Humankind makes an assumption thinking most people will be in heaven. As men and women see things in our very enabling world this would make sense. The most fundamental principle from the bible is that God’s ways are higher and that there are things that seem right to man but are foolish. Therefore, what does God say about this question. First, we know God desires none to be lost but also we know God is perfectly just. The net result is that God declares few will be saved.

Matthew 7:13,14

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

How does God know? God knows all things. Since He knows; why do we have to go through this life-test? Well, the reason He knows is because people made choices, including yourself and the results are known. Of course, this is difficult to understand because God created us in a “time world” where there is a past, present and future. God sees all these things just like you and I might see a book with the past, present and future all seen together. In fact, I cannot explain such phenomena very well but God is not in any way limited by time. God however can limit Himself and did so by allowing men to have a free will – did not control man. He also limits Himself in that He cannot lie – all things He says will come to pass. Therefore, in God we have the one and only dependable source of things beyond this life. God is the only source of how to be successful in this life and conversely how to fail. God repeatedly makes this clear and in fact THIS IS THE TEST! Will you believe God or will you believe man? The route to believing God, discovering His truth is not a flash of lightening but a gradual, careful study / life experience that brings you to understand God and His purpose. This is God’s way for mankind, finding the truth and living it. All your reasons for this being a poor way to decide eternity are no more than your personal belief, usually related to pride. God can perfectly handle all your concerns and be perfectly fair but that fairness is relative to HIS purpose.

So back to the question,
Why will so few achieve heaven?

In Matthew 7.13,14 (see verses above) God provides the very basic reasons, namely:
1) because the road to destruction is broad, lots of choices in life and we know it is easy to have a short term view to obtain all we can and fill our lives with self-indulgence – that is, it is all about ME
2) because the road to heaven is narrow – it is narrowed by God compared to your way and in addition God says it is difficult

So, on this basis alone we can envision why there will be just a few.
We are going to do a “deep-dive” into why only a few and we will start with the individual problem of sin. When we get done you may be surprised there will be anyone in heaven. Yet understand, YOU CAN ACHIEVE HEAVEN and all the difficulty is really tied up in your pride, your lack of humility, and your weakness associated with choosing to live for now instead of living for God and eternity. It is not complex to get to heaven but involves Difficult Choices. Even those choices become easy as you grow in the knowledge of God.

Heaven Coach wants to help you to make the right choices and the following may help:
1) There is a test and it is challenging but you can be in the few and we will describe how the few can be many without contradicting God’s knowledge that there will indeed be few.
2) Next, we will expose some global versus individual reasons why there are a few.
3) And finally, how the knowledge of the “global problem” can help our understanding of how things WENT TERRIBLY WRONG and that can substantially help us to increase the few.

God indicates the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of heaven and He mentions some things He hates. How many people fall into these categories?

1 Corinthians 6:9,10

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

God provides a list of things He hates and I would not think such individuals would be acceptable for the kingdom of heaven.

Proverbs 6:16-19

16 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

Below is another list of unacceptable actions from Revelation 21.8 and it includes some additional categories including “all liars.”

Revelation 21:8

8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

God has never accepted false god’s or idols and that is equivalent to accepting false doctrine, false religions. Look at God’s plan and realize it does not include any of the religions of men. Muslims, Mormons, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Hindu’s, Atheists and all the others will not find any acceptability with God and thus not acquire heaven. We understand there are selfish and greedy men/women in the world, for example in the world of finances and politics. We need to be “calibrated” to understand that religious leaders throughout history have been selfish and greedy and delivered deceit at times to their advantage. We now live with doctrine sometimes well constructed to be believable. We also know people make honest mistakes and usually because they did not follow the rules or just were not thorough. This happens routinely and we all experience such carelessness and at times it is very costly. In religion there are also many mistakes made because of carelessness, incompetence and a lack of diligence. So here we are and we believe what people have taught who came before us, maybe good people but maybe not. The point is God oversaw the delivery of His word but that oversight happened in the first century as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit. There is no oversight for the people past the first century and if they teach differently as Paul indicated (Galatians 1.6-9) you will not be getting the truth! Again, you have a choice and God’s plan is working perfectly – you will follow God or you will follow man!

