6. Heaven and hell are both real places.
In previous posts we’ve given evidence to prove that there’s a Christian God in heaven and the “Lord” is his name. We’ve also proven beyond any doubt that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died on the cross for the sins of all men. We’ve shown that our inerrant Holy Bible is the word of God, the truth of God and the wisdom of God. If the existence of God, Jesus, and God’s word are true then it follows that the existence of heaven and hell is also true. Heaven and hell are both real places. You can’t pick and choose what tenets of the Christian faith you want to believer in. Believe it all or believe none of it. God will spit out a lukewarm believer. God wants a believer with a passion for God. Both heaven and hell are either ignored, ridiculed or denied by the world today. Believing Christians should not fall into the snares that trap the nonbeliever. Satan is the god of this world and he has blinded man to the truth of God, including the existence of heaven and hell.
Psalm 46:8 – Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth (emptied out Paradise).
Luke 4:18 – (Jesus speaking) – The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has appointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives (the Old Testament saints in Paradise) and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.
Isaiah 61:1 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives (Old Testament saints within the earth), and the opening of the prison to those who are bound (Paradise).
I mention this because, believe it or not, there are many Christians with their heads stuck in the sand when it comes to the existence of hell. They readily believe in God, Jesus Christ, the Bible and heaven, but when it comes to hell they can’t face the possibility that hell may be a real place. They can’t face the prospect that they may go to hell themselves or they can’t accept the fact that a loving God could and would send anyone to a place like hell. Some believers want to see God only as a kind and benevolent figure who gives out goodies with no strings attached. God is a loving, kind, generous and merciful God, but he’s also a just God, which means he’s also a burning fire for those who will feel God’s wrath.
All the cults of Christianity were created by men who had one thing in common, they couldn’t accept the reality of hell. Jehovah’s Witnesses for example teach that fallen man is annihilated. Christian Science dismisses the possibility of hell and they define hell as an error of mortal man. While the Mormons do believe in a literal hell, they don’t see it as an endless existence. According to Mormons a person’s stay in hell will end at some point but they can’t define exactly how long that will be. The Seventh-Day Adventists claim that God will blot out all sinners one day and establish a new universe. All these cults of Christianity distort the truth of God by promoting false doctrine. Their followers are being led down the path to destruction and they will feel the wrath of God on the last day.
2 Peter 2:4 – God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.
Hebrews 10:31 – It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
2 Corinthians 5:11 – Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.
I’d like to point out to all believers that one of the core tenets of the Christian faith is that the Holy Bible is God’s word. There are no errors in the Bible. There is not one comma, period, jot or tittle out of place. In the Bible heaven is mentioned 582 times and heavenly 23 times for a total of 605 times our future home is mentioned. Humanists say that heaven is an allegory or spiritualization of the Bible and was not meant to mean a real place. I’m sorry, you can’t spiritualize something 605 times! Most of the Bible is meant to be interpreted literally and God speaks plainly. The Bible mentions hell 54 times so hell is a real place too. Hell is not an allegory or spiritualization either when it’s mentioned that many times in the Bible. We are to interpret the Bible literally unless the context reveals otherwise. The golden rule of Bible interpretation is if the Scripture makes plain sense then seek no other sense. Don’t let Satan confuse you and make you doubt the clear message in the plainly spoken word of God.
Psalm 16:10 – For you will not leave My soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
Psalm 86:13 – For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
Revelation 20:13 – The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Humanists disavow the existence of hell for the same reason they deny there’s a heaven. Humanists see man as god so of course they have to deny the very existence of God, Jesus, and God’s word. The humanists have no other choice but to say there is also no heaven or hell if they want to be consistent with their false narrative that man will evolve into a god. Humanists have to go the whole hog once they start to lie. The humanists must deny everything about God or their lie is exposed. The truth is the truth whether you believe it or not. We have to remember that heaven and hell are integral parts of God’s salvation plan for man. You cannot save man if there’s no place to reward him. You cannot condemn man if there’s no place to hold him. You simply cannot have heaven without hell and vice versa.
When a believer says they don’t accept what the Bible has to say about heaven and hell they are, in effect, calling God a liar to his face. A believer is telling God he’s a liar and that hell is not a real place where God will send sinners on the last day. Do we really want to have the pride and arrogance to stand before God on the last day and tell him to his face what’s true and what isn’t? I don’t. Woe unto that person when they stand in judgment before Jesus! The Bible makes it very clear that hell is deep within the earth so we have no excuse for our unbelief.
Numbers 16:31-33 – Now it came to pass, as he (Moses) finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
Luke 16:19-25 – (Jesus speaking) – There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. The he cried and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
1 Samuel 28:11, 13-14 – Then the woman (the witch of Endor) said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he (Saul) said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” And the king said to her, “What did you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.” So he said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel.
In the Old Testament hell is referred to as Sheol. In the New Testament hell is called Hades. Both names refer to the same place. Hell is also sometimes referred to as the pit. We know the Bible story of Korah and his followers who challenged Moses for the leadership of the Israelites in the wilderness. God opened up the earth and Korah along with his 3000 followers fell down alive into the pit and the earth closed over them. No spiritualization there; just the naked truth of God. We also remember the parable about the deaths of the beggar Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man died and went down to Hades within the earth where he was in constant pain and torment. Lazarus also died, but he went down into earth to what is called Paradise or Abraham’s bosom, where the righteous of God are captives waiting for the Savior to come liberate them.
