SERIES: Heaven and Hell
Who Are the Inhabitants of Heaven and Hell?
SCRIPTURE: Various
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: Two Sundays ago we asked, “Whatever Happened to Heaven and Hell?” Last Sunday the question was, “What Are Heaven and Hell Like?” Today I want us to focus on a third question, “Who Are the Inhabitants of Heaven and Hell?” I think we are in for a few surprises.
I want to begin by saying to you today that I believe there are going to be more people in heaven than in hell. You may have come away from last Sunday’s sermon thinking otherwise. In fact, the last point of my message was that hell is a place of “easy access but no exit.” And I quoted Jesus, who said in His Sermon on the Mount, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” That doesn’t sound like there will be more people in heaven than in hell, does it? Well, before we’re through, I hope to convince you otherwise. Let’s take it one step at a time.
Among the inhabitants of heaven there is One regarding whom no one would argue. If there is a heaven at all, God is there.
God. Over 100 times the Bible speaks of heaven as the abode of God. I will refer to just one of those passages. In 2 Chron 20 King Jehoshaphat prays, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.”
Jesus Christ. More than 75 times Jesus is connected with heaven–from before His incarnation to His present ministry at the right hand of the Father. Listen, for example, to Hebrews 9:24: “For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.”
The Holy Spirit. In 1 Peter 1:1 we read of “the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.” So, we have clear biblical statements regarding the presence of all three members of the Trinity in heaven. They are, of course, the original inhabitants of heaven, for all other inhabitants, both present and future, were created by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that they might have eternal fellowship with them.
In addition to the Trinity, the Scriptures speak frequently of a class of beings in heaven known as angels.
Angels. There is not time today to do a thorough study of angelology, but we can summarize a few of the things we know about them. Angels are a special creation of God whose primary purpose seems to be worship and service. They are called “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” in Hebrews 1:14.
There appears to be something of a hierarchy among the angels, with the archangel at the top, then cherubim, seraphim, principalities, powers, thrones, and dominions–each apparently a different category of angelic being.
Unlike in the case of man, there is apparently no plan of redemption for angels, even though some have sinned. Long before the creation of man, there was a rebellion in heaven, as Lucifer, a high archangel, vaunted himself against God. The angels apparently had one opportunity to decide whether to honor and serve God or rebel against Him and serve Lucifer, who became known as Satan or the devil. Most of the angels opted to remain loyal to God and they are referred to as “the holy angels,” or “the host of heaven.” Apparently about one-third of the angels, however, followed Lucifer and became known as demons or evil spirits. (Rev. 12:4)
Angels receive assignments from God here on earth, but their permanent residence is in heaven. In Matthew 18:10 Jesus says, “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” But the work of angels goes beyond guarding little children. They guard the church, they guard nations, and occasionally God opens the eyes of certain individuals and allows a glimpse of these invisible forces. I’ve never seen an angel, but I know people who have.
Angels rejoice when a sinner repents, and they are apparently involved in escorting believers to heaven–at least they did so for Lazarus in Luke 16. Perhaps that is why there are so many stories of believers on their deathbeds seeing angels.
Besides God and angels, the inhabitants of heaven will include:
Old Testament Saints. I need to make it clear that when I use the term “saint” here, I am using it in the biblical sense, not in the way it is used in Catholic theology. A Catholic saint is a person who has been recognized by the church as a person of unusual saintliness; in fact, there is a lengthy procedure that must be followed, including the verification of miracles done in the candidate’s name, before he or she can be canonized. But in the Bible “saint” is just a synonym for a believer, and not even necessarily a very saintly believer. Paul writes to the saints at Corinth, but when you read the Corinthian letters, it is obvious that not many of the church members there would be candidates for “sainthood.” So, when I speak of Old Testament saints, I am speaking simply of those who experienced salvation before the coming of Christ.
But if salvation is only through faith in Christ, how could anyone before Christ be saved? Well, one simple way to look at it is this: before Christ, believers looked forward to the once-for-all sacrifice of Messiah for their sins. Since Christ, believers look backward at the once-for-all sacrifice of Messiah for our sins. Both groups are saved the same way–by the sacrifice of Christ.
