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Eternity: Heaven or Hell?
What will happen when you die? This and many other questions about death and its aftermath are dealt with in this book, based upon biblical answers.
In addition, Dr. Reagan deals with questions pertaining to salvation: Are there many roads to God? Can salvation be earned through good works? Can salvation be lost? He also takes an in-depth look at the resurrection of Jesus, examining the evidence for it and discussing its essentiality to the Christian faith.
197 pages.
In addition, Dr. Reagan deals with questions pertaining to salvation: Are there many roads to God? Can salvation be earned through good works? Can salvation be lost? He also takes an in-depth look at the resurrection of Jesus, examining the evidence for it and discussing its essentiality to the Christian faith.
197 pages.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2012
6 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
David Reagan
49 books21 followersDr. David R. Reagan is the founder of Lamb & Lion Ministries and host of the TV show "Christ in Prophecy".
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September 1, 2013
This book is okay. It's not something I'd highly recommend, but if you want to read it, I wouldn't try to dissuade you either.
Some chapters I think are much more helpful than others. Chapter 4, on Hell, advocates for the annihilationist/conditionalist view for unsaved humans (but not for the devil and his angels, who he says will be tormented for eternity). Holding to that view myself (except for all unsaved creatures, not just humans), I certainly don' disagree. his arguments for it are useful, though in the limited space there is only so much that can be said. And a few points were a bit shaky. It isn't on the top of my list of good conditionalist resources that I would recommend to a traditionalist (one who believes that Hell is a place of eternal conscious punishment), but it might get some people to become familiar with what I consider the biblical view. His more pastoral chapters (such as Chapter 7 on living with an eternal perspective) are more useful than his more exegetical chapters on the end times.
As far as the chapters on the end times, they are not as strong. It is the run of the mill, pre-tribulational dispensationalist rendering. Passages used to demonstrate a pre-tribulation rapture are merely assumed to be speaking of a rapture; as much is not evident from the text (and when such texts are used, no explanation is given). One example would be John 14:1-3, which, in a nutshell, is Jesus telling the disciples that he is preparing a place for them. Nowhere is the timing or the nature of this spoken of, but rather than being about the eternal state, or the intermediate state, or any other possible scenario, it just simply is about the rapture and the 7 year period to follow, and that is that. because of the relative brevity of the book, the arguments for or against his more controversial end-times views rise or fall on the scripture citations themselves, and so if you don't think Isaiah 65:19-20 is about the millennium (since it mentions a new heavens and new earth but never mentions a 1,000 year period before that), there's not much more for you to go on other than "(Isaiah 65:19-20)."
I will say, though same may disagree with me in thinking that this is a problem, he takes a lot of passage really, really literally (including in Revelation). The new Jerusalem, for example, will literally be a cube that is 1,500 miles wide, long, and high that is made of gold and jewels. This degree of indiscriminant literalism leads to some conclusion that I think some might find quite troubling (and not in a good way). Since "the nations" in Revelation 22:2 eat from the tree of life, he concludes that they have "fleshly bodies," i.e. not immortal bodies like everyone else will have (like 1 Corinthians 15 talks about). He suggests that they might be those saved during the millennium (as "no promises are made to them of glorified bodies") but he ultimately is unsure. So, rather than thinking that, in a vision full of dragons and monsters and ubiquitous Old Testament imagery and symbolism, maybe tree of life people eat from might itself be a symbol for our eternal life (drawing n Genesis 2-3), he instead decides that since they have to eat from a literal tree of life, their bodies are mortal and unglorified. Also, he says that those in the New Jerusalem reign over them for eternity. So, because that tree of life has to be literal, we are left with different classes of saved people. Some are immortal, some not. Some reign over others (even though Revelation 22:3 never says what or whom God's servants in the New Jerusalem reign over; why couldn’t it be the earth, like Adam and Eve were supposed to?). Perhaps some don't even get to see God's face (see Revelation 22:4), since that is said of those who are immortal and reign in the New Jerusalem. I find that a lot harder to swallow than the idea of Revelation sometimes using symbolism (especially since I doubt Dr. Reagan is perfectly consistent in this literalism and believes the earth will be trampled and ruled by a lion-leopard-bear monster with seven heads - Revelation 13). Then again, at least there is no Revelation 21:4 dilemma (where some lament the seeming contradiction/"mystery" about how it says that there will be no more crying but also say that God will wipe our tears, which is literally impossible if there is no more crying).
