What enables us to persevere in the face of adversity? If this life is all there is, then it may seem pointless to go through hardship. The author of Ecclesiastes came to this logical conclusion as he considered life apart from God:

“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “Futility of futilities! All is futility.” What advantage does a person have in all his work which he does under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3)

The word futility is used thirty-eight times in the book of Ecclesiastes and portrays that which is transitory and empty. The Bible however, teaches that there is an afterlife and that our lives have meaning. Some people believe that everyone goes to heaven. This is an attractive concept, but it is unbiblical. The Apostle Paul believed people will go to heaven or hell and he used that truth to encourage the Thessalonians in their current circumstances:

For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)

Paul was teaching that as we encounter affliction, we can take comfort that relief will be forthcoming for God’s people. Those who do not know God or obey the gospel however, will face God’s righteous judgment:

dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10)

The phrase eternal destruction is the antithesis of eternal life. This is not annihilation, but eternal suffering and separation from God. Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone in the New Testament. Some people view hell as an opportunity to do whatever we want, but it is worse than anything we can imagine. C. S. Lewis envisioned it this way, “In hell, everybody will be at an infinite distance from everybody else.”

Although hell is a painful reality, there are two truths that emerge. First, this is God’s justice being carried out as His righteous response to man’s sinful rebellion. The second truth is that it is self-chosen. This is the end result of wanting freedom from God. God’s desire however, is that we might be with Him:

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

Rick Higgins

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark