Is death a door to heaven?
“25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”
1 Corinthians 15:25-26
Many people speak of death as a friend, a doorway to Jesus. Indeed, when a human lives to a ripe old age, there is a time to die and go to “be with Christ, which is far better.” (Philippians 1:23). But death should never be thought of as the friend to the human race nor God’s creation. Death is the enemy.
The idea that a place in the sky called Heaven is our “real home” has led us to talk about death as a good thing. We sometimes speak of death as though it is our plane ticket to paradise. This belief is an anti-creation position that has tragically led to justify or at least soften the blow of abortion and suicide. The aborted baby is said to “be with Jesus,” as though we did the child a favor by dismembering it. The suicide is considered to “be in a better place,” or is “finally free,” because they murdered themselves, or as GK Chesterton argued, by killing themselves, they murder the world. To justify these horrific acts is itself a horrific act made possible by the misappropriation of death.