Galatians 1:6-9

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

One might say that these sins, these allegiances can all be forgiven and that is true but how many living those things are going to change, how many will die before they can change? How many are willing to repent of those things and that requires completely giving up that sin and God who grants forgiveness knows if indeed you have repented. After all, we are all sinners and some will seek truth and obey God’s requirements and live faithfully but many, most dig such a deep hole for themselves that they tend to go deeper into sin instead of turning around. Indeed, many will die in their sins and FEW will attain heaven. There are no second chances despite men’s invention of different second chance schemes.

There will also be few because even God’s children, “by obedience to the faith” may also fall and God points this out in:

1 Peter 4:17,18

17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 Now
“ If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

God’s expectations for His children are very high since they have been given the responsibility to bring the Gospel to the world while living in a Godly manner. Some will fail and God’s anger in this regard will be just as costly as those that did not Obey The Gospel.

James 4.4 could not be more specific and dramatic in pointing out the difference between the worldly life and the Godly life.

James 4:4

4 ….. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

It was true then and it is true today. The reason is, there is a world or worldly way of living and it is not aligned with God’s way. Going deeper, the reason relates to God’s purpose which is associated to mankind’s eternal success versus the typical purpose of mankind to achieve gain in this life. Another way God revealed this principle to mankind was to indicate that indeed where you lay up treasures is how you really value the world versus value heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1) Clearly Exposing Deceit – How did all the modern (post 1st century) religions come into being?

The background of how all these religions proliferated is complicated and happened very gradually. Of course, the falling away was predicted and before the end of the first century it began. The prime religions of the world and their origins are discussed in, “What Is Life All About?” This is a good place to start since an in-depth study of any one of these religions could take a lifetime. Fortunately, only a short study of their origins is sufficient to expose them as fraudulent, that is, not related to God. There is only one reasonable religion and it is easy to validate and amazingly the more you study the greater will be your conviction. Considering the eternal effects of religious error, I cannot think of anything more damaging to mankind than the assumed validity of men’s religions. The root cause for the existence of these religions is very much like the root cause of sin. Pride, self-interest, jealously, power, lust, carelessness in handling the word of God are some of the things that are in the background creation of men’s religions.

An example of a new religion – Martin Luther

Martin Luther seeing the corruption of the Catholic Church searched for answers in scripture. Yet, he held on to much of the Catholic doctrine. In his fervor to find a deeper true meaning for life and what God required he stumbled onto some verses and declared salvation was by faith only. Many variations and false doctrines resulted from this conclusion. Eventually, many began to believe in a mere mental acceptance of Jesus as the savior and this became the once and for all time requirement for heaven. Martin Luther was careless and not thorough in coming to the “faith only” conclusion. The concept was liked by men/women and over the centuries millions have embraced the idea. If Martin Luther had studied scripture more closely and kept an open mind after discovering faith was quite different than taught by Catholicism he might have progressed to the truth. It seems he did not realize that Catholicism never had any association with God but was simply the most successful of all those who had fallen away from the truth. He never correctly defined the Process To Heaven. Instead, he and many of his followers/successors developed considerable false doctrines associated with Luther’s prime error. Luther missed many other essential aspects of the doctrine of Christ including a correct understanding of the church. He choose to develop a hybrid version of “his new knowledge and Roman Catholicism.”
As usual there is something at the beginning that is exciting (in this case Faith Only salvation), that people want to tell others about – but is it the truth? The thing to remember about these “inventors of religion, of religious doctrine” is that they are men and women. God in His care for the truth purposely did not leave men the right to create or change what He accurately delivered. Otherwise, we would have what we have today hundreds of different religions and doctrines.
So, the process of exposing deceit as part of getting to the truth and achieving heaven may require you to overturn some heavy stones. The stones may be some well established religions and some men and women who are held very highly within those groups. It might be Martin Luther as above, or Joseph Smith, or Mohammed, or hundreds of others over history. The thing that makes it a new religion is how it varies from what was delivered as doctrine during the first century. In those days, certain men were led by the Holy Spirit into all truth. If there is no variation from the doctrine of Christ as delivered at that time then there is not a new religion – it is just the word of God.
Additional material regarding how post 1st century religions came into existence can be found by reading, “Islam / Mormonism From The Same Pattern.”
Additional material on faith can be found by “clicking” Faith.

