Faith First Media

You Are Not Going to Heaven!

Revised Edition

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Long before Jesus, the concept of an immediate afterlife in heaven or hell began with the Greeks, and was later continued by the Romans. It is not taught in the Hebrew scriptures, and it was not believed by any of the early Jews, and was only adopted by some sects of later Jews who adopted certain elements of Greek Mythology into their doctrine. The Jews did not believe in an immediate afterlife in heaven, but rather in a future resurrection of the dead. The Hebrew scriptures (also known as the "Old Testament") support this belief.

In English Bibles, three words are translated as "hell". These words are sheol, which means "grave," hades, which also means "grave," and gehenna, which is the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem where - in ancient times - dead bodies were buried. In Hebrew writing (and remember, every single book of the Bible was written by a Jew) all of these words refer to the physical location where the dead are buried - a place in the ground - not in the fiery realm of Hades in Greek mythology. The Greeks and Romans believed that Hades was a fiery realm guarded by a three headed dog where the souls of the dead went to burn for all eternity after crossing the River Styx. The Jews certainly did not share this view at all.  As Rome gained more influence over Christianity (especially with the introduction of Christianity as the official religion of Rome under Constantine) the Greco-Roman mythological concept of the immortal souls of the dead being alive in heaven or hell immediately after death gradually embedded into traditional Christian doctrine, despite the fact that no biblical support for the immortal soul, or for a conscious afterlife in heaven/hell, can be found anywhere in the Bible. The translation of words that literally mean "grave" and "the valley of Hinnom" were instead translated "hell" should be understood as the "hell fire" that will one day be burning in the literal valley of Hinnom as what the Bible calls the "lake of fire."  This lake off fire is not the same as the Greco-Roman concept of hell.  It is a literal fire in which the physical bodies (not immortal souls!) of the unrighteous will be destroyed, rather than be tortured for eternity as Greco-Roman mythology teaches.

According to the Bible, the dead do not ascend to heaven or descend to "hell" in the Greco-Roman sense of the word. The Bible teaches us that death is like sleeping. It is simply awaiting the resurrection. In fact, Jesus used the words sleep and death interchangeably:

These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

--John 11:11-14

The dead are not in heaven or hell. They are "asleep" in the "dust of the earth" awaiting the coming resurrection that will occur when Christ returns to judge the world:

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

--Daniel 12:2

When you are dead, you are not conscious. You don't know anything. You are quite literally dead:

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

--Ecclesiastes 9:5

When you die, nothing happens. There is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom when you are dead:

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

--Ecclesiastes 9:10

The Hebrew word translated "grave" here is sheol - the same word translated "hell" in many other verses of the Bible. The Greek word hades has the same meaning - the grave where the dead are buried.  In the above verse, sheol is correctly translated as "grave" rather than being translated "hell" in the Greco-Roman sense of the word as a place of eternal suffering, because the Jews had no concept of hell as a place of eternal suffering.  It is, however, translated as "hell" elsewhere in the Bible, where it refers to the hell fire of the lake of fire, where the unrighteous will die.  This is not the same as the Greco-Roman conception of "hell" as a place of eternal torture!

When David was fleeing Saul, he was afraid he was going to die. He pleaded with God, saying:

No one remembers you when he is dead.  Who praises you from the grave?

--Pslam 6:5 NIV

Here is strong evidence that we don't go to heaven when we die.  If David had thought he was going to heaven, he would not have said this, since he would certainly be able to praise God from heaven!

But... David did not go to heaven!

For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

--Acts 2:34

David is dead. He is currently located in the ground, awaiting the resurrection, just like every other human who has ever died except for Jesus Christ, who is the only human who has ever and will ever ascend into heaven.  Many believe that every Christian who dies immediately has eternal life in heaven, possessing immortality.  But the Bible teaches that there is only one who has immortality - the King of Kings and Lord of Lords:

Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

--1 Timothy 6:15-16

If the King of Kings is the only one who currently possesses eternal life (immortality) in heaven, then no one else possess eternal life in heaven!  This means that King David is not in heaven, the saints are not in heaven, your dead great-grandmother is not in heaven, and you will not go to heaven when you die either.  You'll be dead.

But wait!  There's more!

The dead are dead, not living, and while they are dead they cannot think, act, or communicate.  But this does not mean that their stories are over!  They remain in a dreamless sleep, awaiting the return of Christ, when they will be resurrected, and judged (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).  Since there is no consciousness in death, there is no sense of time. When you die, the very next thing you will be aware of will be the resurrection of the dead when Jesus returns.

