Romans 6:23 tells us that "The wages of sin is death [hell], but the gift of God is eternal life [heaven] through Christ Jesus our Lord." Through the course of time there has been much controversy over our eternal destinies, so this page addresses a couple of common questions regarding heaven and hell.
If God is so good, why would He allow people to go to hell?
This is perhaps the most controversial question of all. Why would a holy and loving God allow people to suffer?
Let me make a bold statement here. God would NOT be holy if He didn't allow people to go to hell. Sound strange? Let me make it simpler for you. We all know that Hitler killed millions of Jews. If you are a good person, it is safe to assume that you would not like the fact that millions of innocent people died. In fact, you would hate that. So, for us to be good, we must hate evil. If God is good, He must hate evil.
Here's where the problem comes in. We often don't have a very big picture of God. We try to put Him on our level, when really He is high above. Consider this: If we are only a little bit good, we will only hate evil a little bit. If we are very good, we will hate evil a lot. God is infinitely times more holy than we are, so that must mean that God hates evil infinitely times more than we do. Some of us think that we are good enough to go to heaven if we follow the laws of this world, but God, being infinitely times greater than us, calls us to a higher standard -- the standard of His perfection. This is something we cannot obtain by our own merits, so whatever apparent goodness we show in the world is just "dirty rags" (Isaiah 64:6), nothing towards our salvation. Part of God's holiness is His justice, and it is just for us to receive hell as punishment for our sins because God hates evil so much. However, the fact that God hates evil so much is what makes Him so good.
And so we get into a seemingly awful situation. We all fall short of God's perfection, and so none of us are worthy of heaven. The situation would be hopeless if it weren't for one thing: Jesus died for our sins. What does this mean to us? Well, Jesus has never committed any sin. So, He is the only one who is worthy to go to heaven under God's fair system. Therefore, he is the only one who is worthy to take our sins from us. The fact is, under God's fair system, somebody *has* to pay for everything we have done wrong. Otherwise, God wouldn't be good because He would be accepting our evilness, and certainly a good God would not accept evilness. So, since God loves us so much and doesn't want to see anybody perish, He sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and rise from the dead three days later, so that all who believe in Him may be cleansed from their sins and receive eternal life in heaven. It is important to remember that God does not hate us; He only hates the sinful things we do.
For the Bible's answer to this question, see Romans 3:9-28.
What about the people who have never heard about Christianity? What will happen to them?
Anther controversy around the subject of hell is why God would allow people who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ to receive their eternal fate without ever learning the truth. This question is explained in Romans 1:18-32.
| 18 | The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, |
| 19 | Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. |
| 20 | For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. |
This passage explains that no one -- not even one who has not heard of the Bible or of Christ -- has an excuse for not honoring God, because the whole created world reveals Him. The rest of the passage goes on to explain that although we knew God, in rebellion we sinned against Him, and so He gave us over to our sins and allowed sin to run its course as an act of judgement. This sets the stage for showing us that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and thus we need the righteousness that only God can provide to receive salvation. This He gives us freely through his Son, Jesus Christ. Refer back to the first question for further explanation on this subject.
How can there be only one way into heaven?
The answer to this question all comes down to Jesus. In John 14:6, Jesus made it clear that He is the only way to heaven. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This is hard for some people to accept. It is narrow, but it's the way God wanted it. If God had planned for there to be more than one way into heaven, He wouldn't have sent His Son to earth to die for us. Why would God allow Jesus to suffer and die if He wasn't the only way into heaven?
If God is perfectly righteous, why did He create evil?
God didn't create evil. Darkness cannot be created; it is only the absence of light. Similarily, evil is a privation, meaning that it is the lack of a better condition. Everything that God created was good, but through his freewill, Satan became 'lacking' in this goodness, and he then took away the innocence of humanity with sin. So, evil is the condition that results when goodness is taken away; it is not a 'thing' which God created.
If God loves us, why would He allow suffering?
God allows suffering to bring us closer to Himself. God promises that He will always work for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), and we will spiritually mature if we seek God and are trained through trials and discipline (Hebrews 12:10-11). Eternal suffering is a result of a choice to reject God's provision for our sins through Jesus Christ. In God there is light, and in Him there can be no darkness. By God's perfect nature, He cannot accept any who remain in darkness, so those who reject the way He provided for eternal life will suffer the agony of eternal separation from God. God does not promote suffering, for He wants all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9) and even sacrificed His very Son to save us, but if we choose to reject His love, then we cannot be united with God, and there can be no greater pain than experiencing separation from a loving God.
What will heaven be like?
The Bible does not clearly state what heaven will be like, but it will be wonderful. We will be eternally in God's presence and will have the ability to praise and worship God face to face.
Many people like to use passages like this one in Revelation 21 to describe heaven.
| 18 | The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. |
| 19 | The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, |
| 20 | The fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. |
| 21 | The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. |
| 22 | But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb [Jesus Christ] are its temple. |
| 23 | And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine on it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light of it. |
| 24 | And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of earth do bring their glory and honor to it. |
| 25 | And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. |
| 26 | And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations to it. |
| 27 | And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but the which are written in the Lamb's book of life. |
This vision of John's reveals that Heaven will be beautiful, and the Glory of the LORD will lighten it. It won't have any temples, as we'll be worshiping God face to face. All the nations will give glory to God, and nothing sinful or evil will ever be there. Overall, a glorious, and perfect place.
What will hell be like?
Hell will be a place where "The worm never dies, and the fire never goes out" [Isaiah 66:24], a place where there will be much "Weeping and nashing of teeth" [Matthew 24-13], but worst of all, hell is eternal seperation from God. Not a very nice place eh?Many only concentrate on the fact of the fire that never goes out, but that is nothing compared to the separation from God. While no one knows for sure, probably the most merciful thing possible in hell is physical torment. If one is eternally separated from the source of all love, and this person is constantly thinking about that fact and unable to change anything, they would be in terrible mental torment. The most merciful thing possible in hell would then be physical torture to get one's mind off the mental torment.
Remember, the gate that leads to Hell and Destruction is wide, and many will enter into it. However, the road that leads to Salvation and heaven is a narrow and difficult way with many pitfalls, trials and temptations, but in the end it leads to life. If you want to know more about how to get there, look at some of the above paragraphs, or click here to find out more about Christianity, the one and only way to heaven.
If you have any questions on these topics, feel free to contact us anytime. Special thanks to Alex for addressing the questions on suffering and the creation of evil.
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