Sunday, July 20, 2008

Life after death: Heaven and Hell

God created us to be happy with him forever in heaven. Some will thwart God’s loving plan bu choosing ourselves over him and dying in the state of rebellion against him, what we call “mortal sin.”For them, the anguish of eternal separation from God is their destiny. We call this state “hell.” For those who love God and die in a state of frienschip with Him, etrnal happiness and bliss and utter union with God awaits. We call that state “heaven,” and it’s also referred to as “the beatific vision,” because in heaven we wil become like God and behold Him face-to-face (cf. 1 Cor.13:12). In the following passages, we can see some of the Biblical ecidence that demonstates the reality of heaven and hell.

Few people deny the existence of heaven (though, oddly, some do), but there are many who deny the existence of hell. And their motivation for doing so is understandable, if not correct. The only doctrine of the Church I wish weren’t true is the docrine that hell exists. Unfortunately, the reality of hell is a fact, and try as they might, people can deny it, but eventually they will discover it’s true. Denying the reality of hell is like denying the reality of gravity. It’s there, whether you likei t or not, so the best strategy is to live life so as not to go there. When Jesus spoke about the “unquenchable fire of hell” (cf. Mark 9:43,48), He wasn’t kidding. Scripture reveals that hell is a real place where real people go. Really.


* Isaiah 33:11-14: “You conceive chaff, you bring forth stubble; your breath is a fire that will concume you. And the peoples will be as if burned to lime, like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire”. Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledje my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless:”Who among u scan dwell with everlasting burnings?”

* Mattew 8:12: “… while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.”

* Matthew 25: 41-43: “Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels… for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’”

* Mark 9:41-48: “For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame thatn with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where their worm doe not die, and the fire is not quenched.”


Other Citations:

Luke 3:17
2 Thessalonians 1:9
2 Corinthians 12:1-4
Philippians 3:20-21
2 Peter 2:4
Revelation 14:11
Revelation 21 & 22

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