Gota Question?	What is hell? Complete Listing of Topics/Questions What is Hell? I can tell you this; it is more than a dirty word. Hell is a real place just as heaven is a real place. In fact, what makes Hell so terrible is the fact that heaven is so wonderful. Why do people die and go to hell? Because they choose to do so! Hell is not just a place that the "conservatives" speak of. No, it is much more than a fabrication in one's imagination. Hell is a place where there will be punishment and suffering that will last for an eternity. How long is an eternity? As I used to explain eternity to the Sunday School kids; eternity is for ever, and ever, and ever, and then always one more day. Luke 16:19-31 records some very forewarning words of Jesus. He gives us some insight as to what hell is like. I want to point out that there are certain Bible interpreters that will tell you this passage is no more than one of Jesus' many parables. I disagree with that assessment simply because Jesus used a name of a real person - Lazarus, a poor man. There is also a second unnamed man in this passage. Notice that Jesus did not say "hell is like"; rather He said "there was a certain rich man" and then He described this man's circumstances. This passage shows us that being rich will not keep anyone out of hell. This is not to insinuate that if one is poor he has any guarantees. The only guarantees we have are provided through the security of Jesus as our Savior and His sacrificial death in our stead. Jesus tells that both men died and just as there was a marked difference in their lives on earth, there was a difference for them in eternity. Lazarus, the poor man, was safe and secure in Abraham's bosom (a resting-place for the Old Testament saints while waiting for Jesus to take them to heaven). The rich man was not so fortunate. The Bible tells us that he lifted up his eyes, "being in torments". Note that he was not a recipient of a single torment, the word is plural. He was in torments. What kinds of torment is this? They are torments of eternal existence. One can not escape the torment of the flame (v24). Neither can one escape the memory of things from the past. The condemned will remember the good things he had (v25) and he will especially remember those opportunities he missed to turn to Jesus as he looks up and sees others in comfort (v23). And finally, the lost will be tormented with the knowledge that there is a "great gulf" between the lost and the saved that can never be crossed (v26). Verse 26 stresses the permanence of this condition. Friends, if you miss your shot for heaven while you are here on earth, there is not a second opportunity! The Bible says, "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb 9:27). I can not stress enough that there are no second chances in hell. If you die without Christ as your Savior, the only thing you have to look forward to is hell because God's judgment is swift and sure. If you are one of those people that say "My God is a good God and He wouldn't do something like that!" You are only partly correct. God is good and He is good all the time. This is the part you missed, because He is good, that is exactly why He must cast the condemned into hell. If you are without Christ, then you are condemned. The Bible says in John 3:18 "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." Is it God that condemns us? No, it is our own heart that condemns us. It is our own unbelief that keeps us from inviting Jesus into our hearts and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. Unbelief is a sin against the remedy. It springs from the enmity of the heart of man toward God, it springs from love of sin. Our acceptance of Jesus as Savior is an individual choice. Likewise, our choice of where we are to spend eternity is exactly that -- our choice. PASTOR DAVID L. EGGERS FAYETTEVILLE, NC	My WhataGod  Free Christian Email  Online Testimonies  Prayer Requests  Question & Answers  Bible Verse Search  Bible Word Search  Crossword Puzzles  Bible Trivia  Kids Bible Trivia  Christian Jokes  Christian Chat  Free Stuff  Heavenly Poetry  Search Our Site  Preacher's Link  Our Mission  Contact Us
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved! Romans 10:9		WWW.WHATAGOD.COM