THE HORRORS OF HELL
Text: Rev.20: 15 and Rev.21: 8
Intro: The term “hell” is used in a variety of ways these days; most of them negative. Often this word 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 friends were going to be there too; and boy were they going to party hardy! However, anyone making such a statement has little knowledge of what Hell is really like. Otherwise, they’d know that Hell is anything but a joke. The fact is, after less than a second in Hell, the former jokers will not be laughing.
Some rather ill-informed people have even tried to foster the idea that Hell is merely a state of mind. Still others say that Hell is here on earth. Yet another group agree that Hell is real, but believe that those sent there are simply incinerated, and that that is the end of it. But none of these concepts can be found in the Bible. 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.
There are a number of things that make Hell a horrible place. For the lost who may be present, this message is preached with the hope that they will determine to give their heart to Christ before it’s too late. For the saved, this message is preached with the hope that we will determine to do whatever we can to warn people of this horrible place, and to let them know that Christ has provided them a way of escape.
Theme: Hell is a horrible place because of:
I. THE MASSES IN HELL
A. These Masses Are Large.
Prov.27: 20a “Hell and destruction are never full…”
Isa.5: 14a “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure…”
NOTE: Though both of these verses specifically speak of death and the grave (sheol), it is still a valid point to relate this to the masses of Hell. People have been rejecting God and dying in their sins since before recorded time. It isn’t much of a stretch to deduct that there will be unnumbered millions in Hell.
B. These Masses Are Not Listed.
Rev.20: 12 “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.
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15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
C. These Masses Are Lost.
1. They will be there because of their refusal to repent and rely on Christ for salvation.
John 3: 16 “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.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
2. Rejection of the Savior leaves one with no other alternative but to suffer God’s wrath upon sin.
John 3: 36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Rom.6: 23a “For the wages of sin is death…”
NOTE: One thing that is truly horrifying about Hell is the fact that it is a place of no hope. It is a place of separation from Christ; and apart from Christ there can be no hope.
The most dreadful torment of the lost, in fact that which constitutes their state of torment, will be this coming to themselves, when too late for repentance.
H. Alford, The New Testament for English Readers, Moody, p. 395.
II. THE MEMORIES IN HELL
A. One Will Remember Their Life.
Luke 16: 22 “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And 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.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.”
NOTE: [1] Those in Hell will remember every mean and ungodly thing they ever did. They’ll remember the times they lied, cheated, hated, and lusted.
[2] Those in Hell will remember the face of every person who ever tried to tell them about Christ.
[3] Those in Hell will remember every message they ever heard on repentance and salvation.
[4] 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.
[5] Folks, the inhabitants of Hell will be haunted throughout eternity by the memories of missed opportunities to receive Christ.
B. One Will Remember Others Who Are Lost.
Luke 16: 27 “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
NOTE: [1] My! what great soul winners Christians would be if they were permitted to spend only a few seconds in Hell.
[2] Every child of God would do well to remember the rich man’s burden for his lost brethren. However, it was too little too late. In the same way, you and I can wait too long to get burdened over our lost loved ones. Get burdened for them now. Pray for them now. If God gives you an opening to tell them about Christ and the free gift of salvation, do it right then, not later. Howard Hendricks once said, “In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.”
III. THE MISERIES IN HELL
A. Those In Hell Suffer Physical Misery.
1. The Bible indicates that the rich man in Hell had all of his physical faculties.
a. He possessed the sense of sight.
Luke 16: 23 “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
b. He possessed the sense of touch.
Luke 16: 24b “…send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”
c. He possessed his thinking processes.
Luke 16: 25a “But Abraham said, Son, remember…”
2. 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.”
NOTE: [1] The words “gnashing of teeth” mean, “to grate the teeth (in pain or rage)” (James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., The Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible, published by MacDonald Publishing Company, McLean, Virginia; #1031 of the Greek Dictionary Of The New Testament, pg. 19).
[2] 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.”
Then still another strange thing happened. He said, “Don’t you understand? I am in hell…Don’t let me go back to hell!” …The man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen before.
