Heaven & Hell

It is amazing to know that there is an enormous amount of people who do not believe in heaven and hell. Many people believe that there is a place called heaven, but there are some who doubt that there is a place called hell.
I was witnessing to a friend of mine and he stated to me that there is no hell in the sense that one would burn forever. First he stated that a loving God would not subject anyone to that type of trauma. My response was: a just God have to both punish and reward. He countered with the bombing of Hiroshima. He stated that at ground zero, everything was reduced to nothing. He believed that if God sends a person to hell that person would immediately be consumed. I replied that who said the fire had to be consuming. Just imagine living is a world where the temperature was a constant 140 degrees. That heat does not consume anyone, but it would sure be miserable; especially when it is for an eternity. A biblical example would be the burning bush; Exo.3:2, “…..the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” Something else to remember is that it is not the physical body that is burning; it is the soul of the individual that’s being tormented.
Let’s take a look at some scriptures concerning hell. Jesus clearly stated that there is a place of destruction called hell; Mt. 10:28, “…..but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The book of Mark gives us another scripture that supports the fact that hell is real; Mark 3:29, “…..he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” Both of these scriptures, informs us that there is such a place where individuals will be punished forever.
We have determined that there is some type of everlasting punishment, so the next question to consider is how great is that punishment? Scripture states that those who do iniquity will be put in a furnace of fire; Mt. 13:41-42, “…..Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity…..shall cast them into a furnace of fire.” Scripture also proclaims that the fire will never be extinguished; Mark 9:43, “…..to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.” Scripture again confirms that the individuals in hell will experience excruciating pain; Mt. 13:42, “…..and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Scripture corroborates that there is a heaven and a hell; Mt. 25:46, “…..these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Hell is a place of everlasting torment while heaven on the other hand is a place of everlasting peace; Rev. 7:15-17, “…..therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple…..they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat…..God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Do you see the contrast? Hell is a place of eternal torment and eternal separation from God, while heaven is a place of eternal peace, where you actually dwell with God for an eternity.