Tilling and Planting

Tag: Eternity

  • Hell: Eternal Separation

    Hell: Eternal Separation

    Intro

    Man – Woman, Hot – Cold, Up – Down, Heaven – Hell. Opposites. When two things are opposites, there’s little to no similarities between them. In my last post, I talked about Heaven and how we as believers should look forward to it with hope. Today, I’m going to talk about Heaven’s opposite: Hell. Yes, Hell is a real place – and I’ll show that from Scripture – and people really go there. Buckle up. Talking about Hell isn’t for the faint at heart.

    Does Hell Exist?

    The first question I need to address is does Hell even exist? Not all Christians even believe that it does. And if I don’t offer Scriptural evidence, I might as well not bother talking about the rest, because some people might tune it out.

    The short version is that, yes, the Bible does refer to Hell as an actual place. Several verses describe Hell as the place of torment for the unbeliever when he dies. Some examples follow.

    If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut if off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and thrown into the fire of hell. Matthew 18:8-9 (NIV)

    Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 22:13 (NIV)

    Notice in these passages how Hell is associated with grief, fire, darkness? Clearly Hell is not a place where you would want to go. As the place of eternal punishment and suffering, you would do well to avoid it at all costs. Jesus used strong illustrations in Matthew 18 to describe the seriousness of it.

    Notice that the examples I gave are both spoken by Jesus. And if you ever need good Scriptural evidence of a particular doctrine, find out what Jesus says about it. While these are only a couple of examples, there are several more I could pull out. But for brevity, I’ll just list the references of a few more: Mark 9:44-48, Matthew 8:12, Matthew 13:40-42. And this is still a partial list. Now I will admit avoiding some very common or popular ones because those reference the Lake of Fire more specifically. And you may be wondering, what’s the difference? I’m glad you asked.

    Hell Vs Lake of Fire

    Many people get a bit confused. What’s the difference between Hell and the Lake of Fire? Are they the same place or different? From what I can tell in Scripture, they are two distinct places. And to quickly set up this next verse, another word for Hell is Hades.

    Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. Revelation 20:14 (NIV)

    This passage is perhaps the clearest in showing that the two are different. After all, you can’t throw something into itself. The passage goes on to say that anyone whose name isn’t found in the book of life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Since unbelievers are dying every day, they have to go somewhere, and Revelation shows that the Lake of Fire is the final judgment and currently no one is in it. However, Revelation tells us that not only will unbelievers end up here, but Satan and all his angels will too.

    Why Hell?

    People don’t like the idea of Hell, and I don’t blame them. Frankly, I don’t like the idea of Hell. I don’t like the idea of an eternal Lake of Fire where billions will spend all of eternity in torment. But that doesn’t negate its existence. However, I should address the questions of why God would create such a place and how could He send people there, because a lot of people ask them.

    Why Did He Create It?

    First of all, Hell (and the Lake of Fire, but from now on I’m going to lump them into the one word) was not originally created for man, but for Satan and his hordes of demons.

    Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41 (NIV)

    Unfortunately, Hell shows us another example of things that (many) humans experience or will experience that we were not meant to. Other examples of that are we were not meant to life live apart from God, we’re not meant to live a fast-paced stressed-out life, and we’re not meant to live in bodies that suffer various physical ailments. Yet humans experience all these things.

    How Could He Send People to Hell?

    The second question that a lot of people have is how could a loving God send people to Hell? Well, the fact of the matter is that we humans have free will. God created us to make choices. And because of the fall, not all of those choices are good ones. God will not force us to love Him or follow Him. Therefore, there needs to be a place for those who reject God. And when they reject God, they choose to go to Hell. And while that sounds ridiculous, think about it. They spend their entire lives saying, “I don’t want your presence in my life.” So, when they die, why would God force them to be in His presence for the rest of eternity? Hell is the one place where they can spend eternity apart from the presence of God, just like they wanted in life.

    And once you die, it is too late.

    Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, Hebrews 9:27 (NIV)

    Understanding Your Fate

    Something else that is interesting is that in Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazurus. In this story, Jesus describes the rich man dying and going to Hell and being in torment but notice that he does not ask Abraham (whom he sees in a place of comfort) to get him out, but rather asks for water to cool his tongue – to make it more bearable. This suggests that – at least in the intermediate place of Hell – people will be at least passively okay with being there. At least to a certain degree. Whether that’s more of a resigned “I deserve to be here” or if it goes back to what I said earlier about not wanting to be in God’s presence, I don’t know.

