Is Hell For Real?
It is described as a place of "...outer darkness;there is weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 8:12, 22:13 & 25:30)
It is also a place where "..their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched"
Mark 9:49
Matthew Chapter 18 vs 8 & 9 uses the words, 'everlasting fire' and 'fire of hell'.
Hell is also a place of permanent separation from God.
".... He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed." 2 Thessalonians 8-9
K.P Yohannan, Director of Gospel for Asia, makes an impassioned plea for missions. He states that he wishes hell were not real, so he would not be so consumed with the idea of millions of lost souls going to hell (see Movie Monday's post).
Are you consumed with the thought of those around you perishing or are you living for today's pleasure and comfort?
In his book, Revolution in World Missions, K.P Yohannan unequivocally states that the mandate of the church is the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.
"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16
So I ask you, as I have been asking myself repeatedly, do I really believe in hell? If Hell is real and the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ, shouldn't I be more loving, caring and more urgent to share the good news? If I truly believe, shouldn't I channel my abundance and gifts into areas of evangelism? Intercession, active participation, submission to God's call and material possessions are required of us. Have we, as North American Christians or Christians in any part of the world, heard and understood the call to urgency clearly? Think of those in our lives who don't know Jesus Christ.
John 12:48 " There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words, that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that this command leads to eternal life."
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
We, at BGO, want to hear from you! Let us encourage, inspire and edify one another, spurring one another on to the call of Christ. Please click the comments link below to add your thoughts. What you write may just be what another person needs to hear!
Jesus says "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." John 20:21
12 comments:
I watched the clip yesterday, and yes, I did feel shamed a bit....like I wasn't fulfilling God's real call on my life. Regarding hell...it does weigh on my heart heavily: NONE of my family are saved. My urgency to speak to them though has waned in the four years since I gave my life to Jesus. My contribution their salvation has been to plea for their souls before God. I pray for them everyday, but speak to them about God? I haven't done this in a long long while. I am trying to live my testimony, but I am fearful as my dad especially has health issues, and this 'example living' might just be too slow to make an impact. I am reminded though that we are to witness 'to the ends of the earth', but I do also remember that we can't be responsible for our family's salvation can we?
I believe that hell is a very real place that I pray my family, friends and co-workers will never come to know.
You know, when I was first saved, I was on fire for the Lord. Then I got caught up in the mundane routine and stresses of every day life. I began to lose my fire and intensity for the Lord. The Holy Spirit reminded me to return to the passion of my first love (Revelations 2:4-5). It is so easy to focus on the things of this world and lose sight of the Great Commission. There is literal power in the Word of God. I am being reminded to share the Word of God with others. May we continue to pray and witness. No, we can't save our family members but we can obey the call...pray and witness. I pray for boldness, fear of man is a real issue for me.
Very timely. I went out for a late drive last night into the neighborhoods near where I currently live. As I drove, I looked at all the houses and thought of all the people here that don't know Christ like I do. I wondered why I don't hear the cries of those without Him. Not only do they face life after death without Christ, but they don't know Him NOW!
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." John 17:3 NASB
I drove by a group of kids on a corner and prayed. But really, why was so far outside of the realm of possibility for me to stop and speak to them?
My prayer is for an ever-increasing awareness of the realities of Christ's life for us now AND then, as well as the realities without Him (both now and then).
Jesus, draw us so close to You that our heart would say in all it's fullness, "Send me!" Then may it be that we would actually GO! To our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends, and our family.
You know how it says in Matthew,"...there is weeping and gnashing of teeth." Well when I was not a Christian I used to get dreams that all my teeth were falling out. When I became a Christian the dreams stopped. It's scarry to think what hell is like.
When I saw the video from this Movie Monday God really woke me up to the reality of hell and the need to share the Gospel.
If Jesus and the Bible is real, we have to begin to share the Gospel to our friends and family
I used to have that dream too!
When the Lord is spoken of throughout His Word as our Saviour and Deliverer, this shakes me! I have not watched the clip, but I have almost completed reading the book by K.P Yohannan, which is truly an eye opener. The boldness it takes to walk up to complete strangers in a foreign land is not by our might or power, rather through trusting in the Lord and being obedient to His Will.
HELL IS REAL!!!! It has been extremely difficult for me to speak to others about the reality of heaven and hell, and even some churches do not speak of hell at all. There is a movement happening (especially in the U.S.) where the doctrine of Hell is not considered at all, and even excused to be non-existent. As we keep making more messages about how we can feel better as people, instead of continuously giving God the glory, we are in for a very sad awakening. Many people have believed themselves saved, but are blind to their habitual lifestyle of sin. I am not saying believers in Christ are perfect, we can see this from the apostles; but are we striving, desiring, and pushing to be more like our Heavenly Father? In Matthew 7:21-23 says:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
There has been times in my joy that I have sadness, because too many people around are living their lives as though this life is IT!
One thing I have realized... even the atheist wants to go to heaven... they just don't want God to be there. But I am beginning to feel, even some professing Christians have this mentality too!
