No Finer Place Than Heaven, No Grimmer Place Than Hell - God, In Search Of A Better Tomorrow

Heaven for believers will be a place of perfection and peace, eternal joy and fulfillment, enjoyable work, exploration, community, and most importantly, a chance to be in the direct presence of God, where He lives. Heaven is far better than this sinful world filled with suffering, and also, infinitely better than hell, a future, eternal place of unimaginable, intense suffering and punishment for those who don’t choose to accept Christ as their Savior.

Heaven: Perfection, Purity, and Peace

Unlike this present life, heaven is a perfect place portraying perfect peace, total freedom from suffering, and eternal communion with God.

Heaven will be a perfect place – no sin, no suffering, no conflict between humans, and no potential personal struggle between self and God. Perfect peace, always perfect harmony among brethren, as people there will eternally always perfectly love one another. No selfishness, no hate, no anger, no discord, no jealousy, because everyone will eternally be perfectly righteous, making heaven a place of perfect goodness and purity. Therefore, everyone in heaven will always experience perfect joy and peace, as heaven will always be filled with God’s perfection.

Randy Alcorn describes the perfection of heaven: “No death, no suffering. No funeral homes, abortion clinics, or psychiatric wards. No rape, missing children, or drug rehabilitation centers. No bigotry, no muggings or killings. No worry or depression or economic downturns. No wars, no unemployment. No anguish over failure and miscommunication. No con men. No locks. No death. No mourning. No pain. No boredom. No arthritis, no handicaps, no cancer, no taxes, no bills, no computer crashes, no weeds, no bombs, no drunkenness, no traffic jams and accidents, no septic-tank backups. No mental illness. No unwanted e-mails. Close friendships but no cliques, laughter but no put-downs. Intimacy, but no temptation to immorality. No hidden agendas, no backroom deals, no betrayals. Imagine mealtimes full of stories, laughter, and joy, without fear of insensitivity, inappropriate behavior, anger, gossip, lust, jealousy, hurt feelings, or anything that eclipses joy. That will be Heaven”.

In heaven, all will have perfected, transformed bodies – ones that will never age, weaken, get sick, or feel pain again. Heaven will again be Eden, just as God originally designed, before man sinned. In heaven, unlike this present life, we will never again feel anxious, afraid, tired, hated, unloved, unimportant, confused, dissatisfied, or discontent, because in heaven we will never again experience a life marred by the consequences of sin.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:4-5).

Heaven: Eternal Joy and Fulfillment

In heaven, because everything will be perfect, because there will be no more sin, because everyone will always treat and love one another perfectly, because there will be nothing ever imperfect, everyone in heaven will experience perfect peace, joy, purpose, contentment, happiness, and fulfillment.

Perhaps the greatest thing about our future in heaven is that sin will never again hinder the Christian from fully experiencing the perfect love and intimacy of Abba Father, in which a perfect relationship with Him truly satisfies the deepest longings of man. In heaven, we will be in the direct presence of God, enjoying true intimacy and love from God, uninhibited by sin itself, which will make being in heaven far grander than any experience we will ever have in this present life. For God alone can quench man’s spiritual thirst and hunger, which sin created in man when it separated him from God.

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11).

Heaven: Enjoyable Work, Exploration, and Community

In heaven, Christians will constantly be engaging “in creative, fulfilling work and exploration without fatigue or limitations.” We will also “reunite with our loved ones” – especially the ones who have tragically died, the ones who are now in heaven that we miss daily. We will also see our old friends and make many new ones there, and in all our relationships, everyone will eternally perfectly love one another as Christ loved us.

Heaven: Far Better Than This Present Life

For those headed to heaven, it will be awesome, more amazing than what their minds can ever comprehend while in this present life: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

“The best of life on Earth is a glimpse of Heaven; the worst of life is a glimpse of Hell. For Christians, this present life is the closest they will come to Hell” (Randy Alcorn).

For the Christian, knowing someday we are going to heaven makes this life’s sufferings seem increasingly bearable, for heaven will be infinitely better than this present life. Thinking about heaven gives us an eternal hope to face our current trials:

“Heaven will be the perfection we’ve always longed for. All the things that made Earth unlovely and tragic will be absent in heaven” (Billy Graham).

“Heaven is a place where God will personally wipe away our tears” (R. C. Sproul).

“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal” (Thomas Moore).

“Heaven is where you go when you can no longer find peace on earth” (Declan Fox).

“Heaven gives us hope and makes our present burdens easier to bear” (Billy Graham).

“The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth” (Charles Spurgeon).

“One hour in heaven will make us forget all our sorrows” (George Whitefield).

“For Christians, this present life is the closest they will come to Hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to Heaven” (Randy Alcorn).

“The grand question of life: Is my name written in heaven?” (D.L. Moody).

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

“So, heaven is not our default destination. No one goes there automatically. Unless our sin problem is resolved, the only place we will go is our true default destination… hell” (Randy Alcorn).

Hell is a “real, conscious, eternal place of punishment and separation from God.”

“A lot of people say, well, how can a loving God send anyone to hell? First of all, God doesn’t send anyone to hell. If we go to hell, it’s by our own choice. But when somebody says to me, “How can a loving God allow anyone to go to hell, I’ll turn around and say, ‘Well, how can a holy, just, righteous God allow sin into His presence?’” (Josh McDowell).

“God does not send anyone to hell. He never did, and He never will. Men send themselves to hell, because they refuse to–to accept the way of salvation” (William Marrion Branham).

Hell: Eternal Punishment, A Place to Definitely Avoid

“There is only one path to Heaven. On earth, we call it Love” (Henry David Thoreau).

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“The pathway to hell is unbelief” (Peter Nii Korley).

“No one will ever go to Hell who has put his trust in Jesus Christ, but many will end up in torment who have trusted their own righteousness and reformation” (John R. Rice).

“God will never send anybody to hell. If man goes to hell, he goes by his own free choice” (Billy Graham),

“Do not neglect the grace that is offered to you. The God who offers the sinner pardon, does not promise him tomorrow” (St. Wolfrand).

“The beautiful thing about heaven is that it is always within reach” (Savannah Ray).