by Kevin Burton
“I have been through hell,” was a quote from one of the Israeli hostages released this week by Hamas.
Maam, you have been through severe trauma of a degree I can’t imagine, but you have not been through hell.
You don’t get through hell. The Bible says hell is forever, with no second chances.
An essential part of the definition of hell is “no way out.”
Therein lies the fervor behind all my witnessing and my shame for not doing more witnessing. The stakes are extremely high.
Two truths:
One: In the time it took you to read these first few paragraphs, untold numbers of human beings died and entered intense torment in hell with no possibility of escape.
Two: Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, came to earth and died a horrible death, to pay the penalty for your sin, so that you can escape the fires of hell and have life with Him in paradise.
Maybe I should throw in a third truth: people don’t want to hear about it.
You’ve heard the term “raise one’s hackles.” The literal definition of hackles from Oxford dictionary is “erectile hairs along the back of a dog or other animal that rise when it is angry or alarmed.” This is the kind of visceral reaction you will get sometimes by naming the name of Jesus.
Or, you could get the reaction of Lot’s two sons-in-law from Genesis 19. Warned to flee the wicked city Sodom ahead of coming destruction from the Lord, they failed to act.
“So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, ‘Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!’ But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.” Gen. 19:14 NKJV).
The sons-in-law seemingly had no relationship with God, perhaps having minds that never left the earthly plain to consider what lies beyond.
Anger or laughter, or maybe indifference – “maybe I’ll think about God later when I’m old” these are all reactions you could get when you witness.
Spiritual blindness is a most-effective tool in the devil’s toolkit.
I named this blog Page 7, partly because I wore that number for most of my beep baseball career, partly to let you know I wasn’t kidding myself that anything I came up with would be page-one material.
In the context of heaven and hell and salvation through Jesus elevates this post to page one status. It’s the only real question in life: yes or no to Jesus.
Here is some of what the Bible says about hell, from the website www.gotquestions.org:
“We cannot know exactly what hell looks like or how hot it will be. But Scripture does use some descriptive language of hell, and that gives us an idea of what hell will be like. It is sure to be a place of torment, which the Bible often pictures as fiery.”
“The scriptural descriptions of hell are meant to emphasize the torment and suffering that will be experienced by those who go there. The ‘fire’ may picture the wrath of God that is experienced by unbelievers in hell, whereas the ‘outer darkness’ may picture the alienation from God’s love, mercy, and grace.
“Possibly the most terrifying aspect of hell is its duration. The suffering is eternal. It has no end. For us, here and now, the concept of hell should drive us to the cross of Christ. It is only by repentance and faith in Christ that we can be saved from the wrath to come.”
“Here are some of the passages that describe hell:
Matthew 25:41, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
Matthew 8:12, “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
2 Thessalonians 1:6–9, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 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 glory of his might.”
Revelation 20:10, 15, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. . . . Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Romans 2:8, “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”
Matthew 25:30, “And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
“Hell is a place of unending suffering and torment from which there will be no escape. Therefore, now is the day of salvation. Now is the day for all to repent and believe the gospel. Now is the day for us to proclaim the good news that Christ has come to save sinners who trust in Him for forgiveness.
“Those who look to Christ now will be saved from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10).”
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