Are Visits to Heaven for Real? - Answers in Genesis

With the upcoming April 16th release of the movie 'Heaven is for Real' based on the story of Colton Burpo as told by his father Todd Burpo, I thought it fitting to share with you a Biblical response to supposed visits to Heaven and those who tell [sell] their stories. 

Article: Are Visits to Heaven for Real? - Answers in Genesis

This article is by Pastor-Teacher Dr. John MacArthur and is one of the best articles I've read on this subject, and I have read many. Below is an excerpt that really hits home what it means to search for or demand more information about Heaven than what scripture reveals to us:

Those who demand to know more than Scripture tells us about heaven are sinning: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:29). The limits of our curiosity are thus established by the boundary of biblical revelation. In the words of Charles Spurgeon:

It’s a little heaven below, to imagine sweet things. But never think that imagination can picture heaven. When it is most sublime, when it is freest from the dust of earth, when it is carried up by the greatest knowledge, and kept steady by the most extreme caution, imagination cannot picture heaven. “It hath not entered the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Imagination is good, but not to picture to us heaven. Your imaginary heaven you will find by-and-by to be all a mistake; though you may have piled up fine castles, you will find them to be castles in the air, and they will vanish like thin clouds before the gale. For imagination cannot make a heaven. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered the heart of man to conceive” it.

What God has revealed in Scripture is the only legitimate place to get a clear understanding of the heavenly kingdom.

My personal opinion on the book and the movie is that it has taken many people down a different path away from the true God and His Word, the Bible. Personal experience can NEVER supersede what Scripture says. And anyone who claims to have had an experience that doesn't line up with Scripture is someone we don't want to listen to as discerning Christians, even if they claim to be Christians themselves. Furthermore, I also have huge reservations about the fact that his father Todd has essentially sold this story to millions of unsuspecting [undiscerning] people around the world. A prophet is anyone who claims to speak on behalf of God or who claims to have divine revelation/visions/experiences/etc. The Bible also speaks many times about false prophets. 2 Peter 2:3 for example says:

And through covetousness shall they with feigned [false] words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Has Todd Burpo made merchandise of many, many people with this story? - YES. No doubt tons of money has been made from the many variations of the products sold by this author. Is the story about a boy going to Heaven and back and living to tell about it and all the details, Biblical? - NO. Then it would seem to me that this book/movie/author is something we should stay FAR away from.

How to Recognize a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - Spotting False Teachers

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-16a) 

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert… (Acts 20:29-31a)

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) 

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Ephesians 5:11)  

The Bible is full of warnings against false teachers. It is every Christian's duty to be able to discern, at least on a basic level, what is true and what is false. Just because someone claims Jesus as their savior doesn't make them a true, regenerate follower of Christ. Just because a pastor or teacher uses all the Christian terminology and quotes from the Bible, doesn't make them a teacher of Truth. 

Since this is a very new blog on discernment, I thought I would use a post to tackle the question:

"How does one recognize or identify a false teacher,
or a wolf in sheep's clothing?" 

Francis Barlow - public domain

1. Wolves arise from within the visible church – they have been around a long time and are currently in the church, and prevalently so. (Acts 20:29-30 | 2 Peter 2:1)
   
2. Wolves appear to be Christians on the outside. They have all the markers of a Christian: they claim Jesus as their savior, they quote from the Bible, they seem sincere, they use all the Christian lingo and terminology, and they appear religious.  They are in disguise as servants of righteousness and as apostles of Christ, yet whether they know it or not, they are servants of Satan. (Matthew 23:27-28 | 2 Corinthians 11:12-15)
   
3. Wolves teach destructive heresies. Heresy is a deviation from the established Truths in Scripture. Heresy contradicts correct, sound teaching as grounded in the Word of God. Early church father Irenaeus fought hard against the heresies of his day, especially Gnosticism. He described the established teaching from Scripture as ‘orthodox’ which comes from the Greek words orthos “straight” and doxa “belief.” Anything that went against the ‘straight beliefs’ derived from Scripture he called out as heresy. (2 Peter 2:1-2)
   
4. Wolves deny Jesus as Lord. They may claim him as savior and give lip service by calling him Lord, but they will distort the meaning of scripture to remove the sovereign lordship of Jesus over their lives. They want the freedom to live any way they please. (Jude 4 | 2 Peter 2:1)
   
5. Wolves twist scripture. They typically do this to support their own false interpretation of the Bible in order to satisfy their deep, inward desires and appetites and to accumulate many followers. (Acts 20:29-30 | Galatians 1:6-8)
   
6. Wolves teach people what they want to hear. Thus, the people no longer hold an ear to the Truth of Scripture, but instead gravitate to those teachers/preachers who give them what they want. Wolves avoid anything that could be offensive to the proud state of fallen mankind. Thus, they are usually well-liked people, agreeable, and attractive in a sense. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 | Romans 16:18)
   