The means God used to teach the need for redemption of sins in the OT was the sacrificial system. The blood of bulls and goats could not actually take away sins, but they could atone for sins. The word for atonement in the OT means “to cover,” not “to forgive.” When OT people acted in faith and offered blood sacrifices, God graciously agreed to cover their sins until Messiah Jesus came, at which time those sins were forgiven and buried in the deepest sea.
Now there’s a major implication of this OT concept of atonement regarding when OT saints entered heaven. If sins were merely covered in the OT, and not yet forgiven, then OT saints could not yet enter heaven, because God cannot have sin in His presence. And that may be why in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16, the poor man, godly Lazarus, is in “Abraham’s bosom,” not in heaven. Abraham’s bosom may have been a sort of holding ground for the righteous dead until the death and resurrection of Christ, at which time they could be ushered into heaven.
In fact, this may be the answer to the question that arises in many people’s minds as to what is meant when the Apostles’ Creed says Jesus “descended into hell” following His death and before His resurrection. First Peter 3:19 says that at the time of His death and resurrection, Jesus “went and preached to the spirits in prison,” and Eph. 4:8 adds, “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” I think it’s likely these passages are referring to the fact that between His death and resurrection, Jesus descended into the place of the dead, preached judgment to those in hades, and led the Old Testament saints from Abraham’s bosom into paradise.
The redeemed. I use this term to refer to all those since the death of Christ who have put their faith in Him as “the way, the truth, and the life.” All true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will be in heaven. Paul said to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” Jesus said to Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God, unless he is born again.” (John 3:3) A few verses later we have that great salvation verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” There are scores of other passages, as well, which make it clear that those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb will inherit eternity with God in heaven.
The redeemed will be in heaven, not because they deserve it, or because they have earned it, or because they have committed fewer sins than others. They will be there because Jesus died for them and they have received Him as Savior and Lord. God credits their accounts with the righteousness of Christ, which He can do because Jesus was willing to have their sins credited to His account. We give Him our sins and He gives us His righteousness. Not a bad deal.
Now I want to mention one particular category of the redeemed about whom the Scriptures give some special information, and that is:
Those still living when Jesus comes again. The information we are given in 1 Thes. 4 comes in the form of a word of encouragement to those who have lost believing loved ones and are worried that they may not see their loved ones again. In the process of encouraging these living saints, Paul reveals God’s plan for those still living at the time of the Second Coming.
“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Paul makes it clear here that while those still living at the time Jesus comes again won’t have any advantage over those who have died in Christ, by the same token they will suffer no disadvantage. They will not precede the dead saints but will be caught up together with them in the clouds, as the graves will be opened and the bodies of all the righteous dead will be resurrected to join their spirits, which have been with Christ. This event is often called “The Rapture of the Church.” The living saints will receive their resurrection bodies without experiencing death, and they will join their loved ones and the angels in worshiping God in heaven.
Another category of the redeemed I would like to single out for special mention is:
The martyrs. The Scriptures single out the martyrs for special attention. In Revelation 6:9-11, we read the following about those who have been persecuted to death:
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.”
Later when the Great Tribulation is over, the martyrs are praised with these words: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Rev. 12:11) And at the end of the book, in chapter 20 we read, “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” This is not the time to go into the significance of the thousand years, a rather controversial subject, but clearly the martyrs have a place of special honor in heaven.
Still another fascinating category of inhabitants of heaven I want us to consider are:
Those who cannot believe. And it is this category that causes me to suggest there will be more people in heaven than in hell. When I speak of those who cannot believe, I am referring to those who have died in infancy or have been so severely retarded that intelligent faith was impossible. For many centuries the infant mortality rate far exceeded the number who lived to the age of accountability. Even in this day of advanced medical science, abortion keeps the infant mortality rate at astronomical levels. Obviously, if infants who die in infancy are saved by the grace of God, then the population of heaven swells tremendously. But are they saved?
That is a major theological question. A large percentage of Christendom believes that baptized infants will go to heaven, and therefore even very nominal Christians are eager to have their children baptized. Some denominations teach that children who die in infancy go to heaven only if at least one parent is a believer. Still others teach that only elect infants go to heaven. Of course, in this view, since we don’t know who the elect are, no parent can have confidence that he will see his child again.
