***And you shall know the truth. And the truth will set you free!!!***

One of the Bible's greatest truths is that we were not meant for this world alone. Death is not the end of life; it is only the gateway to eternity. We were meant to live forever, and death is only a transition from this life to the next. The question isn't whether or not there is life after death. The only question is where we will spend eternity--either with God in that place of endless joy the Bible calls heaven, or apart from Him in that place of endless despair the Bible calls hell.

Why isn't death the end as it appears to be? Job lamented, "Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. . . . Man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more" (Job 14:1-2, 10). Yet Job knew this isn't the whole story. Someday this life will end, but for the Christian death also marks a beginning--the beginning of a new life with God that will last forever. Paul put it this way: "'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'--but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). In the midst of life's disappointments and sufferings, heaven is our glorious hope.

To many, however, any talk about heaven or eternal life is only wishful thinking. "Heaven is just a myth as far as I'm concerned," one man wrote me. "I'd like to think we'll live forever, but once we're dead, that's the end."

Is he right? How do we know heaven is real?One reason is because of our inner yearning. Virtually every religion believes in some type of afterlife, and down inside we all sense there must be something beyond this life. This life is incomplete, and we yearn for its fulfillment. Where did this universal yearning come from? The Bible says God implanted it within us: "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We were made for God, and we yearn to be with Him forever. We can suppress this or convince ourselves it isn't true--but we still hope that life's injustices and evils will be made right someday.

We also know heaven is real because of God's promises. From one end of the Bible to the other, God assures us that we were made to live with Him forever. The psalmist declared, "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalm 23:6). Job affirmed, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God" (Job 19:25-26). Jesus promised, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25). Paul taught, "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" (2 Corinthians 5:1).

There is, however, a third reason why we know heaven is real: because of Christ's death and resurrection for us. Why did Jesus Christ leave heaven's glory and enter this sin-infested world? For one reason: to make our eternal salvation possible. When God created Adam and Eve, His plan was that they would live in perfect harmony with Him forever. But Satan was determined to change that, and with his lies he lured them away from God. When that happened, death came upon the human race, and we are all its victims. Never forget: Death was Satan's greatest victory.

But by His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ reversed this. The Bible says Christ came to "free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Hebrews 2:15). Think of it: Satan's greatest victory has now been turned into defeat! Death has now been put to death! No wonder the Bible says, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? . . . Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55, 57).

Christ's motive in coming to earth was love, and His goal was to destroy death and take us to be with the Father forever. Jesus' resurrection proves beyond all doubt that death is not the end, and ahead of us is heaven. Jesus promised, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). This is our sure hope.

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