Through the years, I’ve enjoyed reading epitaphs. Perhaps you’ve heard the story about the message one man left on his tombstone. It said, “Consider, young person, as you walk by, as you are now, so once was I. As I am now, you soon shall be, so prepare, young person to follow me.” That sounded pretty profound, but one fellow took a knife and scratched a response on the tombstone that read, “To follow you is not my intent; until I know which way you went!”
There are some popular movies out right now about God and about heaven. One movie, "Heaven Is For Real" speaks of a little boys experience of going to heaven and coming back. He shares his experience with his parents of how wonderful it was and the people whom he saw while he was there. It's a very moving story.
Most of those reading this blog probably have a strong sense of heaven being that place where we will go after we die - dependent on our faith in The Lord Jesus Christ. I think most people want to think that their life will somehow end up in heaven in the afterlife. But again, that is only based on a person's faith in Jesus Christ.
Here’s the fact: There are only two directions you can go after death - Heaven or Hell. People don’t want to consider what I’m about to say but the truth is the truth.
There are many passages in the Bible that talk about Heaven and Hell. These descriptions, especially of heaven, tell of a place a hope and a wonderful place where there will be no more sorrow and pain and suffering. It is a place of peace and satisfaction - a place where there is no more war and human suffering. We all want that for ourselves and for our loved ones.
But there is another place that the Bible mentions that is just as real for those who do not accept Christ as their Savior - It is a place called Hell.
There is a story in Luke 16:19-31 that helps us understand what hell looks like. It's about two men - one, a very poor man named Lazarus - and the other, a very rich man of whom no name is given. They both die and are taken to two different places. The poor man was taken to heaven and the poor man was taken to Hades (a waiting area before hell.)
The descriptions given about Hades/ Hell are bone chilling and should make any person thinking about how wonderful it is in a very different way.
1. Hell Is A Place Of Torment
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
Look at some of the other verses in the Bible about the torment people will experience:
- Those in hell suffer intense and excruciating pain. This pain is likely both emotional/spiritual and physical (John 5:28–29).
- Hell is a fate worse than being drowned in the sea (Mark 9:42).
- It is worse than any earthly suffering—even being maimed (Matthew 5:29–30; Mark 9:43).
- The suffering never ends (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:48).
- The wicked will be “burned with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12)
- Those in hell will be thrown into the fiery furnace and will experience unimaginable sorrow, regret, remorse, and pain. The fire produces the pain described as “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30)
- The intensity of the suffering seems to be according to the wickedness of the person’s behavior (Romans 2:5–8).
- Hell is utterly fearful and dreadful (Hebrews 10:27–31).
- This punishment is depicted as “coming misery,” “eating flesh with fire,” and the “day of slaughter.” (James 5:1–5)
- Those in hell will feel the full force of God’s fury and wrath (Revelations 14:10).
- They will be “tormented” with fire (14:10–11).
- This suffering is best understood as endless since the “smoke of their torment rises forever and ever.” (14:11)
- This suffering is constant because it is said that those in hell “will have no rest day or night” (14:11) and “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (20:10)
People tell me - "I can't wait to get to hell and party with my friends." The reality is this - it's not going to be a place of happiness and partying but a place of dreadful torment day and night.
2. In Hell You Will Be Able To See People On The Other Side
23 ...There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
In this passage it tells us that the rich man looked up and recognized Lazarus and Abraham.
Forget the fire and flame. One of the worst agonies of hell will be the ability of people in hell to see those who are in heaven.
Can you imagine lost husbands seeing their wives in heaven? Lost parents seeing their children in heaven? I don’t want any part of a place like that. Like the rich man, all of us we need to lift up our eyes and catch a glimpse of heaven as well.
3. In Hell We Will Be Able To Remember
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ 25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.
"Son, remember..."
I believe those are two of the scariest words that will ever be heard in hell. People in hell will carry their memories with them.
I believe a person in hell will remember every gospel message they ever heard. They will remember every time someone tried to share Jesus with them.