The Bible says that they will perish in the lake of fire, and be destroyed forever. The Bible says that their bodies and their souls will all be "destroyed" in gehenna - the valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem where the lake of fire will be (Matthew 10:28). It is impossible for them to be tortured for eternity if their bodies and their souls are both going to be destroyed. The Bible also says that the unrighteous will experience a "burning up" (Malachi 4:1) and receieve "destruction" (2 Peter 3:7), not eternal life in hell. They will receive the wages of their sins, which is "death" (Romans 6:23), not eternal life in hell, but death. The time when the unrighteous will be thrown into the lake of fire is called the "Second Death" (Revelation 21:8) because they will literally die a second time. After dying, being resurrected from the dead at Christ's return, and being judged by Christ, they will then be thrown into the lake of fire where they will die a second time and remain dead forever." (Romans 6:23), not eternal life in hell, but death. The time when the unrighteous will be thrown into the lake of fire is called the "Second Death" (Revelation 21:8) because they will literally die a second time. After dying, being resurrected from the dead at Christ's return, and being judged by Christ, they will then be thrown into the lake of fire where they will die a second time and remain dead forever.Jesus will return as King of kings and Lord of lords, to judge everyone who has ever lived.  All who followed Jesus as Lord will receive eternal life in the Kingdom of God (also known as the Kingdom of Heaven) on a new and perfect earth and dwell there forever, while those who rejected Jesus and did not follow him will receive the wages of their sins, which is death (Romans 6:23) in the lake of fire.  The Bible says that their bodies and their souls will all be destroyed in hell fire (Matthew 10:28). It is impossible to be tortured for eternity if both the body and the soul are destroyed, since there would be nothing left to torture!  The Bible also says that the unrighteous will experience a "burning up" (Malachi 4:1) and receieve "destruction" (2 Peter 3:7), not eternal life in hell. They will receive the wages of their sins, which is "death" (Romans 6:23), not eternal life in hell, but death. The time when the unrighteous will be thrown into the lake of fire is called the "Second Death" (Revelation 21:8) because they will literally die a second time, not receive eternal life in hell!

"Jesus saves from hell" has become a popular slogan among many Christians.  But the Bible teaches that Jesus did not come to save us from eternal life in hell, but to save us from perishing (that is, being destroyed, i.e. dying) in the lake of fire:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

--John 3:16

Only through faith in Jesus as Lord will we be saved from perishing in the lake of fire.  Only those who follow Jesus as Lord will "have everlasting life" which means that those who don't will not have everlasting life.  This means that they cannot be tortured for all eternity, since common logic dictates that that would require everlasting life!  Their destiny will be a simple second death, followed by nothing.  They will miss out on eternal life!

For even more proof that eternal torture in hell is an unbiblical and false doctrine, see my article entitled Will The Unrighteous Burn Forever in Hell?

Many Christians believe that as soon as they die, they will find their disembodied yet somehow still conscious soul floating through the clouds up to some pearly white gates, where Saint Peter will be there holding the keys to the Kingdom (as if heaven had anything to do with the Kingdom of God). Peter will then either unlock the pearly white gates for you, or cast you into a fiery torture chamber where you will spend eternity in fiery agony.

Fortunately, this fairy tale is completely unbiblical. If it were biblical, we'd have several major theological problems on our hands. First, it would mean that God is worse than Hitler, since Hitler tortured a few million people for a brief period of time, but God, who is supposedly "love" (1 John 4:8) would be torturing billions of people, many of whom have already been tortured by Hitler, for billions upon billions of years - in fact, for all eternity!

That just doesn't make sense.

The second theological problem is that the concept of being judged immediately after you die defeats the whole purpose of the future judgement that will occur when Jesus returns! If the dead are judged immediately after they die, and if they are sentenced to eternal paradise or eternal torture immediately after they die, then what would be the point of raising them from the dead just to re-judge them, re-sentence them, and send them to paradise or torture all over again?  Talk about pointless!

That just doesn't make sense either.

Fortunately, when we read the Bible without preconceived notions and biases based more on Greco-Roman mythology than on the Word of God, these theological enigmas disappear. The biblical concept of a God who is loving and merciful is correctly restored once we realize that the Bible makes it very clear that God will not torture anyone for all eternity! Make no mistake - those who reject Jesus as Lord will receive the death sentence and miss out on eternal life. But they will not be tortured for all eternity. This is simply incompatible with what the Bible teaches about God's character.

