When you have read this article you will know the answers to these questions:

1. What is heaven?
2. What is hell?
3. How does knowing the truth about heaven and hell help us to understand God’s purpose with mankind?

1. WHAT IS HEAVEN?

The Bible tells us some important facts about heaven:

• “The heaven, even the heavens are the LORD’s; but the earth he has given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16).
• “Do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne” (Matthew 5:34).
• Jesus Christ, God’s immortal Son, “was taken up into heaven“, but, he will return to the earth (Acts 1:11).
• “No one has ascended to heaven” 9John 3:13).
• “David did not ascend into the heavens … he is both dead and buried” (Acts 2:34,29).

What do we learn from these Bible facts?

1. Heaven is God’s dwelling place, not ours. He does not invite us to join Him in heaven, either before death or afterwards.
2. Heaven is God’s throne. It is true that His redeemed will be “kings and priests”, but, “we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10).

All we have just read fits perfectly with Psalm 115:10. “The earth he has given to the children of men.” What a great day it will be when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD” (Habakkuk 2:14).

3. Because God’s future plan for man relates to the earth, we can understand why Jesus sais, “No one has ascended to heaven”, and why Peter tells us, “David did not ascend into the heavens”.

Why should we go to heaven when we die, when all God’s future plans for His faithful servants will take place on the earth? Peter told the Jews, “times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus Christ … whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things” (Acts 3:19-21). Old Testament prophets spoke about God’s kingdom being restored on the earth. This will happen when Jesus returns to be “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16). Like Jesus, we can pray, “your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10).

2. WHERE IS HELL?

“Hell” is the most misunderstood word in the Bible. Basically, in the Old Testament, it means ‘the grave‘. In the New Testament, “hell” either means “the grave“, or reters to the Valley of Hinnom, a literal, physical valley outside Jerusalem.

The idea that hell is the place to which wicked people go when they die, and burn for ever in fire, cannot be true. Why not? Because the Bible tells us that:

• The best man who ever lived, Jesus Christ, went there when he died.
• Jesus came out of ‘hell‘, when he was raised from the dead.

There is no doubt about those two facts. In Acts 2:26;27, Paul quotes Psalm 16:10 which says, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell” (Authorised Version). He said David knew that God “would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne; he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ” (Acts 2:30,31). That must mean Jesus came out of “hell”, when he was raised from the dead.

Not only did Jesus come out of “hell” (the grave), but also he said, “I am he who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades (“hell”, AV), and of death” (Revelation 1:18). Why do we have keys? To unlock doors, Jesus paints a vivid picture of “unlocking the doors” of hell and of death, by raising the dead when he comes (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

We must now ask the question, “Where was the hell to which Jesus went?” We read, “Joseph took the body (of Jesus) … and he laid it in his new tomb” (Matthew 27″57-60). The ‘hell” of Psalm 16:10, to which Jesus went, was a tomb. A tomb is a dark, covered place, just like a grave. In fact, the same Old Testament Hebrew word sheol, translated as “hell” in Psalm 16:10, is translated as “grave” in Psalm 49:15.

The root meaning of both “sheol”, and the New Testament Greek word “hades” is ‘the unseen‘ or ‘the covered place‘. So “hell”, the tomb, the grave and the unseen place, have similar meanings. Truly Jesus rose from “hell”, when he rose from the dead in Joseph’s tomb.

Jesus triumphed over sin and death. Well can David say, “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave” (Psalm 49:15). Literally, Jesus will raise those responsible to him from “hell”; that is, the grave.

Not once does the word “sheol” refer to everlasting torment for the wicked. Jonah uses “sheol” (“hell”, AV) to tell us he was in the belly of a great fish (Jonah 1:17–2:2). It is a perfect example of “hell” meaning ‘the covered place’. “Hell” has nothing to do with being burned by fire.

Two other Greek words, besides “hades” are also translated “hell” in the New Testament. One of them is used only in 2 Peter 2:4. That word means the deepest part of a covered place. The other word is used often and refers to the Valley of Hinnom, Jerusalem’s rubbish was emptied and burned there. Dead bodies of criminals were thrown into it, and burned by the fires that were never allowed to go out. However, they were dead bodies, not living ones. It was the fire that continued to burn, not individual dead bodies.

Everyone living in Jerusalem would know what Jesus meant when he spoke about a body being “cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29). He was talking about everlasting death for those who did not walk in God’s ways.

Therefore, in the New Testament, “hell” means either ‘the unseen place’, which we call the grave, or, the Valley of Hinnom. Hell is not a place of everlasting torment.

3. HOW DOES KNOWING THE TRUTH ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND GOD’S  PURPOSE WITH MANKIND?

It helps us very much, the Bible talks about “heaven”, but God has not planned for us to go there. If we die before Jesus comes, we shall go to the grave (“hell”). We need not fear, if we belong to Jesus. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). When he returns to the earth, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades (‘grave’, AV), where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). His faithful will be blessed with everlasting life, at the judgement (see “Resurrection and Judgement” in this series).