2) Your Desire For The Truth

The “modern” world is not godly but growing in agnosticism and atheism. The idea of religion or religious truth is something for which many do not choose to associate. These people believe truth exists in humanism and whatever truth there may be is of man’s discovery. Their position is so rigid that they will not entertain the possibility of God or at most take an agnostic view.
In the parable of the sower only one of the four grounds on which the seed fell survived until the end. As Jesus explains the parable we see that the seed is the word of God. The seed is spread and the soil represents the hearts of men and women. In 3/4 of the hearts the message does not survive until death but is rejected sometimes very quickly and sometimes after a period of time. Of course, this in no way means 1/4 of those who hear the gospel will endure to the end. Maybe the good soil (heart) represents less than 1% of those who hear the truth. There is every reason to believe that there will be but a few but also every reason to believe that any person can achieve heaven. Below is the parable of the sower and God is very consistent with His emphasis – namely His word. In the entire bible you will not find men given the authority to make the rules in relation to spiritual basics – they just do not know the mind of God. God must reveal things to man of a spiritual nature and that includes everything – worship, salvation, the church and so-on. The seed planted in good hearts is God’s way to save people.

Luke 8:4-15

4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.
6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
‘ Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

If I had to select one thing keeping people from achieving success (heaven), I would say it was related to God’s word. God’s word is His means of communicating with man but mankind has mocked it and changed it. Good men like Martin Luther handled it carelessly. Evil men started their own religions but often used the scriptures to gain some validity. Other men seeing the corruption, confusion and evil of the “bible related religions” simply rejected all of them and created more humanistic guidelines for life. Sadly, these later originators of “religion” never understood that God also rejected those who used His word incorrectly and will suffer the consequences for doing so.
There are many people who see God in creation and see God as the God of the bible but for some reason do not trust God to have delivered His truth. God’s oversight of His word is nonetheless just as certain as every detail of creation – God’s Oversight Of Truth. All things have in the past, or will in the future come to pass exactly as God has revealed in His word.

You and others can achieve heaven but you need a love of the truth and that will begin to change your view of life. If you search for truth trying to find confirmation of what you already believe you will very likely not be successful. When you UNDERSTAND GOD you will see how He has no tolerance for those who change the word He delivered. The reason is very straightforward – souls will be lost as a result of false teaching and His Son’s sacrifice will not be realized to the extent possible. It is serious business to teach about things related to God. When you look at the seven things God hates (Proverbs 16.16-19 quoted above) you will see four of those seven things are related to false teaching / lies or misrepresenting.

Summary – Why Only A Few?

How many love God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their strength, and with all their mind, and love their neighbor as themselves?

How many are willing to sacrifice their lives for God – give up the things of this life?

How many are willing to study to gain better understanding of God?

How many are willing to preach the word?

How many are willing to reject the things they have been taught by family, friends if needed?

How many take a casual attitude toward religious matters?

How many are willing to forgive others even in the most difficult of matters?

How many have the strength of character to do the right thing even if tremendously unpopular with your family, friends, and peers?

How many understand that God’s word will come to pass, every single thing and live and act with the sense of urgency and assurance that His word demands?

How many know that God is not a respecter of persons and understand what that means to their chances for heaven? This means that you will not achieve heaven in some special way different than any other person but all will be judged according to the same rulebook – the scriptures.

Life is serious business and LIFE IS NOT ABOUT THIS LIFE! Life is about the soul and God has devised the perfect test and revealed all you need to know to be successful. The choice is yours and it will be difficult in most cases. How badly do you want heaven? In the questions above – can you see how there will only be a few?
Can you see how the world trivializes the spiritual, trivializes morality, mocks scripture and praises humanism? As God says, the enemy is the world because ultimately, eternally the world pulls people in the wrong direction.

I mentioned there was a way for you to be in the few. Read some of the pages at this website for help but always understand truth lies in God’s word which was so carefully delivered for this purpose.

