IS HEAVEN REAL?

The word "Heaven is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word "hoefon". In secular terms heaven is generally described as a place where God, the gods and other spiritual beings dwell; a place of perfect supernatural happiness for the redeemed in the afterife.

According to Donald K. McKim, heaven from the Christian theological perspective is "the future eternal abode of those who receive  salvation in Jesus Christ. It is portrayed as a place of blessedness, without pain or evil and distinguished by the presence of God.

Heaven is indeed a real place. The Bible tells us that heaven is God's throne (Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:48-49; Matthew 5:34-35). After Jesus'  resurrection and appearance on earth to His disciples, "He was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19; Acts 7:55-56). "Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence" (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus not only went before us, entering on our behalf, but He is alive and has a present ministry in heaven, serving as our high priest in the true tabernacle made by God (Hebrews 6:19-20; 8:1-2).

We are also told by Jesus Himself that there are many rooms in God's house and that He has gone before us to prepare a place for us. We have the assurance of His word that He will one day come back to earth and take us to where He is in heaven (John 14:1-4). Our belief in an eternal home in heaven is based on an explicit promise of Jesus. Heaven is most definitely a real place. Heaven truly does exist.

When people deny the existence of heaven, they deny not only the written Word of God, but they also deny the innermost longings of their own hearts. Paul addressed this issue in his letter to the Corinthians,encouraging them to cling to the hope of heaven so that they would not lose heart. Although we "groan and sigh" in our earthly state, we have the hope of heaven always before us and are eager to get there (2 Corinthians 5:1-4). Paul urged the Corinthians to look forward to their eternal home in heaven, a perspective that would enable them to endure hardships and disappointments in this life. "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

Just as God has put in men's hearts the knowledge that He exists (Romans 1:19-20), so are we "programmed" to desire heaven. It is the theme of countless books, songs, and works of art. Unfortunately, our sin has barred the way to heaven. Since heaven is the abode of a holy and perfect God, sin has no place there, nor can it be tolerated. Fortunately, God has provided for us the key to open the doors of heaven-Jesus Christ (John 14:6). All who believe in Him and seek forgiveness for sin will find the doors of heaven swung wide open for them. May the future glory of our eternal home motivate us all to serve God faithfully and wholeheartedly. "Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is his body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart full of assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Nonetheless, there are many people including scholars in different fields of life who believe heaven is a mere fallacy. 

Your views and contributions on this topic is highly regarded and welcome in the comments section below. 

DOES HELL EXIST?

 

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Yes, hell exists, according to the Bible. Note: in the remainder of this article, we will use the term hell to mean, broadly, "place of conscious torment after death." We realize that hell is technically different from the lake of fire. 

The Bible speaks of the reality of hell in the same terms as the reality of heaven (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:1-2). In fact, Jesus spent more time warning people about the dangers of hell than He did in comforting them with the hope of heaven. The concept of a real, conscious, forever-and-ever  existence in hell is just as biblical as real, conscious, forever-and-ever existence in heaven. Trying to separate them is simply not possible from a biblical standpoint.

Despite the Bible's clear teaching of both heaven and hell, it is not unusual for people to believe in the reality of heaven while rejecting the reality of hell. In part, this is due to wishful thinking. It's easier to accept the idea of a "nice" afterlife, but damnation isn't quite so appealing.

This is the same mistake human beings often make when it comes to substance abuse, dangerous behaviors, and so forth. The assumption that we will get what we want overrides the unpleasant (but rational) view that things might not end well. Rejection of the existence of hell can also be blamed on inaccurate assumptions about what hell is. Hell is frequently imagined as a burning wasteland, a dungeon full of cauldrons and pitchforks, or an underground city filled with ghosts and goblins. Popular depictions of hell often involve a flaming torture chamber or a spiritual jail where evil things reside-and where good things travel to battle evil. This version of hell does not exist. There is a real place called hell, but it is not the Dante's Inferno image most people think of. Certain details about hell are given in the Bible, but those details do not match the popular myths.

The Bible actually gives very few particulars about hell. We know that it was originally intended for demonic spiritual beings, not people (Matthew 25:41). The experience of being in hell is compared to burning (Mark 9:43; 9:48; Matthew 18:9; Luke 16:24). At the same time, hell is compared to darkness (Matthew 22:13) and associated with intense grief (Matthew 8:12) and horror (Mark 9:44).

