Is Michael Jackson in Heaven?

Just as Tony says he'd "look askance at any religious leader who would answer that with any degree of certainty," I'd look askance at any human talking about a defined heaven in general.

So many religious persons have an obsessive focus on the afterlife, as the Daily Beast article illustrates. Strict ideas of heaven and hell only serve to feed the linear, dualistic, good/bad, in/out, us/them mentality that has, in my opinion, only served to divide humanity while on this earth.

The whole question of 'who is where' is a silly waste of time. But hey, it is a good distraction from the present and from our own lives.

Jesus seemed to have an obsession with the afterlife:

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going."
(John 14:1-4)

Tony, like usual, you don't give an answer. Everybody doesn't go to heaven Tony. Just doesn't work that way. Check "the Protestant Bible" to see more about this.

Jason said it best, "Michael was lost and was searching..." that is a very sad epitaph. My prayer is that every and anyone who is lost finds God through Jesus Christ and finds peace,hope, joy etc on this earth and the afterlife.

Tony follows the emergence, postmodern mantra by refusing to be absolutely clear about his answer, manifest scorn for those who dare to comment on the issue with any degree of certainty, and, of course, make sure to make a hint at universalism.

Way to follow the party line, Tony.

Repent and surrender to the real Christ while He is being gracious.

CP,

Do you blog somewhere? i ask because i'd become an ardent reader! :) i really enjoy the perspectives you present in your comments on this post like:

1. 'But, I believe the Bible to be a book of beautiful stories, based in truth, meant to teach us a way of life, not a literal history.' i am gonna quote you on my blog sometime! i dig this and really resonate with what you are saying! THANK YOU for your succinct way of explaining this!

2. 'The Kingdom of Heaven in the here and now. Not a far off fantasy or something to make us sigh with relief because "we're saved and now if we could just get everyone in the world to think exactly like us".' This is how i used to believe and do not any longer. i get called a heretic all the time! :)

3. 'Strict ideas of heaven and hell only serve to feed the linear, dualistic, good/bad, in/out, us/them mentality that has, in my opinion, only served to divide humanity while on this earth.

The whole question of 'who is where' is a silly waste of time. But hey, it is a good distraction from the present and from our own lives.' i couldn't agree more and like how you say this. We as humans like to look at distractions rather than waste precious time on our own lives!

Warmest Regards,
EP

Is Michael Jackson in heaven? I believe this was entirely up to Michael Jackson. How did MJ value the gospel of Jesus Christ in his heart, mind, and soul? Did MJ have a correctly appropriated relationship with Jesus Christ? Did MJ accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and the Lord of His life? I think the fruit (products) of the Holy Spirit working inside the person at question is a determining factor for others' discernment of whether the person was a true believer (separated from the world's opinions in order to turn to, trust in, and rely upon the resurrected Jesus Christ and His principles found in His Word, the Holy {Christian} Bible) or not. Other's witness these things in a believer's life. We all sin, however with a non-believer sin [rebellion against the will and purpose of (from) God concerning oneself and others] is the rule and not the exception in one's life. With a believer, sin [rebellion against the will and purposes of (from) God concerning oneself and others] is the exception and not the rule in his or her life. I think you can look at MJ's life overall and get a pretty good idea of whether or not he esteemed Jesus of Nazareth as being the Christ of (from) God. Do I know personally whether MJ is in heaven. No, I don't. Since Christ (Jesus Christ, the Messiah) wants all people to come to Him for the gift of salvation during their lifetimes on an individual basis at some point before they die, I can't personally say whether Michael J. ever made that sincere decision which would turn his life around from it's previous state of self destruction. I don't think anyone can but Jesus, Michael, and the others present in heaven....(and they don't tell me) know the answer to this question right now. The answer is in the Bible and primarily in the New Testament (God's new agreement with mankind). In short, did Michel Jackson yield to the slight inclination of (from) the Holy Sprit of Jesus Christ to follow His instructions? In other words, did Michael Jackson ever receive the faith God gives to all Christians in His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, in the role He so righteously deserves by way of God's merciful grace? I think these are some questions we all can think about not only towards the life of Micheal Jackson, but towards our own self. Thank you.

Jonathan,

All I'll say is that what you probably assume is a "plain" reading of scripture suggests you misunderstand much of what you read. You have to read the passages in their original literary/cultural context to hear them correctly. And, to that end, I'd say that in the above comment you're both misunderstanding what it means to be "born again" and what the expression "Kingdom of Heaven" means. I'd suggest you read some N.T. Wright for a primer. Ultimate disembodied bliss was not the aim that Jesus was on about. The challenge for you is, because you've been told to read the Bible like that, for so long now, the correct interpretation - again, based on the original context - would actually "wrong" to you. The question is: can you die to your reading of these passages if it can be shown to do injustice to the original intent of the writers?

Folks, Michael Jackson was raised a Jehvoah Witness. He never accept Jesus as his Lord and savior. Not even on his death bed. Just because Michael did the sabbath, does not mean a thing. His childern Never even went to school. He never entered a church.
And a child molester? in heaven, no way. A man who thought nothing of it having boys in the same bed with him. And his childern slept in the same bed too. He paid these childern millions to shut up so the, court molester charges would go away.

This post asked the wrong question, "Is Michael Jackson in heaven?"

A plain reading of scripture indicates what we are to passionately pray for, "Your kingdom, your will, your justice be done right down here in our messy lives on earth as it is being done in heaven."

A better question, "In what ways did God work through Michael's life to bring the kingdom, the will, the justice of God to this planet?"

Stop asking the "up" questions.

Start asking the "down" questions.

Biblical faith is a "down" religion where God "comes to us"

Pseudo-biblical faith is "up" regilion where we figure out how to get "up to" where God is

Michael did confess Jesus Christ three weeks before his death. Please get your facts straight.

And let me add to all of you who seem to "know" if someone is/isn't qualified for heaven. Jesus can say who is/is not in heaven. But I'm not Jesus. I think we have a far greater probability to identify who IS in heaven than who is not. But at the end of the day, such judgments by human beings are opinions. They are not and cannot be definitive.

So why are we even trying to find an "answer" to this question?

I just thought the article above had an interesting perspective on prayer.