Heaven: How to Get In

As ICANT saidYou must be born again.Jesus said Most truly I say to you, Unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Do not marvel because I told you, You people must be born again. John 3:5, 7

you get into heaven by being chosen by GodWhen Jesus was baptised, the holy spirit descended upon him...this corresponds to what he said:"unless you are born from spirit and water you cannot see the kingdom of heaven"Who gave him holy spirit? It was God who gave him holy spirit thus indicating that he had accepted Jesus to enter heaven. Jesus later did this after his death, he returned to the heavens in spirit form.So it is with those who are born again, they are baptized and chosen by God, he gives them holy spirit and when they die, they will go to heaven. However, they must continue on in a faithful course of life devoted to God, if they ever became unfaithful, they would loose their hope of heavenly life.

i wouldnt call it predestination for the reason that if a christian becomes unfaithful, they will loose their heavenly callingbut they do have to remain faithful until death, if they dont, they loose out.

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Revelation 2:10
10Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of YOU into prison that YOU may be fully put to the test, and that YOU may have tribulation ten days. Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life.

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2Timothy 2: 11Faithful is the saying: Certainly if we died together, we shall also live together; 12if we go on enduring, we shall also rule together as kings; if we deny, he also will deny us; 13if we are unfaithful,

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So it can't be predestination becuase that implies that no matter what their course is, they will get into heaven. Its as the apostles said...if we are faithful and go on enduring they will rule as kings.

exactly. Most people who believe they are going to heaven have no idea what the role of those going to heaven will be. Its was explained by John in visionHe explained that Christ will not be alone to judge the world of mankind.

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Revelation 20:4-6
And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat down on them, and power of judging was given them.... And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years. Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.

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When Jesus was on the stake, the man alongside ask to be remmebered when jesus got into his kingdom. In answer he saidLuke 23:43And he said to him: Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.So obviously this man was not born again. He had never been baptized, nor had he been a worshiper of God. He was a criminal who was sentenced to death. So he wasnt going to heaven to rule with Christ as a judge and priest. Yet Jesus said that he would be with him in 'paradise'So the man had a hope of entering paradise...this paradise will be full of people who Jesus, and those with him, will be ruling over. The hebrew scriptures talk alot about this earthly paradise...its the purpose that God has for mankind, to bring them back into the condition that Adam and Eve enjoyed.

its pretty much what you've already statedconversion, baptism, faithfulness, good works etc but this is the same requirement for all christians. The difference with the heavenenly calling is that God chooses some christians to join Christ in heaven.
The following account is when 2 disciples asked for a position in Jesus kingdom, and he said that he could not give them a position, only God could.

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Matt20: 20Then the mother of the sons of Zeb′edee approached him with her sons,...She said to him: Give the word that these my two sons may sit down, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom. ... 23He said ...this sitting down at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father

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Yes we do go to the same place. Its the hole in the ground where we are buried. Our end is the same end as all other animals, we are no different.

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Ecclesiaties 3:19For there is an eventuality as respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and they have the same eventuality. As the one dies, so the other dies; and they all have but one spirit, so that there is no superiority of the man over the beast, for everything is vanity.

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Ecclesiasties 9:5For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all

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this isnt to say that there is no hope though. Remember Jesus words to the dieing man "you will be with me in paradise"this was a reference to the resurrection

*woops, read that question wrong*I thought you were saying that:
if a person is mentally incapable of learning and coming to a knowledge of God, he basically abandons them and leaves them without any hope?I must remind you that Jesus said that he came to save the 'ailing' and those needing a physician. while these words have a spiritual application, surely they must have a physical application also?If God has no means of saving those who are incapable of saving themselves, then the sacrifice of Jesus is meaningless and not achieving the expressed purposed it was intended for.Edited by Peg, : my mistake

this is a good question because it highlights the flaw in the belief that only those of faith 'go to heaven' (ps, i dont believe everyone is going to heaven) or more accurately 'get saved'There must be a salvation for ALL humans both good and bad for the scriptures indicate as such
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1John 4:14 In addition, we ourselves have beheld and are bearing witness that the Father has sent forth his Son as Savior of the world1John 2:2And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s
___________________________________________________________________Notice in 1John 2:2 he says "not only for OUR sins" but also for "whole worlds"John is clearly making a distinction between Jesus followers & the world, the world being the 'world of mankind' and the 'OUR' meaning the disciples or followers of Christ.there is further evidence that even people who never did good works or had faith in God will be saved...Acts 24:15 says There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. Gods servants of the past have always believed in the resurrection. Hebrews 11:17-19 says about Abraham He reckoned that God was able to raise him [his son Isaac] up even from the dead.
And Job said: If an able-bodied man dies can he live again? You will call, and I myself shall answer you. Thus he showed that he believed in the resurrection. (Job 14:14,15)So this is why i say i dont believe we are all going to heaven. Obviously, with the bible talking so much about a resurrection, some people will be given life right here on earth, not in heaven. Resurrection means raising up or standing up. and in the Christian Greek Scriptures is mostly used with reference to the dead.Unfortunately, the churchs talk so much about going to heaven that this wonderful truth about the resurrection is practically non existent in Christendom. Its a shame because the truth is that everyone who has ever died will be coming back to live right here on earth.... a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous....salvation for all mankind.

the bible is very clear on the answer. the apostle Peter states that Jesus died in the flesh but was resurrected in the spirit. (1Pe 3:18) Paul said that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom.Paul also said If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual one. It is even so written: ‘The first man Adam became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1Corinthians 15:44-45)Jesus had a body of flesh, but after his resurrection he was given a new spiritual body because to be in the spirit realm, one must have a spiritual body. Those who are born again are told that

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1Corinthians 15:44It is sown a physical body, it is raised up a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual one. 45It is even so written: The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam (Jesus) became a life-giving spirit. 46Nevertheless, the first is, not that which is spiritual, but that which is physical, afterward that which is spiritual. 47The first man is out of the earth and made of dust; the second man is out of heaven. 48As the one made of dust [is], so those made of dust [are] also; and as the heavenly one [is], so those who are heavenly [are] also. 49And just as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly one.

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50However, this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. 51Look! I tell YOU a sacred secret: We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we shall be changed

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So those who are going to heaven, those born again, will be given a new spiritual body just as Jesus was given. When they die they are in effect 'born again' because they receive a new spiritual body with which to carry on living in heaven. you are going to die. then God is going to give you a new spiritual body.

Im sorry, i should put the reference when i quote a scritpure.Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but those who are ailing do. I have come to call, not righteous persons, but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:27-32) Yes, thats right
Revelation speaks of the first resurrection and the 2nd death.the way this is understood is that those who recieve the first resurrection are the Apostles and anointed christians or Born Again Christians who have the heavenly hope of ruling with Christ as Judges.The second resurrection will be for the rest of mankind who have the hope of living on the earth. They will be given a '2nd chance' to learn about God and all that he requires of them. If they choose to remain a part of Gods new world, then they will live forever, or if they rebel they will undergo the 2nd death and permanently cut off in the 'figurative' lake of fire.The purpose of those who go to heaven, we are told, is to judge. Seeing they are going there to be judges, then its reasonable to believe that revelation is talking about a resurrection to life on earth for a group of people who are not going to heaven, otherwise, who are those in heaven judging over? i agreeand so there must be people who will be resurrected to life in that new earth...otherwise what is the purpose of restoring the earthly paradise? Earth is for physical beings, heaven is for spiritual ones.who else can the 'mankind' be that God will dwell with on earth? it cant be those who are in heaven, it must be a different group of people.

Jesus states: God is a Spirit" the bible uses the greek word Pneu′ma and it literally means breathe or blow, so spirit can literally be likened to wind.so a spirit still has a thinking conscience, but they do not have a physical body.I can understand why it doesnt sound appealing. Trying to understand what a spiritual body is like, is similar to trying to explain colour to a blind person. Very difficult for us to understand.So, do you believe that you are going to heaven to live as a spirit when you die? And if so, how did you come to that belief? How do you know that God has chosen you? Edited by Peg, : No reason given.

Ah, fair enoughdoes that mean that you might believe if someone could explain what God,heaven and spirit actually were?

well i can't convince you of Gods existence but the simplest and most direct explanation of God would be to say that he is an energy force with a consciousness and personality.1 Timothy 6:16 says about God that he "...dwells in unapproachable light, whom not one of men has seen or can see"now think about this....we know how powerful the sun is, we know that if the earth was merely 5% closer to the sun, we'd burn up. We know that we can damage our eyes by looking at the sun... But still we can see the sun and we can feel its raysHowever, we cannot do this with God for his energy is too powerful for us to even view from a distance. The fact that we can see the sun, but not God gives us some idea of the amount of energy we are talking about. He is the source of all energy and matter in the universe, he's an ever pervasive stream of energy that keeps the whole universe and all life in motion.He is a conscious living ball of energy. Edited by Peg, : No reason given.

the earth is about 93 mil miles from the sunand 5% closer is how much?

Hey tuffers,
no problem and no, im not surprised at all...understanding God is even hard for those who believe lolHard to grasp, but not impossible to contemplate. the information comes from God himself. You may have heard people say that the bible is 'inspired' "All Scripture is inspired of God.." 2Tim. 3:16this means that God is able to communicate his thoughts to humans, from his mind to theirs he can speak to them... we might call it mental telepathy.
Bible writers acknowledged that their inspiration came from Gods spirit. The Apostle Peter said, "men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit." 2Pe 1:20,21Holy spirit is another name for Gods power, energy or force. Its the same power he used as mentioned in Genesis when he was preparing the earth
Gen 1:2 "and Gods active force (spirit) was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters"Because God is the source of all living things, and its by his own power that they live, then he could tap into them whenever he wanted. Just as we can tap into him if he lets us.Of course im not expecting you to believe any of this either, but it might help you to understand how some christians understand it. Edited by Peg, : No reason given.