THE ALTERNATIVE
TO
HEAVEN
What Jesus Saves Us “Out Of”
“It is a fearful thing
To fall into the hands
Of the living God “
(Hebrews 10:31)
The “Alternative” to Heaven …
In the “The Kingdom of Heaven” study we spent a lot of time sharing the “Very Good News” (Gospel in Greek) concerning being saved into Heaven through a sincere love and faith in Jesus Christ.
However, much has been written about the dangers of the ‘Alternative’ to Heaven, yet, most people don’t seem to take them too seriously.
The Bible tells us this life on Earth is simply a short “Test!”
God’s Word teaches there is a Day coming when all Mankind will be separated and then divided into two different groups.
Each group has its own Eternal Destiny prepared and waiting for it. The choice we make during this short life on Earth will determine where we will spend our next life in Eternity.
The most common names associated with these two Eternal Destinies are “Heaven” and “Hell.”
The Bible tells us that Heaven represents eternal “Life” and Hell represents eternal “Death.”
God also explains there are TWO “deaths”…
#1. Our Bodily Death which is “appointed” for all Mankind to experience (unless “Raptured”)
“And as it is appointed
for men to die once, (Men = Mankind … Men and Women)
But after this the Judgment”
(Hebrews 9:27) (ALL of our earthly bodies will one day die)
#2. A Spiritual death (Hell) called the “Second” death (which is the one we are to fear) …
“And the sea gave up the dead who were in it,
Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them,
and they were judged, each one of them,
according to what they had done.
Then Death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the SECOND DEATH,
The lake of fire. (Being cast into Hell)
And if anyone’s name was not found
written in the Book of Life,
he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
(The second death … Hell)
(Revelation 20:13-15)
We are warned whichever destiny we are assigned to after our earthly bodies die will be irreversible and eternal.
In today’s world, a great many are now being convinced not to take God’s Word concerning Heaven or Hell (or the Bible in general) too seriously.
We are commanded by God to never “judge” any others, (their sins are no worse than ours), but, He also commands us to love others enough to warn them of the terrible consequences of ignoring His Word concerning these things.
Please understand it is not my job to tell anybody what to believe.
My job is to simply present what the Bible says about these things and let people make their own decisions whether to take the warnings seriously.
For God has given all Mankind a free will to accept or reject His Word … it’s our choice whether to believe or not.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON THE FOLLOWING SECTION:
This study below comes directly from the Bible and is a “must read” in order to truly understand what is at stake.
Our Eternal Destiny will be based on the choice we make!!!
Also, please remember as you read these warnings, the Bible clearly says (in several places) that no one on Earth is “righteous”…
“NONE are Righteous, no, not ONE!”
(Romans 3:10)
We are told we are “made” righteous through our faith …
“For He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin, to be sin for us,
that we might be MADE the righteousness of God in Him.”
(2 Corinthians 5:21) (We are ‘clothed’ in His righteousness)
This is the very good news (“Gospel”) of Jesus Christ …
We do not (and cannot) enter into the Kingdom of Heaven through our own righteousness (which the Bible warns is lacking).
We do enter into the Kingdom of Heaven through our love, faith, belief, and trust in HIS perfect Righteousness.
It’s our choice!
The Bible clearly warns us exactly how terribly important and critical this choice we all must make will be.
So, let’s step back and allow God’s Word to speak for itself …
SERIOUS BIBLE WARNINGS
” It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands
of the living God “
(Hebrews 10:31)
“For what profit is it to a man
if he gains the whole world,
and is himself (his soul)
destroyed or lost?
For whoever is ashamed
of Me (Jesus Christ) and My words,
of him the Son of Man will be ashamed
(on the day of Judgment)”
(Luke 9:25-26)
“Also I say to you,
whoever confesses Me (Jesus Christ) before men,
him the Son of Man also will confess
before the angels of God.
But he who denies Me before men
will be denied before the angels of God.”
(Luke 12:8-9)
“So it will be at the end of the Age.
The angels will come forth,
separate the wicked from among the just,
and cast them into the furnace of fire.
There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
(Matthew 13:49-50)
“But as for the cowardly,
the unbelieving,
the detestable,
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.”
(Revelation 21:8)
“And these will go away
into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.”
(Matthew 25:46)
“And do not fear those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul.
Rather fear him who can destroy
both soul and body in hell.
(Matthew 10:28)
“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)
“And the Devil who had deceived them
was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur
where the beast and the false prophet were,
and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
(Revelation 20:10)
“And the sea gave up the dead who were in it,
Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them,
and they were judged, each one of them,
according to what they had done.
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 20:13-15)
“For the wages of sin is death (in Hell),
But the free gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 6:23)
“And throw them into the fiery furnace.
In that place there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
(Matthew 13:50)
“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)
“Just as Sodom and Gomorrah
and the surrounding cities,
which likewise indulged in sexual immorality
and pursued unnatural desire,
serve as an example by undergoing
a punishment of eternal fire.”
(Jude 1:7)
“And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter life crippled
than with two hands to go to Hell,
to the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter life lame
than with two feet to be thrown into Hell.
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out.
It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God
with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Hell,
‘Where their worm does not die
and the fire is not quenched.’”
(Mark 9:43-48)
“And many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life,
and some to shame
and everlasting contempt.”
(Daniel 12:2)
“But I will warn you whom to fear:
fear Him who, after He has killed,
has authority to cast into Hell.
Yes, I tell you, fear Him!”
