In 2004, the Gallup Organization released its "Values and Beliefs" poll, revealing that 81 percent of Americans believe in a heaven, and 70 percent believe in a hell. But beliefs about heaven and hell vary widely. Some get their idea of heaven and hell from works of fiction like the medieval Italian poet Dante’s Divine Comedy, while others look to scientific studies of "near death experiences" for clues about what happens after death.
However, it is best that we look to God’s word for the answers to life’s most basic questions. What does your Bible say about heaven and hell, and about the future hope of those who have died? The good news is that the truth of Scripture can give hope to those who have been deceived by false information about heaven and hell.
The Resurrection Is Our Hope
Under questioning by the Sanhedrin, the Apostle Paul explained his core belief. Defending the very basis of his hope for life beyond death, he made the resurrection the central issue.
Acts 23:6 "But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!"
Was Paul saying that he would go to heaven when he died? No! Paul was looking forward to the resurrection from the dead at the return of Jesus Christ! Paul wrote of his faith in Christ and his future goal of the resurrection.
Philippians 3:10–11 "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
As shocking as it may sound to those who have absorbed the world’s conventional understanding, the Bible teaches that when people die, they remain dead until the resurrection. The resurrection is the hope of true Christians! The Apostle Paul wanted us to know the truth about the resurrection. He wrote:
1 Thessalonians 4:13–15 "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep."
Paul used sleep as a metaphor for death. "But surely," you may be thinking, "there must be some sinners right now being tormented in eternal hellfire?" The Bible’s answer, you may be surprised to discover, is: Absolutely not!
Yes, as we will see later, Scripture explains that incorrigibly wicked sinners will be thrown into a lake of fire after the White Throne Judgment.
Revelation 20:14–15 "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."
Revelations 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Your Bible calls this eternal punishment (not eternal punish-ing) the "second death"—the final death from which there is no future resurrection. But who goes to that eternal punishment, and when? As we will see later in this article, no one has yet experienced this punishment – and it may apply to fewer people than you expect and not until they are resurrected. Paul went on to write:
1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
Notice that this resurrection takes place "with the trumpet" of God." That is the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet.
1 Corinthians 15:52 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."
Revelation 11:15 "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
Notice, too, that "the dead in Christ will rise first." True Christians who have died will not be resurrected until Christ returns! Those of us who are alive when Christ returns will join those saints who have died in the faith. They will be resurrected to receive the promised gift of eternal life! That is what all genuine Christians today should look forward to—the resurrection to immorality at Jesus Christ’s return!
Yes, Scripture contains many references to individual resurrections from death to physical life, as when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:43 "Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
But the resurrection for which Christians hope is the resurrection to immortality—the first of three "general" resurrections described in your Bible.
Who Has Gone To Heaven?
We must understand that there are three heavens spoken of in the Bible. The first heaven is the earth’s atmosphere. The second heaven is outer space and the third heaven is where God and Jesus now reside.
Where will Christians go when they are resurrected? Will they spend eternity in heaven? To begin to answer that question, we should ask: "Who is in heaven now?" What about the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11, often called the "faith chapter" of your Bible? Certainly, if any of them are in heaven, King David (whom God called a man after His own heart in Acts 13:22), must be—but what does your Bible say?
Acts 13:22 "And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will."
On the Day of Pentecost in 31 A.D., the Apostle Peter preached to a large crowd. Telling them of the Messiah’s resurrection from the dead, he explained:
Acts 2:29 "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day"
And, making it even much more clear:
Acts 2:34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens."
Jesus Himself made this point plainly, stating:
John 3:13 "No one has ascended to heaven (the third heaven) but He who came down from heaven."
The Apostle John recorded this statement about 60 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, so he added a parenthetical statement about His Savior: "that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." John’s statement affirms that when he wrote his Gospel in the mid-90s A. D., only Jesus Christ had ascended to the third heaven!
