Liberated by Death

"Death, though a curse in itself, was the only way out from under the Curse"

Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 106

Ecstasy Just Beyond

"In the words of C. S. Lewis, "All your life an unattainable ecstasy has hovered just beyond the grasp of your consciousness. The day is coming when you will wake to find, beyond all hope, that you have attained it, or else, that it was within your reach and you have lost it forever.""

Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 37.
Original Quote: C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, 118.

Randy Alcorn on Hell

"Hell will be agonizingly dull, small and insignificant, without company, purpose or accomplishment. It will not have it's own stories; it will merely be a footnote in history, a crack in the pavement. As the new universe moves gloriously onward, Hell and it's occupants will exist in utter inactivity and insignificance, an eternal non-life of regret and—perhaps—diminishing personhood."

Heaven, Randy Alcorn, pages 27-28

Your Head In The Game

When we think of Heaven it's so easy to yearn to be there and almost wish this life away. But it's really important to remember that all the action takes place here. There's a passage in the bible that describes the saints in Heaven looking down and cheering us on. It's almost like a huge sporting event with a stadium full of heaven's saints and us as the players on the field. We have to remember that we only get one shot at this. When the whistle is blown, the score is final and our performance is over. Whether we scored goals, defended well, or put in a totally half-hearted effort, it's all scrutinised on the action replays. When you're on the pitch, you've got to have your head in the game and give it everything, rather than wishing it all away.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us"
Hebrews 12:1

Without Signposts

"The safest road to hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."
C. S. Lewis

The Importance of an Endless Hell

"Unholy as we are, we are disqualified from saying that infinite holiness doesn't demand everlasting punishment. By denying the endlessness of Hell, we minimise Christ's work on the cross. Why? Because we lower the stakes of redemption. If Christ's crucifixion and resurrection didn't deliver us from an eternal Hell, his work on the cross is less heroic, less potent, less consequential, and thus less deserving of our worship and praise. As theologian William G. T. Sheds put it, "The doctrine of Christ's vicarious atonement logically stands or falls with that of eternal punishment."
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 25

"Many books deny Hell. Some embrace universalism, the belief that all people will ultimately be saved. Some consider Hell to be the invention of wild-eyed prophets obsessed with wrath. They argue that Christians should take the higher road of Christ's love. But this perspective overlooks a conspicuous reality: In the Bible, Jesus says more than anyone else about Hell (Matthew 10:28; 13:40-43; Mark 9:43-44)."
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page 25

Mortality

"As human beings, we have a terminal disease called mortality. The current death rate is 100 percent. Unless Christ returns soon, we're all going to die. We don't like to think about death; yet, worldwide, 3 people die every second, 180 every minute, and nearly 11,000 every hour. If the Bible is right about what happens to us after death, it means that more than 250,000 people every day go either to Heaven or Hell."
Heaven, Randy Alcorn, page xix

"Show me, lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure."
Psalm 39:4-5

Visions Beyond The Veil

H.A. Baker

I've been reading this book Visions Beyond The Veil and it's absolutely incredible. It's all about God's revelation of Heaven and Hell to a group of children, mostly street beggars and orphans, living in the Yunan Province, China.

The visions are unbelievably detailed. They were given to little children who had little or no knowledge of the bible, but yet every detail is consistent with it. Even more amazing is that their experience's are parallel with other books I've read which detail first-hand accounts of Heaven and Hell. These were accounts of people who were brought back to life minutes or hours after their death. (See The Final Frontier, Beyond The Final Frontier (both by Dr Richard Kent); and 90 Minutes In Heaven, by Don Piper).

Reading this I find myself a little jealous of their amazing experiences. But forget me. It almost seems that God specifically chooses to reveal himself to those who are most hungry, or most in need. And I'm blessed just by reading it. And it's blatantly an act of faith. Could it be that you're more blessed by believing, having not received any amazing visions?:

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:29