Imagine There's No Heaven!

 

Dennis Edwards

The People Imagine a Vain Thing

In the hit song “Imagine” by John Lennon and Yoko we are told to imagine a perfect world of peace and love on earth. However, to get to that perfect world, we are to imagine there is no Heaven or Hell, no countries or international borders, or in other worlds, a One-World government, and no possessions. We will own nothing and be happy, as Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum likes to say.

But to “imagine” a heaven on earth, according to Yoko-Lennon, we need to do away with religion. I would agree, if Yoko-Lennon were talking about man-made religions. However, I believe the song goes deeper. They are echoing Nietzsche’s “God is Dead” philosophy. Yoko-Lennon say there’s no Heaven above or Hell below. There’s no “after-life,” where God can reward the believer and the just, and condemn the unbeliever and the unjust. It’s a world where there’s no ultimate justice. They are saying, “Be Here Now.” The present is all there really is. There is no God’s tomorrow, where He shall wipe away all your tears and sorrows, and where there shall be no more pain or death. Yoko-Lennon are propagating the popular Transcendental Meditation and Buddhist ideas of the ‘60s.  

They are propagating the Hindu/Buddhist idea that we are energy/spirit and that “God” is the universal energy/spirit. When we die, we are reunited with the universal energy/spirit and lose our personal identity into the “Oneness” of “Nothingness.” There is no personal God or salvation. There is no life after death in any real sense. There is no just God who will reward the abused, the righteous, the down-trodden. There is only nothingness to which we will be reunited as we pass from death into eternal universal energy and “Oneness.” Imagine that, the Big Sleep where our identity is lost into a meaningless “Oneness.” It sounds like I am imagining Hell and not Heaven.

Thank God the truth is quite a different story. There is a God that loves and cares for each one of us individually. He loves us so much that He Himself came into the world in the form of a child, born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life doing good, healing the sick, raising the dead, encouraging the down trodden and oppressed. He taught the way of truth and love. Nevertheless, he was not accepted by the rich and powerful, many of which were in the hands of the forces of darkness. He was falsely accused by the religious authorities and condemned to death by the secular authorities. He died the excruciating death of crucifixion in the hands of the empire of those days, while his religious enemies applauded.

However, things did not end there. Three days later, as He predicted, He arose from the tomb and appeared to His disciples over the period of 40 days. Some 500 of His followers are recorded to have seen Him, talked with Him, ate with Him, touched Him, and worshipped Him. His name is Jesus the Christ and it’s the same old story. The story of the rugged cross, where Christ died for the sins of man and reopened the way to reconciliation with God. He still calls out, “Come unto Me all ye that are weary and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me for I am meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I'm imagining the day when there shall be love and laughter and peace ever after in God's tomorrow. With Jesus in our hearts, it will not be an illusion, but the real deal. Thank God that Heaven is real and He will bring it to earth one day and the world will live as one under His loving guidance and care. The hope of all humanity shall not disappoint. It may tarry, but it will come. Let us pray His kingdom will come on earth as it is in Heaven. In the meanwhile, let us do all we can to bring our own hearts and lives into sync with the Kingdom's goals and mode of operation.