In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: "Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.(Matt 7:13,14) Then later, Jesus said : "Exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to get in but will not be able".(Luke 13:24) Thus, to gain "life" under God's kingdom requires ' vigorous ' effort, with few willing to make the needed changes, to imitate ' perfectly ' Christ Jesus.(Matt 5:48)
For example, Jesus again said that his followers or true Christians must be "no part of the world". Hence as a result of this, these would be "hated".(John 15:19) He reiterated this hours laters when before Pilate, after Pilate had asked him whether he was a king, saying:"My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source." (John 18:36) Thus true Christians do not involve themselves in this "world's" politics. The apostle Paul was inspired to write that "all those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted."(2 Tim 3:12)
Too, Jesus said that "You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this, You must love your neighbor as yourself."(Matt 22:37-39) And the apostle Paul, in quoting from Joel 2:32, wrote that "everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved."(Rom 10:13) Thus, James wrote that "God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name, his name being Jehovah.(Acts 15:14) Hence, a true Christian must love Jehovah God and be unashamed of that name, just as Jesus was.(John 17:6,26)
These ones are taught at the "house of Jehovah" to have beaten their "their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."(Isaiah 2:2-4 American Standard Version) Hence, these would not participate in any wars, but have become "meek ones".(Matt 5:5)
Furthermore, Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, told them that "Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? " Hence, one who wishes to become a true Christian must avoid any false religious teachings, such as Christmas, Easter, even the teachings of a person being burned in a hellfire or that the soul is immortal. A brief look will help some to understand why.
At Jeremiah 7:31, the nation of Israel is condemned for their having burned "their sons and their daughters in the fire". Yet Jehovah God sternly tells them that "they have built the high places of To´pheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hin´nom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart." And again, at Jeremiah 32:35, the Bible account says that "they built the high places of Ba´al that are in the valley of the son of Hin´nom, in order to make their sons and their daughters pass through [the fire] to Mo´lech, a thing that I did not command them, neither did it come up into my heart to do this detestable thing, for the purpose of making Judah sin." Thus, how could God torment people in a "hellfire" when he had already condemned the nation for this practice, saying that it was "which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination." ?(American Standard Version) How could God call this an "abomination" and "sin" and yet torment people himself in "hellfire" ? This would be hypocritical. But because the Greek words Hades and ge´en·na have been mistranslated by many Bibles, many have come to believe that God torments wicked people in "hell". The apostle John wrote that "God is love".(1 John 4:8) No loving parent would ever torment their children, only abusive ones. Of the wicked, Jesus does say that these will be destroyed, not tormented.(Luke 13:1-5)
Of the soul, the Bible says that it can be "cut off" or put to death, at Leviticus 7:20, saying: "But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people."(King James Bible) That it can eat, for verse 25 says that "For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people", that the soul can "be afflicted" at Leviticus 16:29, that God condemns it for "eating blood" at Leviticus 17:10 and 12, that the soul can touch something "unclean" and be "unclean" itself, at Leviticus 22:6, that it can be purchased, at Leviticus 22:11, that it works and can be destroyed, at Leviticus 23:30, that it can " pine away" at Leviticus 26:16, that animals are souls at Numbers 31:28, that it has a desire to eat at Deuteronomy 12:15 and 20, that the soul can crave for "oxen...sheep...wine" at Deuteronomy 14:26, that Joshua destroyed all the souls of Makkedah at Joshua 10:28, that it has blood at Jeremiah 2:34, that the soul can be destroyed, for the apostle Peter said: "that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people."(Acts 3:23 King James Bible) Furthermore, Genesis 2:7 says of Adam: "And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."(American Standard Version) Thus, Adam was not given a soul, but rather he became a "living soul" after God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life".In addition, Ezekiel 18:4 says that "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Hence, the soul is us, with all our feelings and desires, and eventually it dies.
Of Christmas, it is very well known that it originated from pagan sources, coming for the worship of the Persian sun god Mithra, whom the Romans worshipped. Microsoft Encarta notes that "most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the 4th century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day for the Feast of the Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals. For example, the Church replaced festivities honoring the birth of Mithra, the god of light, with festivities to commemorate the birth of Jesus, whom the Bible calls the light of the world. The Catholic Church hoped to draw pagans into its religion by allowing them to continue their revelry while simultaneously honoring the birthday of Jesus."
Similiarly of Easter, for what does the rabbit and eggs have to do with the resurrection of Jesus ? Rather, it came from the worship of an ancient Phoenician fertility goddess called Astarte, who had as her symbols the egg and the hare. She had an insatiable thirst for blood and immoral sex. Too, at Luke 22:19, Jesus did not tell his disciples to observe his resurrection but rather the day of his death.
Jesus also told his faithful disciples to "go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: (Matt 28:19,20 American Standard Version) Thus, those who follow in Jesus footsteps are to be "witnesses....to the most distant part of the earth".(Acts 1:8)
These are a few of the necessary "requirements" to gain life under God's kingdom, whether in heaven or on the earth.