Heaven And Hell

Denying the existence of heaven and hell goes hand-in-hand with rejecting God.  If there is no heaven, there is no ultimate reward for righteousness.  If there is no hell, there is no eternal punishment for sinfulness.  By attempting to do away with heaven and hell, men believe they can behave as they see fit without lasting consequences.

Men naturally resist authority, so they try to eliminate as many restraints on their behavior as they can.  They reject hell, the punishment for bad behavior, heaven, the reward for good behavior and God, the judge of behavior.  Denying accountability may be central to post-Christian worldviews, but it does not change reality.  Here are Reformed Christian articles of affirmation concerning heaven and hell.

1. Heaven and hell are real places.
2. Heaven is the principal dwelling place of God, a place of eternal happiness.
3. Hell is a place of punishment removed from God, a place of eternal misery.
4. Heaven is a place of perfection, completely free of every kind of sin.
5. There is no sickness, death, sadness or tear in heaven.
6. The Bible describes heaven in glowing terms with lavish adornments and streets of gold.
7. We cannot be certain if the descriptions of heaven found in the Bible are literal or symbolic, but if they are symbolic, heaven may be even more wonderful than we imagine.
8. Hell is described in the Bible in the most terrifying terms.
9. Hell is characterized in the Bible as a lake of fire that burns with flames that never end.
10. The picture of hell is one of being burned by fire without ceasing.  It is the pain of being burned but not being consumed that lasts forever.
11. There is no possibility of escape or parole from hell.  The condemned remain in hell for all eternity.
12. We cannot be certain if the descriptions of hell found in the Bible are literal or symbolic, but if they are symbolic, hell may be even more horrible than we imagine.
13. After life on earth ends, all men will ultimately end up either in heaven or in hell.
14. There are no destinations after death other than heaven and hell.