Is Hell Real?

Although most won't admit it the subject surrounding hell and the reality of it is a fascinating one. Unfortunately many preachers, teachers, and theologians have failed to preach and teach about the reality of hell from the pulpits inspite of the Lord's clear warnings about such a place in existence. It must be clearly understood that hell was originally meant for the devil and his angels because of their rebellion against God in the heavenly courts which led to their expulsion from heaven and are banished from His presence forever until the day of judgment when they will ultimately be destroyed and sin will be eradicated once and for all and it will not rise up a second time. So many people constantly ask how can a loving God send people to hell? It is because of mankind's continual sin and rebellion against the Lord and the spurning of His salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ they send themselves there. We have to come to the realization that the soul lives on even after physical death. The soul is the real you. You have all of your memories, feelings, and senses even in the spirit realm. This is why Jesus plainy said: "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." John 3:5-8.

What is Jesus talking about in the above passages? To give you a somewhat clearer picture we by nature are sinful, rebellious, and full of evil thoughts continuously. It is because of the first human pair's disobedience against the Lord the whole human race inherited the curse of sin and its consequences. Even our very thoughts, desires, and passions are naturally sinful and it is only by the redemptive power of the Lord and His everlasting grace a powerful tide of evil is kept in check. Unless one accepts Christ as their personal savior while alive upon this earth and allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within them and cleanse them from all unrighteousness they will be born again of the Spirit and will inherit the kingdom of God. The working of the Holy Spirit in one's life isn't an overnight process. It takes time for the Holy Spirit to clean us up in our thoughts, habits, deeds, character, and tendencies. There is no discipline or knowledge anywhere on this earth that can prevent us from thinking evil thoughts and carrying them out unless one has the saving grace and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. The Holy Scriptures says this for a very good reason...

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Romans 8:6-8.

What a profound statement folks? Not even your works of charity and kindness is acceptable before the Lord unless you have accepted His Son Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. The lines are clearly drawn. We in our own strength and merits cannot redeem ourselves before God and be saved otherwise Jesus wouldn't have had to come to this earth the first time and atone for all of mankind's sins by shedding His precious blood on the Cross of Calvary thereby paying the terrible price for our entrance into heaven for those who would believe in Him and repent of their sins. What is the realm of hell in reality? Hell is simply a prison in the spirit realm. A holding place or more like a detention center to put it mildly. Hell was created by the Lord not by Satan. It was originally meant for the devil and his host and not human souls. It is because of continual sin and rebillion by mankind against the Lord many lost souls are sent there awaiting final judgment.

Just like society has prisons and detention centers to put criminals so does the Lord have a place to put those who have constantly sinned and rebelled against Him and have rejected Jesus and spurned His salvation. The Lord is merciful, longsuffering, and full of love and everlasting grace but one can also incur His wrath. Think about this if we break laws in society sooner or later one will get caught and will be sent to prison and banished from society. The same principle applies in the spirit realm too; the Lord is not going to allow one to just roam around at will haboring the same evil thoughts, desires, and passions when they were alive upon the earth. Just as society will not permit criminals to roam the streets at will so they can continue to commit their criminal acts the Lord will not permit one to roam around in the spirit realm at will to do their evil and disrupt the order of His creation much of which we cannot perceive with the physical eye unless the Lord reveals it to us. Lets look at it another way the Lord is not going to let one roam His streets (the spirit realm) with evil thoughts and desires. Just like certain criminals are executed for their crimes at a given time so will the Lord at an appointed time destroy the devil and his host along with those who have done wickedly against Him and have trampled upon His laws daily. Reader I'll ask you this if you were a ruler of a nation would you allow those displaying antisocial behaviour and criminal acts continue to roam the streets terrorizing the citizens at will making your nation unsafe to live in? No you wouldn't so why should the Lord of hosts who is perfect and holy be any different? If you were a judge in a court of law and I come before you charged with a crime and you let me go on probation and lets say three weeks later I come before you again charged with another crime why should you let me go free?

Why should you as a judge give me another chance? You gave me a chance but what did I do? In so many words I spat in your face and challenged your authority inspite of the verbal warning you gave me when I came before you the first time. What excuse and argument do I really have before you as a judge? I have no excuse. You have done everything within your power as a judge to not send me to prison but I took your authority for granted so this time you send me to prison and you as a judge will be fair and right in doing so because I brought it on myself inspite of your clear warning when I came before you the first time. Reader if you understand the scenario given above which is a typical scenario happening in the criminal courts daily then know and understand this is what the Lord is tolerating from mankind as well as the devil and his host on a continual basis daily. What is so amazing is many continue to question the Lord's judgments and constantly ask why is He going to destroy the earth and why do so many people after their physical death their souls end up in the realm of hell? Do most of us question why are there prisons and why are many criminals executed? Do we dare go into a court of law before a judge or secular ruler and challenge or question their authority? No we don't but yet we dare to challenge and question the Lord who is the Creator of all worlds, the giver of all life, and knows the end from the beginning of all things, the first begotten of the dead, we challenge and question His authority and blaspheme His holy name on a continual and daily basis. Mankind spits in the Lord's face daily along with the devil and his host. We mock Jesus and make fun of His salvation which He paid at such an infinite cost so that we could gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven and have right to the tree of Life. Make no mistake about it the Lord is not mocked for whatever a man sows he shall also reap it. The Lord clearly says...