Dr. Rawlings said, “No one, who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he was actually in a place called hell!”
From a sermon entitled, “Winning The Lost,” by Aaron Burgess at sermoncentral.com.
B. Those In Hell Suffer Psychological Misery.
1. There is the psychological trauma of living in eternal, total darkness.
Matt.22: 13 “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
NOTE: People who are subjected to long periods of darkness become agitated and irritable.
2. There is the psychological trauma of hearing the screams of horror and pain for eternity.
Matt.13: 42b “…there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
NOTE: [1] According to one commentator, these words “suggests sorrow and grief (emotional agony of the lost in hell), and grinding of one’s teeth speaks of pain (physical agony in hell)” (John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Editors, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament edition, published by Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois; pg. 50).
[2] As a child of about ten, I was awakened from a dead sleep one night, by the screams of my mother, who was having an extremely severe migraine headache. But it was not only her screams that shocked me, but also the pounding of her head against the wall of her bedroom as well. It totally unnerved me. Can you imagine hearing that for all eternity?
C. 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…”
NOTE: [1] In many public buildings, one will observe lighted “exit” signs over the doorways, indicating the way out of the building in case of a fire, or other emergency. But folks, there will be no exit signs in Hell, for there will be no escape—there will be no way out.
[2] The time to miss Hell is now, while there is still time. No one knows when time will run out for them.
Dr. J. Harold Smith tells the story of a fourteen-year-old girl, who refused to give her heart to Christ at a revival meeting he once preached. During the invitation time, he felt impressed of the Spirit to extend the altar call. He noticed this young lady, who was obviously under conviction, as she gripped the pew in front of her, turning her knuckles white. Even her parents knew she was under conviction, and pled with her to give her heart to the Lord, to no avail.
After the service was concluded, this girl and her family started home in the family car. But not long after leaving the church, their car was struck by another vehicle, overturning it and rupturing the gas tank. Miraculously, the girl’s father and mother were unharmed, and crawled out of the vehicle through the open windows, which had been shattered by the crash. However, their teenage daughter was pinned in the backseat. As she cried for them to get her out, they feverishly tried to extract their daughter, but with no success.
It wasn’t long before a passing motorist stopped to give assistance. Tragically, the man, who was smoking a cigarette, wasn’t aware of the stream of gas the ruptured fuel tank had left as the crashed car had slid to a halt. Without knowing the danger, he thumped away his lit cigarette, igniting a trail of fire that sped on a collision course with the upturned car, where the teenage girl was trapped.
In a flash, the disabled vehicle, with its one remaining passenger, burst into flames. The parents watched in horror as their daughter began to scream in terror and pain. But the heat was so intense, they could do nothing to rescue her.
Strangely, in a few moments, the girl’s screams began to subside, and she quietly began to plead, “Daddy, Momma, please help me.”
Remembering her daughter’s conviction in the service earlier that night, the mother did the only thing she knew to do with whatever time her child had left; she begged her to give her heart to Christ. The girl was quiet for a moment, and then through the flames she cried out to her mother, and said, “Momma, I want to trust Jesus. But I can’t. It’s too late. It’s too late.”
In another moment, all was quiet except for the crackle of the fire. Hell had claimed its victim.
Recounted from a message preached by Dr. J. Harold Smith.
[3] Though I’ve tried to vividly show the biblical reality of Hell today, there is good news. Let me illustrate the good news with the following:
One day, when Vice President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, one Senator angrily told another to go “straight to hell.” The offended Senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer, and Cal looked up from the book he had been leafing through while listening to the debate. “I’ve been looking through the rule book,” he said. “You don’t have to go.”
Crossroads, Issue No. 7, p. 16
[4] Dear friend, the rulebook says you don’t have to go to this horrible place called Hell. But the time to change direction is now. Listen to what God says:
II Cor.6: 2b “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”
Theme: Hell is a horrible place because of:
I. THE MASSES IN HELL
II. THE MEMORIES IN HELL
III. THE MISERIES IN HELL
