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Religion’s Seriously Damaging Lie/About Heaven

February 10, 2011 By: alanpg Category: Uncategorized

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. However, it is only the potential reality of those have been begotten to that living hope.
hc deceit

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!

second chances


First, some of the seriously
damaging lies about heaven

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.

No Second Chances

The Word of God Contains
No Concept of Second Chances
This Is One of Religion’s Biggest Lies


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.


The Wisdom of the Wise – Live Forever


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.


Second Chances Anyone?
SURE!
But Only If They Truly Exist

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

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

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

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.”