MY FIRST HOUR IN TORMENT: --- I have just this morning arrived in this place called Hell. After spending many years of my life sitting in church, listening to many, many sermons and attending countless Bible classes; --- Knowing full well the Scriptures of God’s word; --- But sorely lacked the zeal and love for God’s truth to give myself over to completely obey His blessed will. --- Having just arrived here, I am horrified that I am being burned continually. --- Maybe this will cease shortly, but no; --- For I remember the Scriptures crying out and telling me this would last for eternity. ETERNITY! ETERNITY!! --- I now sadly realize that there is no hope of anything anymore. --- NO HOPE!! --- If only I had done what I knew to be right during the short time I was living back on earth with those I loved! --- There is NO LOVE in Hell!! And I have no one to blame but myself, but even that’s no consolation at all. --- I’ve asked myself over and over, what can I do at this point? --- Nothing!! --- My horrible fate is sealed for all time and forever. --- There are millions of voices all around me screaming and wailing, as my own screams blend in with theirs! --- Oh! How I wish I could just cease to exist; --- but that too, is not an option!!

The last lesson I presented was one most would consider “unpopular”; --- The subject was on REPENTANCE!! --- So, for those thinking that to be unpopular and therefore, may have not gotten the message; --- I thought as a follow-up or sequence, I would bring forth for your consideration an even more “unpopular” subject: --- “This Place Called Hell”!!

As I’ve already indicated, the subject of an eternal burning hell-fire and brimstone is a subject most people would rather not talk about and a lot of others who would even deny the existence of such s place, regardless what God’s word has to say about it. --- A lot of preachers are scorned and ridiculed for preaching on Hell. --- They are called “harsh” and “cruel” for preaching what the Bible teaches on the subject. --- And there very well may be some of you who think I’m cruel and heartless for attempting to open your minds about the horrors of Hell!! --- Is it cruel to tell a man the truth?

Is it cruel when a man proclaims the whole counsel of God, in pointing men and women to their soul’s danger? --- Would you call it heartless to arouse a sleeping family to the fact their house is on fire? --- Is it cruelty to jerk a blind man back from a rattle snake in it’s coil? --- Is the doctor cruel to declare to people the deadliness of some disease, and tell them there’s a remedy they can take??

If you my friend call this cruelty; --- Let me say this; --- I had much rather be called cruel for being kind; --- Than to be called kind for being cruel!! --- No one likes to think about Hell; --- And no one likes to think about cancer; --- But you can not simply ignore either in hope it might go away!!

Now, I realize that there’s a lot of intelligent people who will try to tell you, --- “There’s no such place as Hell!” --- And many would laugh and scoff about such an obscene idea as Hell!! --- But we’ll just have to go to God’s infallible word and let the truth of God settle the issue. --- People can laugh and scoff all they want, but that’s not going to change one syllable about what the God of heaven has said!! --- Abraham Lincoln reportedly asked a little boy; --- “Son, if a dog has four legs; --- and then you call his tail a leg, how many legs does that dog have?” --- The boy thought for a moment and replied; --- “I believe the dog would have five legs!” --- And Mr. Lincoln kindly said; --- “No, he would still only have four!” --- It makes no difference what you call a tail; --- It’s still a tail!!

Now, men may say there’s no Hell; --- They may call it something else, but that does not change a thing! --- Words don’t change facts!! --- And a man may laugh his way into Hell; --- But friends, he will not laugh his way out, once he gets there!! --- And it’s not primarily the alien sinner who needs to hear and understand what God’s word has to say about Hell; --- But I’m persuaded that every Christian needs to be fully and absolutely forewarned about Hell!! --- For instance, I would imagine that everyone reading this has got mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, friends and neighbors who are lost and headed for an eternity of Hell; --- And may God have mercy on our non compassionate souls, --- when some of us sit back so unmoved, unbent, unbroken, without any tears; --- while untold thousands are falling off into the gapping jaws of death, and into a terrible Christ-less, God-less eternity UNPREPARED!!

And I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if every Christian would have to go through some sort of spiritual “boot camp”; --- where each of us would be forced to spend just one day (24 hours) in Hell?? --- And I wonder, as we come out of those fiery pits; --- How fervent would our love be toward God? --- Toward one another? --- Toward all those lost precious souls?? --- And how zealously we would protect our own souls and those we love??