This story in the Bible is very clear about the location of both Hades and Paradise and the Bible must be interpreted literally. There is no way you can point to any type of allegory or spiritualization within the parable. If the humanists can sell us on the entire Bible being nothing but an allegory or full of spiritualization then they are free to make the Bible say whatever they want it to say. That’s part of Satan plans to discredit God’s word. Don’t fall for the lie. Hold onto the truth of God’s word as it is plainly written.
Psalm 9:17 – The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Psalm 33:15 – The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
Romans 3:4 – Let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged.”
Think of hell as just a temporary holding cell within the earth where the spirits of all the nonbelievers of all ages are held when they die. On the last day they’ll be resurrected bodily and taken before Jesus Christ, the righteous judge of both the living and the dead. Those who died without having their sins forgiven by God go directly to hell upon their death to await their sentencing before God. The final judgment will occur immediately after the one thousand year millennial reign of Jesus Christ on the earth, which will begin at the Second Coming of Christ. Nonbelievers will be resurrected bodily on the last day to stand before the great White Throne judgment of Jesus Christ. They are condemned already. Nonbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone forever. Often when we refer to hell we aren’t being specific. We tend to lump together hell within the earth and the lake of fire in our minds but really they’re two entirely different places made for two different purposes. The Jewish people traditionally refer to Gehenna hell as a place of outer darkness where there will be wailing, weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Psalm 55:15 – Let death seize them; let them go down alive into hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.
Psalm 11:4 – The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
The lake of fire is also called Gehenna twelve times in the New Testament. It was originally created by God to house Satan and his fallen angels for eternity but unforgiven man will also spend eternity there alongside Satan, the fallen angels, the antichrist and the false prophet. Gehenna is not in the earth but in an unknown location somewhere else in the universe known only to God. The lake of fire is currently empty and awaiting the prisoners on the last day. Gehenna is empty because all unforgiven men are in hell and all the fallen angels are currently demons on earth. The only exceptions are those early angels who came to earth and left their domain to sleep with women. Those angels are an abomination to God which is why they are now chained in the lowest part of pit of hell awaiting their final judgment from God. Woe to anyone who becomes an abomination to God!
Psalm 139:7-8 – Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold You are there.
Psalm 85:11 – Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
In Old Testament times when the righteous died their eternal souls went to Paradise within the earth. They couldn’t go to heaven because their spirits still had the stain of sin from Adam’s fall and God doesn’t allow sin in heaven. After the crucifixion of Jesus, the eternal spirits of all those who die in Christ go directly to heaven to be in the presence of the Lord. That never happened with the Old Testament saints when they died because their spirits were sent to Paradise to await the coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the son of God, died on the cross for the sins of all men, past, present and future. This allowed God to wash away the sins of the Old Testament saints being held captive in Paradise.
During his three days in the grave Jesus went down to Paradise and personally freed the captives and escorted the eternal souls of the Old Testament saints to heaven. This is what the Holy Bible is referring to when it talks about Jesus releasing the captives (Luke 4:18, Psalm 46:8, Isaiah 61:1). Paradise has no further use and is now empty after the arrival of Jesus Christ. Paradise has been left desolate. Maybe Paradise will one day become a sort of tourist attraction for believers to visit once we go to heaven and get our glorified bodies. In heaven we’ll be able to teleport anywhere in the universe because our glorified bodies will be exactly like the body Jesus has.
Matthew 7:21 – (Jesus speaking) – Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Revelation 20:1 – Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the keys to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Matthew 7:12 – (Jesus speaking) – Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he does the will of My Father in heaven.
From God’s description of hell we know that it’s a place of thirst, misery, pain, frustration and anger. People going there will remember forever the chance of heaven they let slip through their fingers and they’ll be very remorseful. People in hell will know what it means to be forever separated from God. People in hell will understand what it means to receive the undiluted wrath of God for all eternity. We know with God there is no injustice at all so everyone will know they got just what they deserved. We know in hell there will be varying degrees of suffering that have a direct relationship to the sinner’s life on earth. A spiritual truth of God is we reap what we sow. I’m sure that mass murderers like Hitler, Stalin and Putin will all receive the maximum suffering in hell. The Bible says Judas Iscariot will also go to his own special place in hell so no doubt his suffering will be great too.
Matthew 13:41-42 – (Jesus speaking) – The Son of Man will send out His angels, so they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Revelation 14:10 – He himself (the nonbeliever) shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
I fear death like everyone else. We all fear death because it’s the unknown. If death meant we’re annihilated that wouldn’t be so bad. That’s not too scary. What’s terrifying is the thought of living forever in hell in constant pain and agony. The human mind simply cannot comprehend the horrors of hell and how long eternity actually is. It’s unimaginable! Think about living a trillion years in hell knowing that length of time is only one day in eternity. Once we know the truth of God and his salvation plan for man our plan of action should be crystal clear. We must avoid hell at all costs! I know I was terrified at the prospect of going to hell and you should be too. Here is what all nonbelievers need to do. Run as swiftly as you can toward God our Father with arms stretched out wide. Don’t worry, God will catch you up into his arms with great joy and he will save you because God promises he will do just that in his word. God cannot lie! Praise God for his love, mercy and grace!
Revelation 21:8 – But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
Matthew 25:41 – (Jesus speaking) – Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”