This article contains the text of an evangelistic tract that I wrote to acquaint Muslims with some of the primary things that the Bible teaches about Heaven and Hell. 

Below is a link to download the tract in a bi-lingual format of Arabic and English. To make use of the bi-lingual tract, use the following print settings: page orientation: landscape; print on both sides (a.k.a. double-sided or duplex).  You will have 6 double-sided pages.  Make sure they are in the right order and fold in half.  You can staple them in the middle if desired.  It is recommended that the points of the staple(s) appear on p. 6 so that they do not snag anything.  The booklet will follow the Arabic, right-to-left format (i.e. the front and back covers of the folded pamphlet will be exactly opposite of what they would be if the English, left-to-right format were being followed).

Introduction

This booklet has been prepared just for you!  God’s Word, the Bible, teaches us that there is an afterlife.  There is only one of two places where a person will go after he dies: Heaven or Hell.  Heaven is the place of reward and Hell is the place of punishment. 

What is Heaven like?

What is the way to Heaven?

How can I know that I am going to Heaven?

What is Hell like?

Can a person who is in Hell ever go to Heaven?

The answers to these questions and more are found in the passages within this booklet which are taken from Bible. 

God’s will is that you would have eternal life which includes going to Heaven.  Many people, however, are unwilling to accept God’s gift of eternal life now while here on earth.  The good news is that you do not have to be one of them. 

Heaven

Heaven is a place where people will dwell in God’s presence and will see His face.  There will be no more sorrow, pain, sickness, or death.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

(Revelation 21:1-4)

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb [i.e. Jesus Christ], 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb [i.e. Jesus Christ] will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

(Revelation 22:1-6)

In Heaven God will be joyfully worshipped by people from every nation:

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb [i.e. Jesus Christ].” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [i.e. Jesus Christ]. “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb [i.e. Jesus Christ] in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

(Revelation 7:9-17)

Heaven is a place of incredible beauty:

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb [i.e. Jesus Christ]. The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

(Revelation 21:10-21)

Heaven is a place of purity:

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb [i.e. Jesus Christ] are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb [i.e. Jesus Christ]. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s [i.e. Jesus Christ’s] book of life.

(Revelation 21:22-27)

Jesus Christ is the one who decides who goes to Heaven or Paradise:

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

(Luke 23:33-43)

“But when the Son of Man [i.e. Jesus Christ] comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King [i.e. Jesus Christ] will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

(Matthew 25:31-34)

Believers in Jesus Christ go immediately to Heaven after they die:

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord — for we walk by faith, not by sight — 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

(2 Corinthians 5:1-8)

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.

(Philippians 1:21-23)

Jesus Christ is the way to Heaven and the one who prepares it for those who believe in Him:

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me [i.e. Jesus Christ]. 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 “And you know the way where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:1-6)

Believers in Jesus Christ have assurance that their sins are forgiven which is necessary in order to go to Heaven:

Seeing their faith, He [i.e. Jesus Christ] said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

(Luke 5:20)

“For this reason I [i.e. Jesus Christ] say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

(Luke 7:47-50)

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake [i.e. the name of Jesus Christ].

(1 John 2:12)

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

(1 John 4:16-18)

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. 

(Romans 8:14-17)

In Him [i.e. Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

(Ephesians 1:7)

For He [i.e. Jesus Christ] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

(Colossians 1:13-15)

Hell

Hell is a place of everlasting contempt:

“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

(Daniel 12:1-2)

“For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “So your offspring and your name will endure. “And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before me,” says the LORD. “Then they will go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me. For their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched; and they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

(Isaiah 66:22-24)

Hell is a place of never-ending punishment:

“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

(Mark 9:41-48)

“The Son of Man [i.e. Jesus Christ] will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Matthew 13:41-42)

…he [i.e. John the Baptist, son of Zechariah] said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

(Matthew 3:7-12)

People in Hell can never leave it:

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. “In Hades [i.e. Hell] he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. “And he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ “And he said, “Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house — for I have five brothers — in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ “But he said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ “But he said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

(Luke 16:19-31)

God is the one who sends people to Hell:

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

(Matthew 10:28)

Hell was originally created for the Devil and his angels [i.e. the evil spirits]:

“The King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

(Matthew 25:40-41)

Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire on Judgment Day:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades [i.e. Hell] gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades [i.e. Hell] were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

(Revelation 20:11-15)

The Devil will be punished in the Lake of Fire:

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

(Revelation 20:10)

Concluding Remarks

God, who is love, created man in His image so that we would enjoy the closest possible relationship with Him.  He did not create us to destroy us in Hell.  But as in any close relationship, love must be mutual.  Because we sin, that is, we disobey God’s commands, we cannot enjoy a truly loving relationship with our Creator.  It is impossible for us to make ourselves good enough for God.  There is no amount of so-called “good works” or religious observances that can take away our guilt before God. 

The only way for us to be reconciled to our Creator is if He Himself would bear the weight of our sins.  This is exactly why the Lord Jesus Christ left Heaven and came to earth.  He is the eternal Son of God who became the Son of Man.  He took on a human body in order to be the great sacrifice for sin which is why Jesus Christ is also known as the Lamb.  He then rose from the dead three days after His crucifixion and ascended into Heaven.  He is the divine intercessor who intercedes with God the Heavenly Father for all those who put their faith in Him. 

When a person believes in Jesus Christ in this way, he will be reconciled to God.  This reconciliation is also referred to as “salvation” and “eternal life.”  Through the intercession of Jesus Christ, we can know God and experience His presence in our lives while on earth.  Going to Heaven then is a continuation of this new life in Christ that will last forever.  Regardless of how religious you may be, to refuse to repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ according to what the Bible teaches is to choose to live your life without knowing God and experiencing His presence in your life.  Going to Hell then is a continuation of choosing yourself over God that will last forever where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

“For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live.” (Ezekiel 18:32)

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” (Romans 10:9-13)