# Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Lynette Thomas, Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife
> 
> Lynette Thomas
> 
> Abstract
> 
> Traditionally, Judeo-Christian and Muslim views of life after death have
> been given a literal interpretation: bodily resurrection, a day of judgement
> and the physical reality of heaven and hell. This paper seeks to interpret
> these beliefs in heaven, hell and the afterlife from a spiritual viewpoint as
> enunciated in the writings of the Baha'i Faith. The Baha'i perspective of
> the nature of the soul and its continued existence after the death of the
> physical body will become apparent in the course of this examination.
> 
> Introduction
> 
> The writings of the Baha'i Faith offer an interpretation of the writings of
> many other holy scriptures on the subject of life after death. These
> interpretations are often, though not always, at variance with the so-called
> traditional or literal interpretations espoused by the followers of the other
> monotheistic religions.
> 
> The basis of belief in these interpretations is, for a Baha'i, fundamental to
> one's belief in Baha'u'llah as the Manifestation of God for this age. As
> Baha'u'llah Himself has explained:
> 
> "Know verily that the purpose underlying all these symbolic terms
> and abstruse allusions, which emanate from the Revealers of
> God's holy Cause, hath been to test and prove the peoples of the
> world; that thereby the earth of the pure and illuminated hearts
> may be known from the perishable and barren soil From time
> 70               THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> immemorial such hath been the way of God amidst His creatures,
> and to this testify the records of the sacred books."*
> 
> Thus, the use of figurative language to explain spiritual truths, especially
> events associated with the appearance of a new prophet, have been used
> by past prophets so that their followers would understand these truths.
> Hence, such terms as "birth", "death", "resurrection" and so on are not
> meant to be taken literally, but are used as symbols.
> 
> An examination of the references made to heaven, hell and the afterlife in
> Judaism, Christianity and Islam will reveal the respective escatologies of
> these religions, while a comparison with the Baha'i perspective of such
> issues will offer a new interpretation of their literal meaning.
> 
> 1. Judaism
> 
> As with many of the earlier religions, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly
> what Jewish belief regarding various issues was at a particular time in
> history. All we really have to go on are the texts that have survived. It
> seems that views about the afterlife and concepts such as heaven and hell
> did alter and evolve over time, and became mixed with the cultures
> associated with the Jewish diaspora. Even today there are many schools of
> thought including the Orthodox, Conservative and the Reform movement
> as well as others.
> 
> Up to the 2nc* century BC, Jews believed that nothing remained after the
> physical death of the body except a "shade". This entity descended into a
> deep pit called Sheol which is located beneath the earth - a place of gloom
> and dust inhabited by the just and the unjust alike.
> 
> "When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit,
> with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of
> the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the
> 
> i
> Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Iqan, pp. 49-50.
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife                        71
> 
> pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of
> the living" (Ezekiel 26,20)
> 
> There is no mention of judgement or resurrection and all seem to exist
> there in a state of sleep.
> 
> "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more,
> they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep" (Job 14,
> 12)
> 
> Other characteristics ascribed to Sheol are silence, destruction, an absence
> of knowledge of one's former life or of life in the material plane, lack of
> material possessions, and complete inactivity.
> 
> "... there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, no wisdom, in
> the grave, whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9, 10)
> 
> Heaven and hell as distinct destinations of the soul after death did not exist
> in Jewish eschatology at that time. Heaven was simply the dwelling place
> of God, and when paradise is mentioned it is only in the context of the
> Garden of Eden rather than the final resting place for righteous souls. Hell
> or Gehenna is a physical place - a valley outside Jerusalem which served
> as a general rubbish dump and a burial place for criminals. It was only
> later that it became associated with a place of torment for wicked souls.
> These views reflect both the Hebrew Bible and the so-called
> pseudepigraphic literature (non-official scriptures whose origin and
> authorship are in doubt). Only Enoch (written between the third and first
> centuries BC by several different authors) mentions Sheol as a kind of
> holding place, divided into three separate compartments, for souls
> awaiting a final judgement. Only those who were punished for their sins
> while on earth would remain in Sheol. The others are resurrected: sinners
> who died without being punished would be despatched to the horrors of
> Gehenna, while those who lived a righteous life would find themselves in
> paradise, having achieved bodily resurrection.