In short, we are left with a book that rightly teaches that we have eternal destinies and the Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It also is book that also makes some questionable arguments for controversial (and, I believe, incorrect) views on some of the details. It does, at least, have a good overall message, being that we mustn’t forget our eternal perspective in Christ. So, it's an okay read.
Some chapters I think are much more helpful than others. Chapter 4, on Hell, advocates for the annihilationist/conditionalist view for unsaved humans (but not for the devil and his angels, who he says will be tormented for eternity). Holding to that view myself (except for all unsaved creatures, not just humans), I certainly don' disagree. his arguments for it are useful, though in the limited space there is only so much that can be said. And a few points were a bit shaky. It isn't on the top of my list of good conditionalist resources that I would recommend to a traditionalist (one who believes that Hell is a place of eternal conscious punishment), but it might get some people to become familiar with what I consider the biblical view. His more pastoral chapters (such as Chapter 7 on living with an eternal perspective) are more useful than his more exegetical chapters on the end times.
As far as the chapters on the end times, they are not as strong. It is the run of the mill, pre-tribulational dispensationalist rendering. Passages used to demonstrate a pre-tribulation rapture are merely assumed to be speaking of a rapture; as much is not evident from the text (and when such texts are used, no explanation is given). One example would be John 14:1-3, which, in a nutshell, is Jesus telling the disciples that he is preparing a place for them. Nowhere is the timing or the nature of this spoken of, but rather than being about the eternal state, or the intermediate state, or any other possible scenario, it just simply is about the rapture and the 7 year period to follow, and that is that. because of the relative brevity of the book, the arguments for or against his more controversial end-times views rise or fall on the scripture citations themselves, and so if you don't think Isaiah 65:19-20 is about the millennium (since it mentions a new heavens and new earth but never mentions a 1,000 year period before that), there's not much more for you to go on other than "(Isaiah 65:19-20)."
I will say, though same may disagree with me in thinking that this is a problem, he takes a lot of passage really, really literally (including in Revelation). The new Jerusalem, for example, will literally be a cube that is 1,500 miles wide, long, and high that is made of gold and jewels. This degree of indiscriminant literalism leads to some conclusion that I think some might find quite troubling (and not in a good way). Since "the nations" in Revelation 22:2 eat from the tree of life, he concludes that they have "fleshly bodies," i.e. not immortal bodies like everyone else will have (like 1 Corinthians 15 talks about). He suggests that they might be those saved during the millennium (as "no promises are made to them of glorified bodies") but he ultimately is unsure. So, rather than thinking that, in a vision full of dragons and monsters and ubiquitous Old Testament imagery and symbolism, maybe tree of life people eat from might itself be a symbol for our eternal life (drawing n Genesis 2-3), he instead decides that since they have to eat from a literal tree of life, their bodies are mortal and unglorified. Also, he says that those in the New Jerusalem reign over them for eternity. So, because that tree of life has to be literal, we are left with different classes of saved people. Some are immortal, some not. Some reign over others (even though Revelation 22:3 never says what or whom God's servants in the New Jerusalem reign over; why couldn’t it be the earth, like Adam and Eve were supposed to?). Perhaps some don't even get to see God's face (see Revelation 22:4), since that is said of those who are immortal and reign in the New Jerusalem. I find that a lot harder to swallow than the idea of Revelation sometimes using symbolism (especially since I doubt Dr. Reagan is perfectly consistent in this literalism and believes the earth will be trampled and ruled by a lion-leopard-bear monster with seven heads - Revelation 13). Then again, at least there is no Revelation 21:4 dilemma (where some lament the seeming contradiction/"mystery" about how it says that there will be no more crying but also say that God will wipe our tears, which is literally impossible if there is no more crying).
In short, we are left with a book that rightly teaches that we have eternal destinies and the Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It also is book that also makes some questionable arguments for controversial (and, I believe, incorrect) views on some of the details. It does, at least, have a good overall message, being that we mustn’t forget our eternal perspective in Christ. So, it's an okay read.