7. Wolves serve their own appetites, desires, and cravings. This could be greed, wealth, riches, power, fame, lust, etc. They also saturate their teaching with appeals to the desires of the flesh. And they will compromise scripture to make it appeal to the culture. (2 Peter 2:2-3 | Romans 16:18)
   
8. Wolves are usually smooth talkers, they flatter others, and take advantage of the unsuspecting and the naïve (the Biblically illiterate, new in the faith, etc.). They rarely teach the demanding truths of scripture, they’d rather encourage than correct or rebuke, and they will avoid absolutes and anything condemnatory.  (2 Timothy 4:3-4 | Romans 16:18 | Galatians 1:6-8)
   
9. Wolves distort the true Gospel and preach another so-called gospel. They add to the true gospel or they take away from the true gospel, or both. In any case, they seldom teach a narrow gate to eternal life or reveal the depth and utter danger of sin and wickedness. Thus, there is usually no warning of judgment and God’s wrath or a call to true and lasting repentance.  (Galatians 1:6-8 | Jude 4)
   
10. Wolves typically live secret lives through depraved/immoral conduct not seen in the public eye, but when they are exposed, they bring disgrace upon the way of Truth and prompt outsiders to speak evil of, or malign the church. A corrupt understanding of scripture will manifest itself in a corrupt way of life…eventually. (Jude 8 | 2 Peter 2:2 | Matthew 23:27-28 | 2 Peter 3:17)
    
11. Wolves can grow a rather large following, and often validate their so-called ministry and God’s anointing on them by the size of their crowds. Thus, they lead many astray who will be like them: self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-righteous, full of pride, and narcissistic, while maintaining a ‘religious’ appearance. (Matthew 23:27-28 | 2 Peter 2:2 | Acts 20:29-30 | Romans 16:18)
    
12. Wolves are sneaky, crafty, and cunning. The way in which they interpret and twist scripture is subtle, so much so that the destructive heresies they teach creep into the church secretly and unnoticed by most. (Jude 4 | 2 Peter 2:1)
    
13. Wolves do not abide [remain, dwell] solely in the Word of God. They may rely on pagan or mystic practices and teachings, or extra-Biblical writings, or supposed extra-Biblical revelation through visions, dreams, ‘hearing’ God’s voice, etc. (John 8:31-32 | Jude 8)

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As I continue to write articles, I may from time to time point out false teachers. I may reference back to this list or to some of the verses quoted here. I believe if we truly love Christ and we follow His word, we should expose false teaching and false teachers. Many Christians today try to stay away from calling someone a heretic, but if someone is teaching heresy - they are a heretic. As quoted earlier, Ephesians 5:11 commands us:

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 

Acts 20:31 tells us to "be alert." 2 Peter 3:17-18 says: 

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Romans 16:17 tells us to "watch out" and avoid those who teach things contrary to sound doctrine.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, like I've said before, we are in spiritual war between good and evil. We don't have the luxury or the time to tiptoe around these issues, not trying to offend anyone. Souls are at stake - many, MANY people are heading down the path of spending an eternity in hell. Think about that for a moment. It could be someone in your family, in your circle of friends, the people you work with everyday, some of your neighbors, the people sitting next to you in a restaurant, the family in front of you in the checkout line at the grocery store, and so on. Many of these people claim to be Christians, but may have fallen captive to the array of false teaching out there and their souls will be forever damned unless someone, maybe you or I, take the time to expose the error in what they've been taught or read. But the first step is being able to distinguish for ourselves true teaching from false teaching. I pray that this blog will help you in that regard.

Subtlety: The Old Cross and the New (A.W. Tozer)

One of the greatest tactics of Satan in his quest to spread false teaching in the church is the use of subtlety. By slightly changing one thing here and one thing there on a fundamental doctrine, he can creep in unnoticed by all unsuspecting, undiscerning believers. His primary target would be of course the person and work of Jesus Christ. The formula goes something like this: a little truth + a dash of falsehood = deceived. If Satan can get you to believe in a Jesus almost like the True Jesus as revealed in Scripture, using all the same lingo, imagery, and emotions, he has you in the palm of his hand, utterly deceived. And to spread his false Jesus and false doctrine, he raises up false teachers in the midst of the true body of believers:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Verse one supports my previous point - that false prophets (teachers/pastors/etc.) arise from within the church, bringing in their heresies in a mode of secrecy, that is to say: you're not supposed to know about it.

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

It is in this context that I would like to point you to a very blunt and honest assessment of the state of the modern evangelical church by A.W. Tozer. I encourage you that after you read this that you begin to develop your discerning eyes and ears as you hear sermons and see popular pastors being interviewed by the media, and as you read books, articles, websites, etc. Is the person you are listening to/reading preaching the Old Cross or the New? Keep in mind that his was written in 1966; so if it was true then, how much more truer is it today?


As I continue posting to this blog, one of the things I will be watching out for is exactly this: what are popular pastors preaching and book authors teaching out there and does it line up with the uncompromising, unchanging gospel message as presented in Scripture?

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The Old Cross and the New

(A. W. Tozer, Man, the Dwelling Place of God, 1966) [emphasis mine]

ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power.