Obviously, this is a controversial and difficult issue. Last week at our Elder meeting one of our elders urged me to devote an entire message to this subject, especially in view of the fact that a large percentage of our congregation has experienced the death of a child–mostly through miscarriage, but some through stillbirth, accidents, and a few even had abortions before they met Christ. So, I am going to do that the first Sunday in December in a message entitled, “Heaven for Those Who Cannot Believe.” In the meantime, let me share with you my personal conclusion, namely that all infants who die in infancy will be in heaven. You’ll have to wait for the reasons and for the Scripture.
Finally, I want to mention that there will be some in heaven whom we would never expect:
Those we would never expect. This is not an additional category so much as it is a sub-category. Among the OT saints, the redeemed, and believers still living when Jesus comes again, there will be those in heaven whom we would never expect to see there.
In 1 Cor. 6:9-11 the Apostle Paul asks a question, followed by one of the most encouraging statements in all the Bible:
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Clearly, these individuals have been saved from lives of gross sin, as well as from an eternity in hell. Some in heaven will have terrible rap sheets. I believe Jeffrey Dahmer will be there, though he was convicted of murder and cannibalism a few years ago. I believe Carla Faye Tucker will be there, though she was executed a few months ago in a Texas penitentiary for the drug-crazed hatchet murders of several people. I say that on the basis that both gave clear and convincing evidence of faith in Christ, repentance, and changed lives before their executions.
In Matthew 21 Jesus shares a parable of two sons. Both were told by their father to go and work in his vineyard. One said, “I will not,” but later he changed his mind and went. The Other said, “I will, sir,” but he didn’t. Then Jesus applied the parable in this fashion:
“I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you (He clearly means, “instead of you”). For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” (Matthew 21:31-32)
Now Jesus is clearly not telling us that all prostitutes and tax collectors will be in heaven, but He is saying that some will be there, i.e., those who have repented of their sins and believed in Jesus, while at the same time some good, upstanding religious people won’t make it. But I’m getting just a bit ahead of myself. I think it’s time to move on to the second half of our study, namely
The inhabitants of hell, both present and future
The number one inhabitant of hell, not surprisingly, will be:
The devil himself. I say “will be” because the devil is not in hell now; at least, not exactly. Turn with me to Revelation 20, where we read in verse 7, “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison.” Well, where is Satan imprisoned and what is he doing there? The first 3 verses of chapter 20 tell us that he will be imprisoned in the Abyss for a thousand years to keep him from deceiving the nations any longer. Then he will be given one last fling. Now return to verse 7 of Revelation 20:
(Revelation 20:7-10) “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves (apparently the present city of Jerusalem). But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Now I don’t want us to get hung up on chronological details here, but this much is clear: today Satan is the Prince of the Power of the Air. He is deceiving people, lying, tempting, and generally wreaking havoc on human lives. He is powerful, but not all-powerful. In fact, greater is He that is in us (the Holy Spirit) than he that is in the world (Satan). But at the end of the church age, following a period of terrible Tribulation instigated by Satan, he will be imprisoned in the Abyss for a thousand years, and then, following a final fling, will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, along with the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Is there no sense in which the devil is in hell today? Perhaps in the sense that a convicted killer on death row is a “dead man walking.” He has been sentenced, but his sentence has not yet been carried out. The ultimate destiny of Satan is not in doubt–it is hell.
Of course, Satan has helpers, and they will join him there. And that brings us to the second category of hell’s inhabitants:
Evil angels (or demons). I believe these are the formerly good angels who opted to follow Lucifer, the Archangel, when he rebelled against God. Some of them are presently chained in darkness in a place called Tartarus, waiting for the Great White Throne judgment, but others are free to do Satan’s bidding against God’s people and against the nations. Someday all the evil angels will be cast into the Lake of Fire, along with their leader.
But when we think of the inhabitants of hell, we generally think of a third category…,
The wicked. I’m talking about those who break every commandment in the book and refuse to repent. I’m talking about those who go out of their way to promote evil in society and spit in the face of God. If there is a hell at all, it is for these. Listen to Revelation 21:8:
(Revelation 21:8) “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.””
