How do we tell if we are ready to be killed for our faith in God and automatically know that we will go to heaven?

Sincerely,
Martyr In Training

Dear Martyr In Training,

Though some Christians are placed in a position where they are killed for their faith, God doesn't command all Christians to die for Him – instead, He tells us to be living sacrifices (Rom 12:1).  We need to live our lives in a way that is faithful until death... not faithfully seeking death (Rev 2:10).  We are even told to pray for a quiet life of godliness if at all possible (1 Tim 2:2).  If we must forfeit our lives for Christ, so be it.  But we don't go seeking violence.

     I have an enormous fear of the Rapture and the return of Jesus.  It all started when I was, like, five years old.  My grandfather was an Assemblies of God pastor, and they showed a film about the Rapture (meant for adults) one Sunday night.  It was shot in the 70's.  This was, like, in 1988 or so... but I have had nightmares and feared it since then.  Now I find myself watching the news constantly and cherishing my time with my family.  I am seriously tortured.  I try to live a good life.  I pray everyday.  I am not much of a reader, but I try to read God’s word; I recently bought a devotional Bible to ignite my reading more.  I try and tithe 10%.  My only hang-up is that I cuss sometimes, but I am convicted of that.  I just want to make sure all my ducks are in a row, so I can make it to heaven, and I want to share with my family.  It's so hard to talk about these things with others.  It seems they don't understand.  Hopefully, someone can help me onto the right path.

Sincerely,
Tortured

Dear Tortured,

You don’t need to worry about the Rapture or some sort of apocalyptic tribulation following it because those events aren’t in the Bible.  They may make for a riveting movie to scare people, but it isn’t from the Bible.  On the other hand, you are right to want to prepare for heaven!  We’ll talk a little bit about preparing for the Judgment Day after explaining the Rapture.

The word ‘rapture’ means ‘caught up’ in Latin.  The term ‘rapture’ is used to describe an event that many think will take place right before the days of tribulation in Revelation.  The problem with this theory is that it is wrong.  There will be a time when all christians will be caught up into the air to be with Christ – the end of time (1 Thess 4:14-18).  The book of Revelation doesn’t describe events in the future; it describes events in the past.  The book of Revelation deals with problems that the church was to “shortly” see come to pass (Rev 1:1).

Furthermore, the tribulation taught by many denominations is based off of a misinterpretation of Matthew chapter twenty-four.  Matt 24 is dealing with the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Jewish temple that would happen in 70 AD.  If we carefully pay attention to the context, Jesus is talking about the Jewish temple’s destruction, not a worldwide trial thousands of years in the future (Matt 24:1-2).  Jesus specifically said that the tribulation would occur within that generation’s lifetime (Matt 24:34).

There will be a day when all the faithful are caught up to meet Christ in the heavens.  The day He returns (Acts 1:11), all mankind will be judged at the same time (Jhn 5:28-29).  In that great day (Jude 1:6), the whole world will be burned up with fire (2 Pet 3:10-12).  There will be no post-tribulation, pre-tribulation, semi-tribulation, etc.; there will only be the great Day of Judgment (2 Pet 3:7, 1 Jn 4:17).  There are five things the Bible says you must do to be saved and prepare for that great day.  Read “Five Steps To Salvation” and then email us back if we can help you find a faithful church that will teach the truth and help you get to heaven.

Am I awesome?

Sincerely,
Insecure

Dear Insecure,

An awesome God made you in His image and that is some awe-inspiring news.  Here is some more:

God says that Christians are His people, an elect race, and a royal priesthood (1 Pet 2:9).  Christians have a hope of heaven as their anchor (Heb 6:19).  You don’t get much more awesome than being on your way to heaven and a chosen child of God!

When people die, do they go to the Hadean world?  Is Hades separated into two parts: paradise and torment?

Sincerely,
Where To Next?

Dear Where To Next,

The Day of Judgment will only happen once, and then all of mankind will be divided between heaven and hell (Rev 20:12-15).  However, until that time, all the dead will wait in Hades.  Hades (also known as Sheol) is the place of the dead, both the good dead and the bad dead.  The word ‘Hades’ literally means ‘the unseen place’.  Within Hades, there are two areas where people wait for the final judgment.  All of the faithful who die wait in the good part of Hades called ‘Paradise’ (2 Cor 12:4, Lk 23:43).  All of the wicked who die wait in a part of Hades known only as ‘torments’ (Lk 16:23).

     There are some things that I can't comprehend.  I'm having to watch my mom slowly die of cancer.  Why would a loving God put my family through this?  If God is so great and powerful, why won't He heal her?  She is the only parent my siblings and I have ever had.  Please help me to make sense of it all.

Sincerely,
Child In Distress

Dear Child In Distress,

Life here on this planet is full of heartaches, and we here at AYP cannot imagine how devastated you are right now.  This world is full of all sorts of disease, pain, violence, and strife – but God didn’t cause those things, sin did.  All bad things are a result of sin.  When God made the world, He placed mankind in the Garden of Eden and gave us a joyously blissful existence in that paradise.  Who caused the pain?  We did.  It is sin that has brought all of the death, disease, decay, pain, suffering, troubles, and heartaches into our world.  We all, in varying degrees, are reaping the benefits of a world with sin in it.  Sickness is a consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden.  One of the curses of their sin was that we all must face our own mortality – life is finite.  Sickness, disease, and pain are a part of the human existence.  Sadly, this is true even for our children. When God gave us freewill, He gave us the right to cause problems for ourselves and others, and if He simply removed all the consequences for our actions, He would be removing our freedoms as well.

Sometimes bad things simply happen because they happen.  Job suffered greatly, and his children died, but it wasn’t his (or their) fault.  Job hadn’t done anything wrong, nor had his kids.  It all happened because Satan wanted to do evil (Job 1:6).  As long as we live in this world of sin, there will be troubles.  Sometimes, there isn’t anyone at fault… just time and chance wreaking havoc in a sinful world (Eccl 9:11).

Regardless of the reasons, your mother’s illness is devastating to you – and rightfully so.  You have every right to be hurt, but don’t let that hurt cause you to turn your back on God who wants to save us all from this sinful world.  After all, God gave His Son’s life for us – He knows how painful this is for you and knows exactly how to give you comfort through this dark hour.