But I'm sure that a loved one is in heaven now.

     Almost all Christians believe that immediately upon death the "soul" goes either to heaven, purgatory, or a place called hell. While thinking that loved ones are in heaven is very comforting, thinking that loved ones are in hell is not! Therefore, many people are tempted to think their loved one is in heaven anyway. After all, everyone has something good about him.

     Here's another thought. Those who are in heaven, if they are, can see everything that is happening to friends and family members they left behind. Are the people in heaven really happy watching their loved ones suffer without being able to do anything about it?

    Let's go back to the very beginning when Adam and Eve first sinned. In Genesis 3, we read Eve's conversation with the serpent.

     And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?'"

     And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."

     Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die." (Genesis 3:1-4 NKJV).

     Look again at the first lie ever told on earth. The serpent said, You will not surely die. And yet what does God say?

     For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. And they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished. Nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 NKJV).

     God clearly tells us that death is not life in just a different form. It is the very opposite of life. To die is to stop living, -- not to continue living in another place under new circumstances -- good or bad. It was Satan who first said that death wasn't death and promised that humans would not really die if they sinned.

I want to listen to more about the first lie. Or watch video, view PDF or lecture text and see other lectures.

Tell me more.

How can I know who is telling the truth?


Comments or questions on this page? Email me: janine@janinelim.com