You’ve probably heard the story of the little boy who nearly died, saw heaven, and came back to tell about it. For some people, this kind of “heavenly tourism” is what makes them think that heaven must really be real! But these people’s experiences, while exciting and possibly genuine, can be misguided and deceived. We can look to the infallible, reliable Word of God to see that heaven is for real! It’s important to use the Bible as the basis for our beliefs about heaven, hell, and eternity.
This weekend at Family Church we’re going to look at Luke 16, where Jesus teaches us about the eternal fate of two different men. One man is very rich and the other is very poor. When the poor man dies, angels carry him to Abraham’s side in heaven. When the rich man dies, he goes to a place called Hades that is separated from Abraham and the angels by a great chasm. The rich man begs for mercy, but in death, fate is final. Jesus is telling us that everybody lives forever somewhere, whether it’s in Hades or in Paradise – and that once you die there’s no going back.
Jesus was teaching us the reality of heaven and hell. They’re not just made up ideas! Jesus isn’t the only one who knew heaven is for real – other believers including Jesus’ disciples, Old Testament saints like Job, David and Abraham, and countless others over the course of the last 2,000 years knew as well. Our belief in the reality of heaven isn’t someone’s story of a near-death experience. It’s the testimony by reliable apostles, saints, and believers of what happens to people who have really died and met their eternal destiny.
For the next six weeks, we’re going to be diving into the Supernatural considering some pretty deep theology about heaven, hell, angels, demons and the spiritual realm. Don’t let that scare you. This is an exciting opportunity for us to be assured of our eternal destiny.