> 
> A conceptual change in Jewish belief is apparent in the second and first
> centuries BC, when resurrection is associated with the coming of a
> 72             THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> redemptive figure and the establishment of a messianic kingdom on earth.
> This is very similar to the Christian concept of the Last Judgement.
> Among other events that will come to pass is the gathering together of the
> scattered tribes of Israel into one place when all will be renewed by the
> breath of God.
> 
> "For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out
> of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I
> sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all
> yourfilthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you . A new
> heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you:
> and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will
> give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and
> cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
> judgements, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I
> gave to your fathers: and ye shall keep my judgements, and do
> them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers:
> and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36,
> 24-28)
> 
> The Judgement will see sinners destroyed and only the righteous
> resurrected to live eternally in God's kingdom on earth. The
> pseudepigraphic literature of the 1 s t century BC mentions a temporary
> earthly kingdom ruled by the Messiah before the final judgement takes
> place at which time the righteous will be spiritually resurrected while the
> wicked will remain in Gehenna or Sheol for eternity.
> 
> There is a possibility of the Jews having adopted the belief in resurrection
> from the Zoroastrians whom they encountered in the Persian Empire
> during the Babylonian Exile since it was only after the Babylonian Exile
> that the idea of resurrection appeared in Old Testament apocalyptic
> literature.
> 
> Bowker2 comments, "at the time when Jesus was alive, there were many
> competing views of how Jews should live as the true children of the
> covenant ... what we find in practice is a coalition of traditions and, even
> In The Meanings of Death, CUP, Cambridge, 1991, p. 76.
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife                        73
> 
> more, a coalition of dreams - dreams based on Biblical promises, and, not
> least, in those days, dreams of a coming Messiah."
> 
> Contemporary Jewish belief in general seems to indicate that death is not
> considered a tragedy even when it occurs before old age. Belief in the
> afterlife, where those who have lived a worthy life are rewarded is the
> main reason for this view. As to what happens after death, the dominant
> view is that when the body dies the soul still exists in different places.
> While part of the soul remains with the body in anticipation of the revival
> of the dead at the Resurrection, other parts go elsewhere - perhaps to
> Paradise, or to Gehenna, or even to join another soul in an existing person
> to assist with its development. This continues until the time that God
> decrees.
> 
> Beliefs originating from the kabbala, the Jewish mystical teachings, which
> can be traced back to the Biblical prophets indicate the belief in a kind of
> purgatory called chibut hakever or kafhakeleh (also known as Sling Shot)
> in which the soul is beaten or scrubbed to purge it of its impurities. This is
> the lot of those who have not merited connection with the All-Mighty.
> Once this purging (described as being chased by destroying angels from
> one end of the spiritual world to the other) is complete, one of two things
> occur: suitably purged, the soul may attain Shekina (God's presence) or it
> may be reincarnated. Some souls return to earth not because they need
> improvement, but simply out of a desire to help others.
> 
> 2. Christianity
> 
> Christianity did not become recognizably different from Judaism, of
> which it was seen as a movement, until around 64 AD/CE. It shares with
> Judaism the books of the Old Testament as part of its holy scripture.
> Much of what Christians believe about the afterlife is associated with their
> belief in the resurrection of Christ.
> 
> In the New Testament, Hades or hell as the place between death and
> resurrection is mentioned several times, but most descriptively in the
> parable of Lazarus. (Luke 16, 19-26):
> 74          THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> 'There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple
> and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
> And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was
> laid at his gate, full of sores,
> And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the
> rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
> And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was caried by
> the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died and was
> buried;
> And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth
> Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
> And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me,
> and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water,
> and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
> But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
> receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but
> now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
> And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf
> fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot;
> neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."
