"For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life." https://www.esv.org/Leviticus+17/

Of course, heartfelt repentance must be included as well.

2 Chronicles 7: 13-16 (Tawrat) https://www.esv.org/2+Chronicles+7/
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”

This was the practice of the Jews then and till this day; approximately three million animals are sacrificed during the Passover Festivities. The Jews celebrate this in order to recall God’s justice and mercy at the same time which took place in Egypt. This story is recorded in the Torah, Exodus chapters 11-13.

Neither Muslims nor Christians are maintaining this practice, what changed? So how does a Christian or a Muslim enter Heaven? Read part 2 to find out! 

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Part 2.

In part 1 we demonstrated that the only way one may enter the kingdom of God (Heaven) would be through the blood sacrifice of a substitute. This can be seen in the story behind Eid al Adha, or the Islamic Celebration of the ancient Sacrifice recorded in Genesis 22. In that narrative God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son to test Abraham's obedience. At the last moment the LORD spared him from this heinous act but He still required a sacrifice. The sacrifice was a ram that the Almighty required as a substitute for Abraham's son. But was that the whole lesson? It would seem not. Even though Abraham passed the test of obed- ience, apparently the LORD had another lesson for him because, again, He still required a sacrifice. Why? we should pause to ask.  And of course, although repentance does not seem to be part of the equation in this particular event we can agree that it always must be. *That story can be found here: https://www.esv.org/Genesis+22/)  

But how does Islam allow for a person (Muslim or non-Muslim) to enter into Heaven? Basically, all Muslims will base it on deeds. But then again, some say that Lord willing ("inshallah") God may, or may not, allow entrance into Heaven, but a person cannot know. There’s an uncertainty! Either a person will enter Heaven by works and merit or by God’s decision alone. So which is it?

"Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for the believer, nor shall they grieve." (Quran 2:62)

The verse above is one of the main Qur'an verses used by Muslims. But there are others we can refer to such as Surah 2:4-5, 5:68, 4:152, 4:136, 48:13, 2:285, and many more. Essentially, entrance into Heaven is by works/merit and belief in the one God of the Qur'an and Muhammad as His true messenger.

However, there’s one story that I struggle with, and one with which many Muslims struggle when the question is raised. Keep in mind that the story is true because it is also recorded in the Torah, Exodus 32:19. Moses is on the mountain with God, he comes down and the people are worshiping the golden calf. He gets very angry with them and breaks the Ten Commandments of God by which one can please God and enter Heaven (they thought).  https://www.esv.org/Exodus+32/

Quran 7:150
"And when Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, 'How wretched is that by which you have replaced me after [my departure]. Were you impatient over the matter of your Lord?' And he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by [the hair of] his head, pulling him toward him. [Aaron] said, 'O son of my mother, indeed the people oppressed me and were about to kill me, so let not the enemies rejoice over me and do not place me among the wrongdoing people.'"

If all we have to do is believe in God and his prophet and perform good deeds, why did Moses throw down the tablets? Why did he not proclaim and say, “All we have to do now is make sure that we follow the rest of the Ten Commandments and we shall be fine with God.” It's because if we break one commandment of God we are guilty of all ten. God is so holy, he cannot and does not allow liars, murders, thieves, and envious people into Heaven where He dwells. He cannot turn a blind eye to our sins!

God takes sin very seriously. Even one lie is enough for us to enter Hell forever. But the average person lies about five times per day. Count your days and you’ll have an average of how many lies you’ve told. But will God still forgive and allow us into Heaven? No way.

Perhaps you committed murder and rape ten years ago. You’ve now decided to turn yourself in to the authorities due to the burden of guilt. You’re now standing in front of a judge with many witnesses testifying to your good deeds. They include giving half of your money to the poor, fasting six months out the year, performing good deeds to all that you meet, and praying ten times a day. The judge is admiring what you’ve done. However, if he’s a good judge, will he set you free of your crime?No! If he’s a good judge he’ll uphold the law and sentence you to prison according to the degree of your crime. So it is with God, He always honors his own law. He will sentence you to prison (Hell) for all eternity since He is a good judge and a righteous one. To God Almighty, that one lie is as great as murder. But wait, we’re guilty of much more than that one lie, way more…

We surely agree that we must all answer to a Holy and Just God, and we must pay for our sins. Because He’s just He will always honor his justice regarding sins against him. He will rightly 'quarantine' us as you would quarantine a contagious disease or a virus on your computer, to a place where sinners dwell and their sin will not infect or defile his holy presence. 

But then, who can be saved? And if so, how?

This is where Jesus comes in. Anyone who believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior will be saved from everlasting Hell.  Everyone who believes in his/her heart that He is who He claimed to be in the truthful narratives of the Injeel. "But that’s too easy", some say, "how can this work?"

Do you remember the blood atonement for sins we talked about in part 1? Indeed, it is Jesus who shed his innocent blood as a substitute on our behalf, sent to us by God Almighty. Jesus lived a sinless life according to the Bible and the Qur'an.

Jesus committed no sin according to 1 Peter 2:22 of the Injeel: “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.” https://www.esv.org/1+Peter+2/

The Qur'an also declares that Jesus committed no sin. This occurred when the angel Gabriel (Jibrill) appeared to Mary to announce her conception of Jesus when he said, “I am only a messenger of your Lord, to announce to you a FAULTLESS SON.”  (Qur'an 19:19)

The ultimate atonement for sin, once and for all, was Jesus Christ. God, in His infinite wisdom, provided a way to enter Heaven through Jesus. Jesus lived the life that we should have lived and died the way that we should have died. In Jesus, God punished sin and forgave it at the same time, because he knew there was no way we ever could. The penalty of sin was laid on Jesus for your sake, yet the righteousness of Jesus was given to us.

But if you reject it, all of this would render God’s gift, Jesus Christ, an invalid atonement. If you reject it, you are lost. You cannot enter Heaven by your good deeds, and it is certain that your bad deeds outweigh them.

John 14:6 of the Injeel (New Testament) https://www.esv.org/John+14/
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Hebrews 2:3 of the Injeel (New Testament) https://www.esv.org/Hebrews+2/
“How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who hear him.”

That great salvation…is Jesus the Christ!