People oftentimes want to forget – they want to erase the video tape.
Here’s the facts: There is no Alzheimer’s in hell. Everyone will have a crystal-clear memory. Hell will be a place of eternal remembrance and regret.
Have you ever bought something on a whim and later regretted it? It’s called “buyer’s remorse.”
Fortunately, you can take a lot of things back for a refund or an exchange. In hell there will be what I call “invitation remorse.” It won’t be over something you did, but it will be remorse over something you didn’t do: accept Jesus.
4. In Hell, Prayers Of Relief Will Go Unanswered
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ 25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.
People in our culture have made hell a joke. They think hell is going to be a place of fun, and frolicking with your friends. Some people think hell is going to be a rock and roll heaven with a hell of a band.
In a speech to the National Press Club, Ted Turner in said, “Heaven is going to be a mighty slender place. And most of the people I know in life aren’t going to be there. There are a few notable exceptions and I’ll miss them. [Laughter] Remember, heaven is going to be perfect. And I don’t really want to be there...Those of us that go to hell, which will be most of us in this room; most journalists are certainly going there. [Laughter] But, when we get to hell we’ll have a chance to make things better because hell is supposed to be a mess. And heaven is perfect. Who wants to go to a place that’s perfect? Boring. Boring.” [Laughter]
Hell is a place of outer darkness, and weeping and gnashing of teeth. It’s a place of isolation, and eternal frustration. Remember, this is not some weird prophet seeing a vision of the afterlife; this is the Lord Jesus Himself speaking plainly about what hell is like. Abraham reported this thirst for God and the physical agony could not be relieved. There is a great chasm that is fixed permanently between heaven and hell and no person can cross it. After death, it’s too late to change your eternal destination. So his prayer for relief was unanswered.
27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’ 29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’ 30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ 31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’” After Abraham’s reply, the rich man realizes there is no hope for himself so his thoughts turn to his family. He had five brothers, and they were all like him: religious but lost. So he says in verse 27, “I beg you, Father Abraham, send Lazarus to my house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”
Suddenly, the rich man in hell becomes a wannabe soul winner. He develops a missionary spirit. He expresses a concern for the lost people in his family.
It’s too bad he didn’t have that same fear of hell before he died! There is a powerful warning here for every person who has not yet trusted Jesus to save them from their sins and hell. Abraham gives an astonishing reply to the rich man’s prayer. He says his brothers have the Bible (the Law and the Prophets) that’s all they need to miss hell. If they will just read it and believe it, they can be saved from hell. But the rich man insists that if a dead man could go back and talk to his brothers, then they would turn from their sins and they would repent. By the way, the rich man in hell knew how to be saved, to repent; he just never got around to repenting himself.
I’m convinced thousands of people know how to be saved; they’ve just never done it. So he wants Lazarus to go back and warn his brothers to stay away from hell. When they see a man from the grave warning them, he is certain that they will repent. I tend to agree with the rich man don’t you? Imagine that I’m not a Christian and somebody knocks on my door some evening. When I open the door, I’m shocked to see an old boy whose funeral I attended a few weeks earlier standing there. He says, “I’ve come to talk to you about Jesus, can I come in?” After my initial shock I say, “Of corpse you can come in.” The man begins to say, “I’ve just come back from heaven to especially warn you that there is a hell because your older brother is there now. He asked me to come warn you not to come to that place. But Abraham said, “If they don’t believe God’s Word, they won’t believe if someone rises from the dead.”
5. In Hell, There Is A Noticeable Chasm Between Heaven And Hell That Cannot Be Crossed Over
26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
Can you imagine being able to see across the chasm but NOT being able to cross over to the other side. You are in agony and are tormented but yet you see how wonderful it is on the other side and are not able to cross over. To me - that will be hell.
Heaven is for real... but Hell is very real also. My prayer is that all of us would take this warning seriously and not miss our opportunity to live for Jesus now and to be able to spend eternity with Him in heaven forever and ever.
Thoughts gleaned from Pastor David Dykes
No comments:
Post a Comment