A Trip to Hell
(Preached first on 15/06/08, Sunday)
Text: Rev. 20:15
Introduction
Often the word “hell” is thrown around casually like it was no big deal.
Many people even joke about Hell.
Some have been heard saying that they didn’t mind going to Hell, because all of their favorite film stars and cricketers were going to be there too.
However, anyone making such a statement has little knowledge of what Hell is really like.
Some people say that they are already going through hell on this earth.
When you compare your problems to the torment in hell, your biggest problems will look like pleasures!
God’s Word always speaks of Hell as a very literal place, filled with very literal people for all eternity.
It goes without saying that I could have found many more pleasant topics to speak on today than that of Hell.
But if I am to be a faithful steward of God’s Word, I must preach the whole counsel of God, not just the pleasant parts.
Besides that, Christ Himself has set a very good precedent for me, in that He preached more about Hell than about Heaven, during His earthly ministry.
The writer to the Hebrews stated that the doctrine of hell was one of the foundation truths of the faith: Hebrews 6:1-2.
There are a number of things that make Hell a horrible place.
Some Facts about Hell
God originally prepared hell for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41).
But man chose to follow the devil instead of God!
Those who leave the One True God and follow Satan also go to where the devil goes.
This morning I want to take you on a trip to hell!
I know it’s not going to be pleasant, but it is absolutely essential to take this trip!
Fear
Ps 73:18-19 – fear in hell
Imagine millions and millions of people screaming in terror!
Tiger – Zoo Park – very ferocious – you will live with that fear forever!
Literal Fire
Hell has lot of heat!
Mt. 13:49-50 – Literal fire in hell
Luke 16:23-25 – if it was metaphorical flames, water would not suffice.
It was literal fire!
Rev. 9:2 – if there was no fire, how could there be any smoke?
Torment
Rev. 14:11 – there is no rest from torment.
In Luke 16, we see the Rich Man possessed the sense of sight, the sense of touch, and thinking processes in hell.
The Scriptures clearly indicate that the inhabitants of Hell experience immeasurable physical pain.
Matt.13:42 “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
British tormenting Indians during the British Rule.
Endless Punishment
In hell, even if you want to die, you can’t!
Exodus 3:2 – Moses saw the fire which did not consume!
The Bible is opposed to universalism and annihilation. Hell is forever!!!
Hell is forever! Can you fathom that?
I wish hell wasn’t forever!
But the Bible very clearly presents that it is forever and there is no end to it.
Those in hell will suffer permanent misery.
Rev.14:11a “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night…”
When we travel in buses and trains, we see Emergency windows and doors – But people, there will be no exit signs in Hell, for there will be no escape – there will be no way out.
The time to miss Hell is now, while there is still time. No one knows when time will run out for them.
Education and travel – you make plans; how much more we need to plan for our eternity!
While I was traveling from New Delhi to Hyderabad, a man said that he booked his train tickets 90 days back!
I wish we could plan about our eternal destiny like that!
There is no word such as hope in hell!
There is no second chance given to those who have been sentenced to eternal torment.
The decisions made in life find their eternal consequences fully carried out after death.
There will be no second chance. This should stir the Church to proclaim the message, "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Jesus’ picture of hell as a place where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48) indicates that this manifestation of God’s wrath is unending.
This fact, that God the Judge, the "Lord of glory" himself (1 Cor 2:8), accepted the punishment due us, suggests that the penalty for sin against the Infinite is infinite!!!
Hell is completely the opposite of heaven!
Hell is absence of all of God’s goodness and blessings!
Eternal fire, eternal darkness, eternal pain, eternal separation from God, eternal loneliness, eternal weeping, eternal anger!
There are tears, no presence of God, no joy, etc.
No Water
Luke 16:23-24 – you’ll not even get one drop of water!
Contrast this with Rev. 21:6 – living waters!
Degrees of punishment.
There are degrees of punishment in hell – but still it’s terrible.
Should a man like Adolph Hitler, who was responsible for the murder of millions of Jews, suffer the same torment as an unbelieving German, who sought to spare the Jews from persecution and death?
The scripture tells us,. . . who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation (Mark 12:40).
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds (Revelation 20:13; cf. also Romans 1-3; 2 Thessalonians 1:6; Revelation 16:5-6).
Different levels of torment – Mt. 23:14; Heb. 10:29;
But still there isn’t any nice spot in hell!
Haunting memories in hell.
Cf. Luke 16
Those in Hell will remember every mean and ungodly thing they ever did.
They’ll remember the times they lied, cheated, hated, lusted, committed adultery, etc.
