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| HELL ISN'T REAL |
Luke 16:19 gives one of the most vivid descriptions of hell you'll find in scripture:
Now 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....
This story is not a fairy tale. Jesus is speaking in this passage and He's referring to a real event that happened to real
people.
At the moment the beggar died, many people would contend his existence was over. People believe that there is nothing
after death. Yet the Bible says:
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died,
and was buried....
The first thing you will see when you die is angels coming to escort you to heaven.
There is another side to this story – the fate of the rich man:
And in hell he lifted 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 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. 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.
You learn a lot about hell from this passage of scripture:
It's a place of torment. Hell is not going to be a place where you sit around and party with your buds. It's a place of agony and
utter despair. The rich man's torment was so intense; he believed a single drop of water might bring him some relief.
You do not want to go to hell.
If you did go to hell, you'd start thinking about your family. You’d begin to think of your buddies. You'd think, "If only I could
go back and warn them and tell them to get saved." The rich man wanted to be able to go back and warn his brothers about
hell. Why couldn’t he? Because it wouldn’t have done any good:
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.
The same is true today. If you won't believe God's Word, the Bible, you won't believe someone who comes back from the
dead. No one can “scare” you into getting saved. It is a quality decision you have to make on your own.
If you really believed there was a hell, you'd do anything necessary to avoid it.
Where is this place called hell?
"Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the
earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations" (Isaiah 14:9).
Notice the phrase, "hell from beneath." The Bible states repeatedly that hell is located under the earth or at the center of the
earth. It's a literal place with an actual physical location.
Here are some additional aspects of hell of which you ought to be aware:
First, hell is a place of sorrow.
"The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me..." (2 Samuel 22:6).
Hell is a place of unending, gut-wrenching sorrow - sorrow for missed opportunities to surrender to Jesus Christ - sorrow that
comes when a human soul is separated from God.
Second, hell is a place of captivity.
"Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and
their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their
glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought
down, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled..." (Isaiah 5:13-15).
A man who has no knowledge (of the Word of God) goes into captivity. He is in bondage in this life and, unless he changes
his heart, he goes into the ultimate bondage in the life to come.
This passage also tells us that "hell hath enlarged herself." Hell has been enlarged. In fact, Proverbs 17:20 says:
"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied."
Hell is a certainty for all those who reject God's offer of love and grace in Jesus Christ.
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eight person, a preacher of righteousness,
bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned
them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed
with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his
righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds); The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and
to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished... (2 Peter 2:4-9).
Hell is a certainty.
Jesus Rambling Copyright © 2007 Nan C Loyd
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Now 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....
This story is not a fairy tale. Jesus is speaking in this passage and He's referring to a real event that happened to real
people.
At the moment the beggar died, many people would contend his existence was over. People believe that there is nothing
after death. Yet the Bible says:
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died,
and was buried....
The first thing you will see when you die is angels coming to escort you to heaven.
There is another side to this story – the fate of the rich man:
And in hell he lifted 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 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. 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.
You learn a lot about hell from this passage of scripture:
It's a place of torment. Hell is not going to be a place where you sit around and party with your buds. It's a place of agony and
utter despair. The rich man's torment was so intense; he believed a single drop of water might bring him some relief.
You do not want to go to hell.
If you did go to hell, you'd start thinking about your family. You’d begin to think of your buddies. You'd think, "If only I could
go back and warn them and tell them to get saved." The rich man wanted to be able to go back and warn his brothers about
hell. Why couldn’t he? Because it wouldn’t have done any good:
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.
The same is true today. If you won't believe God's Word, the Bible, you won't believe someone who comes back from the
dead. No one can “scare” you into getting saved. It is a quality decision you have to make on your own.
If you really believed there was a hell, you'd do anything necessary to avoid it.
Where is this place called hell?
"Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the
earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations" (Isaiah 14:9).
Notice the phrase, "hell from beneath." The Bible states repeatedly that hell is located under the earth or at the center of the
earth. It's a literal place with an actual physical location.
Here are some additional aspects of hell of which you ought to be aware:
First, hell is a place of sorrow.
"The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me..." (2 Samuel 22:6).
Hell is a place of unending, gut-wrenching sorrow - sorrow for missed opportunities to surrender to Jesus Christ - sorrow that
comes when a human soul is separated from God.
Second, hell is a place of captivity.
"Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and
their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their
glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought
down, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled..." (Isaiah 5:13-15).
A man who has no knowledge (of the Word of God) goes into captivity. He is in bondage in this life and, unless he changes
his heart, he goes into the ultimate bondage in the life to come.
This passage also tells us that "hell hath enlarged herself." Hell has been enlarged. In fact, Proverbs 17:20 says:
"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied."
Hell is a certainty for all those who reject God's offer of love and grace in Jesus Christ.
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eight person, a preacher of righteousness,
bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned
them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed
with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his
righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds); The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and
to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished... (2 Peter 2:4-9).
Hell is a certainty.
Jesus Rambling Copyright © 2007 Nan C Loyd
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
8/28/2007
| From the "Lies About God" series |
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