In the past month, the world has been engulfed with the sudden death of Princess Diana
and Mother Teresa. As their stories unfolded before our eyes, we were forced to face
issues that
we usually push to the darkest corner of our mind. We saw death come in and snatch two
women
who seemed indestructible to us. We came face to face with the reality of our own
mortality and
life beyond.
There was much discussion about the good deeds and charitable work of these two
women.
Stories, poems, and songs were written about their life on earth and their final presumed
destination - heaven. We faced death, we accepted it and we assumed that our loved
ones went
to heaven. But have we really faced the issue of Heaven & Hell.
Do we really know the truth about Heaven and Hell. Many, many doctrines and theories
about
heaven and hell have been bandied about. Some believe in life after death. They believe
that
being "good" in this life will guarantee heaven as the final destination. At the same
token, hell is
seen as the destination for "bad" people. Others believe that death is final--there is no
after life.
This school of thought believe that heaven and hell are on earth. We are, they contend,
responsible for creating our own heaven and hell on earth. There are yet still other
beliefs that say
you can only attain heaven through some religious reader.
Let us go right to the heart of truth about heaven and hell. For those who do not believe
in
heaven and hell, this is the truth--Heaven is a real place; Hell is a real place. For
the sake
of clarity, we will deal with HELL .
HELL is a reality! It is not a figment of our imagination. Hell is a real place that is
eternal
(forever), full of extreme wretchedness and torment. Hell is not a comfort zone where
you and
your friends will party endlessly because it's "hot", "hot", "hot". True it's "hot" but the
heat
comes from an everlasting and unquenchable fire. You cannot party in this fire. This
fire burns
and burns without respite. Luke 16:19-28 gives us a vivid description about hell and its
torments.
This is a story about two men--one rich and the other poor. The rich man had everything
money
could buy. Lazarus, the poor man, was beggar and lived off the remnants from the rich
man.
Both eventually died. The rich man went to hell and Lazarus went to heaven. While in
hell, the
rich man saw Lazarus in heaven and cried out for help and mercy. He begged for Lazarus
to dip
the tip of his finger in water and come cool his tongue. His exact words were ". . .I am
tormented
in this flame" (v. 24). However, his plea for mercy came too late--there is no escape
from hell
and its intense flame. His last plea was that the truth be told to his five brothers who
were still
alive, "lest they also come into this place of torment." (V.28)
The Bible painfully and vividly describes the horrors of hell for us. Hell is a place of
extreme
darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 22:13); Hell is a place where "their
worm
dieth not"--the soul is eternally alive (Mark (;43-48); Hell is a bottomless pit and a place
of God's
anger. (Rev. 9:1-3; Deut. 32:22); Hell is a place of eternal damnation with eternal sorrow
and pain
(Matt. 23:33; Psalm 18:5; Psalm 116:3).
Now that we have established that hell is real-- Where is it? Hell is not on earth. It is
beneath
earth. One descends into hell. Proverbs 15:24 states "The way of life is above to the
wise, that he
may depart from hell beneath". In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich
man
lifted up his eyes and saw Lazarus," and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments,.
. ." (Luke
16:23) You lift up your eyes from a low position, looking up.
Our next question is "Who goes to hell?" In the beginning, God created hell for the devil
and his
angels. Matt 25:41 States "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
for the
devil and his angels." God did not create hell for us. However, if we persist in
rejecting
Jesus and living for the devil, hell will be the grand destination. Once in hell, there is a
"great
escape"--to the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is more intense than hell. Rev. 20:11-15
states that
on judgement day at the Great White throne, ". . . the dead, small and great, stand before
God;
and the books were opened . . . (v.12) . . . and death and hell delivered
up the
dead which were in them: . . . (v. 13) . . And death and hell were cast into the Lake of
Fire." v.
14). The devil and his angels too will be cast into the Lake of Fire, "And the devil that
decevied
them was cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone . . . and shall be tormented day and
night for
ever and ever." (Rev. 20:10)
Now that you know the horrifying truth about hell, how can you escape this eternal
damnation?
By receiving Jesus as the Son of the Living God and accepting his work of redemption.
Is the
escape only through Jesus? The truth is simply--YES. In John 14:6, Jesus said "I am the
way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Peter, one of the disciples
of
Jesus, declared emphatically "thou art the Christ, the son of the Living God." (Matt.
16:16) In
John 10:9, Jesus described himself as the door through which if any man enters, will be
saved and
partake of the green pastures of heaven. John 3:17 declares, "For God sent not his son
into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." Receiving
Jesus
and living holy will save you from the fires of hell.
Do you want to escape the torments of hell? You can start by saying the following prayer
aloud
to God the Father through his Son Jesus and believe with all your hear . . .
