DEAR REV. GRAHAM: Is heaven real? How do you know? Maybe someone just dreamed up the idea of heaven because they couldn't face the fact that this life is all there is (which is what I believe).
-- R.R.T.
DEAR R.R.T.: You're right, up to a point; if death is the end, then there is no heaven. And if there is no heaven, then this life is all there is, and we have no hope of anything past the grave. We'll be like those of whom the Bible speaks, who "grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
But heaven is real, and we can know there is life beyond the grave! Is this simply wishful thinking? No, not at all -- not if we understand what God has promised in His Word. From one end to the other, the Bible tells us that we were not made for this world alone. We were made for eternity and for God -- and in our hearts we all sense this. The Bible says, "He has also set eternity in the human heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
How do we know heaven is real? We know it first of all because Jesus Christ came to overcome death's sting and open heaven's door for us. Only one thing will keep us out of heaven, and that is our sin. But Christ came into the world to conquer sin's power -- and He did this by becoming the final sacrifice for our sins through His death on the cross.
But we know heaven is real most of all because of Christ's resurrection from the dead. Death could not hold Him -- and neither can it hold us! Don't give in to hopelessness, but put your faith and trust in Christ -- both for this life and the life to come.
Write to Billy Graham in care of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C. 28201 or visit the website at
billygraham.org
HomeStyle on 02/18/2017