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Heaven And Hell
What the Bible really says about heaven and hell.
By Lesli White
Heaven and hell both exist and we know this
because Scripture tells us so.
The Bible speaks on the reality of hell in the
same terms as the reality of heaven.
Revelation
20:14 says, “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the
lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name
was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
The truth is Jesus spent more time warning
people about the dangers of hell than He did in comforting them with the hope
of heaven.
The concept of real, conscious, forever-and-ever
existence in hell is just as biblical as a real, conscious, forever-and-ever
existence in heaven. Trying to separate them is simply not possible from a
biblical standpoint.
A lot of this has to do with wishful thinking.
It’s easier to accept the idea of a happy and comfortable afterlife, but
damnation isn’t quite so appealing.
This is very similar to the mistake so many
people often make when it comes to substance abuse, dangerous behaviors and so on.
The assumption that we will get what we want
overrides the unpleasant but rational view that things might not end well.
The Bible gives many particulars about heaven.
One of the greatest things that we have to look
forward to is that the struggle over sin will finally be over. We all struggle
with sin every day.
We know that in
the kingdom of heaven “nothing
unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false,
but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).
This is only possible
because of Jesus. We have no fear of being judged for our sin because it was
already judged and taken away at the cross by Christ.
We will have heavenly
bodies, free from sin. We will no longer face the challenges and limitations we
face one earth.
We also know from
Scripture that God is preparing a place for us now.
When the person
presiding over the funeral uses Scripture to support this claim of immediate
life after death, they often reference John 14.
Jesus did, indeed,
promise that He left the earth to go and prepare a place for those who would
eventually follow Him to heaven.
On that point, the
Bible is unmistakably clear. As Christians, we are right to find comfort in
that promise.
We are supposed to long for heaven. The Bible tells us, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things
that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your
minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have
died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life
appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).
As God’s people, we
should long for heaven. When we do, this pleases our Lord who has prepared a
place there for us.
We should be
ever-motivated by the anticipation of heaven. Heaven and all that it represents
should be a central object of our attention in this life.
Our hearts and minds are to be continuously set on these “things above” where Christ is in heaven, not on “earthly things.”
On the flip side, the
Bible actually gives very few particulars about hell. We know that it was
originally intended for demonic spiritual beings, not people.
The Bible tells us, “Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and
his angels;” (Matthew 25:41).
The experience of
being in hell is compared to burning.
We are also told in Luke 16:24, “And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and
send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am
in anguish in this flame’” (Luke
16:24).
We are also told in
Scripture that hell is like darkness.
The Bible says, “Then the kind said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot
and cast him into the outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth’” (Matthew 22:13).
Hell is also
associated with intense grief and horror.
Comfort and belief in
the existence of heaven, but rejection of the existence of hell can be blamed
on inaccurate assumptions about what hell is.
Hell is frequently
imagined as a burning wasteland, a dungeon of cauldrons and pitchforks, or an
underground city filled with ghosts and goblins.
These popular
depictions of hell often involve a flaming torture chamber or a spiritual jail
where evil things reside – and where good things travel to battle evil.
But these popular
depictions don’t capture what hell is.
In fact, this version
of hell does not exist. The details about hell that are given in the Bible
don’t match popular myths.
The Bible does not
explicitly what hell is or how exactly it functions.
However, what the
Bible does make clear is that hell is real, eternal and should be avoided at
all costs.
We know from
Scripture that heaven is not only a real place, but also a dwelling place of
God.
His throne is there,
the angels are there, and the Lord Jesus Christ is there. What greater place do
we have to look forward to?
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