I mentioned that the few could be many in a way consistent with God’s revelation that there will only be a few. Few is a non-precise mathematical term and if we look at the world population from the beginning of time we arrive at a total of about 100 billion people to this day. Currently the world population is about 6.8 billion people. It is very easy to believe in view of the religious error, selfishness, greed, pride and general immorality that few in the past achieved heaven. Today, these same things exist and it appears to be even worse with increasing immorality and disrespect for God. Nonetheless, people desire heaven and if the message (truth) gets to good hearts many more of the 6.8 billion could be successful. Yet, no matter how well we do with the existing 6.8 billion people the net will still be a few. But the fields are white for harvest as Jesus said in:

John 4:35

35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

No one knows when God will end His test with mankind but we should think in terms of being prepared. You may or may not have been “much in this life” as people count success but none of that matters. You need to be great in God’s eyes and you can do that and add one to the few. If you do this it will be the result of understanding the importance of the soul. Now, you can begin to make a real difference carrying on the mission of Jesus to seek and save the lost.

Exposing error of the major religions in view of the truth could go a long way towards increasing the few. The ones that might be open to the truth are a group of people who understand the Bible is the word of God. This group known generally as protestants have many different beliefs and different names. They could be good candidates. The tremendous deceit of Islam and Mormonism is easily demonstrated and thus many could move from those errors. Catholicism is a contributing factor to the origin of many of the man-made religions and by getting people to understand how that occurred, truth becomes more obvious. Catholics themselves have perhaps the most sophisticated, complicated man-made religion on the planet. Yet, Catholicism is the easiest of all man-made religions to show as false. Much of the religious deception occurred hundreds of years ago going back to the 1st century. These errors are the foundation for many religions. If we focus for a moment on Catholicism and Protestantism and realize the rules were made by men and not God you can understand how these early errors occurred. There is a particular set of errors associated with these religions that has been so damaging of themselves but also proliferating many other unfortunate beliefs. That history and its consequences is easily exposed.
In the background of all this happening will be the church which is the body of Christ growing and becoming aggressive in relation to its only mission – evangelism. The church of the Lord is authorized to do three things and one is evangelism but the other two support the prime mission, namely benevolence of the Lord’s people and edification of the Lord’s people. The mission of the Lord’s church is the same as Jesus stated about His mission – to seek and save the lost!
So, the few could become many more, and still be a few. Heaven rejoices with each new soul!

People hold on to the most ridiculous of beliefs because they have an emotional attachment and in religion this is even more exaggerated. You can offer every possible argument and all reasonable and consistent with God’s purpose. Yet, even though the arguments are overwhelming many will not change because of their emotional attachment to some other belief. Sometimes it is emotional because you have taken a known stand on this point, sometimes because the family has always believed this way, and very often it is that you (or someone you know) had some emotional experience associated with this teaching. God wants you to rely on His word and not on the teachings of men or on some emotional experience and certainly not on the pride you have in some group or doctrine.

Final Thought:
Will Only A Few Achieve Heaven and If So Why?

You, the reader have some responsibility for the few. Primarily for your own soul – God does not want to lose you, He does not want any to be lost. You can help in your own situation and there will be one less soul lost and you will be highly blessed to have succeeded in life. Now, assuming you are going to search, find and obey the truth, and live faithfully you might be responsible for others being successful. Paul in his devotion to the gospel traveled the known world and converted many and so could you. Bible history is full of people who believed they could not do well representing God, and one of the early ones was Moses. You might positively impact your family, friends, acquaintances and others. One thing you should know is that you must stand on your own two feet – no one can do this for you and you cannot do this for anyone else.
It is sobering information and not what you may have wanted to know. Yet, on the other hand it is the thing you most need to know.
The bad news: few will make heaven
The good news: you can be in heaven and help others to be successful also

Matthew 20:16

16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.

The “heaven” verses (for me) that are the most intriguing, the most exciting, encouraging and thorough are:

1 Peter 1:3,4

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you

1 Corinthians 2:9

9 But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Matthew 7:21

21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

The route to heaven is clear, namely through Jesus. Heaven is reserved for God’s children and it is forever and God compares it to everything we know indicating it is different, it is incorruptible. We see all things as corruptible – our bodies, the earth, the universe but heaven is not that way and it is the hope of all but only the potential reality of those have been begotten to that living hope.

Heaven coach is here to help you get to heaven, to achieve eternal success. This website may seem to make heaven much more difficult to attain than is commonly taught. The reason is because heaven’s requirements will be extremely difficult if not impossible for certain types of people. The person who denies God, the person who lives selfishly for himself or herself, the person who places their confidence in the teachings of men/women will never seek the truth and typically believe they already know the truth. God is very direct about what we should be seeking FIRST in our lives and states it in Matthew 6.33. How many people can put God first in their lives, seeking God and His truth as first priority in their lives?

