Photo: AP Photo / Maya Alleruzzo
When you start talking to people about 
The Mystery of Primordial Paradise. Part 1. What is life in Paradise like?Divine Revelation tells us that God didn’t place man in the primordial Paradise to relax under the palms and pick the fruit of the trees of Paradise.
“>Paradise
and/or 
On The Sufferings in Hell and the Kingdom of GodThe kingdom of God is within you (Lk. 17:21), said the Lord; that is, in the heart. Therefore, it is necessary to seek it out in the heart, cleansing it of the passions and assaults of the enemy, judging and reproaching no one…—St. Macarius of Optina”>hell, you face a fairly well-established notion of them as a reward or retribution from God in the afterlife. People see Paradise as the final reward for a righteous and good way of life,1 and hell as the final punishment for a sinful and evil one.2
At the same time, they are understood as something external to man, something that he is still approaching and inherits only after death and then only partially—that is, only with his soul, and eventually with his whole being (with his soul and body) after the universal Resurrection and the 
On the Last JudgmentThe Gospel calls to purity and a pious life us who await the “day of the Lord”.
“>Last Judgment.
Hell and Paradise are imagined as special external—first spiritual, and then physical—states, certain places and “time periods” of a person’s afterlife.
In this perspective, the relationship with God is built according to a simple business scheme, expressed by the proverb: “You scratch my back and I will scratch yours.” I give God my righteous thoughts, words and deeds during my earthly life, and God grants me eternal Heavenly bliss after death.
If we look at ourselves honestly, it is clear that each one of us, with very rare exceptions, does not fulfill his obligations under the “contract” with God and therefore rightly deserves hell.
Thus, our only hope is 
What Is True Repentance?True repentance is impossible without the renewal of a constant petition, invocation, repentant falling, prayer, and supplication to the Heavenly Father. It’s also a sign of the forgiveness of sins—the constant turning of the mind and heart to God.
“>repentance on the model of the Gospel Good Thief, who, by his prayer of repentance alone, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom (Lk. 23:42), was immediately vouchsafed the Heavenly Kingdom by Christ. He managed to “jump into the last car of the departing train” of salvation, as it were.
Based on this example and their vanity, many make a false and crafty conclusion that repentance at the end of earthly life is enough for their salvation, and therefore, before that they can enjoy all the pleasures of life without denying themselves anything.
However, from the Gospel perspective, hell and Paradise are not so much rewards/retributions in the afterlife and people’s “abodes”, as they are the inner states of human hearts here and now, during our earthly lives. Just as the Kingdom of God is within you (Lk. 17:21), so is hell within us.
Besides, if in the afterlife they are separated, so that there is a great gulf fixed (Lk. 16:26) between them and they can’t cross over or each other, then here on earth they often coexist in the same heart,3 are expressed by the same tongue,4 manifest themselves in actions of one and the same person, and are mixed to the point that they are extremely difficult to separate from each other, like the mixing of the wheat and the tares in the Lord’s parable.5
It is imperative for us to understand that hell and Paradise are not somewhere “out there” and in an uncertain moment in the future, but already here and now; that the everlasting Heavenly bliss and torments of hell in the afterlife are the natural fruits and natural consequences of our earthly lives: our intentions, thoughts, decisions, words, deeds, feelings, will, reason, and attitude towards God and our neighbor.
As the Apostle Paul said, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Gal. 6:7–8).
Through our own choices and actions, we sow the seeds of either hell or Paradise, life or death within ourselves. Sin leads us down a path of torment and suffering, a consequence of our deeds rather than a punishment from God. Sin is like a marriage with Satan, inseparable and leading only to evil outcomes. It is important to recognize that sin is hell itself.
While we may try to distract ourselves from our sins with worldly pleasures, ultimately, sin will catch up to us. Non-believers may justify their actions by claiming there is no consequence beyond this life, but this belief only serves to feed into selfish desires and hedonistic behaviors.
The worship of oneself as a god, devoid of any higher power, is at the root of atheism and agnosticism. Vanity and pride can easily replace faith in God, leading to a life focused solely on personal pleasure and self-interest. True faith requires self-denial and a willingness to fight against the temptations of the world.
Faith in God is a Deadly Cross for Human Pride From the moment you encounter and accept Christ, your challenging spiritual journey of self-improvement begins, leading to a transformation into the likeness of Jesus of Nazareth.