Is this all
there is?
Do
you believe the Bible? Let me rephrase that. Do you believe the whole
Bible or only the parts that you like? This can become a hard question
to answer but it doesn’t have to be. We all must choose to believe what
God says – all the way. We must remember that God cannot lie (see
Numbers 23:19) and that He magnifies His word above His name (see Psalm
138:2). A person’s reputation is based upon if that person keeps their
word or not – their character.
When it comes to a subject as serious as
eternity, we should choose to believe that God is telling the truth
solely just on the fact that He is God and that He cannot lie. You might
wonder what if this is all just some belief just to get people scared
and all worked up. Well what if this is all true and there is a heaven
and a hell?
The point of all of this is this. We tend to
believe what we are comfortable with but when it gets out of our comfort
zone in light of Scripture, what God says in His Word, we don’t want to
accept it. Let’s move out of our comfort zones for a moment and look at
what God says concerning, Heaven, Hell and the Lake of Fire.
What happens after
you die? Is that it?
“For the Father judges no one, but has
committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just
as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor
the Father who sent Him.”
John 5:22, 23
For those who do not believe the Bible, I
pray that the Spirit of the Living God would open your eyes and your
understanding to see, hear and understand. It is appointed unto all to
die. Just as a person would have a doctor’s appointment, you have a
death appointment. We all have an appointed time to be born and a time
to die (see Ecclesiastes chapter 3).
“And as it is appointed for men to die
once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear
the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a
second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
Hebrews 9:27, 28
Jesus told a story about the death of a rich man and a man named
Lazarus.
“There was a certain rich man who was
clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But
there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid
at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the
rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it
was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s
bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
And being in torments in
Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in
his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on
me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham
said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good
things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and
you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a
great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you
cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
“Then he said, ‘I beg
you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers that he may testify to them, lest they also
come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses
and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father
Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
But
he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
Luke 16:19-31
Here we notice that after death, both men had
their five senses. They knew that they had died. The rich man could feel
the pain from the tormenting flames while Lazarus received comfort.
Imagine two cliffs separated by a huge gap in the middle.
There is no
bridge in place to provide a way to leave one place to go to the other.
The place of comfort is known as Paradise and the place of torment is
known as Hades. Both are in the heart of the earth. Right now the place
known as Paradise is empty because all believers that die in Christ are
immediately in the presence of God (see II Corinthians 5:1-8).
Where is Hades
located?
It is in the heart of the earth. Jesus spoke
about the place that He would have to go to for three days and three
nights when He was crucified.
“For as Jonah was three days and three
nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Matthew 12:40
“So the Jews answered and said to Him,
‘What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?’ Jesus
answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up.’ Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years
to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’
But He
was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen
from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them;
and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had
said.”
John 2:18-22
Scriptures referring to the place called
Hades (Sheol, Hell)
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where
can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are
there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”
Psalm 139:7, 8
“I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all
my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is
Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths
of Sheol.”
Psalm 86:12, 13
“And do not fear those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:28
“Then Death and Hades were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written
in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 20:14, 15
There are so many other Scriptures in the
Bible that speak of this terrible place called hell (known also as
Hades and Sheol). Jesus mentions that there is a hell.
Who goes to hell? Is
this the permanent place of punishment?
“Then Death and Hades were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written
in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 20:14, 15
Anyone not found written in the Book of Life
was cast into the lake of fire. Did you notice that death and hell were
cast into the Lake of Fire? Remember that hell is the place that stores
all of those who have died without receiving Jesus into their hearts as
Lord and Savior. The order would be physical death (placed in hell),
judgment and then the second death (placed in the Lake of Fire).
Satan
will also spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.
“The devil, who deceived them, was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false
prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever
and ever.”
Revelation 20:10
There will come a time when all who have died in their sins will be
resurrected from the dead.
“And I saw the dead, small and great,
standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was
opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged
according to their works, by the things which were written in the
books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades
delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one
according to his works.”
Revelation 20:12, 13
Please realize that you cannot go to heaven by doing good works but
only through receiving Jesus into your heart.
“For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not
of works, lest anyone should boast”
Ephesians 2:8, 9
At the Great White Throne Judgment, your
whole life will be reviewed. There will be no secrets. The believer in
Christ will stand before Jesus at the Bema seat. Believers will not be judged
concerning whether or not they have received Jesus as Lord but will be
judged based on the work they did for the Kingdom of God while on the
earth.
“Therefore we make it our aim, whether
present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the
things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether
good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade
men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in
your consciences.”
2 Corinthians 5:9-11
Jesus Himself said that He
would return with rewards.
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My
reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last.”
Revelation 22: 12, 13
How do we get our
names in the Book of Life?
“But what does it say? ‘The word is near
you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith
which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the Scripture
says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over
all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on
the name of the LORD shall be saved.’”
Romans 10:8-13
All we have to do is receive the free gift of salvation that can only
come by accepting Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior. Confess with
your mouth and believe in your heart. God loves you and He doesn’t want
you to be separated from Him for all of eternity.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6
“For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
When you make Jesus Lord and Savior of your
life, everything changes. You are no longer the same because you are now
a new creation in Christ Jesus. You can have peace in your life like
never before. I know it seems so easy but it is true!
All you have to do is believe in Jesus and ask Him to forgive you of your
sins and He will!
Now is the time. Today is the day of
salvation. Now you can receive Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord
and Savior. He is waiting with His arms open wide, ready to receive you.
We have all sinned and fall short of the
Glory of God. The wages of sin is death. We cannot remove the stain of
sin from our hearts. Only the precious blood of Jesus can wash and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. None of us can earn this free gift.