Scripture reveals that the saints will inherit the earth and "all things"—the universe including the third Heaven.
Revelation 21:7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son."
Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"
But that inheritance will not be given until the resurrection! The Bible clearly shows that the dead remain dead until the resurrection. The idea that people at death go immediately to heaven or hell is based on the pagan doctrine of the immortal soul, which is not in your Bible, but which came in to professing Christianity as it expanded throughout the Roman Empire and many former pagans brought their old doctrines into their new churches!
We need to understand that we were not born with immortality. It is a gift from God! Remember:
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Notice that the scripture does not state, "The wages of sin is immortal (or eternal) life in hell-fire." The wages of sin is not immortal or eternal life; it is death—the absence of life. If you already have an immortal soul, if you already have eternal life, then you do not need it as a gift from God. Yes, a soul can die! The prophet Ezekiel reminds us:
Ezekiel 18:4 "The soul who sins shall die!”
The Hebrew word for "soul" is nephesh, which means physical or natural life. In Genesis 2, the same word nephesh also refers to every "living thing"—to all animal life, including mammals, fish and birds. The Bible does teach that there is a human spirit, the spirit in man but that human spirit is not an immortal soul.
1 Corinthians 2:11 "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God."
Job 32:8, 18 " But there is a spirit in man", "And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding."
Is the soul immortal? Jesus warned us:
Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna)."
Yes, if you believe your Bible, you must admit, God has the power to destroy the soul!
Will Some Burn In Hell Forever And Ever?
This passage of Scripture also gives us one answer to another common question, "Where is hell?" The word Jesus used for "hell" in Matthew 10:28 was "Gehenna"—a term for the Valley of Hinnom, the burning refuse dump just outside Jerusalem, where trash was burned up and destroyed. In one sense, then, "hell" is the Valley of Hinnom. But the very word "hell" can be misleading, since there are four different words—three in Greek and one in Hebrew—translated as "hell" in your English-language Bible. Each of those words has a different meaning.
In the King James Version and New King James Version, the Hebrew word often translated as "hell" is sheol—which simply means "pit" or "grave." It does not mean a place of ever-burning fire! That word sheol occurs 65 times in the Old Testament, yet in the King James Version it is only translated as "hell" 31 times! It is translated as "grave" another 31 times, and as "pit" three times. If you read the New International Version, you will see that it never translates sheol as "hell"—it simply uses the biblically and linguistically accurate term "grave." As you can see, no one is burning in sheol!
Your New Testament includes three Greek words that are translated as "hell"—Gehenna, Hades and Tartarus—yet each has a different meaning. As noted above, Gehenna describes the fire that will destroy the souls of the wicked, not a place where souls will forever burn. The Greek word Hades, like the Hebrew sheol, simply means "pit" or "grave." If you read the New King James Version you will notice that Hades is often left untranslated.
Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
The fourth biblical word translated as "hell" is the Greek word Tartarus. This word denotes a condition of restraint, and your Bible shows that it applies to fallen angels, not to sinful human beings. Notice:
2 Peter 2:4 "God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell [Tartarus] and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment."
So, as you can see, using the English word "hell" for all four words, with their three distinct meanings, does not accurately communicate the truth of your Bible. When someone asks you about hell, you should ask them to clarify: "What ‘hell’ are you talking about?"
Still, you may wonder: "Who goes to hell?" Is God unfair? We know that the name of Jesus Christ is the only name by which anyone can be saved.
Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
So, does this mean that those who never heard the name of Jesus Christ will be condemned to burn forever in an eternal hell through no fault of their own? Or does God have two unequal standards for people, depending on whether or not they heard Jesus’ name?
The answer may surprise you, and it should give you hope. God will give every human being an opportunity to hear the True Gospel. If they believe the True Gospel and receive the True Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they will receive the Holy Spirit, and be saved. "But what about the billions who have lived and died without hearing the True Gospel?" The answer is found in the book of Revelation, which describes a future time known as the White Throne Judgment.
