Living for Jesus Christ in a Broken and Sin-Filled World

Heaven and hell are Biblical terms no doubt contemplated by many while simultaneously misunderstood by most. People say things like I know I'm going to hell or I hope I'm going to heaven; or Maybe the Big Guy will consider my good deeds over my bad ones.In our broken and sin filled world it's not uncommon to hear someone say My life is already hell here on this earth. And while people may truly be suffering in this life there is no comparison to what the Bible describes as the eternal destination Jesus speaks of as hell. What then does the Bible say about heaven and about hell? Let's find out.What is heaven like?Heaven is a real place fully described in the Bible. The word heaven is found 276 times in the New Testament alone. Scripture refers to three heavens. The apostle Paul talks about being caught up to the third heaven but he was prohibited from revealing what he experienced there. (See 2 Corinthians 12:1-9).Since a third heaven exists there must also be a first and second heaven. The first is most frequently referred to in the Old Testament as the sky or the firmament. This is the heaven where weather occurs clouds float winds whirl and birds fly. The second heaven is what we refer to as outer space the region of the stars planets and other cosmic objects as described in Genesis 1:14-18.The third heaven the location of which is not revealed in Scripture is the dwelling place of God. Jesus promised to prepare a place in heaven for His followers: In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (John‬ ‭14‬:‭2‬) ‬‬‬‬That Other PlaceNot surprisingly a much higher percentage of people believe in the existence of heaven than believe in the existence of hell. According to the Bible though hell is just as real as heaven. Jesus mentions hell or another word referencing hell (Gehenna; Hades; outer darkness eternal fire weeping and gnashing of teeth etc.) at least 25 times. The Bible explicitly and consistently teaches that hell is a real place to which the wicked/unbelieving are sent after death. We have all sinned against God: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬). The just punishment for sin is death: For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭23‬) ‬‬‬‬‬‬Regardless of whether we want to believe it or not hell is real.