(Luke 12:5)
“His winnowing fork is in His hand,
and He will clear His threshing floor
and gather His wheat into the barn,
but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
(Matthew 3:12)
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;
whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life,
but the wrath of God remains on him.”
(John 3:36)
“But the subjects of the Kingdom
will be thrown outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
(Matthew 8:12)
“NOT everyone who says to Me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ (who think they are Christians)
will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
But the one who does the will
of My Father who is in Heaven.
On that Day (the Day of separation and division)
many (“most” or a “majority”)
will say to Me,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not teach (prophesy) in Your Name,
and cast out demons in Your Name,
and do many mighty works in Your Name?’
And then will I (Jesus Christ) declare to them,
‘I never knew you;
Depart from Me, you workers of Lawlessness.”
(Matthew 7:21-23)
“Enter by the narrow gate.
For the gate is wide and the way is easy
that leads to destruction (Hell),
and those who enter by it are many.
Because narrow is the gate
and difficult is the Way
which leads to life (in Heaven),
and there are few who find it.”
(Matthew 7:13-14)
“The Lord preserves all who love Him,
but all the wicked He will destroy.”
(Psalm 145:20)
“Wild waves of the sea,
casting up the foam of their own shame;
wandering stars,
for whom the gloom of utter darkness
has been reserved forever.”
(Jude 1:13)
“For if we go on sinning deliberately
after receiving the knowledge of the truth, (Jesus Christ)
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
but a fearful expectation of judgment,
and a fury of fire
that will consume the adversaries.
Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses
dies without mercy on the evidence
of two or three witnesses.
How much worse punishment, do you think,
will be deserved by the one
who has spurned the Son of God (Jesus Christ),
and has profaned the Blood of the Covenant
by which He was sanctified,
and has outraged the Spirit of Grace?
For we know Him who said,
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”
And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
(Hebrews 10:26-31)
“And they shall go out and look
on the dead bodies of the men
who have rebelled against Me.
For their worm shall not die,
their fire shall not be quenched,
and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
(Isaiah 66:24)
“And will cut him in pieces
and put him with the hypocrites.
In that place there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
(Matthew 24:51)
“The soul who sins shall die (the second death).
The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father,
nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son.
The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself,
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”
(Ezekiel 18:20)
“Sheol (the bottomless pit)
beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come;
It rouses the shades to greet you,
all who were leaders of the Earth.”
(Isaiah 14:9)
“When his breath departs,
he returns to the earth; (to wait for the Separation)
On that very day his plans perish.”
(Psalm 146:4)
“But the wicked will perish;
The enemies of the Lord
are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.”
(Psalm 37:20)
“In flaming fire, inflicting vengeance
on those who do not know God
and on those who do not obey
the Gospel (Good News) of our Lord Jesus.
They will suffer the punishment
of eternal destruction,
away from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his might,”
(2 Thessalonians 1:8-9)
“Hell,
where their worm does not die
and the fire is not quenched.
There will be weeping and gnashing of the teeth.”
(Mark 9:48)
“And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the Sun
in their Father’s Kingdom.
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”
(Matthew 13:42-43)
“A third angel followed them
and said in a loud voice:
“If anyone worships the Beast (the coming Antichrist)
and its image and receives
its mark on their forehead or on their hand,
they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury,
which has been poured full strength
into the cup of His wrath.
They will be tormented with burning sulfur
in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.”
(Revelation 14:9-10)
“There is no peace, says the LORD, for the wicked.”
(Isaiah 48:22)
“Do not be amazed at this,
for a time is coming when all who are in their graves
will hear His voice and come out —
Those who have done what is good
will rise to live,
and those who have done what is evil
will rise to be condemned.”
(John 5:28-29)
“Blessed and holy is the one
who shares in the first resurrection!
Over such the second death (Hell) has no power,
but they will be priests of God and of Christ,
and they will reign with Him for a thousand years.”
(Revelation 20:6)
“I (Jesus Christ) am the Living One;
I was dead, and now look, I am alive
for ever and ever!
And I hold the keys of death and Hell (Hades).”
(Revelation 1:18)
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
“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; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
“Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
“These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
(2 Peter 2)
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise
as some count slowness,
but is patient toward you,
not wishing that any should perish (in Hell),
but that all should reach repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9) (Someday it will be too late!!!)
“And there is Salvation in NO ONE else,
for there is no other name under Heaven
given among men
by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:12) (Mary was blessed, but, she can’t save anyone)
“Jesus said to her,
‘I AM the Resurrection and the Life. (in Heaven)
He who believes in Me,
though he may die, (our bodily death)
he shall live. (Forever … eternally … in Heaven)
And whoever lives and believes in Me
shall NEVER die (the “second death” in Hell).
Do you believe this?’”
(John 11:25) (This is the question we all must answer)
“IF you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead,
You will be saved!!!”
(Romans 10:9)
A Final Note:
You might have noticed from all these extensive Bible verses that there is absolutely NO mention of a third “Purgatory!” It is just not found anywhere in the Bible.
It wasn’t until 1274 AD that the Roman Church became the first (and only) denomination to introduce the “Purgatory” concept. Yet, it has been a very lucrative “dogma” for them, but, as we find from Bible Scriptures, it won’t save any souls.
Remember, the Bible has a very happy ending for all who believe.
All God asks of us to enter into His Kingdom of Heaven is that we love Him for all He has done for us.
The Kingdom of Heaven is ours to choose. Choose wisely.
Grace and Shalom