I firmly believe that we are responsible for our brothers, our sisters, our neighbours, our co-workers, the man on the street, etc. Just think, is a Christian selfish or self-centred? Does the whole idea of Christianity entail saving oneself and ignoring the destination path of all other persons? Isaih 1: 17 states "Learn to do right; seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." (NIV) A state of mind in which one does not know God is a an oppressed state. As Christians, it is our duty to share with non-believers, the remedy for overcomming this condition.
At the end of the day we each have to stand before God and give account for our deeds, including the times when we failed to be our brother's keeper. The previous Talk Tuesday pointed out that what we are engaged in is spiritual warfare. Thus, if we think of ministry in the flesh, it is going to be daunting to testify of God's goodness in our lives, to family, to co-workers, and to strangers. This is why 1 Thessalonians: 17 charges us to "Pray continually." (NIV) Moreover, Ephesians 6:18 states "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." (NIV) It is equally important to remember that Jesus Himself stated "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32 NIV) and "I came that they might have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10 NIV) Through prayer, faith and fasting, we can 1)bind the mountain of fear that hinders our ministry, and 2) lead others to Him.
Be blessed and inspired!
Yes, Hell my friends is a very real-the Bible tells us so!
If you have not yet repented of your sins and turned in faith to the Lord Jesus, hell is your destiny. The solemn reality of hell’s existence cannot fail to influence us profoundly. Instead, we should ask the Holy Spirit to keep impressing hell deeply upon our redeemed consciousness. It should produce in us a daily commitment to putting sin to death. The Bible declares “that the lost will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thess. 1:9). “Depart from Me, you cursed”, will be Christ’s verdict on all those who are not his people (Matt. 25:41). He is banishing them, commanding them to go away from him. Perhaps this separation is why hell is so often referred to as a place of darkness. “God is light and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5), but the wicked will be “cast out into outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12). Going to hell means being separated from God. For no-one lives without God. He makes his sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on the unjust as well as on the just (Matt. 5:45). He gives you the beauty of a summer evening, the coolness of a refreshing breeze, the splendor of mountain scenery. He delights you with the taste of fresh crusty bread or the juice of a ripe peach. Perhaps you have experienced the ecstasy of love. Your heart has melted in affection toward husband or wife, parents or children. Doubtless you have warmed yourself often at the glow of true friendship. You may appreciate art, literature or music. You may enjoy the exhilaration of sport and bodily exercise. These are God’s gifts. You laugh and feel happy. You lie down in bed at night and are restored by sleep. All these are blessings from God. But in hell all of this will be taken away from you. No sun will shine. No flower will bloom. There will be no laughter, no excitement, no fulfillment of any kind. These things are from God and to be separated from him is to be separated from all his gifts. The Bible most frequently describes hell as a place of fire. “The wicked will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone” (Rev. 21:8). The rich man in the parable asked for a drop of water on his tongue because, he said, “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24).
Christ uses a particularly horrifying expressing to describe hell when he refers to it as the place where “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:46). He is quoting the last verse of the book of Isaiah, where the prophet has been speaking of the new heaven and the new earth. God has gathered a great multitude from all nations to worship him in his temple. And the worshippers “shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched” (Isa. 66:24). Hell should lead us to appreciate the love and merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that Christ came to earth for us, and that he lived, suffered and died on our behalf. But it is not until we gaze into hell that we really appreciate the love of our Savior. He has endured the agonizing pains; he has drunk to the dregs the cup of divine wrath. The apostle Paul identifies for us those on whom God will take vengeance in flaming fire. Those who do not know God, and … who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:8). Outwardly upright, decent people, many of them, good citizens, caring parents, reliable employees, friendly neighbors, but they never trust Christ. Even if you were never to commit another sin, God will take vengeance in flaming fire upon you if you do not obey the gospel. He who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36). Jesus declares, that he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (John 5:24). It is good to remember that the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. God did not spare his own Son, but visited on him all the fury of holy judgment. Christ accepted my damnation, suffered my hell. Should I not love him? More than this, hell gives us a new insight into the value of Christ’s death. An eternity in hell will not begin to exhaust God’s anger. Sin against an infinite God demands an infinite and everlasting penalty. But the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was sufficient to atone fully for all the sins of all his people. On the hill of Calvary he made full payment for the guilty of the elect. His blood is able to cleanse us from all sin. God the Father has pronounced himself satisfied with the atonement made on that afternoon for such a massive weight of evil. Well might Paul say, ‘God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Gal. 6:14). When believers die their souls go immediately to be with Christ. Jesus said to the dying thief. ‘Today you will be with Me in Paradise’ (Luke 23:43) and that is precisely what happens to every Christian at death. The last book of the Bible shows us the sinless inhabitants of heaven praising and thanking God for hell. The twenty-four elders fall on their faces before Him, saying, ‘We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty… because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged (Rev. 11:17-18). We are told that the doomed Judas Iscariot went to his own place (Acts 1:25). We do not know where in the universe that place is, but the Bible indicates its remoteness from God’s life and light by describing it as ‘out’, ‘outside’, ‘outer darkness’. Hell is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:12). Hell is where God alone reigns. It is not an independent, self-contained demonic kingdom. God, who has power to cast into hell (Luke 12:5), rules it and has prepared its fires (Matt. 25:41). He is present in hell, “for the damned are tormented in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Rev. 14:10).
