Questions About Eternity

Part 1

Dr. Reagan: Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Blessed Hope and welcome to Christ in Prophecy! I have my two colleagues in the studio with me today; Nathan Jones, our Internet Evangelist, and Tim Moore our Associate Evangelist and my designated successor. Once again we are going to be considering questions that people have submitted about Bible prophecy. And this week we are going to focus on questions about Eternity, or to put it another way questions about Heaven and Hell. Well, fellas, let’s jump right into this so we have as much time as possible. And the very first question that someone sent in is this: When a person dies, does he or she immediately go to Heaven or Hell, or do they spiritually sleep in the grave until the Second Coming of Jesus? My preacher teaches us something called soul sleep. What about it?

Tim Moore: Well, I know that there are some who are misguided in terms of a soul sleep; we just hang out in some kind of limbo fashion. But the Apostle Paul was very clear, and he told us at a couple different times, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 he says, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight, we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” And he said also in Philippians chapter 1, verses 21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Cause he says it again in verse 23, “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.” Paul said he knew that when he departed this body he would be with Christ.

Dr. Reagan: Those are very good points, but, the person who believes in soul sleep would come back at you and say, “Okay, if there is no soul sleep why is it the Bible refers to death as sleep?”

Nathan Jones: Well, that is because we are talking about the body here. What is six feet under is our physical, human body, our earthly body, that naps underground. Can you imagine being a soul trapped with a decaying corpse under there with the worms, and the bugs and stuff? I mean no wonder so many people are terrified of death. But the Bible says that we will be escorted by the angels up to Jesus Christ. So, the second you die, and you believe in Jesus as your Savior you will be before the Lord. Now, the body still waits on the earth, it waits for the Rapture, the Resurrection if you are already dead. And the earthly body will be resurrected and put with our intermediate bodies, and then we will get our glorified bodies, and that’s the bodies we will have for eternity.

Dr. Reagan: So, it is metaphorically true.

Nathan Jones: Yes, absolutely.

Dr. Reagan: That death is sleep in the sense that the body goes into the ground, or the body is burned, or the body is lost in the ocean or whatever. But when Jesus returns a supernatural thing is going to happen; He is going to speak and all those bodies are going to come back together, so they are going to awake. The Bible uses sleep in the sense that the body is there, but the body is one day going to come up and rise, and there is going to be a resurrection, and it is going to wake up.

Nathan Jones: Absolutely.

Dr. Reagan: So, yes, the body sleeps but not the soul; the soul goes to be with the Lord.

Tim Moore: Exactly.

Nathan Jones: And there’s a lot of people especially Catholics who write into the ministry and say, “What about cremation? I mean if you burn up the body how can the Lord put all the?” Well, the Lord works at the subatomic level, don’t worry about it, your body will be resurrected. The Bible talks about the sea will give up its dead, the earth will give up, wherever your body is, even it is blown into the wind as atoms, the Lord will put it all back together again.

Dr. Reagan: Okay, well, let’s go to another question, and that is this fella says, “I heard you guys say recently that believers in Jesus will live forever on a new earth. I thought our eternal home was going to be Heaven.”

Tim Moore: Ah, that is a very good question. Well, it is going to be Heaven, but what defines Heaven? Heaven is where God is.

Dr. Reagan: Amen.

Tim Moore: And so, wherever God is that’s where I want to be and that to me is a heavenly place, it is Heaven. And so, Scripture says that the Lord is going to return as we’ve discussed many times to reign on the earth. Heaven will come down and glory will fill the earth, and so when that happens, Ezekiel even says Jesus’ name will then become Yahweh Shammah, the Lord who is there. The Lord is there on the earth, and so Heaven will be here. We will reign with Him on the earth.

Dr. Reagan: You know having been raised in an Amillennial church when I first began to believe what the Bible really says about the end time and started that transition to become Pre-Millennial in my view, this was one of the things that was the biggest shock to me. Because I had always been taught that we were going to be kind of like ghosts, we were going to be kind of like spirits, and we were going to float around on clouds and play harps, and that Heaven wasn’t an ethereal place. And of course, a lot of that is due to eastern religion concepts. But when it said we are going to be in bodies, and we are going to live on a new earth, oh, man nobody ever told me that.

