By Jim Mettenbrink

Last week, we observed that the PEW poll ( 2021) revealed that 31% of folks in mainline churches deny the existence of hell and that such belief is a result of one’s pride, the root of all sin. Nonetheless, the Bible gives us a glimpse of what hell is like.

Although the Old Testament refers to hell 19 times, translated from the Hebrew word Sheol which refers to the grave, some of the verses seem to point to other than the grave. However, in the New Testament reference to hell is more descriptive, of which 12 times gehenna, the Greek word is translated as hell and referred to by Jesus alone as a metaphor – the Valley of Hinnom (gehenna) to describe hell. That valley was Jerusalem’s garbage dump and burned perpetually 24/7/365. One can only imagine the constant malodorous reminder of not only the garbage but of the carcasses of dead animals, some of which, if not many, were sin offerings not burned on the altar at the temple (Leviticus 4:12, 21; Hebrews 13:11). Who would want to live near this unbearable gehenna, let alone live in it? Hell! And that is just its smell!

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By Jim Mettenbrink

We have been considering what happens to a person when he dies. Some opine that one simply becomes 7lbs of dirt and minerals. The end! Others hope there is more because we have this innate desire to continue to live. The Bible reveals the dead go to a place called Hades (literally “unseen”) implying that man is more than dirt (Luke 16:19-31; Thessalonians 5:23), and awaiting the resurrection. The Bible also reveals Jesus will return to conduct judgment, meaning some will go with Him and some will not (1 Thess 4:15–18; Matthew 7:21-23). Where will they go?

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By Jim Mettenbrink

Obituaries have often been prefaced with, she “changed her address to be with her Lord on Monday”, “passed into her heavenly home Wednesday”, “left this world for her heavenly home”, etc. When the family member is asked how he knows that, the answer is merely wishful thinking. In discussion with one person, the answer was because Jesus loves her. My response was Jesus loves everyone, so is Adolf Hitler saved? Response – a long string of vile language. People do not want to accept the possibility that a loved one will not be in heaven. Folks appeal to emotional desire but not to the Bible to show how they know the departed is resting in bliss. However, a recent obit said he “walked into eternity.” Whether intended, that is correct. When we die, we enter eternity.

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By Jim Mettenbrink

Last week, we concluded that Hades (and death), the place where people’s spirits go when they die, will be destroyed on judgment day (Revelation 20:13-14). So what and where will be the existence of people’s spirits? The apostle Paul implied that a Christian will be alive and reside in a body – “may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). What will be the body for a person’s spirit?

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By Jim Mettenbrink

All of us will die. We have been considering what happens at death. Many think man becomes non-existent at death. However, in brief, God tells us that beginning at conception, we will exist forever. Where will we go when we die?

God candidly tells us either to heaven or hell. We can not see either of these places. All we see is what happens at death. The life force (soul) leaves and the body becomes 7-8 lbs of minerals and dirt. Is that the end of a person?

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By Jim Mettenbrink

If anything, man is about his selfish pleasures. Why would he make a radical change(s) (1) By giving up selfishness (translated – me first after all I am my own god); (2) Submit himself to God and His rule; (3) Radically change his behavior. In one word, the radical change is to whom you submit yourself – Give up self to obey God, to be His slave. Such change rails against the desire to be one’s own sovereign. So why change?

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By Jim Mettenbrink

The most important moment in your life is when you draw your last breath. Your eternal destiny is sealed. Whether you were living faithfully as a Christian or not is the determinant of where you will spend eternity. Heaven or hell! 40% of Americans do not believe hell exists, but 73% believe heaven exists. The obituaries usually acknowledge heaven with statements such as “He went to heaven” or she went to be with the Lord. This reveals the biblical heritage in the USA, and at the least reflects the hope that there is a blissful afterlife.

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By Jim Mettenbrink

We are born into this world, then have youthful optimism, and as the decades we face the stark reality. Our gravest problem is the grave! Man admits this by calling death the Grim Reaper who simply cuts off a person’s life. Yet, man in his desire to live on, and in his feeble wisdom, came up with the notion of reincarnation (Buddhism & Hinduism). The Egyptian pyramids reveal the hope of another life by putting items in the tomb for the trip to wherever. Many folks believe death, the lifeless body, is the end of man. The ancient Greeks believe man’s spirit went back to the creator god called Demiurge, and his body became several pounds of dirt and minerals. In short, the person went out of existence.

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