"Reality of Hell"

Hell is a reality! In fact, hell was created for the devil and his angels. (Matt. 25:41) Many will end up there because they have submitted their lives to the direction and influence of the devil. I realize people will not admit that, but when one chooses to ignore God and His word, to follow with a submissive heart and love Him with all their soul, that only leaves room for the devil. We often hear people speak of being 'lukewarm' or 'straddling the fence.' What is one saying when they admit that? I know Jesus said He will "spit you out of my mouth." (Rev. 3:16) Hell is eternal and the punishment is on-going. Jesus said there is a worm there that doesn't die and the fire can never be quenched. There is weeping and gnashing of teeth because of the intense pain. The devil deserves a place like this but what about mankind, God's creation? God tries to reach us with the love of His Son but many just 'pretend' to follow, hoping they can escape this horrible fate of eternity. God knows the pretenders and unfortunately, we know too!

It seems that more and more the only time someone thinks of hell is when they use the term in a descriptive way. Why do people use hell in this manner, yet we don't use descriptive terms about other tragedies? For instance, someone doesn't say, "This has been one 'poverty' of a day!" or "That was a 'cancer' of a golf game." We don't exclaim, "What the 'disease' was that?"! To use hell in terms of our language seems to minimize the seriousness of it or casualize it! Do you think the devil is pleased with this? Jesus sure didn't do that. He knew the horror of it and spoke more about hell than any other person because He came to deliver us from the consequences of our sins and following the devil. I realize writing this might not brighten your day but I want us to pause and think for a minute about the seriousness of our Lord and our lives. Jesus was pierced to His soul to buy us back into fellowship with the Lord God. He took all the consequences, not only physical but spiritually too (Acts 2:27). I am not sure many realize this! He paid our price eternally!!! For us to be so unconcerned, so lacking in devotion and commitment is a slap in the face of God and undermining the great love of Christ.

Hell is real, just as heaven is real. Let me end by saying this, there will not be one person being gnawed on eternally, feeling the immense pain of fire to never be destroyed, that is there because they were unloved. Jesus loved us to death and if we end up in that place of eternal torment with the devil and his angels, it is because we have chosen to be there. God chose for us life and it is up to us to dedicate and surrender our lives into the hands of the Almighty. That's some serious food for thought!