Is Heaven Boring And Hell A Big Party?

by Joel Ramshaw (2022)

It’s a common reason people today are not interested in Christianity. The idea that people in heaven sit on clouds, worship, and play harps while people in hell get to party with their friends and enjoy as much sin they please. Is it really worth it turning one’s life over to Christ and sacrificing the desires of the flesh, only to end up trapped in a “boring” place for all of eternity?


What is “fun”?

Let’s look at things from a different perspective. Imagine a group of angels watching human’s enjoy their version of “fun.” A man sits in front of the TV watching sports. On screen a bunch of strangers kick a ball back and forth over and over. The man watches this for hours for “fun.” In another scene the angels watch a “party.” The people sit around with beer and hoot and holler mindlessly, and then the next day forget what even happened. “Humans sure live boring lives” the angels says. A lot of what we do for “fun” indeed can be seen as pointless and boring if we imagine our lives from an angel's perspective. We are the ones with boring lives, not them.

What is “fun”? Where do our passions and desires come from? Humans have three parts, the spirit, the soul, and the body. The body provides the sexual desire, lust to dominate, and gluttony for foods, and stimulation in general. Our soul has desire for relationship, love, and acceptance, and spontaneity. Lastly we have our spirit. The spirit has a hunger for things eternal and to be united with God’s Spirit. The spirit and flesh are constantly at war and each wants to push the other out.

Galatians 5:17, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

As long as we live in a body of flesh, the desires and experiences of the flesh are magnified and felt intensely compared to the spirit’s desire. This is why our picture of heaven is boring. We are trapped in a body of flesh which demands competition, battles, stimulation, and constant excitement. Worship is boring to the flesh, but exciting to the spirit. Once the flesh is cast off upon death, the sense of “boredom” is gone completely and we can’t imagine our former fascination with earthly amusements.

One of the more controversial teachings of Christ is that humans will not experience marriage or sex in heaven but will be as the angels of God (how many young men have feared being “raptured” before getting to experience this on earth?) But really, it is foolish to think any of earth’s pleasures can compare to heaven's. When we are liberated from the body, worship will be a pleasure higher than sex/drugs and we will also crave it. People in heaven don’t worship out of coercion but out of the joy of wanting it. Remember, when we think the activities of heaven are boring, they are only boring to the flesh and we will be rid of the flesh upon entering heaven and fully attuned to the joys and desires of the spirit. No flesh will enter heaven. Although the “body” is resurrected, this only refers to the idea that we regain form and structure and do not just float around as little spirit clouds. We do not actually regain physical bodies. Adam and Eve only received flesh-and-blood bodies after the fall, as part of the curse. People have only seen tiny fractions and glimpses of heaven and the Bible doesn not mention much about it. We should not pretend we know all of the heaven's joys. Most of these things have been hidden until we are there. Saying heaven is boring is to call God an idiot.

1 Corinthians 15:50, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.”


1 Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.””

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hell:

Guitar Hero 3 has a level where you play a rock concert in hell in front of Satan and Molech. Everyone in hell is jamming to the music and having a great time (this very satanic game is marketed for people as young as 7 years old). Unfortunately, this is many people’s idea of hell. A place where you go with your friends and get to sin as much as you please and party with Satan. The problem is, this idea is totally manmade as is not taught in Bible or by any other religion for that matter. Satan and the demons are of a very sadistic nature. They will be the only ones partying as they torment the foolish souls who thought hell would be “good times.” No one who has ever received a prophetic vision or near death experience has ever described hell as a “party” or anything besides torment. People come for prayer seeking help from demon possession and torment. One of Jesus most common activities was to cast out demons from people. Going to hell is like being dropped in prison and you are the smallest man. Does that sound like “good times”?

The naked human soul is of little strength and alone is no match for demons. Just like wild animals are stronger, demons are also much more powerful than a sole human. This is why we require angel protection and a relationship with God before leaving this earth. Demons are bullies; they have no light of Christ which would bring a loving, forgiving nature. Their only pleasure is in causing suffering and rejoicing to watch it. Do you want to have to spend your afterlife in a place like this?

Matthew 25:41 “Then He [Jesus] will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:'”

“Everlasting fire” doesn't sound like much of a party or “good times with friends” at all. No one is having fun in hell except the demons.

Here is the Bible's depiction of the afterlife of a man who went to hell for being selfish with his riches and not sharing with his beggar neighbor:

Luke 16:22-24 “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was not even close to the worst punishment in hell. He was not a murderer or abuser, just a selfish person who would not share with the needy. Even so, the punishment is described as being unbearable and he so craved even a drop of water to be cooled off. He also appears to be suffering alone and without his friends. Doesn't looks like he's enjoying “good times with the boys.”

It might seem unfair that God would cast fairly ordinary people into hell who have not done anything exceptionally wicked. This view is not unique to Christianity however. As far back as ancient Egypt, they held the view that God would weigh each soul's heart in a balance with a feather on the other side. If the person's heart was not lighter than the feather, the heart would be fed to Satan and the human would enter torment for their afterlife. Talk about an impossible standard! The ancient Greeks also had the understanding that going to heaven was for only the very best heroes, while mediocre ordinary folks would suffer a miserable afterlife in the darkness of Hades.

Fortunately, there is a way to overcome this impossible standard. God's Son Jesus died on the cross to carry the punishment for the world's sins and to purchase us for Himself. By trusting in Jesus rather than pretending to be “good enough,” He provides full forgiveness. Turn your life over to Christ, trust Him as your only hope for salvation, and commit to a new life of walking in His ways. Connect with other believers at a church or small group in order to remain strong and confident in the faith. Purchase a Bible and read it; don’t get bogged down in the hard parts, skip over to the easy narratives until you are done those. You can pray to God at any time. He is constantly watching every person so don’t feel like you are talking to the ceiling. Try to make a daily routine of doing some prayer and Bible reading in the mornings and/or evenings and it will strengthen your connection with God. God will forgive anyone truly willing to repent, no matter their past. You don’t have to do anything exceptional or be extraordinarily spiritual to be saved. Just commit to a new life in Christ and learning His ways and He will meet you where you are at.


Support Gateways of His Light by sharing this page on social media

Main Page