Nathan Jones: I always wondered how they could say that we will be in ethereal bodies, sitting on clouds, playing harps, wouldn’t our hands go through the harps?

Tim Moore: That’s a good question.

Nathan Jones: Since a kid that imagery would bother me. But the Bible talks about how in John 14 that Jesus since He has left is in Heaven preparing a place for us, preparing our rooms. And we go to Revelation 20, and 21, and 22 and we read about what that place is and that is called the New Jerusalem. It’s this super city that the Lord is building. Where He is going to take this place, now it is 1,500 miles wide, and long, and high, so it could be a cube, it could be pyramid, and it will come down to a new earth. Now, it has been calculated that this city is so big that if it was on the current earth the earth would wobble uncontrollably because of the size. So, they’ve estimated that the new earth might even be as large as Jupiter to handle a city that big. And that’s the place, that is Heaven on earth.

Dr. Reagan: Well this comes at the end of the Millennial reign; God is going to take all those who are believers and put them in that glorious new city. And then it is going to descend to the earth, and He’s going to come and live in our midst. So, we are going to be in new bodies, in a new Jerusalem, on a new earth, living in the presence of our Creator, and Jesus forever and ever.

Nathan Jones: Amen.

Tim Moore: And what a glorious picture is provided for that even in Revelation 21 it says, “The city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated, and its lamp is the Lamb, Jesus Christ.” And so that is what we can look forward to right here on earth.

Dr. Reagan: You know when the high priest went in the Holy of Holies once a year to sprinkle the blood on the Mercy Seat, that was symbolic of the fact that the death of the Messiah, His blood would make it possible for the grace of God to cover the Law of God which was in that Ark. But He also stepped back and he sprinkled the blood on the ground, and most people overlook that. And that was symbolic of the fact that the Messiah’s death would also result in the redemption of the physical universe.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Dr. Reagan: God intends to redeem this universe and put it back to its perfected state as He originally created. So, yes, there is going to be a new earth, but it is going to be a perfected earth, and beautiful beyond anything we can imagine.

Nathan Jones: Well, you would have to think too, how could we be ghost if we are eating from the Tree of Life? Ghosts don’t need to eat from the Tree of Life.

Dr. Reagan: That’s true.

Nathan Jones: It talks about we are coming in and out of gates. Well, why would we need to come in and out of gates if we didn’t have bodies? We know that our bodies would be tangible, they would be recognizable, they’ll be physical. We’ll be wearing clothes, ghost don’t need to wear clothes, but we’ll be wearing robes.

Tim Moore: Jesus in His glorified body ate with the disciples. So, He enjoyed the bounty.

Dr. Reagan: Oh, yes, that is one of the things I am most excited about. I believe in my glorified body I’ll be able to eat all I want without having to gain a pound.

Tim Moore: There you go.

Dr. Reagan: Not even an ounce.

Tim Moore: Exactly.

Dr. Reagan: Alright, another question: I heard you fellas say one time that Christians are going to be judged of their works when they stand before the Judgment Seat of Jesus, that would be right after the Rapture. I thought we were saved by grace through faith and not by works, explain.

Tim Moore: Good question, Nathan, you want to start with this one?

Nathan Jones: Well, certainly, well this is called the Judgment of the Just. You can find this in 2 Corinthians 5:10. So, yes, every person that has ever been created will stand before God and be judged. But, this is the big difference, we will be judged for our works. But since we accepted the only work that matters, Jesus’ saving work on the cross, our sins are forgiven. It is not judgment of salvation whatsoever, it’s a judgment of the good works that we allowed the Holy Spirit to do through us while we are on this earth. Now, the Bible says–

Dr. Reagan: There’s going to be rewards.

Nathan Jones: There will be rewards. We’ll be judged for the quality, the quantity, and the motivations behind them. And the Bible kind of compares it to like fire burning up the chaff. If we did something selfishly, or we got all the attention we needed that was our reward at that time.

Dr. Reagan: Some are going to be saved with their tail feathers smoking.

Nathan Jones: Right. But we all get eternal rewards for the good that the Lord has done through us. And that comes in a variety of ways. I think there’s tangible ones, and I could go through the crowns, and the robes. And we get new names, I won’t be called Nathan anymore, or you won’t be Tim, we’ll have new names. But it’s the fact that Jesus Christ has saved us, and we get to dwell with our Creator. And the Bible even says that we are honored before the Father. What? We honored before the Father? I mean that’s just amazing. Those are the gifts that I am looking for.

