Hell: Not A Figment Of Your Imagination

Hell: Not A Figment Of Your Imagination Hell. The Lake of Fire. THE place where those that have died in their sins, that rejected Christ as their Lord and Saviour go for all eternity. Suppose for a moment one could stand at one of it's shores... Standing on the shore, you can feel the heat from the flames; it is uncomfortable as it is, searing and scalding hot. A veritable cauldron of fire and burning. You would venture closer to the edge to peer down, but the flames and common sense, not to mention a good healthy fear of falling in accidentally, keep you at a safe distance from the roasting heat. You can hear the crackle of the flames below, as they sizzle and hiss away in the seething pit beneath you. Above, it is utterly dark despite the flames. In fact, it is darker than any night you have ever seen on earth. Pitch black would be a nice warm cheery shade compared to it. Why am I describing this place to you so vividly? Because if you are NOT saved, this WILL be your destination! In the Bible, Jesus Christ talked more about hell than he did about heaven. A couple of examples: "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:43-48, KJV) "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28, KJV) In these passages of scripture, Jesus makes it VERY clear what hell is. He never ONCE candy coats it or tries to make it palatable for his audience, nor does he try to chase after people should they become offended by it. Jesus stood his ground on this subject because he knew all about hell.... ...He CREATED it. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3, KJV) Originally, we were NOT meant for hell: that blazing inferno was prepared for Satan and his minions: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:" (Matthew 25:41 KJV) Unfortunately, when mankind sinned against God by disobeying him at the Garden of Eden, God had no choice but to consign rebellious man to the same punishment as the angels who rebelled against him. In fact, due to man's tragic error, hell had to expand: "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it." (Isaiah 5:14, KJV) The tragedy of hell is that no one HAS to go there. God sent his only son Jesus to die on the cross at Calvary so that whoever believes on him and accepts the precious gift of life he offers does NOT have to burn in the lake of fire: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16, KJV) God doesn't WANT anyone to go to hell, which is why he sent his son to die for us. Jesus didn't want us going there, which is why he took our place and took the punishment we so justly deserved upon his shoulders. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, KJV) Now, at this point, I would like to speak to those who have read this that are not saved, and are scoffing at the idea of hell: You may think hell does not exist; that it is made up by us Christians to scare people into our ranks or that the bible was only written by men who wanted to gain control over the majority of people that they considered feeble-minded and stupid. But the scriptures are more than capable of defending themselves if you will look for yourself with an open mind and an honest heart. I don't have to try to justify the bible to you; that's not my job. My assignment is to preach the word of God to those that will hear. But to those that will not hear, consider this: if hell does not exist and we are wrong, then we have lost nothing but a little time on this planet. But if we are right, then we stand to gain heaven, and you are in GRAVE danger of burning in a pit that makes the hottest inferno on earth look like a penguin's paradise. 120 souls slip into eternity every minute and find out all too late that hell is real, and plead with the almighty for another chance. (Yes: Pascal's Wager; the BANE of atheists everywhere. They groan at it, because they heard it so much...) You may say "a just God wouldn't put people into hell." You may say "a loving God wouldn't do that. to people." Well, his love does NOT prevent his justice, and when man sinned against God at the garden, the only alternative God had to putting man into hell was if man accepted the gift of salvation that the blood of Jesus Christ bought. Not to mention that God has done everything possible to keep us from going to hell without violating his holiness. In short: God doesn't send people to hell: they send THEMSELVES. A man trapped in a burning building does not question the ladder the firefighter brings; he uses it. A person trapped on a mountain does not question the rope used to rescue him; he takes the rope and is pulled to safety. So why do we question the rescue that God has offered us when we deserve NO SUCH rescue?! Consider the tragic story of one man who found out all too late: "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 hell, 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 fixed, 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 father's house, 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." ( Like 16:19-31, NIV) Your fate does NOT have to be his. I pray that you take the gift that is offered. And as to those who are saved, we should keep all of this in mind; this world desperately needs the gospel, and it is up to us to bring it to the world. I bid you all peace.