"So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take
out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of
fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:49-50).
The
doctrine of hell is one of the most neglected doctrines in all of Scripture.
When hell is mentioned today, it is generally ridiculed, as if the whole idea of
hell were so old-fashioned that only the naive and ignorant would really believe
that such a place actually exists. This is not hard to understand. Natural men
hate the idea of being held accountable for their lives to a holy God, because
they love sin and do not wish to part with it. The carnal mind throws up
objection after objection to the idea of hell because it does not want to face
the reality of it. Men live their lives thinking that maybe if they ignore a
difficulty long enough, it will go away. Even conservative religious leaders are
now attacking hell. Let men do what they will, the frivilous objections of the
foolish will not do away with hell.
Amid the clamour to annihilate hell,
those who believe the Bible to be true must stand and speak. Your consideration
of the terrors of hell may be one of the most important things you can do in
this life. "Then he who hears the sound of the trumpet, and does not take
warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own
head" (Ezekiel 33:4). Please, I implore you, invest the time it takes to read
this chapter and book to the end.
Why should we be so concerned about hell? Why should we spend time reading
about hell? There are several reasons why it is profitable to do so:
1)
Hearing about the terrors of hell may shock your conscience and awaken you out
of your false security.
2) Hearing about hell helps to deter men from
committing sin. Both the godly and the ungodly are persuaded not to sin as much
when they are regularly reminded of the terrors of hell.
3) Hearing about the
terrors of hell may help to awaken those among us who may think they are saved
because they believe in Christ or the facts of the gospel, but who are not
really saved and are on their way to hell, but don't know it.
4) Preaching
the doctrine of hell is profitable to both the godly and the ungodly alike, as
will be demonstrated.
Why aren't people fearful of hell? There seems to be a
real lack of fear today of the reality of hell. This applies to both those who
are in the church and those who are in the world. People are not afraid of hell.
Why?
You would not be afraid of a lion when it is only painted in a picture
upon a wall. Why is this? Because it is only a picture. You know that it is not
real. But if you were left alone in a jungle and came face to face with a real
lion that growled ferociously at you, you would be terrified. The consciences of
men are much like the man who only views the painted lion. We hear of hell in
the Bible. We know that the Lord Jesus spoke of hell. In fact, Christ spoke more
of hell than anyone else in the Scriptures. Why do men not believe hell is real?
Because they do not hear enough about it. We don't study what the Scriptures say
about hell. It is not just what we hear which makes up what we believe, it is
what we don't hear as well which helps to form our belief system. Only the
Spirit of God can present the terrors of hell to our hearts in such a way as to
see them alive before us. The doctrine of hell has been used by God more often
to the conversion of sinners than any other doctrine in the Scriptures. Pray now
that as you read this chapter the Holy Spirit will set hell before you as real
indeed.
THE NECESSITY OF HELL
Most who scoff at hell today probably do
so for several reasons. Primary among them is a desire to pursue their own paths
of sin without having their consciences troubled about the consequences of their
actions. They do not want to hear that what they are doing is wrong. They do not
want to hear that their sin will be punished. I can hear someone say, "But isn't
eternal torment in hell inconsistent with a merciful and loving God? How could a
good God punish people in hell forever?" A misunderstanding of the character of
God and the nature of sin can easily lead to such questions. Why is hell
necessary? Let us examine several reasons for the necessity of hell.
1) The
Great Evil in Sin and the Holiness of God. The difficulty most people have in
understanding the necessity of hell is related to an incomplete and inadequate
understanding of both how awful sin is and how glorious God is. We do not see
what a great evil is in the least sin, nor do we understand God's holiness, His
justice, and His wrath. If we saw sin as the greatest evil in the world and
realized that every sin is a rejection of God's rule over us, a sneering at Him,
a shaking of our fist in His face, and a hurling of dung at Him, we would begin
to understand a small bit of what our sin is like to God. Every time we sin, we
either set ourselves, or a pet lust, up in our hearts as a rival god. Sin
rejects the Creator as God and sets up the creature in His place.
