Ozzy Ozbourne is Dead . . . is He in Heaven?
Last week, Ozzy Osbourne died. I remember hearing about him biting the head off a bat during a concert. He said he thought it was just a fake rubber bat, but who knows for sure. All I know is that it was shocking to say the least.
Ozzy was known for music that often included dark or occult themes, with lyrics that encouraged interest in evil things. He even called himself the “Prince of Darkness.” From his time with the band Black Sabbath to his solo career, he became more popular in the mainstream. People watched shows like The Osbournes and his road trip show with his son Jack on A&E. Fans loved his slurred speech and often bleeped-out language. The NFL also used part of his song “Crazy Train” during every kickoff (you may not know this if you don’t know his music).
Recently, I read about someone who met Ozzy a few months before his death and was able to give him a Bible. Ozzy’s son Jack later told this person that the Bible was one of Ozzy’s favorite possessions in those last weeks of his life. Imagine that—the “Prince of Darkness” valued a Bible more than anything else. Wow.
Maybe Ozzy did decide to follow Jesus, and if he did, that means he’s in heaven with God now. A heaven that includes people like Billy Graham, Reverend John McArthur, and any of us who have asked Jesus into our lives and confessed our sins.
I’ve thought about how humans tend to believe in fairness. We don’t like to think that someone who lived a wild or sinful life could still go to heaven if they turn to Jesus before they died. It feels unfair. But the Bible teaches that if someone genuinely turns to God and asks for forgiveness, they can be saved—no matter what they lived like before. That’s why it shouldn’t upset us when we see someone we thought was “too bad” to be saved actually become a follower of Jesus.
The story of Jonah and Nineveh from the Bible teaches a similar lesson.
Jonah 3:10 - 4:1
3:10 When God saw what they (Nineveh) did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
4:1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.
Jonah tried to flee from warning the Ninevites about their impending doom but God had him swallowed by a big fish, caused him to prophesy and the city, they repented….and Jonah became angry!
Jonah then tells God that he thinks it is better for him to die because he was so angry. He went into a dry land where God grew a plant up that provided shade that made Jonah happy then had a worm eat the plant and the sun scorched Jonah. The chapter and book ends with God telling Jonah that he didn’t create the plant and did nothing to help water that plant and was not responsible for it. The same was true with Nineveh in reference to Jonah’s anger. And the kicker is that the book doesn’t end knowing if Jonah saw the error of his ways.
The main message is that we should want everyone to go to heaven, no matter how they lived. We shouldn’t judge whether someone is worthy of God's grace, because NONE OF US are truly deserving. Of course we should keep the Bible as the standard for what it means to live a Godly life, but we must remember that we are all just sinners saved by grace.
Also, if you’re upset because someone who lived a sinful life might be in heaven, it’s a sign you should examine your relationship with Jesus. Are you following Him because you want something and are operating out of a performance mindset, or because you believe you’re better than others? If our reasons for following Christ are based on pride or wanting rewards, we are doing Christianity wrong.
We shouldn’t focus on celebrating what Ozzy did wrong or how he lived, but rather that he might have found salvation. We can rejoice in the idea that the devil potentially lost a soul, and that Ozzy may be with Jesus now. Only God truly knows a person’s heart, and we should want everyone to be in heaven with Jesus and not have to experience eternal damnation.