The Answerer

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (I Corinthians 2:9). Those words from Paul say it all.

I have been told by a very trusted friend, and read of many others, how they have died but came back to life. Some begged not to go back, others begged to return to earth. None said it was easy to find words to describe the beauty. “Words cannot describe the beauty,” is a common thing they say about it.

My friend, who has since died, was allergic to penicillin and ‘died’ in 1950. He told me that he talked to someone of power and promised to: “Tell someone about Jesus every day of my life if you let me go back.”

He got his wish, and did. He spent a lot of money on three-inch cassette spool tape recorders with messages about God. In his business he travelled widely leaving recorders with people. I was one who learned much from him. He told me quite late in his life of his ‘talk’ with someone ‘up there’. He seldom spoke about it, but never bragged about it.

Books have been written of similar experiences.

Be assured heaven is real. Jesus said so, and He is getting it ready.

The decision is entirely yours. It does not depend on you being ‘good enough’. It is simply a matter of believing what Jesus said and did. Jesus said: “Unless you repent and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3). Jesus also said: “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish.” (John 11:25-26). There is your promise. Once you believe you want to learn more about the one who died for you and makes that promise. Read your Bible; meet with fellow believers in a good church. As for your Grandad, I know nothing of him so I cannot say if you’ll see him.

Yes it’s not too hard: Make a hole in a garden hose and it will never stop letting water out. Make a hole in human skin and blood will come out, for a while, then a miracle occurs and slowly the bleeding stops. You did nothing. Unseen, a small army of ‘friendly blood cells’ go to work to stop the bleeding. A miracle? Yes! People in Jesus day asked this same question you have asked. Jesus said “The only miracle you will see will be like Jonah in the whale. I will be in the earth three days and three nights.”(Mt.12:38-42). Jesus was talking about his resurrection after His death. Crusty old atheists are smart when they look at a new born baby and say: “Beautiful – it’s a miracle.” Joke: A child was busily drawing in Sunday School and the teacher asked: “What are you drawing?” “I am drawing God.” “But nobody knows what God looks like.” “Well, they will when I’m finished,” says the child.

That’s OK. Youth is a time of discovering and trying out many things, not to mention school and making friends. Millions say the same thing and most of them in this country forget about God because life is so easy, maybe too easy. And some wait till they are old and start ‘Cramming for their finals’ to be sure they make it. The Bible says: “He is a reward-er of those that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6). If you really want to believe, just read your Bible. Start with the Gospel of John. (only takes two to three hours) Somehow, you will sometime notice an unseen helper and good things seem to come your way. Jesus knows you’re serious. He knows our thoughts. There can come a time in your life when a person who has believed in God for years has endured a very hard time in life. None of it was of their doing – just circumstances that hurt very deeply. It could be a war, a car smash, the death of someone who was loved very much had died. I have heard people on radio say that: “…the ‘thing’ was so devastating that I could no longer believe in an all-loving God anymore. I simply lost my faith.” It nearly happened to me after my fall, the wheelchair and all that! It certainly got my thinking wrong. Good, mature Christians helped me through. How? They had been down the same road themselves and really knew what it was like.

A short answer is, "No".

Moses and Elijah, two Old Testament heroes met with Jesus at ‘The Transfiguration’ when God spoke and said: “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” (Mt. 17:1-9). Those two guys had been dead for 500 years by then!

When Jesus told the story of heaven and hell, with the rich man in hell; there were other people with him in heaven.

See ‘The Rich Man and Lazarus’ (Luke 16:19-31) (see Bible Stories, the first one).

Paul wrote to encourage the believers in a city called Corinth, that the troubles they were having from persecution would not last forever: “For we know that when this tent (body) we live in is taken down - we will have wonderful new bodies in heaven, homes that will be ours for evermore, made for us by God.” (2.Cor.5:1).