If we could
comprehend God's holiness and what it means to be holy, pure, perfect, upright,
and untainted by the least sin, we would have a better idea of why God hates sin
so much. Absolute holiness cannot tolerate the least sin, "Thine eyes are too
pure to approve evil, and Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor"
(Habakkuk 1:13). If we could understand the glorious holiness and purity of God
and also the abominable nature of sin more, then we would have no problem with
the absolute necessity of hell.
"The heart is more deceitful than all else
and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). The human
heart is sick. The human heart is wicked. The human heart is deceitful. The
corruption in the heart causes us to be deceived about the awfulness of sin as
well as many other things.
2) God's Infinite Nature. In understanding what
our sin is really like, we must view it through the eyes of God. God is an
infinite, eternal being. Every act of sin is committed against an infinite, holy
God. In every act of sin we dethrone God and set ourselves above God. In every
sin this question is the issue, "Whose will shall be done, God's will or man's?
Now, man by sin sets his own will above the Lord's, and so kicks God as filth
under his feet."1 A single act of sin committed against a holy, infinite God
deserves infinite punishment. It is an infinite evil to offend an infinite God
even once.
3) Divine Justice. Even one sin against God calls for God to
vindicate His name and His justice by punishing it as fully as it deserves. God
can and will vindicate His justice. He promises to do so in Romans 12:19 where
it says, "leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, `Vengence is mine,
I will repay, says the Lord.'" One of the greatest preachers that ever lived,
Jonathan Edwards, wrote, "The glory of God is the greatest good; it is that
which is the chief end of creation; it is of greater importance than anything
else. But this is one way wherein God will glorify Himself, as in the eternal
destruction of ungodly men He will glorify His justice. Therein He will appear
as a just governor of the world. The vindictive justice of God will appear
strict, exact, awful, and terrible, and therefore glorious."2
A
DESCRIPTION OF HELL
Hell is a furnace of unquenchable fire, a place of
everlasting punishment, where its victims are tormented in both their bodies and
their minds in accordance with their sinful natures, their actual sins
committed, and the amount of spiritual light given to them, which they rejected.
Hell is a place from which God's mercy and goodness have been withdrawn, where
God's wrath is revealed as a terrifying, consuming fire, and men live with
unfulfilled lusts and desires in torment forever and ever.
In Matthew
13:47-50 the Lord Jesus tells a parable relating to the judgment. In verses
49-50, the Lord describes the fate of the wicked: "So it will be at the end of
the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the
righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth."
In examining these words of the Lord Jesus we should
first notice that hell is described as being a furnace of fire. Nebuchadnezzar's
furnace was heated seven times hotter than normal and is described as "a furnace
of blazing fire" (Daniel 3:23). John the Baptist spoke of "unquenchable fire"
and Revelation describes hell as "a lake of fire burning with brimstone"
(Revelation 19:20). Can we really imagine the horror of which these words speak?
Imagine every part of your body on fire at the same time, so that every fiber of
your being felt the intense torment of being burned. How long could you endure
such punishment? Christ tells us that "there shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth." The lost will wail and gnash their teeth from having to endure the most
intense pain and suffering they have ever felt as the flames consume them and
constantly burn every part of their bodies. And there will be no
relief.