Matthew 6:33

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God through Paul indicates in Acts 17.26,27 that His creation of humankind is such that they should SEEK THE LORD and adds He is not far from each one of us.

Acts 17:26,27

26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

Finding God, finding heaven requires intensity not a casual attitude and it begins with seeking God which is seeking truth – the truth you need!

Jeremiah 29:13

13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

All your heart is not casually looking for God or accepting those things you were taught but finding out if they were true. Standing on your own two feet just like you will someday before God. This is the test of life as God wants the right kind of person. My best advice is, “do not go casually through life expecting in someway you might find heaven at the end of life – you will not!”

Many “good” people devoid of the sins we commonly think of as so terrible will also fail to achieve heaven for various reasons but self-pride will usually be involved. Churches are filled with people proud in their belief and staunchly in support the their doctrine. God accepts the Doctrine of Christ and nothing else and you may believe you are following that doctrine but most are not. There are many pages at this website that explain the Doctrine of Christ and not what is typically taught which amounts to part of the Doctrine of Christ.

2 John 1:9

9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

Below is a diagram indicating there are no second chances after death. Specifically, three of the most commonly mentioned “second chances” are: Reincarnation, The Rapture, and Purgatory.
None are in any way the truth – just man-made. Each will be discussed later in this post. These man-made doctrines are pointed out now to help one understand the seriousness of getting it right during your lifetime because there are NO SECOND CHANCES!

Religion is full of man-made doctrines and thus of no value spiritually. What is worse? Well, the doctrines are very confusing, resulting in poorly conceived actions, reaching erroneous conclusions and frequently nurturing strange new doctrines based on the original false teaching. These things are thus destructive to an individual’s eternity. The varied man-made doctrines associated with heaven are propagated by most religions. There is a general doctrine stated various ways that, “Heaven can easily be achieved.” The bible teaches almost the opposite, although every person can achieve heaven. Men and women frequently come to believe there are certain categories of sin that are not all that serious. In some way these sins will be overlooked. The truth is you will not achieve heaven if you die in sin, ANY SIN. How can that be? Well, it is because God provided a way for sin to be forgiven and that includes all sin. There may be a sin that you really believe is very trivial and in fact it may be small in comparison to many awful things committed by mankind. However, your decision NOT to seek God and obey God in achieving forgiveness of sin is not a sin itself but is a rejection of God, a rejection of God’s plan for you. As a result, that sin will not be forgiven. All men need forgiveness because all have sinned and yet sins are only forgiven in the manner specified by Christ.
Human beings try to be so logical and end up being so illogical. Can you imagine someone saying well I might as well commit some big sins if I can be condemned just as easily for small sins. Those big sins or that attitude either one or both place you further from what you really need – the truth! God knows only certain persons with a certain attitude will search, find and obey the truth.

The average non-religious person walks around thinking heaven is a possibility for themselves. If there is a God, if there is a heaven I want to be there. Quite often that person will look at persons they consider religious and say, “if they are going to be in heaven I do not want to be there.” We indeed live in a world where people draw conclusions without data or with bad data. The most “ancient” of computer sayings is, “garbage in – garbage out.” You need good data to make good decisions. The bible is good data but not every person will diligently, non-prejudicially study the bible in a dedicated manner accepting nothing less than the truth.
It is amazing how many people who strongly dislike religion still hold out a hope for heaven. The idea of heaven as described by God is very appealing but the amazing part is people’s unwillingness to spend any of their precious time in the pursuit of heaven. If it happens great, if not – oh-well.

Do you really think God would send His Son to the terrible death if mankind could do some limited amount of suffering to work off some bad things they did. God’s plan from the beginning, from the first sin when properly understood required Jesus to come and suffer and die for the sins of mankind. You will not find any other plan for forgiving sins and if there was one it should be on a pedestal clearly represented in the scripture. The best men can do and they do it often is to say these verses mean this or allude to this idea as though God is in some way hiding what would be important for man to understand.
You are not going to heaven because although failed during your lifetime God is providing you another chance. That is not God’s character as He has revealed Himself and it trivializes life. You will achieve heaven because you obey God to receive forgiveness and live your life to please Him.