> 
> Elsewhere Hell is described as a 'furnace of fire" (Matthew 13, 42,50),
> "everlasting fire" (Matthew 25, 41) and a place where the wicked shall
> "go away into everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25, 46). Revelation also
> provides a graphic description of what awaits those who have sinned:
> (Revelation 20, 10-13):
> 
> "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of
> fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and
> shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
> And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
> whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
> found no place for them.
> And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and
> the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
> the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
> which were written in the books, according to their works.
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife                           75
> 
> And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
> hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
> judged every man according to their works."
> 
> This however, in contrast to the parable of Lazarus, refers to the final
> judgement. So while Hades is the intermediate stage between death and
> resurrection, Hell as described in Revelation is the final and everlasting
> abode for those whose deeds have been judged to be wicked.
> 
> References to humanity's final reckoning are prolific in the New
> Testament compared with descriptions of what is in store for us
> individually. Paul asserts that it is only those "in Chrisť who will be
> resurrected, although in Acts he is reported to have said that both the
> righteous and the wicked will be raised. But in any case the general
> resurrection is linked to that of Jesus {"the first-born of the dead' -
> Colossians 1,18) which is thought to be instrumental to our "saving". As
> Paul says in Romans 5, 24-5:
> 
> "If we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
> dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again
> for our justification."
> 
> Indeed, the notion of Jesus as saviour is pivotal to Christian belief in the
> afterlife - if one accepts him one will enter paradise, if not one's lot is hell-
> fire and damnation with no possibility of resurrection. It is belief more
> than deeds that will decide one's lot. Even then, according to some
> Christians, God's grace and mercy are so all-encompassing that even those
> who have not lived in Christ, so to speak, may be accepted into God's
> kingdom upon death. As one Christian minister^ said, "Who am I to
> judge? God is the final judge and it is not my place to deny a man or his
> family a Christian burial."
> 
> Whether resurrection will be a bodily or a spiritual one depends on the
> particular "brand" of Christianity subscribed to. Many contemporary
> Christians reject the literal interpretation of biblical references to Hell,
> 
> Reverend Gareth Huw Thomas, Uniting Church of Australia, in a telephone
> conversation with the author in April 1998.
> 76            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> preferring to view it as "isolation from Goď\ Roman Catholics believe
> that Hell exists as a place where the wicked will be punished in
> accordance with the gravity of their sins. This may take the form of
> permanent isolation from God and the administration of some kind of
> "fire" that will cause pain to the soul. Even those who die in a state of
> grace will need to spend some time being cleansed of their imperfections
> and (venial or minor) sins in Purgatory. The duration and intensity of this
> punishment may be lessened by people offering prayers and other acts of
> piety and devotion. In "Life After Death: A Study of the Afterlife in
> World Religions" Farnaz Ma'sumian states:
> 
> "It would seem inappropriate to ascribe physical attributes to this
> celestial heaven or kingdom of spirits, and neither would it make
> sense to expect material pleasures or rewards for souls in such a
> celestial environment." (p. 60)
> 
> Likewise the bodily resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion is often
> disputed. It is Paul who emphasises the spiritual resurrection: "And so it is
> written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was
> made a quickening spirit" (I Corinthians 15, 45) and later "Now this I say,
> brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;" (I
> Corinthians, 15, 50). He speaks of our having both a terrestrial and a
> celestial body and that it is the latter that is resurrected. His own
> conversion was the result of his vision of Christ not in the flesh but in the
> spirit, and he also imputes that the disciples also saw Jesus' celestial rather
> than his physical body in 1 Corinthians 15, 44:
> 
> "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a
> natural body, and there is a spiritual body."
> 
> The Final Judgement and the second coming of Christ (often known as the
> Parousia) are mentioned extensively throughout the New Testament and
> are even considered as imminent. Humankind will be judged by or
> through Christ and the dead will be resurrected with spiritual bodies. The
> Book of Revelation describes two stages during which different categories
> of the departed are raised. The first to be raised will be the martyrs:
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife                      11
> 
> "I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of
> Jesus, andfor the word of God, and which had not worshipped the
> beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their
> foreheads, or in the hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ
> a thousand years. But the rest of the dead live not again until the
> thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."
