What is heaven? What is hell? (2 parts)

[James Blankenship]

Here is a excellent encapsulation of Heaven:

www.gotquestions.org/heaven-like.html

Heaven is a real place described in the Bible. The word “heaven” is found 276 times in the New Testament alone. Scripture refers to three heavens. The apostle Paul was “caught up to the third heaven,” but he was prohibited from revealing what he experienced there (2 Corinthians 12:1-9).

If a third heaven exists, there must also be two other heavens. The first is most frequently referred to in the Old Testament as the “sky” or the “firmament.” This is the heaven that contains clouds, the area that birds fly through. The second heaven is interstellar/outer space, which is the abode of the stars, planets, and other celestial objects (Genesis 1:14-18).

The third heaven, the location of which is not revealed, is the dwelling place of God. Jesus promised to prepare a place for true Christians in heaven (John 14:2). Heaven is also the destination of Old Testament saints who died trusting God's promise of the Redeemer (Ephesians 4:8). Whoever believes in Christ shall never perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

The apostle John was privileged to see and report on the heavenly city (Revelation 21:10-27). John witnessed that heaven (the new earth) possesses the “glory of God” (Revelation 21:11), the very presence of God. Because heaven has no night and the Lord Himself is the light, the sun and moon are no longer needed (Revelation 22:5).

The city is filled with the brilliance of costly stones and crystal clear jasper. Heaven has twelve gates (Revelation 21:12) and twelve foundations (Revelation 21:14). The paradise of the Garden of Eden is restored: the river of the water of life flows freely and the tree of life is available once again, yielding fruit monthly with leaves that “heal the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2). However eloquent John was in his description of heaven, the reality of heaven is beyond the ability of finite man to describe (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Heaven is a place of “no mores.” There will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4). There will be no more separation, because death will be conquered (Revelation 20:6). The best thing about heaven is the presence of our Lord and Savior (1 John 3:2). We will be face to face with the Lamb of God who loved us and sacrificed Himself so that we can enjoy His presence in heaven for eternity."

I would like to add my own thoughts on Heaven.

And by "Heaven", I am referring to the place that God dwells, & all those who belong to God dwell.

First: Heaven cannot be detected by any physical means. It is a supernatural place.

We here are Sola Sciptura, are not going to make judgements about people who "supposedly" have briefly died, & "seen heaven". This site is based strictly on what Scripture says alone.

2. Will we see our fellow family members in heaven, who also had that 1-1 relationship with Christ that we have?

Maybe. Bottom Line: Scripture doesn't say. And the reason that we who have chosen to accept Christ's forgiveness, that is not & SHOULD not be the reason that we are there. If that isn't the sole reason you want to go to Heaven, you are on the wrong track about what it means to actually KNOW Christ-1- to-1.

What is the reason we will be in Heaven?

Because of our choice to accept the forgiveness of sin that was the only reason that we will be there. It because we personally KNOW Christ Jesus, that we have the Holy Spirit living inside each one of us, that MUST be the only reason that we WANT to be there. To Kneel at the foot of the one who purchased us, by the power of the Blood that He shed on the cross, & allowed us to be there in the first place.

Any of our relatives who are there aren't the reason that we will be there. They didn't die for our sins. They didn't shed their blood that we should be forgiven. They didn't rise from the dead.

Christ Jesus did!

ONLY Christ Jesus.

He & HE ALONE is the one & only one reason that we do find our selves in Heaven.

If there is any other reason that you want to be in heaven-any other reason, you have missed the whole purpose of what Christ did for us.

3. What about those family members who aren't in heaven?

This is a sad reality, but it is true, that not all those we love will be in Heaven.

How will we who DO have that personal 1-1 relationship with Christ be able to deal with this?

To find the answer to that, we only have to look to Scripture, specifically here:

Revelation 21:3-4 (New International Version)

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

You you see what this says here?

"There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain."

I think that it is pretty clear that that will NOT be a concern of ours, when we are in Heaven.

I hear some atheists/non-believers saying:

"What does God do then? Wipe our memories clean so we won't remember them?

There is NO SCRIPTURAL BASIS for this kind of belief.

We, as mortal beings, can't fully understand this, because we are not perfect yet.

But we do find an answer to this situation here in Scripture:

1 Corinthians 13:12 (New International Version)

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

When we who have that 1-1 relationship with Christ Jesus see Him face-to-face, we will be like Him.

Perfected.

Everything about God that we couldn't completely understand while on earth, will be made clear to us.

God's righteousness, His will, His knowledge, will all be revealed to us, & we shall understand FULLY the reasons why not all of our loved ones are in Heaven , & like Rev 21:4 says:

Revelation 21:4 (New International Version)

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

4. Will we be able to see those we love from Heaven?

There is no definitive answer to this question in Scripture.

And as I have stated above:

Christ Jesus and He alone will be our sole focus when we who know Him personally. Nothing else will matter.

5. Then I hear atheists/non/believers say-"Won't we be bored in Heaven doing nothing nothing but worshiping Jesus for all eternity?"

The answer to this is-NO.

Physical laws are not applicable in the supernatural realm.

There is NO Time in Heaven.

WE will want for NOTHING!

Not to mention-boredom is a human imperfection, & we will be perfected in Heaven.

All human weaknesses, ALL human imperfections, will NOT exist is a perfected body!

This is talked about here:

classic.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor%2015:35-58&version=NIV

Anything material that was important to us on earth, will be irrelevant in Heaven.

As we see in Scripture here:

Revelation 21:3 (New International Version)

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

Nothing else will matter, except this truth.

We who have the personal relationship with Christ Jesus will be in the presence of our Lord & Savior Christ Jesus, the one who died & rose again that we may live, & that will be all that is needed for us for all eternity.

Nothing else will ever be needed.

