People have offered many images of heaven and hell throughout time. Jesus Himself described hell as a place of fire, judgment and eternal punishment (Matthew 5.22 and Matthew 25.41 & 46). And Jesus describes heaven as a glorious kingdom, a mansion with many rooms, a wedding banquet and a place of reward and eternal life (Matthew 5.12, John 14.2, Matthew 22.2 and Matthew 13.43).
The core difference between heaven and hell is one place has God (heaven) and the other place has the absence of God (hell). God embodies all that is loving, beautiful and good, and to be with Him is to be immersed in those things. Without God’s presence, those things don’t exist.
God does not send His beloved children to hell. He loves each of us and wants to have a relationship with us, which is the reason He created us (John 17.3). However, He gave us free will to choose to be in His presence or not to be in His presence. The only way into God’s presence is through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14.6).
We can have the Kingdom of Heaven inside of us now on earth (Luke 17.20-21). Jesus died on the Cross as payment for our sins, so we can have a relationship with a Holy God (Hebrews 9.26). Once we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior and to forgive us our sins, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. Now we have the presence of God with us, which is heaven. Once our bodies die, our relationship with God continues into eternity, and we are in heaven. If we don’t have a relationship with God through the Finished Work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, our lack of relationship continues into eternity, and we are in hell.
God wants all His children to be in heaven with Him (1 Timothy 2.3-4). He loves each of us so much that He would send His Son to die for us, so we could be with Him for eternity (John 3.16). He created us with value, purpose and care (Matthew 10.29-31, Jeremiah 29.11 & Psalm 139.13-14). However, He also created us to be free-thinking individuals. Although He desires to have a relationship with us, He will not force that relationship. God is love and wants to extend that love to the children He created in His image (1 John 4.8). It is up to us to choose fellowship with God or not to have fellowship with Him.
We don’t have to be perfect to have a relationship with God. God knows we have struggles, which is why He sent His Son to save us (Romans 5.8). Jesus gave us His righteousness on the Cross in exchange for our sins. Once we accept salvation as a free gift, God holds us in His mighty hand and will never let go. If you would like to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, repeat this prayer:
“Jesus, thank You for dying on the Cross for me. I accept Your gift of salvation. I exchange my sins for Your righteousness, and I ask the Holy Spirit to live inside of me. Thank You for dying for me, so I can have a relationship with a Holy God now and for eternity. I pray this in Jesus’s name, amen.”
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand” (John 10.27-29 NLT).
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