A Long Visit

     "I've been good," exclaimed the lady. "I am going to Heaven with the rest of God's children!" This, if not the close words of many people, are their thoughts. There may be just a little error in doctrine, though: firstly, all people are not God's children!
     "I thought we all are," the bewildered woman responded drolly. "Didn't God create us all equally?" "No," I replied, "God created everyone with equal opportunity."
    "How so?" She was beginning to show interest! She listened as I explained:

     Opportunity is the possibilities in life. There are two possibilities from which to choose: (1) Live your way or (2) live God's Way. The former is iniquity which leads to death, and the latter righteousness was leads to eternal life. When everyone is born, they are conceived in iniquity. That means they will sin because everyone excepting Jesus has sinned. 

     God wants you to admit that you have sinned. You started this conversation with "I've been good." God thinks not! Our goodness is as filthy rags to Him because we are not gods; we cannot obtain Heaven because we don't have the power.

     Let's reveal the lady: Her name is Many. Many  asked, "By doing good, then I cannot go to Heaven?"
     "No you can't because no one deserves Heaven. You can only obtain eternal life by meekness, coming to see that you are powerless to work for the reward of Heaven."
     "And I suppose I must trust God for that?" she asked.
     "Yes," I replied, "Jesus is the Way and only Way to Heaven. Just believing in God doesn't cut the mustard!"
     Many confessed, "I believe in God and Heaven, for God is good. I believe Jesus said that. On the other hand, I don't believe in Hell because God is good and would never have made a hell."

     I began to explain:

When you're born, your name is written in the Lambs Book of Life. You are elected to be rewarded. Everyone is! As you get older, you sin. Everyone does. That is because it's in your genes because of Adam. When you intentionally sin that first time, your name is removed from that Book. You were a child of God, but because you prefer sin, God emancipates you. Satan isn't particular who his family is. You are made a slave to Satan, and he becomes your father. Your destiny is the same as your father, the Devil's!

     "So you think I'm going to Hell?" Many asked.
     "That's your choice," I admitted.
     "I don't believe in Hell," Many retorted. "Hell aint real. Preachers created Hell to keep us in line!"

     I patently continued:

 Because you don't believe in Hell doesn't make it less real? Remember, you are not a god. Can we agree on that? (Many nods her head.) Why do you believe in Heaven?

     "Heaven is for real!" exclaimed Many with excitement. "Everyone wants to live forever."

You are half right. Heaven is for real because that is our hope. On the other hand, Hell is disparaging. No one truly wants to go to Hell, so people delete Hell as an option. If you are born again - quit depending on yourself and trust in Jesus's death for payment for your own sins - then you have the hope of salvation. Salvation means that you are saved from something! Many, what is it that your saved from?

     "I don't know. People just say they're saved. I never thought about saved from what. I just figured that I would drift peacefully off into darkness, where I came from."

 You will be either saved from something or condemned someplace. That place from which you will be saved is Hell. You must be saved from something, and if Hell doesn't exist from what are you saved?

     "I guess you may be right. I just don't like to think about Hell. I really don't even like to think about nothingness either to be truthful. I want to go to Heaven because I want to live forever! Everyone does!"

 That's still an option. Until you draw your last breath, you can still choose. It's not set-up, though, for you to choose when. God decides the time and place when you realize the truth. If you wait to long, pleasure is so powerful that you'll choose Hell by default! Trusting Jesus is fire insurance for eternity. Making it certain requires serving God. You must love Him and everyone else to boot. Those awful people you hate right now... well you must love them to show God that you take His death seriously. 

God died on the cross, and His death didn't come cheaply. He wants you to be sincere about dying in your place. We do that by living as God would have us live.

     "Maybe I should play it safe, then and assume there is a Hell."

     "That's wisdom, Many... a good start. Hell is indeed serious business."

      "Hell is probably just like the world then, I assume, because Satan is the ruler here."

     "Read the story of Lazarus and the rich man, Many. That can be found in the Book of Luke chapter 16:

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 

     After death, choosing Heaven is too late. The default is Hell!  Those who have God and Hell out of mind condemn themselves to Hell! The rich man was in torments. He was miserable spiritually, emotionally and physically. His flesh, once for pleasure, was used by Satan to punish. Think of Henrich Himmler's cruelty, then multiply that a thousand times, only never ending! 

On earth we are to thirst for living water. That is God's Holy Spirit and it springs from Jesus! In Hell, the foolish will think that mere water will satisfy their thirst. That thirst can and will never be quenched. The rich man said that "I am tormented in this flame!" Well, the story of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego who were thrown in an oven "seven times hotter than fire" is an adequate description of the fires of Hell.  

Those three young men in the fiery furnace were saved by Jesus who was in the fire with them. Jesus had imperishable flesh because he had yet to be born. He transformed the three's flesh into imperishable for the occasion. In Heaven, Jesus will do that for all Christians.

Unfortunately, sinners will have perishable flesh... sort of. Their flesh will feel pain but never burn up.  It will be forever perishing but always existing. Hell is eternally dying, whereas the world provides only the sting of death. We all will feel the sting but only the unsaved will feel the burn! In Heaven, because it is Paradise, righteous Lazarus couldn't see the agony of the rich man. There is no pain in Heaven but Hell has an atmosphere of pain! 

 There is a great gulf between Heaven and Hell. Sinners will see the joy in Heaven and desire it but it can never be had. Hell is isolation and longing for something, anything, better!  

Hell is the "lake that burns with fire and sulfur" (Rev 21:8) without ceasing (Mat 25:46). "They will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Rev 20:10), and "they have no rest, day or night" (Rev 14:11). Sinners will go (and stay) "into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth," (Mat 13:5), just like the fiery furnace of the three young men! Sinners will "to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire," (Mark 9:43). The place "where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched," (Mark 9:48). It gets worse! Sinners will call on God but he won't be there to help (2 Thes 1:9). I could go on and on, but you should be getting the idea. Hell is, well, hellish!

     "I don't deserve that!" cried Many. "That is cruel."
     "God is just, Many. That is exactly what everyone deserves if they can't seriously take a knee to Jesus. It's that simple but people make it so hard! Hell is for real, and it will be a long visit... quite a long one. It will be sinners' home forever!"