Are Heaven and Hell real? Published by admin at 3:27 am under For skeptics Yes, heaven and hell are real. Terribly and wonderfully real. But how does one know that heaven and hell are real? Before we answer that, let us ask you - do you know that they are not real? If you “know” that they are not real, how do you know that? The Bible speaks often about the nature and reality of heaven and hell. Perhaps more often than anyone else, we find that Jesus said a lot about heaven and hell. Not only did he tell us of their existence, but Jesus told us what heaven and hell would be like and who would be there. We believe in heaven and hell because of what Jesus has said in the Bible. Now before you dismiss the witness of Jesus, consider this: Everyone will one day find out if heaven and hell are real, because everyone will one day die. When you die, you will either go to heaven or hell (or some other place), be reincarnated (in order to eventually reach a heaven-like existence) or you will simply disintegrate into nothingness. These are the only options. If you are not sure if heaven and hell exist, you are living a gamble - an eternal gamble. Do you want to be surprised when you die? Are you sure you want to wait until then to consider the possibility of their existence or what they are going to be like? Take a minute also to chew on this. If heaven and hell don’t exist, then whatever you do with your life doesn’t ultimately matter. You could be Hitler or Gandhi, Stalin or Mother Theresa, a child molester or a children’s doctor and it wouldn’t really matter. If heaven and hell don’t exist, then what’s the point? What if only heaven or only hell exists? Can you imagine mass murderers, wife beaters, racists and child abusers in heaven? If only heaven exists, where else are they going to go? Why do our judicial sentiments repulse the thought? If on the other hand, only hell exists, life is pointless and miserable. “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” So for justice to exist in the world and for life to be meaningful, there needs to be a heaven and a hell. And there is. What is Hell like? When the Bible talks about hell, it doesn’t mince words. Hell is a place of eternal, conscious torment. Jesus describes hell as “the outer darkness” where there will be “unquenchable fire,” “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” and “eternal punishment.” In that place the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. So make no mistake, there will be no party in hell. I heard someone say once, “I want to go to hell because that is where all the cool people will be.” What utter foolishness! Hell will be a place of isolation, anger, loneliness, misery, despair, grief, regret, hopelessness, agony, and torment. Hell is separation from God and everything that is good and right. Now we realize that you may have heard about hell before. Someone may have condemned you to hell, told you to go to hell, threatened you with hell, or shoved it down your throat. Although we believe that Christians should tell people clearly and unashamedly about hell, we believe it should be done with tears and the highest sensitivity. Woe to the person who so easily tells people that they can go there, or talks to others about hell in a condescending, flippant, or arrogant way! Hell is not an expletive used to season otherwise bland speech. Hell is real, and we warn you as those who care about your eternal soul - you don’t want to go there. Who will be in Hell? Before answering the question of who will be in hell, it should first be stated that everyone deserves hell. Let us say that again: everyone deserves hell. We all have, as it were, spit in the face of a loving and good God and rejected the very purpose for which we were created. God would be perfectly just to send everyone to hell. So the question is really not, “How can a loving God send anyone to hell?” but “How can a just and holy God allow any of us into heaven?” Given that preface, the people who will be in hell are those who have rejected the free gift of eternal life. God graciously sent his Son to earth to save us from our sins. By living a sinless life, dying a humiliating and painful death on a cross, and by being raised from the dead, Jesus can now offer a way for you to be made right with God and to live eternally with him. This gift is offered freely to all; but for those who reject this gift, who ignore God and choose to go their own way, only hell awaits them when they die. Someone may ask, “What about the people who live in some remote part of the world and have never heard about Jesus?” Good question. As harsh as it may sound, the Bible teaches that these people will also be in hell. The book of Romans chapter 1 makes it clear that all of creation testifies to the existence of God and his power. So even those who have never heard about Jesus have the witness of creation, and they have chosen to reject this witness and worship created things rather than the creator. What is Heaven like? The glory and pleasure of heaven are beyond all comprehension and description. Here is what Revelation says about God’s care of his saints in heaven: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” John, the author of Revelation, continues: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.” Heaven will be better than the best pleasure here on earth, and will be devoid of any of the evils here on earth that rob our joy. Heaven will be exceedingly wonderful because God is there, and his presence there is fully uncovered and enjoyed. The saints in heaven will enjoy relationship with God that is full of love and peace, and their relationships with each other will not be marred by jealously, envy, anger, lust, or rage. God will disclose his glory in heaven, of which we only catch glimpses or hear whispers here on earth. Heaven will in no way be boring or dull or lifeless. It will be better than you can imagine. You may have heard of heaven before and yawned. You might have an idea that heaven is only full of harps and people singing on clouds in monotone choruses. To that, the Christian wants to proclaim the true beauty of heaven and the beauty of the God who dwells there. Heaven is not some wishful, airy, fairyland or abstraction. Heaven, in some ways, is more real than this world, and is a place that everyone should desire because of the God who dwells there. Who will be in Heaven? Remember that no one, no one, deserves to go to heaven, no matter how many pious or religious things they have done here on earth. You can not earn heaven. You can not do enough good things, hoping to outweigh the bad and thereby gain entrance. Only those who have accepted the free offer of forgiveness and life in Jesus Christ are the ones who will go to heaven. Those who repent of their sins, recognizing their spiritual bankruptcy; those who empty themselves of all pride and self-sufficiency and humbly receive the gift of Jesus are the only ones who will go to heaven. Now there is much misunderstanding today about the nature of the acceptance of this gift.There are so many people who think that by saying a prayer or walking an aisle they somehow have purchased “fire insurance” and now can live any way they want and still go to heaven. That is not true! You are a slave of one of two masters - either you are a slave to sin or to God and there is no other option! So if your life is characterized by seeking pleasure from this world and if you are living for yourself, do not deceive yourself into thinking you are going to heaven. Only those who love God and keep his commands will be in heaven! This isn’t to say that only perfect people will go to heaven, because there are no perfect people. The key here is your life direction. Do you sincerely trust and follow Jesus? Are you honestly seeking to please God? Are you pouring out your life for his sake and the joy that is found in walking with him? Or is your life characterized by apathy or indifference toward God, a disregard for his commandments, and a love of self? “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Why should I care about Heaven and Hell? After reading the questions and answers above, we hope the last thing you would say is, “So why should I care about heaven and hell?” If you are saying that you obviously don’t get the point. Heaven and hell are REAL, and are ETERNAL. Hell is more awful and dreadful and miserable than you can possibly imagine and heaven is more wonderful and pleasant and excellent than you can possibly imagine. Heaven and hell are REAL. They are not just stories people tell to children, or threats used by angry preachers, or the idle musings of do-gooders. Heaven and hell are urgent, heavy, eternal realities that are rapidly approaching their fearful and wonderful revelation. So please don’t be flippant about eternity, or even the possibility of eternity. Don’t throw away your eternal future without a thought. Don’t snub a good and gracious God. Don’t waste your eternal life in the pursuit of things that are empty, deceptive, worthless, and vain. With all the aimless and worthless conversation that fills most of our lives, anyone who speaks of eternity should at least be listened to and considered. So we plead with you: Consider heaven and hell. Consider your eternal destiny. Consider God.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 02:54:42 +0000
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