James

[James Blankenship]

What is hell?

Here is an excellent BIBLICAL description of Hell:

www.gotquestions.org/hell-real-eternal.html


Now, there are those who say: "hell is the grave."

This is a non-biblical belief that is based in this passage from Scripture:

classic.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecc%209:1-12&version=NIV

I would challenge ANYONE to show me where this is talking about the grave being "hell".

What does this passage talk about?

PHYSICAL DEATH!

That's it.

Nowhere here is any mention of hell whatsoever.

There is NO BIBLICAL BASIS that hell is the grave.

The people who believe this will uses verses like this to support their belief:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (New International Version)

Believers Who Have Died
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

The Bible clearly refers to "sleep" in the context of referring to the physical bodies of those who have that 1-1 relationship with Christ who have died.

There is NO indication anywhere that it is referring to their "souls".

Then I hear atheists/non-believers saying, "what about purgatory?"

Let's take a look at the catholic lie of purgatory:

www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm


Look at what I have underlined here:


Quote:
Temporal Punishment

That temporal punishment is due to sin, even after the sin itself has been pardoned by God, is clearly the teaching of Scripture.


This is absolutely ridiculous!

If the sin has been forgiven, WHY does God see the need for further punishment?

Isn't God powerful enough to forgive the WHOLE SIN???

Especially, when we see this truth from Scripture:

Psalm 103:12 (New International Version)

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.


God's forgiveness isn't partial-it is TOTAL!

When we confess our sins, it's as if we never committed them! To say that they weren't totally forgiven, demeans the very sacrifice of Jesus, especially when He said "it is finished!"

God's forgiveness is TOTAL!

Then we have this quote:


Quote:


All sins are not equal before God, nor dare anyone assert that the daily faults of human frailty will be punished with the same severity that is meted out to serious violation of God's law.


Excuse me?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

According to Scripture they are!


Revelation 21:8 (New International Version)

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Cowardess, is just as bad as unbelief, which is just as bad as murder, which is just as bad as sexual immorality, which is just as bad as magic, which is just as bad as idolatry, which is just as bad as lying............

How can ANYONE so blatantly say things like this, when Scripture CLEARLY CONTRADICTS THEM?

But HERE is the bottom lime here, (RIGHT FROM SCRIPTURE!!!!!!!)

Hebrews 9:27 (King James Version)

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment

Here it is people-JUDGEMENT!!!!!!!!!!

HEAVEN OR HELL! THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!

And look at the very end of this:

Hebrews 9:27 (King James Version)

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment

This clearly debunks the concept of purgatory!

When a person dies, it is heaven or hell!

I hear atheists/non-believers saying-"Do the people in Hell get a second chance to repent?"

The answer to this is a clear-NO!

Scripture clearly supports this here:

Hebrews 2:2-4 (New International Version)

2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

If you have heard the Gospel of Christ, & you have rejected it, that was your choice. As long as any man breathes, he has the opportunity to come to personally Christ. But if you reject Christ's offer of forgiveness, & you die-there IS no second chance.

Look at what Scripture says here:

classic.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Peter%203&version=NIV

As you read this section, try telling me that this doesn't sound EXACTLY like the world that we live in today?

Pay particularly close attention to verse 9 here:

2 Peter 3:9 (New International Version)

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God is waiting for you to come to know Him. As long as you can still breathe, that door is always open.

But one should pay attention to this:

Luke 12:18-20 (New International Version)

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

Bottom Line:

You don't know the exact moment that you will die. Not even those who are terminally ill can know this.

This is where the fallacy of atheists/non-believers falls apart, when they say:

"Well, I'll just wait until I'm on my deathbed, & then I'll repent."

Sorry folks-it doesn't work that way.

Then I see all the time on Yahoo Answer:Religion & Spirituality section, atheists saying things like:

I would rather go to hell. It's got to be a big party down there".

or:

"At least I'll be with all my friends"

Uh, I would love to know where they get this.

There is NO SCRIPTURAL basis for this!

Outside of what hell is like in the description at the top of this post, there is NOWHERE where any belief like this is even hinted at, let alone Spiritually supported!

And for those who have died, rejecting the Gospel of Christ, here is hell's final future: (And their final future as well):

Revelation 20:14-15 (New International Version)

14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Finally, many atheists/non-believers will ask-"How can God be so cruel. to do this to anyone?"

If you had the chance to CHOOSE Christ, & you didn't, how is that God's fault?

I talk about Free Will here:

solascripturaalone.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=choice&action=display&thread=11&page=1

Now, there are 2 questions that atheists/non-believers will ask here:

1. How will we be able to be in torment, if we have no bodies?

The answer is right here:

"13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.

Do you see what happens here?

Every person who was against God, or who turned away from God in the Old Testament, & everyone who chose to refuse that free gift of forgiveness of Christ, or chose to follow a false belief, will be physically raised from the dead, judged, & be PHYSICALLY thrown into the Lake of Fire. Since they will be in their physical bodies, the torment, whatever it may be, (the Bible doesn't say-but you can believe it will NOT be pleasant), for all eternity.

The other question is, well, what about those who aren't mentally capable of choosing Christ, or those who were followers of other religions, or never heard of Christ? Isn't this unfair of God? How can a loving God allow something like this?

All we need to know is that God always acts according to His nature, for He cannot do otherwise.

One of God's many qualities, is that He is righteous. He looks at every person the same. He is completely IMPARTIAL, because He is perfect & free from any imperfections.

Here is all we need to know in regard to these last set of questions.

God is righteous, so whatever decision He made about these people is also righteous.

It is not my concern or problem.

It is not YOUR concern or problem.

It is God's!

Those who HAVE heard the Gospel of Christ should be more concerned about themselves, since they WILL be held accountable.

James