Hell is Forever
Tuesday - December 29, 2020
“And
the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day
or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the
mark of its name." -Revelation 14:11
We notice the very clear
statement here that hell is eternal or “forever and ever.” Some misguided
authors have recently laid hold of the concept that the unrighteous are
annihilated, but there is no way to claim that position without ignoring this
and many other Scriptures. On the other side, other recent authors have claimed
that people in hell will somehow gain freedom after they spend enough time
there, but this concept is also unsupported by Scripture. This verse is not
recorded to scare people, but to serve as a crystal clear warning, to all
people, to avoid this very real place where those who reject God’s free gift of
salvation, by grace through faith, will be punished. He gives this strong
warning because, as the Apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:9, God’s desire is
that none would “perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Colonel
Robert G. Ingersoll was an American Civil War veteran and a vocal atheist. He
gave many lectures on the illegitimacy of the Gospel and religion. In one
lecture he gave on hell, he said that he would “prove conclusively that hell
was a wild dream of some scheming theologians who invented it to terrify
gullible people.” As he began his lecture, a man stood in the audience and said,
“Make it strong, Bob. There’s a lot of us poor fellows depending on you. If you
are wrong, we are all lost. So be sure you prove it clear and plain.” No matter
how gifted the orator or how eloquent their words, no amount of passionate
denial can reverse God’s certain word. He has spoken, in love, as plainly of
hell for those who refuse to surrender to Him, as He has promised eternity with
Him for those who would.
-Ed Rea
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