...To many people, it just doesn’t seem right that God would punish someone
in hell for all eternity, and so they look for loopholes in the Bible’s clear teach-
ing about eternal damnation (Rev. 14:11, etc.). They mean well, but they remind
us of what the Lord said about the rich man in hell, who pleaded that Lazarus
be sent to warn his five brothers, “lest they also come into this place of
torment” (Luke 16:28).
It is often argued from this that this man had repented, and only a God who was
a monster would refuse to release him. As we compare Scripture with Scripture,
however, we believe otherwise, especially when we compare the torments of hell
to the torments of the Tribulation.
There are many ways to show that the Tribulation will be a time of hell on earth,
but perhaps the simplest is found when we read that “in those days shall men
seek death, and shall not find it” (Rev. 9:6). What a picture of hell!
You would think that everyone on the receiving end of the unfathomable torments
of that day would repent in the hope that God would relent and spare them further
torment. Yet despite the fact that men will be “scorched with great heat” (Rev. 16:9),
in John’s vision, they “blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these
plagues: and they repented not...of their deeds” (vv. 9,11).
In light of all this, we feel the rich man’s request to warn his five brothers was
not an indication of any repentance on his part—far from it. Like many incar-
cerated men, he was looking for a loophole in the prosecution’s case against
him. You see, if Lazarus was sent from the dead to warn his brothers, he could
argue that he never benefited from such a supernatural warning, making his
conviction unjust.
Add it all up, and a more accurate picture of hell appears. Hell is not filled with
cries of repentance to which God turns an unfeeling deaf ear. Like the descrip-
tion of the Tribulation we just read, the air is rather filled with the sound of
blasphemy, voiced by men who are eternally convinced that God is wrong and
they do not belong there.
Fortunately, dear reader, you do not have to go there. Just admit that God is
right, that you are sinner (Rom. 3:23) who deserves to die an eternal death for
your sins (Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:14), but that Christ died for your sins so that you
don’t have to (I Cor. 15:1-4). *
(R Kurth)
'link'
-------
* Christ Died for our sins
------------------------------------
Precious friends:
Grace, Peace, And JOY In Christ, And In His Word Of Truth, Rightly
Divided (+ I and II)!
in hell for all eternity, and so they look for loopholes in the Bible’s clear teach-
ing about eternal damnation (Rev. 14:11, etc.). They mean well, but they remind
us of what the Lord said about the rich man in hell, who pleaded that Lazarus
be sent to warn his five brothers, “lest they also come into this place of
torment” (Luke 16:28).
It is often argued from this that this man had repented, and only a God who was
a monster would refuse to release him. As we compare Scripture with Scripture,
however, we believe otherwise, especially when we compare the torments of hell
to the torments of the Tribulation.
There are many ways to show that the Tribulation will be a time of hell on earth,
but perhaps the simplest is found when we read that “in those days shall men
seek death, and shall not find it” (Rev. 9:6). What a picture of hell!
You would think that everyone on the receiving end of the unfathomable torments
of that day would repent in the hope that God would relent and spare them further
torment. Yet despite the fact that men will be “scorched with great heat” (Rev. 16:9),
in John’s vision, they “blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these
plagues: and they repented not...of their deeds” (vv. 9,11).
In light of all this, we feel the rich man’s request to warn his five brothers was
not an indication of any repentance on his part—far from it. Like many incar-
cerated men, he was looking for a loophole in the prosecution’s case against
him. You see, if Lazarus was sent from the dead to warn his brothers, he could
argue that he never benefited from such a supernatural warning, making his
conviction unjust.
Add it all up, and a more accurate picture of hell appears. Hell is not filled with
cries of repentance to which God turns an unfeeling deaf ear. Like the descrip-
tion of the Tribulation we just read, the air is rather filled with the sound of
blasphemy, voiced by men who are eternally convinced that God is wrong and
they do not belong there.
Fortunately, dear reader, you do not have to go there. Just admit that God is
right, that you are sinner (Rom. 3:23) who deserves to die an eternal death for
your sins (Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:14), but that Christ died for your sins so that you
don’t have to (I Cor. 15:1-4). *
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
"(R Kurth)
'link'
-------
* Christ Died for our sins
------------------------------------
Precious friends:
Grace, Peace, And JOY In Christ, And In His Word Of Truth, Rightly
Divided (+ I and II)!