Of course, there is a way to avoid this issue of death and the subsequent concern of what follows. Namely, determine never to die, simply live forever. There are hundreds of variations on how to do this and all are frankly, very silly. The basic ideas in and of themselves are not totally ridiculous but very likely will not work and certainly will not continue one’s life forever. One way is to freeze the body (the science of cryogenics) of a terminally ill individual and then at some point in the future bring the person back to life when a cure is found. Somewhat more realistic and possible is the science of growing organs from your own DNA. Modern science may extend some lives but only in a limited way. Instead of thinking in terms of cheating death a person should be using their energy to seek God, obey God and then they can cheat death as the scriptures teach:

1 Corinthians 15:54-55

54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “ O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

Death will have no sting for those who die in Christ. Instead, you will live an infinitely better eternal existence with God.

Revelation 21.3,4

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

There is no wisdom in the idea of a fountain of youth, of living forever. “The Wisdom OF THE WISE” refers to men’s wisdom versus the wisdom that comes from God. Life is full of distractions and staying focused on heaven has a great deal of value.

Humankind Preferences

I suppose it is true that if man were creating his own end, there would be no hell. If there had to be a hell for some reason then there would need to be a second chance, maybe a third and fourth chance. Indeed, many may lament that man was not the creator. So if for some reason there had to be a hell and no second chances many men might choose if they could to go out of existence after death.
Wishful thinking frequently becomes doctrine. The doctrine might be atheism or it could carry a religious name. The idea of a second chance is either true or untrue. It is either contained in scripture or it isn’t. This website is for those who want the truth about life, that is for those who truly will settle for no less. One reason you may be driven to get to the truth is because you are very concerned that indeed your existence will not end when you breathe the last breath. You also would really like to know if there is a second chance. Some way if you miss the mark you get another try. Of course, men have proposed such ideas and even include them in their doctrines. Obviously teaching second chances would be attractive to many people.
Let’s look at three of the best known second chances.

1) Reincarnation
2) Purgatory
3) The Rapture Doctrine (Premillennialism)

All are blatantly false! The usual reason applies, namely they are man-made without any supernatural authority. They exist because men like them. They seem to be wishful alternatives providing you with hope. One might say how does the rapture provide hope? Well, when you see people disappear it might change your outlook on life and particularly Christianity as long as you were still given time to change your life. If however, when that occurred it was too late for change there would be no second chance.

Jesus would speak of men’s desire for a sign and always in a negative way. Such as:

Matthew 12:39,40

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

There are no more signs and no second chances. Today people have the word of God but it is not enough or as mentioned they do not like what it requires. Again, it is God’s perfect test for mankind. Peter said we have all we need:

2 Peter 1:2-4

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

So we do not need signs because we have all we need and we have that which is perfect. What is perfect? It is the thing God calls perfect. It is the thing brought by miracles and signs during the first century. It is why we can find the truth, why we can tell if the teaching, the religion is from God or from man. It is God’s perfect way to measure man, to make what was done in Christ have the value that was intended. It is the thing that man mocks unto his destruction and also the thing that opens the door to heaven to every person who will succeed in life. It is what God uses to differentiate evil from good, the lost from the saved, the chaff from the wheat. It is why after the first century we no longer need miracles. It is that which is perfect that comes and puts away the need for that which is in part. It is that which God took perfect care to deliver and man looks for problems to discredit.

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

It is the seed of the parable – the word of God.

It is the perfect word that completes man or makes man perfect in the eyes of God.

2 Timothy 3:16,17

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

God gives man what he needs and man chooses the various religions of men when all they have to do is to look into the word of God and find truth. They will not find the churches of man in God’s word.

In any case all three of these “second chances” provide false hope. In addition all three are seriously in opposition to what has been revealed. The book, “What Is Life All About” was written to differentiate between things with little or no credibility and things that have perfect credibility.

