“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17, NKJV).
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28, NKJV).
“Serpents! Brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33, NKJV).
“Then He will say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41, NKJV).
“And I saw a Great White Throne, and Him who sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven flew away and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to his works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the Second Death. And whoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire” (Revelation 20:1-15, KJV).
There are some things that are just plain getting harder to find in these last days, such as happy liberals, pretty lesbians, and preaching on the reality and horror of hell. Now that I’ve gotten your attention, let’s get over the idea in some of your minds that when it comes to the topic of hell, you would just as soon avoid it because it, frankly, interferes with your picture of the nature and person of Almighty God as a God of love and compassion. And for some of you, there is no suitable defense of the illusion that He is too good to send anyone to a place like hell.
I know all too well that many “preachers” tend to avoid this obvious declaration of biblical truth because some of their parishioners would be “offended” and have their false sense of intellect and sophistication ruffled, if they were told to believe that there will be a day of accountability for everyone who has, is now, and will ever live on this fallen planet. What realm of opinion or belief they may possess has been corroded by sin, and they are too deliberately blind to confront and rebuke the obvious wrongs that are out there in plain sight. The atmosphere of political correctness and progressive “Christianity” being peddled by some denominations and prevalent religious spokesmen is promoting a fanatical state of denial and ridicule of what is written in the Scriptures, as well as the very person and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ whose words are to be declared as truth, no matter what people might think or say.
In our false sense of mental pride, we feel that we need to gently but firmly tell the Sovereign God of All Creation, who holds our very lives and existence in His hands, that what He tells us in His Holy Word does not really mean what it says; or has been corrupted by superstition and error in translation or interpretation; or we want to defend His character by toning down the fact that He has judged nations and people in the past rather harshly for their failure to obey Him or follow His direction; or the fact that His own people, Israel, had a dark history of idolatry of the worst kind and gross wickedness as well as times of devotion and obedience.
God had to wipe out the very nation He had created and remove every vestige of idolatry and rebellion from them by putting them in exile in the respective empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. He has preserved His chosen people in the creation and preservation of the modern nation of Israel today, and it is from Jerusalem that the returning King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, will rule and reign the new heaven and the new earth.
The Jews and the nation of Israel are the people of God, plain and simple. If you don’t like it, take it up with Almighty God, but I promise it will not end well for you. Any nation or people that have given the Jews trouble or persecution have ended up on the ash heap of history (Genesis 12:1-4).
Let’s get back to the issue of God and His sovereign decision to create a place called hell.
To deny this is essentially calling Him, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit liars or misinformed or that the Bible is mistaken in its writing concerning this fact. This tells me that you think your brain is better organized and you somehow have the absolute gall and nerve to correct your Creator?
Let me make it as plain as day. He doesn’t need anyone’s advice or permission to do as He pleases and directs, and you are basically a vapor that floats away in terms of eternity and influence (James 4:13-15).
Cemeteries and memoirs are full of people who thought that they were indispensable and influential. The books of skeptics and scholars who have spent their lives mocking the Scriptures are inevitably found in the bargain bin of the local thrift store or a box in a garage-sale grab bag. If you don’t believe me, look back some time ago and list all of the books written by former staffers and consultants that were going to be sure-fire best sellers that would expose and bring down the presidency of Donald Trump and usher Hillary into her rightful place as dictator. I saw one such volume at a local half-price book dealer recently among a pile of others selling for $5.00 or less and were essentially collecting dust.
Truth will always win, and it is Almighty God who will have the victory in what the late pastor Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse referred to in his last book entitled The Invisible War, describing the age-old battle for the souls of men between the Lord and the devil, and the angels and demons who carry out their respective orders and strategies. It is essentially a war that has already been won by the Lord through the finished work of redemption from sin by Jesus Christ and His death on the cross and resurrection afterwards, determining that His mission to save us from our sins and eternal doom was affirmed and declared sufficient.
It is redemption and the complete forgiveness of sins by God that is the foundation of Christianity, not church buildings, differing denominations, clerics, priests, regulations, or religious observations that mean nothing in terms of true peace with God.
