HELL
A lot of people today
believe Hell shouldn't be spoken of by Christians because it's frightening.
Although I am of the opinion Christians should generally lead people to Christ
by telling them of His love, some people won't respond to that. The Bible tells
us some people need to be told about Hell.
Jude 1:21-23: Keep
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others
save with fear, pulling them out of the fire;
If you've never accepted
Jesus Christ as your Savior, get ready to be pulled out of the fire. I'm about
to scare you to death by telling you about a place called Hell.
When I was a child, I
remember the pastor of our church saying on many occasions, "There is a
Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun." Was he correct in saying that?
Absolutely.
The Bible teaches us the
believer, upon physical death or at the rapture of the Church, will enter into
an eternal, conscious fellowship with the Lord.
Philippians 1:21: For to
me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
2nd Corinthians 5:8: We
are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be
present with the Lord.
1st Thessalonians
4:16-17: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall
rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.
The Bible teaches us the
unbeliever, upon physical death, will enter into an eternal, conscious
separation from God where he or she will await the resurrection of the body to
everlasting judgment and condemnation.
The story of Lazarus and
the rich man clearly demonstrates to us the suffering and anguish those who
have left the world as unbelievers are experiencing at this very moment as they
await the day when their bodies will be resurrected to stand judgment before
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 16:19-23: 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 carried 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.
As you can see, Lazarus,
upon death, was carried away by the angels where he entered into fellowship
with God and His saints. As you can likewise see, the rich man died and, from a
place of torment and anguish, lifted up his eyes and saw Lazarus at peace.
Luke 16:24-26: 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 beside 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.
This passage demonstrates
unbelievers, upon death, will immediately and consciously enter a place of
immense suffering where there will be no hope of escape or rescue.
Luke 16:27-31: Then he
said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's
house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also
come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and
the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one
went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one
rose from the dead.
In this passage, the rich
man, fully aware of his mistakes, begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his five
brothers to warn them to live godly lives, thinking his brothers would believe
him because he had risen from the dead. Abraham accurately stated these men wouldn't
believe though one had risen from the dead if they were unwilling to believe
the Word of God that had been told to them already by Moses and the prophets.
This is the part of the story I like the most as it's so true of unbelieving
mankind. Someone HAS risen from the dead (our Lord Jesus Christ) yet those
living their lives according to their own will rather than God's refuse to hear
Him and surrender their lives to Him - the only hope they have of avoiding an
eternity in a place we call Hell.
How long will those in
Hell continue to suffer? Eternally. The Bible speaks of those who accept the
mark of the beast, a mark of allegiance to the Antichrist which will be
implemented during the tribulation period, suffering throughout all eternity in
Hell.
Revelation 14:11: And the
smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest
day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the
mark of his name.
The Antichrist and his
false prophet, upon Christ's return to the earth at the Battle of Armageddon,
will be cast into the lake of fire in the aftermath of Christ's victory over
their armies.
Revelation 19:20: And the
beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before
him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and
them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire
burning with brimstone.
When Christ's millenial
reign ends 1,000 years later, Satan will be loosed from the abyss (where he
will have been bound during Christ's millenial reign) and will stage one final
act of rebellion against God. He will be swiftly defeated and cast into Hell
where he will join the Antichrist and his false prophet, both of whom will
still be consciously alive and suffering after 1,000 years in a literal,
burning lake of fire!
Revelation 20:10: 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.
The beast and the false
prophet are spoken of in the present tense when Satan joins them in the lake of
fire. How long will those in Hell be tormented both day and night? Throughout
all eternity. Forever and ever.
Additionally, when
Christ's millennial reign comes to a close 1,000 years after the Battle of
Armageddon, all those who died without Christ will be resurrected to stand
before Christ to be judged according to their works, but nothing they've done
will save them. Why? Salvation from divine judgment isn't obtained by works,
but by grace obtained through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!
Revelation 20:11-15: 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. 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.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake
of fire.
The topic of Hell is a
frightening one, but one that needs to be addressed. Because Hell is a real
place of eternal separation from God filled with torment and suffering the
likes of which we can't begin to imagine, we need to warn those who have never
accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior about Hell.
Is Hell a real place?
Yes. Those who have left the world without Jesus Christ are currently suffering
as they await their judgment. They would love to tell the world to avoid the
terrible place their sin-filled lives have taken them to. They can't, but I
can.
Do you (or anyone else)
have to go to Hell? No, thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord! Jesus left the
splendor and majesty of Heaven to pay the penalty for all our sins through His
death on the cross. His blood shed on our behalf met the requirements of divine
justice and obtained salvation for all who will put their trust in Him alone as
their Savior. If you have never accepted Jesus, I beg you to do so today. He
loves you and wants you to join Him in Heaven someday. If you don't accept Him,
you'll have an eternity to think about the biggest mistake you ever made.
___________________
| There is some debate amongst Bible scholars as to whether the dead in hell will have bodies and actually be burned (if so, does the body burn up and then the suffering cease?), or whether the dead in hell will have no bodies as they were not saved by believing in Jesus Christ, but their souls suffer eternal distress at being separated from God (a theory I doubt). Either way, the fact remains there IS a hell, and it is a place of TORMENT....... definitely to be avoided ...... Keygar. | |