> (Revelation 20, 4-5)
> 
> The second resurrection takes place after Satan, previously imprisoned for
> one thousand years in a bottomless pit, is released and his army
> consequently defeated and he himself thrown into a lake of fire and
> brimstone to be tormented night and day for ever and ever. (Revelation 20,
> 7-10):
> 
> "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
> loosed out of his prison,
> And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four
> quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to
> battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
> And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed
> the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came
> down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."
> 
> The righteous, however, will be saved:
> 
> "...the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with
> them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
> them, and be their God.
> And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
> shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
> there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
> (Revelation 21, 3-4)
> 78           THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> 3. Islam
> 
> For Islamic beliefs we turn to the Qu'ran, considered by Muslims to be the
> word of God as revealed to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel. It
> summons man to submit to God and do His Will or suffer the
> consequences in the afterlife. Thus, those who submit will enter the garden
> of paradise, while those who do not undergo severe punishment. In
> addition to the Qu'ran, Muslims refer to the stories and sayings of the
> prophet (the Hadith or the Tradition) and other customs to determine their
> understanding of death, although not in a way that would be contrary to
> the authority of the Qu'ran.
> 
> Hell is reserved for those who commit sacrilege and blasphemy,
> hypocrites, polytheists, those who go astray, those who deny God's signs,
> transgressors, sinners and the arrogant. Their destiny is the "scourge of
> Hell" (S32;20). The wrongdoers "shall be left to endure its torments on
> their knees." (SI9; 68), and those damned by their sins shall "drink boiling
> water and be sternly punished for their unbelief (S6; 70). There is no
> respite from the torture, for once one's skin has burned, it will be renewed
> to be burned anew! (S4;55). Hell also goes by the name of Jahannan or Al-
> Gehennam (similar to the Hebrew Gehenna).
> 
> It is interesting how descriptions for Paradise centre on the metaphor of
> luxuriant "Gardens under which rivers flow". This undoubtedly has to do
> with the arid desert climate of the country where Muhammad preached.
> Paradise is also known in Arabic as Al-Jannah and translated as the
> Garden of Reward. Those who qualify are those who turn to Islam, and the
> rewards are not just metaphorical. The majority of Muslims believe these
> descriptions to be literal - in other words, as actual places in another part
> of God's creation. Again, only those with true faith and good works shall
> inhabit this exalted creation:
> 
> "He shall abide for ever in the gardens of Eden, in gardens
> watered by running streams. Such shall be the recompense of
> those that purify themselves." (S20; 76)
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife                     79
> 
> "Allah ... will reward them for their steadfastness with robes of
> silk and the delights of Paradise. Reclining there upon soft
> couches, they shall feel neither the scorching heat nor the biting
> cold. Trees will spread their shade around them, and fruits will
> hang in clusters over them. They shall be served with silver
> dishes, and beakers as large as goblets; silver goblets which they
> themselves shall measure: and cups brim-full with ginger-
> flavoured water from the Fount ofSelsabil. They shall be attended
> by boys graced with eternal youth, who to the beholder's eyes will
> seem like sprinkled pearls. When you gaze upon that scene you
> will behold a kingdom blissful and glorious. They shall be arrayed
> in garments of fine green silk and rich brocade, and adorned with
> bracelets of silver. Their Lord will give them pure beverage to
> drink. Thus you shall be rewarded;" (S76; 12-22)
> 
> Paradise is also described as a place of peace where the righteous "will
> dwell in peace with Allah." (S6; 127). In addition to all these material
> delights the faithful will experience the sublime joy of beholding Allah:
> "On that day there shall be joyous faces, looking towards their Lord."
> (S75; 22)
> 
> Both Hell and Paradise are seen as real. This comment by Bowkeri*
> explains:
> 
> "Whereas Jews and Christians may (some do not) regard
> particular imaginations of heaven and hell as conceptual
> episodes, whose rise and fall can be traced, Muslims cannot do
> so: the descriptions of the Garden and the Fire are not conceptual
> episodes - they are not even concepts: they are places and
> circumstances, the reality of which will be eschatologically
> verified, as the Qu 'ran frequently reminds us, though it does not
> use that language!".
