We have highs predicted in the 80's a couple of days this week, so relief is in sight. Not the same for those who end up in hell. We don't seem to speak about hell much anymore, especially hell-fire and damnation. That thought is so narrow-minded, fearful, and Puritan-like. Those thoughts only were relevant in the 17th, 18th, or 19th century. Surely, no right-thinking person would even think such thoughts today, much less talk about it. However, as a person who believes in the inerrancy of the Bible (no error in the original manuscripts as recorded by God's people who were being led by God's Holy Spirit), we must consider what the Bible has to say about where one will spend eternity.
Joyce and I have been reading the Bible chronologically together this year and will not finish the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) until sometime in September. The term that can be translated hell is the Greek word "gehenna". Most biblical scholars beleive that this refers to the Vale of Hinnom which was a valley just south of Jerusalem where the Canaanites worshiped Baal and the fire-god Molech by sacrificing their children in a fire that burned continuously. Even Ahaz and Manasseh (two of the bad kings), kings of Judah, were guilty of this terrible, idolatrous practice (2 Chron 28:3; 33:6).
In Jesus' day, this valley was used as the garbage dump of Jerusalem. Into it were thrown all the filth and garbage of the city, including the dead bodies of animals and executed criminals. To consume all this, fires burned constantly. Maggots worked in the filth. When the wind blew from that direction over the city, its awfulness was quite evident. At night wild dogs howled and gnashed their teeth as they fought over the garbage.
Jesus used this awful scene as a symbol of hell. In effect he said, "Do you want to know what hell is like? Look at the valley of Gehenna." So hell may be described as God's "cosmic garbage dump". All that is unfit for heaven will be thrown into hell. Gehenna occurs 12 times in the New Testament and each time it is translated as "hell". The word hell as a place of punishment is used by Him who is the essence of infinite love. In Mark 9:46 and 48, hell is described as a place where "their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched". Repeatedly Jesus spoke of outer darkness and a furnace of fire, where there will be wailing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth.
The Book of Revelation describes hell as "a lake of fire burning with brimstone (Rev 19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8). Into hell will be thrown the beast and the false prophet (Rev 19:20). At the end of the age the devil himself will be thrown into it, along with death and hades and all whose names are not in the Book of Life. "And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Rev 10:10b).
Because of the symbolic nature of the language, some people question whether hell consists of actual fire. Such reasoning should bring no comfort to the lost. The Bible exhausts human language in describing both heaven and hell. Suffice to say, it is more terrible than language can tell. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man was thirsting and and is described as "being in torment" (Luke 16:23). In verse 24, he is described as being "in agony in this flame". Jesus goes on to explain about the great gulf fixed between the places where Lazarus and the rich man are residing and neither can cross over to the other side.
Hell is reserved for those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Does this include you? If it does, God is calling you to repentance and to place your faith in the One who died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. How do you do this? The Bible tells us in Rom 10:8-13
But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART" — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
If you would like to do this and need someone to come along beside you during the process, please call or email me. I would love to share the Good News with you. Cell 405 209-6813, email is dwaynewalkerzz@cox.net. May God draw you unto himself and set you free from the bondage of sin.
