Where have they gone? 
Did they make it to heaven?
What is after this life?
What about reincarnation, do we come back?
 Will I ever see them again?
 How can I be sure to get to heaven and not end up in hell?
 Why did they have to go now?
 Why does death happens to good people or young people too early
 

Heb 9:27 man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment

John 3:16-19   "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

John 14:1-7  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Matt 7:13-14   "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

1 Thess 4:13-18  Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. …we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Rev 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

1 Cor 15:56-57 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev 1:17-18  "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Rev 20:12-13 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
 

Death is probably the greatest fear for many, and society does all it can to avoid it.  There are many ideas but who knows for sure?  We should listen to the one who was there and back and is in control of all life and death. Almost everyone assumes they and their loved ones will all be in heaven. Yet if heaven exists then so does hell. The ideas came from the same original source.  This leaves the possibility for some to miss heaven. Yet in over 30 years of doing funerals from the very good to the very bad, everyone thinks “they are up there looking down on us”. So who is in hell just the one person who was worst in world?  Too bad to be him.

There is an amazing place called heaven where there is no longer death or evil, sorrow or pain.  It is a paradise with greater than anything we could imagine.  The key value is that it is the place where we can be with God and enjoy Him forever. What is also amazing is that many people who have nothing to do with God, deny His existence, mock His Son Jesus Christ or even oppose Him directly, all think they will just walk into heaven some day because of some good they did.

How much good is enough? The Bible says we need a righteousness greater than the spiritually righteous Jewish religious leaders who were very religious. It is not an issue of how good.  It is an issue of what did you do with God’s Son Jesus Christ and his forgiving work on the cross.  Did you despise and reject His sacrifice for you?  Have you failed to accept His forgiveness by accepting His Son into your life.

Heaven was not our idea, nor have we done anything to make it. It is a gift from God. Some people spend their life getting close to God.  When they die they get what they want.  Others spend their life staying far from God, so when they die they too will get what they want.  We can know what our eternal destiny is now.  We need not live in fear or hopelessness but with hope in Jesus.