Furthermore, the paradox of the two judgements is also cleared up once we read what the Bible says about the one and only judgement that will occur in the future when Jesus returns.

Conclusion: Jesus made it clear that you don't go to heaven when you die:

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

--John 3:13

Jesus entered heaven because he came from heaven. We didn't come from heaven, we came from earth. Our hope as followers of Jesus Christ is not in entering heaven, but rather, our hope is in entering the Kingdom of God on a new and perfected Earth. When Jesus returns, he will establish this Kingdom of God on the Earth, and the Earth will be restored to its original Paradise.

Frequently Asked Questions

What about the Kingdom of Heaven?

The Kingdom of Heaven is the same as the Kingdom of God.  It is not the same as heaven.  It is not a place that we go immediately after we die.  It is the rule that Jesus will establish over the Earth when he returns as King of kings and Lord of lords.  The Kingdom of Heaven is the same as the Kingdom of God, as demonstrated by the fact that Jesus used both terms interchangeably:

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

--Matthew 19:23-24

When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, he was not talking about heaven, but the coming Kingdom that will be established upon his return, when the devil will finally be destroyed and therighteous will dwell on a perfect Earth, a paradise similar from the original Creation, one where the lion will lie down with the lamb and there will be no more evil.

Okay, so you've disproved the notion of hell as a place of eternal torture.

But what about the concept of hell as a pace of eternal separation from God?

This concept is not biblical either!  God is omnipresent, so it would be pretty hard to separate yourself from him, even if you tried.  In Psalm 139:8, the psalmist writes, "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there."  God is everywhere, including hell, which is translated here from the Hebrew word sheol which is elsewhere translated as "grave".  It refers to the place in the ground where the dead are buried - not a place of eternal conscious torture - that place isn't found anywhere in the Bible, but comes right out of the Hades of Greek mythology.

Yes, the dead are in "hell" if we understand hell to mean what sheol meant to the ancient Hebrews.  It's not a place of torture, but a place where dead (truly dead) people are buried until the future resurrection, when they will rise again and be judged - some to eternal life, others to a second death.

You said that no one except Jesus has ever ascended into heaven.

But what about Elijah?  Didn't he ascend into heaven via chariots of fire?

Yes... but not the heaven you're thinking of!  If Elijah ascended into the heavenly realm where the angels are worshipping God, then we'd be left with a major contradiction in the Bible, since Jesus said:

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

--John 3:13

So clearly, Elijah did not ascend up to the heavenly realm.  He did, however, ascend up to a different kind of heaven.  The word "heaven" in the Bible actually has three possible meanings:

1. Heaven, the spiritual realm where Jesus ascended to the "right hand of God" (Deuteronomy 26:15).

2. Outer space, also known as "the heavens" (Psalm 8:3, Genesis 26:4, Deuteronomy 1:10, Deuteronomy 28:62, Isaiah 13:10).

3. The Earth's atmosphere, commonly referred to in the Bible as "heaven" (Genesis 7:11-12, Job 35:11, Jeremiah 16:4)

Conclusion: The chariots of fire took Elijah up into the air ("heaven").  Later, he was set down in another location.

Many Christians find this disappointing, since they like the idea of Elijah being transported into the heavenly realm.  But that's impossible, because it would would create contradictions in the Bible.  For one thing, Jesus said in John 3:13 that "no man hath ascended up to heaven" and furthermore, in 2 Chronicles 21:12-15 Elijah writes a letter to King Jehoram, several years after he was taken into "heaven"! Obviously, Elijah would not have been able to do this if he had died there and his spirit was in heaven, nor would he have been able to do this if he had entered outer space, since he would have died instantly. The only logical explanation is that the whirlwind carried Elijah into the atmosphere (also known as "heaven"). Miraculously, Elijah survived, and several years later, Elijah wrote a letter to King Jehoram.

See also: Did Elijah ascend into heaven?

Luke 20:38 states"For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him."

Does this mean that the dead are currently living with God in heaven?