But the Bible tells us that hell is not just for the grossly wicked; it is also for …
Unbelievers. I’m not talking now about axe murderers or abortion doctors or promoters of genocide or Southside Rapists; I’m talking about the run-of-the-mill-unbeliever who just has no use for God, Christ, church, or spiritual truth. He’s heard about Christ, but he just doesn’t have time to investigate such things, or he isn’t convinced there is such a thing as absolute truth, or maybe he concluded while at the university that religion is a crutch for the mentally weak.
I think of people like the rich man of Luke 16. Faced with a destiny in hell that could not be reversed or alleviated, he begged Father Abraham to at least send someone to warn his five brothers, “so that they will not also come to this place of torment.” Realizing there was no exit for himself, he suddenly became an enthusiastic evangelist. Abraham answered, in effect, “they have the Scriptures; let them listen to them.” “Oh no,” said the rich man. “They need someone to come back from the dead with a report about how bad hell is, and then they will repent.” But Abraham responded, “It wouldn’t do any good. If they won’t listen to the Scriptures, they won’t be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” And a very short time later, Jesus proved the point by rising from the dead. Sure enough, very few believed.
Of course, there are some unbelievers who have never seen the Scriptures and haven’t heard about Christ. There are people in Third World countries who are born, who live, and who die without ever hearing the plan of salvation. Will they also be in hell? I’m going to touch upon that question, Lord willing, the second Sunday in December, in a message entitled, “Hell for Those Who Have Never Heard?” At the very least I can tell you this morning that among those in hell there will be:
Those we would never expect to be there. Among them are
Good people. Pastor, do you really mean there will be good people in hell? Yes, as a matter of fact, there will be many. In the early chapters of the Book of Romans, the Apostle goes to great lengths to demonstrate that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and thus all are deserving of hell. He begins his argument with the true pagans, showing they are without excuse because “although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” His argument is rigorous and convincing to the effect that pagan idolaters are lost and deserve hell.
But then Paul moves to another kind of person, the “good” person, or at least the one who thinks he’s good. And in Romans 2:1 he uses the exact same phrase of the moralist that he uses of the pagan–he is “without excuse.” Why is this person also on his way to hell? Paul gives three reasons:
1. He condemns himself in the very act of judging others.
2. Inwardly, in his heart, he is as sinful as the pagan he judges.
3. He refuses the opportunities God provides for repentance.
It was to this kind of person Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous (meaning “those who think they are righteous”), but sinners (i.e., those who know they are sinners).” (Mark 2:17)
But then in the middle of Romans, chapter 2, Paul goes even a step further, claiming that among the inhabitants of hell there will also be many …
Religious people. The illustration he employes is the orthodox Jew. Listen to verses 17-21 of Romans 2:
“Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?”
Then he goes on to ask hard questions about the religious person’s heart, concluding in verse 28 with these convicting words:
“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.”
I want to go a step further and suggest that it is not only unbelieving Jews or Mormons or Muslims who will miss the boat, even though they are all very religious. Among the inhabitants of hell will be:
Even “Christian” people. Now I put “Christian” in italics, because I am talking about professing Christians, not genuine ones. But I am certainly including people who think they are Christians and who are accepted as such by their peers. Jesus spoke of just such people in the Sermon on the Mount. He said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.” (Matthew 7:21-23)
Notice that Jesus doesn’t question that they prophesied in His name, drove out demons, or even performed miracles. But He still says, “I never knew you.” It is tragically easy to mistake familiarity with Christ, even success in ministry, for a saving commitment to Him.
I’m nearly out of time and cannot appropriately deal the final question on the outline today, namely…
Will all inhabitants of heaven and hell experience the same degree of enjoyment and punishment, respectively?
I will simply say, “no.” The Bible makes it clear there will be degrees of punishment and reward in the afterlife. I will return to the subject, Lord willing, on December 13.
Conclusion: May I close by simply reading a few verses from the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation 22, beginning in verse 12:
“”Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
There will not be a single soul in hell who is there because he had no choice. God says, “Whoeverwishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Friend, it’s time to drink. It’s time to put your faith and trust in Jesus, who died on the Cross to pay the penalty for your sin. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
DATE: November 15, 1998
Tags:
Heaven
Hell
Angels
Martyrs