    I see this as a demonstration of his accepting his own fate but understanding that it is a terrible fate, and he has a sense of regret. Consequently, he doesn’t want others to end up with him.

    Abraham’s Bosom

    Now something else I’m going to address (really quick) about this story is the existence of a place of comfort that can be seen from Hell. Referred to as Abraham’s Bosom, the Jews believed that the righteous would go here when they died. And it is true that without going through Jesus, there is no way into Heaven. So, the righteous of the Old Testament would need a place to go that is a place of comfort until Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

    And while the Bible isn’t clear about it, it is likely that sometime after Jesus’ death (and possibly after His resurrection as well), God took those in Abraham’s Bosom up to Heaven to be in His presence permanently (some see Ephesians 4:8 as a reference to this event).

    Wrapping Up

    I hope you see the horror of eternal separation and I hope it stirs you to reach out to loved ones and others with the gospel. I know I need to do better in this area. I’ve got many people in my life that needs to know about Christ. I have not been a very good verbal witness. I say verbal witness because I do believe I live a lifestyle that points to God – or at least is different enough from the world to be noticeable. Let us all pray for strength, boldness, and the words to speak so we can save people from this unspeakable horror and to a life of freedom.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Heaven: Home

    Heaven: Home

    Intro

    Heaven is generally thought of as the place where God dwells and where Christians go when they die. And while this is true, it’s so much more. Jesus describes Heaven as a paradise to the thief on the cross. In Revelation, John describes a sea of glass. He also mentions that Heaven has its own temple and ark of the covenant. And this only scratches the surface. Let’s discover the majesty of God’s dwelling place together.

    Which Heaven?

    This might surprise some of you, but the Bible talks about multiple heavens. Crazy right? Because of that, I’m going to briefly cover all three heavens and then get on with the main event.

    The First Heaven

    The first heaven (not called that specifically in the Bible, but a good label for clarity) is what we call the sky, or atmosphere. James 5:17-18 contains a great example of the Bible calling the atmosphere “heaven”.

    Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. James 5:17-18 (NIV)

    The Second Heaven

    As we move up the list, we also move “up” in a more literal sense. What we call outer space – or the cosmos – is also referred to as “heaven” by the Bible.

    And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars – all the heavenly array – do not be enticed into bowing down and worshipping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. Deuteronomy 4:19 (NIV)

    The second heaven consists of all the stars, galaxies, planets, and everything else that exists in the cosmos. There is far more majesty here than in the first. And that pattern continues when we move on to the third – and final – heaven.

    The Third Heaven

    When we get here, we have now entered God’s dwelling place. God sits enthroned above the universe from the third heaven. This is the only one of the three that is explicitly referred to by the name “the third heaven”. Found in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells the story of “a man” that he knew that had been caught up to the third heaven. Many scholars believe this man was Paul himself, but because of all the things he couldn’t talk about, avoided questions by not naming himself.

    I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. (NIV)

    After laying all this groundwork, I’m now going to turn my attention to describing what the Bible has to say about this third heaven and what it means for Christians.

    The Descriptions

    The Bible records various things about heaven including physical descriptions, what life will be like, who will all be there, etc. I’m going to cover some of these and try to show you through these passages the incredible home we have to look forward to.

    What Does Heaven Look Like?

    Humans are visual people. That’s why pictures are so popular. And if you lived before the invention of the camera, it would be paintings – though you had to be fairly wealthy to get one of those. So, it’s no surprise that one of the first questions people have about Heaven is “What does it look like?” And while the Bible doesn’t give details about every aspect, there is some pretty powerful imagery to give us a glimpse of the majesty and beauty of our future home.

    Heaven’s Throne Room

    The throne room of God Almighty is a sight to behold according to John in Revelation 4. Look at the descriptions he gives it. “A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne…From the throne came flashes of lighting, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing…Also in front of the throne was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.” Wow! I’m trying to picture this concept of a rainbow shining like an emerald, and I admit, I have questions. But what I can picture is amazing. And I know that it falls short of the truth.