> 
> The Day of Judgement, the day when the dead will be revived, is another
> literal event:
> Bowker, John, The Meanings of Death, CUP, Cambridge, 1991, p. 127.
> 80            THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> "7 swear by the Day of Resurrection, and the self-reproaching
> soul! Does man think We shall never put his bones together
> again? Indeed, We can remould his very fingers!" (S75; 1-4)
> 
> The sequence of events will be as follows: first the raising up of the dead,
> second the delivery of each man's record into his hand (either right - for
> the righteous or left - for the wicked, according to his deeds), third the
> judgement of the virtuous and the sinners, and finally the admittance of
> the righteous into Paradise and the despatch of the wicked to the eternal
> torments of Hell. Immediately preceding the raising of the dead will occur
> two (or three) trumpet blasts. None except God knows when the Day of
> Judgement will take place, not even Muhammad whose duty is to "warn
> those that fear it" (S75, 44).
> 
> However there are many signs recorded in the Hadith as to when this will
> occur. Some of these are the sun rising in the west, the eclipse of the
> Moon, the coming of the Antichrist, the eruption of Gog and Magog, the
> appearance of the Beast or the Anti-Christ, the return of Christ and the
> appearance of the Al-Mahdi (the Rightly Guided One) as well as various
> cataclysmic events. Many of these signs are similar to those depicted in
> the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. After the Judgement time
> will come to an end, the universe will disappear and nothing shall remain
> except Allah, paradise for the blessed and Hell for the doomed.^
> 
> 4. Baha'i Faith
> 
> The Baha'i Writings offer an interpretation of the writings of some holy
> scriptures other than its own, particularly on the subject of the life
> hereafter, as well as the Baha'i view of the origin, nature and progress of
> the soul once it has become separated from the body.
> 
> The soul, as distinct from the body albeit related to it, comes into being at
> the moment of conception and endures forever.
> 
> Sherif, Faruq, A Guide to the Contents of the Qur'an, Garnet Publishing, Reading,
> 1995.
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife
> 
> "Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from
> the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence
> of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of
> ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world,
> can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His
> sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure "6
> 
> When freed from the confines of its physical body upon death, the soul
> continues its unending progress through the spiritual worlds - worlds
> beyond time and space. That is all we are permitted to know as
> 
> "The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet
> and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes ofmen"^
> 
> We are told, however, that the soul can be assisted to progress, not through
> our conscious effort (we can only do that here) but through God's grace
> (the main means) or by others saying prayers on our behalf and good
> deeds performed by others in our name.
> 
> There is much in the Writings that we are told about the soul in general
> and this helps us understand the purpose of our physical existence. Our
> material existence is necessary, it is said, so that our souls may acquire the
> spiritual capacities necessary for existence in the realm of the spirit. This
> workshop of life requires a teacher to enable us to learn and develop those
> qualities that will equip us for the next life. Such a teacher must exemplify
> all the virtues in their conduct and provide us with the laws that will
> provide for our development. The divine teachers are of course the
> prophets of God.
> 
> This world is seen as
> 
> "but a show, vain and empty, a mere nothing, bearing the
> semblance of reality ...a vapour in a desert, which the thirsty
> 
> BaháVlláh, Gleanings, pp. 155-6.
> BaháVlláh, Gleanings, pp. 156-7.
> 82              THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> dreameth to be water and striveth after it with all his might, until
> when he cometh unto it, hefindeth it to be mere illusions
> 
> "The meaning of eternal life is the gift of the Holy Spirit, as the
> flower receives the gift of the season, the air, and the breezes of
> spring. Consider: this flower had life in the beginning like the life
> of the mineral; but by the coming of the season of spring, of the
> bounty and the clouds of the springtime, and of the heat of the
> glowing sun, it attained to another life of the utmost freshness,
> delicacy and fragrance. The first life of the flower, in comparison
> to the second life, is deaths
> 
> Life in this world is compared to the unborn child in the womb of its
> mother - during its preparation for life in this world the foetus develops
> organs, limbs, and so on that are necessary for its survival. So it is with
> our preparation for the spiritual world to come - we must (but consciously)
> develop the spiritual capacities needed for our souls to progress. Our
> principal duty in this world is to know God and to worship Him. We do
> this by recognizing His Manifestation for this Day and by obedience to
> His Laws.
