J
JesusIsAll
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It's always been incredible, the "soul sleep" belief of cults that fail to see scripture that, to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord. There are those that don't believe clear scripture the Lord Jesus taught that the believer has eternal life by the Holy Spirit, already, when saved, when born a child of God, not the gift of temporary life. (What part of "eternal" people don't understand a mystery...)
Likewise there are doctrines there's no suffering place, merely annihilation. What's incredible is that somebody could claim all the warnings of punishment in perdition and the lake of fire are, as if, the equivalent of a saint being burned at the stake, or made lamps in a Roman arena. It's the equivalent of stating some saints experienced damnation. What follows is an excerpt from a sermon by R.G. Lee, that those who don't take hell seriously had best carefully consider:
Here are some adjectives that describe the severe nature of Hell.
1. "Everlasting Fire" I am not going to split hairs to prove the fire of Hell is literal fire any more than I would split hairs to prove the gold of Heaven is literal gold. I believe when God says "fire," He means "fire." When He says "gold" he means "gold." Those who would deny the "fire" of Hell have only removed part the physical pain, which is the least significant feature of its character. Hell is the madhouse of the universe where remorse and an accusing memory cause unspeakable torture. All words are incapable of describing that awful place. The very thought of Hell ought to make one uncomfortable. No music -but the weeping, wailing gnashing of teeth. No rest -but the wicked wanting rest, yet forever tired. No fragrance -"smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever."
2. "Everlasting fire is a real PLACE."The rich man of Luke 16 is in Hell bodily. He wanted his brothers to know that where he was after death was a PLACE. Jesus taught that the body would be in Hell along with the soul. (Mat. 10:28)
3. A place of TORMENT. "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Rev. 14:10-11
4. A place of VILE COMPANIONSHIPS. "But the fearful, and unbelieving and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and birmstone: which is the second death." Rev. 21:8 The Devil will be there with all his demons. Read the list of the wicked persons in Romans 1:29-31...
5. A place from which there is NO EXIT. In public halls we find in bold letters, "EXIT." But "exit" is a word not in the vocabulary of Hell. In other places there may be signs to help point the way out. But there are no exit signs in Hell. Jesus says "there is a great gulf fixed..." It is impossible to escape from Hell to a better place.
6. A place that is ETERNAL. "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46 No one has any trouble believing the "eternal life" part of this verse. But by every known law of exegesis, it must mean the same thing in the other part of the verse. This word means "unto the ages of the ages." It is an unimaginable duration, a length of time that cannot be expressed. Sometimes it is used to describe the duration of the blessings of the saints, other times it describes the suffering of those in Hell. Eternal... Without end.... There are 10,000 grains of wheat in one bushel, let us day. Multiply that by all the grains in the millions of bushels of wheat grown every year. Multiply that by all the leaves on all the trees of the world. Now multiply that number by all the grains of sand on all the seashores of the globe. Now take that number and multiply it by the number of stars in the sky. The number you would get after making such a calculation, if you could, would not even begin to count the length of eternity. Hell would not be Hell if it were just a 10-year sentence.
The Greek word "Gehenna" means a place of everlasting punishment. Southeast of Jerusalem was a valley where, for a long time, the idol Molech was worshiped. Little children were thrown into his fiery arms and consumed in the flames. Because of their cries it came to be know as the Valley of Lamentation, or the Valley of Hinnom. Those horrible sacrifices were abolished by Josiah. (2 Kings 23:10) The Jews so abhorred the place that they cast into it all manner of refuse, dead bodies of animals, and of criminals who had been executed. Fires were constantly needed to consume the dead bodies and so the place was called "Gehenna of fire." It is the word "Gehenna" that the New Testament uses to describe the place of punishment appointed for the unsaved after death.
What a terrible place Hell must be. A world where the Holy Spirit never strives, where every soul is fully left to its own depravity; and where there is no leisure for repentance, even if there was a desire for it. Richard Fuller called it "An immortality of pain and tears: an infinity of wretchedness and despair; the blackness of darkness across which conscience will forever shoot her clear and ghastly flashes -like lightning streaming over a desert when midnight and tempest are there; Weeping a wailing and gnashing of teeth: long, long eternity, and things that will make that eternity seem longer, making each moment more miserable than the last..."
What we want to believe doesn't ever alter truths presented in God's holy word. Some strong food for thought, source in entirety: