Heaven and Hell
Many people were
taught as children that there are one of two places where one will go once their
time on earth is done. The good people were thought to enter Heaven automatically
where God is, and the bad people would go to hell where the devil and his
demons reside. Although this belief bears some truth in a simplified concept of
the matter, there is a lot more involved than just being good or bad in
determining one’s final destination.
In this 7th
lesson series, you will learn about Heaven and what it takes to get there. Many questions will be addressed such as:
What Heaven is?
Where it is located?
What and who is in Heaven?
Who gets to go to Heaven?
Does being good automatically get
one into Heaven?
Questions, as they pertain to Hell, will also be addressed
in this lesson such as:
What is hell?
Is hell a real place?
Where is it located?
Is there anyone there now?
Who goes to hell?
What is the Lake of Fire?
Is the Lake of Fire and Hell
different? If so, what is the difference?
Those who go to hell, will they
burn for all eternity?
Does being good keep you out of
hell?
These questions and more will be answered in this 7th Bible lesson to help you to be prepared to meet the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Ready! Set! Let’s get started!
What and Where is Heaven?
“Do not let
your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s
house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am
going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I
am. You know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:1-4).
In the beginning, God
created a world that was absolutely perfect. There was no sickness, disease,
death, pain, nor sorrow. All that God created was good and served the purpose
for which it was made – that was until sin crept in and acted as termites
eating away at a homeowner’s foundation. In a sinister plot to overthrow his
Creator, Lucifer allowed the sins of pride, arrogance, and deception to enter
his heart – causing him to turn against his Creator. In his desire to obtain
power, position, and authority that was never rightfully his, he started major
conflict and division amongst the angelic host. Lucifer, along with one-third
of the angels with whom he managed to deceive into siding with him, were kicked
out of their beautiful home, and they moved on to cause havoc across the
planet. The Bible says: “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels
fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he
was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the
great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and
Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his
angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:7-9). Satan was not able
to successfully ruin where God lives even though he tried.
The first mention of
Heaven in the Bible is in Genesis which means the beginning. The Bible
says: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and
the earth” (Genesis 1:1). If you noticed, the verse
does not say that God created heaven
as a singular part of speech. The word heavens, however,
is used in the plural which tells us that there is more than one. So,
let’s dive a little deeper into understanding these heavens.
1st Heaven
– The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven. This is where the clouds
rest, birds fly, and where space surrounds the earth. The Bible says: “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly
the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in
the open firmament of heaven” (Genesis 1:20). When
we go outside every day, we get to see and experience a little taste of heaven.
If you are one who loves to travel by plane, you get to experience an even
closer glance of heaven. How beautiful is it to see the clouds up close and personal?
God made this beauty just for us and His other creatures to enjoy.
2nd Heaven – The second heaven is the celestial
realm where the sun, moon, stars, and planets are. The Bible says: “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the
heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for
seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament
of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two
great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule
the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the
night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good’”
(Genesis 1:14-18). Man is unable to visit the sun, and some people
debate as to if there was an actual visit to the moon, which we will not dive
into at this time. Nevertheless, we have satellites in space that give us a
view of the planets which we would not ordinarily be able to see on our own or
with our natural eye without a telescope of some sort. God did, however, allow
for us to see the sun in the day, the moon and stars at night, and rather it is
day or night, we are still able to have an experience with the second heaven.
3rd Heaven – The third Heaven is the place where our
God and His angels live. The Bible says, “Look down
from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory:
where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy
mercies toward me? are they restrained?” (Isaiah 63:15).
This is the Heaven where we on earth are not able to go just yet. God, however,
has allowed some of His servants to experience Heaven in dreams and visions. One
such person was the Apostle Paul for he experienced a visit to the third Heaven.
The Bible says: “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I
will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to
the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not
know—God knows. And I know
that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God
knows— was caught up to
paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to
tell” (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). Paul, speaking of
himself in the third person, had an experience with Heaven that everyone has
not had the pleasure of receiving. He was unsure as to if his actual body was
there or if this was just a vision that he was in, but he was well aware that
He was in the heavenly realm where Jesus is.
Man and/or their equipment
have been able to travel to the first and second heavens, but he is unable to
get to the third Heaven where God resides regardless of his technology on his
own. This is a place that is designated for those who have been found worthy to
enter in once they are done on this earth and whose names have been written in
the Book of Life. The Bible says: “For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus came to
earth to die so that we may have a chance at eternal life. If we believe, accept
Him as our Lord and risen Savior, and turn from our sins, we will one day have
a heavenly residence.
Heaven is a place that
is free from all the pains and sufferings we experience while on earth. It is a
place full of life, joy, and peace. The Bible says, “He
will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither
shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things
have passed away” (Revelation 21:14). We will no longer have to
bury our loved ones, be riddled with disease, suffer abuse from others, and
experience feelings of loneliness and/or rejection. There is happiness and contentment
in Heaven. Nothing on earth can compare to what God has in store for us. In
Heaven, everything will be new and the old life that we had on earth will be a
thing of the past. The Bible says, “Then I saw
a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away, and the sea was no more. And I 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 the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling
place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,
and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning,
nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he
who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also,
he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true”
(Revelation 21:1-5).
To think that there will be a place where we will
never have to experience any more hardships, heartaches, and misery is so
beyond what the human mind can comprehend; and yet, there is such a place
called Heaven where this will be possible to those who have had their robes
washed in the blood of the Lamb, and whose names are written in the Lamb’s book
of life. The Bible says, “But nothing
unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false,
but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life” (Revelation 21:27). This
is the ultimate gift to the faithful who have persevered to the end and have
remained separated from the things of the earth. A perfect reward for those who
have set their hearts and minds on the heavenly things above will be received
by the righteous. The Bible says, “Do not lay
up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where
thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew
16:19-21).
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