The deplorable behavior and words of those who use Jesus Christ as a means of making a quick profit off of the misplaced beliefs of people who trust the flashy, smiling motivational coach found on so-called “Christian” TV are nothing more than a weapon of the devil to sow seeds of disbelief and bitterness. It occurs all too often when some poor soul does not get the promised “financial blessing” or “supernatural breakthrough” promised by the preacher who lives in a multi-million-dollar home and needs a new jet every couple of years for “ministry business.” I truly believe that there is a special place in hell for these demons in designer suits, but I’ll leave that decision to the Lord.
Now, hell is a necessary part of God’s plan of bringing all events and situations that have, are, or will occur under His sovereign control and bring all of history to a final conclusion. It will bring Him all glory and honor from those who have trusted in Him for not just salvation, but final, unavoidable justice and judgment that will satisfy and comfort all those who have had to suffer and survive in an atmosphere of evil that seemed to have no end or relief in sight.
The truth is that God’s love will never allow those who have harmed His children; or spent their lives in denial and mockery of His grace and character; or those who have preyed upon and either molested or abused the innocent; or have wrecked the fledgling faith of people through the deceptive work of ridiculing Christianity or the reliability and truth of God’s Word to ever be in His eternal abode.
Those who have perverted God’s decrees and developed a false picture of Christ will be shut out, as well as those who relied upon their own concept of being “good.” They don’t possess any ability to cleanse oneself from the sins which they have heaped upon themselves throughout their lifetime to even consider heaven. All of these wicked individuals have or foolishly attempted to bypass, ignore, or ridicule the absolute need for repenting of their wickedness and rebellion and to throw themselves upon the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, who is ready to receive all who call upon Him (Romans 10:9-10; John 3:16, 14:1-6; Acts 4:12; 1 John 1:9-10).
Hell is the perfect creation of God to dispose of all who reject and hate Him. Nobody’s gotten out yet to refute that fact (Luke 16:19-31), and no one ever will until the end of history, where the Lord Jesus will send the judged and condemned wicked to the Lake of Fire forever. If there were no hell, then God’s character would be forever maligned and the mission of Jesus was for nothing.
Would it be really loving of God to allow an unrepentant pedophile, child abuser, sex trafficker, Satanist, ritual murderer, occultist, pervert, pornographer, pimp or prostitute, anyone who hates Him or His Son, political radical, atheist, agnostic, tyrant, jihadist, cult leader, false teacher, thief, abortionist, corrupted official, or any other rebel against God’s will into a place that had been reserved for those who have placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus and share eternity with these reprobates for all time?
Heaven would be hell for the righteous. There would be no final justice for victims, martyrs, and the innocent who had their lives horrendously altered by the behaviors of those for whom life meant nothing but a selfish, self-absorbed time of gratification.
It is exactly the loving hand of God that will place these rebels and miscreants, along with the devil, his demons, the coming Antichrist and his partner in crime the False Prophet into a place of eternal torment, terror, and agony where they will never escape or have another opportunity to bring evil upon anyone or any place ever again. The memory of these wicked will, I believe, be wiped away from the righteous by the Lord Jesus Christ when eternity begins and the New Heaven and the New Earth are brought into existence under the eternal rule of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The time is coming when all sin and sorrow is forever removed from the being and existence of the creation. God will have His final word, and there will be no appeal or mistrial to review. Eden will come forth again, and the promises of peace that this world can never hope to attain in its present sinful state will be forever realized and made pure and whole by our great God.
If you’re reading this article and you know that you’re not ready to face God and answer for your life, I implore you to repent of your sins NOW (2 Corinthians 6:2), and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you from eternal judgment and have total control of your life for all time, trusting Him to guide you in all things.
Start reading His Word, the Holy Bible every day (I suggest a version such as the New King James), and I recommend you start with the Gospel of Luke, then go on to the Acts of the Apostles to get a survey of Jesus and His work and that of the early church. Find a church where the Bible is held as the absolute inerrant Word of God and the pastor teaches the Scriptures exclusively. Talk to the Lord each day in prayer in your own words, and share your story with others.
Please don’t ignore, ridicule, or put this off. Your life is too precious to waste it in the eternal torments of hell. God truly is love, and He is the One who will give you true justice and vengeance against those who have or would hurt you. The Lord Jesus welcomes you with open arms even now. His love is forever, without regret or rejection. As someone who has followed Him these many years, I can tell you, He keeps His Word and His promises, and He’s getting ready to take us home. Make sure you’re ready to take the trip.
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