How many of you out there reading this who are lost? --- You know who you are! --- And more important, God knows who you are!! --- I don’t mean “lost”, as going down the wrong road or highway; --- I’m saying LOST, as in never have obeyed the gospel of Christ, --- Or if you have obeyed, at this point in your life, you might be living in rebellious sin, --- therefore, separated from God, LOST! --- And how many of you have loved ones or friends who are lost? --- Well, the time to start doing something about it is RIGHT NOW!! --- Not tomorrow or next week; --- The Bible says; ---

“knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.(Rom. 13:11-12) --- And in (2 Cor. 6:2), the apostle Paul warns; --- “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." --- Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION.” --- And also (2 Cor. 5:10-11); --- “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. --- Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men,--”

It will be far too late when the dirt starts falling on the casket; --- It will be too late then to let our tears start flowing and say; --- “Oh, my daddy, my mother, my sister, my brother, my husband, my wife, my child DIED, LOST, LOST!! --- And so, for today’s lesson I would like for us all to think long and hard about what the Bible says concerning; --- This Place Called Hell!! --- And what will Hell be like ??

1. It will be a place of Vile Associations:

I have a clipping from an old Reader’s Digest Magazine, and under the section called; “Quotable Quotes”; --- was a quote from Mark Twain. --- And Mr. Samuel Clements said; --- “I’ll take heaven for the climate and Hell for the society!” --- And I suppose everyone thought that was funny. (Such wisdom!!) --- “I’d rather go to heaven for the climate! (Not so hot); --- But I would much more prefer the company of Hell!” --- Old Mark Twain thought he would be much happier with the camaraderie found in Hell!! --- And what will be the company of Hell? --- Who will Mark Twain’s preferred society be in Hell? --- Let us take a journey into eternity, and let me suggest the roll call of the DAMNED!!

a. First of all; --- The devil, that old serpent from Eden, Satan himself will be there!! --- Let’s take a brief look at (Rev. 20:10); --- “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” --- Does this sound like the Hell that the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach? --- They say that Hell is “annihilation!” --- And they teach that there’s no conscious existence in Hell!

Who will be thrown into the everlasting fire? --- The devil for one, and when he’s thrown into that lake of fire, --- he will not be the “lord” of Hell; --- Satan will not be ruling with some sort of long handled pitchfork and a whip, making people shovel coal as some foolish philosophers have imagined him to be! --- No, Satan will be given a one way ticket to Hell and there, he will be tormented through all eternity!! --- The Bible says that Hell is prepared for the devil and his wicked angels! --- And dear soul, if you die out of Christ and end up in Hell at the Judgment; --- Part of the society you will be keeping company with will be the DEVIL HIMSELF!! --- And please notice who else will be in Hell.

b. Fallen angels will be there as the Bible plainly states in (2 Pet. 2:4); --- “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;”

c. Also if you go to Hell, a part of the society you can expect to find is that here every filthy demon that Jesus or His apostles cast out will be there! --- You may recall in Matthew’s account about how Jesus met two demon possessed men; --- These demons were so terrible, vile and violent that no one could pass by on that road. --- And in (Mt. 8:29) we read; --- “And they cried out, saying, ‘What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

d. Who else will be in Hell? --- Ungodly humans will be there! --- Let’s look over at (Rev. 21:8), and there we’ll see some more people like Mark Twain and what they can look forward to. --- “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” --- The ungodly will be there!!

One might say; --- “Oh, I’m not a murderer or a thief and I’m not a drunk!” --- I can’t help but wonder though, if there might be one out there who is an unbeliever?? --- Notice the first two on John’s inspired list; --- the cowardly and unbelieving!! --- Those who are too spineless to take a stand for the gospel of Christ our Lord; --- And those who shrink back in unbelief of His glorious gospel!!

Have you ever thought of the sin of unbelief as being the sin which leads the pack of all sin?? --- UNBELIEF is the mother sin, the father sin, the parent sin; --- out of which all other sins grow!! --- And though you may be a moral man; --- Though you may be a fine pure young lady; --- If you stand before God on that day, --- an unbeliever; --- never having obeyed Christ in repentance and baptism; --- Don’t you understand dear friend that you’ll join every fornicator, sexual pervert, --- every murderer and every rapist that ever lived and died without Christ, in HELL??