Jonathan Edwards describes in graphic language what the fires of hell
will be like: "Some of you have seen buildings on fire; imagine therefore with
yourselves, what a poor hand you would make at fighting with the flames, if you
were in the midst of so great and fierce a fire. You have often seen a spider or
some other noisome insect, when thrown into the midst of a fierce fire, and have
observed how immediately it yields to the force of the flames. There is no long
struggle, no fighting against the fire, no strength exerted to oppose the heat,
or to fly from it; but it immediately stretches forth and yields; and the fire
takes possession of it, and at once it becomes full of fire. Here is a little
image of what you will be in hell, except you repent and fly to Christ. To
encourage yourselves that you will set yourselves to bear hell-torments as well
as you can, is just as if a worm, that is about to be thrown into a glowing
furnace, should swell and fortify itself, and prepare itself to fight the
flames."3
Hell is also described as a place of darkness. The Lord tells us of
the guest without wedding clothes who was cast "into outer darkness" (Matthew
22:13). Jude writes of those in hell "for whom the black darkness has been
reserved forever" (Jude 13). Christopher Love says in his work Hell's Terrors:
"darkness is terrible, and men are more apt to fear in the dark then light: hell
is therefore set forth in so terrible an expression, to make the hearts of men
tremble; not only darkness, but the blackness of darkness".4
Hell is compared
to Tophet in Isaiah 30:33. Tophet was the place where the idolatrous Jews
sacrificed their children to the heathen god Molech by casting them into the
fire. Day and night shrieks and howls were heard in that place, as day and night
shrieks, howls, and wailing are heard in hell.
Isaiah speaks of "the breath
of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone" setting hell ablaze. There is good
evidence from the Scriptures that God Himself will be the fire in hell. Hebrews
12:29 says, "Our God is a consuming fire." The ungodly on earth ignorantly dance
for joy when they hear pastors speak about the love and mercy of God, but they
will be the beneficiaries of neither, unless they repent. To them God will be an
all consuming fire. Hebrews 10:30-31 warns: "For we know him who said, `Vengence
is Mine, I will repay,' And again, `The Lord will judge His people.' It is a
terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." It is a fearful
thing, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God! You
shall not escape hell, sinner. God will be your hell and His wrath will consume
you and be poured upon you as long as He exists. "Who understands the power of
Thine anger?" (Psalm 90:11). It is because God Himself will be the fire in hell
that words cannot possibly express the terrors of the damned in hell. "There is
no reason to suspect that possibly ministers set forth this matter beyond what
it really is, that possibly it is not so dreadful and terrible as it is
pretended, and that ministers strain the description of it beyond just
bounds...We have rather reason to suppose that after we have said our utmost,
all that we have said or thought is but a faint shadow of reality."5
In Luke
16:19-26 Christ tells us of two men. One of them was rich (he has traditionally
been called Dives); the other man was poor (his name was Lazarus). Both men
died. The poor man was carried by angels to heaven and the rich man went to
hell. The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich, nor did the poor man
go to heaven simply because he was poor. The Lord shows us through this contrast
that our circumstances may change drastically when we pass from time into
eternity. We are not to be fooled that just because God may not have dealt
harshly with us here, that he will not do so after death. The eternal abiding
place of both men resulted from the condition of their hearts before God, while
they were on earth. Lazarus was a true follower of God. Dives was not. We want
to carefully note what the Scriptures tell us about Dives and his condition, for
from that we may learn much about hell. Verses 23-24 indicate to us that Dives
is "in torment." What does it mean to be "in torment?" This torment refers to
both torment in body and torment in soul as well. As we have seen, men's bodies
will be tormented in a furnace of fire. Every part of the body will feel the
pain of that fire. Men with severe stomach pains can be in great agony from that
alone, but this pain will be far greater. Death from cancer is sometimes said to
cause extreme pain in the body, but the pain of hell will be far worse. If your
body were afflicted with many different and painful diseases all at the same
time, you still would not begin to approach the pain of the damned in
hell.
