9/22/2021
The Holy Spirit has been dealing with me on this part of the night. He re-enforced to me that we make light of Hell. That in our arrogance and lack of understanding we do not give serious thought and consideration to what Hell truly is. Instead, we think of it as something that we can defeat by ourselves or, because we can’t see it from here, it doesn’t exist. It’s just an old tale meant to scare people into believing a certain way.
The Holy Spirit showed me just a little of what it was like, helping me to compare it to things of this world but magnified 10,000 times over. Let’s look at some of what He showed me and then we will go to Scripture to see what it says.
He showed me a person whose body was in a partial state of decay but never really decaying. That knowing, feeling, but never seeing, this person is aware of the worms moving around in and feasting on his body. But this is the eternal Hell, it never passes away and neither does the person that dwells there. It is void of all light, even the fire that burns has no light.
Then the Holy Spirit compared the fire that burns eternally to a severe sunburn on the second day when the blisters begin to build. The body is trying to relieve itself of the heat beneath the outer layer of skin but it cannot. Instead, it feels as though it will never leave you and every move is painful. Nothing seems to make it better. With a sunburn we know that it will eventually heal and quit hurting in this world. In Hell it is a 1,000 times more intense and it doesn’t end, but goes on day after day after day, for eternity. It is void of relief.
Now the Holy Spirit didn’t show me this so I could preach doom and gloom. He knows that I don’t believe in doom and gloom as a preaching or teaching technique, it turns me off and closes my ears as it does many in this world and in the Church. He showed me this to bring awareness to the reality of Hell. And while you and I might be on fire for the Lord, many in the Church are merely lukewarm and those not in the Body of Christ have only one hope and that is Jesus.
You and I might say, “I’m saved, I know that I’m going to heaven.” Are we so foolish to think that we will not be held accountable for those that the Lord put before us? The lost that we ignored because we, ourselves, are ok and that’s all we think of? Every believer will have that candid conversation with Jesus about the works He asked us to do that we didn’t do. I believe He will also discuss with us the works that we did do that He didn’t ask us to do, but that we did because it felt good to our flesh. Avoiding responsibility doesn’t relieve you of consequences.
We’ll talk about The Lukewarm Church later, let’s look at some Scriptures about Hell.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31 MEV
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 There was also a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, who had been placed at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “It came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s presence. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham from a distance and Lazarus in his presence. 24 So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ 27 “He said, ‘Then I pray you, father, to send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, to testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them.’ 30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
Acts 2:31 MEV
he foresaw this and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption (flesh is corrupted in Hell).
2 Peter 2:4-9 MEV
For if God did not spare the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be kept for judgment; 5 and if He did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, making them an example to those afterward who would live ungodly lives; 7 and if He delivered righteous Lot, who was distressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man lived among them, and what he saw and heard of their lawless deeds tormented his righteous soul day after day); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the Day of Judgment (read the rest of chapter on your own),
Matthew 13:36-43 MEV
Then Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the sons of the kingdom. But the weeds are the sons of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. 40 “Therefore as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of Man shall send out His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who do evil, 42 and will throw them into a fiery furnace. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.
2 Peter 2:17 darkness
Read the book of Revelation.
Now we have seen a little of hell and have a minute awareness of it. Ignoring our responsibility to get rooted and planted, to grow from milk to solid food does not relieve us of it. Even the Lukewarm Church will be spit out. Who are we to let the lost spend eternity in hell?