Introduction
This is the second part of our topic about this controversial as well as fearful place. It is real and it will the final abode of all who reject Christ as well as Satan and his demons. If one goes to hell, it is his choice.
I. Is Hell Forever?
A. Yes, hell is man’s eternal separation from God – II Thessalonians 1:9 – These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.
B. This judgment, which will come quickly and unexpectedly, is irreversible – I Thessalonians 5:3b – …then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape
C. In hell, men will suffer eternal torment. And they will not be able to change their condition or reduce their agony – Rich man and Lazarus
D. Matthew 25:46 – And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
E. Revelation 14:11 – And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
F. The true essence of hell is eternal separation from the presence of God.
II. What is Hell Going to Be Like? Or What Is Someone Going To Experience In Hell?
A. A place of punishment – Matthew 25:46 – And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
B. A place of fire – Jude 1:7 – As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
C. A place darkness – Jude 1:13 – Raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
Some years ago my family visited a cave in the state of Kentucky. The guide led us through many beautiful and winding subterranean passageways. Suddenly he turned off all the lights and said, “I’m the only one who knows how to get back to the entrance. If I left you here, you’d probably never find your way out. Anyone lost in this cave would no doubt become insane within a week from the oppressive loneliness. Be quiet for a moment and feel the darkness!” I remember trying to act brave as any 5th or 6th grader. After about 30 seconds, someone in the party could endure it no longer and cried out, “Turn on the lights! I’m going crazy! NOW PLEASE!” The guide laughed, but we’ll not soon forget that frightening experience. I remember that and think about “outer darkness” of Hell and shudder!
D. A place of torment – Revelation 20:10 – The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
E. A place of consciousness – Luke 16:23 – And being in torments in Hell, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
F. A place of thirst – Luke 16:24 – Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
G. A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth – Matthew 25:30 – And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
H. Hell is a place of immeasurable loss!
1. Lose pleasures of this life, pleasures of sin, etc.
2. Lose fellowship with God.
3. Lose fellowship with loved ones here and hereafter.
a. A warden at a large prison was concerned about a longtime inmate because no one ever came to see him. Knowing that visitors boost morale, he called the man into his office one day. “Lefty,” he asked, “do you have any close relatives or personal friends?” “Sure,” Lefty answered. “But no one has visited you since the day you arrived. May I contact somebody for you?” “It wouldn’t do no good,” Lefty replied with a shrug. “They’re all here!”
b. This brings to mind a sobering fact. Some unbelievers try to soften the harsh reality of an eternal Hell by glibly saying, “Oh, it won’t be so bad because a lot of my friends will be there, too.”
c. How tragic! The expressions “outer darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth” make it obvious that the agony of eternal hell will be all consuming.
d. Most likely they will be like the rich man, who agonized over the coming judgment of his loved ones who were lost.
I. All hope will be lost, even the hope of dying. For the worm doesn’t die.
III. Why Do We Need To Know About Hell?
A. The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation. This that you have heard is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ. That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell’s wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power of God that holds you up. – Jonathon Edwards
B. We should have a legitimate concern for the fate of the lost which motivates us to warn men of the wrath of God to come – II Corinthians 5:20 – Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
C. Hell – a four letter cuss word now, but the most significant word of all to the lost.
1. Consider Hell as you witness.
2. It might put a little fire into your witnessing.
D. Why do we need to know about Hell?
1. Because there is a world of people that is in the fast lane, speeding toward Hell.
2. Our mission from God is that we are to warn people of the impending judgment.
3. To Win them for Christ.
4. Not everyone is going to accept Christ. They are going to make wrong choices, but if we warn them, we have given them the chance to accept Him and bypass the judgment of Hell to come.
IV. Let’s take a moment before we close, to imagine, if you will, your first 10 minutes in Hell.
Try to imagine that for every single moment, throughout all eternity, a time without end, every inch of your body will be in absolute pain. It will be more suffering than anything you have ever had before, worse than the most excruciating sunburn. It will be like having scalding, boiling water poured over your body every single second. You might possible say to yourself, “Surely the pain will get better!”, but it never comes. It will be an eternity without rest or relief. Your feet and hands blister, and your hair catches fire and you begin to gnaw your tongue, trying desperately to relieve the torment. Your throat becomes raw from screaming and wailing as spasms of anguish drop you into the burning fire. You gnash your teeth. As you gasp for air the burning brimstone flows into your mouth, running down your throat and into your stomach. You are on fire inside and out.
You try to focus your eyes in the endless, everlasting, permanent dwelling place of total torment and tortures but they burn with such pain as though they were melting in the sockets. Though you try to focus on anything you realize that it is totally dark. That fear of the dark and what might be lurking around you from your childhood comes back in full force.
A pleading scream comes from your lips. A cry for “Water” is felt throughout your whole being as you begin to bitterly weep.
With out warning, something suddenly reaches out of the darkness and grabs you. In terror, you cry out as you begin to feel teeth sinking into your flesh. You violently struggle, desperate to shake the gnashing person off in the darkness. A scream deafens your ears as the tormented person cries out in agony. You can only echo theirs and you both scream out in the darkness. Breathing heavily from the concentrated exertion, your lungs fill with smoke.
The roar of the flames and the piercing screams of the damned seem to tear at your eardrums. Oh, for just a moment of silence! But that silence never comes. You can’t run away this time. Thoughts of the Christians who didn’t tell you of this place, or was it that you just didn’t listen? Additionally, your thoughts go to and from the time you were in church. Memories that are so clear and vivid. You can still remember the time when the preacher was talking to you about this hopeless place of darkness and pain, but you didn’t want to listen. He talked about Jesus and His saving Blood… But you just didn’t want to listen.
He told me that I was a sinner! Now I accept Jesus as my Savior. I accept what He did for me on the cross. Can’t you hear me? I want to be saved! You know, born again! What the preacher said! Won’t you listen? Can’t you hear? Why didn’t someone tell me! Why didn’t they continue to tell me when I had ignored them! Didn’t they care!
For eternity you will scream those words again and again, over and over, repeating them for eternity, but alas, they go nowhere. For there is no second chance in Hell.
Then you begin to understand, this isn’t imagination, this is reality. The living and their prayers can’t help. Their money won’t help me here. I’m condemned here for eternity. Another scream escapes your burning lips, “No!” This isn’t fantasy or imagination. No, this is reality, and your reality without Christ. And this is only the first ten minutes, if that long. You see it will last forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. (By Joseph Nimeskern).
V. Conclusion:
It has been said that a preacher’s job is to make the comfortable uncomfortable and to comfort the uncomfortable. No topic can better accomplish this than the part of the unbeliever in the perfect plan of God. You, my friend, may feel confident that you will never experience the agony of hell–and be totally shocked to find yourself there for all eternity. There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death Proverbs 16:25. The only “way” which is right and which delivers one from eternal torment is the Lord Jesus Christ: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me. John 14:6. Will you come? Won’t you come and be saved from the eternal judgment of Hell?
Note: This sermon is not my original I posted it because I’m so blessed by it. The sermon I preached is almost the same but not all the illustration I used was the same. To to pastor who wrote this, God bless you and your ministry.
Preached; 30 June 2013
