Heaven & Hell - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
Heaven and Hell
Matthew 25:46 "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Intro: Last week, we looked at a number of contrasts found in the Bible; mainly that between the world and the child of God.
Another fascinating contrast found in Scriptures is the incredible difference between the two places that people go when they die.
If I have any regrets over the last 33 years of ministry, it is I should have preached more on Hell.
One hundred years from today, everybody in this service will be in one of these two places.
NOTE: There is no third option. The Catholics teach about a place called Purgatory.
There is no reference in Scriptures of any place like that.
The Bible does talk about a placed called Paradise.
In the story of the rich and Lazarus, one was in hell and the other was in Abraham’s bosom.
There was a great gulf fixed between the two.
Jesus mentioned paradise to the thief on the cross. (Luke 23:43)
Paul referred to it as being in the “third heaven.” (2 Corinthians 12:4)
John the Revelator described paradise as being in heaven.
· Revelation 2:7 …To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
They are contrasted in a number of ways.
They are contrasted by…
I. The Preparation
Heaven was prepared to reward the people of God with eternal joy and peace.
· Matthew 25:46 "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
· 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
John 14
· 1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
· 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
· 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
1 Thessalonians 4
· 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
· 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
· 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Hell was prepared to punish the devil and his angels.
· Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
God never wanted man to go there!
· 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
John 3
· 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
· 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
II. The Particulars
Hell is described as “outer darkness.”
· Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Heaven is a city of light.
· Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Hell has no water.
· Luke 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Heaven has a river of life flowing through it.
· Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Hell has weeping and wailing.
· Matthew 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Heaven has singing and praise.
· Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Hell has worms that never die.
Hell is place of everlasting torment.
Luke 16
· 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,
· 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
· 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Heaven is a place of no sorrow, no tears, no pain.
· Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
III. The People
The Bible is clear who will be in Hell.
· Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
1 Corinthians 6:9–10
· Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
· Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19–21
· Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
· Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
· Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:5–6
· For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
· Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Those that rejected God and hated wisdom will be in Hell.
Proverbs 1
· 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
· 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
· 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
· 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
· 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
· 29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
· 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
False teachers will be in Hell.
Matthew 7
· 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
· 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
· 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
2 Peter 2
· 1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
· 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
· 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
All the devils will be in Hell.
· 2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
The Antichrist will be in Hell.
The false prophet will be in Hell.
· Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Satan will be in Hell.
· Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The Bible is also very clear who will be in Heaven.
· John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
· John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
· John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
IV. The Planning
One of the contrasts in Heaven and Hell is how you get there.
The people that are in Heaven planned to go.
Those in Hell didn’t make any plans at all.
What it ultimately comes to is where you go when you die is your choice.
What separates the people in Heaven from the people in Hell is they chose to be there.
Unlike some people, we believe the Bible teaches that you have a choice in where you spend eternity.
It was not already predetermined by God.
God knows what you will choose, but He allows you to choose.
Jesus acknowledged this choice in John
· John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
John 1
· 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
· 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Those in Heaven chose to accept the Gospel.
Those in Hell chose to reject the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 15
· 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
· 2 By which also ye are saved,
Those in Heaven chose to repent.
Those in Hell chose not to repent.
Matthew 11
· 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
· 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
· 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
Those in Heaven chose to believe God.
Those in Hell chose not to believe God.
· 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Those in Heaven chose to receive the gift of God.
Those in Hell chose to reject the gift of God.
· Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
To go to Hell when you die, you don’t have do to anything.
You’re already going there.
Even the religious elite are going there.
Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees “a child of hell” in Matthew 23.
· Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
To go to Heaven, you must hear the Gospel, believe it, repent, receive Christ as your Savior.
