Credit goes out to the boys from The Holy Ghost Reception Committee #9 for that title and God for this topic. I would like to now cover society and the media's portrayals of Heaven and Hell. In the words of a dog owner, "NO, NO!" Most of what I see in movies and television and even in a lot of music is a completely misguided perception. There are no bars in Hell, there are no strip clubs, there isn't a bunch of lawyers running around ready to serve people who may need counsel. Hell is a place for people who distance themselves from God. It is for people who don't want a relationship with Him. It sounds childish, but it is like God saying "Fine, you don't want to hang out with me during your life, you don't get to be with me in the afterlife".
Honestly, we don't know what Hell is really like. Jesus describes it as "weeping and gnashing of teeth". It is a place for punishment. It's kind of like being eternally put in the corner. We do know there are no hangouts, no buffets, no playing volleyball near the Lake of Fire. In fact, it is also described as a place of utter darkness, so even if there were such things (and that's a BIG if), no one would be able to see them. Personally it is hard to believe that people like Hitler get the same punishment as someone like, say, Edgar Allen Poe. Or Jack the Ripper swimming the same lake of fire as Angelina Jolie. I understand anyone who doesn't follow God and His commands doesn't deserve a place in Heaven, but Atheist philanthropists certainly don't belong in the same place as murderers and rapists. Perhaps Dante was right in that regard. Nevertheless, movies like "Wristcutters" (as good a movie as it is) are completely wrong.
On the other hand, Heaven is not like what is seen in movies such as "Oh God". There, too, are no buffets or hangouts, at least not in the Earthly sense. The Bible says that we will spend our time solely worshiping God. There are castles, according to Jesus, and there are obviously winged angels, but whether us humans get them or not is up to debate. Heaven is our reward to doing what God tells and asks us to do. I long for the day to hear Jesus call me "Good and faithful servant". Here, too, it is hard to believe that there are certain people who don't make it to Heaven, but it is clearly described in the Bible that no one gets there without Jesus' help. Chris Rice's song "Sneaking Into Heaven" is the perfect description of how to get there.
One more thing, neither place is in a physical location. This greatly bothers me because people frequently claim Hell to be underground and Heaven to be in the sky. While they both exist, they are in a different plane, a different dimension if you will. I went to a church that played the noises recorded in that 'Russian geologists find entrance to Hell' fiasco one sermon. They presented it as if it were completely true. This is bad theology, there is no way for humans to find an entrance to Hell this side of life. The noises recorded in that hole certainly reflect the way Hell sounds, plenty of wailing and screaming, but it is not the real thing. Both Heaven's beauty and Hell's torment cannot possibly be perceived in our simple humans minds. Be careful what you see, hear, and read - there are a lot of people preaching false doctrine.
Don't be the lizard.
Further Reading:
What Does Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth Mean?
Scripture-Twisting
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