By Ryan Hemelaar
A lot of people ask: 'How do I know whether Heaven and Hell really exists?' Well, there are two methods to rationally prove the existence of Heaven and Hell, and how one enters Heaven. This in turn proves why Christianity in particular is the only religion that is true.
(1). This method relies on the Moral Argument for God's Existence. Please read that argument to know what it is, if you are unfamiliar with it.
The moral argument not only proves God, but also proves that God is good. So that when a good God looks down on this Earth and sees all these horrible atrocities occurring (like people murdering and raping), since He is good, He cannot turn a blind eye to the crimes being committed. And since it seems justice is not always carried out on this Earth, it must happen after we die. Therefore, there must be a place of punishment after we die (we call that Hell) and a place of no punishment (we call that Heaven). But a good judge won't just punish murderers and rapists, He'll have to punish all acts of injustice, even thieving and lying.
So it seems that we've all done at least something wrong in our life (either by lying, stealing, lusting, etc), so that means we are deserving of going to Hell. And the good deeds that we do don't merit us anything in front of a good judge, because a good judge would never accept a bribe. Just like if you murder somebody, you can't say to the judge, "I admit I murdered that person, but look at the good works I've done - helping the poor, working for charities. Can you let me go?" If the judge were to let the criminal go free, He would be a corrupt judge. A good judge cannot be corrupt.
So it seems we have no hope of getting to Heaven. This is where Christianity steps in as being in a league of its own. For Christianity says that 2000 years ago, Jesus came down and died on the cross. He died to pay the penalty for our sins that we deserve in Hell, He can take it on the cross for us. That way, God's justice is satisfied and we can go to Heaven when we die. But He doesn't automatically apply it to everyone, you must do two things. Firstly, you must trust that the only reason why you will get to Heaven is that Jesus died on the cross for you, that means that you don't trust in your good works or own morality to get you to Heaven, but only in Jesus' death. Secondly, out of gratitude for what Jesus' has done for you, you will strive to turn from your lifestyle of sinning. If you do those two things, you will go to Heaven when you die.
(2). The second method of proving the existence of Heaven and Hell relies on the Argument for the Resurrection.
This argument proves that Jesus rose from the dead and therefore, that is an authentication to the things that Jesus was teaching. Jesus taught that when you die you will be judged by God and be sent to either Heaven or Hell. Therefore, there is an afterlife. And Jesus taught that how one gets to Heaven is the same what is written above.
So the question is now, since rationally there must be a God, an afterlife, and Christianity is true, what will be your response? If you repent (turn from your lifestyle of sinning) and trust in Christ's death on the cross, you will go to Heaven when you die.
