Heaven or Hell, Pt.1

We all know that our days are numbered.  What we struggle to understand is what happens when that day comes.  As humans, we struggle with things that are uncertain. It is somewhat difficult to speak on what happens after we die, mainly due to the fact that I am not a man raised from the grave.  I do not want to make the impression that I know exactly how the events will unfold when we die, but I do want to expose you to His word about that day.  None of us know what truly happens, but we have more than we could ever need, His word.  I pray that I can help you hear His word, giving all glory to Him.  God will never give us more than we can handle, and that includes the subject of death.

We have all heard of or experienced the loss of someone.  It is when those we love leave us that we really begin to face the question of what happens.  The sense of uncertainty can magnify our pain.  There is nothing wrong with grieving for those that are no longer with us, for they are people, influences that can never be replaced.  My fear is that some of our greatest sorrows come from the fact that we do not have God at the center of our heart.  At the end of the day we must trust in God, for His plan is perfect.  We must seek His word, for how can a man trust in what he does not know?  Through His word, we grow in our relationship with Him.

So what happens when we die?  The simple truth is we will go to Heaven or Hell.  You must make a choice; you must decide what you are going to believe.  Yes, God is Sovereign, ultimately only He decides who comes to Him and who does not.  But I deeply believe that if you are reading this right now, He wants you to choose Him.  He has put in your heart the desire to seek Him, to find His infinite love for you.  I pray that if you are on the fence or a non-believer, you will continue to seek and learn about God; because once you have experienced God’s love, there is no doubt in my mind that you will choose Him.
  There are many accounts in this world as to what will happen when we die.  Many explanations and reasons as to why it will happen as they say it will.  But they are not true!  The bible’s account is the only truth.  So we must go to the bible to find our answers.  The bible says that when we die, our spirit becomes present with the Lord, in eternal heaven.  God never fail us in our needs, as He provides us an answer in 2 Corinthians 5. 

 --2 Corinthians 5:1-8, “ For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.  We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.  For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.  While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

  So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.”

Jesus is the human form of God, so He is infinitely holy just as is God.  So when we read Jesus’ teachings, we know they are from the mouth of God.  Jesus is the Truth.  Now, what puts fear in all of us, is the thought of Hell.  Some will question why such a loving God would create such a retched place for some of the people He created.  (We will get into this in part 2)  Some will even feel that God would not create such a place as Hell for His love for us is infinite.  Yes, He does love us infinitely; He took human form, sending His only begotten Son to save us from His wrath.  So there is no doubting the love of God.  But I tell you that Hell is real.  Jesus, the Truth, spoke of Hell in roughly thirteen percent of His teachings and roughly half of the parables are related to punishment, Hell, and Judgment.  Think of how stark our sins must be if the most loving one ever speaks of such damnation.  

Friends, when it comes down to it, there are two options that come with death, Heaven for blessing and Hell for suffering.  This life is your only opportunity to decide which path you will take.  Through faith in Jesus we are saved, if you do not believe in Jesus you stand in the path of the wrath of God.  I pray you will accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, for this will give you God’s eternal blessing!

**We will explore much more Scripture in Part 2 J