I’ve been taking questions over the past couple weeks on social media about eternity and I want to answer several of these questions here.
What happens after I die?
1. I am made for eternity.
You will live forever somewhere.
Eternity is beyond measure. But we can at least measure the number 1 Billion That’s still a large number, even though it is much shorter than eternity. Do you know what was happening a billion minutes ago? You and I weren’t born yet. Computers, Cars, TVs, Telephones, or electricity didn’t exist yet. 1 Billion minutes ago was before Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were born. In fact, 1 Billion minutes ago would take us back to the times of the New Testament when Jesus physically walked along the shores of Galilee! We were created to live for more than a billion minutes. More than a billion days. More than a billion months or years. We were created to live for eternity!
The idea of eternity is woven through the whole Bible. God is eternal and He is the very source of eternity.
God created you and me to live forever.
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11
Everyone instinctively knows they were made for something more than just this world. Every culture has a God-given, inborn sense of the eternal—that this world isn’t all there is.
“This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.” Titus 1:2 NLT
Eternity isn’t just for you. Everyone you will ever meet will live forever somewhere. Everyone you ever see matters to God. When you recognize that people were created for eternity, and they will last forever, it changes the way you see people, the way you think, the words you speak and how you live. This reality helps us to share Jesus with our friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and people all over the world.
Where will people spend eternity?
2. I will spend eternity in Heaven or Hell.
Does everyone get to go to heaven?
The answer is sadly, no. Everyone is invited, everyone has the opportunity to go to heaven, but not everyone will be there.
Our 2 options for eternity are both real, literal places: Heaven and Hell, and everyone will spend eternity in one of those places.
What will Heaven be like?
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. Revelation 21:1
Will there be coffee in Heaven?
I don’t know, but I do know there will be a never-ending fountain of Dr. Pepper because God is awesome!
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.” Revelation 21: 2-3
Will we get to walk and talk with Jesus in heaven?
YES! We will not only see God face to face, he will be with us, live with us. This will fulfill the greatest dreams of God. Finally, He will have unbroken fellowship with us unstained by any sin.
In some ways, heaven will be like the greatest family reunion you can imagine. God will have all His children together with Him! In that moment when you see Him, your life will be changed. When you see His goodness and His glory, when you see His mercy, when you see His grace, at that moment, who God is will become real for you. And you will be HOME!
Will we be healed when we get to Heaven?
YES!
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4
In Heaven, any hurt or pain will be completely gone! There will be no more poverty. No more babies dying today because they don’t have food. No more disease. No more death. No more murder. No more Aids or flu. Imagine a world with all of that gone, and think about this: God, Himself, will comfort you and He will personally wipe away those tears. In Heaven, everything is blessed. It will be a place with no brokenness. The curse of sin will be removed.
Words fall short because Heaven is beyond anything we’ve ever experienced. There are many parts of this world that are good, but this world is nothing compared with Heaven!
What will Hell be like?
A recent study said that only a little more than 50% of the people in America even believe that Hell is a real place. However, the majority of people believe that Heaven is real.
The same source, the Bible, that tells us that there is a Heaven, also confirms there is a Hell.
Unfortunately, Hell will have more people in it than Heaven.
“For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13b-14
Isn’t it better to party in Hell than be in Heaven?
Hell will not be a big party.
“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
Hell is a place of isolation, separation, disconnection and loneliness. Your friends may be there, but you won’t be there together!
Hell is a place of pain and constant torment. There will be no relief. Hell is described as a place with weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Surely, Hell can’t be that bad, can it?
It isn’t… It’s even worse than we could ever imagine. Even the worst sinners get to enjoy God’s blessings on earth. They enjoy the same blessings that everyone else has just from being alive.
Hell is a place of complete darkness.
How could a loving God send people to Hell?
God doesn’t send anyone to Hell. But if you reject His free gift of salvation, and you throw your hand in God’s face and say I’m not going to bow my knee to You, I’m going to live however I want to, then you get what you choose. If you choose to live apart from God’s presence now, you will live apart from Him for eternity in a real place called Hell.
How can I know for sure where I will spend eternity?
3. My DECISION determines my DESTINATION.
Where will I live forever?
The difference is whether or not you put your faith in Jesus. Jesus makes all the difference.
If you’ve trusted in Jesus already, then you’re living on the other side of eternity already.
And keep in step with God’s love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind he is by giving you eternal life. Jude 1:21 (CEV)
How can I be sure that I’m going to Heaven?
Here’s the Bible in a nutshell:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
It’s not a question, it’s a fact.