Heaven or Hell: An eternal destination
July 31, 2022
Revelation 21:1-8
Introduction:
Back in the 1990’s I spent a lot of time on a place called The Appalachian Trail…It’s a 2,300 mile trail through some of the most wooded and mountainous places in our country…A friend of mine named “Fella” Wilson and I did 4 years of an Advanced Wilderness week of camp for Christian teenagers…In total I’ve done a couple of hundred miles out of the 2,300…The A.T. starts in Stone Mountain, Georgia and ends on top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine…The last 12 miles are climbing this mountain.
I spent 10 days in 1997 doing the last hundred miles in Maine…ending with a 12 mile mountain climb up Katahdin. We backpacked the entire time. We packed light…we made due with what we had. We cooked MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) on a tiny stove. We slept in little tents. And I mean little because every little bit of weight you saved made a big difference at the end of the day.
I loved these 10 days. I enjoyed the 100 mile wilderness. I saw a moose in the wild and watched beavers build a dam. But it wasn’t east…hiking a rugged trail, carrying a pack, sleeping in a tent. The black flies ate you up. It got cold at night…one night the wind put my tent in a tree before I could get the stakes down…and after 10 days we all smelled pretty interesting.
Standing on top of Mt. Katadhin was one of my favorite accomplishments…and I knew I didn’t have to live in a tent anymore.
The Apostle Paul compares our lives here on earth to the 10 day journey I took living in a tent in Maine.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-10
His entire point is to encourage Christians to realize we are on a journey…that the body we live in here is a tent…not a forever house…we are seeking the mountain top…This isn’t home…we’re trying to get home.
The Apostle Peter reminds us “Dear Friends I urge you, as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. (1 Peter 2:11-12)
This world isn’t our home…we’re foreigners here…in exile…but the lives we live here among unbelievers have an opportunity to show them God so they can make Him their Father too…and when Jesus returns they go home with us.
Because when He returns and visits this world again…He will return as judge of all mankind.
Think about that list in verse 8…The cowardly, unbelievers, the vile, murderers, sexually immoral people, those who engage in the occult, idolaters, and ALL LIARS…They will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur…This is the second death!
God’s Word says “They will be consigned.”
The word consigned means…“An official act of delivering another person to confinement.”
Think about this biblical truth…its absolutely heartbreaking and mind boggling!
I. HELL WILL BE A FOREVER PRISON FOR MANY
John, in his Revelation from Jesus, says: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small standing before the throne.” (Revelation 20:11-12)
Jesus sits on the throne of judgment…This is the end of earth and heaven as it was…In our text in Chapter 21…It’s the same King Jesus on the throne in verse 5 who says, “I am making everything new” and He declares in verse 6 “It is done!!!” What’s done? All that is before eternity! He’s the Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters), the beginning and the end…He is the Word of Creation…who now sits at the end of time as we know it.” He created all…now He will judge all…“Great and small standing before His throne.”
And as people stand here…books are opened…books that record what they’ve done…But there is another book as well…John calls it “The Book of Life.”
Those whose names are not written in it are thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Whether you’ve died at sea or on land there is no escaping the King on His throne. Death and Hades give up their occupants…Hades is the opposite location of Paradise…It’s filled with the lost and separated from God. And the lake of fire will be the forever residence of all those who do not have their names recorded in the Book of Life…It’s the second death because those who have only experienced an earthly birth will die twice…the second being forever…But those who have been born twice…physically and from above will only die once…or maybe not at all.
If this scene doesn’t get your attention…If you don’t think about people you know experiencing this eternal judgment then there is something seriously flawed in your soul.
As the one who is seated on the judgment throne relinquishes ownership (consigns) those who are not saved by His sacrifice and righteousness…they join Satan and a demonic hord in Hell. Rev. 20:10 says, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the Lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
I’d beg you to think about this the next time you’re ashamed of Jesus and afraid to share the gospel of life with your family, friends and neighbors.
On this day second chances end.
By the way, the same word “aiwviotna” for “eternity” is used to describe the blessings of heaven and the consequences of Hell. Both are forever.
But the amazing hope of the gospel is that you can change destinies in a moment…Right now, even! You can accept Jesus as your Savior in faith, accept His sacrifice as payment for your sin and cross from death to life. You can be buried in His forgiving grace and rise and walk anew through the gift of His Holy Spirit…If that Spirit has touched your heart…shown you the truth of your sin…believe! Please believe Jesus is your redeemer…surrender and be led in your repentance to be baptized…Have your name written in this precious Lamb’s Book of Life…And there is no condemnation…no judgment that faces you…He faced it for you.
No one will go to Hell because they’ve lied, because we’ve all lied. No one will go to Hell because they’ve cheated, because we’ve all cheated. Even if we haven’t murdered someone…we’ve hated them in our hearts. We’ve all lusted, gossiped, been greedy…all of us! Jesus died on a cross to pay for every one of those sins…He saved us from the penalty of sin…death and Hell…People will only be eternally separated from God because they rejected this Savior…names in the Book of Life are written in His precious blood…He is the author and perfecter of our faith.
And those who have accepted this gift have a forever home with Him.
II. HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL BE AN INHERITANCE FOR THE VICTORIOUS
The Apostle Peter describes it this way…
“The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare…that day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat…but in keeping with the promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and new earth…the home of righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:10-12)
According to Romans 8…this is the day all creation groans for…It’s the day the glory of God will be revealed in us, His people…Everything will be made brand new…including us!
“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new…write it down…these words are trustworthy and true…” (v. 5)
Verse 1 tells us he’s making heaven new…and earth new…the Seas is done away with so there’s no division of people…The Holy City, the New Jerusalem comes down (to earth) from heaven…It’s beautiful…prepared by God like a bride prepares for her husband.
And Jesus commands in a loud voice… “Look God’s dwelling place is now among the people…He will live with them. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God.”
We have a glimpse of a new earth in the Garden of Eden before sin…where God walked with Adam and Eve in perfection and innocence…There was no death, or crying, or grieving, or pain…until the old order of sin entered the picture.
Heaven and Earth were so close God was a footstep away…I believe this day of days will be much like that as all creation is made new again.
White clouds and harps don’t excite me too much…But my Heavenly Father and I living together with those that love Him and…it’s in a brand new heaven and earth…that excites me beyond words.
A place where God Himself takes my tears and pain and they are forevermore replaced with His presence.
You see, the key to it all is “who” is there…not “what” is there.
Heaven is the inheritance of God’s children, “Those who are victorious will inherit all this…And I will be their God and they will be my children.” (v. 7)
I’m going to end today reading a significant section of scripture…it’s a description of this inheritance…and who is there…close your eyes and listen:
REVELATION 21:9-22:5 (p. 872) (not on screen)
Forever and ever…True for both destinations…something to think about.
Let's pray