Tim Moore: Well, I actually know that when we stand before the Father what will be looked at will be all of our works. But when the Father says, “Is there anyone willing to testify and affirm this person’s sinlessness, their righteousness, their merit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus Christ will say, “I Am.” And that is His eternal name, but it also testifies that He has covered all of our sinfulness. And so, the only thing that remains after that chaff is burned away is our good deeds. And so, they are judged, but even then Christ gets the credit for our good deeds, which is why the crowns that we are given, if you will, we cast before His thrown giving Him glory and honor for even the good deeds we are able to accomplish.

Dr. Reagan: So, we don’t work to be saved, but we are saved for good works.

Tim Moore: For good works, most definitely.

Dr. Reagan: And we are supposed to be doing those. And what people need to understand, particularly believers who are watching, is that when you are born again you are given at least one supernatural gift of God, and maybe given others along the way. And God is going to, Jesus is going to judge us on how we use those spiritual gifts to advance His Kingdom. So, if you have the gift of teaching, did you ever use it to advance His Kingdom?

Tim Moore: Exactly. Well, again, Paul says, “Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except Christ who has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles, by the word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” Even Paul’s calling, even his ministry he credits Jesus Christ, and it will be given back to Him in glory and honor.

Dr. Reagan: Okay, fellas, we’ve got about a minute and twenty seconds in this segment for you to answer this question: Will people be given a second chance after death to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior?

Tim Moore: No. No clearly not.

Dr. Reagan: No ands, ifs, or buts.

Tim Moore: No ands, if or buts.

Dr. Reagan: No stuttering.

Tim Moore: No stuttering. That is a short answer. Hebrews 9:27 says, “That it is given to man once to die, and then to be judged.” So, there is no second chance after this life. In this life there is a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth.

Dr. Reagan: Yes.

Tim Moore: If you are watching today you have a chance right now, but you are not promised another moment.

Dr. Reagan: There are so many people thinking that they are going to get a second chance.

Tim Moore: This is this chance.

Dr. Reagan: One thing that is interesting about that even if they were given a second chance they would probably say no, because they have rebelled against God all this life. They don’t want to subject themselves to anyone, and they would probably say, no then.

Nathan Jones: And it brings up the concept of purgatory. The Catholic teaching came hundreds of years after the Bible was completed. That we suffer for our sins for a period of time. But the blood of Jesus purifies us from our sins, that is 1 John 1:7.

Dr. Reagan: That is all based upon one verse in one of the apocryphal scriptures.

Nathan Jones: Right. So, there is no after life where you spend time burning off your sins to be purified.

Dr. Reagan: When you say you’ve got to be cleansed of sin after this life, then you are blaspheming the cross of Jesus.

Nathan Jones: Amen.

Tim Moore: Amen.

Dr. Reagan: Because it’s all we need.

Part 2

Tim Moore: Welcome back to Christ in Prophecy and our discussion of what the Bible says about Eternity, both Heaven and Hell. Okay, Dave, so what’s your next question?

Dr. Reagan: Well, the next question is a very important one because many religions in the world teach reincarnation. Many people involved in the New Age Movement talk about that. Is there such a thing as reincarnation?

Nathan Jones: I like this particular song sung by Willie Nelson, you are a huge Willie Nelson fan. He sings, “I fly a starship across the universe divide, and when I reach the other side, I’ll find a place to rest my spirit, if I can. Perhaps I may become a highway man again, or I may simply be a single drop of rain, but I will remain, and I will be back again, and again, and again, and again.” But doesn’t Hebrews 9:27 say, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” To die once. Reincarnation is eastern mysticism. There is no truth to it. It is a false religion.

Dr. Reagan: It is amazing how it has invaded Christianity in this country though.

Tim Moore: It certainly has. Admittedly even when Jesus Himself said that we must be born again, it was a confusing phrase and a confusing topic, or concept because Nicodemus said, “Well how can that be? How can a man enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time?” And Jesus went on to explain in the following portion of John chapter 3 that this would be a spiritual rebirth, not a physical rebirth, and that is very important. He will redeem our bodies and return us to a glorified body when we are brought back together, at the resurrection, but our born again nature is a spiritual rebirth that happens when we accept Him.

