Heaven must be a place filled with beauty and grace which transcend all our imagination, and hell brings unreasonable focus to a meaningless and frightful conclusion of our lives, the obituary of which many have shied away from, but hope rings eternal in mystified edifices, where the combination of heaven and hell coexisted in the righteous revelation of God's judgment.
We would all like to think that only the wicked go to hell, but belief must be acted upon in faith, to make the reality something different, those who go to hell and those who go to heaven is determined by the creator of mankind, that is if you can find the lengthening of your tranquility, to believe the ancient prophecies concerning the eternal state of those who pass from this life.
There is both a heaven and a hell, but Heaven was never promised to everyone, as an inheritance in the afterlife, although Jesus died for all, it is not for us to say who will go to heaven, or judge who will go to hell, because the secrets of the hearts will be judged by the creator of mankind, we can make assumption from the many passages of scriptures that we summaries, but our assumptions can be unstable.
We are given beforehand the prospect of choice, faith and belief, what one person believes in may not necessary is the same things that another person will entertained, Christians believe that at the end of the thousand years, after the wicked are destroyed, the righteous again will inherit the earth. But the wicked, has said in his heart there is no God, on such confession, they may be sentence to a place where there is no mercy, calling that place hell would be a matter of conjecture.
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and the nations that forget God. Psalms 9:17
Hell is not the earthly grave just eight foot down into the ground, it is situated on a spiritual realm, the prophets along with the apostles, including James, believe strongly, that there is a place called Sheol, the underworld which has been designated for the individuals and countries who rebel against God, to this end Lucifer, the traditional enemy of God's people is referred to as the shinning one before his fall.
When he led captivity captive, Jesus is describe as having gone to a place where he spoiled principalities, and made a demonstration of his power, by securing the keys of death, he disarmed the rulers and made a triumphant return from death, this happened during 3 days when he died, prior to his resurrection. If everyone went to heaven what would be the purpose of him going on a mission to hell?
Obedience and loyalty is never forced upon individuals by God, believing in heaven and hell must be given by divine intervention, because no person can come to God except the spirit draws them, and they choose to exercise this option of faith, the question has no logical answer because sin is irrational. It has no excuse, and therefore only the blood of the savior can lift a person from the pit of hell and redefines them for the sanctuaries of heaven.
Many people believe church membership will save them in the day of wrath, but going to heaven does not depend upon good works, by grace are we saved through faith, not of works less any person should boast, hell is envisage as a place of darkness and terror, coupled with endless torment, the poor man who had been comforted in Abrahams bosom, seemed to have turned a deft ear, when his former wealthy earthy counterpart beckoned to him for help, from what many assumed to be the place call hell.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus brings us to a frightful conclusion of accepting some semblance of responsibility, for our actions in this life, and if we chose to believe in neither heaven nor hell, then what are the alternatives?
Unbelief can alienate a person to the point of none communication, in symbolic description, a parable is a heavenly story with an earthly interpretation, if people don't believe here on earth about the afterlife, how will they have the hope of going to heaven? The danger in persistent unbelief is hazardous, the beggars name was significant, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, signifying that after death there is a place where the abode of the dead go.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:23
The Pharisee, to whom the story was primary addressed, run the risk of been rejected because of their religious piety, having seeing Lazarus sitting on Abrahams lap, Jesus was teaching a very important lesson, describing the reality about death, today death is a metaphor for sleep until waken at the resurrection.
According to the bible there is a real heaven, and the book of revelation is vivid in the description of heaven, which is located in a different dimension, and cannot be seen by many unless God revels it to them, as in the case of the apostle Paul, who was caught up to the third heaven, Paul certainly will have believed in heaven, because he experience the visionary transportation in the spirit.
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such a one caught up to the third heaven, How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 2 Corinthians 12:2
How far is heaven from hell? There are many descriptions about where heaven is located, but the conscientious belief, is that heaven is in a spiritual realm, restricted from mortal interference, a place where spiritual beings roam free, and where flesh and blood cannot go, and therefore it cannot be seen with the natural eyes. Distance will not pose any difficulty, it transformation is taken place in the twinkling of an eye, but the realm of existence would definitely cause a barrier.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come. Luke 16:26
When a person dies, whether they are rich or poor, at whatever age, even if they do not believe in heaven or the hell, but hold to some weird erroneous notion of purgatory, their destiny has been sealed, and the place where they had given very little thought to, could quiet possible be their eternal bode of rest. As we have seen in the story of Lazarus and the rich man, the contrasting event became a stark reality.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:22-23
In short, heaven is where God is, with the environment of triune glory, hence the prayer "our father who is in heaven," it appears to be a wonderful place where spiritual beings dwell in harmony, there mode of existence is overshadowed by us been here, and the subject only comes to light when people are severely traumatize or facing death.
We ascend to this pace of paradise, either through death or by the resurrection, both possibilities carry the transformation of mortals who been garnished with new imperishable bodies, this mortal will put on immortality, and this corruption will put on the body of incorruption.