What Jesus Actually Taught About Forgiveness, Heaven, and Truth

I’ve always been a curious person.

Not curious in a “prove someone wrong” way - more like a quiet ache to understand why things don’t feel right when everyone says they should.

For years, that ache pointed me toward God.

But the closer I got to God, and Jesus, the further I felt from religion.

It was strange.

The more I read the words of Jesus - or Yeshua - the more I felt peace.

But the more I listened to religion explain Him, the more confusion I felt.

Yeshua spoke of love, unity, and finding God within.

Religion spoke of rules, rituals, and the need to prove yourself worthy.

That didn’t sit right with me.

So I did what I always do when something feels off - I asked questions.

And what I found reshaped everything I thought I knew about sin, forgiveness, and Heaven itself.

Which ultimately led me to leaving religion and finding spirituality.

Forgiveness Was Never About a Ledger

For most of my life, I thought “forgiveness of sins” meant that God erased a list of bad behaviors.

Like divine bookkeeping.

But the original words tell a different story.

Sin - hamartia - means to miss the mark, to be out of alignment with truth.
Forgive - aphíēmi - means to release, to let go, to set free.

So when Yeshua said, “Your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5), He wasn’t granting permission to feel worthy again -

He was saying, “You are already free. Let go of what keeps you bound.”

Sin isn’t evil; it’s disconnection.

Forgiveness isn’t pardon; it’s reconnection.

That’s why He tied healing to forgiveness.

“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up and walk?’” - Mark 2:9

He was showing us that release is the healing.

That when you stop carrying guilt and shame, you return to flow - to alignment.

To truth.
To God.

“The Kingdom of God is within you.” - Luke 17:21

It's something you already have, you don't need to earn it.

You Were Never Cut Off From the Source

Religion says you must go through Jesus to be forgiven.

But Yeshua never said that.

He told people to go directly to the Father:

“When you pray, say: Our Father…” - Luke 11:2
“Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” - Luke 6:37

No gatekeeper. No mediator. No transaction.

So what did He mean when He said,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6

He was describing a state of being, not an entry requirement.

The “Way” (Derek), “Truth” (Emet), and “Life” (Chayim) are qualities of consciousness.

He was saying:

“Live in truth. Embody love. Awaken to life itself - and you will know the Father as I do.”

He wasn’t building an institution.
He was awakening awareness.

Heaven Isn’t Up There - It’s In Here

“The Kingdom of God is within you.” - Luke 17:21

That one verse dismantles centuries of fear-based theology.

In Aramaic, the word shmaya (Heaven) doesn’t mean a sky kingdom.

It means the ever-expanding light of creation - the invisible presence of God woven through everything.

When Yeshua said,

“Our Father who art in Heaven…”
He wasn’t pointing upward.
He was pointing inward and everywhere.

Heaven isn’t a reward you earn; it’s a reality you perceive when your heart clears enough to see.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” - Matthew 5:8

Purity isn’t about rule-keeping.
It’s about perception - seeing life without distortion.

Religion says: Behave now, reach Heaven later.
Yeshua said: Awaken now, and you’ll realize Heaven’s already here.

The Atonement Was Never a Transaction

I used to believe Yeshua died to pay for humanity’s sins.
But He never said that.

He said, “Your Father already forgives you.”
The cross wasn’t about punishment - it was about revelation.

The word atonement means “at-one-ment” - to be made one.
In Hebrew, kaphar means to cover, reconcile, restore harmony.

He didn’t die to change God’s mind about humanity.
He died to change humanity’s mind about God.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” - Luke 23:34

That’s not a legal transaction.
That’s unconditional love - even for those driving the nails.

“That they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You.” - John 17:21

That’s the real atonement - oneness remembered.

Hell Was a Metaphor, Not a Threat

Yeshua never described hell as eternal torture.
He spoke of Gehenna - a valley outside Jerusalem where refuse burned.

He used it as a metaphor for the fire of disconnection -
the self-created torment of living out of alignment with truth.

And the “devil”?
The word diabolos means divider.
It wasn’t a red demon.
It was the ego - the voice that divides, deceives, and accuses.

“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth.” - John 8:44

Heaven and hell aren’t destinations.
They’re states of consciousness.

Heaven is union.
Hell is separation.

The fire doesn’t punish.
It refines.
It burns away what’s false until only love remains.

The Truth Beneath It All

The deeper I study, the clearer it becomes:
Yeshua wasn’t starting a religion - He was ending the illusion of separation.

Forgiveness wasn’t about guilt.
Heaven wasn’t distant.
The cross wasn’t a deal.
Hell wasn’t eternal punishment.

All of it was about awakening.
Returning to the truth that God was never far away - we just stopped seeing.

“The truth will set you free.” - John 8:32

And maybe the search itself - the questioning, the curiosity, the willingness to doubt what doesn’t feel right -
is the real prayer.

The one that leads you home.