I don’t know about you, but the thought of facing Can you imagine trying to make your case
e your case very real, eternal place. I can only imagine the
God’s judgement and the possibility of going to Hell
scared me to death. The nagging thoughts of Hell
demanded that I find out for myself if it was real, and
if there was any chance at all that I could go there
when I died. I had to know for sure!
Of course, I know many people who believe that
they are good in God’s eyes, and have done many
good works, and that they’ll be able to justify to God
why they should be allowed to enter heaven based
on their good works. This is a bad course of action for
two reasons…
First of all, in Ephesians 2:8 it is written, “For by
grace are you saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God not of works, lest any
man should boast.”
God’s Word is very clear on this issue. We cannot
get into heaven based on our good works, or our own
righteousness. How do I know this for sure? In
Romans 3:10 God says, “…there is none righteous,
no, not one…” and in Romans 3:23 it is written, “For
all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.”
These were sobering truths that helped me realize
that I wasn’t going to escape Hell by being what I
thought was a good person, because according to
God, I wasn’t a good person; I was, and still am, a
sinner.
Of course, the only difference now is that I’m a
sinner saved by God’s grace. Nevertheless, if all you
ever read was Romans 3:10 and 3:23, you’d probably
be left wondering if anyone could get into Heaven,
but in Romans 6:23 it is written, “For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The Good News for Believers in Christ who have
accepted God’s way of salvation, is that they will
never stand before the Great White Throne
Judgement.
However, if you reject Jesus, you are lost. The
Great White Throne Judgement will be your
inevitable and unavoidable fate before you are sent
to your final destination. “And whosoever was not
found written in the Book of Life was cast into the
lake of fire.” – Rev. 20:14-15.
before Holy God? When you try to compare your
works to what Jesus Christ did on the cross, your
works will seem insignificant. Your works will be
meaningless; they won’t amount to much, but don’t
take my word for it. God said, “…you are saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God not of works…”
Like I said before, many people are willing to
take their chances, even in light of what God’s
Word says. But if they would just read God’s Word
and find out what it says about Hell, I think many of
them would reconsider their approach.
What Will HELL Be Like?
The Bible describes Hell as a place of
everlasting fire that God originally created for the
Devil and his angels. He never intended it for man.
In fact, God went to extreme measures to help us
avoid this horrible place, but He gives us the
choice. It’s not God’s will that any man should
perish in Hell, but for those who reject His way of
salvation, Hell will be their eternal destination after
they die.
Jesus Christ’s words on the subject of Hell are
unnerving. In Luke 16, He tells us of a rich man who
died and went to Hades, (the abode of the unsaved
dead between death and final judgement).
From this incident and several others in the
Bible, we can conclude several characteristics of
Hell. First, it’s a place of great physical pain. The
rich man’s initial remark concludes with his most
pressing concern: “I am in agony in this flame”,
Luke 16:24. Our generation does not make enough
of this account.
We have all experienced pain to some degree.
We know it can make a mockery of all life’s goals
and beauties. Yet we do not seem to look at pain as
a hint of Hell, a searing foretaste of what will befall
those who do not repent of their sins and
experience the forgiveness of God.
God does not leave us with simply the mute fact
of Hell’s physical pain. He tells us how real people
will respond to that pain. The Lord is not being grim
or morbid; He is simply telling us the truth so that
we will turn to Him and escape this
frustrations of those in Hell who had countless
chances to accept Jesus, yet never did. How many
chances will any of us get? How many Sunday
morning’s have people wasted sitting in church
thinking about bills, their job, TV shows or other
meaningless things, instead of learning about Jesus.
These people will have an eternity in Hell filled with
regrets and thoughts of all their missed opportunities.
The Bible also tells us that Hell is a place of
darkness, Matthew 8:12.
Imagine the person who has just entered Hell – a
neighbor, family member, co-worker or friend. After a
roar of physical pain blasts him or her, they spend
their first moments wailing and gnashing their teeth.
But after a season, they grow accustomed to the
pain, not that it’s become tolerable, but their capacity
for it has enlarged to comprehend it, yet not be
consumed by it. Though they hurt, they are now able
to think, and they instinctively look around. But as
they look, they see only blackness. As much as they
strain their eyes, they will see nothing but unyielding
blackness. It will cling to them, smothering and
oppressing them.
Rev. 20:1 describes Hell as a “bottomless pit”.
There will be no solid objects or loved ones to reach
out and touch. I imagine that everyone will have
loved ones in Hell, but you won’t be able to reach out
to them for comfort. Hell will be an eternal, lonely
existence. As time passes, the person in Hell will
have plenty of time to think. Their first thoughts are of
hope. They begin to hope in God and call out, “Help
me, Jesus”.
They cry out, “Jesus! Jesus! You were right! Help
me! Get me out of this!” They wait, breathing hard
with desperation. There is no response. The sound of
their voice slips into the darkness and is lost. They try
again and again. “I believe, Jesus! I believe now!
Save me from this!” Again the darkness smothers
their words.
These sinners in Hell are not unique! Everyone
in Hell believes, even the scientists who repeatedly
said that God didn’t create man, believing that we all
evolved from some cosmic explosion billions of years
ago; as if they were there to witness God’s creation.