February 27, 2026
A VERY ‘TRADITIONAL’ EVANGELICAL VIEW… UNTIL HE REVEALS HIMSELF TO BE A CONDITIONALIST
David R. Reagan founded Lamb & Lion Ministries in 1980; he stepped down as its leader in 2021. Prior to his ministry, he served as a professor of International law and politics for 20 years.
He wrote in the Preface to this 2010 book, “The purpose of this book is to challenge you to live with an eternal perspective. In the process, I hope you will become excited about God’s promises for your future life after death. And regarding death, I pray this book will liberate you from any fear of it. Unless, of course, you are a person who has never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If that is your situation, then you should very much fear death and the consequences to follow… Which will it be for you? Heaven or Hell?” (Pg. 8-9)
“I learned from God’s Word that when... Christians die, our spirits never lose their consciousness (Phil 1:22-23, 2 Cor 5:8). Instead, our fully conscious spirits are immediately ushered into the presence of Jesus by His holy angels (Lk 16:22). Our spirits remain in the Lord’s presence until He appears for His Church. At that time, He brings our spirits with Him, resurrects of bodies, reunites our spirits with our bodies, perfecting them and rendering them eternal (1 Thess 4:13-18). We return with him to Heaven in our glorified bodies where we are judged for our works to determine our degrees of rewards (2 Cor 5:10). When this judgment is competed, we participate in a glorious wedding feast to celebrate the union of Jesus and His Bride, the Church (Rev 9:7-9)” (Pg. 24)
He observes, “Some of the greatest confusion about life after death relates to the intermediate state between death and eternity. Some people advocate a concept called ‘soul sleep.’ … they argue that both the saved and the unsaved are unconscious after death until the return of Jesus. But the Bible makes it crystal clear that our spirit does not lose its consciousness at death. The only thing that ‘falls asleep' is our body---in a symbolic sense.” (Pg. 28)
He continues, “The Bible indicates that after the death of Jesus on the cross, He descended into Hades to declare the good news that He had shed His blood for the sins of Mankind (1 Pet 3:18-19 and 4:16). The Bible also indicates that after his resurrection, when he ascended into Heaven, Jesus took Paradise with Him, transferring the spirits of dead saints from Hades to Heaven (Eph 4:8-9 and 2 Cor 12:1-4). The spirits of dead saints are therefore pictured as being in Heaven before the throne of God (Rev 6:9 and 7:9).” (Pg. 28-29)
He goes on, “When we shed our mortal bodies in death, with the separation of the spirit from the body, the Bible clearly teaches that we receive an intermediate spirit body---intermediate between our current mortal body and the immortal body we will receive at the time we are resurrected. Evidence of this fact can be found in… the Bible: [he cites 1 Sam 28:7-19; Lk 16:19-31; Mt 17:1-7, and Rev 7:9-15]” (Pg. 29-30)
What about Near-Death Experiences? “I do not give them much credence. For one thing, nearly all of them report pleasant experiences … regardless of their spiritual conditions when they supposedly died… I am even more skeptical of those who claim that they visited Heaven or Hell and were sent back to tell us about these places. I believe the Bible contains all the information we need about both of these places.” (Pg. 36)
He states, “Because God considers some sins worse than others, there will be degrees of punishment (Rev 22:12) and these degrees will be specified at the Great White Throne Judgment.” (Pg. 55)
He lists eighteen cases “of persons brought back from the dead, recorded in both the Old and New Testaments.” (Pg 57-58)
He notes, “One final thing about the current Heaven that should be noted is that Satan has access to it. The Book of Job pictures Satan before God’s throne requesting permission to test Job." (Job 1:6-12)
He states, “Since the time of the cross, the spirits of dead saints no longer go to Hades. They are taken… directly to heaven…. The souls of the unrighteous dead will remain in Hades until the end of the millennial reign of Christ. At that time they will be resurrected and judged at the Great White Throne Judgment portrayed in revelation 20:11-15), all the unrighteous will be cast into Hell, which the passage in Revelation 20 refers to as ‘the lake of fire’.” (Pg. 104-105)