How many times have we heard someone say; --- “I don’t want to be a member of the church?” Or, --- “I don’t want to have anything to do with that church because of all the hypocrites??” --- Shame, upon shame, it’s for sure there are some hypocrites in the Lord’s church; --- But hear me when I say; --- I would rather spend a few years here on earth with some of these hypocrites, than to be in Hell with them through all eternity!! --- And friend, that’s what is going to happen!! --- Every hypocrite who’s claimed to follow after Jesus, will be in Hell! --- Judas was a hypocrite; --- but beloved, that didn’t stop the other eleven from faithfully doing the will of God and following Jesus! --- So don’t you let some hypocrite keep you from going to heaven!! --- Think of it this way, --- If you’re hiding behind a hypocrite, then he’s closer to God than you are! ---He would have to be for you to be behind him, wouldn’t he? --- Hell will be a place of Vile Associations!! --- And ungodly people will be there. --- Do not think that your “secret” sin that only you know about, or others that don’t know your “secret“, will not be known to God. God knows all. ---“Even the very hairs of your head are numbered. (Lk. 12:7)

2. Separation:

Look for a moment at (Lk. 13:27-28) where Jesus declares; --- “'I tell you, I do not know where you are from; --- DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.' --- In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.” --- You see; --- Not only will those who go to Hell be in eternal company with vile and wicked associations; --- But if you go there, you’ll be separated from all the godly, good and righteous people that have ever lived on this earth.

I don’t know how many out there who have mothers who are Christians; --- But let me give you something to think about dear friend; --- If you go to Hell, and your mother prayed for you and tried with all her might and love to encourage you to obey God; --- Your godly mother one day, will be so transformed when she’s caught up to meet the Lord in the clouds (1 Thess.4:13-17); --- And she will be so much like the Lord Jesus; --- that when you drop into Hell, your mother, who prayed for you will pronounce a solemn curse upon your pitiful soul!! --- For it will seem righteous and just to her, when she sees through the eyes of the perfect holiness of God; --- that if you spurn the gospel, and reject the pure sinless sacrifice of God’s Son upon the cross; --- And even your children who prayed for you and wanted so much for you to be a real Christian; --- they will say it is right and just that you should be lost in the devil’s Hell!! ---They’re not going into heaven weeping and grieving over you; --- No, they will not!!

All of your loved ones who were faithful saints, will in that great and fearful day, be transformed into the holiness of Christ; --- and they will agree to your judgment! --- And that’s such a fearful , dreadful thought!! --- But what you and I need to wake up and realize, is that there is surely coming a time (We know not when - 1 Thess. 5:1), when God is going to “gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” --- (Mt. 3:12) --- Beloved, there’s coming a time of SEPARATION!!

Once there was this young man who was getting ready to go out “on the town” and “live it up”; ---
And his mother came to him and gave him a gospel tract, out of great concern for her son. --- He turned, and wheeled around and slung the tract to the floor saying; --- “The other day when I got off the bus, someone gave me a gospel tract, and now you give me one; --- I’m sick and tired of people badgering me about religion! --- Where can I go to get away from all this religious stuff?” --- His mother, with tears in her eyes said; --- “My son, in Hell no one will talk to you about your soul! ---No one will care!!”

Oh, you can scoff at and ridicule your mother, your wife, your Bible class teacher; --- But rest assured, one of these days you won’t have to be bothered about church anymore! --- One of these days you will find yourself separated from all that; --- shut off forever from the godly and righteous!!

“In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.” (Lk. 13:28) --- And you, yourself being thrown out; ---SEPARATED!! --- But not only will Hell be a place of Vile Associations and a place of Separation; --- But we find that Hell will also be a place of; ---

3. Eternal Darkness:

In (2 Pet. 2:4) we read; --- “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; “ --- Now, think about that particular figure of inspired speech; --- “Pits of darkness” or “Chains of darkness” as the KJV says.

Now let’s look over in (Jude Vs. 11-13) and see God’s judgment upon the false teachers and false prophets; --- I am never ceased to be amazed how it is that so many intelligent men who spend years and years in study and being filled with knowledge of God’s infallible word; --- but they will not stand upon God’s truth; --- And what does God have to say? --- “Woe to them! --- For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.--- These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.” --- Now let your mind dwell on that for a moment; --- “The black darkness reserved forever!!”

