Snap Shot
There is no doubt that eternal dwelling places exist—and everyone can choose their everlasting place of abode. For the righteous it would be heaven; for the unrighteous it would be hell. They are both alluded to the most beloved verse of the Bible:
“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life” (John 3:16 AMP).
Heaven
The Scripture defines heaven in three ways and what the Jewish notion adheres to as three “heavens:”
1. The firmament, as the birds of the heavens in Genesis 2:19;
2. The heavens that hold the stars seen in Deuteronomy 17:3 and Matthew 24:29;
3. The heaven of heavens which is where God dwells and referenced in Deuteronomy 10:14, 1 Kings 8:30, and Matthew 6:9.
For this Alphabrick our focus will be on the heaven of heavens—the place where God dwells and the place that awaits all those who have accepted Christ as their personal Savior.
In fact, personal salvation for His creation is so desired by the Father that it brings immense joy in heaven:
“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7 ESV).
Heaven Is…
Everlasting: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV).
High and Holy: “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isaiah 57:15 ESV).
Where the Father answers from: “Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand” (Psalms 20:6 ESV).
Where the risen Christ resides: “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24 ESV).
The believer’s eternal dwelling place: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3 ESV).
Hell
Hell is a literal place made for the devil and his angels, but also serves as the everlasting place for the unbeliever,
“Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 ESV).
Isaiah gives us an illustration of Hell,
“For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it” (Isaiah 30:33 ESV). And is a place the wise (those who are saved) desire to avoid: “The thoughts of the wise are ways of life, that he may turn aside and escape from hell” (Proverbs 15:24 Brenton[1]).
Hell Is…
A place of torment, “and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side” (Luke 16:23 ESV);
And of punishment, “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46 ESV);
And of darkness, “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30 ESV);
And is eternal, “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9 ESV);
Being experienced by some fallen angels now, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment” (2 Peter 2:4 ESV).
Conclusion
In Heaven, the blessedness of the righteous consists in the possession of life everlasting,
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4 ESV).
Conversely, in Hell, the wicked and unbelieving face an eternity of torment and pain,
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15 ESV).