Dr. Reagan: I’m glad you mentioned that because I know from reading literature by people who believe in reincarnation, even Christians, or supposed Christians, they always quote that by Jesus. “Well, Jesus said you got to be born again, so that means reincarnation.”

Tim Moore: But they don’t go on to read the next explanation that He provides–

Dr. Reagan: Which Jesus explains.

Tim Moore: –it is a spiritual rebirth, not a physical rebirth.

Nathan Jones: Plus, if karma is meant to burn off bad energy, well, what bad energy are we talking about? Jesus Christ died for our sins; our sins are forgiven. There’s no bad energy. There is no sin following us.

Tim Moore: Yes, that undermines the very promise of the cross of Christ.

Dr. Reagan: Reincarnation is simply a rejection of Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice on the cross.

Tim Moore: Yes, it is.

Dr. Reagan: No, I’m going to be purified and become one with God through a constant process of rebirth, and getting better, and better, and better, unless I do something bad, which in that case I come back as a rat.

Nathan Jones: And who would want to do that? Who would want the endless coming back, again and again, never breaking that wheel?

Tim Moore: No.

Dr. Reagan: Okay, well let’s go to the next one Romans 11:26 says, “All Israel will be saved,” does that mean that every Jew who has ever lived is going to go to Heaven?

Tim Moore: No, sadly, no.

Dr. Reagan: You keep saying that word, “No.”

Tim Moore: I know, I’m the no man today.

Nathan Jones: You are not very open minded.

Tim Moore: You know scripture says that a remnant of the Jews will be saved. And we know that during the Tribulation period tragically many Jews will die. There will be a remnant who will then look up Him whom they have pierced, and when they come to the end of themselves, just as a Gentile who must come to the end of themselves and come to recognize that Jesus Christ is the only Way, the Truth, the Life, and that they can embrace Him for their salvation. The same thing with the Jews, a remnant will be saved. But not every Jew that has ever lived tragically.

Dr. Reagan: Well, actually the context of that statement, that statement is in Romans 11 and in verse 26, but the context is Romans 9-11 all about the Jewish people. And in Romans 9, verse 27 he quotes Isaiah, and he says, “Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved.” So, he is talking there, what you said, the remnant of the Jews who are alive at the end of the Tribulation who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Tim Moore: And at the end of the Tribulation Zephaniah chapter 3, verse 12-13 says, “But I will leave among you a humble and lowly people, and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths; for they will feed and lie down with no one to make them tremble.” It is that remnant that will preserved and will be saved.

Dr. Reagan: Well, that is one of the major purposes of the Tribulation is to bring a remnant of the Jewish people the end of themselves where they will look upon Him whom they have pierced, and weep and wail and mourn, repent and receive Him as their Messiah.

Nathan Jones: By the end of the Tribulation two-thirds of the Jewish people, that would be nine million people in today’s numbers are dead. But the remnant that see Jesus they cry because they realize that Jesus has been the Messiah they have been waiting for. And then you always say it, you say it better than I do, Baruch haba b’shem Adonai.

Dr. Reagan: There you go.

Nathan Jones: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. That is what they say when He returns.

Tim Moore: I think there is an application here even for Gentile believers today who sometimes angst over the condition of their children. And they send them a stipend to keep them strung along in their depravity, and I say don’t do that, allow the Lord to deal with them. Force them under the Lord’s hand to come to the end of themselves and find Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Dr. Reagan: Yeah, that is what happened in the story of the prodigal son.

Tim Moore: Exactly.

Dr. Reagan: The father allowed the son to take his way.

Tim Moore: Pray for them. Encourage them. But don’t string them along in depravity. In other words, allow them to come to the end of the themselves so that they come to the Savior Jesus Christ.

Dr. Reagan: The most common question, perhaps asked more than any other question: Will we know each other in Heaven?

Tim Moore: Well, I certainly think so. We are going to know the Lord, and He is going to know us. We will then see and know just as we are fully known. And so, I think the relationships that have been such an important part of our lives here on this earth will continue, but they will be perfected even in that regard.

Dr. Reagan: Look if I am David here on earth, and I’m not David in eternity. David wasn’t saved somebody else was. Come on. Yeah, we are going to have new names, but we are going to be able to recognize each other.

Tim Moore: I believe so.

