Thoughts on Heaven and Hell

Thoughts on Heaven and Hell

Luke 16:19-31

Reward or judgment? Paradise or eternal torment? One would think that these are easy questions to answer, yet in reality, they are questions most people do not fully understand. Most people would automatically choose eternal paradise over eternal torment, and most people think they have, yet few actually consider the cost for paradise. Most people do not even think that there is a price. After all, they are told that God is love, and He wants all people to be saved, so why would anyone go to Hell? And if anyone did go to Hell, they would have no part in a “religion” where some people don’t go to Heaven. Yet that very conclusion puts them into the group that is heading for eternal Hell. 

So, why do people go to Hell? Why do people go to Heaven? Why aren’t all people saved? Why would a loving God send anyone to Hell? These are some of the questions I will attempt to answer.

Contrasting Heaven and Hell

No matter who you are, what you’ve done or how long you have lived, you will go to one or the other (Dan. 12:2-3; Matt. 25:46; John 5:28; Rev. 20:14-15). This is the reality that often drives people to religion in general. They may even be atheist as well, yet all people want to know what happens after they die. Everyone knows that they will die, whether or not they deny it. Perhaps they strive to live longer, but nevertheless, they will die. And we see death all around us, such as the dying of plants, animals and other people. They all serve as constant reminders that there is death in the world, and we will die as well (a result from the curse (Gen. 2:17; 3:19)).

So the question “Why would I want to go to Heaven?” can be answered simply by comparing the two (Heaven and Hell).

I would like to start with Hell, due to the fact that most people don’t quite know why it is so bad. Hell is not just a place where people go to burn forever. And Hell is not complete absence from God as some have been lead to believe. One could attempt to describe Hell by thinking of all the worst possible things that could be in one place, but that can only go so far as the human mind can comprehend, and depends on how the person defines “bad.”

Hell cannot be fully described through language, nor can it be fully pictured by any imagination. This is due to the fact that Hell is not absence from God, but absence from His goodness. This is something that cannot be described, because while we are on earth, we can see His work everywhere. Happy coincidences, nice weather and many other things are the working of God, and we could never imagine what it would be like without His goodness in our everyday lives.

However, there is a picture that is given in the Bible as to what Hell is like. Thus, I have chosen Luke 16:19-31 to base a small definition off of.

Hell does involve fire. And this fire is unlike any other, and burns more than any heat that we could ever know. The fire being so intense that that slightest drop of water has relief (vs. 24). One can only imagine what it would be like to be lying on one’s deathbed, only to lift your eyes to be in agony and flame. The severe pain that one has in Hell is described to be so bad that one gnashes their teeth, so much so to the point that they gnaw their own tongue off, with weeping and wailing that never ends, as well as it being a place of darkness (Rev. 16:10). Hell is the only place that has never-ending flame and at the same time extreme darkness. Now, looking at this from human reasoning, one could think that the darkness is from the immense amount of smoke that would come from such flame. And the darkness was clearly not so dark as to blind the person from seeing anything, seeing as he could see Lazarus being carried away. However, as I said earlier, we can hardly imagine what it is like, and I highly doubt anyone has a goal of finding out personally. But our choice should not be based on how bad Hell is nor how good Heaven is.

Heaven, on the other hand, is perfect happiness. As John MacArthur points out in his book, “The Glory of Heaven”, it took God a few days to make the current earth, so what would a place be like if He took more than 2000 years? (As a side note, it does not take God any time to make anything; He simply chooses to take the time.) 

What would this place be like if Christ Himself made it for us? (See John 14:2-3.)

