Heaven and Hell

I was raised in Modesto, California. There is a large charismatic church in town that has a play every year called "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames." Anyone from Modesto with spiritual roots knows precisely what I'm talking about. After googling it for this blog, I learned that it's actually a traveling show that costs a mere $4500. to bring to your church. Wow.

The premise of Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames is a series of skits where satan himself appears along with demons to drag people into hell upon their death. It's meant to bring a revelation of hell and scare the audience into accepting Jesus as their savior from such a fate.

Now, it's been a number of years since I've seen it, and maybe the scenes have changed, but one example was a father and child get in a car crash that ends with both of them dying. Demons come and drag the father into hell, while an angel comes and takes a crying child (for being separated from his father) into heaven. Umm... no.

Yes. Hell is real. Yes. Heaven is real. But the bullhorn scare tactic is not the message; it is not God's style, and anyone saying it is... is wrong. Sorry, not sorry. The Holy Spirit will absolutely bring revelation that leads to conviction, but never, ever does He come at you with guilt and damnation.

Jesus spoke on hell... a lot. He plainly stated the reality of separation from the Father into a place of torment that was created for the devil and his angels (Matt.25:41). He said not to fear those in the world and what they can do to you but rather have reverence for the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28).

I looked up Matthew 10:28 on BlueLetterBible.com to find the root word for the one. I wanted to clarify that it was saying that God would destroy the body and soul (which was always my interpretation). But... interestingly enough, the original text says, 'the one who has the power to destroy...' Dynami G1410 in Strongs. Hmmm. Yes. HE has the power...but so do you. You can choose to deny Him, walk in a manner that comes with dire consequences, and indeed be separated from God. He gives us that power.

Jesus warns us in Mark 9:43 to cut off anything that would cause us to sin so that we can enter into eternal life rather than the unquenchable fires of hell. Jesus absolutely speaks of hell as a real place and consequence...but He never threatens. He simply offers all the information. Repeatedly.

This morning, my husband and I were having coffee and Bible time together. We discuss what we need to and enjoy the challenges that our study brings. One question ushered me into a sweet place of reverence and respect. It reminded me of Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames and caused me to wish that everyone could have the experience without the bullhorn. The question was...

How does the reality of Heaven and Hell affect the way you live?

My answer? Profoundly.

To get to heaven, you have to turn.