Part 3: You’re going to live forever, somewhere!

There are only two choices, you choose

“And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt. 25:46) 

Heaven and hell were mysteries to me

I did not grow up in a religious home and I had no understanding of the Bible’s teachings regarding heaven and hell. All I knew was what I saw portrayed in movies, all wrong. I pictured heaven as a place with angels sitting on clouds and playing harps, and hell was a place with a red devil holding a pitchfork. None of this is in the Bible. But, one day I found a little gospel pamphlet in a a friend’s glove compartment that explained clearly about the consequences of sin and an actual place called hell where the unregenerate will end up forever. The answer was also spelled out, that Jesus had shed His blood to pay for sin. This is what brought me to place my trust in Jesus as my savior from hell.

Over the last couple of days, I have been discussing a very uncomfortable subject, hell. There are many religious groups who have eliminated hell from their doctrines or redefined it as something different from what Jesus clearly taught, that it is, which is a place of never-ending separation from God in a fiery torment.

There is a terrible eternity for the unrighteous

Here are just a few of the many verses about the eternal destiny that lies ahead for the unregenerate (unrighteous).

“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” (2 Thess. 1:9)

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.” (Rom. 2:6-8)

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8)

Therefore

“For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Eph. 5:5)

 Tomorrow, Part 4: There is a wonderful eternity for the righteous.