But not even God can save a sinner against his or her own will; and sinners who have no room for God in their life, who indeed deliberately exclude God from their life and the way they live it, also by that very act exclude themselves from God’s life, and that exclusion when permanent, is what we call Hell.  Hell, therefore, is a state which individuals choose for themselves and which is the direct consequence of their own actions and the final condition of their soul.

Indeed, for the unrepentant sinner Heaven, the sight of God, is an impossibility because one of the effects of sin is to blind the soul to God.  This is vividly illustrated by the contrasting experiences of St Stephen, the first martyr, and of St Paul who assisted at his murder. 

The dying saint saw “…the heavens opened…” and “…saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (NRSV, Acts 7:56,55, our emphasis).  But when Saul the persecutor was on the road to Damascus, “…a great light from heaven suddenly shone…” about him and after one glimpse of Our Lord he “…could not see because of the brightness of that light…” (NRSV, Acts 22:6,11).  He heard Jesus, but he could no longer see Jesus (see also Acts 9:17).