There are 4 major thoughts on what happens when we die or pass away. We will either go to

a. heaven

b. eternal separation (hell)

c. be reincarnated

d. purgatory

Pop Quiz? Two of the four answers are not found in Bible which two are they?

A. Heaven is going to be awesome. It will be out of this world. Yes! Sounds good right? You bet it does. Isn’t it the place where we will ride on ponies and eat strawberries everyday and enjoy great sun sets and live like kings and queens? That’s not exactly right. Heaven is better than that. It’s like ultimate Christmas gift and goal for all of life. It’s the party of all parties. It’s the place to be.

The bible describes heaven as the place where God dwells (Isaiah 66:1 ; Acts 1:11). It will also be a brand new place that will be recreated just for us. (2 Peter 3:10 ; Revelation 21:1). It also is the place where there is no thirst or hunger and the temperature will be great all the time (Rev 7:16). There will be no more death and no more pain (Rev 21:4). We won’t need a sun or moon to give light but God’s radiance will provide light for us (Rev. 21:22). As a matter of fact there will be no more night (Rev. 22:5). Nothing impure will ever enter it (Rev.21:27). However this place is reserved for those who have asked Jesus to forgive them of their sin and have chosen Jesus as the Lord of their lives.

B. Eternal separation (hell)

Despite what we saw in Adam Sander’s movie “Little Nicky,” hell is not a place to hang out and have fun. Usually when we think of Satan and Hell we think of horns, and pitchforks, tails, and other mystic like pictures. Some of these ideas are far from the truth. It is the big secret most don’t realize. In the movie “The Usual Suspects” Kaiser Soche (Keyser Soze) said, ‘The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he never existed’ (paraphrased). Realistically, Hell is the place of eternal conscious torment suffering (Matt. 25:30 ; 25:41 ; 25:46 ; Mark 9:43). From what God has revealed in scripture it is eternal punishment characterized by fire. The pain is forever for all eternity (Rev. 20:10). It’s place of no return (Rev. 14:9-11). There is no coming back. It’s the final destination for the souls of people who refuse to accept Christ Jesus as the savior from their sin.

C. Incarnation

This is the belief that when people die their soul will return to earth and they will be made into a new being whether human or other life form. A person’s next incarnation (life form they will indwell) is based upon what a person did in their former life. Unfortunately this philosophy doesn’t answer the questions of (1) How can I be certain where my soul will go? (2) What are the guidelines for this decision? (3) How will my sin ever be erased? (4) How can this belief be verified? (5) What is the basis or authority for this belief – is from God or man? (6) Where and what is the end goal of life? Simply said the belief of incarnation offers too many questions of uncertainty. Most people do not want to offer their lives and eternal destiny to be left up to uncertainty. If you want to be certain if and what you will eat for dinner tonight, wouldn’t one want to be certain about where and how they will live for forever? Even if the incarnation is true and even if all religions are true (which they are not), what about the problem of sin and it’s impending judgment. Reincarnation could never take ones sins away. Unfortunately no matter how many times one’s life may be remade, that person’s sins are always with them and they will still experience a judgment for it and its consequential hell. (See verse references to hell)

D. Purgatory

What is it exactly? It’s a place where the souls of men go after they die where their sins can be “purged” away or where they can be forgiven of their sins. However the bible does not teach or mention anything about a purgatory. God never mentions such a thing directly or indirectly in the inspired Holy Scriptures. Also Jesus never mentioned such a thing. If one looks at his words clearly, Jesus taught that one goes to one or two places. The idea of purgatory counters Jesus’ teachings and claims. This belief is built on a writing of the Maccabees that is not considered scripture by all Catholics, Protestants and Eastern Orthodox believers. In other words it is a part of a collection of writings that the whole church does accept. (There isn’t room to provide an ample discussion for the rejection of these writings.) Plain and dry the bottom line is this: The Bible talks about two places and they are (1) Heaven where there is eternal bliss and joy found the in presence of God forever for those who believe and trust in Jesus and (2) Hell where there is eternal separation for from God, eternal conscious torment, where there is not a second shot for believing God and his Son. For more proof or detail see the above sections on Heaven and Hell.