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HEAVEN-ARE NON-CHRISTIANS
THERE? by Roy A. Reinhold
Many Christians wrongly believe that if a person
is not born again while here on earth, they cannot enter heaven! They forget
about the perfect mercy, perfect justice, and perfect judgment of God our
Father. In heaven are all the aborted babies, children who died when young
or at childbirth, and those who died before reaching the full age of comprehension.
As mentioned in previous articles on heaven, these categories of people
are in heaven in the area around the holy city of Zion called paradise.
They are not allowed into the holy city of Zion because they are unprepared,
but they are in heaven.
It is most comforting to know that the millions of aborted babies are now
in heaven being loved by the inhabitants of heaven and the angels. Countless
people on earth, who wrongly terminated the life of a child and later grew
to regret that action, can be comforted to know that their child is loved
and well-taken care of by those in heaven. These babies in heaven have spiritual
bodies of the same age as when they died, but with loving training in heaven,
mature into adults there. They are prepared in all areas of spiritual knowledge
as part of the maturation process. If you are a Sunday school teacher, Bible
study leader, well-informed Christian, pastor, or teacher, you can volunteer
to spend time spiritually training the unprepared in heaven. Your skills
and knowledge gained and honed here on earth will be enhanced there in heaven,
and you can continue in good and charitable works there. Knowing this, Christians
here on earth ought to be quick to volunteer for church duties as a Sunday
school teacher, Bible study leader, jails & prison ministry volunteer,
nursery volunteer, or any of a myriad number of possibilities for service,
knowing that it will prepare them for extended service to God our Father
in heaven.
Besides babies who die very young, there are in heaven those who die in
youth before reaching the full age of comprehension. These inhabitants of
paradise require even more training than babies in heaven who are a blank
slate, because they have knowledge and experience which is opposite of that
of believers. For example, let's suppose a youth lived in China or India
here on earth and their parents worshiped idols of wood and stone. While
a youth, this child was trained to worship idols and did it out of respect
for his or her parents. The child had no knowledge of God and was trained
on earth in pagan practices. This child in our example, who died as a youth
before reaching the full age of comprehension, is now in heaven through
the mercy and perfect judgment of God our Father. Being unprepared spiritually
for heaven, they are in the area of heaven called paradise, and are not
allowed by the angels guarding the twelve gates to the holy city of Zion,
from entering the city. This youth who was an idol worshiper on earth requires
extensive spiritual training in heaven to correct the wrong knowledge they
had, and teach him or her the way of truth. Jesus our Messiah, the saints
of the ages, and the angels all participate in loving training of these
unprepared people. It is a privilege and honor in heaven to be asked to
help in training the unprepared about God our Father, Jesus our Messiah,
and the ways of truth.
All inhabitants in heaven wear clothing that reflects their spiritual maturity.
Those who arrive in heaven as non-believers let in by the mercy of God our
Father, have the sheerest of covering that is almost transparent and that
much only as a merciful gesture. In reality they are nearly naked. Meanwhile,
spiritually mature inhabitants of heaven have grand embroidered clothing.
All inhabitants of heaven are aware and see the clothing of others and see
it as truth of spiritual maturity. Those who are nearly naked, whether from
deathbed conversions, from being genuinely born again but never having lived
the Christian life, or any of a number of reasons are not so much ashamed
of their condition as much as they are deeply motivated to learn spiritual
truth and mature. In other words, the unprepared are not ashamed and sorrowful
over what could have been, but are joyful they are in heaven and are highly
motivated to learn the Word of God and the ways of eternal truth. That's
why the privilege of helping the unprepared in heaven is such a great honor,
joy, and part of the spiritual maturation of those who teach and train the
unprepared.
Jesus our Messiah also trains and teaches the unprepared in heaven. They
all clearly see the nail scars in His feet and hands where He hung on the
cross for the forgiveness of sins. He will bear these victory scars in His
eternal body forever. Jesus teaches about His earthly ministry and what
heaven has been doing throughout the ages. He also teaches about things
to come, the prophecy of events yet to take place. We who study biblical
prophecy know that Jesus our Messiah will come back to earth with millions
of the saints of heaven, to take over the reign and rule of the earth from
Jerusalem. Yet before that, He will fight and vanquish the armies of the
earth as they wrongly fight against Him. Those who will come back with Him
to the earth will have assigned duties, so heaven is preparing the inhabitants
for these tasks. Not everyone in heaven will come to earth with Jesus, just
as the inhabitants of heaven voluntarily train the unprepared, so some will
volunteer to leave heaven for duties here on earth for a period of time.
Those people on earth who are left and chosen to repopulate the earth during
the millennium have need to be prepared in the truth from heaven, and the
saints of the ages along with the angels will perform this task. As prophesied,
"the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover
the seas."
One question many have is, "what is the age of full comprehension or
accountability after which people are judged by their actions and whether
or not they are born again as a criteria for entering heaven?" God
our Father never revealed that age in the Bible because it actually varies.
In some societies where people are uneducated and hierarchical, the full
age of accountability is later than in advanced societies where people are
educated. Historically, Jews, the Catholic church, and most other believers
hold that the age of accountability is about the age of 13 when puberty
strikes. Even within that context, however, we all know that different people
mature at different ages, some before others. In Numbers 14, after the people
of Israel refused to go into the land of Canaan because of the reports of
the spies, God said that no one among them would enter the promised land
who was 20 years old and above, except Joshua and Caleb. So, perhaps to
the age of 20 should be considered as the age of accountability. The fact
is that we don't know or can't say exactly at what age God our Father deems
a person to have reached the age of full comprehension or accountability.
What we do know is that the words of Jesus our Messiah, "you must be
born again" ring true. Those who reach the age of full comprehension
and accountability choose whether they will respond to the gospel and the
Word of God, or not. The eternal destiny of that person hangs in the balance
until they respond to the gospel and are born again. Heaven is well worth
any effort to examine whether you will believe that Jesus our Messiah died
for your sins and be born again, or whether you will rebel against God who
formed you and bear the consequences for eternity.
What is Heaven Like? part 1
What is Heaven Like? part 2 |