There will be no sadness, pain, suffering or death (Rev. 21:4). To put it in a clearer picture, consider the earth as it is now. There is pain, death, suffering (both short and long-term), loss, sadness and the lack of satisfaction. These are all from the curse, and are a result of sin. So imagine then a world without this curse. This is how Heaven is described in Revelation 22:3. That alone should put in us an excitement for Heaven. But that isn’t even the best part. Besides there being no more night (darkness), nor thirst (Rev. 21:6), and besides all of the endless joy we will have, we will have something that surpasses all. “…they will see His face” (Rev. 22:4). This is something that most don’t understand. Why would the best part of being in Heaven be the sight of God? How could worshiping God day in and day out be joy? We cannot possibly understand fully how this could be complete and perfect joy for one reason- we have sin. It is the one thing that keeps us (for now) from seeing the pure joy that we will have when we at long last get to Heaven. And yet even still, we can see some of the joy that we will have when we are in the presence of God. For instance, I mentioned when describing Hell that we don’t know what it would be like to be absent from the goodness of God. But in Heaven, we will be in His presence. We will not be absent from His goodness, but in its full presence, with no sin to hinder the complete joy that will be the perfect happiness. And if Moses, who was still in this sinful world, had to have his face covered because he had been in the presence of the Lord, how much more will we glow when we are there in our glorified state? His (Moses’) face glowed so that the Israelites were afraid to approach him (vs. 30). That which is under the curse (sin) looking at that which has seen that which is not under the curse.

Now, there is still the question, “How will it be ‘pure joy’ to worship God forever?”

Sadly, most people picture worship as bowing down, singing boring songs and going through a long list of rituals. And this leads people to believe that, after being told that they would worship God forever in Heaven, they don’t want any part of it. Now, if that is the case, they have other issues that need to be dealt with (because we should be willing to do all for God (Job 13:15; 1 Cor. 10:31; Prov. 3:6)).

Worshiping God can be done on earth in few ways. We worship Him when we fear Him (Ps. 96:9), and we can worship Him through our works (Col. 3:17). However, our worship is at risk of being (or is in some cases) tainted from sin. We cannot be sinless while we are on this earth, because we are still under the curse, therefore we cannot completely do sinless works (Rom. 7:15-20). But when we are in Heaven, free from the curse, all our works will be free from sin, and will be perfect. So, based off of the fact that we must worship God in all that we do on this cursed earth, the same will be in Heaven. We will worship Him in all that we do in the New Heaven and on the New Earth. There will be no boredom!

How to Get There

After describing both Heaven and Hell, one is inclined to ask, “Why does one go to one or the other?”  

“Why do people go to Hell?” This question seems to be one of the most popular people have when they question God. If He is a loving God, why wouldn’t He save all mankind? In reality, the true question should be, “If God is a loving God, why doesn’t He send all mankind to Hell for sin?” After all, were we not the ones that sinned? Were we not the ones that failed to keep any of His laws? Were we not the ones that nailed His Son to a cross? So in reality, it is a miracle that anyone goes to Heaven! And when one understands the depravity of man (Rom. 7:24), they realize that God is in fact a loving God, in that He chose some of us, even though we were sinners; mockers of Christ Himself. One can get to Hell simply by following the easy way- the normal way. Ignoring Christ, ignoring His laws and living for self.

This leads me to the question, “Why does anyone go to Heaven?” This question is the better one to be asking, considering our state. Or rather, our former state (the old man).

One can only get to Heaven by going through the narrow gate (Matt. 7:13). Just as a narrow gate is hard to get through, the narrow path we must follow is also a hard path to take. It involves everything that we as sinners are naturally opposed to. Living for Christ and not for self is hard enough, let alone dying to self entirely, loving others as yourself, and the willingness to die for the truth. The narrow gate is the primary reason so many people suddenly reject the Bible’s path to Heaven. It is not an enjoyable path, nor is it a path that we ourselves would take, if it weren’t for the saving power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. This path, however, opens up to a huge, wonderful place… Heaven.

So when you compare the lifting of the eyes of the rich man in Hell to the lifting of the eyes for one who finally comes through the narrow gate, you see two entirely different things. And if we truly desire Heaven, the narrow gate is the only path, and must be taken. And this gate, as painful as it may seem to be when one is going through it, is the only one that leads to true life. While the broad path, which is a happy place to be during the walk on it, leads to eternal torment.

For a better description of Heaven, I highly recommend John MacArthur’s book, The Glory of Heaven.