Nathan Jones: Oh, yeah, in 1 Corinthians 15:42-50 says, “The body that is sown is perishable, is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” Now, here is the clincher here, “So shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” Who is the man from Heaven? It is Jesus Christ. We can look at His resurrected body, He ate. Thomas could put his fingers in his side. He could touch the holes. They recognized Jesus, but Jesus could do other things that He couldn’t do in His earthly body. He would just show up in rooms and scare the living daylights out of the Apostles. He ascended up to Heaven.

Dr. Reagan: One moment He was in Jerusalem, next moment in Galilee.

Nathan Jones: Right if the New Jerusalem is 1,500 miles up, I don’t think we are taking elevators, we will just fly up there, or just move to there.

Dr. Reagan: Yeah, it has a new dimension to it, but there certainly is a way.

Nathan Jones: Absolutely.

Dr. Reagan: Now when Jesus was first resurrected they didn’t recognize Him and there was a good reason. I mean come on. If He dies today, and tomorrow He comes to my door and knocks on the door, I’d say, “Man I used to know a guy who looked just like you.”

Tim Moore: Well, I guess, that and our human nature right now. I’ve walked into a room not expecting to see a certain person, and just looked right past them until all of the sudden it dawned on me, “What are doing here?”

Dr. Reagan: Yeah, the last person they expected to see.

Tim Moore: The last person I expected to see, exactly.

Dr. Reagan: Okay, we’ve come to one of your favorite questions: Are there going to be animals in Heaven?

Nathan Jones: Are there going to be animals? You mean animals or pets?

Dr. Reagan: Two-part animals, no, two part question. Number one are there going to be animals? Number two will they be our pets?

Nathan Jones: Well we know that we follow Jesus Christ on white horses. Now it is debated whether these horses could be angels, but it seems like they are horses, it says they are horses, it doesn’t say that they angels. So, we know there are animals.

Dr. Reagan: There’s a lot of animals in Heaven now.

Nathan Jones: Yes.

Dr. Reagan: Those strange creatures before the throne are kind of like animals. I guess they are a form of angels.

Nathan Jones: Yeah, the seraphim are animal like in appearance.

Tim Moore: If we go back to our previous conversation, Heaven is going to be on the earth, which is restored to perfection, so, there are animals on the earth. I mean this is a material world even as it is perfected in spiritual glory, so, yeah, animals will be there.

Nathan Jones: And I would add that we are not just talking about the animals today, but we could be talking about whole different species that have be wiped out like dinosaurs, and mammoths and things. God being the Creator could create all new species that we’ve never encountered before. And we could go, there won’t be oceans, but they’ll be seas and we can go down in the seas and maybe see fish life that have yet to be encountered. There is a zoologist dream I think in Heaven.

Dr. Reagan: What about pets?

Nathan Jones: Ah, see now, I’m going to let Tim answer that one.

Dr. Reagan: Okay.

Tim Moore: I think the Bible is silent about pets.

Nathan Jones: Yes.

Tim Moore: And so, I do not endeavor to comment. I know pets are very significant in the lives of people who are believers, they have a relationship with an animal that they dearly love. And I have already said, I think the relationships will continue, so.

Dr. Reagan: Well, I think God has a lot of surprises in store for us about Heaven.

Tim Moore: Certainly. Oh, yeah.

Dr. Reagan: And I as a person who has had pets that I’ve loved dearly and still have their collars in my desk, and their pictures on my desk. I just hope and pray that one of the surprises God will have for us is I’ll have Miss Lizzy, to be able to love on and pet. But you know as you say, we don’t know for sure.

Nathan Jones: Well, we can be sure, and we can definitely be sure of this, that animals will not be raptured to Heaven. We get this question a lot, you know, the Rapture is only meant for you.

Dr. Reagan: I haven’t heard that question, really?

Nathan Jones: Yeah, they are worried about their pets being left behind. Who is going to take care of their pets after they’re gone? Pets will not be raptured to Heaven.

Dr. Reagan: Okay another question: Is Hell for real? My pastor says it is metaphor for the suffering that we experience in this life. In fact, I would say that’s the position taken by most of the mainline denominations today.

Tim Moore: Well, I’m going to shock you guys and say in one word, yes, Hell is for real.

Dr. Reagan: We finally got a yes.

