Is there a hell?
Yes, there is a hell. Jesus taught about it more than anyone
else in the Bible.
What is hell?
Hell is God's expression of justice toward those who have
rebelled against Him. It is His punishment for sin.
How long does this just punishment last?
Jesus used the word 'eternal' to describe it.
What is the nature of this punishment?
Jesus and others in the Bible use different images to convey
what this punishment is. None of the images is able to aptly describe what it
will be like because it is beyond anything that we have ever experienced. At
the heart of this punishment is the complete absence of any good.
Are people sent there by God or is this a kind of place
that they have desired and are granted?
It is both. God acts as judge and decides who is to be
there. But at the same time, those who will be there have wanted to be in a
place where God is not. They will be granted what they have desired.
Is there a heaven?
Yes, the Bible refers to it in many different places.
What is heaven?
While our word 'heaven' is understood in a few ways, here
the word will refer to what the Bible refers to as 'the age to come'.
How long will this heaven last?
Jesus uses the word 'eternal' to describe it.
What is the nature of heaven?
Heaven will be this creation purified of all evil and all
sin, and restored to its original perfect beauty inhabited by those who have,
likewise, been purified and restored.
Who will live in heaven?
Disciples of Jesus will enjoy heaven in their resurrected
bodies.
What will they do there?
Heaven will be a place of creativity, invention, satisfying
work and open relationships.
What is required of a person so that he or she will enjoy
heaven?
A person needs to accept as true the Gospel about Jesus.
This Gospel claims that Jesus has come to rescue from sin and its consequences
as well as to establish God’s rule over everything. Accepting the Gospel as
true will show in a person's life as working at turning away from the different
ways that he or she rebelled against God and instead working at submitting to
Him and His definition of a life lived well.