> 
> Paradise as a place of material delights is regarded as a symbol of the
> spiritual condition of the soul when it attains God's good pleasure.
> 
> "As to Paradise: It is a reality and there can be no doubt about it,
> and now in this world it is realized through love of Me and My
> good-pleasure. Whosoever attaineth unto it God will aid him in
> this world below, and after death He will enable him to gain
> admittance into Paradise whose vastness is as that of heaven and
> earth ..." 10
> 
> This is the case whether the soul is still in contact with the physical body
> or in the spiritual plane. Thus, heaven can be regarded as the joy of loving
> 
> BaháVlláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf p. 56.
> Baha'u'llah, Kitab-I-Iqan, pp. 120-121.
> Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, pp. 70-71.
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife                 83
> 
> God and drawing closer to Him by following the teachings of God's
> messenger and by acquiring virtues.
> 
> Elsewhere in the Baha'i Writings paradise has been described as:
> 
> "to be exposed to God's Manifestation in His Day, to hear His
> verses and believe in them, to sail upon the sea of the heavenly
> kingdom of His good-pleasure, and to partake of the choice fruits
> of the paradise of His divine Oneness"^ 1
> 
> and also "to obey God's commandments"^.
> 
> The rewards of the next world are "peace, the spiritual graces, the various
> spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of God, the gaining of the desires of the
> heart and the soul, and the meeting of God in the world of eternity. "13
> 
> We are told that the soul will retain its consciousness and individuality
> and remember its physical life on earth including recognizing other souls
> and communing spiritually with them. In addition, if marriage bonds have
> been spiritual they will also survive into the next world. The soul will also
> be able to converse with the prophets of God and His chosen ones, and we
> will become aware of all the mysteries of the universe.
> 
> Hell can also be experienced while we are still alive - it is interpreted as
> being far from God, and being deprived of His good pleasure. Exclusive
> focus on one's material nature and desires are obvious examples of a
> soul's torture in this life. The soul in this condition can be described as
> being condemned to the "fire" of unbelief and to the "wrath" of God.
> Punishment for such souls in the next life is likely to "consist in being
> deprived of the special divine blessings and the absolute bounties, and
> falling into the lowest degree of existence "^^
> 
> '   Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 88-89.
> Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 77.
> Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 98-99.
> Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, pp. 98-99.
> 84              THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> Concerning judgement of our lives after death, Baha'is believe that we
> become aware of our past good and bad deeds immediately after death, so
> that we may actually experience a state of bliss or loss accordingly. This
> corresponds with the literal references to heaven and hell in other
> scriptures. The rewards of heaven would thus be nearness to God and
> everlasting joy, whereas the punishments of hell would be remoteness
> from God and being deprived of His blessings^. The rewards of heaven
> are not restricted to Baha'is, incidentally, but are extended to "every pure,
> every refined and sanctified soul". 16
> 
> With reference to the resurrection of Christ, 'Abdu'1-Bahá explains, "The
> resurrections of the Divine Manifestations are not of the body" and that
> their teachings have a spiritual and divine signification. Christ's
> resurrection is given a completely spiritual interpretation:
> 
> "the disciples were troubled and agitated after the martyrdom of
> Christ. The Reality of Christ, which signifies His teachings, His
> bounties, His perfections and His spiritual power, was hidden and
> concealed for two or three days after His martyrdom, and was not
> resplendent and manifest. No, rather it was lost, for the believers
> were few in number and were troubled and agitated. The Cause
> of Christ was like a lifeless body; and when after three days the
> disciples became assured and steadfast, and began to serve the
> Cause of Christ, and resolved to spread the divine teachings,
> putting His counsels into practice, and arising to serve Him, the
> Reality of Christ became resplendent and His bounty appeared;
> His religion found life; His teachings and His admonitions
> became evident and visible. In other words, the Cause of Christ
> was like a lifeless body until the life and the bounty of the Holy
> Spirit surrounded it." 17
> 
> The events predicted in the scriptures of other religions as characterising
> the Last Days are explained by Baha'u'llah in his Book of Certitude
> 
> 'Abdu'1-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 224.