    The New Jerusalem

    Revelation also gives a description of the New Jerusalem, the city that comes down from Heaven to be the home of the saints for all of eternity. Now you could argue that this is the future home and not the current home. I say, so what? Whether the New Jerusalem will be current Heaven brought to Earth or something God creates (or has created and is currently waiting) as separate, is entirely irrelevant because they have the same designer and are going to have similar majesty and beauty. This gives me confidence that many of the features of this city reflect what Heaven is like today.

    And those descriptions include walls made of jasper, streets made of gold, foundations made of various precious stones, and the gates made of pearls (Revelation 21). Talk about incredible! Talk about majestic! I can’t wait to live there for all of eternity. The majesty of it is only topped by the majesty of God Himself – who will be living there among us.

    What Will We Do In Heaven?

    For some reason, an idea got started and circulated that living in Heaven will be boring because all we will do is sit on clouds, play harps, and maybe fly around and talk to other people. There is so much more than that! Ever hear of the marriage supper of the Lamb? That’s right, there’s food in Heaven! As my pastor likes to say, “If you’re looking for me, I’ll be over by the chocolate fountain.” So, we’ll be chatting with friends and family over food. Coming from the Midwest, this will be both fun and normal.

    Incredible People

    And speaking of talking to others, what’s so boring about that? Being able to hang out with people who have died before you and talking to them. Talking to people in your family tree whom you’ve never met or hardly knew. Or how about talking to Biblical characters? Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, etc. Or other people throughout history. The Bible indicates that we will see them and be able to interact with them. Talk about all the stories we don’t have written in the Bible. And if you’re worried about seeing someone you had a rough relationship with here on Earth, don’t worry, all things are made new – even relationships.

    Worship In Heaven

    But more importantly, we will worship God. Again, in Revelation, John describes numerous scenes of worship around the throne. Look at Chapters 4, 5, 7, 13, 15, and 19 to see incredible scenes of worship to God and to the Lamb. There will be no end to the worship of God. Does that mean that all we will do is fall on our face and sing to Him? No, how can you eat and sing at the same time? What it does show is that there will always be someone singing in worship. And further, it also shows that worship is more than just singing. It’s a lifestyle. And once we get to Heaven, we will be perfect so everything we say and do will be a form of worship to the one who created us.

    Learning New Things

    The Bible hints that all throughout eternity we will continue to learn and discover new things. New things about God and new things about all that He has created. That’s a lot of discovery and I’m excited about it.

    Who Will Be In Heaven?

    And now, perhaps the most controversial question: Who will be in Heaven? What are the criteria to spend eternity in this incredible place? The reason this is controversial is because no one wants to spend eternity in the alternative to Heaven. Consequently, various religions put up very lax requirements to get to their version of Heaven. Even within Christianity, there are some differences on who goes to Heaven and how you are saved. This post is not about the criteria for salvation – though I’ll get to that at some point since I’ve been covering a lot of the basics since I started blogging – so I won’t go into the details about that.

    Those Included

    That said, here’s some verses that tell us exactly who gets to go to Heaven.

    And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)

    Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 (NIV)

    Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 (NIV)

    A good summary of these verses is that only those who are children of God, or born again, will be in Heaven. Again, I’m not going to define all that it means to be born again, or saved, or even “what about the Old Testament saints” question. I’ll address those at a later time.

    Those Excluded

    Equally important to know is who won’t make it into Heaven. People you see here will not enjoy God’s presence for eternity and will instead suffer for that same period.

    Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Revelation 22:15 (NIV)

    Anyone who loves and practices these things (and this isn’t a comprehensive list) will not be enjoying the marriage supper of the Lamb. Of note, it says those who love and practice these things. If you are someone who struggles with it and are praying through it and fighting to be free, be rest assured that this verse does not apply to you. It applies only to those who do it, love it, and have no intent or desire to change.

    And I bring to you a warning as well. A warning found in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Beware that you do not fool yourself into believing you are good just because you “do good works for God”. It may be good. But is it what God asked you to do? Are you in His will? Do you truly know Jesus? Or are you trying to earn your way into Heaven?

    Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21 (NIV)

    Wrapping Up

    While we’ll never fully comprehend heaven here on earth, the Bible gives us a glimpse that gives me assurance that no matter how bad it gets here, this world is not our ultimate home. Take confidence in that, my brothers and sisters. Let that knowledge fill you with hope today.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!