First, Reincarnation

Reincarnation, is translated “to be made flesh again”, and teaches that some essential part of a living being survives death to be reborn in a new body.
There is a part that remains constant and that is a spiritual part or the soul. As might be expected the theory varies considerable from group to group that embrace this philosophy.
In reincarnation there is an on-going essence of the person that does not die but lives on as a new person or other living thing. It seems in general with each new life there is an improvement going to a better or higher state or at least that is highly desirable.
According to such beliefs, a new personality is developed during each life in the physical world, but some part of self remains constant throughout the successive lives. Finally when a person reaches some high state of “goodness” the cycle ends.
The origin of the belief is really unknown but very old, considered ancient. This belief is central to Hinduism, and other religions such Jainism. This idea was also spoken of by ancient Greek philosophers.
Various Western countries have popularized reincarnation but only in small splinter groups. People who believe they were alive in earlier times because of some event or some unique knowledge they have become advocates. We have the same problem we always have, namely the origin of the doctrine is from man. In fact, there is little or no effort to even define some relation to a supernatural being.

Second, Purgatory

Purgatory is strictly a Catholic doctrine and receives zero support in the scriptures and as usual the opposite is clearly taught in scripture.
Once a doctrine like purgatory is taught and becomes a tenet of the larger belief it becomes impossible for the group to admit its true nature. The doctrine is damaging to people because they believe they can recover from a poor life as long as it is not so bad as to condemn them to hell.
The scriptures point to judgment following death, “men & women are appointed once to die and then follows the judgment.” The fundamental doctrine in Christianity was that Christ died for the sins of humankind. There is no other way to cover sins, no temporal punishment in this life or any other could resolve any sin in the eyes of God.
Purgatory exists because men want it. If there were any other way to remit any sin, no matter how long it took; Jesus would not have been required. This is so fundamental and as you understand God you can see the absurdity of Purgatory.

The following is an excerpt from my book, What Is Life All About? on the subject of Purgatory.

Purgatory

The scriptures indicate an eternal separation along the lines of being in Christ or not being in Christ. The separation is in terms of being in sin or not in sin. There is no scriptural mention of purgatory, but instead judgment is according to what you have done in the body and your relationship to Christ.

Catholic “Human” logic regarding purgatory

No one is perfect; you must be perfect to go to heaven. Therefore, except for some saints of the Roman Catholic Church, most everyone will have to spend time without God in purgatory. The truth is you could never become perfect or acceptable to God in any place, with any amount of suffering. Suffering, depression, or any other thing you could do or endure could never remit a single sin. Yet your sins are forgiven in the eyes of God, if you do what is required to be in Christ. Purgatory violates the most basic principles of scripture and the associated logic as mentioned below:
The seriousness of sin required Christ’s terrible suffering and death. The price for sin was the blood of Jesus.

Acts 20:28

28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Catholicism would seem to understand this. Yet it apparently does not bother Catholicism to diminish this with their rules by believing there are other means to have sins forgiven (confession to priest, purgatory).
There is no other payment for sin, except Christ. God’s children have Christ living in them. Are His children headed for purgatory? Men do not have to achieve perfection to go to heaven in any way man perceives of perfection, but God sees those in Christ as perfect. There is no way for man to have a higher status in the “eyes of God” than being in Christ. Perfection has to do with sin, and Christ is the answer to sin. Men seem to want purgatory, just as they want a confessional, so they can sin in life and recover. God requires valid repentance, and that means committing to leave sin, put it out of your life.
If you truly do that, it will not be a continual return to sin. Simon the sorcerer sinned after becoming a Christian and was told, “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.” God knows our heart. It is ridiculous to think people can sin, go to confession, have their sins forgiven, sin, go to confession, have their sins forgiven, sin, go to confession, and have their sins forgiven. Man will die, and after that, the judgment. If you are in Christ, living acceptably, you will go to heaven; and if you are not in Christ, you will be lost eternally. At the judgment, those in the household of God “will scarcely be saved.” Some of those who obeyed the Gospel will fall from grace and appropriately never repent and pray to God (1 Peter 4.17-19). God’s children have Christ as advocate, but if they return to the world, their end will be worse than if they had never known the way of righteousness (2 Peter 2.20-22). It is the perfect deception to have people in confession and believing in purgatory and never understanding the eternal danger. Catholics believe they can live a largely “worldly life” and still “squeak” into heaven.
When Jesus says that few will take the narrow road to life, it is not what God wants, but what God knows is going to happen. Ultimately, many will be lost because they accept things that allow them to live how they want. Nothing “fits the bill” for deceiving people about eternity better than Catholic doctrine and specifically purgatory and Catholic confession.