> Baha'u'llah, Gleanings, p. 154.
> 'Abdu'1-Bahá, Some Answered Question, pp. 103-105.
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife                       85
> 
> (Kitab-i-Iqan) as being symbolic. The events were described in this way
> so that people could, in their own capacity, understand them. The Day of
> Resurrection is the day when a new messenger appears to guide the people
> back to spiritual truth. The spiritually dead, if they are able to accept the
> new messenger, are thus brought out of the graves of disbelief.
> 
> Conclusion
> 
> While literal interpretations of scriptural references to heaven, hell and the
> Day of Judgement continue to be upheld in Judaism, Christianity and
> Islam, the Baha'i Faith offers a new, spiritual, interpretation of these
> beliefs.
> 
> Baha'u'llah, as the latest in a line of prophets who have appeared
> throughout history to guide humanity, re-affirms the spiritual teachings of
> all religions and at the same time opens our eyes to the allusions of the
> holy scriptures of the past - explaining them and revealing their spiritual
> meaning:
> 
> "whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is
> quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily
> is of those that have attained unto life' and 'resurrection' and
> have entered into the 'paradise' of the love of God. And
> whosoever is not of them, is condemned to 'death' and
> 'deprivation', to the 'fire of unbelief, and to the 'wrath' of God. In
> all the scriptures, the books and chronicles, the sentence of death,
> of fire, of blindness, of want of understanding and hearing, hath
> been pronounced against those whose lips have tasted not the
> ethereal cup of true knowledge, and whose hearts have been
> deprived of the grace of the holy Spirit in their day"^%
> 
> For those who ascribe to these new interpretations,
> 
> Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Iqan, pp. 76-7.
> 86               THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
> 
> "The flames of hell have been made to blaze, and heaven hath
> been brought nigh; the celestial gardens are in flower, and fresh
> pools are brimming over, and paradise gleameth in beauty ... the
> veil hath fallen away, the curtain is lifted, the clouds have parted,
> the Lord of Lords is in plain sight,"^
> 
> while the unaware are "are still mired down in their empty dreams"^
> 
> 'Abdu'1-Bahá, Selections of the Writings of 'Abdu 'l-Bahá, pp. 14-15.
> Ibid.
> Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife                     87
> 
> Works Cited
> 
> 'Abdu'1-Bahá,
> Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, Haifa, Baha'i World
> Centre, 1978.
> Some Answered Questions, Wilmette, Illinois, Baha'i Publishing
> Trust, 1984.
> 
> Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, Bahá 7 World Centre,
> Baha'i World Centre, 1976
> 
> BaháVUáh
> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf Wilmette, Illinois, Baha'i Publishing
> Trust, revised edition, 1953.
> Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, trans. S. Effendi, 2n(*
> revised ed., Wilmette, Illinois, Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1976.
> Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude), Wilmette, Illinois, Baha'i Publishing
> Trust, 1983.
> 
> Bowker, John, The Meanings of Death, Cambridge, Cambridge
> University Press, 1991.
> 
> Ma'sumian, Farnaz, Life After Death, A Study of the Afterlife in World
> Religions, Oxford, Oneworld Publications, 1995.
> 
> Randies, Jenny & Hough, Peter, The Afterlife: An Investigation into the
> Mysteries of Life after Death, London, Judy Piatkus (Publishers) Ltd,
> 1993.
> 
> Sherif, Faruq, A Guide to the Contents of the Qur'an, Reading, Garnet
> Publishing, 1995.
> 
> The Holy Bible (King James version), Oxford University Press, London
> 
> The Koran, trans. N.J. Dawood, Middlesex, England, Penguin Books,
> 1956.
>
> — *Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife (Used by permission of the curator)*