God has promised to fill the earth with His glory. This will happen when Jesus returns to set up God’s kingdom. He will reign from Jerusalem, “the city of the great king” (Matthew 5:35). At that time, “All kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him” (Psalm 72:11); “He shall speak peace to the nations” (Zachariah 9:19).

What about you? Will you be among the faithful saints of Jesus? Will you, like them, be made immortal and help Jesus to teach the ways of God to the world’s mortal population? Because, “They will turn many to righteousness” (Daniel 12:3).

If you serve God acceptably now, you will share in that great preaching work in the age to come. Jesus said to his true followers: “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19).

God’s kingdom is coming. Truly, in that day, the blessings of heaven will be showered on the earth.

When you have read this article you will know the answers to these questions:

1. How do God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit relate to each other?
2. How has God used His Holy Spirit in the past?
3. Is God’s Holy Spirit at work today?
4. How will God use His Holy Spirit in the future?

1. HOW DO GOD, JESUS CHRIST AND THE HOLY SPIRIT RELATE TO EACH OTHER?

• God is the great creator of all things
• Jesus Christ is the Son of God
• The Holy Spirit is the power of God.

Can this be proven from the Bible? Yes, it can. God always called Jesus His Son. When Jesus was baptised God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. (Matthew 3:17).

Jesus never claimed to be equal with God. He said “the Father is greater than I … I love the Father” (John 14:28-31). Jesus always called God his Father.

God knew from the beginning of creation that He would need to save the world through his son. However, Jesus did not exist until Mary gave birth. Peter said, ” He (Jesus) was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:20). Jesus is always called the “Son of God” in the Bible, and never “God the Son”.

The Holy Spirit cannot be the third  part of a “Trinity”, if the first two parts do not exist. There is a strong relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is not, however, one of being “co-equal and co-eternal”.

It is true that sometimes in the Bible, the Holy Spirit is called “He”. But it is very common in the Bible for things to be given personalities. Here are two examples: Speaking of “Wisdom“, we read “She is more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 3:16). Jesus spoke of “Riches” being a “Master” (Matthew 6:24). We even call ships “Her“!

The Holy Spirit is God’s power, not a person.

2. HOW HAS GOD USED HIS HOLY SPIRIT IN THE PAST?

God used His Holy Spirit at creation. When “the earth was without form and void … the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

God used His Holy Spirit to create man. “the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7).

God used His Holy Spirit to direct His prophets to teach Israel and to tell the nation of things to come. Peter said: “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21) That is why we can trust the Bible teachings. All the messages were God-given.

God used His Holy Spirit on the virgin Mary. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

God gave His Holy Spirit to Jesus without limit. Because of it, Jesus had a unique understanding of scripture. He knew that the Old Testament had prophecies about his birth, life, death and resurrection. They all came true. Jesus raised from the dead Jairus’ daughter, the widow of Nain’s son and Lazarus. Jesus could truly say to the people, (and to us), “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). We should say with Peter “You have the words of eternal life” (v68).

God gave His Holy Spirit to the apostles. They needed special help to establish Christianity. It would not be easy. The Romans, who ruled Israel, had their own God’s. The Jewish leaders hated Jesus so much that they crucified him. The fact that the apostles could perform miracles added weight to their words. God must have sent them to preach about Jesus. The results were impressive. Thousands believed and were baptised.

Within thirty years, Christians were living in well-organised groups in many towns and cities, including Rome. The special gift of the Holy Spirit had served its purpose. Only the apostles had been able to pass on the power of the Spirit to others by the laying on of hands (Acts 8:14-24, 2Timothy 1:2). After they died, and those to whom they gave it died, this special gift ceased.

From the first century until today, nobody else has had personal control of God’s Holy Spirit. We now have written down for us to read for ourselves, the complete inspired Bible; these scriptures “are able to make you wise for salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). We need nothing more.

3. IS GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK TODAY?

God is still working through His Spirit by directing world affairs. Daniel told a king, “the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will” (Daniel 4:32). God is still doing that today. The end of it all will be “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44).

God is still working through His word the Bible. Paul said the gospel of Christ “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). We can be influenced by God’s word. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17 NKJV). Faith will help us to keep God’s commandments.

Because the scriptures were written under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit, believers will have the “Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9). That is, the influence of God’s word will help us to develop spiritual lives. This is vital, but very different from us having special powers like the apostles.

God is still working by answering prayer. We are encouraged to “pray without ceasing”(1 Thessalonians 5:17). “if we ask anything according to His will He hears us” (1 John 5:14). Being able to talk to God in prayer is a great blessing. He will answer our prayers in a way which will best help our spiritual growth.

4. HOW WILL GOD USE HIS HOLY SPIRIT IN THE FUTURE?

God will use His Holy Spirit to bring about His kingdom on earth. “Truly, as I live … all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD” (Numbers 14:21). This will be achieved when Jesus returns to be king of the world.

God will use His Holy Spirit to raise the dead, and give his faithful ones everlasting life (John 5:28,29). They will then be able to use God’s spirit as Jesus did.

