life. And besides David there was Samuel, Elijah and Elisha, and so many other great prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel.

In the New Testament era, the beginning of the church age, there were those who Jesus discipled—the twelve apostles, plus Paul. They, according to God’s design were the ones who were the pillars of the church. And we see in the book of Acts how after Pentecost, many were added to the church. And though there was great persecution (and martyrs) in those early days, the church grew and grew.

In more recent years, from the 1500’s and on into the 1900’s, mainly in Europe and America, holy men who were called puritans and great preachers began to be used by God. The first of these were men like Martin Luther and William Tyndale who had the calling of God to reform the church (as it had been corrupted by Babylonialism and the Catholic church), and to translate the bible into the language of the people. These great warriors were those who were brutally persecuted and even burned alive for their faith—thousands of them.

Following them, from the 1700’s on, were the great ones like John Wesley, Charles Finney, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, J. B. Lightfoot, Hudson Taylor, Charles H. Spurgeon, Dwight L. Moody, F. B. Meyer, and R. A. Torrey. They were the great preachers and writers who sparked revivals. They were the movers of the Holy Spirit that kept the church alive.

Today, because of those who have gone before them, we have a great many churches in the world, especially in England and in America.  In most cities there is a church on just about every corner. However, most churches have lost their holy zeal that once existed; and with so many denominations, it is hard to find a church that is bible-believing and God-loving.

And even though the church age by definition is a time for believers (the bride of Christ) to excel in faith, we live in an age of evil and war and lawlessness. Hence we find ourselves surrounded on every side with those who are against us. Here, in ten points, is what this age of the church is facing today.

1. False prophets misleading many (1 Tim. 4:1; Matt. 24:11).This may be the most evident indication of the last days.

2. A great proliferation of evil (2 Tim. 3:1-5, 13). This will be the greatest during the tribulation, but we are beginning to see it now, and the result is a great deception and a loss of the truth.

3. Wars breaking out all over the world (Matt. 24:6). The more people are infected with evil the more they will choose war and crime.

4. Famine (Matt. 24:7; Rev. 6:5-6). Severe hunger and starvation due to drought and war is growing worse and worse every day and is a constant sign that His coming is near.

5. Earthquakes (Matt. 24:7; Lu. 21:11). Some of us do not experience earthquakes (like where I live in Minnesota). However, according to geological reports, this world on the whole, has seen both an increase in the frequency and the intensity of earthquakes in the last few decades, which is a definite sign of His soon coming.

6. Lawlessness (Matt. 24:12). This is a term that describes the Antichrist—the “man of lawlessness.” We can expect this behavior more and more in these last days.

7. False religious unity (Rev. 17). After the Rapture and into the Tribulation there will be an effort to set up a new global religion; but it will be a false religion. Even now in this church there is efforts by false teachers to push ahead this false religion and to create a false religious unity.

8. Efforts to create a global government (Dan. 7; Rev. 13 and 17). For the last few decades all the world’s technology, such as the internet, email, social networking, and central banking has been geared toward globalization. It will be here sooner than we think.

9. The persecution of believers (Matt. 10:22; 24:9; 2 Tim. 3:12; Rev. 6:9-11). This has always been an issue in the world; but it is definitely intensifying as we draw near to the antichrist system.

10. An alignment of nations against Israel (Isa. 17:1; Ezek. 38 and 39). Oh, we definitely see this happening as we hear the news! It is shocking!

Proud People Will not Be Allowed In Heaven

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I can’t believe that the media are pushing the Pride events so hard. And they seem so happy about it—that we are giving all the queer people a happy place to go, and be who they are. They announced that this whole month (in Minnesota I guess) is dedicated to Pride people (homosexuals) and that there are over 600 places for them to go. (But in the end they won’t be allowed in Heaven). I wish the church would say something—because the entire movement of pride is evil! And we ought to give them the message of truth—that God hates what they are doing, and He sees it as wicked and a rebellion against Him. (Have you noticed lately how the Pride rainbow colors are displayed everywhere?)

In the ancient world God destroyed all people except Noah because of their wickedness. Then again in Abraham’s day He destroyed two entire cities, all but Lot and his children for their wickedness. They were Pride people too!  God was grieved because of them (Gen 18:20). And I hope we as Christians are grieved too.

This sin it seems is not going away. It is multiplying! (their colors are everywhere.) Just as the whole world was infected in Genesis 6, and just as two entire cities were infected, don’t you know that the same thing is happening now. Soon Jesus will come and remove all His people (the Rapture) and He will bring seven years of His wrath on the world. Then one-thousand years later, even when Satan and the demons are locked up, the world again (at least much of the world) will be rebellious against God. This time the entire world and all this universe will be destroyed by fire. Read it in 2 Peter 3:10-12. It is also mentioned in Revelation 20:11, “The earth and heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.” It sounds like God just makes the earth and the heavens disappear. In 2 Peter it reads more like a great explosion by great heat where the elements (the atoms) melt away. Finally, all evil will be gone! And God will make all things new— “A new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1). I don’t see any idea of a renovation—as most people teach.

This is the message that we ought to be preaching to the world. That all their rebellious pride will not last. It will soon be gone—destroyed. And if they want to see and be a part of the beautiful new earth they must leave behind their sin and rebellion against God, because nothing of the way they are, nothing impure will be allowed to enter heaven (Rev. 21:8, 27).