Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”… Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:34,41)

A Prepared Place

It has been observed that Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. Before God created the world, He prepared to receive to Himself His creation He was about to form. The eternal plan of grace was formulated and set forth long before Adam and Eve were created. When the man and woman disobeyed Him, the Lord removed them from paradise but offered them salvation. The central theme of human history is the revelation that God wants His creation to worship Him and prepare themselves to dwell in His eternal glory. Through the Holy Spirit, the word of grace was given to man to know what must be done to be saved. The problem humanity faced was what to do with sin. Only God had the answer.

For many centuries, the Creator spoke to His creation, revealing His word. To save the seed of Christ, God formed the Jewish nation of Israel and gave them a law. Through the Law of Moses, the Jews found grace before the Lord. When Jesus came, the Gentiles had proven they could not save themselves as a law to themselves, and the Jews showed they could not be justified in keeping the law. Eternal life came through the sacrifice of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Before His death, Jesus promised to open the way to everlasting life. He told His disciples He would prepare a place for them to find salvation. Jesus was not going to prepare Heaven because it had already been prepared before the foundation of the world. The Son of God was setting in place the final part of God’s plan to prepare eternal life for all those who believed in Him.

Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day to prepare the way to a prepared place. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, anyone can find the grace of God to chart their path to eternal life. Faith without works is dead, and by finding the grace and mercy of God and obeying the will of the Father, those who prepared their lives with the blessings of God could look forward to receiving the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. Paul wrote about the crown of life that was prepared for him (he had his name on it). Peter spoke about the assurance of making the calling and election certain for the faithful. The New Testament church believed in a prepared place where God dwells as a promise given by God – who cannot lie.

There is another prepared place. This place, like the home with God, was prepared before the world began. What makes this place different is the character, makeup, and purpose for which it would serve. Satan and his angels existed before the creation of the world. In God’s eternal plan, Jesus would become flesh and walk as men on the earth. He would be killed by the ruthless hatred of men and buried. What changed everything eternally was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. When God brought Jesus out of the grave, the Son of God conquered death, Hades, and Satan. Now, the purpose of Hell was revealed.

Jesus says the everlasting fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. In truth, the lake of fire and brimstone was not purposed for humanity but the devil and his angels. The judgment of the Lord demands a righteous accounting, and all those who follow the wiles of the devil will suffer the same punishment. A greater tragedy takes place when a man refuses to honor God and chooses rather to follow after Satan. There is no doubt in the mind of Satan what his eternal destiny is. He knows without a shadow of a doubt that Hell is real. In the time before the final judgment, the devil is trying to take as many of God’s creation with him to the place of darkness. The evil of Satan is heightened by the bloodthirsty desire that if he is damned to Hell, he will take as many as he can with him.

Heaven is a prepared place, expecting the faithful of God to dwell with the glorious hosts. God created the heavenly paradise to bless the godly with eternal life. Heaven fulfills its grand purpose by filling itself with the praises of glory and honor to God. Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. It grieves the heart of God to send men to Hell when that was not His plan. His grace demands it. Divine mercy requires it. Justice will be meted out, and the boundaries of Hell will fill with the devil, his angels, and all humanity that does not do the will of the Father. As they languish in eternal torment, someone may say, “I am not meant to be here.” And they will be right – too late.