Imagine a life without an end; a life where one does not age or become old, but is youthful and lives forever. A life where there is no sorrow, no pain, no fear, no regrets, no sin. A life which is blameless and pure and holy. A life which is filled with joy unending and peace beyond measure. A life where every being glows and is beautiful, without any blemish or wrinkles. A life where there is no want, or need or lack anything because every good thing is in abundance. There is no boredom, nor the joy of that life ever fades away. A life that is complete and perfect in every aspect. It is sharing and partaking in the very life of God. A life of brilliance and excellence, radiating the glory of God, where every being fellowships with God and His angels and saints, which is eternal.

Now imagine a life of endless suffering, bitterness, and misery. A life of utter darkness, loneliness, and isolation. A life of eternal turmoil, where the only companions are the tormenting demons. A life of constant agony, pain, regret, and unimaginable suffering. A life where every being appears hideous and detestable. A life which is classified as eternal death. A life where pain, sorrow, tears, and wailing never stops. A life which is deprived of God, with the worst of all suffering, as every soul has clear knowledge and understanding of losing God for eternity, and the agony of such a choice.

Which eternal destination would you choose, eternal life or eternal death?

Eternity is defined by Boetius (De Consol. Phil., V, vi) as “possession, without succession and perfect, of interminable life”. A person’s life on earth is measured, it has a beginning and an end, but a person’s eternal life cannot be measured because eternity continues forever, it is unceasing and unchangeable. We are all pilgrims on earth, travelling on our journey towards eternity. Many times, we become very content and comfortable in our earthly journey, whereby, we forget about eternity and make earth our permanent dwelling. We all will one day leave this earthly life and enter into eternity.    

We do not plan when we come into existence, neither should we plan to end our existence. God decides on the beginning and the end of our earthly existence. However, God has given us complete freedom in choosing eternity. In this earthly life, we can make a choice to repent, to amend our ways. This freedom to choose is only available until death. Once we die, our decisions are irreversible, because change can happen only in this life. Eternity is unchanging, our decision cannot be altered after death.  Although eternity is unending and our eternal choice unchanging, the choice we have made while we are alive will determine our eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. God does not decide our pathways to eternity. He only send us to the choices we have made in our lives. If we accept Jesus Christ and His teaching and live according to His ways, we are received by God in heaven. If we reject Jesus Christ and His teachings and live a life according to our own ways, then we are sent by God to hell.

Eternity in heaven is called eternal life and eternity in hell is called eternal death. Those in hell continue their existence for eternity, but they are eternally suffering, without end. Therefore, it is called eternal death. It is God’s will that everyone be saved and choose eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Many people, after death, go to hell because they did not believe in hell when they were alive. Therefore, they rejected God and lived a life displeasing to God, and then, after death, suffer in hell eternally. Do not think as they did and ignore the consequence of unwise decisions for eternity. How can anyone say there is no God, or eternal life or eternal death, or heaven and hell, without knowing the truth? There are others who think that they are good people and, therefore, they will automatically go to heaven. Do not be deceived into thinking that good deeds alone can take one to heaven? It is by accepting Jesus Christ and His teachings that one can enter into eternal life. It is not just by good works, but by faith in Christ, accompanied by good works. We need both faith and good works. We do good works because we are saved but good works alone do not save us, it is Jesus Christ who saves us.

One may ask, how can you say there is eternity? My question is, how can you say there is no eternity? For the sake of your soul and eternal consequence would you not care to ponder on where you would want to spend eternity. God has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

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