Heaven Study Guide 5: What happens to people who do not long for heaven?
Community Group Study Guide — What Happens to Those who Do Not Long for Heaven? (Heaven Week 5)
2 Thessalonians 1:5-12
Sept 6, 2026
Study Information:
We’ve been thinking about eternity and what it is like to be in God’s presence forever and that begs the question, “what happens to those people who do not follow Jesus and do not long for eternity with God?” This is about the doctrine of hell and everlasting separation from God. On one hand we see concepts of hell in our culture that can best be described caricatures like demons with pitchforks, or as a place where the devil is in charge, or as some divine torture chamber. On the other hand many church goers outright dismiss the reality of hell and see it as a metaphor for hardship on earth. This is likely because of discomfort around the historical interoperation of the doctrine and the evidence cited is that the word for hell in the gospels is the name of a real location called Gehenna which was historically a trash dump outside the city of Jerusalem where stuff was burned and people were sacrificed to pagan gods. They see hell as a metaphor for living a harsh and terrible life. Others favor interpretations like universalism which states that in time all will be saved, or annihilationism which teaches that unbelievers just cease to exist after death. What does the Bible teach?!
Hell can be an uncomfortable doctrine but as we will see in this study guide and hear in the message, it is a necessary doctrine to describe God’s justice, humanity’y self-centered pride and the existence of this doctrine actually helps to enable followers of Jesus to forgive and not seek revenge since vengeance is God’s alone. Likewise, hell is not a place where the devil and demons rule, but it is a place where they are judged and punished for their evil.
Hell is about God’s Justice
2 Thess 1:5-8
There are many places where the Bible teaches on hell. Jesus taught often on everlasting separation from God, we have a vivid pictures of judgement is found in Revelation 20 (more on that later), but let’s begin our exploration with Paul’s teaching in 2 Thessalonians. For context, the Thessalonians had many questions about what happened at the end and much of that was because of false teaching floating around the church. There was a group in the church who claimed the resurrection already happened, another group who thought the second coming of Jesus was going to happen in their life time so they quit their jobs and were “worshipping” 24/7, and on the backdrop of all that they were regularly persecuted and suffering. They were asking “what is God going to do about this?!” Does God respond to evil and sin in the world? Why does he delay? Is God ignoring it?
God’s response to sin and evil is to say “I see it and will do something about it.” Paul taught that God considered it just to repay affliction with affliction (2 Thess 1:6-7). The language used in this passage is similar to Jesus’s teaching on hell in the gospels. It included flaming fire, vengeance and “eternal destruction (2 Thess 1:8-9).” Put yourself in the context of a suffering and persecuted church where you felt powerless and abused. The doctrine of hell was a promise that evil and wickedness would not go unnoticed by God, that those who abused power would not get away with that forever and that we do not need to seek vengeance. Paul taught in Romans 12:17-21 that we are not to respond to evil with evil and to leave vengeance to God. This empowers Christians to forgive and not seek revenge.
You have a God who sees all and will judge according to people’s works in their flesh (Rev 20:13). If you are a follower of Jesus you have been covered by the works of another, wrapped in his robes of righteousness. In Christ your sins, evil and wrong doing have been forgiven and you’ve been credited with his righteousness which will enable us to stand before him.
Hell is Removal from God’s Presence
2 Thess 1:8-9, Luke 16:19-31
In our last study guide we explored what it would be like to see God face to face and be filled with all the joy and goodness of that experience. The sad reality of hell is that it is the opposite, it is a removal from God’s presence. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9 that eternal destruction awaited those who did not know God and that they’d be away from the presence of the Lord. Many of us have no problem with people who are objectively wicked being judged in hell, but we struggle with people that we subjectively think are good people. What about my nice neighbor who brought over cookies when we moved in, the person at my work place who volunteers at their temple, or the person who told me the other day that they cannot be a Christian because they’re too much of a scientist? The key factor behind people who follow Jesus or do not follow Jesus is that people who do not follow Jesus desire autonomy from God and that means they deep down they do not want heaven. Heaven is more than just a place of peace with nice things, it is a place that God fills with his presence and if someone does not know God or look to God or desire his presence in the here and now, why would they want that in eternity? Don’t get this wrong, hell will be a place of sorrow, torment and judgement; that is clear by the descriptions of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” and the image of fire. Yet we should understand that hell is the ultimate conclusion for someone who wanted their independence from God.
The story Jesus told in Luke 16 illustrated this concept really well and highlighted the inherent selfishness people wrestle with. The story illustrates a rich man who was entitled and lacked compassion contrasted to a poor beggar who lived at his driveway. Both men died and Luke 16 is the interaction post death. Jesus did not try to give us a commentary on wealth here but used that example to highlight self sufficiency compared to someone who was desperate. The rich man ended up in hell and experienced anguish and despair. An interesting feature of the story is that the rich man continued to boss people around and make himself the center of the story, even though he was in hell. There are other features of this story, but it is clear that the rich man wanted to avoid the unpleasantness of hell more than he desired God’s presence and he continued to make himself the center of the story.
Hell is Everlasting Separation
Revelation 20:7-15
Hell is marked by an everlasting separation from God. Revelation can be a very difficult book to interpret, however there are some clear things we learn about the doctrine of hell from this passage. First, the devil and the fallen angels do not rule in hell, rather hell was prepared as a place where they’d experience judgement. Revelation talks about how they were thrown into the lake of fire and were tormented day and night forever. Second, hell is described here as everlasting and as “the second death.” A consequence of sin was separation from God and physical death, the idea of second death here talks about ultimate separation from God and the timeframe John put on that was “forever and ever.” Third this judgment was based on their works (Rev 20:12-13). John said that he saw the dead “great and small” standing before that throne and open book with their works written down. This means that regardless of your status, power or legacy on earth each person who was not in Christ faced the same fate. Everyone who experiences this eternal separation has a long list of works besides their name to account for all their evil. The alternative is to have our name written in the book of life, which is opened by the Lamb. For followers of Jesus, this should cause a sense of urgency in us in our gospel witness and motivate our own holiness in life.
When we wrestle with an uncomfortable doctrine like hell we should remember that God is infinitely more merciful and righteous than we are. We also only see a small part of the picture in the lives of the people around us and God sees the heart. This is a good opportunity to express your discomfort to God and to pray for those in your life to turn from themselves towards God.
At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.
How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?
Discussion Questions:
2 Thessalonians 1:5-12
What was the context of the Thessalonian church and how did the doctrine of hell help them understand what they were going through? Does the doctrine of hell help or hinder a Christian’s ability to forgive and not seek revenge?
What are some reasons that Paul highlighted that this eternal destruction was a removal from God’s presence. What would that be like?
What happens to Satan and the angels in hell?
Imagine a friend who is a universalist and thinks everyone will be saved. What do you lose about God and the gospel with that view and how does that impact your idea of justice and ethics in your life?
