Heaven is Real and Hell is Real
Heaven is real.
Books and movies often recount life after death experiences of people seeing heaven. These accounts touch our heart and imagination. The awe and wonder in the idea of heaven offers hope for a better world.
And with the unsettled state of our current world, we find comfort in the promise of heaven.
Sunday School Lessons
Growing up, I remember Sunday School teachers and preachers talking about heaven. What the Bible said, how God dwells there, and the fascinating descriptions of the heavenly city as in Revelation 21.
The best part? Being in the presence of God.
And this, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” Revelation 21:4b, NIV.
Yet, I heard about another place called hell.
Evangelists, church revivals, and songs all proclaimed this eternal world where the forces of darkness dwell. A place of separation from God. Where “no more” suffering isn’t promised but guaranteed (Matthew 13:50).
It was commonplace at church. Pastors worked the subject of both heaven and hell into sermons as much as possible. My husband also scripturally teaches on both places in eternity.
But in our culture, it grieves me to sometimes hear these places referred to as mythological, especially hell. Still further, it’s crushing when people tell someone in anger to go to hell.
Because if hell doesn’t exist, wouldn’t they say, “Go to heaven!”
Let’s consider how Jesus spoke about both heaven and hell.
He never preached a feel-good message about eternity. Christ taught God’s truth in relation to eternal life and death. And when we know the truth, no one would want to go to hell or tell anyone else to.
Real Fundamentals About Christianity
Recently, there’s something stirring in my spirit. What if we set our hearts on getting back to the basics?
Google defines basics, “the essential facts or principles of a subject.” Synonyms include: fundamentals, foundations, and groundwork.
So, what are the fundamentals of Christianity?
According to the Bible, the gospel message is the foundation with these main essentials:
- Jesus. The Savior who loves and takes away the sins of the world.
- Salvation. Eternal life provided through the bloodshed of Jesus.
- Eternity. Spiritual life after this physical life in either heaven or hell.
Jesus is Real and Powerful
In Revelation 1, the Apostle John recounts his vision, in the spirit, of Jesus and heaven. John, along with other Christians, endured persecution because of his devotion to Christ. Banished and possibly imprisoned at the time of his revelation.
The passage displays the basics of Christianity and shows that Jesus has power over hell. John introduces the chapter describing Jesus.
“…who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (verse 5).
“Behold he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him” (verse 7).
Then John details his vision of Christ.
“The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice like the roar of many waters” (verses 14-16).
Keys for a Real Hell
When John saw Jesus he fell at His feet as dead. Jesus laid His right hand on John saying…
“‘Don’t fear: I am First, I am Last, I’m Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever. See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death’s doors, they open and lock Hell’s gates'” Revelation 1:17-18 (MSG).
Just as our keys lock and unlock car doors, homes, and businesses; Jesus holds the keys for death and hell. His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection defeated the power of the devil and spiritual death. He holds the keys to eternal life in His hand. Hell is real. Yet, hell has no power over Jesus and all His glory.
It's time to stop sugarcoating Christianity and attempting to soften the gospel message. Let's get back to the basics. Share on XLet’s go back to the full truth.
Heaven is real. And hell is real.
But there’s a real Savior who holds the power of eternity in His hand. Jesus.
Join the conversation. Do you think we focus more on heaven and downplay hell?
*All Scripture references are ESV unless otherwise noted.
*Images courtesy of Adobe Spark.
Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Lori Schumaker/#momentsofhope, Jaime Wiebel/#SittingAmongFriends, Crystal Twadell/Fresh Market Friday, Kelly Balarie/Purposeful Faith, Patricia Holbrook/Soaring With Him, Meghan Weyerbacher/TeaandtheWord, Lyli Dunbar/#FaithOnFire & Crystal Storms/Heart Encouragement.
© 2018 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
Amen Karen!
Thanks, Kathy! Jesus never preached a feel-good message about eternity. Blessings to you!
It breaks my heart when nonbelievers say they don’t mind knowing they’re going to hell because at least they’ll be away from Christians and they can have a party with their other non-believing friends. Statements like that reveal people do not understand what hell is actually like. And that makes me pray all the more for those hearts to be softened and realize their need for Jesus! Enjoyed being your neighbor on #MomentsofHope today. 🙂
Yes, Emily, it is so very sad when people not only take hell and the reality of it so lightly but also eternity.
“‘Don’t fear: I am First, I am Last, I’m Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever. See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death’s doors, they open and lock Hell’s gates’” Revelation 1:17-18 (MSG).