Can you even begin to conceive of a place where the rays of the sun could never reach?? --- When I was a very young boy (8-9 years old), I can well remember that I had corrective surgery performed on both eyes. --- I can remember laying there flat on my back in that hospital bed with heavy bandages over my eyes; --- for all practical purposes, I was totally blind for five days. --- And for an eight year old, it might as well been five weeks! --- I thought that long dark period would never end. If only I could see the sun come up, see my mother, anything!! (But that’s the way they did things back in my youth)! --- But you know what? --- The Bible says; --- “Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Ps. 30:5) --- But let me remind you friend; --- There is no morning, and there is no light, ever; --- for those who die outside of Jesus Christ; --- For those who reject His word! ---Just one long dark night! --- Hell is a place of outer darkness!! --- No sun; --- No moon; --- No stars and No light FOREVER!! --- For Jesus is the light and you’ll be shut away from Him!! Jesus said in (Jn. 8:12) ---I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, --”

4. Hell is a place of Eternal Death: (Eternal Dying)

And I say eternal death, I do not mean “cessation of existence”; --- Death in the Bible does not in any way imply “annihilation”, but rather it means separation!! --- In (Gen. 2:16-17) God issued the very first commandment we find in the Bible; --- God said to Adam; --- “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; --- but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” ---

Adam and Eve did in fact die the day they ate the forbidden fruit; ---But they did not die physically, nor where they annihilated. --- Their death at this point was separation from God, or a spiritual death!! --- And when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He died for us; --- for you and me! --- And that’s the reason why Jesus cried out saying; --- “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me??” --- Because when the sinless Son of God died on that cross, He took upon Himself our sins and our spiritual death!! --- And in the blackest of days, God the Father turned His back on His only begotten Son; --- not willing to look upon sin!!

Jesus became sin (not sinful), and when He did, He suffered death and separation from God; --- that you and I might live!! --- Oh! What gracious love! --- And what agony and torment!! --- And that’s what Hell is going to be like; --- eternal separation from God, which is ETERNAL DEATH!!

Please notice with me if you will, over in (1 Thess. 4: 16-18), where Paul is giving comfort and assurance to the Christians at Thessalonica about the resurrection and the Lord’s second coming; ---“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, --- and the dead in Christ will rise first. --- Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.--- Therefore comfort one another with these words.” --- Oh, how I sometimes wish it could be today! --- But God’s will be done, not mine!

But friends, not only is Jesus coming to deliver His own back to the Father; --- He’s coming to bring terror and judgment to those who reject His will; --- who reject the gospel!! --- Paul writes to these same brethren with a very different message in (2 Thess. 1:6-9) and he says; --- “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well --- when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. --- These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, --” --- I don’t know about others, but I can’t think of anything more horrible than to be everlastingly shut off from God! --- No need to repent! --- No need to pray! --- For in that terrible day, there will be no need to seek the face of God!! --- SHUT OFF FOREVER!!! In that day it will be useless to cry out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me??” ---You will KNOW!! --- Hell will surely be a place of ETERNAL DEATH!!

5. Hell is a place of Memory:

Look over in (Lk. 16:) ; --- And there you’ll find a certain rich man in torment. This man is experiencing just a “taste” of Hell itself; --- He’s not in the Hell as in “Gehenna Hell”, for that final place of torment will come when the Lord Jesus comes on that terrifying day of judgment. --- This man is in a place just like Hell, known as “Tartarus”. The only difference being; --- Tartarus is a present place, which is limited to time; --- But Gehenna-Hell will be for eternity!!

But there in part of Hades (That realm of disembodied spirits, awaiting judgment ) known as Tartarus, is this formerly rich man begging for some relief; ---Crying for just a drop of water to cool his parched tongue!! Then the message comes from Abraham; (Vs. 25-26) --- “Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. --- ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.”

Did you know that in this country alone, more than a half million people attempt suicide each year? And do you know why they attempt (and too many succeed) taking their own lives? --- Because so many of them are haunted by the ghost of “guilt”!! --- And they’re desperately trying to wipe out their memories!! --- They’re thinking, --- “Oh, if only I could escape my memory!” --- But friend, dying will not wipe away your memory!!

