Heaven and Hell

Thoughts From a Bible Reader

Humans have long struggled to understand what happens to us when we die. From reincarnation (coming back to live on the earth again and again) to annihilation (simply ceasing to exist) to ending up in a place of eternal bliss or eternal torment, you can read about a lot of different ideas of what people believe about where we end up and in what state we end up when we die. So why should we believe Christianity more than any other idea that’s out there? Because Jesus, after He died, came back to life a few days later. I have yet in my life to go to a funeral where the dead person was back out of the grave a few days later. It just doesn’t happen. But on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were speaking in tongues and locals were accusing them of public drunkenness, Peter told the crowd that Jesus had done powerful miracles among these people, who had then executed Him. But, Peter said, that was because God had already planned for that to happen. And then Jesus came back from the dead, even as King David had prophesied would happen almost 1,000 years earlier (Acts 2:14-36). Why should we believe in Jesus? Because no one else in history did what He did. His miracles and resurrection are the proof of the truth of His message.

Yet even within Christianity there is much disagreement over who ends up where when we die. There are some who say that, if God is love, then there is simply no way that He would ever send anyone to be tormented in hell forever and forever. Everyone has to be saved, they say, or can we really claim that God is love? There are others who say that only those who said a prayer asking Jesus to save them and then got baptized will go to heaven, with everyone else facing eternal punishment. But what can we actually learn from what the Bible says? There is a lot to unpack here, and so today we are only going to talk about hell, and what the Bible tells us about it.

So does hell exist? Well Jesus, who never lied, told us plainly that it does. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’” (Mark 9:43-48, NKJV). Just as He did in that passage, Jesus often described hell as a fire prepared for eternal punishment. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ Then he will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt. 25:41-46). Hell, a place of fiery eternal torment for those who either mistreated or who simply did not take care of other people around them. But originally, we see here, hell was not made for punishing us, but rather had been prepared for Satan and his angels. On another day, in explaining to His disciples a parable, Jesus said, “As the poisonous weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 13:40-42). In the fiery furnace, the destiny of all that causes sin and all lawbreakers, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. But breaking what laws? Well, Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that all of the law, from God’s perspective, boils down to us treating others only in the ways that we would want to be treated ourselves (Matt. 7:12).

And then there is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. “There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’” (Luke 16:19-26). Is this a parable, with made-up characters like so many of Jesus’ parables had? Or is this Jesus recounting for us actual events that happened for a real man named Lazarus? I don’t know, but I wonder, because it feels like He’s telling us a true story to me. But either way, Jesus shares a number of revealing details with us here. First, the rich man seems to be unaware of anyone else around him in the lake of fire, although he is aware of Abraham and Lazarus in heaven. Is that how hell works? Do those in hell have no awareness of anyone else who is going through what they are? Do they feel like solo castaways on a deserted island? The Bible doesn’t tell us, but I do wonder. Second, the rich man’s anguish was very real. Finally, heaven and hell are separated in such a way that no one can travel between the two.

Jesus also talked about people being thrown into the outer darkness. After a non-Jewish centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant, Jesus praised the man’s faith and then said, “I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:11-12), although He gave us no reason for why these will be thrown into the outer darkness. In the parable of the wedding we are told, “But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’” (Matt. 22:11-14). Why was this person punished? My best guess, based on Revelation 19:7-8 (where we are told that when the church is dressed for her wedding with Jesus, her wedding clothes are made from her righteous deeds) is that this person is being punished because he never did anything that was righteous to clothe himself in.

Jesus also told us in a parable that servants who mistreat others and misbehave will end up with the hypocrites, “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 24:51). The servant who did nothing with his talent to gain an increase for his master was thrown “into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30). When He was asked if only a few would be saved, Jesus responded with, “Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, let us in!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know where you come from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves thrown out” (Luke 13:24-28). Again, just like with His story of Lazarus, Jesus tells us that those who are being punished will be completely aware of those who are in God’s kingdom. In this case it will be those who ignored the warning signs of Jesus’ return who will be punished.

So how is the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, related to the lake of fire with its weeping and gnashing of the teeth? Is perhaps the outer darkness a place where you exist, but with no access to any of the blessings that God provides (and think what an agony that would be by itself), while the lake of fire is a place where God, instead of simply withdrawing His blessings, actively punishes you? I don’t know, but Jesus also told us, “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know his master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked” (Luke 12:47-48). God will not judge everyone based on one standard. Rather, He will take into account what we know or don’t know about God’s expectations of us, and that difference in knowledge will affect how we are punished.

Near the end of Revelation we are told, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). And in the next chapter we read, “But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8). These passages make it pretty clear that instead of being “in charge” of hell, Satan will suffer in hell just like the cowards, unbelievers, and so on will.

Earlier in Revelation we are told of a different group who are punished with fire and sulfur. Those who worship the antichrist, who willingly take his mark on their bodies. “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He declared in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!’ A second angel followed the first, declaring: ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral passion.’ A third angel followed the first two, declaring in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb. And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:6-11). Those who choose to get the mark of the beast will do so only after God has clearly warned them of the consequences of doing so. And that comes after the gospel has clearly been explained to everyone in the world, each in their own language. It is not like anyone who receives the mark will have done it without knowing the consequences for doing so. God will make it very clear to them beforehand the consequences of that choice.

Perhaps you are one of those who asks, if God is love then how can He send anyone to hell? How can God claim to love us, and yet He will punish some of us forever and ever? The best that I can think of is that we need to think of this life as an audition for eternity. Or, to think of it in a slightly different fashion, we are currently becoming our eternal self. In our lives here we have decisions to make, every single day, about how we are going to interact with the people around us. Are we going to ignore those around us who are hungry or thirsty? How will we treat strangers, or those needing clothes, or the sick or imprisoned? Will we try to get other people to sin? Will we treat other people in ways that we would never want to be treated? Are there needy people right on our own doorstep who we ignore, day after day? Would anyone looking at our lives fail to find a single righteous act that we had done? Are we mistreating those around us, and spending our time here misbehaving? Are we hypocrites? Are we taking the talents that God has given us and burying them, instead of using them for anything good at all? Are we ignoring the signs that we need to take all of this seriously today, and not wait until it’s too late? Are we cowards, unwilling to take a stand for what is right? Or are we detestable people, ones whose words and actions turn people away? Or murderers, or sexually immoral, or practice magic, or worship idols, or lie? If these are the kinds of people that we are, that we have chosen to become, then why would God want to keep people like us around His children, who have chosen to try to act like Jesus, forever and ever? And so is it really unloving of God to keep these people who chose not to love out of His kingdom? Would you bring a group of bullies into your house to live with your children, or would you put your children’s well-being first? The critical thing to remember here is that each and every one of these people had the opportunity, during their lifetimes, to change their minds. Just like you and I, they could have said to themselves, “I’m not treating people well at all. I need to change how I act!” They all had an opportunity to repent and start their lives anew, and simply chose not to.

But avoiding hell is simple. Repent of your sins. Trust in Jesus’ death to pay for your sins. And then strive to live a life that imitates Jesus, obeying the things that He has commanded us. Which boils down to treating other people the way that we want to be treated ourselves. Next time we will look at what the Bible says about heaven.

Do you have questions or comments that you would like to share with me? Feel free to drop me an email (stevesuterfaithandfruit@gmail.com).

My posts come from my observations in reading the Bible literally dozens of times, always hoping to understand it a little bit better. If you want to go back and read more of what I’ve observed in my reading, click here.

Unless otherwise noted, the Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® https://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved

NKJV Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.