When you die, you go to one of two places, heaven or hell, and you stay there forever. I know that's heavy. But I'd rather tell you the truth now than have you surprised later.
Jesus laid out both destinations in one passage. To some He'll say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you" (Matthew 25:34 ESV). To others, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41 ESV). Then He sums it up: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:46 ESV).
Scripture tells us a few things about both places:
They're eternal and permanent. There's no second chance after death and no purgatory where you work off your sin. This life is your chance.
You're conscious. You're aware of where you are, and your memories are intact. In Jesus' story in Luke 16, a man in hell remembers his five brothers and begs for someone to warn them "so they don't end up in this place of torment" (Luke 16:28 NLT).
And death is still undefeated. It comes for everybody. You can get all the Botox you want. You might freeze your forehead, but you can't freeze time. The Bible says our lives are "a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (James 4:14 ESV).
Now, the good part. If you're a follower of Jesus, heaven is better than anything you've imagined. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT). God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore" (Revelation 21:4 ESV). No war, no lying, no shootings, no market crashes. No catfish filters. It's the place where everything wrong is made right. And the best part is that God is there. Like Thomas, I'm going to get to see the scars in Jesus' hands.
You might be thinking, "I'm a pretty good person, so I'll be fine." That's exactly what the enemy wants you to believe. But "No one does good, not a single one!" (Psalm 14:3 NLT). Heaven isn't for good people, and hell isn't for bad people. Heaven is for forgiven people. If heaven were a reward for good behavior, Jesus wouldn't be your Savior. He'd be your boss.
Here's the hope: everyone's default destination is hell, but no one has to end up there. The moment you turn from sin and trust Jesus as your Savior, He recalculates your destination. The thief on the cross was hours from death when Jesus told him, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43 ESV). A lifetime of sin can be forgiven in a moment.
So eternity is coming for all of us. Make sure you know where you're going, and then help somebody else figure it out too.
Scripture: Matthew 25:31–46; Luke 16:19–31; James 4:14; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Revelation 21:3–5; Psalm 14:2–3; Romans 3:23–24; Luke 23:43