The White Throne Judgment
Today’s Christians who die in the faith, or who are alive at Jesus Christ second coming, will be part of the "first resurrection" and will assist their Savior and King as He rules during the soon-coming Millennium on the earth. But if there is a "first resurrection" (Revelation 20:5 "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection" there must also be a second resurrection. That second resurrection is the White Throne Judgment. Here is its biblical description:
Revelation 20:11–12 "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books."
The Greek word for "books" is biblion. Yes, after the second resurrection, the "books"—the Bible—will for the very first time be opened to the understanding of the billions of human beings who lived and died before the Millennium clear back to Adams time, without hearing the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. Billions will have their first opportunity to learn the truth—and they will have two particular benefits we do not have today, the first being they will be able to see the bad results of mankind living its own way in this present age, and compare it against the reality of the world ruled during the millennium by Jesus Christ. The second benefit being that Satan and his minions will be locked away during the millennium. This is not a "second chance" for these people; it will be their one opportunity to understand the truth, (True Gospel) repent of their unbelief and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Sadly, even during the millennium White Throne Judgment, some will reject God’s grace and salvation. God will not force these rebellious people to obey Him. He will destroy them in the lake of fire. Finally, those who lived and died knowing the truth, and who rejected it, will be raised in the third resurrection—the resurrection to eternal punishment through death (not eternal life) in the lake of fire. Yes, God is just. He reminds us, "‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord" (Hebrews 10:30). Standing before the lake of fire, the wicked will be tormented by what they know is about to happen to them, then they will be cast into the lake of fire and burned up forever (Revelation 21:8). Never again will they live. "For the wages of sin is death [eternal death], but the gift of God is Life [eternal life] in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
Those whom God is calling today have the awesome opportunity to become part of His Family at the first resurrection. But no one needs to fear that others are being denied their own opportunity for salvation. If God has not opened the minds of your friends and loved ones, they will have their opportunity when God wills it. But if God is opening your mind, you need to act now and receive the amazing reward He has prepared for you!
Three Resurrections Explained In The Bible
God's plan occurs properly and in order. However, many people fail to understand this and are confused about the number or resurrections and the purpose of the resurrections.
1 Cor. 15:22-23 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming."
The First Resurrection will consist primarily of the saints with whom God has been working with for nearly the last 2,000 years, those begotten with the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming."
1 Thessalonians 4:16 "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."
Revelation 20: 5-7 "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."
The term “First Resurrection” is a wonderful occurrence that will usher in the Millennium.
Verse 5 also references the Second Resurrection in an inset or parenthetical thought:
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Obviously occurring after the Millennium, the intensity and enormity of this event is almost impossible to comprehend. Many billions of people who have never understood or known the True God will be resurrected to physical life and given a chance to hear the True Gospel and receive the True Jesus as their savior.
Revelation 20:13 will help to explain and help you to understand the colossal scope of this larger resurrection.
Revelation 20:13 "The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades (the grave) delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works."
To further understand all that will be needed as billions are resurrected and taught the truth, read about Israel and those who became grafted into Israel.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 "The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord."
Billions will then be given 100 years to repent and receive Jesus as their savior and grow in holy, righteous character and be born into the Family of God as spiritual beings.
Isaiah 65:20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed."
Regrettably, not everyone will repent and receive Jesus as their savior and become a part of the Family of God. After the 100 years have passed, some few will actually remain lost and be a part of the third and final resurrection and then die the second death.
Daniel 12:2 "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt."
John 5:29 "and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."
Revelation 20:14-15 "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."
Finally, notice that God mercifully erases and removes even the memory of those who are cast into the lake of fire:
Isa. 26:14 “They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore have you visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.”
But a loving, merciful God gives every human being one real chance to be born into His Family but not a second chance. Most have never had a real first chance to hear the True Gospel because Satan and his perceived "Christian Ministers" have deceived the whole world!
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