Notice two categories that Jesus mentions:
1. The sheep (saved)
Sheep may be stupid, but they are also loyal and will quickly follow their leader.
Read John 10:1-5. Sheep will recognize the voice of their shepherd, and they will not follow someone who might be imitating the shepherd.
2. The goats (lost)
Goats are completely different from sheep. They’re more aggressive and inquisitive, and they will dominate other animals by using their horns as a tool of submission.
Upon His return, King Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. It won’t be hard for Him to determine who’s who. The sheep will be those who have loyally followed Him, while the goats are those who have been rebellious against Him. Some will claim to be sheep, but actually, they will have failed to recognize Jesus as their Savior, and therefore they are nothing more than traitors.
There are only two eternal destinations:
1. HELL (everlasting punishment)
Despite the objections of many theologians today, hell is a real place. Jesus actually spoke of hell more than heaven. Here in Matthew 25:46, Jesus refers to hell as everlasting punishment. Those who go to hell must pay the price for their sins, and no human can ever pay off that debt.
Many today are detested by the thought that hell is an everlasting place of torment. Here are some false views of hell that are common today:
Metaphorical View of Hell: This was pushed by William Crockett, who said that teachings on both heaven and hell are largely symbolic. He believes that hell is a place of torment, but not a literal fire because a literal fire cannot torment spirit beings. This view is wrong in two respects:
Hell IS a place of literal fire. Mark 9:44, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Jesus never alludes to any kind of symbolism, but is speaking of literal fire. The second problem is that people in hell will not be spirit beings. They will have new resurrected bodies.
John 5:28-29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
“Worm dieth not” —the worm is the body
Purgatorial View of Hell: This was pushed by Zachary Hayes, who stated that eternal destiny, either heaven or hell, is set irrevocably at the moment of death; that most are not “bad enough” to be consigned to an eternal hell, nor are they good enough for heaven. So a cleansing process needs to take place between death and entrance into heaven.
This view is believed by many Catholics today. The Scripture they use: II Maccabees 12:41-46 (this is NOT Scripture). Also Matt. 12:31-32 (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) mentions you cannot be forgiven “either in this age or in the age to come.” They also cite I Cor. 3:11-15, “but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.” These Scriptures are taken out of context. There is NO solid argument from Scripture to believe in purgatory.
Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
Conditionalist View of Hell: This is also the annihilation view, which was pushed by Clark Pinnock. He argued that if we are to take the Bible literally, we must take words such as “perish” and “death” literally. His argument has to do with morality: is God a God of infinite cruelty? Do sins committed in time and space justly merit limitless divine retribution?
This sounds good until you realize what Jesus meant by “perish” and “death.” The Greek word for “perish” in John 3:16 means this according to Thayer’s Lexicon: “to incur the loss of true or eternal life, to be delivered up to eternal misery.” Also, death in the Bible always has to do with separation. The annihilationist view takes no account for what the Bible calls the “second death” (Rev. 2:11, 20:6, 14, 21:8). The second death is eternal separation from God in hell. If someone is annihilated at death, then what on earth is the second death?
These unbiblical views of hell are dangerous. We must make sure that we continue to hold up the true biblical teaching of an eternal hell.
“I want to go to hell, that’s where my friends will be. We’ll have a party in hell.” Tell them what hell will be like (Luke 16):
—a place of eternal fire
—eternal darkness
—smoke
—screaming and gnashing of teeth
—remembrance of your former life
—no identity
—no relief
—no rest
—no friends
—no parties
For those who have died in their sin, they have been appointed a meeting with God Himself. This will happen at the Great White Throne Judgment. Read Rev. 20:11-13.
Hell is a destination for the lost, but it is not their final destination.
Revelation 20:14, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
Some theologians believe that hell is located in the center of the earth. But remember, the earth is going to be destroyed, so hell needs to be relocated. God will take hell and cast it into the Lake of Fire. So now the question is, what is the Lake of Fire, and where is it located?
Henry Morris says this: “The exact character and location of the lake of fire have not been revealed in the Scriptures, but there is no reason to question the physical reality of its fires…There are Scriptures which at least intimate that it may be located in some far corner of the universe, almost infinitely removed from the new earth and its holy city. [Matt. 8:12, apostate ‘children of the kingdom’ are cast into outer darkness]” After pointing to other Scriptures, Morris concludes that the lake of fire will likely be located on some far-distant star. He says, “A star, after all, is precisely that, a lake of fire.”
2. HEAVEN (life eternal)
The second eternal destination (and the much better of the two) is heaven—the placed reserved for saints, God’s children. But what exactly will heaven be like?
John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
According to Jesus here, heaven is a real place. Dr. David Jeremiah says concerning this passage, “There’s something intimate, sweet, and personal about heaven when we talk about it as ‘My Father’s house.’ It’s no longer an empty space. In our mind’s eye, we see a home. Jesus promised that if we put our trust in Him, He will prepare a place for us in our Father’s house that will serve as our heavenly home. There is nothing imaginary, hypothetical, or intangible about that.”
The truth is, there’s a lot we don’t know about heaven. We know that God resides there and we will worship Him for all eternity. But for the saints, heaven will not be their final destination—that will be the new heavens and the new earth.
Revelation 21:1, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
The new earth will not be tainted by sin. Everything will be even more beautiful than it is now (the mountains, the sky, flowers, etc). But there will be no sea, which means there will be more room for habitation. But that’s not all. There will also be the new Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:2, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, come down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
This city is incredible. According to verses 15-16 of Revelation 21, the city’s dimensions will be 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles long, and 1,500 miles high. That’s more than 2 million square miles on the first floor alone!
But that’s not all. This will also be the most beautiful city you can imagine. The gates will be made of pearl, the foundations will be comprised of 12 different precious stones, the streets will be pure gold, and there will be no street lights or power plants—the Lamb will be the light of the city.
The other question is this: what will we be doing for all eternity?
Revelation 22:3, “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.”
Henry Morris describes it like this: “Life in this future world will not be merely a life of rest and singing, but rather a life of productivity and teaching. No doubt, there will also be abundant occasion for fellowship and testimony, for singing and playing harps. Every redeemed believer will have abundant time to meet and learn to know every other believer…But there is also work to do. Eternity is before us, and infinity surrounds us. We shall have an eternity of time to explore and discover the secrets of an infinitely varied and limitless cosmos. Perhaps each of us will be assigned an entire galaxy to explore and develop for the glory of God….Space travel will be commonplace in that day…[physical limitations] will not apply to spiritual bodies…so that we can move across the cosmos. Thus, our future service for the Lord of glory may well include assignments in any part of the vast universe.”
Are you excited for heaven NOW? It is not hyperbole to say that the possibilities are endless. We cannot imagine how glorious heaven will be.
We’ve looked at two eternal destinations. Which one are you headed for? Have you made your reservation for heaven? If you have, have you forgotten that you’re a pilgrim in this world? Don’t get too comfortable—this earth will one day be destroyed. And the new earth will be amazing. There will be no comparison.
