HEAVEN OR HELL, IT’S YOUR CHOICE

HEAVEN OR HELL, IT’S YOUR CHOICE

Where does one go after death here on earth?
What is meant by words such as hades, sheol, grave, great gulf, hell, lake of fire, paradise, heaven, Gehenna, and the underworld.

People have told me;
That there is no such thing as hell.
Hell is what we have right now here on earth.
Also that God is so good that he could never send anyone to such a horrible place.
When one dies, that he is just dead, no eternal life.
The Scriptures gives an answer to each of these.

Hades, a Greek word, and Sheol, a Hebrew word, basically each mean the same, a condition of the unsaved between death and the great white throne judgment (Rev.20: 11-15). Luke 16: 23-24 shows that the lost in hades are conscious, possess full use of the faculties, memory, etc. and are in torment. This continues until the final judgment of the lost (2Peter 2: 9), when all the unsaved, and hades itself, will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 13-15).

Hades and sheol is also used to indicate, in general, the condition of all departed human spirits between death and the resurrection. This usage is found occasionally in the O.T. but rarely, if ever, in the N.T. It should not lead anyone to think that there is a possibility of change from one state to other after death, Lk. 16: 23-26, shows that the unsaved man who was in hades saw Abraham and Lazarus, they were “afar off”, and vs. 26 states that between the two places there is a great gulf fixed, so that no one can pass from one to the other.

Gehenna, this word appears twelve times in the N. T. and is translated “hell” and “lake of fire.” The Lord Jesus used this term eleven times. The name is probably related to the Valley of Hinnom, a dumping groiund for the city of Jerusalem. During the time of Jesus, it was used to burn garbage. Hence, the Lord used the word Gehenna to describe the place of eternal punishment because it was a place of filth and stench, of smoke and pain, and of fire and death (Matt. 5: 22; 18: 8-9; 23: 33; John 3: 36).

John refers to hell in terms of a “lake of fire” (Rev. 19: 20; 20: 10, 15; 21: 8). Some have suggested this is nothing more than a metaphor to describe a place of suffering, but since the Bible uses flames to describe its torment, there is no reason to think the cause of suffering will be otherwise. Human language limits a perfect identification of the horrors of hell, as it also does when we seek to describe the glories of heaven. Only in this aspect can the “lake of fire” be considered a metaphor. It is as if John were saying, “Hell is so horrible I cannot completely describe it. Hell is like a vast sea covered in flames, and that is only the beginning of the pain and suffering I saw there.” Jesus said that His angels “will cast them into the furnace of fire.” (Matt. 13: 42). John the Baptist, “unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3: 12), the rich man, “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16: 24), “the fire that will never be quenched.” (Mk. 9: 43). Will hell have actual flames and fire? The Bible says so, and that is good enough for me!

Some interpreters think that Eph. 4: 8-10 indicates that a change in the place of the departed believers occurred at the resurrection of Christ. It is certain that all who are saved go at once into the presence of Christ (2 Cor. 5: 8; Phil. 1: 23). Jesus told the penitent thief: “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” Luke 23: 43. Paul was “caught up into the third heaven. . . into paradise” (2 Cor. 12: 1-4). Paradise is a place of great joy and bliss, but this bliss is not complete until the spirit is reunited with a glorified body at the resurrection of the just (1 Cor. 15: 51-54; 1 Th. 4: 16-17). Though both sheol and hades are sometimes translated “grave” (Gen. 37: 35; 1 Cor. 15: 55), they never indicate a burial place but, rather, the state of the spirit after death.

The underworld is made up of two compartments, “Paradise” and “Hell”. ( Now this is not the final Hell, that is Gehenna, the Lake of Fire). Now between paradise and hell this is an impassable gulf. At the bottom of this “Gulf” is the “Bottomless Pit”, or “Abyss.” This is the temporary confinement for “Evil Spirits” (Demons). It has a King–“Apollyon,”; but is kept locked by God who commissions an angel to open it when He so desires. Rev. (9: 1-16, 17: 8; 20: 1-3.
This underworld had a major change at the resurrection of Christ. At Christ’s resurrection He brought out of the underworld with Him, His soul, spirit, body, other occupants of Paradise (the righteous dead)[Matt. 27: 52:53], and the keys of death and Hades(Rev. 1: 18). Now the righteous dead [souls] are now in the third heaven with Christ(1 Th. 4: 14), and this third heaven is where Paul was caught up (2 Cor. 12: 1-4).

Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go. (1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves. (2) To the man “under the sun,” the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave–the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but also of life itself(Eccl. 9: 5, 10). But (3) Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow (2 Sam. 22: 6; Ps. 18: 5; 116: 3), into which the wicked are turned, and where they are fully conscious(Isa. 14: 9-17; Ezek. 32: 21). Compare Jon. 2: 2; what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah, sheol is to those who are therein. The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. are identical.
Life and consciousness continue between death and resurrection is directly affirmed in Scripture (Isa. 14: 9; Mt. 22: 32; Mk, 9: 43-48; Lk, 16: 19-31; 2 Cor. 5: 6-8; Phil. 1: 21-23; Rev. 6: 9-11.)

The rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31.)
Here on earth we are either on one side of the fence or we are one the other. We are either saved or we are not.
We are all sinners. Everyone is a sinner.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3: 23
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.” Romans 5: 12

What happens to sinners?
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” Romans 1: 18

“. . .the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Who will render to every man according to his deeds:” Romans 2: 5-6

What is the judgment? What is the result of this judgment?
“For the wages of sin is death,. . .” Romans 6: 23
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20: 15.

“In flaming fire take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.” II Thess. 1: 8-9

What is this “Lake of Fire,” hades, Hell, Sheol or Gehenna?
Jesus states in Mark 9, “to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.”
In Luke 16, Jesus tells of Lazarus and a rich man, both died and Lazarus “was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom; the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments,. . .” (Notice that ‘torments’ is plural) In other verses torments of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” Matt. 24: 51; “unquenchable fire” Matt. 13: 42 Human language limits a perfect identification of the horrors of hell.

What is paradise or heaven?
“In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2

In Revelation chapters 21 and 22 tells about heaven, a city that is almost 1400 miles square made of precious metals and gems, with a “pure river of water of life,”a “tree of life,” angels will be your servants, It has nothing defiling, no night, no tears, no sorrows, no pain, no more death, and man’s language cannot describe all the beautiful things of this place. In verse 21 it tells who is going to be here, “they who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” “Them who are saved shall walk in the light of it,”
“and they shall reign forever and ever.”

These are not my words these are God’s, look it up in the Bible, read it for yourself.
My friend, as long as you are living, you have an opportunity to choose where you want to spend eternity.
It doesn’t seem like much of a choice to me, but many, many, many will be going to that “Lake of Fire.”

If you want to go to heaven you must be in the “Lamb’s book of life.” “Them who are saved walk in the light of it.” (heaven)

John 3: 36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Christ did not sin, but when He was crucified He took all the sins of the world on that cross with Him. Those were my sins, your sins and all the sins of the world, past, present, and future. Christ, our sacrificial lamb, paid the price for all sin. He replaced me on that cross. But death could not hold Him, in three days Christ arose.

II Cor. 5: 21 “For he hath made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Romans 6:4 “. . .that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father. . .”

Romans 6: 23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

Believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins
Believe that God raised Christ from the dead
Pray to God and confess that you are a sinner
Pray to God and tell God that you are sorry for your sins
Pray to God and tell God that you are a sinner and need forgiveness
Pray to God and tell God that you accept His gift, the Lord Jesus Christ, as your sacrifice
Pray to God and tell God that you want and accept Jesus as your Lord

Romans 10: 9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Romans 10: 13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Some have used a prayer similar to this:
“Dear Lord God, I confess that I am a sinner and deserve to be punished. Please forgive me for my sins and help me to turn away for them. I believe that your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, died to pay for my sins and came back to life. I trust Him now as my personal Savior and Lord. I ask Him to come into my heart and life and give me the gift of eternal life. I thank You for Jesus Christ and for all that He has done for me. Amen.”
If you have wholeheartedly prayed and through faith have accepted Jesus as your Savior then welcome to the Children of God. You will want to record this day for it is the most important day for the rest of your eternity.
As a new Christian you will want to read and study God’s word, the Bible, pray often and associate with some of your new brothers and sisters in Christ. They can be a big help. But always, always put your trust in Jesus. You may not understand where God is taking you in this life, but God always is leading you the right way. Trust God for He will lead you through this life to a mansion that cannot be described by human words.

Tagged As: Heaven, Hell