When we believe in Jesus, we are linked with unimaginable power, glory and grace. This mighty Savior, in his majesty and kindness, summons us to the salvation which he has provided for us at the cost of his own death-agony. If we do not come to love more intensely, the Lord who saves us from hell by having experienced it for Himself, then we have studied this topic in vain. Unbelievers use hell to accuse God of lack of love, a failure to be merciful. But the truth is that there is mercy. For in Christ ‘God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Rom. 5:8). One of the most obvious results of a consideration of hell should be a renewed zeal for Evangelism. Evangelism is a prime Christian duty and we have reason to thank God for countless efforts being made all over the globe to bring people to Christ. Healthy Christians love the Word of God. We feel that we have only begun to examine this treasure that we are still at the fringes of what the Lord has told us. We have, at our best, a passionate, God-implanted longing to learn more and more of His truth. The people of God need training and nurturing and so does the people in our own back yard in North America.
Hell should produce in us a humble acceptance of God’s sovereign purposes, with reference both to our present responsibility and to the existence of hell itself. We should be moved for the lost, passionately committed to spreading the gospel by every means in our power. Nothing should be allowed to blunt that sense of responsibility. God calls few of his people to such focused ministry. Everyday life on earth must continue. Humans are to sow and reap, to marry and reproduce, and to exercise dominion over creation in their various callings.
The wicked will burn with fire but they will not be consumed. Jesus says that the tears will pour down your cheeks in hell and that your body will be racked with uncontrollable sobbing. Sorrow of the bitterest kind will fill you with guilt and self-disgust. You will weep and weep for ever. Just imagine the torture of fire, the inner torment of a devouring worm, the engaged, bitter, sobbing of the damned – such will be the condition of everyone in hell. Indeed, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 1031; 12:29). His fury is poured out like fire (Nahum 1:6), a mighty release of wrath, unrestrained and indescribable. Those who are in hell will see God in his holy fury. They will be compelled to gaze at their judge, unable to shut their eyes. The sight of him, intolerably painful, will be their condemnation and their punishment. The damned in hell will have two infinites perpetually in amaze them and swallow them up; one is an infinite God, whose wrath they will bear and in whom they will behold their perfect and irreconcilable enemy.
The Lord will say to the unsaved, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, will be His verdict to all those who are not his people (Matt. 25:41). ‘God is light and in him is no darkness at all’ (1 John 1:5), but the wicked will be ‘cast out into outer darkness’ (Matt. 8:12). If unbelievers go to hell, they have no one to blame but themselves, for God says, ‘The soul who sins shall die’. Christ will save every one of his chosen people. God makes no mistakes. However, Satan’s goal is to lead you gently into hell and he is a master of the black arts of persuasion. Do you remember the rich man in the parable who wanted such a special moment for his unbelieving brothers? He asked for a messenger to be sent to them from beyond the grave. “I beg you, therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, least they also come to this place of torment (Luke 16:27,28).
Jonathan Edwards says, “the wicked are like people walking over a pit on a rotten covering that is in many places too weak to bear their weight. They do not know, however, where the weak places are and every step is full of danger. At any moment your feet may slip through the fabric of time and you may fall into the world to come. God is keeping you alive even now and, if you are unconverted, he is as angry with you as with many in hell already. You will go to bed tonight in the hands of an angry God. What reason have you to think you will ever awake? And, if you do not, where will you be? ”Abraham’s words to the rich man in hell: “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things” (Luke 16:25). We can certainly give thanks to God that there is a hell for sin. Can we thank God that there is a hell for wicked people? When we are in heaven, we will praise God for all that He accomplishes by means of hell. For we will be purged of sin, our motives will be entirely holy and we will be filled with the mind of Christ. God’s just and righteous judgment will be revealed. All the inequities of this life will be swept away. The Lord’s majesty will shine forth and all those who have arrogantly raised themselves up against Him will be humbled and cast down. In heaven we will be transformed, able to worship God for all that he has done, including hell. This truth, like all others, brings us to our knees and moves us to worship.
The Bible declares that on the day of judgment, some preachers, evangelists and leaders will stand before Christ with expectant smiles on their faces, waiting to receive his ‘Well done’, but to their astonishment and horror he will say, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me….” They may protest, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast our demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? (Matt. 7:22-23). Surely we are not going to hell? But they will, for they were never born again, and never made a new people. Their faith was superficial and unreal.
For the Lord Jesus Christ is pleading with you at this very moment. As you read these words, he is calling you to himself, commanding you to turn from the sin that brings only destruction. He is infinitely gracious and kind. If you ask him to be your Savior, he will receive you and forgive you. He will wash you clean and make you safe for ever, and you will be holy and happy, looking forward to an eternity of joy and glory in heaven. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hears (Heb. 4:7). Remember, Jesus loves you!
Amen
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