Chapter Eleven - Heaven and Hell
WHAT HAPPENS TO US AT THE TIME OF DEATH?
Men have always had a great interest in the future. This interest makes us ask questions such as the following: Is death the end of everything? Where are those who have died? What can we know about heaven and hell? From the start we must remember that man is a threefold being. He has three parts - body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We can see and touch the body, but we cannot see or touch the soul and spirit. With the spirit we can know God, with the soul we can know ourselves, and with the body we can know the world. Only God's Word can divide between the soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12).
When we die, the soul and spirit leave the body. The body goes into the grave. The Bible describes the body of the believer as sleeping (Acts 7:59,60; 8:2). It speaks of the body of an unsaved person as being dead. The soul and spirit never sleep. If a person who died was saved, his soul and spirit go to heaven. Heaven is a place of happiness (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21,23). If the person was not saved, his spirit and soul go to hades. Hades is a place of sorrow and punishment. In Luke 16:19-31 our Lord clearly teaches us that those who have died are conscious. They know what is going on.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HELL?
We have seen that at death the soul and spirit of an unbeliever go to hades. Hades is a place of conscious punishment (Luke 16:23-25). Some of the earlier versions use the word "hell" instead of "hades." Hades is the correct word. The soul in hades is spoken of as a person. He had eyes, a tongue, ears, fingers and a memory. He had full knowledge of his condition in hades.
The Bible speaks of another place of suffering and torment in addition to hades. That place is hell, or the Lake of Fire. At the Judgment of the Great White Throne, the souls of those who are in hades will be joined with their bodies that will be raised from the grave. Then Christ will give the final judgment on the wicked dead. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15). We may say that hades is like the city jail where the prisoner waits to know his sentence. The Lake of Fire is like the Federal Prison where a prisoner will stay for the rest of his life. When our Lord described hell, He spoke of the worm that does not die and the fire that is not quenched (Mark 9:43-48). Hell is a place of conscious punishment. Is punishment for sin eternal? The Book of Revelation uses the words, "forever and ever," when it describes the misery of those who are lost (Revelation 14:11).
Can a God of love allow men to go to hell? God does not want us to perish. He provided for our salvation through the work of His Son on the cross (Romans 5:6,8). If we reject the Savior, we will go to hell by our own choice. God is a God of love (1 John 4:8), but He is also holy (1 Peter 1:16). He will punish sin. We do not hesitate to put sick people in hospitals, or to put criminals in prison, or to put dead bodies in a grave. We can have love at the same time that we do these things.
What about those who have never heard the gospel? Like all other men they are lost sinners. Only Christ can save them. They can know that there is a God by the things He has created (Romans 1:20,21; Psalm 19:1). Their own consciences will also tell them that there is right and wrong (Romans 2:15). If they are obedient to the light that they have, God will give them more light. See the story of Cornelius (Acts 10 and 11).
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HEAVEN?
The Bible teaches us that for those who know the Lord Jesus Christ and love Him, there is a place of happiness called heaven. The Bible uses the word "heaven" in three different ways. First of all, the region of the clouds is called "heaven" (Genesis 1:8). Then the area where the stars are located is called "heaven" (Genesis 1:17). Finally, the word "heaven" describes the place where God dwells. Paul calls this the "third heaven" and "Paradise" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). We always speak of heaven as being "up." Satan said, "I will ascend (go up) into heaven" (Isaiah 14:13,14).
We know that our Lord Jesus is in heaven today. After He was raised from the dead, he went up into heaven in a body of flesh and bones. He carried His glorified body into heaven. Read Luke 24:38,39,51; 1 Peter 3:22; Hebrews 1:3.
There are a great many believers in heaven. When a believer dies, he goes to heaven. The Bible says that he is "absent from the body and present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). These believers are happy with Christ, "which is far better" (Philippians 1:23).
What is heaven like? The men who wrote the Bible could not find words that would describe it. In Revelation 21:10-27 the Apostle John describes the heavenly city - its foundations, its walls, its gates and its streets. They were all very, very beautiful. We know that in heaven there will be no sickness, no sorrow, no tears, no pain, and no death (Revelation 21:4). But best of all the Lord Jesus Christ will be there. We will be happy because we will be with Him.