I am a Christian and a theology student. I'll be the first to say that I have no idea what heaven or hell will be like, but I do believe that both exist. All I know is that heaven is eternal life with the Creator and that hell is eternal separation from Him.

Much of what people say about heaven and hell is more based on tradition than scripture, although Jesus uses one story that says a man found himself in hell and in torment and another man was carried by angels to heaven. It is a general consensus among believers that those who believe in the Lord Jesus will inherit eternal life and those who refuse to believe will inherit eternal damnation.

Jesus also told the repentant thief on the cross that he would be in paradise that very day. Paradise was a term commonly used in Hebrew language to depict the highest level of heaven, as part of their language included different levels of heaven (scripture does not support this).

However, the importance of this is that despite having lived a life of sin, the thief on the cross is instantly assured of not only going to heaven but to the highest heaven, just because he believed in Christ at his death. While I don't believe Jesus was suggesting different layers of heaven, he was talking to the man in language he would understand to reassure him that he would be in the presence of God upon his death.

Again, those who have no faith will have no understanding of these things. Their eyes and ears have been closed and they can't see or hear or understand the things of God. It is only when God's prevenient grace opens a person's eyes and they believe that they can truly believe the things I talked about.

Finally, there are those who have felt convicted but have believed the lie that they are young and have plenty of time to change later. You should wake up and realize the world you live in is chaotic and there is no guarantee you will receive your next breath, let alone another year. Children and teens die every day, and I am sure that almost none of them expected it.