HEAVEN FOR SALE

It is not a new concept.

The Pharisees did it 2000 years ago.   

The church was scandalized in the 15th century 

when  priests were caught selling what is know as indulgences (basically no punishment for sin).

Now, it has entered a new phase.

I'm not talking about folks like Kenneth Hagin, who had to become famous the hard way over 33 years 

by preaching on the radio, then television, and going on to start his own magazine and college ...

  and then writing about his experiences as an ill 15 year old boy in I Went to Hell.

Roberts Liardon (named after Oral Roberts) at 17 wrote of his translation to Heaven at the age of eight.  

I Saw Heaven has sold 1.5 million copies.

by preaching on the radio, then appearing on television, then starting a magazine, and then founding Rhema Bible Training College and its associate programs. - See more at: http://thislandpress.com/07/21/2015/heaven-is-a-place-for-sale/?read=complete&utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email#sthash.UnFEdMsN.dpuf

had had to become famous the hard way: by preaching on the radio, then appearing on television, then starting a magazine, and then founding Rhema Bible Training College and its associate programs. - See more at: http://thislandpress.com/07/21/2015/heaven-is-a-place-for-sale/?read=complete&utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email#sthash.UnFEdMsN.dpufwh

had had to become famous the hard way: by preaching on the radio, then appearing on television, then starting a magazine, and then founding Rhema Bible Training College and its associate programs. - See more at: http://thislandpress.com/07/21/2015/heaven-is-a-place-for-sale/?read=complete&utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email#sthash.UnFEdMsN.dpuf

had had to become famous the hard way: by preaching on the radio, then appearing on television, then starting a magazine, and then founding Rhema Bible Training College and its associate programs. - See more at: http://thislandpress.com/07/21/2015/heaven-is-a-place-for-sale/?read=complete&utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email#sthash.UnFEdMsN.dpuf

Liardon's father had left the family when the boy was just a toddler. 

 To imagine a Heaven with a six foot tall, accepting Jesus, golden curbs adorned with humming flowers, and clean crystal streets is understandable.

Since then, however, the formula has been often repeated:

Visit Heaven, write a book, get money.


There has been a flood of such titles:

The Day I Died, My Time in Heaven, My Journey to Heaven, To Heaven and Back,

 A Glimpse of Heaven, Heaven is for Real, A Vision From Heaven, and Waking Up in Heaven.

Poor Alex Malarkey, the quadriplegic boy who co-wrote The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, has recanted his story. 

His brave mother has tried to get the book pulled since 2011.  

Alex has written on his own blog 

that he was a six year old trying to get comfort and attention at a terrifying time.

"People should just read the Bible which is enough."

Now that is a brave young man.  

He is sixteen and totally dependent on others.  

His book has sold 10 million copies before Tyndale Press pulled it in late January of this year.

My heart goes out to Alex and his crusading mother, Beth.  Pray for them.

These tales of supposed trips to Heaven prey on people in the most vulnerable way, 

treating death in a superficial, deceptive fashion.

Paul of Tarsus wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:9:

"But, as it is written, “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him."

Or as the ghost of Mark Twain translates it:

 "If you can describe Heaven, pilgrim, you ain't been there."