No.  All live unto God (even the dead) in the sense that one day, all will live again and stand before the throne of judgement.  This will happen at the future resurrection and judgement of the dead that will occur after Christ's return.  In the context of Luke 20:38, Jesus was convincing a group of Sadducees (a Jewish sect that does not believe in the future resurrection) that the future resurrection of the dead is indeed going to happen.  Because the dead will one day live again, they're not really "dead" in the strictest sense of the word.  This is why Jesus referred to them as being "asleep" (e.g. "Lazarus is asleep") rather than dead.  God exists outside of time, having created it, so the past, present, and future are all a simultaneous reality to him. It could be said therefore, that even the dead live unto God, since they will one day live again and stand before God in judgement.

See also: Luke 23:38 Commentary

You said that no one will be eternally tortured, but what about the "everlasting punishment" that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25:46?

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

--Matthew 25:46

Matthew 25:46 does indeed speak of “everlasting punishment” for the unrighteous. But what exactly is that punishment? Eternal torture? Eternal separation from God?

It's actually eternal death - not eternal life in hell or eternal life in separation from God, but eternal death. The punishment will indeed be everlasting - they will never, ever be raised to life again!  Here are three reasons why "everlasting punishment" refers to death rather than eternal life in hell:

1) The Bible says that "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). That seems pretty clear to me.

2) The Bible says that the unrighteous will be "destroyed". It specifically states that both their bodies and their souls will be destroyed in hell fire (Matthew 10:28). You can't experience eternal torture if both your body and your soul is destroyed. You need to be alive and conscious in order to experience torture, but if both your body and your soul is destroyed, you won't be alive or conscious! Thus, you could not be tortured for eternity if both your body and your soul were destroyed.

3) There is no such thing as a place of eternal separation from God, since Psalm 139:8 says that God is everywhere - even in hell (see above).

Paul said he wanted to "depart, and be with Christ" - wasn't he talking about going to heaven?

Nope.  The simplest explanation is that, upon dying, the very next thing you will know is the resurrection of the dead.  But this resurrection will be in the future - possibly very far in the future if the Lord tarries - and it certainly won't involve entering heaven.  It will, however, involve being with Christ!

For further study I recommend John Roller's article entitled "To Depart, and Be With Christ"

What about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus?  Wasn't this a description of hell?

Jesus was preaching to a sect of Jews who believed (albeit unbiblically) in hell as a place of conscious torture.  Jesus was using their own mythology to tell a parable (a story of moral truth, not literal truth) they could relate to.  To put it simply, it was only a parable... not a true story!

For further study I recommend John Roller's article entitled The Rich Man and Lazarus

Didn't Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with him in paradise "today"?

Nope.  Jesus said "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."  There is a difference between "shalt" and "will".  If Jesus had said "Today will thou be with me in paradise" then the thief must have gone to heaven on that day.  But Jesus actually said "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be in paradise"  which implies determination.  Jesus is saying "Verily, I say unto you today that you are going to be with me in paradise" but that doesn't mean that the thief went to heaven with Jesus on that very same day!  Christ's words were true and the thief will definitely be with Jesus in paradise, but not until the Kingdom of God is established on Earth at Christ's return.

We know that Jesus did not ascend to heaven with the thief on that very same day, since this would contradict what happened afterwards in John 20:17, when Jesus said that he had "not yet ascended" to the Father.  So clearly, Jesus was not in heaven with the thief that day.  He was stating determination with "shalt", not time with "will" (as some more modern translations unfortunately render it).

There is also the question of comma placement.  One little comma can change the whole meaning of a sentence.  While I believe that the King James Version translation of John 20:17 is perfectly fine even with its current comma placement because of its usage of the word "shalt" instead of the word "will" it should still be noted that the original Greek manuscript had no commas, and when we understand this, it can greatly change our whole interpretation of verse.  For more details on this see John Roller's article entitled Paradise, Today?

What is Soul Sleep?

"Soul sleep" is a term used to describe the concept of the dead being unconscious until the future resurrection.  It's a good term because Jesus also used the word "sleep" to refer to the state of the dead.  For more details, see John Roller's article entitled Soul Sleep

If our destination after death isn't heaven, where is it?

The Kingdom of God, or death in the lake of fire.  The choice is yours, and it depends on whether or not you accept Jesus as Lord in order to receive the forgiveness of sins that he paid the price for on the cross, when he took the punishment we deserve for our sins upon himself so we would not have to be punished, if we follow him.  For more details, see John Roller's article What is Life's Final Destination?

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For related articles, see these topic databases:

• The Sleep of Death
• The Kingdom of God