Once, a friend who longed for Taoism took me aside and asked me doubtfully, "Christianity talks about God's love most of the time, but sometimes it also talks about heaven and hell." Isn't this cajoling and scaring, carrot and stick, both soft and hard, forcing people to believe it? "Looking at his sincere expression, I said sympathetically," I totally understand what you mean. "But I can only tell you frankly that heaven and hell are real."
Life is immortal.
According to the materialist point of view, people die like lights, and after the death of human body, life also ends. The author saw a signed article "The Humor of Death" in Shenzhou Times, and looked at the contrast between eastern and western cultures from the epitaph, which was novel and vivid. The article points out that compared with the solemnity of orientals, western-style inscriptions are relaxed and playful. For example, when the famous German creator Fichte died in 1993, the funeral ceremony was grand, but there were only two words on the tombstone: "the end of the play"; On his deathbed, the French pianist Ramses told his students to carve a golden rest on a blank marble tombstone. The wreath dedicated by the British Sports Club to the former golf world champion reads: "Only this time, there is no trophy"; On the tombstone erected by the Swiss business community for former famous architect Jackson, he used to say: "The usable area is more than ten feet!" " An American black mother wrote an inscription for her 14-year-old "wage earner": "That's all for today! "These epitaphs really reflect the cultural differences between the East and the West. P> But I think these inscriptions are quite vivid if they only mean that people stop all their careers and work in today's world after death; However, if these "dramatic endings" and "repose" represent the eternal end of human life, it is debatable. Because the human soul will not die, the death of the body is only one form of human life transformed into another. Almost all cultures believe that life is immortal. "Eleanor Roosevelt, the late first lady of the President of the United States, wrote in one of her columns,' Almost everyone I met on my trip around the world believed in life after death.' 1976 Gallup poll shows that 69% of Americans believe that there is life after death, and this proportion has remained unchanged since1948.5438+0.
Life is short. Even a very successful person can only do a few things in his life. So Socrates said that if there is no life after death, the value and meaning of life will be impossible. Moreover, when a person's knowledge becomes more and more abundant and his personality becomes more and more mature, he will reach old age and the end of his life. If there is no life after death, it would be puzzling. Just like a sculptor who has worked hard to carve a nearly perfect portrait for decades, he suddenly breaks it and throws it away.
The world today is full of unfairness. It is often evil people who get rich and live a long life, while pious people work hard all their lives and die young. If there is no life after death and there is no trial after death, there will be no justice and fairness.
Fortunately, there are clear teachings about eternal life and judgment after death in the Bible. "According to the destiny, everyone will die, and there will be judgment after death" (Hebrews 9: 27). There are many records in the Old Testament that witness the immortality of life. In the New Testament, Jesus talked many times about eternal life, judgment day, the reward of heaven and the punishment of hell. According to statistics, one third of the thirty-six fables told by Jesus are related to God's future judgment. Of course, the most powerful evidence about life after death is that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after being crucified.
The biblical record about the immortality of the soul is also confirmed by real life. In the first chapter, the author quotes Rawlings in Death-What's the matter? The book records the out-of-body experience of heart patients. Last year, I learned that several friends had similar experiences. The latest witness is what I heard not long ago. I am flying to Dallas, Texas. My neighbor is an American dentist. He spent a week in Texas during the school spring break. She told me that when she gave birth to her first child, it was difficult to give birth, because the baby weighed more than ten kilograms and had a very big head. She suddenly found herself out of her wits and saw a large group of doctors and nurses busy around the hospital bed. She heard a voice say, "Don't worry, you'll be fine." ("Don't worry, you will be fine." Then she found herself back in the body. Afterwards, she asked doctors, nurses and family members and knew that no one had said this to her. I was very excited after hearing her story. This is the first time I have witnessed an out-of-body experience. I asked her, "Can I share your experience with others?" She replied, "Of course. This is completely true. "
Heaven and hell
Life does not die, and the soul does not die, so where will people go after physical death? The answer is clear: there is no choice between going to heaven or going to hell. General biblical scholars believe that heaven or hell is the ultimate destination of human beings after the Lord Jesus came to judge the world. Before the Lord Jesus comes again, after the bodies of Christians and non-Christians die, their souls temporarily go to heaven or hell respectively.
Heaven is a real place, which is what the Apostle Paul called "the third heaven". God mentioned him there. (see Cor. 12: 2 ~ 7) Some people think that the atmosphere around the earth is the first sky, and the place where stars gather is the second sky. The third day is heaven, the home of God. What is heaven like? Revelation describes the beauty of heaven with jasper wall, pearl gate and golden street, but it is difficult for us to understand the actual situation of heaven now. According to the records in the Bible, several points are relatively clear. In heaven, "there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, because the past has passed" (Revelation 2 1: 4).
Heaven is a place where saints live together. We can not only meet our relatives who have fallen asleep in Christ, but also have friendly exchanges with the saints in the Old Testament and the New Testament, the great leaders of churches in past dynasties and believers from all sides, countries and nationalities. Heaven is a sacred and happy place, a place where people worship and serve God, and an eternal place to enjoy the joy and eternal happiness of being with God. Heaven is not fiction or fantasy, but a real place. At the last supper, the Lord Jesus said to his disciples in a kind and affirmative tone: "Don't be sad in your hearts;" Believe in God, believe in me. In my father's house, there are many dwellings; If not, I will tell you; I went to prepare a place for you. If I have prepared a place for you, I will come and take you to me again. Where I am, you are there "(about 14: 1 ~ 3).
The existence of hell is as real as heaven. The Bible talks about hell many times. Hell is a place of eternal censure, where God pours out his anger, where he gnashes his teeth in darkness and pain, and a place of eternal punishment. Heaven and hell can't be connected, but they will last forever. Hell is extremely eerie. Many people don't want to think about it, or even mention it. But the existence of hell is real. So when Jesus was alive, he talked about hell many times. The last lesson Jesus gave his disciples before he was crucified once again talked about the last judgment. The cursed will enter the eternal punishment prepared for the devil and his messengers, and the righteous will enter eternal life (Matt. 25,465,438+0 ~ 46). Although hell is disgusting and terrible, everyone must face it.