Passport for Heaven
Page Three

David also predicted that Christ would be betrayed by a friend, that people would "throw dice" for his clothes, and that he would die with criminals.⁶ He also predicted the dying Savior's cry: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"⁷ All of these predictions came true.

Six hundred years prior to Christ's coming Daniel predicted when it would be. One hundred years later Zechariah told how Christ would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey; how he would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver; and how this money would be used to buy a potter's field.⁸

Because all of these predictions about Christ, and many more—written hundreds of years before his coming—were fulfilled in detail, we can be just as certain that all of the predictions in God's Word regarding Heaven and Hell will also be fulfilled in detail. The fact is that God always keeps his Word and his promises.

Choice Not Chance
Regarding Heaven and Hell, the choice to believe or not to believe is up to each individual. As another has said, "It is choice, not chance, that determines our destiny." For those who believe, the key issue is to be sure that you are prepared for heaven and ready to meet God face to face. You do this, first, by believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that when he died on the cross 2,000 years ago, he died to pay the ransom price for your sins; second, by confessing that you are a sinner in need of salvation; and third, by responding to Christ's call to accept him into your heart and life as personal Lord and Savior.

The wonderful thing is that God's invitation to Heaven is open to everyone. As God's Word, the Bible, says, "Whoever will may come."⁹ 

What About Hell?
So what about Hell? Is it a real place or is it a figment of man's imagination?

The well-know British author, C.S. Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain, "There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than Hell … but it has the full support of Scripture [the Bible] and specifically of Jesus' very own words." In fact, Jesus talked more about Hell than he did about Heaven. He said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell."¹⁰

The Bible describes Hell as a place of utter darkness … also as a lake of fire that burns day and night forever. Whether this is literal or figurative we don't know.

But what we do know is that Jesus described Hell as a place of eternal torment. It is a place that was prepared for the devil and his fallen angels/demons—a place to where those who have never received forgiveness for their sins will be banned forever. It's not that God sends us to Hell, but that we send ourselves there by default when we don't heed God's warnings and receive his forgiveness for all our sins and his gift of eternal life. Hell is a place of eternal separation from God and all that represents love and life.

So many reason that "if I have lived a good life, why would a God of love ever send me to Hell?” The point is that it’s not a case of whether we are a big sinner or a little sinner. The fact is that we have all sinned and therefore all are sinners. As God’s Word says, "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory [or standard] of God."¹¹

We need to realize that because God is a God of infinite holiness, no sinner can ever survive in his presence any more than a moth can survive in a flame.

Furthermore, because God is also a God of infinite justice, all sin must be judged according to God's standard of holiness and perfection, and his justice calls for death; that is, spiritual death,  which is eternal separation from God in the place the Bible calls hell. As God's Word says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."¹²

The fact is if God were not a God of infinite holiness and justice, he would not be God.

However, the greatest news in all the world is that God is also a God of infinite love. This is why, at Easter time some 2,000 years ago, God gave his Son, Jesus Christ, who in turn willingly gave his life to die on the cruel Roman Cross in your place and mine to pay the just penalty for all our sins. And now, as we accept Christ's substitutionary death on our behalf, God's justice is met and, instead of suffering for our own sins, we are forgiven, set free from condemnation, and given the gift of eternal life. Jesus’ death on the cross on our behalf, and in our place, is his and God's expression of his divine and perfect love.

It's not that God sends us to Hell,
but that we send ourselves there
by default when we don't
heed God's warnings….

God’s Word, the Bible, says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus Christ], that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."¹³ "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."¹⁴ "For the wages [consequences] of sin is death [spiritual death which is separation from God], but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."¹⁵

Continued on Page Four

This booklet—the same size as a regular passport (has 28 pages). Excellent for giving to family, friends and contacts.

Available in packs of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and more.

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