Is believing enough? It depends. In John 3:15-18, Jesus does say that believing in Him is sufficient to escape the condemnation of everlasting fire. But He does not say that believing in Him is necessary to escape the lake of fire, which should be of great comfort to anyone who has lost an infant. We must consider the possibility that — as most Christians assume — entering God’s Kingdom is equivalent to the escaping condemnation in the lake of fire; and that the two concepts are two sides of the same coin – that you can’t have one without the other. If that were true, then it would be impossible for children having died before being able to understand and believe the gospel to enter the Kingdom of God, and therefore they would be destined for the lake of fire.

The scriptural argument against this assumption is: Paul wrote that no one can call Jesus “Lord” without the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3) But Jesus said that not everyone who addresses Him as “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 7:21) Isn’t this a contradiction? Also the New and Old Testament both state that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Joel 2:32; Romans 10:13)

Is it possible to be saved and not be in the Kingdom of God? The Bible says so. But how can this be? Here is the secret to understanding all the mysteries of the Bible: Salvation in eternity is not the same thing as entrance into the Millennial Kingdom. At some point in the future, Jesus Christ will return to this earth to set up His Kingdom which will last 1000 years, which will be followed by eternity. This distinction is either downplayed, or even the denied outright, in most churches.

The Bible seems to describe no less than two salvations. When a certain jailer asks Paul  the apostle “What must I do to be saved?” Paul replies, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:30-31) Sounds easy! But when asked if many or few will be saved, Jesus tells his disciples to “strive to enter in at the narrow gate, many seek it, but few find it.” (Luke 13:24) So, is it “believe”, or “strive”? Do you have to strive, (agonize, struggle, wrestle, labor) in order to believe? Or do you have to believe in order to strive? It seems that the latter is more likely, and agrees more with the gospel of grace. You must first believe in the Son of God to be saved, and having become a child of God, and having access to the Father, you are enabled and empowered to strive toward the goal of entrance into the Millennial Kingdom.

And what if you don’t strive? There is no guarantee of Kingdom entrance for the believer, only of escaping the punishment of the lake of fire. What will the believer that does not enter the Kingdom do for the duration of the thousand-year reign of Christ? Search the scriptures! Matthew records it as darkness. “Many are the called, but few are the chosen.” (Matthew 20:16)

You ask, what must I do to enter the Kingdom, then? I can’t tell you. If I did, it would immediately become legalism. Read your Bible, every word. Abide in Jesus and his words and let them abide in you. (John 15:7) Walk in the spirit. (Galatians 5:16) Forgive others and confess your sins regularly. (Matthew 6:14-15; 1 John 1:9) Love, practice mercy, obey God and His word. (Zechariah 7:9) The good thing is, even the smallest act of kindness done in the Lord’s name will be repaid in His Kingdom. (Matthew 10:42) So be confident that your good works will abide and be assured that you are saved eternally no matter what, if you have trusted Christ as savior.

Many Christians may leave the theaters perplexed as to the biblical basis for the latest Veggie Tales film. Sure, there are some Christian idea’s dispersed throughout, but we are used to funny vegetable dipictions of popular Bible characters. For example, Little Joe retells the story of Joseph. There is a Veggie version of Moses, Esther, Jonah, and David and Goliath. But the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything
doesn’t seems to have a clear parallel to any Bible story. Or does it?

We have a Prince and a Princess, three ne’er-do-wells, a benevolent King, and an evil villain. Watching the movie in the theater, I began drawing parallels to the last days scenario portrayed in the book of the Revelation, and the epistles of Paul.

The show is about an Evil guy named Robert who is intent on taking over his brother’s kingdom because he is incensed that his brother is wasting the family’s vast riches on the poor, the widows, and the orphans. In Evil Robert’s attempt to steal the throne, he captures the rightful heirs to the kingdom and tries to coerce them into giving him information about when the King will be returning, so he can blow up his ship and seize the throne.

Satan’s strategy seems to be similar. He is trying to take as many heirs of God’s kingdom out of the way as he can through temptations and spiritual warfare. And I am sure that Satan would like to know when the Lord Jesus Christ will be returning at His Second Coming so he could try to set some kind of ambush for Him.

Near the end of the movie, the King returns in brightness and glory and destroys his evil brother’s ship. (Revelation 19:11-21; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9) But, Evil Robert sinks into the abyss, (Revelation 20:1-3) not to be seen again until after the three Overcomers are recognized for their service (Revelation 20:4) and are sent back to their home, 400 years in the future. (Sure, it’s not quite a thousand years, but hey!) The Evil Robert makes a second attack, but is defeated again, with Evil Robert seeming disappearing into who-knows-where… maybe analogous to the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:7-10)

This movie is about the Gospel of the Kingdom, and the character traits of those who will be counted worthy to inherit that age. (Matthew 5-7) It is about the Second Coming of Christ, and the Kingdom of God, the Millennial Reign of Christ. It also depicts the Judgment Seat of Christ with perfect timing.

It is an excellent movie to teach children about the coming Kingdom of Heaven.