by Rodney Vuurens

Not long ago, I was presented with a statement that there is no such thing as heaven or hell, that when one dies, that is simply the end of it all, flat line on the screen and nothing more then or ever again including any afterlife. Despite some discussions, this person wanted proof that there is indeed a heaven and hell so I felt compelled to compile some concrete evidence that we as humans have souls in addition to physical bodies and that something must happen to the souls after physical death.

Regardless of whether or not you believe in God, there have been endless attempts to disprove the Bible but all have failed. If one single thing could be proven false, the entire Bible would then be false. But, the only proof of heaven and hell comes from the Bible, the Word of God, written by man but (II Tim 3:16), "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." Many instances of people telling of a white light or similar experience when the heart stops for a short time sound like they glimpse an afterlife but have any of these people had their heart stop for a couple of hours and return to consciousness to tell of the people and things in heaven or hell? At least we can see what the Bible says about heaven and hell and then you can decide for yourself what you believe is true.

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, seeking only the crumbs of the rich man. After both men died, the rich man was tormented in the flames of hell and cried to Abraham to have Lazarus dip his finger in water to cool the rich man's tongue. Due to a great gulf between them, passage was not possible. Pleading then to warn his brothers so that they would not go to hell, Abraham explained that if they did not listen to the prophets, they would not be convinced even if someone rose from the dead. Later, of course, Jesus did rise from the dead after being dead for three days as had been foretold hundreds of years before. Most people did not believe even then, including one of the twelve disciples, Thomas (John 20:24-31). Thomas would not believe unless he could put his finger into the nail hole in Jesus' hand and his hand into Jesus' side. Because Thomas did this and then believed, Jesus said "..blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed (v.29)." People then and now continue to fail to listen to the prophets and the Word of God. A few important points to this are:

1) There is an existence after death that is very much conscious. The rich man, Lazarus and Abraham all existed yet Abraham had been physically dead for over 1000 years, indicating proof of eternity.

2) Hell is a place of extreme torment that is a very real and eternal punishment. That a simple dip of the finger in water would feel so wonderful to such a rich man indicates the level of despair.

3) There are no second chances to heaven after physical death. No chances for that person to escape the torment.

4) Inability to communicate with the living. Cannot warn friends or family that they need to avoid hell's fury.

To find out where and what hell is, the Bible has many instances of stating that hell is below us, "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit (ISA 14:15)." To further clarify, Psalm 55:15 states, "Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell; for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them." Hell is not an underground bunker with the cool temperature of a coal mine, for Matt 14:38-42 explains that the wicked ones are gathered like the tares in the field and then burned in the fire. In Matthew 25, Jesus talks of those on the right hand side helping to feed the hungry, aid the sick and others in need and that these acts are the same as helping Jesus himself. Then in verse 41, for those on the left hand side Jesus tells them to,"..depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." As before with the rich man, there will be agonizing torment in hell, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out (Luke 13:28)." It certainly is a fiery inferno, "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Thes 1:8). And the torment shall be for eternity, "...and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Rev 20:10).”

Where, then, is heaven and what is there? Psalm 103:11 says, "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him." God is very merciful, so much so that, "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 3:16). In place of the fiery torment of hell, Rev 21:4 states, "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." It only makes sense that a loving, merciful God would make heaven a peaceful, beautiful place and it certainly is described that way in Rev 21:9-22:7 as a square, gated community with twelve gates representing the twelve tribes of Israel and garnished with twelve different types of precious stones. Each gate is made from a single pearl, the streets are made of pure gold and the light was like a crystal clear jasper stone. This light is not from a solar source but is of the glory of God and therefore is no darkness or night. Crystal clear water flows from God's throne, through the tree of life which yielded twelve different types of fruit every month. This revelation indicates that when we spend eternity in heaven, we will eat delicious fruit and drink clear, cool water. To see the rich man beg for a drop of water on his tongue is a very strong indication that eternity in hell involves not only fiery torment, but extreme thirst and hunger as well. Chapter 4 speaks of an emerald rainbow over the throne and twenty-four seats around the throne seating twenty-four elders clothed in white with crowns of gold and seven lamps burning in front of the throne which are the seven Spirits of God. How awesomely beautiful heaven must be!

To now understand that we do not simply die as an uprooted flower in the desert, we have to know that there exists within us more than a physical life, a spirit within us or our very soul. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26). Therefore, at death, the spirit leaves and must go either to heaven or to hell while the physical body returns to organic matter, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. To find out where your soul goes after physical death, it must be determined whether you are righteous to enter heaven as Abraham was (Gen 15:6) due to his faith, else you will be doomed forever in hell. "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). Is it true that if you believe in God you will be saved? Not according to God's word in James 2:19, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." Yes, even Satan and his followers believe in God and most people in the world believe in some god, many in God himself. But as previously stated, they do not believe in the Son of God and His resurrection. Many others place their hope in obedience of the ten commandments but you cannot keep them all at all times and that makes you guilty, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). Romans 3:10 states, "For it is written, there is none righteous, no not one." On top of that, Romans 3:23 confirms, "For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God." A person cannot be saved unless he acknowledges that he is lost and cannot pay the debt that he has. Since all have sinned, there is a requirement to pay for those sins, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 6:23)." Therefore, our unrighteousness dooms our souls unto eternity in hell.

Fortunately, God loves us, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8)." He also makes it easy enough that anyone can be saved, very simply, "That if you shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Rom 10:9)." Since the wages of sin is death, and all of us have sinned, we must die. Jesus, however, took the sins of the world upon himself and died in our stead and then rose from the dead to conquer death. In the Old Testament, atonement for their sins was accomplished by sacrificing (Lev 1:10) a male sheep or goat, without blemish, as a blood sacrifice. The reason for the blood sacrifice is explained in Lev 17:11, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul." This is why the only person ever without sin, without blemish, needed to shed His blood, so that we could spend our eternity with Him in heaven instead of suffering in hell, the wages of sin having been paid by our saviour, Jesus Christ.

For salvation, there is no requirement for a salvation prayer, baptism, regular church attendance or tithing. We are saved by the grace of God very simply through faith in Jesus Christ. The criminal on the cross next to Jesus had faith, saying that Jesus did nothing wrong and asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus did not tell him to say a prayer, repent or make a quick confession. Because of his faith, "And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)" the criminal is now in heaven, made righteous through his faith. Likewise, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are justified, or proven to be free of the penalty of sin, to enter the kingdom of God. It is not what we can do to get to heaven, but in whom we place our faith. God even tells us why he makes these things clear and simple, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (IJohn 5:13)."

Obviously, heaven and hell both exist. One question remains. Where are you going to spend eternity?

*Scripture taken from King James Version of the Holy Bible