God will use His Holy Spirit, through His word the Bible. The mortal population, then, as now, will have the opportunity to respond to it.

The great news is, if you follow Jesus now, you will live forever with him. You will have a glorified immortal body (one that does not die), just like Jesus has now (Philippians 3:20,21). May we all be wise enough to heed the words of Jesus: “hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (John 2:25).

All Bible quotations taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise stated

When you have read this material you will know the answers to these questions:

1. What is the relationship between God and Jesus?
2. What is Jesus called in the gospels?
3. Why cannot Jesus be God?
4. Who or what, is the Holy Spirit?
5. What will be the relationship between God and Jesus in the future?

 1. WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN  GOD AND JESUS?

There are many verses in the Bible which state very clearly the nature of the relationship between God and Jesus. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Son of God. It also says that God is the  Father of Jesus Christ.

This is what the angel told Mary: “You will conceive  in your womb and bting forth a Son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:31,32).

At the baptism of Jesus, a voice from heaven said: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). All good fathers are pleased with obedient children. God is no exception. But, just as a normal father is not the same person as his son, neither is God the same as His Son, Jesus.

Jesus is the very image of his father, reflecting God’s character to men (Hebrews 1:3) When you look in a mirror, you see your image. But, physically, the image is not you: It is a reflection. In the same way Jesus is not the same being as God. He reflected God’s character to men.

Fathers always exist before their children. God has always existed. But Jesus, as His Son, has not. Peter tells us that Jesus was “foreordained” in the mind of God, “but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:20).

Jesus did not exist until he was born. He was born because “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God gave His son. Could the words be more simple?

Just as God called Jesus his “beloved Son”, so also Jesus often called God his Father. He said: “I am going to the Father, for my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). If God is greater, how can He and Jesus be the same being?

When asked about the end of the age, Fesus said: “Ef that day and hour no one knows, neither … the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). If God knows, and Jesus doesn’t, how can they be the same?

Jesus said after his resurrection: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17). The apostle Paul also calls God, “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:31). God and Jesus are separate beings.

The Apostles Paul and John understood the relationship between God and Jesus. Paul said: “The head of every man is Christ … and the head of Christ is God (1 Corinthians 11:3). At this time, Jesus was immortal, and in heaven, yet still not equal with God.

In fact, Jesus is still a man, not God. Paul tells us, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1Timothy 2:5). God is never called “God the Son”. They are different.

John said, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). There we have it: “Jesus is the Son of God”. Exactly so.

2. WHAT IS JESUS CALLED IN THE GOSPELS?

Often he is called “Jesus”, “Christ”, “Lord” and “teacher”. Also:

1. Son of man (81 times);
2. Son of God (27 times);
3. Son of David (17 times);
4. Beloved Son (8 times).

Jesus is called the “Son of man” because he was born of a human mother; the “Son of God” because God was his father; the “Son of David” because he is descended from King David and will return to the earth as king to sit on David’s throne (Luke 1:32,33); and, the “beloved Son” because he was obedient to God, his Father.

In all these 133 references Jesus is called the Son. He is distinct from God, the Father. We must accept the evidence the Bible so abundantly provides.

3. WHY CANNOT JESUS BE GOD?

Although God and Jesus are at one in purpose, their work is different.

God gave Adam a choice. Adam sinned by disobeying God. As a result, every member of the human race is mortal. To bring salvation, a sinless man had to restore man to God. That man is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 42-49).

God could not do that work Himself, because He is immortal and sinless. He cannot be tempted with evil (James 1:13). Unlike God, Jesus was mortal, he could be tempted, and he might have sinned, although he did not (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15). God gave his Son, “that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17). “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us“, and “we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:8,9).

God cannot sin or die. So, He brought salvation through Jesus Christ, who died for us. If Jesus could not have sinned, his victory over sin would have no meaning. Because of this, Jesus cannot be part of a “Trinity”.

4. WHO, OR WHAT, IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

We know that God and Jesus are not two parts of a “Trinity”. So the Holy Spirit cannot be the third part of something which does not exist.

The Bible says the Holy Spirit is the power of God. It is not a person, controlling actions. God controls Hid Spirit. The angel said to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). The truth is simply stated. God used His power to bring into being Jesus, His Son.

5. WHAT WILL BE THE RELATIONSHIP DETWEEN GOD AND JESUS IN THE FUTURE?

Although Jesus is now immortal, his role will still be different from that of God. Soon God will send Jesus back to the earth to establish His Kingdom (Zechariah 9:9, 10; Matthew 25:31). Jesus will reign as King, until finally he hands the Kingdom to God. Jesus, as God’s immortal Son, will still be subject to Him — “that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:23-28).

We too can be in God’s Kingdom. To be blessed with everlasting life when Jesus comes, we must:

1. Believe God’s Word and keep His commandments;
2. Treasure God’s wonderful gift of His “only begotten Son”; and
3. Value the work of Jesus, “who died for us”.

Let Jesus have the final word: “This is eternal life, that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).