Thank you Karen, such a need for this message. I think Satan greatest achievement so far is getting people to think there is no hell. So many live life like everyone is going to heaven so nothing we do makes an eternal difference. I pray for them to see with fresh eyes before it is too late.
I agree, Yvonne. Either they don’t believe in hell at all or have a complete confused view of it and think of the devil with a pitchfork and cape. May we pray for blinders to be lifted and for the power to share the gospel to souls who hang in the balance.
Thank you for this interesting discussion.
I have noticed that the concept of Hell is often downplayed or disregarded. For me, the most significant problem with this is that people don’t consider what separation from God actually means. He is all that is good, love, beauty, and joy. Without Him, the soul has none of these.
Exactly, Chloe. Separation from the Creator forever is the frightening and sad part about eternal death and suffering.
“Behold he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.” (Revelation 1:7 ESV)
You’re so right, Karen. We’ve lost a little bit as we’ve neglected heaven and hell. Frankly I don’t hear about either. I think the topic of heaven is avoided because it can’t be discussed or shouldn’t be discussed without knowing there’s an alternative. Hell is certainly seen as a taboo topic. To our detriment.
I fell in love with heaven, my eternity, when I lost my mother. The idea of heaven had always been tied to how boring church was as a kid. I couldn’t imagine heaven, an eternal church service, to be all that worthehit. When my mom died I longed for it and studied it in Scripture. I read Randy Alcorns book Heaven, and I was hooked. Now I point to it. I look forward to it. I’m with you. Let’s keep heaven and hell in the conversation. Great post!
Hey Chip.
I read Randy’s book too. And those of us who have lost loved ones (my dad), look forward to seeing them again one day. For we do not grieve as those without hope. 1 Thess. 4:13. I don’t see how those without Christ or this hope make it thinking that this life is all there is. I think most of us had those misconceptions of heaven being boring and so on. Gladly welcomed debunking those myths. 🙂 Thanks for your thoughts and commenting. Always a pleasure.
Excellent message, Karen! I had a Sunday School teacher who tried to tell us that heaven and hell were actually here on earth, and not physical places, but places we made ourselves. I don’t remember anything else she taught, but I remember many in our class arguing with her.
I am continually thankful that we can search the Scriptures daily to find truth.
Becky, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. How troubling a teacher would not only be that deceived, but teach such blatant mistruths to others. And grateful for God’s Word and truth also! May we stick with the basics and never get sidetracked or sugarcoat the fundamentals to our faith.
You are “preaching” my language, Karen! You are SPOT on in your analysis of “back to the basics”. We cannot, nor should we ever, water down the gospel to be palatable for the current cultural biases. We must speak the truth, and speak it in love. So, “YES” and “AMEN” to this post.
Even though Hell is not a popular topic to discuss these days, it IS a reality, and our hearts should break because people are going there. Let’s pray that God breaks our hearts for the lost, and uses us to help guide them “home.”
Bless you! Lisa Q
Yes, Lisa. Love your prayer. As disciples one of our roles is to make other disciples, to lead others to truth about eternity. I never want to water down the gospel or preach another gospel, because there really is only one as Paul said in Galatians 1. After all, Christ taught God’s truth in relation to eternal life and death. Appreciate your comment.
This comment: “He never preached a feel-good message about eternity.”
Yes.
If the present-day gospel were the true gospel, why would our Savior have to spill his precious blood? Thank you for sharing the bold truth!
Amen, Stephanie! Lord, help us not lose sight of the fundamentals of Christianity: Jesus, salvation, and eternity.
This is our faith!
Valid point Karen
Often the reality in the Bible is watered down in an attempt to make it more relevant or acceptable to the current day audience.
in doing so much truth, power and integrity is lost
Power and integrity is lost, Bob. God’s good news and Word stand as truth and unchanging throughout the ages and all time. It doesn’t bend with the current culture’s opinions. The fact is the subject of heaven and hell will never not be offensive because our human nature has a natural bent to believe we can make it on our own.
I agree that our focus is not as eternity-minded as it needs to be. As Christians, we are citizens of Heaven, but we need to tell a dying world about the realities of both Heaven and Hell. Continue to preach the Gospel and edify people with the Word of God! The truth sets people free!
