Hell is real

November 23, 2006

By Gary Rogers

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’ ” (Matthew 25:41, NKJV).

I remember a Twilight Zone episode about a rebellious young man who enjoyed expressing his defiance. He boasted of his immorality and nonconformity to anything good or right. He mocked God and belittled death. One of his most belligerent statements was, “I can’t wait to go to hell. I’ll be right at home. I’m going to go party with the devil.” The story, of course, had a twist that placed the young man in an ironically boring eternity.

No television show can begin to capture the anguish of hell.

Sadly, many people express a similar point of view as that young man. Whether or not they bluntly talk about going to hell, they live with the delusion the hereafter — if it exists — will be a continuation of their selfish pursuits of today.

Hell is not a place of partying. It is not a place of fun and games. Hell is a real place with real torments.

Hell is hell because of association. In hell, all inhabitants will for eternity be associated with everything evil and vile. There will be every murderer, rapist, child molester, demon and, yes, even the devil himself. There will also be many people who avoided all the “big” sins, yet never repented of their anger, lying, selfishness, resentment and a thousand other expressions of fallen human nature.

Hell is hell because of separation. There for eternity all inhabitants will be separated from everything good, pure, clean, holy and right. Memory will continue in hell, but the separation from the good remembered will be part of what makes hell unbearable.

Hell is hell because of torment. The Bible refers to a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Hell was never intended for people, but due to rebellion, defiance and disregard for God it becomes the eternal prison for those who refuse Jesus.

I know this sounds like hell-fire and brimstone preaching, but we need a good understanding of a real place with real punishment that will last for a real eternity. We need to make sure we avoid this place — and we need to do all we can to get as many others as possible to avoid it also.

Gary Rogers is senior pastor of First Assembly of God in Coweta, Okla.