|
I guess people who worship Satan want to spend
eternity with him. But have you seriously thought
about eternity in hell with the devil? What would
it be like?
Eternal Punishment
After judgment, sinners will be cast into the
lake of fire to live with the devil.
- "Then death and Hades were thrown into the
lake of fire. This is the second death, the
lake of fire. And if anyone's name was
not found written in the book of life, he was
thrown into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:14-15).
This punishment is for eternity, not just for
a short while as some religions teach.
- "'Then He will also say to those on His left,
"Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal
fire which has been prepared for the devil
and his angels"'" (Matt. 25:41).
Anyone who is cast into hell will be there forever.
There is no escape from hell, or the punishment
of hell.
For me, that's a scary thought I never want
to experience!
Package Deal
Eternity in hell comes as a package deal. Not
only are people in hell forced to live with the
devil, they also live with the demons and vilest
people of earth.
Today we live in a world where Satan is restrained
by God. Like in the days of Job, Satan was permitted
to go just so far in persecuting him.
But imagine a place where Satan is unrestrained.
And imagine that place, not only with Satan running
wild, but all the wicked people of earth running
wild, able to hurt others to their heart's desire,
because God isn't there to stop them.
Imagine eternity with the devil, demons, and
the vilest people of earth. Is that where you
want to be?
No Truth
Satan is the father of lies, and there is no truth
in him. So, it's reasonable to image hell as a
place where there is no truth, other than the
reality of punishment.
- "'You are of your father the devil,
and you want to do the desires of your father.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and does
not stand in the truth because there is
no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a
lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he
is a liar and the father of lies'" (Jn.
8:44).
Maybe the absence of truth will be part of the
pain, since most everyone hates lying more than
almost anything. Even habitual liars hate people
who lie.
- "'But for the cowardly and unbelieving and
abominable and murderers and immoral persons
and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars,
their part will be in the lake that burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death'" (Rev 21:8 ).
Eternal Separation from God
People who do not obey the gospel will be punished
with eternal separation from God.
- ". . . those who do not know God and
to those who do not obey the gospel of
our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty
of eternal destruction, away from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of His
power" (2 Th. 1:8-9).
Eternal life with the devil is bad enough, but
eternal separation from God is worse.
Can you imagine eternal life without God?
No Goodness
Eternal life without God would be a life without
goodness; everything would be evil and bad.
In heaven there will be "nothing unclean, and
no one who practices abomination and lying, shall
ever come into it, but only those whose names
are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev.
21:27).
So in hell, everyone there will be unclean and
an abomination.
There will be nothing good. There won't be happiness
or joy. We won't feel good about our selves. Life
will be utter misery.
No Love
Eternal life without God would be a life without
love.
God is love; Satan is not (1 Jn. 4:8). Hell
is a place of evil and hatred, not a place of
love.
Can you imagine eternity without love in your
life?
No Faithful Christians
Of course there won't be any faithful Christians
in hell, because they're all in heaven.
There won't be the solace brethren provide,
and no escape from the torment of eternity in
hell.
There will be no assembly of the saints, and
no worship of the church. Even if we could worship
in hell, it would be vain because God would not
be listening.
Conclusion
Eternity in hell will be worse that we can imagine.
I would suffer through hell if necessary, just
to be with God. But it doesn't work that way.
To suffer through hell is to suffer away from
the presence of God, forever.
Sad, sad, the bitter wail of all who miss heaven.
Let's make sure we all get to heaven, to the
day of rejoicing that awaits the saints.
|