Father, In the name of Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and ask for forgiveness. I
believe with
all my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your son and was born of the virgin
Mary. I
accept him as my Personal Savior and ask him to come into my heart. Please cleanse me
with
your blood Lord Jesus and teach me your ways. Thank you for saving me. I will now
live my life
for you.
Now that you are saved, you next step is to attend a Bible Believing Church and begin to
live
your life according to God's Word. Remember, Jesus is the only escape from
HELL.
By Joan Williams
P.S. All Scriptures and reference to scriptures are quoted from the King James Bible.
There was much discussion about the good deeds and charitable work of these two women. Stories, poems, and songs were written about their life on earth and their final presumed destination - heaven. We faced death, we accepted it and we assumed that our loved ones went to heaven. But have we really faced the issue of Heaven & Hell.
Do we really know the truth about Heaven and Hell. Many, many doctrines and theories about heaven and hell have been bandied about. Some believe in life after death. They believe that being "good" in this life will guarantee heaven as the final destination. At the same token, hell is seen as the destination for "bad" people. Others believe that death is final--there is no after life. This school of thought believe that heaven and hell are on earth. We are, they contend, responsible for creating our own heaven and hell on earth. There are yet still other beliefs that say you can only attain heaven through some religious reader.
Let us go right to the heart of truth about heaven and hell. For those who do not believe in heaven and hell, this is the truth--Heaven is a real place; Hell is a real place. For the sake of clarity, we will deal with HELL .
HELL is a reality! It is not a figment of our imagination. Hell is a real place that is eternal (forever), full of extreme wretchedness and torment. Hell is not a comfort zone where you and your friends will party endlessly because it's "hot", "hot", "hot". True it's "hot" but the heat comes from an everlasting and unquenchable fire. You cannot party in this fire. This fire burns and burns without respite. Luke 16:19-28 gives us a vivid description about hell and its torments. This is a story about two men--one rich and the other poor. The rich man had everything money could buy. Lazarus, the poor man, was beggar and lived off the remnants from the rich man. Both eventually died. The rich man went to hell and Lazarus went to heaven. While in hell, the rich man saw Lazarus in heaven and cried out for help and mercy. He begged for Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and come cool his tongue. His exact words were ". . .I am tormented in this flame" (v. 24). However, his plea for mercy came too late--there is no escape from hell and its intense flame. His last plea was that the truth be told to his five brothers who were still alive, "lest they also come into this place of torment." (V.28)
The Bible painfully and vividly describes the horrors of hell for us. Hell is a place of extreme darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 22:13); Hell is a place where "their worm dieth not"--the soul is eternally alive (Mark (;43-48); Hell is a bottomless pit and a place of God's anger. (Rev. 9:1-3; Deut. 32:22); Hell is a place of eternal damnation with eternal sorrow and pain (Matt. 23:33; Psalm 18:5; Psalm 116:3).
Now that we have established that hell is real-- Where is it? Hell is not on earth. It is beneath earth. One descends into hell. Proverbs 15:24 states "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath". In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man lifted up his eyes and saw Lazarus," and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments,. . ." (Luke 16:23) You lift up your eyes from a low position, looking up.
Our next question is "Who goes to hell?" In the beginning, God created hell for the devil and his angels. Matt 25:41 States "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." God did not create hell for us. However, if we persist in rejecting Jesus and living for the devil, hell will be the grand destination. Once in hell, there is a "great escape"--to the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is more intense than hell. Rev. 20:11-15 states that on judgement day at the Great White throne, ". . . the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened . . . (v.12) . . . and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: . . . (v. 13) . . And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire." v. 14). The devil and his angels too will be cast into the Lake of Fire, "And the devil that decevied them was cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone . . . and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Rev. 20:10)
Now that you know the horrifying truth about hell, how can you escape this eternal damnation? By receiving Jesus as the Son of the Living God and accepting his work of redemption. Is the escape only through Jesus? The truth is simply--YES. In John 14:6, Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, declared emphatically "thou art the Christ, the son of the Living God." (Matt. 16:16) In John 10:9, Jesus described himself as the door through which if any man enters, will be saved and partake of the green pastures of heaven. John 3:17 declares, "For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." Receiving Jesus and living holy will save you from the fires of hell.
Do you want to escape the torments of hell? You can start by saying the following prayer aloud to God the Father through his Son Jesus and believe with all your hear . . .
Father, In the name of Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and ask for forgiveness. I believe with all my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your son and was born of the virgin Mary. I accept him as my Personal Savior and ask him to come into my heart. Please cleanse me with your blood Lord Jesus and teach me your ways. Thank you for saving me. I will now live my life for you.
Now that you are saved, you next step is to attend a Bible Believing Church and begin to live your life according to God's Word. Remember, Jesus is the only escape from HELL.
By Joan Williams
P.S. All Scriptures and reference to scriptures are quoted from the King James Bible.
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