As it turns out, there aren't as many direct references to our going to heaven as you might expect from a religion that offers such a significant reward, and most of the references I could find use metaphors and figurative speech, which don't clearly state what will happen after death. Of course, it's hard to describe literally that which is so genuinely unproven, difficult to clarify and not concrete. Nevertheless, the declaration of what will happen to your soul is explicit enough in several passages, including this one:
Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
(Mathew 7:21)
The verse Matthew 7:21 above comes from the Sermon on the Mount. It suggests that Jesus believed that simply saying the name of the Lord and professing faith through words and deeds isn't enough. One must have genuine faith, not just claim to have it.
I am not much of a believer in Christianity, and I don't want to put myself out there as a preacher of any sort. I prefer other beliefs, but, as I say many times in Dance with Angels... there are plenty of good things you can borrow from different religions to form your own belief. And above all, it is "the faith" in the belief you create or follow that is much more important than the factual basis for the belief itself.
Just food for thought and discussion. I am always happy to hear my readers' views.Â
Thank you for making it this far. â¤ī¸
Warwick Dunnett
Author of Dance with Angels
Now available as an audiobook.