Are you planning your final destination? Don’t forget your soul insurance!
“…And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)
It has been said that the best deception Satan has ever pulled off is to make people believe that he and Hell do not exist. People are quick to say, “I don’t believe in hell. How could a loving God send people to hell? I’m a good person.” That is a fallacy of reverse reasoning. What people don’t understand is that God doesn’t send anyone to Hell; people who reject Christ as their Savior unknowingly choose a paved road straight to Hell.
In the Bible, there are countless references to Hell. The most descriptive is given by Christ discussing the parable of the rich man and Lazarus:
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels took him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance, with Lazarus at his side. Then he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am dying in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your life you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is here comforted and you are in agony. And in addition to all this, between us and you a great abyss has opened. fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone pass from there to us.’ He replied, “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment” (Luke 16:22-28).
Reading this passage, one realizes that in Hell, the rich man had all five of his senses. Even in Hell, his eternal spirit remembered his brothers and Lazarus. Hell is a literal place and once the soul is there, nothing can be done, because judgment has been passed. Although the rich man begged Abraham for mercy, Abraham could not help him even if he wanted to. Hell is a place of eternal torment. Always. In Hell, those who do not accept Christ will be fully aware of
Remorse and despair.
The eternal desire for the good they know has damned their souls.
Memory of missed opportunities in life that could have redeemed them.
I am sorry for the acts committed.
Absolute hopelessness of escaping eternal misery.
Eternal separation from loved ones and from the love of God.
A deepening remorse for not listening to God’s Word and for not spending his time, talents, and money to spread it, so that many others might escape torment (Dakes Annotated Bible)
The Bible gives clear details about the location of hell. Hell is located in the lower parts of the earth. Describing His coming conquest over death and taking the keys of Hades from Satan, Christ prophesied: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish.” three nights in the heart of the earth”. (Matthew 12:40). Furthermore, the Apostle Paul confirms the location of Hell as being in the lowest parts of the earth. “But He ascended? Now, what does this mean that He ascended, except that He had first descended from the heights of the heavens to the depths, to the lowest parts of the earth? He who descended is the same as He who also ascended on high above all the heavens, that He [His presence] fill all things (the entire universe, from the lowest to the highest)” (Ephesians 4:9-10).
It may seem pointless to believe in something that is not currently affecting reality. However, tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone. In her book, A Divine Revelation of Hell, Mary K. Baxter describes her experiences of going to hell. In one case, she witnessed: “The old woman cried out to Jesus, Lord Jesus, please forgive me now. I’m sorry I didn’t repent while I was on earth. It was too late! Lord, help me here. I will serve you. I will be good. Haven’t I suffered enough? Why did I wait until it’s too late? Oh, why did I wait until your Spirit stopped fighting me? He said, “You had opportunity after opportunity to repent and serve me. Sadness was written all over Jesus’ face as we walked away.” After her ordeals, Baxter charged those who read her book to repent of all their sins and ask Jesus to save them.
There are more documented cases of people going to hell before being resurrected. Cardiologist Dr. Maurice Rawlings documented in his book, Beyond Death’s Door, what his patients said of him during and after resuscitation. The most momentous story, which personally changed Dr. Rawlings’s life, tells of a forty-eight-year-old white man who dropped dead of cardiac arrest: “Every time he got his heart rate and breathing back, the patient screamed, ‘Oh! I’m in hell! The patient was terrified and begged me to help him. He was scared to death. In fact, this episode literally scared the hell out of me! It terrified me enough to write this book. Then another strange thing happened. He said : Don Don’t you understand? I’m in hell. Every time you quit, I go back to hell! Don’t let me go back to hell! Also, Rawlings recounts the experience of Kenneth Hagins.
Mr. Hagin wrote: “My spirit went away from my body… I went down, down, down, until the lights of the land faded… The lower I went, the blacker it became, until all was black. I couldn’t have seen my hand if it had been an inch in front of my eyes. The lower I went, the suffocating and hotter it got. Finally, far below me, I could see lights flickering on the walls of the caverns of the damned. “They were caused by the fires of hell. The giant, white-crested orb of flames drew me… it drew me like a magnet draws metal to itself. I didn’t want to go! I didn’t walk, but just as metal jumps to the magnet, my spirit was drawn to that place. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The heat hit me in the face. Many years have passed, and yet I can see it with my eyes just as I saw it then. It’s as fresh in my memory as if it happened last night…” Hagin’s experience led him into a life of ministry to comp share his story with others.
There is a controversy among people who don’t believe in Jesus, saying that once they died and were brought back to life, they all saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Did you know that Satan has the ability to appear as an angel? “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Jesus. And no wonder! For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). Remember, Satan is the Father of lies; his greatest deception is to make people believe that there is no need to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, our only mediator between God.
There have been pleasant and terrifying accounts of near-death experiences. People who went to heaven described seeing loved ones from the past, an overwhelming feeling of love, and a place of indescribable beauty. For as 1 Corinthians 2:9 says: Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has the heart of man conceived, these are what God has prepared for those who love him. Many followers of Christ who are close to death have a serene, even anticipatory feeling toward death, knowing that their spirit and soul will return home to be with the Lord.
When a person dies, the soul (eternal being) will go to one of two places: Heaven or Hell. There are no intermediate places. Those who went to Hell have shared their experiences and were blessed to have a second chance to accept Christ and not suffer eternity in agony. Once you take your last breath on this earth, you will have no excuse to reject the truth. “Because the truth about God is instinctively known to them; God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the earliest times men have seen the earth and the sky and everything that God made, and have known of their existence and their great eternal power So they have unapologetically [when they stand before God at Judgment Day] (Romans 1:19-20, The Living Bible). I ask you not to risk it. Don’t play with your soul. What good will it do a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)
“…And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” You only get one chance. Read Romans 10:9 to secure your soul.
