HOW TO OBTAIN
FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS
AND GO TO HEAVEN
The most important matter in life, during our time on Earth, that we must focus on and confirm is: after our earthly existence ends and we go to eternity, where will we spend it and with whom? We cannot know this unless God condescends and reveals to us the way by which we can reconcile with Him and reach Him. Therefore, religions descended to guide us and show us what we must do.
It is stated in the Holy Quran in Surah Maryam {71}:
"And there is none of you but will pass over it; this is with your Lord a decree which must be accomplished. {72} Then We will save those who feared Allah, and leave the wrongdoers therein, on their knees."
And in Al-Tabari's commentary on this verse, he cites this hadith:
“Narrated by Abu Kuraib, he said: Thana Ibn Yaman, from Malik bin Maghul, from Abu Ishaq, who said: When Abu Maysara went to his bed, he would say: 'Oh, if only my mother had not given birth to me,' then he would weep. It was asked: 'What makes you weep, Abu Maysara?' He said: 'We were told that we would enter it, but we were not told that we would exit it.'”
Scholars have differed in interpreting the meaning of "passing over" and the extent of piety, as these are not supported by other verses from the Quran. This matter should ideally be utterly clear and simple, as it is in the Torah and the Gospel, so that any person can be assured of their eternal destiny.
In Sahih Muslim (71/2816), it is narrated from Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (PBUH), that she used to say: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
“Be balanced and draw near, and rejoice, for no one's deeds will enter them into Paradise.”
They asked,
"Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?"
He said,
"Not even I, unless Allah covers me with His mercy. And know that the most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are continuous, even if small."
This indicates that good deeds will be rewarded here on Earth, but they will not lead to Heaven (Paradise). So, what is the solution? Is it redemption, as stated in Surah Al-Saffat 107:
"And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice"?
What is the meaning of ransom in Islam? And can a sheep redeem a human? God forbid, for man's value is very great in the eyes of his Creator because he was created in the image and likeness of God.
In the Torah and the Gospel, we find that only one type of person will enter Heaven (Paradise): those whose sins have been forgiven through redemption. This is the main theme that connects the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
How Man Obtains Forgiveness for His Sins
I remind the reader of what is stated in Surah Yunus 94:
"So if you are in doubt, [O Muhammad], about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters."1
This confirms that what came in the Gospel is the divine truth, because it is impossible for God to tell the Prophet to compare what was revealed to him with a corrupted or fabricated book.
God created our parents in Paradise in perfect perfection and innocence. In Genesis 2:16,
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'"
This was to test their obedience. But through the temptation of Satan, they ate from it, and immediately lost their innocence, felt naked, and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. But God came and pronounced judgment upon them, promised them that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (Satan), made garments of skin for them, and cast them out of Paradise (Genesis 2 & 3).
Our parents learned that the way of worship and drawing near to God is through offering a sacrifice (because they knew that the skin of the sacrifice covered them). When their son Cain offered fruits from the earth to worship God, God rejected them but accepted the sacrifice of his brother Abel because it was a sacrifice of sheep (offered on an altar of stone, cut into pieces, and burned with fire, called a burnt offering, which represents the punishment for sin committed by man and serves as a substitute for him). This continued until the Prophet Moses, whom God showed in detail the form of the tabernacle in which they would worship, and gave him the Law and commandments that the people must observe throughout their lives. God described with extreme precision the specifications of all the components of the place of worship, its ordinances, and its rituals, and commanded that nothing should be added to or subtracted from it.
However, some priests did not observe this commandment. Nadab and Abihu put fire in their censers that was not according to God's specifications, so fire came out from the Lord and consumed them. Also, 250 men who were not priests tried to offer incense to the Lord, and fire came out from the Lord and consumed them. Furthermore, three men, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, demanded to be priests and rebelled against the Prophet Moses, so the earth opened up and swallowed them. God's matters are very precise and cannot be overstepped, for they are the way to obtain forgiveness for our sins and acceptance before God.
The ordinances and animal sacrifices according to the Law given to the Prophet Moses were constant and never changed throughout the Old Testament and were repeated continuously because they were not equal to the value of man. They could not remove sin because the life of an animal is not equal to the life of a human, who was created in the image of God. The reason is as follows:
When God created man, as in Genesis 2:7,
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."
As for animals, as in Genesis 1:24,
"Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind'; and it was so."2
Human life is far superior to animal life, as God did not breathe into animals, but they arose from the cursed earth. Therefore, animal sacrifice can never be the ransom for sinful man. This is God's declaration:
Romans 3:10: As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not3 one.”
Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Ezekiel 18:4: "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die."4
And in Leviticus 17:11:
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul."
And in Hebrews 9:22:
"And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission."5
Therefore, there was a need for a human who had committed no sin, in whom no sin existed, and who knew no sin, to die for humanity. If so, we would need billions of sinless people to pay the debt of divine justice and redeem humanity, which does not exist. So, what is the solution?
The only unlimited being is the Lord God, but He is not human. He is love, and the source of all mercy, goodness, and righteousness. Therefore, He chose to incarnate to redeem humanity. He consented to take on a body and be born of the blessed Virgin Mary, and lived as a human in every sense of the word, sharing in all our pains, sorrows, needs, and poverty... except for sin. He revealed the invisible nature of God in all its perfections (so the divinity took on a body and became 100% the human Jesus Christ, while remaining at the same time 100% God, without mixture or change in His nature, and God remains God and man remains man). The proof is found in:
Surah Al-Saffat 107: "And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice."
A sheep is not a great sacrifice.
Al-Qalam 42: "The Day a leg will be uncovered, and they will be invited to prostration, but they will not be able."
The limitless God appears on a limited throne carried by eight angels, He who fills the entire universe.
Although the Jews do not believe in this truth found in their books, and they avoid it:
Genesis 18:22: "Then Abraham answered and said, 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord.'"
Abraham6 said this when God appeared to him; please read the entire chapter.
Exodus 24:10: "And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity."7
Please read the entire chapter.
Deuteronomy 34:10: "But since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face."
Exodus 33:11: “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”
Isaiah 53:3: “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
This prophecy about the sufferings of Christ for us was written about 700 years before the coming of Christ.
Dear reader, you are free to accept this truth and believe in it or reject it, but after life ends, you will face God and meet this certain fate if your sins are unforgiven:
Revelation 20:11: "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it... And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the8 Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books... And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."9