But—surprisingly---he explains ONE of his views that departs from Evangelical orthodoxy: “immortality is conditional, depending upon one’s acceptance of Christ. I believe the Bible teaches the unrighteous will be resurrected, judged, punished in Hell for a period of time proportional to their sins, and then suffer destruction (the death of body and soul)...Whatever we conclude from the Scriptures about the duration of Hell, we must remember that Hell is to be avoided at all costs. Whether we suffer there eternally or are destroyed after enduring God’s terrible punishment, Hell is an unimaginably terrifying place.” (Pg. 105)
He explains his adoption of this position: “My first difficulty with the traditional view is that … I kept asking myself, ‘How could a God of grace, mercy, and love torment the vast majority of humanity eternally?’ … Second, the concept of eternal torment seems to run contrary to biblical examples. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire---suddenly and quickly… I found a third problem with the traditional view… How can Hell be a ‘second death’ if it consists of eternal, conscious torment? A fourth reason … is that [the traditional view] seems to ignore … biblical teaching about Hell; namely, that it is a place of ‘destruction.’ (Mt. 7:13)… Fifth, there is a difference between eternal punishment and eternal punishING…. Sixth, the traditionalists [ignore] statements [that] are symbolic for a punishment that has eternal CONSEQUENCES, not a punishment that continues eternally… Last, many traditionalists believe that the soul is immortal… I believe the Bible very specifically denies the immortality of the soul. 1 Tim 6:15-16 says that God alone possesses immortality.” (Pg. 108-111)
They what about Revelation 14:9-11? “No duration of this torment is given. To conclude that the torment will continue eternally, one would have to assume that the soul is immortal… ‘the smoke of their torment’ … is a figurative expression that denotes an eternal witness of their fate.” (Pg. 114-115)
But that is his only apparent ‘heresy.’ He asserts that Rabbinical Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Animism are all “False religions." (Pg. 124) Even “the religion of Catholicism [is] a false form of Christianity” (Pg. 131---Billy Graham’s contrary opinion notwithstanding.)
What about the “unreached”? “Their fate will depend upon whether or not they ever responded to God in faith… those who only have the testimony of instinct and the creation who reject that testimony will also be lost.” (Pg. 128)
This book may appeal to some more theologically ‘adventurous’ Christians.
David R. Reagan founded Lamb & Lion Ministries in 1980; he stepped down as its leader in 2021. Prior to his ministry, he served as a professor of International law and politics for 20 years.
He wrote in the Preface to this 2010 book, “The purpose of this book is to challenge you to live with an eternal perspective. In the process, I hope you will become excited about God’s promises for your future life after death. And regarding death, I pray this book will liberate you from any fear of it. Unless, of course, you are a person who has never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If that is your situation, then you should very much fear death and the consequences to follow… Which will it be for you? Heaven or Hell?” (Pg. 8-9)
“I learned from God’s Word that when... Christians die, our spirits never lose their consciousness (Phil 1:22-23, 2 Cor 5:8). Instead, our fully conscious spirits are immediately ushered into the presence of Jesus by His holy angels (Lk 16:22). Our spirits remain in the Lord’s presence until He appears for His Church. At that time, He brings our spirits with Him, resurrects of bodies, reunites our spirits with our bodies, perfecting them and rendering them eternal (1 Thess 4:13-18). We return with him to Heaven in our glorified bodies where we are judged for our works to determine our degrees of rewards (2 Cor 5:10). When this judgment is competed, we participate in a glorious wedding feast to celebrate the union of Jesus and His Bride, the Church (Rev 9:7-9)” (Pg. 24)
He observes, “Some of the greatest confusion about life after death relates to the intermediate state between death and eternity. Some people advocate a concept called ‘soul sleep.’ … they argue that both the saved and the unsaved are unconscious after death until the return of Jesus. But the Bible makes it crystal clear that our spirit does not lose its consciousness at death. The only thing that ‘falls asleep' is our body---in a symbolic sense.” (Pg. 28)
He continues, “The Bible indicates that after the death of Jesus on the cross, He descended into Hades to declare the good news that He had shed His blood for the sins of Mankind (1 Pet 3:18-19 and 4:16). The Bible also indicates that after his resurrection, when he ascended into Heaven, Jesus took Paradise with Him, transferring the spirits of dead saints from Hades to Heaven (Eph 4:8-9 and 2 Cor 12:1-4). The spirits of dead saints are therefore pictured as being in Heaven before the throne of God (Rev 6:9 and 7:9).” (Pg. 28-29)