Men's consciences shall be in torment in hell as well. Conscience is
the worm that will not die which the Scriptures speak of (Mark 9:48; Isaiah
66:24). Dives is told to "remember that during your life." Men will be tormented
with extreme pain, but they will also be tormented by their own memories. They
will remember hearing of hell and scoffing at it. They will remember being
warned and told to repent or told that accepting the blessings of heaven without
submitting to Christ as Lord falls short of salvation, but they took no heed to
those warnings. They will be tormented by seeing at a distance the glories of
heaven (as Dives was able to do), and knowing that for all eternity they will be
damned. They will be tormented by unfulfilled desires and unfulfilled lusts
(Dives is not able to receive even a drop of water to cool his tongue). They
will be tormented by the knowledge that they will never escape from hell (Dives
is told that "neither can you pass to us"). They will be tormented by the cries,
shrieks, and curses of the damned around them. The most extreme torments a man
can experience on earth will be like flea bites compared to the torments of
hell.
Jonathan Edwards speaks of men unable to find even a moment of relief
in hell in his sermon on The Future Punishment of the Wicked: "Nor will they
ever be able to find anything to relieve them in hell. They will never find any
resting place there; any secret corner, which will be cooler than the rest,
where they may have a little respite, a small abatement of the extremity of
their torment. They never will be able to find any cooling stream or fountain,
in any part of that world of torment; no, nor so much as a drop of water to cool
their tongues. They will find no company to give them any comfort, or do them
the least good. They will find no place, where they can remain, and rest, and
take breath for one minute: for they will be tormented with fire and brimstone;
and they will have no rest day nor night forever and ever."6
THE ETERNITY
OF HELL
The most terrifying aspect of all about hell is its length or
duration. Hell is eternal. Hell will last forever. Can you comprehend eternity?
No mathimatical equation or formula can explain it. Your mind cannot conceive of
eternity, but it is none the less real. This aspect of hell alone should cause
men to cry out in repentance. It is not surprising that skeptics of all ages
have attacked the eternal nature of hell, substituting doctrines like the
annihilation of the wicked in its place. Let us look at the Scriptures to verify
the eternal nature of hell and to try and understand eternity better. Then we
will explore why hell must be eternal.
"And the devil who deceived them was
thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false
prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever"
(Revelation 20:10). This verse clearly gives us the duration of hell. Hell is
forever and ever. How could a stronger, more certain expression be used? If the
Spirit of God wanted to communicate the eternal nature of hell to men what could
communicate it better than the expression "forever and ever?" The Scripture has
no higher expression which is used to denote eternity than "forever and ever"
for it is the very phrase used to tell us of the eternal existence of God
Himself, as in Revelation 4:9: "to him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives
forever and ever." Does anyone doubt that God will live to all eternity? How
then can you doubt that hell will not last to all eternity when the same
expression is used for both?
"We can conceive but little of the matter; but
to help your conception, imagine yourself to be cast into a fiery oven, or a
great furnace, where your pain would be as much greater than that occasioned by
accidentally touching a coal of fire, as the heat is greater. Imagine also that
your body were to lie there for a quarter of an hour, full of fire, and all the
while full of quick sense; what horror would you feel at the entrance of such a
furnace! and how long would that quarter of an hour seem to you! And after you
had endured it for one minute, how overbearing would it be to you to think that
you had to endure the other fourteen! But what would be the effect on your soul,
if you knew you must lie there enduring that torment to the full for twenty-four
hours...for a whole year...for a thousand years! Oh, then, how would your hearts
sink, if you knew, that you must bear it forever and ever! that there would be
no end! that after millions of millions of ages, your torment would be no nearer
to an end, and that you never, never should be delivered! But your torment in
hell will be immensely greater than this illustration represents."7
Christ,
describing the great day of judgment, tells of the separation of the wicked and
the righteous using these words: "And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:46). Is there
anyone who would deny that heaven exists eternally? Will the lives of the
blessed in heaven be brought to an end one day? Of course not. But the same
Greek word is used here in this verse to speak of the eternal life of the
righteous and the everlasting punishment of the wicked. Hell will last as long
as heaven does.
