#better | From the New Testament Baptist Pulpit |1-12-2020

BETTER PLACE – HEAVEN OR HELL

(Rev. 20:10-21:5)

INTRODUCTION:
“In Heaven There Is No Beer” (Frankie Yankovic)
That's why we drink it here, And when we're gone from here, All our friends will be
drinking all that beer
Sa langit wala ang beer…Sa beerhouse maraming beer

Is there a place called Heaven? Is there a better place in Heaven? (Jn. 14:1-3)

I. IS THERE A PLACE CALLED HEAVEN?

A. Not a mental state
1. A Christian Science practitioner came up to a house and knocked
at the door. She said to the little boy who answered the door, “Is
you father in?” The little boy replied, “Yes, he’s in, but he can’t
come to the door right now because he is very sick.” The Christian
Scientist said, “There is no sickness. You father is not sick. He just
thinks he’s sick.” The little boy repeated it about five times. A week
later, she came by again and said, “Can I talk to your father now?
Remember what I said!” He said, “Yes, ma’am. Now he thinks he’s
dead.”
B. Not a glorified world
1. Isaiah 55:8,9
2. Illus. Parable of a stork and a swan
A stork was going down the beach looking for snails. Every now
and then, he would peck in the sand and pull up some snails. While
the stork was there fishing for snails, down from heaven came a
beautiful swan. The swan flew alongside the stork and said, “Say,
when you get through eating here, why don’t you fly to heaven
with me?” The stork continued walking along the beach licking up
snails and replied, “What is it like in heaven?” The swan answered,
“Oh, it is a beautiful place.” The swan then proceeded to tell with
rapture what a wonderful place heaven was. The stork never
looked up. He just went on down the beach looking for snails. The
stork finally asked, “Do they have any snails in heaven?” The swan
replied, “No, they don’t have any snails in heaven.” The stork
picked up another snail and said, “Well, I don’t want to go there.”
C. Not a place for everybody, especially lost people
D. Not a place for religious people
II. IS THERE A HELL?
A. Not a figurative place.
1. “You don’t really believe in Heaven or Hell.”
a. If Heaven or Hell is not real, I will quit preaching.
2. “If Heaven or Hell is real, why don’t you do more about it?”
a. I’m ashamed of myself for not doing more about it.
B. Not the grave (Lk. 16:19-31)
 1. No weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth in the grave
2. No prayer in the grave
3. No torment in the grave
4. No begging for water in the grave
C. Not a place of sinful pleasure
1. No beer
2. No cocktails
3. No cocaine or heroin
4. No laughter
5. No birds singing
6. No sound of the waves in the beach
D. Not a place of sinful companionship
1. Old saying: “Heaven for the climate; hell for the company”
2. Your earthly companions will have no use for you in Hell.
3. You will have no use for them in Hell.
4. There is no God in Hell.
5. There is no love in Hell.
6. How would you like for your granddaughter to spend eternity with
the company?
E. Not a place for “second chance”

III. IS HEAVEN A BETTER PLACE?

A. A place of eternal life (Jn. 10:28,29)
1. Many years ago in the Azores, the islands off the coast of Africa,
before the time of Christopher Columbus, there was a sign on a
rock that pointed West. It says, “No More Beyond”. After Columbus
discovered San Salvador, they erased the “No” from the sign. To
this day, the sign now reads, “More Beyond”.
B. A place of rejoicing (Lk. 15:7)
C. A place of worship (Rev. 5:13)
1. A place where the Lord gets all the glory.
D. A place of sinless perfection and Christlikeness (1 Jn. 3:2; Phil. 3:21;
Rom. 8:29)
1. No pain
2. No old age
3. No tiredness
4. No sin
5. Heaven is a place where we can do what we want, think what we
want, and never worry about what we say or do, because it will be
all right and perfect.
E. A place reserved for believers. (Jn. 14:2,3)

IV. WHAT IS HELL LIKE?

A. A place, a real one
B. A place “beneath”, in the “heart” (center) of the earth (Amos 9:2; Deut.
32:2; Jon. 2:2; Acts 2; Eph. 4)
C. A place of fire and torment
2
 1. Below the sedimentary rock, metamorphic rock, igneous rock
2. A lake of fire
3. A roaring noise (like a forest fire or a blast furnace)
“Tophet” is a term for Hell in the Old Testament and it means: “the
place of drums”.
4. A poisonous smoke (like breathing a fire storm after a bombing)
5. A stinking smell of sulphur (“brimstone”) and rotten eggs
D. A place of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth
E. A place at the end of a Christ-rejecting life (Rev. 21:8)
1. Fearful
2. Unbelieving
3. Abominable
4. Murderers
5. Whoremongers
6. Sorcerers
7. All liars
8. Etc.
F. A place for self-righteous people (Rom. 10:3,4)
1. People “don’t” go to Hell for murder, like Moses.
2. People “don’t” go to Hell for adultery, like David.
3. People “don’t” go to Hell for cursing, swearing, and lying, like
Peter.
4. People go to Hell because they think they are “holier-than-thou”,
and more holy than God.
G. A never-ending place of torment
1. Pontius Pilate, still “washing” his hand” in Hell
2. The rich young ruler, just lacked one thing, and is there in Hell (Lk.
18)
3. Judas Iscariot, who healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out
devils, and preached the Kingdom gospel is in Hell (Mt. 10)
H. Why there is a Hell?
1. There is a Hell because God is holy and just.

CONCLUSION:
If you want to be saved from sin and Hell, and go to a better place called Heaven:
NOW is the accepted time, NOW is the day of salvation. (2 Cor. 6:2)
Illus. “Password” to Heaven – not “education”, “wealth”, “fame”, or “religion”; password is,
“THE BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ALONE”
Don’t go to Hell with these two words: “IF ONLY”. Get saved now before it’s too late.

REFERENCE:
Ruckman, Dr. Peter S.. Heaven and Hell. Pensacola: BB Bookstore, 1987. (Kindle Edition.)