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom.6:23.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9.

Lets examine the above passages and understand what is being said. The wages of sin is death. Not only a physical death but a spiritual one. If you die in your sins your soul will be banished from the presence of the Lord and His goodness until you come face to face with Him in the great day of Judgment and those lost souls who died unsaved and in their sins while alive upon this earth are not only suffering torments administered by Satan and his demonic host but all of them right now are banished from the presence of the Lord and His goodness just like a criminal is sent to prison and banished from society. What does it mean to be banished from the presence of the Lord and His goodness? It means although one's soul is alive in the spirit realm they are placed in an environment by supernatural means and they are deprived of sunshine, air, water, grass, laughter, love, compassion, food, rest, and hope. They know, remember, sense, and feel these torments and these lost souls remember everything they did while alive upon the earth. Just like a prisoner has a number while serving time instead of a name the lost soul in hell does not have a name he or she is just a lost soul without a physical body. Just like the weaker inmates in prison are preyed upon by the stronger inmates so does the devil and his minions prey upon the lost souls who are the weaker inmates suffering in the realm of hell. Not only is the devil a deceiver on earth he is also a tormenter in the realm of hell. Prison is a place filled with horrors and so is the realm of hell. What does Jesus plainly say about hell itself? He not only reveals the location of it but He has revealed in His written word some of the torments the lost souls are suffering there day and night...

"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:44. Jesus didn't say anything about going to the grave. He talks about a place called hell and what takes place there. The torment from the fire that never dies along with worms crawling in and out of these lost souls which is not harmed by the flames is tormenting them day and night and these souls cannot die unless the Lord destroys them. That truly is a fate far, far worse than physical death. Imagine yourself feeling the pain of very, very intense heat day and night yet you cannot die compounded with worms crawling in and out of you that you know, see, and feel? These lost souls have no rest ever from these torments and there is no love, compassion, pity, or parties in hell. Jesus even goes on to say if your hand offends you cut it off. What does He mean by that? In other words He is saying even if you end up in life maimed due to an unfortunate accident it doesn't compare to what you will endure if you end up in the realm of hell. There is absolutely nothing in terms of suffering on this earth that even comes close to the lost souls suffering torments in the realm of hell.

Did you know hell expands itself daily or gets bigger and bigger each and every day when those who have died upon this earth and are unsaved end up there? Here is what is plainly written in the book of Isaiah 5:14:"Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it." Does the prophet Isaiah sound like he's talking about a grave to you? He is talking about a literal place that expands itself daily by supernatural means. Where is the realm of hell located? Here is your answer given by the Lord Himself..."For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." What lies in the heart of the earth that compelled the Lord to go there for three days and nights? Note He said the heart of the earth and not the grave. What does the heart of something mean? It simply means the center of it and this is a known fact. Jesus even compared it to the prophet Jonah being in the whale's belly for three days and nights. In other words when Jonah was in the whale's belly for three days and nights he experienced extreme darkness and horrible odors. Those of you who are in the medical profession know all too well that the stomach or belly of a person as well as an animal's belly emits very foul odors. Where do you think bad breath originates from?

Why would the Lord who suffered and died on the Cross in the manner He did go to the heart of the earth immediately afterwards? It doesn't take a genius to see that there is something awfully significant within the heart of the earth although unseen and perceived by the physical eye that compelled the Lord Jesus Christ to go there. If it is safe to assume that the center of the earth is an out of the way place then why would the Lord of hosts go to an out of the way place? What would the Lord be doing in an out of the way place? Reader is it safe to ask would you go to any out of the way place unless you had a very, very, very good reason for doing such? Would it be safe to state that no one simply goes to any out of the way place unless they have a very, very, very good reason for doing so? If that being the case in point then would it be fair to safely assume the Lord had a very, very, very good reason for going to the heart of the earth? We know He died and arose after three days but the question is what happened in between? There is something in the center of the earth that compelled Him to go there out of His infinite love for all of mankind otherwise He wouldn't have done so. Reason would dictate since He hadn't physically arisen from the dead yet meaning He wasn't in the heavenly courts where else would He be? He already said He would be in the heart of the earth for three days and nights so reader I ask once again what lies in the center of the earth that compelled him to go there? The answer partly lies in the following and well known Scriptural passage..."I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Rev.1:18. He speaks not only of death but hell itself. He is not only the first and only begotten of the dead but He alone conquered the realm of hell and took the power of hell from Satan. Jesus alone has the power over the realm of hell for all power has been given unto Him over all dominions in heaven and earth. He is the Name above all names and there is none beside Him.

The Lord does not measure time like we measure time for time has no meaning unto Him. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the First and the Last, the Ancient of Days, I Am who I Am, the Almighty. The Lord is very patient with mankind but that doesn't mean we can take His mercy and grace for granted. The Lord simply is not going to continue to tolerate the continual wickedness, sin, and rebellion of mankind as well as the devil and his minions. There is going to come a time when not only will this earth be destroyed and cut short for righteousness sake but death and hell will ultimately be destroyed along with the devil and his host on the day of judgment for it is plainly written: "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Rev.20:13-14. Reader which resurrection do you want to be a part of? Do you want to be part of the first resurrection where the second death has no power and you will inherit the kingdom of God and eternal life and be with the Lord forever? The choice is clearly yours.

Norman

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