In hell there will be different degrees of torment appointed
to men as indicated by a number of Scriptures. Luke 12:47-48 says: "And that
slave who knew his master's will and die not get ready or act in accord with his
will, shall receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed
deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Christ says in Matthew 11:24:
"Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
in the day of judgment, than for you." The verses in Matthew indicate that the
people in Capernaum will receive a greater punishment on judgment day than those
who had lived in Sodom. The verses in Luke speak of a differentiation in
judgment based on the amount of light received: some will receive many stripes
and others will receive few.
Those who commit greater sins than others or
more sins than others will receive greater punishment in hell (John 19:11).
Religious hypocrites, those who profess Christianity but are not real
Christians, will be punished more severely than others (Matthew 23:14-15). The
Lord said of Judas Iscariot, "It would have been good for that man if he had not
been born" (Matthew 26:24). How could any of these things be said to be true if
annihilation were what awaited men after death? The presence of different
degrees of punishment only makes sense in light of the ability to sensibly feel
the torment. Could it be said that it would have been better for Judas if he had
never been born if annihilation was all that awaited him? Annihilation is like
no punishment at all.
Each time the unbeliever sins he is adding to his
torment in hell. The person who sins twice as much as another with similar light
will receive twice as much punishment. Every day that sinners continue to live
and breathe here on earth without repenting, they are adding to their torments
in hell. Romans 2:5 tells us: "But because of your stubborness and unrepentant
heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God." The Lord Jesus encouraged the righteous to
lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. The wicked are increasing their
future wrath and torment in hell every day by their continued sinning. They add
to their punishment daily. In hell men will wish that they had never been
born.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said: "In hell there is no hope. They have not
even the hope of dying--the hope of being annihilated. They are
forever--forever--forever lost! On every chain in hell, there is written
"forever". In the fires there, blaze out the words, "forever". Above their
heads, they read, "forever". Their eyes are galled and their hearts are pained
with the thought that it is "forever". Oh, if I could tell you tonight that hell
would one day be burned out, and that those who were lost might be saved, there
would be a jubilee in hell at the very thought of it. But it cannot be--it is
"forever" they are cast into the outer darkness."8
Christopher Love uses an
illustration to try and help us understand what eternity means: "Suppose all the
mountains of the earth were mountains of sand, and many more mountains still
added thereto, till they reached up to heaven, and a little bird should once in
every thousand years take one (grain of) sand of this mountain, there would be
an innumerable company of years pass over before that mass of sand would be
consumed and taken away, and yet this time would have an end; and it would be
happy for man, if hell were no longer than this time; but this is man's misery
in hell, he shall be in no more hope of coming out after he hath been there
millions of years, then he was when he was first cast in there; for his torments
shall be to eternity, without end, because the God that damns him is
eternal."9
Earlier we looked at the necessity of hell or why there must be a
place like hell. Now we will look at why hell must not only exist, but why it
must exist eternally. Why is it necessary that hell be eternal? There are
several answers to this which we shall explore briefly.
The first reason we
will look at is the one mentioned by Christopher Love in the passage just
quoted. The God who damns men is an eternal God. "Ultimately the eternality of
hell is based upon the nature of God."10 Is God's Word eternal? Is God's nature
eternal? The Scripture tells us: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today,
yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). "His righteousness endures forever" (Psalm
111:3). "The Word of the Lord abides forever" (I Peter 1:24). If God's Word is
eternal, if God's righteousness is eternal, if God Himself is eternal, then why
shouldn't His wrath be eternal as well? As eternally existent, all of God's
attributes are eternal and immutable; therefore, hell, as an expression of God's
wrath, must be eternal.
Hell must be eternal because God's justice could
never be satisfied by the punishment of sinners no matter how long it lasts.
Christ makes this clear when He speaks about settling with your accuser before
you get to court, otherwise you shall be cast into prison and "I tell thee, thou
shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite" (Luke 12:59).
Man can do nothing to pay for his sins. No amount of punishment in hell, no
matter how long, can ever atone for sins. It is impossible; therefore, hell must
be eternal.
