HELL...(Read All) We have often heard statements such as War is hell or I went through hell. These expressions are, of course, not taken literally. Rather, they reflect our tendency to use the word hell as a descriptive term for the most ghastly human experience possible. Yet no human experience in this world is actually comparable to hell. If we try to imagine the worst of all possible suffering in the here and now we have not yet stretched our imaginations to reach the dreadful reality of hell. Perhaps the most frightening aspect of hell is its eternity. People can endure the greatest agony if they know it will ultimately stop. In hell there is no such hope. The Bible clearly teaches that the punishment is eternal. The same word is used for both eternal life and eternal death. Punishment implies pain. Mere annihilation, which some have lobbied for, involves no pain. Jonathan Edwards, in preaching on Revelation 6:15-16 said, Wicked men will hereafter earnestly wish to be turned to nothing and forever cease to be that they may escape the wrath of God. Hell, then, is an eternity before the righteous, ever-burning wrath of God, a suffering torment from which there is no escape and no relief. Understanding this is crucial to our drive to appreciate the work of Christ and to preach His gospel. 1. The suffering of hell is beyond any experience of misery found in this world. 2. Hell is clearly included in the teaching of Jesus. 3. If the biblical descriptions of hell are symbols, then the reality will be worse than the symbols. 4. Hell is the presence of God in His wrath and judgment. 5. There is no cruelty in hell. Hell will be a place of perfect justice. 6. Hell is eternal. There is no escape through either repentance or annihilation.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 11:58:38 +0000
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