The Reality of Hell
There is no violent murder scene, nor fever inspired nightmare which terrifies us in our sleep, nor car accident with multiple burnt victims that gives us more of a revolting disgust than the thought of Hell.
The New Testament’s teaching about hell is meant to appall us and fill us with Dred, to help us appreciate the amazing grace of forgiveness, which the sacrifice of Christ made possible, on the cross.
Nothing is more horrifying than Hell and this deep fear hasn’t even entered into the dark minds of Dante, Stephen King or Edgar Allan Poe, who are masters at horror. When you stop and think about hell, it becomes a total, all-consuming fear, that causes a person to doubt its existence. To believe that some people we know today could spend eternity in conscience torment without the possibility of escape, causes us to question hell’s existence.
No one, in the history of the world, spoke more of hell than Jesus Christ. Our Lord spoke of hell to professed religious leaders and His followers (saints) and He spoke of Heaven to sinners who sought Him for forgiveness. Unfortunately, today this process is reversed. In America, the greatest sermon on hell was delivered his church members in the 18th century by Jonathan Edwards, entitled, “Sinners in The Hands of An Angry God.” Thousands came to Christ in what was called the “Great Awaking.”
If it wasn’t for Christ speaking of hell, the subject would be ignored, and although Christ did speak on the existence of a literal hell, many choose today to not only ignore it, but to flat-out reject it. How did Jesus descript hell?
The top picture gives a good start, but it’s not complete. Jesus describes hell in four ways.
- A place of Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth. Matt. 8:12, 13:42, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30.
- A place of Fire and Torment. Revelation 20:10, Matt. 16:23, II Thess. 1:7-9, II Peter 3:7.
- Otter Darkness. Jude 7 &13.
- The Worm Does Not Die. Mark 9:48, Isaiah 66:24.
There are other descriptions of Hell revealed in the holy scriptures, such as:
- Hell is unending. Jude 13, Revelation 20:10.
- Hell isn’t the absence of God as much as experiencing His condemnation. Romans 2:6, 8, 9, and 12.
- In Hell, no second chance, no purgatory, no reincarnation, no annihilation. Hebrews 9:27-29.
- In Hell, the wicked will have resurrected bodies to experience fire and torment with all their senses.
These terms are probably symbolic rather than literal, but the reality is much worse than the symbol. Just as Heaven will be more wonderful than we can imagine, so too, Hell will be much more terrifying than ever imagined. We must warn people to fee the wrath to come.
How does one escape the sentence of hell? Jesus said in John 14:6, “I AM the way, the truth and the life, no one goes to the Father except through me.” And He said in John 3:18, “Whoever believes in Him (Christ) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already.” What must we believe about Christ to be saved from hell?
I Corinthians 15: 3-11, “I delivered to you what is of first importance what I also received: Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that He was buried, and He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures…He appeared to Peter, then the Twelve, then to over 500 brothers at one time.” To be saved from Hell a person must believe that Jesus died for your sins, sins which have caused you to be separated from God. Christ took your punishment upon Himself so that God could forgive you!
You must believe that Jesus was buried and raised on the third day. In the first century, any part of a day was considered one day. Jesus was crucified on Friday and put into the grave, one day, He was in the grave on Saturday, two days and was raised on Sunday, three days. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead, plus confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you shall be saved from Hell. If you have does this, you should be a member of a Christian church that is biblical, why? Because Jesus wants us in His church, hearing His word, fellowshipping with His saints and serving Him with joy.
Always remember, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
John, a slave of Christ.