Yes, yes, yes! Our citizenship is in heaven, but while here, we publish the good news of salvation and peace and we say, My God reigns” (Isaiah 52:7) pointing others to the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
This is a strong message! We do sugar coat hell, and it’s not helpful. Jesus spoke so much about hell. And he, of all people would know! The place I found the least tendency toward this avoidance of hell was when preaching in prison. The incarcerated women had a strong sense that there was a judgment coming and that unrepentant lives ended in hell. They understood paying for crimes, but they also knew the harm that had suffered at the hands of others that had started them down that broken road. They knew that those ones who had harmed them would have to face judgment and would end up in hell unless they repented. They repented of their own sins, and they prayed for their offenders, because hell is far worse than prison. At the same time, knowing that, they knew that these ones who had harmed them, if they did not repent, would not get away with what they had done. God saw, and he would judge. Justice is crucial when you’ve been wronged. The gospel stands on its own, but when taken with the fact that faith in Christ keeps us out of hell, it’s a doubly attractive kindness of God to end up in heaven.
Melinda, that is such a powerful analogy. The women in prison could understand punishment and justice on a level some of us would fail to see. Not only do we sometimes focus on heaven or just the pleasant parts of our faith in the church, but we also want to park and stay on God’s goodness and love and mercy which are true. Yet, so is His holiness, and justice, and judgement.
The Lord’s so loving and merciful that He sits as Judge with the final say AND provides a way to escape hell and eternal death if we will receive it.
Loved your thoughts!
Karen,
I don’t think we talk about either Heaven or hell enough. It’s like people want to live in the “now” and not worry about what’s to come—or consequences of what we do in the now.
I love this statement, “It’s time to stop sugarcoating Christianity and attempting to soften the gospel message. Let’s get back to the basics.” Amen!
Indeed, heaven is real and so is hell. I’m so grateful God loves all people and doesn’t want anyone to perish without Him.
Thanks for this powerful post.
Beckie,
That’s a great point, it’s easy to get caught up in the earthly mindset and the temporal and forget about down the road and eternal things. And God loving everyone and not wanting any to perish is another fundamental to our faith. Oh, what love and grace and mercy and compassion! Thanks for stopping by!
This line is my favorite, “But there’s a real Savior who holds the power of eternity in His hand. Jesus.” Yes and amen. That’s a mic drop moment if there ever was one.
It is a mic drop moment, Heather. And there’s this, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” Revelation 21:4b, NIV.
Appreciate you joining the conversation.
I know that I can get too caught up in the “deeper” theological and doctrinal issues of Christianity that I forget to remember the “basics” that are so critical. There is a heaven and a hell, Jesus did die for me to pay for my sins, and I will be with Him forever in Heaven because of my faith in him and in what He did! Thanks for the redirection back to those basics Karen!
We all can do that, Paul. Yet, the basics are critical. I pray we get back to the full truth. Jesus never preached a feel-good message about eternity. He taught God’s truth in relation to eternal life and death.
Thanks for commenting!
Great post. Important topic.
Thanks, Aaron.
Dear Karen, I appreciate you tackling this subject and wholeheartedly agree with every word you have written. I am heartbroken for the many beloved friends and churches that have departed from the truth of the Bible one topic at a time, starting with this one. Little by little, we are losing the whole point of the gospel message. Therefore, there is a hell. Jesus made that plain. Otherwise, what would be the point of Jesus dying? God is holy, perfect, good and true. If God allowed anything evil in His presence, His holy goodness would cease being holy and good. We could never be good or holy enough to be in the presence of the Lord and that’s why Jesus died! To save us from hell, cover our sins and to make us fit for heaven. Mercy and grace. Mercy – we didn’t receive the just punishment for our sins that we deserved. Grace – we are given a gift of heaven which we didn’t earn. This is the very thing that makes the good news of Jesus Christ so beautiful, so powerful, so life-changing, so amazing! Without this basic foundation, we whittle away the price that was paid and the gift that was bought – blood bought for us. Without this basic foundation, we insult and belittle the sacrifice that Jesus made and diminish the depth of His love for us. Thank you again for your faith, your words and your ministry. May the amazing grace of Jesus’ sacrifice be new every morning in your heart and mine. God bless you, Karen!
Hey Melissa,
Love this in your comment…Mercy and grace…”This is the very thing that makes the good news of Jesus Christ so beautiful, so powerful, so life-changing, so amazing!” Amen!
I agree that without the foundation to our faith, we do belittle the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For while grace is free to us, it came at a high cost…the blood of the Lamb spilled for us.
Oh, I pray we get back to the full truth and stay there! Thanks so much for your wonderful thoughts!
Karen, you’re right, we have downplayed hell. I know whenever I study the topic, I sense a greater urgency to tell others about our Savior. Thanks for bringing us back to the basics of our faith.
Debbi, I feel that same urgency. The enemy wants us to forget the importance of eternity so we don’t tell others about what Jesus has done for us. But since He is the way, the truth, and the life, heaven and hell are at the center of our testimony. Thanks for your comment.
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