He goes on, “When we shed our mortal bodies in death, with the separation of the spirit from the body, the Bible clearly teaches that we receive an intermediate spirit body---intermediate between our current mortal body and the immortal body we will receive at the time we are resurrected. Evidence of this fact can be found in… the Bible: [he cites 1 Sam 28:7-19; Lk 16:19-31; Mt 17:1-7, and Rev 7:9-15]” (Pg. 29-30)
What about Near-Death Experiences? “I do not give them much credence. For one thing, nearly all of them report pleasant experiences … regardless of their spiritual conditions when they supposedly died… I am even more skeptical of those who claim that they visited Heaven or Hell and were sent back to tell us about these places. I believe the Bible contains all the information we need about both of these places.” (Pg. 36)
He states, “Because God considers some sins worse than others, there will be degrees of punishment (Rev 22:12) and these degrees will be specified at the Great White Throne Judgment.” (Pg. 55)
He lists eighteen cases “of persons brought back from the dead, recorded in both the Old and New Testaments.” (Pg 57-58)
He notes, “One final thing about the current Heaven that should be noted is that Satan has access to it. The Book of Job pictures Satan before God’s throne requesting permission to test Job." (Job 1:6-12)
He states, “Since the time of the cross, the spirits of dead saints no longer go to Hades. They are taken… directly to heaven…. The souls of the unrighteous dead will remain in Hades until the end of the millennial reign of Christ. At that time they will be resurrected and judged at the Great White Throne Judgment portrayed in revelation 20:11-15), all the unrighteous will be cast into Hell, which the passage in Revelation 20 refers to as ‘the lake of fire’.” (Pg. 104-105)
But—surprisingly---he explains ONE of his views that departs from Evangelical orthodoxy: “immortality is conditional, depending upon one’s acceptance of Christ. I believe the Bible teaches the unrighteous will be resurrected, judged, punished in Hell for a period of time proportional to their sins, and then suffer destruction (the death of body and soul)...Whatever we conclude from the Scriptures about the duration of Hell, we must remember that Hell is to be avoided at all costs. Whether we suffer there eternally or are destroyed after enduring God’s terrible punishment, Hell is an unimaginably terrifying place.” (Pg. 105)
He explains his adoption of this position: “My first difficulty with the traditional view is that … I kept asking myself, ‘How could a God of grace, mercy, and love torment the vast majority of humanity eternally?’ … Second, the concept of eternal torment seems to run contrary to biblical examples. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire---suddenly and quickly… I found a third problem with the traditional view… How can Hell be a ‘second death’ if it consists of eternal, conscious torment? A fourth reason … is that [the traditional view] seems to ignore … biblical teaching about Hell; namely, that it is a place of ‘destruction.’ (Mt. 7:13)… Fifth, there is a difference between eternal punishment and eternal punishING…. Sixth, the traditionalists [ignore] statements [that] are symbolic for a punishment that has eternal CONSEQUENCES, not a punishment that continues eternally… Last, many traditionalists believe that the soul is immortal… I believe the Bible very specifically denies the immortality of the soul. 1 Tim 6:15-16 says that God alone possesses immortality.” (Pg. 108-111)
They what about Revelation 14:9-11? “No duration of this torment is given. To conclude that the torment will continue eternally, one would have to assume that the soul is immortal… ‘the smoke of their torment’ … is a figurative expression that denotes an eternal witness of their fate.” (Pg. 114-115)
But that is his only apparent ‘heresy.’ He asserts that Rabbinical Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Animism are all “False religions." (Pg. 124) Even “the religion of Catholicism [is] a false form of Christianity” (Pg. 131---Billy Graham’s contrary opinion notwithstanding.)
What about the “unreached”? “Their fate will depend upon whether or not they ever responded to God in faith… those who only have the testimony of instinct and the creation who reject that testimony will also be lost.” (Pg. 128)
This book may appeal to some more theologically ‘adventurous’ Christians.
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