The message of Dante's Divine Comedy revolves around the ideas that sin has consequences but that people can repent of their sins, receive God's forgiveness, and embrace eternal life. Let's look at these ideas in more detail.

We can see clearly in this work that sin has consequences. Serious sin that is left unrepented at the end of people's lives will land those people in hell. Dante shows this graphically in all nine circles of hell, where we meet people who are suffering from the consequences of their sins for all eternity. He also shows the consequences of sin in Purgatory. The souls here have been forgiven of their sins, but the consequences of them remain and must be dealt with according to their nature. These souls are assured of reaching Heaven, but they must be purified first. Even sin that is forgiven still has consequences.

Dante's Divine Comedy also teaches us that people can repent of their sins, receive God's forgiveness, and embrace eternal life. Dante (the character) himself experiences this. Midway through life, he finds himself in a dark wood, lost and alone, cut off from God by his sins, immersed in misery. He has taken the wrong turn with his life. But someone in Heaven cares about him. His beloved Beatrice has interceded for him and won him the grace of taking a spiritual journey through hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Along this journey, Dante repents of his sins, receives God's forgiveness, and embraces eternal life. He sees a vision of the Blessed Trinity at the end of the poem, and he finally understands that true meaning of life. Dante has indeed come a long way.