WHAT IS HELL?

THE ABSENCE OF HEAVEN

1. Heaven has no pain.

"There will be no more death or...pain" (Revelation 21:4).

Therefore, hell has pain.

"I am in agony" (Luke 16:24).

"And throw that worthless servant outside...where there will be...gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 25:30).

2. Heaven has no crying.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more...mourning or crying...." (Revelation 21:4).

Therefore, hell has crying.

"There will be weeping there....you yourselves thrown out" (Luke 13:28)

3. Heaven has water.

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city" (Revelation 22:1-2).

Therefore, hell has no water.

"Have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue" (Luke 16:24).

4. Heaven has food.

"Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst" (Revelation 7:16).

Therefore, hell has no food.

5. Heaven has light.

"The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp" (Revelation 21:23).

Therefore, hell has darkness.

"And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness" (Matthew 25:30).

6. Heaven has warmth.

"On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month" [It's always spring time!] (Revelation 22:2).

Therefore, hell has cold.

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12).

"But the subject of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness" (Matthew 8:12).

7. Heaven has the scents of incense.

"Another angels, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand" (Revelation 8:3-4).

Therefore, hell has a terrible smell.

"Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

8. Heaven has foundations so we are on solid footing.

"He carried me away in the Spirit...and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God....The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:10 & 14).

Therefore, hell is bottomless so we are always falling.

"And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up" (Revelation 20:3).

"They are...wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness [Message Translation: "black hole"] has been reserved forever" (Jude 13).

9. Heaven has a street on which we can walk right up to God's throne.

"The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass" (Revelation 21:21).

Therefore, hell has no streets and go nowhere.

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10).

10. Heaven has singing and joy.

"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang, 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain" (Revelation 5:11-2).

Therefore, hell has no singing or joy.

"He will...assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 24:51).

11. Heaven has many people there to do things with.

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes....And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9-10).

Therefore, hell is lonely.

"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside" (Matthew 22:13).

12. Heaven is where God remembers our sins no more.

"Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more" (Hebrews 10:17).

Therefore, hell is where Satan constantly reminds us of our sins.

"For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them...day and night, has been hurled down" (Revelation 12:10).