In short, the Bible tells us only what being in hell is "like"; it does not explicitly say what hell is or how exactly it functions. What the Bible does make clear is that hel is real, eternal, and to be avoided at all costs (Matthew 5:29-30)

In our subsequent discussions, we will be looking at some terminologies associated with thanatology the thoroughly discuss the subject of death and the afterlife. These topics will further highlight the existence of hell. 

Meanwhile, your views on this topic will further direct our subsequent discussions on this topic and give a greater insight into which aspects might be considered as pertinent and worth tackling. 

Kindly leave your comments in the comments box below.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH?

With the Christian faith, there is a significant amount of confusion regarding what happens after death. Some hold that after death, everyone "sleeps" until the final judgment, after which everyone will be sent to heaven or hell. Others believe that at the moment of death, people are instantly judged and sent to their eternal destinations. Still others claim that when people die, their souls/spirits are sent to a "temporary" heaven or hell, to await the final resurrection, the final judgment, and then the finality of their eternal destination. So, what exactly does the Bible say happens after death?

First, for the believer in Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that after death believers' souls/spirits are taken to heaven, because their sins are forgiven by having received Christ as Savior (John 3:16, 18, 36). For believers, death is to be "away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23). However, passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 describe believers being resurrected and given glorified bodies. If believers go to be with Christ immediately after death, what is the purpose of this resurrection? It seems that while the souls/spirits of believers go to be with Christ immediately after death, the physical body remains in the grave "sleeping." At the resurrection of believers, the physical body is resurrected, glorified, and then reunited with the soul/spirit. This reunited and glorified body-soul-spirit will be the possession of believers for eternity in the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21-22).

Second, for those who do not receive Jesus Christ as Savior, death means everlasting punishment. However, similar to the destiny of believers, unbelievers also seem to be sent immediately to a temporary holding place, to await their final resurrection, judgment, and eternal destiny. Luke 16:22-23 describes a rich man being tormented immediately after death. Revelation 20:11-15 describes all the unbelieving dead being resurrected, judged at the great white throne, and then being cast into the lake of fire. Unbelievers, then, are not sent to hell (the lake of fire) immediately after death, but rather are in a temporary realm of judgment and condemnation. However, even though unbelievers are not instantly sent to the lake of fire, their immediate fate after death is not a pleasant one. The rich man cried out, "I am in agony in this fire" (Luke 16:24).

In Thanatology, when a person dies, the spirit leaves the body and goes to the Creator (God). The body is buried and the Soul goes to Shoel/Hades. 

(Shoel/Hades has two compartments; Upper Compartment- Jesus called that place paradise, for dead godly believers and the Lower Compartment- a place of torment for dead unbelievers. 

NOTE: The spirit gives you being till death, the soul keeps your being in the afterlife. The soul is conscious of your past after your death. 

When Jesus died, He went to Shoel/Hades which is the unseen world of departed souls or depth of grave as translated in Hebrew and Greek. (Amos 9:2, Psalms 139:8).

Before the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the souls of believers were held captive by the devil against their will. When Jesus died, he descended into the upper part of Shoel/Hades, disarmed and defeated the devil to set the captives free. (Ephesians 4:8-10) Revelation 1:18

The souls of unbelievers were kept in the lower compartment of Shoel/Hades. (Refer to the story of Lazarus and the Rich man). The space between Lazarus and the rich man is the great gulf. 

Hell is a different world all together and in Revelations 20:14 both death and Hades will be cast into hell fire. 

There are other compartments like the abyss, (the bottomless pit. - Revelations 20:2-3) and "tataroo"- Greek or "tatarus" - Latin, where disobedient angels have been kept. 

Therefore, after death, a person resides in a "temporary" heaven or hell (the lower or upper compartment of Shoel/Hades. After this temporary realm, at the final resurrection, a person's eternal destiny will not change. The precise "location" of that eternal destiny is what changes. Believers will ultimately be granted entrance into the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21:1). Unbelievers will ultimately be sent to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). These are the final, eternal destinations of all people-based entirely on whether or not they had trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation (Matthew 25:46; John 3:36).

All questions and contributions on this topic are warmly welcome. The comment box below is ready to take them all.