When it comes to the subject of heaven and eternity, one scary truth is that not everyone will make it in the end. The words of the Lord particularly point to the fact that even among those who have believed, only a few will enter in the end.

When Jesus gave us the parable of the 10 virgins in (Matthews 25:1-12), He told us that only 5 i.e. fifty percent made it in with the bridegroom, and the rest were shut out. One prayer you must sincerely cry out of your heart is that of Apostle Paul’s desire, “Lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (1 Corinthians 9:27).

We already know that the way is narrow and only a few will find it, but among the few, it is those who endure till the end that will be saved (Matthew 24:13). That is why I pity those who have fallen into the error of eternal security which teaches that once a person is saved, such is forever saved.

No one is eternally secured until he has followed peace with all men and lived a holy life. Apart from this, no one can see God (Hebrews 12:14). Although we live in a time when holiness seems to be out of fashion, Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

Today we will look at the ways to identify false prophets. Since they  will dress and behave like sheep but inwardly are ravenous wolves,  believers must watch for certain signs to identify them.

Let us not be deceived beloved, many false prophets have risen in the  world today and are here to deceive many. We must therefore put on our  defence to guard against falling victims of these false prophets.

As an African proverb says, a man’s behaviour is like smoke, no  matter how you cover it, it will find its way out. No matter how a man  pretends, his true nature will still show forth one day. Also, Jesus  said, we will know them by their fruits, no one calls Jesus Lord and  dishonour Him. If the life of any preacher does not produce the fruit of  righteousness, we can question his calling and avoid his ministry  altogether.

One of the commendations of Jesus to the church in Ephesus was their  ability to identify and send out those who called themselves Apostles  but were not. So likewise we must trust God to help us. One way to do  this is to test all spirit and discern if what they preach glorify Jesus  or self.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether  they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the  world. I John 4:1 NKJV

Anyone who preaches the gospel of greed and covetousness is a false  prophet. They are they who say that gain is godliness and make  merchandise of the people of God. Such is not a true Shepherd.

“Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,  Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the  priest, Everyone deals falsely.

One of the many signs of the end times is the rise of false prophets  who will deceive many people from the way of truth. The Lord said that  false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and  wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:24 NKJV

We are living in that time today with great deceptions and lying  wonders. We have men whose goal is to milk and exploit people in the  name of miracles and wonders. Many of these false prophets use the ploy  of false security to put many in bondage.

They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said,  “You shall have peace” ’; And to everyone who walks according to the  dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”

Our text says that they will come as lambs but in reality, they are  wolves that devour. We are told to be careful and watch out. Whenever  the believer leaves the simplicity of the gospel and way of holiness,  such will fall victim to these false prophets.

Can unforgiveness send someone to hell? Do you mean God will not  allow me into heaven because I did not forgive someone who deeply  offended me? But I am doing other things for God and I even avoid any  sinful lifestyle may be your query. The obvious truth is that God will  not hold any person guiltless who fails to forgive others.

The Bible is explicit and clear on this, Jesus said: But if you do  not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your  trespasses. Matthew 6:15 NKJV

Getting to heaven is not a smooth ride, the Lord told us that only a few will make it in the end.

Those who travel on the broad way can do so with the baggage of  unforgiveness, malice, and others, but any pilgrim who will make it  home, at last, cannot afford to do so.

Eternity is so vast that no human mind can ever comprehend it. It is  an endless space of time where the immortal soul of man will either rest  in bliss or be tormented.

Imagine a man living in torment and never dying. Jesus spoke about  hell as a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew  13:42). A place of eternal torment and suffering. It is an endless loop  of suffering for any unfortunate soul.

After escaping the condemnation of sin through salvation, the saint  must work out his salvation with fear and trembling. He must keep  checking whether he is still standing in the faith or not (2 Corinthians  13:5). No stain must be allowed to be on our garment – Christ would  only present anyone without a spot, wrinkle or blemish to His Father.

The subject of Eternity becomes so serious that through the  Scriptures there is an emphasis on enduring to the end. Jesus said that  only those who endure to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13) – this  implies nothing must be allowed to hinder you on your journey to heaven.

When we read through the Bible on the subject of eternity, we will  see how serious it is. It is sad to see preachers and Christians treat  this subject with levity. The way the Lord spoke about it shows the  seriousness of the matter and we must take it to heart.

In the Lord’s instruction to believers in what’s known as the sermon  on the mount, He addressed some issues to which we must pay careful  attention. The Lord concluded that message by saying only those who heed  the instructions are wise and will stand the test of time(Matthew  7:24-25).

Today we will look at the subject of forgiveness and its impact on  our pilgrim’s progress. The truth is that people will offend us, and the  devil will even use others to intentionally try and pull us away from  the faith. We must learn to forgive at all times so that we will not  miss heaven.

One hard thing people find difficult to do is to forgive. Some people  have endured hurt in the past and it seems so difficult to go forward  in life because they are not able to forgive. Some have sworn to go to  their graves without forgiving those who offend them.

But here is what Jesus said, if someone offends you, find a way to  fix it. God will not even accept your offering. What that means is that  your tithe and offering are not acceptable to God. The pastor may accept  it and even bless you, but heaven says No! to that gift you have  brought.

One common way by which people dishonour God today is swearing by His  name. Many even use God’s name as curse words. Many people have sworn  falsely by the name of God and they refused to hallow the name of God.

Jesus said in our reading of the day to believers, don’t swear at  all. You must be straightforward in your conversation. The Bible also  commanded that we should not take the name of God in vain; for the Lord  will not hold anyone that takes His name in vain guiltless (Exodus  20:7).

Your life as a believer must be different from others. You can not  live by the ways and standards of the world. Don’t forget that worldly  people are also holding you to this standard. You can imagine a child of  God swearing by the Holy name of God. It does not speak well of us.

The Bible says that our speech should not only be straightforward but  also filled with grace and seasoned with salt. If you are truly the  salt of the earth then your lifestyle must season people’s life. Apart  from speaking the truth at all times, no vulgar or idle words must be  found in your mouth.

Believers should not be caught in the web of gossip and backbiting.  We are called to represent our Lord as His ambassador (2 Corinthians  5:20). In any circumstance, our speech must be Yes or No, whatever is  more than that is sin.

Treasures are those things that you value the most in life. Since you  don’t keep valuables carelessly, a man stores up his treasure in a safe  place. In life, there are so many things that seem important to us and  are like treasures. Things like wealth, possessions, influence and so on  could account for those treasures.

It is sad how Christians consider the things of this world as  treasures. Those things will pass away with the world. People usually  forget the fact that we brought nothing into this world and we will  certainly take nothing out of it (1 Timothy 6:7). Those earthly  treasures will become another’s one day.

The word of God in our reading is a pointer to us that though God  wants His children to prosper materially, they should not make those  things their treasure. The greatest treasure any man can find is Jesus.  He is the eternal life that God gives to those who believe.

When you carefully look at the rich fool in our Bible reading, he was  not condemned for being rich, but not for not having the true riches of  God. He was so full of himself and desire to secure himself in the  world.

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”