Tim Moore: Yes, exactly right. I will quote C.S. Lewis who said this about Hell, “There is no doctrine which I,” C.S. Lewis, “would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it, the concept of Hell, has the full support of Scripture and specifically of our Lord’s own words. It has always been held by Christendom, and it has the support of reason. And indeed, Jesus Christ spoke more about Hell than He did about Heaven.” And so, He was warning people to flee from the wrath to come to avoid Hell. And He gave very clear descriptions about Hell and spoke about it often.

Dr. Reagan: Well, if we are going to help responsible for the decisions that we make in this life, there has to be a Hell.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Nathan Jones: Well, you would have to differentiate too between Hades and Hell. I think a lot of people are confused that Hades, or Sheol or Torments is where the unredeemed go when they die awaiting to be resurrected at the end–

Dr. Reagan: To this day.

Nathan Jones: –of the Millennial Kingdom.

Dr. Reagan: There is nobody in Hell right now.

Nathan Jones: And we know Hell was created for Satan and the demons. But when mankind fell, we fell under the same. So, Hades and the unredeemed will then after the Great White Throne Judgment cast into the Lake of Fire, or Hell. So, it is actually a two-part thing, that most people–but the descriptions of the two are very similar: heat but darkness, gnashing of teeth, loneliness, crying and despair, all of these things describe both of those.

Dr. Reagan: Yes. And this brings us back to something we discussed in the first section about Purgatory. When we talk about the fact that people who are lost go to a place called Hades, we are not talking about Purgatory.

Nathan Jones: No.

Tim Moore: No.

Dr. Reagan: No, this is a holding place for the spirits of those who have rejected the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. And I think the term of Torments, that is what He calls it, a compartment in Hades called Torments pretty well indicates what is going on there. And, but those of us who are believers we don’t go there; we go directly to Heaven. We don’t need to be purged.

Tim Moore: Even the story that Jesus told about Lazarus and the rich man, and the rich man was in a place of tormenting pain and suffering in that Torment section of Hades.

Dr. Reagan: Some people who argue that the Church must go through the Tribulation say, “Well, the Church must be purified.” Well, that makes the Tribulation a–

Nathan Jones: A Protestant Purgatory.

Dr. Reagan: –a kind of purgatory. We don’t need to be purified. We have been purified by the blood of Jesus.

Tim Moore: Amen

Dr. Reagan: And that is all that is needed, praise God.’

Nathan Jones: Amen.

Tim Moore: Praise the Lord.

Part 3

Nathan Jones: Welcome back to Christ in Prophecy and our discussion of what the Bible says about Eternity both Heaven and Hell. Okay, Dave we have time for one more question, lay it on us.

Dr. Reagan: Okay very quickly. Why is Christianity so intolerant as to claim that one must be a Christian in order to go to Heaven? What about Jews, and Muslims, and Hindus, and Buddhists.

Tim Moore: Well, I wouldn’t call Christianity intolerant, but I would call Christianity crystal clear about the means of salvation. And that’s because Jesus Himself was crystal clear. He said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Dr. Reagan: How can that be any clearer?

Tim Moore: That is crystal clear. And Paul reiterates that over and over again. He says in Acts chapter 4, verse 12, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” And again in 1 Timothy 2:5, “There is one God, and one mediator also between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.” I would say referring to Jews, and Buddhists, and Hindus, people who have been raised in other religions are welcome to come to Jesus Christ. A lot of Jews consider themselves cultural Jews or by heritage, so there are Jewish believers in Jesus Christ.

Dr. Reagan: Muslim believers in Jesus Christ.

Tim Moore: Muslim believers, they have abandoned faith in Allah, or in Muhammad but they now confess Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. So, whatever their heritage Christianity is not intolerant, it welcomes them to come to the one means of salvation; the Way, Truth, and Life, Jesus Christ.

Dr. Reagan: Anything to add to that?

Nathan Jones: It is all inclusive to all people doesn’t matter what race, creed, color, or gender, the Lord will accept you all if you accept His Son.

Tim Moore: Exactly.

Dr. Reagan: Well, folks, that’s our program for today. I hope its been a blessing to you, and the Lord willing I hope you’ll be back with us again next week. Until then this is Dave Reagan speaking for Lamb & Lion Ministries saying, “Look up, be watchful, for our redemption is drawing near.”

End of Program