HELL— A TERRIFYING PLACE!
…hell, where… the fire is not quenched. —Mark 9:47-48
I was recently reading that in the 1990’s there were 200,000 murders in the United States and 100,000 of those murders went unsolved. That means there are 100,000 murderers still out in our communities thinking that they have gotten away with their crime. They have gotten away with nothing! “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10).
Those who think they are getting away with their wickedness are deluding themselves. The Lord God Almighty knows every detail and it will be “a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). “The LORD rescues his servants; all who take shelter in him escape punishment” (Psalm 34:22). Those who do not trust the Lord God Almighty will not escape judgment. This is seen in the story below.
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’ ” (Luke 16:19-31).
“I’m going to hell. All my friends will be there.” People who say such things do not understand the terrible place hell is. The rich man in the above story only wanted a single drop of water to get some relief from the torment of that place. What good were his riches doing him now? He wasn’t partying in hell with his friends, no; he had a great desire for his family not to end up in the same place. The only way his family or anyone can escape the judgment of hell is to accept the Word of God as it is shared by the messengers of God. If someone will not accept God’s Word then they would not believe even if someone came back from the dead to tell them!
Dear Father, thank You that we have Your Word in written and audio form today. Oh, that the lost would read and hear, repent and trust the Lord Jesus. May it be so!