Third, The Rapture

The word rapture means to be caught up or taken away suddenly. The Rapture refers to the sudden removal of all of God’s people from the earth. In the twinkling of an eye, “born again” Christians will suddenly be transformed out of their human bodies and will rise up into the air to join Jesus Christ. THIS WILL HAPPEN, but the rapture doctrine is part of Premillennialism and actually the first step in a series of events. Premillennialism as the word suggests eventually leads to the 1000 year reign of Christ in the kingdom He sets up on earth. The steps are the rapture where Christians are caught up in the air to be with Christ followed by some seven years (part of which make up the tribulation) and end in a victorious battle scene where Christ and mighty angels win over the forces of evil. Then the 1000 year reign begins. The rapture leaves the non-Christians alive on earth. They have seen the power of God in removing a portion of the world population so they have a second chance. To the people who believe in the rapture, they cannot describe it without the Premillennialism aspect. As deceptive and damaging as the doctrine of Purgatory; the Rapture doctrine is as devastating or more so.

There are two basic reasons for its destructive nature:
1) So many get deeply involved in Premillennialism that they miss understanding salvation and the church.
2) The doctrine associated with the Rapture is unscriptural and like purgatory provides hope to at least those remaining alive after the “rapture event” just as does Catholic purgatory for those who died with certain type or degree of sins.
There are so many aspects and variations to this Rapture doctrine (Premillennialism variations) that it just overwhelms. The thousand year reign of Christ on earth, the rapture event itself with many left behind and the associated tribulation for those people, Jews converted to Christ, and just so many things. Actually the most fundamental problem is the belief that the kingdom was not established when God said it would be, that is when Christ came to earth. Everything else (except the kingdom) in God’s plan has occurred as God predicted according to Premillennialism. When you understand God you understand He makes no mistakes. Indeed the kingdom was established just as predicted.

The truth is Jesus will return at the end of time but never place a foot on earth and will be delivering the kingdom, the church to His Father. You see the problem is that could happen at any time. Jesus will be removing His children from the eminent destruction of the earth. Maybe the end will happen in 20,000 years or more or maybe maybe it will be today. The massive number of people that have fallen into this intriguing area of prophecy, the idea of reincarnation or purgatory have all been deceived.
Your life will end and many will be wondering, “What about my second chance.”

Note: There are a number of verses in Matthew 24, 25 and much from Revelation and others that have been used to create these ideas of Premillennialism. They are worthy of explanation as they have kept people mesmerized for well over a hundred years. Nonetheless, the verses in no way support the doctrines and this is very clear. Another post is being developed to help people see the simplicity of the verses in question. I will link to this page when it is completed – it is done and here is the link! It is titled, “The End Of The World.”

Conclusion Regarding Second Chances:

You will die and face the judgment based on the things you have done in the body.

2 Corinthians 5:10

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

If you understood God, which you can and seriously need to do – THEN your first concern would be doing the things He asks. Instead of doing that, people frequently “try to change the subject” and blame God for not being fair. It is as though God does not come up to YOUR STANDARDS and thus it is clear “this” is not from God. What about those people who have this special problem, maybe as a result of their treatment in childhood?
You reason:
What about those people indoctrinated, overwhelmed by strong personalities and difficult circumstance into serious error? We terribly underestimate God. We are so worried about others; we are so sure that we see something that God has missed. When you understand God you will understand He can handle all your concerns. Indeed, your highly valued concerns serve only to keep you from God and what you really need. They keep you from helping those people for whom you show such great concern.
The second chances are all distractions and instead of getting all excited about how to live pleasing God you are distracted by such false teaching and it affects your actions. The terrible lie of “second chances” is that you may begin thinking, “how can I just get by, squeeze into heaven while living the way I wish” – sort of the best of both worlds. The truth is you need to be living everyday the best you can doing what Jesus said in:

Luke 10:27

27 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

You do not have to know one thing about the rapture, 1000 year reign and a hundred other end time inventions. Find the truth about God and obey it and live it every day. Now that has value!
A final verse on heaven used on this page (does not mention heaven specifically) is 2 Corinthians 2.9. This is a great reason to reconsider your life to be sure you experience all God has in store for those who love Him, all those who can see beyond the present.

1 Cor 2:9

But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”