Heaven or hell, that’s the choice people must make during their lives on Earth. God gave every person a free will to believe Him and His Son Jesus Christ and choose life, and receive eternal life and go to heaven or to reject Him and His Son, and choose death and in the end hell and the second death in the eternal lake of fire. Let’s look at the way of salvation that leads to heaven and the way of death that leads to hell.
Jesus is the only way to God
The only way to be saved and to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Heaven and be reconciled with God is through the Messiah: Jesus Christ. There is no other way to God and to eternal life.
Jesus Christ is the only way. Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Son, the High Priest, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.
Every person has to deal with Jesus. You will either deal with Jesus Christ during your life or after your life on earth.
When you deal with Jesus, during your life, it means that you believe in Him as the Son of God and the Saviour of mankind, and repent and be born again in Him and make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life.
But if you don’t believe in Jesus and don’t acknowledge Him as the Saviour of mankind and you don’t make Him the Lord of your life and don’t do what He says, you will automatically deal with Jesus after you die, as Judge. (Read also: Will Jesus be your Saviour or your Judge?)
Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire
In Matthew 3:11-12 and Luke 3:15-17, John the Baptist spoke about the majesty of Jesus Christ and how Jesus would baptize the people with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Many Christians think that He spoke about two baptisms in life. A baptism with the Holy Ghost and a baptism with fire.
However, if we read further, we can conclude that John spoke indeed about two different baptisms, but these baptisms are not both during life on earth.
The baptism with the Holy Ghost is during life on earth for the people that believe and repent and are baptized in Christ’s death and resurrection. They are justified in Christ and receive the Holy Spirit from the Father.
The baptism with fire is after life and after the judgment.
It is the baptism in the eternal lake of fire that is meant for all the adversaries of God: for all the ungodly wicked people that didn’t believe but rejected God and His Son Jesus Christ and did not do what He said, but walked in sin and iniquity.
The followers of Jesus Christ will not be thrown into the unquenchable eternal fire if they do what He said and keep His commandments and do the will of the Father, Who is in heaven.
Jesus promised His disciples the baptism with the Holy Ghost. This baptism with the Holy Ghost showed that they were redeemed by the blood of Jesus, justified in Christ, and belonged to God. The Holy Ghost in them would testify that they were born of God and belonged to Him and were His children. (a.o. John 3:5-6; 14:15-17; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:11-17; Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 9; 1 Peter 1:2-19; 1 John 3:9).
The baptism with the Holy Ghost
On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples received the baptism of the Holy Ghost; the promise of the Father. As the believers were all together in prayer, there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. This sound of a rushing mighty wind filled all the house. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This is the one baptism with the Holy Ghost. It is the baptism that Jesus promised to His disciples.
Nowhere in the Bible is it written that they were filled with the Holy Ghost and later on with fire. No, the cloven tongues like as of fire that sat upon each of them, whereby they began to speak with other tongues, proved that they were baptized with the Holy Ghost.
This is one baptism: the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It’s the baptism that Jesus Himself promised to His disciples. It was the only baptism they were waiting for. It was the only baptism they needed to be a witness of Jesus Christ and to proclaim the gospel and bring the Kingdom of God to the people and to teach all the nations.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance
Acts 2:2-4
What does the word baptism mean?
Baptism is translated from the Greek word ‘baptisma’ and means: baptism. This word is derived from the word ‘baptizo’. Baptizo means: to make whelmed (means cover wholly with a fluid), to dip, to wash, to immerse.
To be baptized means: a full immersion. In reference to Matthew 3, it means: a full immersion, being fully dipped into the Holy Ghost, and fully immersed, fully dipped into fire.
The baptism with fire
This promise of the full immersion with the Holy Ghost happened on the day of Pentecost. But the full immersion with fire; the baptism with fire, has not happened yet. The Bible speaks about the baptism with fire in Revelation 20:
The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15)
This is what John the Baptist was referring to. John the Baptist knew Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He knew the power and authority of Jesus Christ and he informed the Pharisees about it.
The devil is a liar, deceiver and murderer
The father of fallen man and the ruler (prince) of the world, the devil, is a deceiver, a liar, and a murderer. The devil tries to deceive and captivate as many people as possible. He wants to destroy and take them with him into the eternal lake of fire.
The eternal lake of fire is the eternal destination of the devil, the fallen angels that followed him in heaven, and all the people that followed him on earth.
Do you choose heaven or hell
Jesus came to deliver people from the power of the devil, sin, and death that operate in the sinful flesh. Jesus loves you so much that He gave Himself for you. He carried all your sins and iniquities in His flesh on the cross.
Jesus wants you to go to heaven, He doesn’t want you to go to hell and that your final destination will be the eternal lake of fire. He wants you to believe in Him and repent of your old life as a sinner. He wants you to turn to Him and love Him and receive eternal life and go to heaven.
Jesus did everything He could to save you. Now, it’s up to you what you decide.
Will you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Do you believe in His work of redemption and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord? Or not?
If you don’t accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then Jesus shall become your Judge.
If you don’t choose life but reject the Word of life, then you automatically chose death. When Jesus becomes your Judge you will be baptized with the baptism of fire.
Therefore, make the right choice, while you still have the ability to make a choice. Because tomorrow, it may be too late.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
