The American comedian Woody Allen once jokingly said that he was not afraid of death, but added "I just don't want to be there when it happens".  Although many people try to laugh this off, it is actually far from being a
joke.

The teaching of the Bible is quite clear - "It is appointed for man once to die, and then the judgement" (Hebrews 9:27). There is no second chance.  The moment we die, our soul goes immediately to one of two places - Heaven or Hell. The Bible has a great deal to say about this - just for example see Luke 16:19-31; Mark 10:43-50.

When the dying thief trusted Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ said to him "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). There would be no time interval, no soul sleep, but immediate entrance into the presence of Christ in Paradise. In the same way, the Apostle Paul could write clearly (Philippians 1:21-23) and say that the Christian is either present in the body (alive in this world) or present with the Lord (in Heaven). There is nothing in between. In fact Paul wrote to say that to depart and be with Christ is far better (Philippians 1:23).  Heaven is a place of conscious eternal happiness, whilst Hell is a place of conscious eternal torment (Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 21:3-8; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Jude v13; John 14:1-6; Matthew 25:31-46;1 Corinthians 2:9). 

There is only one way to avoid Hell and be sure of going to Heaven - by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ personally as your Lord and Saviour. The Lord Jesus makes that clear for example in John 14:1-6. We cannot get into Heaven by trying to be good, or religious, or by avoiding things that we judge to be bad. There is only one answer - to repent (turn away from our sins) and believe (turn to Jesus Christ). When Christ died upon the Cross, He died to take the guilt and punishment for the sins of a multitude which no man could number. He had no sins of His own.

Where you go when you die will depend entirely upon your response to the gospel of Christ. What you do with Christ in this life will determine what God does with you in eternity. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).

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