Heaven vs Hell

-


Contrary to what some people might think Hell and Heaven are two very real places. Sometimes people like to use the term hell on earth. As we go about our daily lives we go through circumstances sometimes that put us in the mind of hell. We are reminded of hell here on earth when we face difficult circumstances, but hell is a real place that awaits all who don't believe. One description of the place Hell would be,"The final abode of Satan, his angels and anyone who dies without trusting Jesus Christ as savior," Another way of describing Heaven and Hell by the The famous writer Richard Baxter is, As the enjoyment of God is the heaven of the Saints, so the loss of God is the Hell of the ungodly. And as the enjoying of God is the enjoying of all, so the loss of God is the loss of all."

All of humanity fits into one of three categories when examining this sensitive topic that most of us don't want to discuss. who wants to think about the fact that as a direct result of your choices you might have to spend eternity in a place called Hell. The first category would be believers, Second would be unbelievers or atheist, finally some might be agnostic meaning you don't believe one way or the other. Depending on which category you fall into will determine where you spend eternity it is as simple as that. Lets examine the term Hell for a minute. the term Hell comes from the Greek word Gehenna. Gehenna was a valley south of Jerusalem where locals dumped there garbage. If you have ever been to your city dump you know the kind of undesirable things one can find in a dump. It is a place where people discard their unwanted items and things. It is sad but true that it will also be the final resting place for all humans beings who Gods discards as a result of unbelief.




Another term used for hell is hades, but unlike hell hades is a completely different place it is torturous none the less, but it is a kind of loathsome holding tank. It is best described as the place where deceased unbelievers go to wait for the judgement. The book of Luke chapter 16: 19-31, "Hades is a place of torment and agony. At the judgement unbelievers will receive their sentences. Only then will they enter into Hell. The Bible says' to be absence from the body is to be present with the lord, but this only applies to believers, which brings us to an interesting point. Since the judgment is still in the future, and hell is reserved for those who have been judged and sentenced, we must assume that no one is presently in Hell. Everyone who has died in their unbelief is waiting in hades for the coming judgement, their wait is torturous.




You probably noticed that I did not spend alot of time describing heaven, rightfully so. heaven speaks for itself, it is a desirable place that we all seek to go. It is Gods reward for believers. Sometimes even in this God forsaken place that we live called earth we can at times experience heaven. People use the term heaven right here on earth. It is usually referring to some blissful event that we are experiencing where everything seem to be going all right. We are enjoying our earthly experience. heaven is also described as a place where there will finally be no more wars, no more tears, no more pain and suffering. God initial plan for the human race will unfold in all of his planned glory, majesty and omnisciences.




I believe that the most important decision any human being has to make is where are you going to spend eternity? Even if you don't take the time to consider it, even the consequences of that will one day be very real for You. In the book of Matthew it describes it this way, Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Enough said.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rainbow

-
Image
This post was written on the date indicated which is June 30th 2010 there was not a rain cloud in the sky. But for most of the early summer here in Des monies Iowa it has been raining cats and dogs as they like to say. Its has rained so frequently in recent weeks that there is now concern here in Iowa for major flooding in the main tributaries of the Des monies river basin. It is reminiscent of the floods of 1993 and 2008 that happened here in the Midwest. The 1993 flood was considered a 100 year flood. The flood in 2008 was bad, but not as bad as 1993. The fact is these were very adverse circumstances that the communities who suffered them had to overcome. Water in the form of a flood is a very powerful and destructive force. There are not alot of resources available to mankind to combat this force when God decides to unleash it as he sometimes does. The analogy I would like to make today is that our life's are sometimes faced with flood like problems, and often times when we...
Read more

Generation Lost

-
Image
In today's world there are a lot of signs that indicate we are in the last days. For those individuals who don't know Christ this can be a disturbing conversation. Even for those of us who claim to be saved and know the Lord for ourselves there is something unsettling about this topic as well. One of the most prominent reasons is that most of us don't know enough about Gods word or truth on the subject to make an informed decision. As our society has advanced and become more informed or as knowledge has increased, we have become more and more separated from the truth which is Gods word. In the book of Daniel it says specifically that, "But that ole Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." It has become quite evident that knowledge has increased dramatically in the last 40 years. The Internet and other technologies has made access to information something unthought of bef...
Read more

The Winter Blues

-
Image
For those of us who live in colder climates, it can be come a real challenge to remain upbeat and not depressed during winter time. There is also a clinical condition called SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder or post holiday depression. it is attributable to the anxiety we feel because the days are so overcast and gloomy. In addition to the fact that we have incurred a lot of new debt over the holidays. The human body by design needs to receive a certain amount of sunlight on a regular basis. It not only warms us up but also supplies us with a daily regiment of ultra violet rays which contain vitamin d. It's purely psychological but we unconsciously find ourselves feeling depressed in the winter do to lack of this natural element. So what are we to do? Here's a list of ten things you can do to remedy the winter time blues. 1. When the weather allows get outside to take in some fresh air especially if the sun is out. 2. Exercise is always a good way to address depr...
Read more