Thirdly, hell must be eternal because the Scriptures tell us that
the worm which gnaws the conscience of men in hell never dies. "For their worm
shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched" (Isaiah 66:24). If the worm
never dies, then those being tormented by the worm shall never die.
Lastly,
hell will be eternal because men continue to sin in hell. They increase and
compound their guilt there. Hell is a place where tormented men curse God, curse
themselves, and scream and wail with blasphemous language at their fellow men
around them. Wicked men will increase each other's torments as they accuse,
blame, and condemn one another. Men will not repent in hell because the
character of sinners does not change. They remain sinners. Men will sin to
eternity, therefore, God will punish them eternally.
APPLICATION TO
BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS
The Old Testament prophets warn us repeatedly of
the dangers of hell: "Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?" (Isaiah
33:14, KJV). "Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the
burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire" (Nahum 1:6). Sinner,
are you so arrogant as to think you can bear the wrath of God poured out in full
measure upon you? You may think that hell is not so hot and that you will be
able to bear it quite well. If you believe that you are more than a fool. The
terrors of hell cause the devils to tremble and are you so foolish as to be
unmoved by them or make light of them?
Do not think that simply because you
go to church, or believe in God, or believe intellectually in the truths of
Christianity that you will escape hell. The majority of those who regularly
attend churches every week, all over the world, will go to hell. Thomas Shepard,
pastor and founder of Harvard University, wrote: "Formal professors and carnal
gospelers have a thing like faith, and like sorrow, and like true repentance,
and like good desires, but yet they be but pictures; they deceive others and
themselves too...most of them that live in the church shall perish."11
You
who profess to be Christians, but do not read your Bible much and pray little:
how shall you escape the damnation of hell? You who are not especially bothered
by little sins or troubled by the vain and filthy thoughts which you have: are
you ready to go to hell? You who think the kingdom of God consists in a verbal
profession of Christ or intellectually believing that Jesus died for your sins,
but who are not concerned with living a holy, godly life and give little or no
thought to God during the week: are you prepared to endure the torments of hell,
day and night, forever and ever? You had better be, because if these things are
true of you, you are headed straight for hell, unless you repent. Do not delude
yourself! Christianity does not consist in words, or pious statements, or mere
intellectual belief, but in a new heart and a new life dedicated to not sinning
and living for the glory of God. If your heart and life have not been changed by
God, you are still in your sins. If you are living in known disobedience to the
word of God and are unconcerned about it, you have no right to assume you are
going to heaven: you are on your way to hell! Repent of all your sins and turn
to Jesus Christ and surrender to Him as Lord. Listen to the words of Christ: "If
your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you. It is
better for you to enter life with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into
the fiery hell" (Matthew 18:9). "Nothing short of the complete denying of self,
the abandoning of the dearest idol, the forsaking of the most cherished sinful
course--figuratively represented under the cutting off of a right hand and the
plucking out of a right eye--is what He claims from every one who would have
true communion with Him."12 But remember, the difficulty involved in forsaking
all for Christ is nothing compared to spending eternity in hell.
I do not
believe anyone can be scared into heaven, but I do believe they can be scared
away from hell, so that they might begin to seek God with all their hearts, and
to beg Christ to have mercy on them. Men stand on the brink of the pit of hell
and are ready to fall headlong into it and yet they are completely unaware they
are in any danger. If hearing about hell can cause otherwise senseless men to
consider eternal truths, then preaching about hell is valuable indeed. It is
better to view hell now, while you are living, and be terrified by it, than to
have to endure hell forever when you die.
I would not have you to be more
afraid of hell than of sin. Sin is your real enemy. Sin is worse than hell
because sin gave birth to hell. Would you be willing to go to hell for all
eternity for the enjoyment of a little pleasure and lust here on earth? Flee
from sin! Flee from living for self and self-pleasing to Jesus Christ. When you
die it will be to late. All opportunity to repent ends at death.
