► Read Revelation 21 together. What does this passage tell us about the future for believers?
All creation exists for the glory of God, but heaven is the central scene of the universe, where God is worshipped at the highest level by the creatures he made in his image. (Read Revelation 5:11-14.) God’s glory will be revealed in heaven in such fullness that it will be the light of the city (Revelation 21:23). It is the place where we will so know God that we will see his face (Revelation 22:4).
In heaven, believers find complete fulfillment and joy in worshipping God. Psalm 16:11 says, “In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” It is fitting that joy and worship are connected. God created us in his image, so that we could understand his nature enough to worship him for who he is. Our emotions, ability to love, and intelligence are given so that we can worship God.
Jesus made these statements to his disciples:
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (John 14:1-3).
Jesus’ words tell us some things about heaven. The most important thing is that heaven is God’s home. Jesus called it his Father’s house. Another important fact is that we can someday live there with God.
The promise of heaven should guide the way we live on earth. The person who lives by eternal values will do the most good on earth. The person who expects a heavenly reward has incentive to endure hardship and strive to accomplish God’s will. Jesus says to the one in persecution, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:12).
Sometimes people on earth cannot buy the home they want, or they may not be able to make their home into all that they want it to be. But God has infinite power and resources, so we know that his home is exactly what he wants it to be. Therefore, heaven is perfectly consistent with the nature of God.
There will be no sin in heaven. All the beings in heaven, whether angels or humans or other creatures, will be completely holy. (Read Revelation 21:8, 27.)
Heaven will be free from all of the results of sin, including pain, sorrow, conflict, and danger. (Read Revelation 21:4.) There will be no more of the curse upon creation, including sickness, aging, and death. (Read Revelation 22:3.)
The beauty of heaven is beyond description. Details given to us include walls of jasper, gates of pearl, foundations of rare gems, and streets of gold. (Read Revelation 21:18-21.)
Who and When?
Heaven is prepared for those who repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (John 3:16). The Bible tells us that if we live by eternal values, we can invest in an eternal and secure treasure in heaven. (Read Matthew 6:20.) Heaven is populated by millions of redeemed people and angels (Revelation 5:8-11).
When does one go to heaven? Jesus told the thief dying on the cross that they would be together in paradise that day (Luke 23:43). Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Therefore, we know that the believer goes to heaven at the time of death. Believers who are still alive at the return of Jesus will go to heaven without passing through death. (Read 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).)
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world…. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.... I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same.”
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Part 2: The Eternal Destiny of Unbelievers
Punishments on earth always end sometime, even if it is at the death of the one being punished. But Jesus described a punishment that is everlasting. He said,
Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.… And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matthew 25:41, 46).
Jesus and the apostles affirmed that hell, the lake of fire, and eternal punishment exist. Jesus warned us to avoid this horrible place. Here are statements from Jesus and the apostles.
So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:49-50).
Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” (Matthew 23:33).
Another time when Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, he described the torment of a man who died and went to Hades:
And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame” (Luke 16:23-24).
The Apostle Paul writes that Jesus will be
…revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
Peter writes
…God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment (2 Peter 2:4).
John writes
The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever… And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10, 15).
Notice the kind of words used to describe this place: fire, torment, vengeance, destruction, darkness, chains, judgment, weeping, and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus said
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell (Matthew 5:29-30).
Jesus said that it would be better to gouge out your right eye and cut off your right hand than to be cast into hell with both eye and hand. Jesus was not encouraging the mutilation of the body, but the stopping of any activity that would lead us to sin and hell, no matter how precious it might seem on earth.
► What are some religions that are wrong in their doctrine about hell?
The Bible tells us that death ends man's probation, and that hell is (1) eternal, (2) irreversible, and (3) agonizing. This biblical truth is rejected by atheists who say there is nothing after death, and by Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Universalists who say there is no hell. The fact that death ends man's probation is denied by Roman Catholics who believe that man's condition may be remedied after death.
There are those who deny the existence of hell because they consider it unjust. They say that if sin took place in a finite space of time, it could not be just for the punishment to be eternal. St. Augustine replied to this objection with the example of criminal law. If a robbery takes place in a few minutes, should one only have a few minutes’ punishment? A murder that takes only an instant causes irreparable damage. In scripture, we see that sin against an eternal and infinite God results in eternal punishment, even though it was committed in a finite lifetime.
► Why is hell eternal?
Hell is eternal because
1. Sin is an offense against an infinite God.
2. Unrepentant sinners deny God the eternal service they owe him.
3. We are eternal beings with no other place to go if we choose separation from God.
On earth, we like to be able to change our decisions. It seems too severe that a choice could have eternal consequences. We like to think that there will be a second chance in the future, even if we are making a deliberate choice now. But it is not unreasonable that God would limit our trial period to a lifetime.
[1]Some refuse to believe in hell because they wonder how a loving God could send someone to such an awful place as these verses describe. We must keep in mind that God does not want anyone to be lost but wants everyone to come to repentance and salvation. The Bible states this in several places. (Read 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4; Acts 17:30.) Those who go to hell have made choices that place them in this horrific place. No one accidentally stumbles into hell. Those who go have chosen the place by rejecting God, righteousness, and salvation.
Since all that is good comes from God, rejection of God is eventually a rejection of all that is good. Quietness, security from fear and pain, and a comfortable place are good things that only God can provide. Complete separation from God means the lack of everything that is good, and that is hell.
Thank God that through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, his love has made it possible for us to escape the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Instead of the agonies of hell, we may share in the joy of salvation and wonders of heaven. We choose heaven for our destiny when we choose repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20, Acts 20:21).
“Ultimately the objections to the doctrine of hell must come to this question: ‘What else are you asking God to do?’ To wipe out their past sins and give a fresh start, assisting the difficulty of it with miraculous help? But he has already offered to do so. To forgive them? But they refuse to be forgiven. To leave them alone? Alas, I am afraid that is what He does.”
- C.S. Lewis, paraphrased from The Problem of Pain
Error to Avoid: Forgetting Eternal Consequences
In earthly life, many decisions do not seem final. With enough time, many mistakes can be corrected. We must remember that many decisions have eternal consequences. We do not know when we will die, and our probation time will be over. After death we will not be able to change the actions that affected our own eternal destiny or the actions that influenced others in their decisions.
► Read the statement of beliefs together at least two times.
Statement of Beliefs
Every person will exist eternally either in heaven or hell. Heaven is God’s home where believers will live with God, joyfully worshipping him. In heaven is no sin, nor any of the suffering that results from it. Hell is the eternal, irrevocable, and agonizing place of punishment for all who have not been saved from their sins by Christ. Hell is the just punishment for willful sin against an infinite God.
Lesson 13 Assignments
(1) Passage Assignment: Each student will be assigned one of the passages listed below. Before the next class session, you should read the passage and write a paragraph about what it says about the subject of this lesson.
Isaiah 5:11-16
Matthew 5:27-30
Luke 16:19-31
Revelation 22:1-5
Revelation 22:10-17
(2) Test: You will begin the next class with a test over Lesson 13. Study the test questions carefully in preparation.
(3) Teaching Assignment: Remember to schedule and report your out-of-class teaching times.
Lesson 13 Test
(1) What is the primary activity of heaven?
(2) List four things that will not be in heaven.
(3) Who will go to heaven?
(4) When do believers go to heaven?
(5) What three things does the Bible tell us about hell?
(6) What did Jesus mean that a person should cut off his hand?
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