Those in Hell will remember the face of every person who ever tried to tell them about Christ.
Those in Hell will remember every message they ever heard on repentance and salvation.
Those in Hell will remember every time the Holy Spirit pled with them to be saved, and how their heart pounded with conviction as they considered a decision for Christ.
The inhabitants of Hell will be haunted throughout eternity by the memories of missed opportunities to receive Christ.
Hell is hell because there is no God over there.
We choose hell
G. K. Chesterton once remarked, "Hell is God’s great compliment to the reality of human freedom and the dignity of human personality." Hell, a compliment? Yes, because God is saying to us, "You are significant. I take you seriously. Choose to reject me -- choose hell if you will. I will let you go."
No one who is ever in hell will be able to say to God, "You put me here," and no one who is in heaven will ever be able to say, "I put myself here." John Hannah.
A Doctor’s Testimony
Dr. Maurice Rawlings, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University Of Tennessee College Of Medicine, was also a devout atheist. But in 1977, while trying to resuscitate a man who had been screaming in terror, something happened that changed his thinking. He gave this report in Omni magazine:
Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, “I am in hell!” He was terrified and pleaded with me to help him. I was scared to death…Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling—he looked as if his hair was “on end.” He later wrote a book called “Beyond Death’s Door” – saying that hell was real!
Those who never heard the gospel go to hell.
The Biblical view is that even the people who have never heard the gospel go to hell.
I wish it was not true, but that’s the truth that the Bible presents.
How could a loving God send anyone to hell, especially someone who has never heard about Christ?
In fact, says Paul, God has revealed himself plainly in the creation to all people.
And yet people reject even this basic knowledge of God.
Romans 1:18-20 reveals that even those who don’t know God’s Word have an intuitive knowledge of right and wrong and God’s judgment against sin.
Jesus says "the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10).
In other words, he came offering grace to a world that was "condemned already" (John 3:17-18).
God is Just
He is love, but He is also a God of justice and wrath when confronted with sin.
Hell is not only God giving men what they deserve; He is giving them what they want.
If God doesn’t punish people in hell, then He is not a holy and righteous God!
The greatness of our salvation is measured by the greatness of the judgment from which we have been delivered by our Lord.
Get Radical against sin!
As Habakkuk 1:13 states, God’s eyes are too pure to behold or approve evil and He cannot look upon sin.
Mark 9:43-48 – be radical with sin!
Turn or Burn!
II Cor.6:2b “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Rev. 20:15 – are you sure your name is written in the Book of Life?
If you are living in a back-slidden state in some sin, repent and come back to the Lord!
Let’s share the Gospel!
Finally, the doctrine of eternal judgment should motivate the Christian to take evangelism seriously.
If men and women are going to spend eternity in torment, apart from the living God, it is imperative that we warn them of the danger they are in.
As the apostle Paul put it, “Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men …” (2 Corinthians 5:11).
A grasp of the horrors of hell also affects our motivation in evangelism and our desire to live a pure and holy life!!!
Those of you who are saved – Rejoice and be grateful to the Lord that you have escaped the horrors of hell!
With Paul, I say, "I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Primarily, I like to present the Gospel to the people that God is a God of love; but if people are stiff-necked, I will warn them that they are doomed to hell if they do not repent!
Even if they accuse me of terrorizing them about hell, I’ll not be ashamed because it is worth saving a soul by talking about the judgment of God!
Jesus is coming soon – NOW IS THE TIME TO REPENT AND NOW IS THE TIME TO REACH OUT TO THE LOST SOULS!!!
Are there corpses in your house who are not saved?
Thank God for Jesus! We don’t have to go to hell because Jesus took our punishment!
God doesn’t want even a single person to go to hell – 2 Peter 3:9.
William Booth of the Salvation Army is quoted as saying that if he could do it, he would have finalized the training of his soldiers with 24 hours hanging over hell, to see its eternal torment.
Charlie Peace was a criminal – the prison chaplain routinely and sleepily read some Bible verses – “Sir, if I believed what you and the Church of God say that you believe, even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it, if need be, on hands and knees and think it worth-while living, just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that!”
I tell people that I have not sacrificed anything at all to come to the ministry.
It’s worth it to leave all and to save just a single soul!
Your Soul is priceless – it has more value than the riches of the whole world!
Ministry team, how much are you striving and sacrificing to serve God???
Saints of God, what price are you paying for the work of the Lord???
Because the Church has lost Holy Spirit fire, men go to hell-fire!
About 2 lakh people go to hell everyday!!! Is that nothing to you?
Let’s live holy lives! Let’s reach out to the lost souls, no matter what the price is!