This
doctrine is useful to the godly as well as the ungodly. The doctrine of hell
should stir up within the righteous a fear of God. A godly fear is useful in
many ways. The one who has a fear of God in his heart has a greater respect for
the commandments of God. He who truly fears God will not fear men and would
rather displease men than God (Isaiah 8:12-13). This doctrine should increase
your faithfulness and joy in Christ that you have been delivered from the
torments of hell and should likewise increase your love for Christ who endured
the wrath of God upon the cross for you.
The doctrine of hell should stir up
within you a fear of sin. It should cause us to fear even little sins and be
careful to confess and forsake sins of the heart and thought life also. Let the
doctrine of hell keep you from the practice of sin.
The doctrine of hell
should help the godly to be patient under all outward, temporary afflictions
which come to them. No matter how great your afflictions are in this world, they
are far less than the torments of hell from which the Lord has freed the godly.
You may have to undergo lessor torments while on earth, but remember they are
only temporary and you have been freed from the greatest of all torments so you
may rejoice even in a time of affliction.
This doctrine is useful to motivate
you to tell others of the message of Christ. Eryl Davies wrote in his book The
Wrath of God: "The eternity of hell's sufferings should make us the more zealous
and eager to tell people of the only One who is able to rescue them. Do we
shrink from declaring these solemn truths? Does the thought of hell displease
us? Remember that God will be glorified even through the eternal sufferings of
unbelievers in hell. His injured majesty will be vindicated...What is supreme in
the purpose of God in the election and reprobation of men is His own glory, and
hell also will glorify the justice, power, and wrath of God throughout eternity.
In the meantime it is our responsibility to pray and work for the salvation of
sinners before such awful punishment overtakes them."13
I cannot leave
without one final word to those who think they are converted, but are not; and
also, to those who know themselves to be unconverted. Can you conceive of
eternity? Stop now and try to imagine being tormented unceasingly, forever,
without end. Does this not terrify you? Never a chance for a moment's rest.
Never a drop of water to cool your parched throat. Think again of how long
eternity is. Try to imagine it: day and night, forever and ever, burned with
fire like a spider in a furnace of flames. Shrieking, howling, wailing, cursing
the day you were born, and being cursed by the devils and damned souls around
you eternally. Remembering, forever remembering, how you were warned on earth
and how you ignored those warnings: self-satisfied and self-deceived that all
was well with your soul. Job's wife told him to curse God and die. Unless you
repent and flee to Jesus Christ, who is your only hope, you shall curse God
eternally and be tormented by Him in His presence in the awful fullness of His
wrath, and you shall never die. You shall never die. You shall never die!
Eternity is forever!
1 Thomas Shepard, The Works of Thomas Shepard,
Volume 1, (New York: AMS Press, 1967), p. 94.
2 Jonathan Edwards, The Works
of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 2, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1974) p. 87.
3
Ibid, p. 82.
4 Christopher Love, Hell's Terrors, (London: T. M., 1653), p.
19.
5 Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 2, (Edinburgh:
Banner of Truth, 1974) p. 884.
6 Ibid, p.80.
7 Ibid, p. 81.
8 Charles
Haddon Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Volume 1, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House, 1990), p. 308.
9 Christopher Love, Hell's Terrors, (London: T. M.,
1653), pp. 54-55.
10 John Gerstner, Heaven and Hell, (Grand Rapids: Baker
Book House, 1991), p. 77.
11 Thomas Shepard, The Works of Thomas Shepard,
Volume 1, (New York: AMS Press, 1967), p. 58.
12 A. W. Pink, Studies in the
Scriptures, January 1932, p. 18.
13 Eyrl Davies, The Wrath of God, (Mid
Glamorgan, Wales: Evangelical Press of Wales, 1984), p. 59.
The Terrors
of Hell is copyrighted 1992 by William C. Nichols. You may download this text
for your own personal use. Should you desire additional printed copies of The
Terrors of Hell you may obtain them from: International Outreach, Inc., P. O.
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