Please take this moment to give your life to
the Lord. You ask why? Why, because He loves and always loved you from
the foundation of the world. He came to this sin filled world to die so
that we could have a relationship with Him. This love is so pure.
Repeat this simple prayer from your heart. Believe God and receive Jesus
into your heart today.
Dear Lord Jesus.
I am a sinner. Please forgive me of my sins.
Please wash me in Your blood. I repent from my ways and I choose to
follow You. Please come into my heart. I believe that You died on the
cross for me. I receive Your free gift of salvation. Please be my Lord
and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I am Yours forever.
Thank you for saving me. In Your name Jesus I pray. Amen.
Praise the Lord! If you have prayed this
simple prayer from your heart, you are now a new creation in Christ
Jesus. Your name is now written in the Book of Life. Find a Bible believing church were you can
grow in your walk with Christ. Spend time talking to God and reading His
Word.
Read on to find out more about life after death.
Absent from the body
– present with the Lord
Those who have died in Christ Jesus, meaning
that they have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, upon death will open
their eyes in heaven! Here is what God’s Word says concerning this.
“For we know that if our earthly house,
this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from
heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.
For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because
we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be
swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing
is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So
we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the
body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body
and to be present with the Lord”
2 Corinthians 5:1-8
You
may wonder how a person could open their eyes in heaven or in hell after
death. Isn’t their body in the grave? Yes it is.
We are all made
up of three parts: body, soul, and spirit
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud
voice, and yielded up His spirit.”
Matthew 27:50
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:1, 2
“I
say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of
the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you
do not do the things that you wish.”
Galatians 5:16, 17
“And the LORD God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
Genesis 2:7
We are a spirit being with a will and we live
in a flesh suit. Our soul is our will and emotions. Every day, we choose
whether or not we will walk in the flesh or walk in the spirit. We
choose whether or not we will follow what God wants us to do or what our
flesh wants to do by having our mind (our soul, our will) decide for us. Upon
death, your spirit will either go to heaven or hell while your body is
in the ground waiting for resurrection day. (Right now, your mind is
deciding whether or not you will believe the Bible).
What is eternity with
Jesus like?
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there
was no more sea.”
Revelation 21:1
No more pain or sorrow
In eternity, there will be no more
death. We will not have to worry about getting old and dying. We
wouldn’t have to worry about being separated from our friends and loved
ones. We will always be with God. Nothing will be there to cause you any
pain.
“Then I, John, saw the holy
city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven
saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be
with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’”
Revelation 21:2-4
All things will be made new
“Then He who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, ‘Write, for these
words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.’ I will give of the
fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.”
Revelation 21:5, 6
God Himself will make everything new.
God cannot lie. He is faithful to do as He promised. Everything will be
in a constant state of new!
The New Jerusalem - Revelation Chapter 21
New Jerusalem is the beautiful city
that Jesus prepared for us. Read through the following Scriptures and
see just a glimpse of what God has in store for His children.
"I saw one of
the seven angels who had the bowls filled with the seven last terrible
troubles. The angel came to me and said, "Come on! I will show you the
one who will be the bride and wife of the Lamb." Then with the help of the
Spirit, he took me to the top of a very high mountain. There he showed
me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down from God in heaven." -verse
9, 10
“The glory of God made the city
bright. It was dazzling and crystal clear like a precious jasper
stone. The city had a high and thick wall with twelve gates, and each
one of them was guarded by an angel. On each of the gates was written
the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Three of these gates
were on the east, three were on the north, three more were on the
south, and the other three were on the west. The city was built on
twelve foundation stones. On each of the stones was written the name
of one of the Lamb's twelve apostles." - Verses 11-14
"The
angel who spoke to me had a gold measuring stick to measure the city
and its gates and its walls. The city was shaped like a cube, because
it was just as high as it was wide. When the angel measured the city,
it was about fifteen hundred miles high and fifteen hundred miles
wide. Then the angel measured the wall, and by our measurements it was
about two hundred sixteen feet high." - Verses 15-17
"The
wall was built of jasper, and the city was made of pure gold, clear as
crystal. Each of the twelve foundations was a precious stone. The
first was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was agate, the
fourth was emerald, the fifth was onyx, the sixth was carnelian, the
seventh was chrysolite, the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the
tenth was chrysoprase, the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was
amethyst.
Each of the twelve gates was a solid pearl. The streets of
the city were made of pure gold, clear as crystal. I did not see a
temple there. The Lord God All-Powerful and the Lamb were its temple.
And the city did not need the sun or the moon. The glory of God was
shining on it, and the Lamb was its light." - Verses 18-23
"Nations
will walk by the light of that city, and kings will bring their riches
there. Its gates are always open during the day, and night never
comes. The glorious treasures of nations will be brought into the
city.
But nothing unworthy will be allowed to enter. No one who is
dirty-minded or who tells lies will be there. Only those whose names
are written in the Lamb's book of life will be in the city.” - Verses
24-27
See God
Face to Face
“God's curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the
Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will
worship God and will see him face to face. God's name will be written
on the foreheads of the people.
Never again will night appear, and no
one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God
will be their light, and they will rule forever.”
Revelation 22:3-5
This Scripture is
so lovely. To see Jesus face to face sounds so wonderful. To be in the
presence of God the Father is indescribable.
Live
Forever
We have eternal
life because of what Jesus did for you and me.
“For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He
may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him,
for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you
orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14:15-18
“There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the
sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever
and ever.”
Revelation 22:5
“They shall reign forever and
ever”. Wow. Forever is a very long time…
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