And here we have a man depicted as being in the torment of Hell! --- And the Bible says; --- Jesus says in (Vs. 23-24); --- “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. --- And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.” --- But Abraham said; --- “Don’t you remember your life while on earth??” --- OH yes, he had perfect memory! --- And may I suggest to you; --- If you go to Hell, you will remember this lesson; --- You will remember that a simple man tried to show you the truth just like God meant for it to be; --- and begged you with as much passion as humanly possible NOT to go to a devil’s Hell. --- You’ll remember that. --- And if you do attend church, you will remember the songs that were sung; --- “Oh! How I love Jesus!” --- And you will remember how that you loved your sinful way of life and the momentary pleasures of this world, more than you loved the Lord Jesus Christ and His word!!

6. Hell will be a place of Despair:

The word of God teaches that this place called Hell will be a place of hopelessness and despair!! --- Please go with me to John’s revelation from our Lord, and let’s look at (Rev. 14:9-11); --- “Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, --- ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will 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 goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night,--” --- And there will be no rest day and night, forever and ever! --- Hell will be a place of total despair!! --- And the word “hope” will not exist in this place called Hell. --- As someone once said; --- “Hopelessness is the saddest word in the English language!” --- And who can deny this?

You know, when a man gets sick, there’s always hope, as long as there’s life in him! --- And the man on death row awaiting execution lives for that little glimmer of hope that somehow there might come a pardon or reprieve or anything!! ---But it could well be written on the portals of Hell; --- “Abandon all hope -- Ye who enter here!!” --- There is no hope after death for the one who dies lost!! No need to pray for them, then (as some teach); --- For the Bible says in (Prov. 11:7); --- “When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, --- And the hope of strong men perishes.” --- Any hope of an unjust man dies, when he dies!!

If you are not a Christian; --- Or if you are a Christian and have been unfaithful to God; --- If in any way you need to set things right between you and God; --- I beg of you to do something about it in this life; --- Not tomorrow, but today!! --- If you want God’s mercy, you may have it! --- If you want forgiveness, you may have it! --- And if you really desire to have your soul cleansed of all sin, --- You can have this also! --- But you MUST obey God NOW, here in this life!! --- You can not have it there!! --- It will do you no good to dishonor the Lord of all heaven and earth in this life; --- And hope to come before Him on the Judgment Day begging for mercy!! --- It just doesn’t work that way!! --- “When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish!”

7. Hell will be a place of Burning:

In our final glimpse into this place called Hell, I would bring your attention to the words of Jesus, as He speaks concerning that last day; --- The Judgment Day. --- And to do this I would like to look in (Mt. 25:31-33); --- “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.--- All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;--- and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.” --- And then please skip on down to (Vs. 41); --- “Then He will also say to those on His left, --- 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;” ---

Then I would bring you over to (Mk. 9:43-48); --- “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.--- If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.--- If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.”

Now, if I correctly understand the principle taught here by our Lord; --- He’s saying in effect, it would be better to be a crippled Christian, than to be a healthy sinner! --- He’s not saying that you have to cut off your hand in order to go to heaven! --- He’s not telling you and I we need to cut off a foot or pluck out an eye to be saved; --- He’s not saying that at all!! --- But what Jesus is trying to impress upon the hearts of sinful men and women is; --- “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his own soul?” (Mt. 16:26) --- Do whatever is necessary to make things right with God!!

So many people try and rationalize God’s righteous justice! --- “Well, I just don’t believe that a loving God would send anybody to Hell!” --- Look at it this way, friend; --- If you go to Hell, it will be because you sent yourself there!! --- The Scriptures say; --- “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” 
(2 Pet. 3:9)

And God has placed so many blockades upon the path to Hell; --- And if you go there dear careless soul, you’ll have to climb over every one of them! --- I mean, stop and think about it; --- The man who is determined to go to Hell will have to fight his way there!! --- He’ll have to climb over his better sense! --- He will have to push aside gospel sermons! --- He has to trample under foot the blood of the very Son of God!! --- He’ll have to say NO! --- NO, to God and His word; --- He literally fights tooth and nail to get to Hell!! --- OH, how stubborn and rebellious men can be, when God doesn’t wish that any should perish!!

Don’t you know that God is pleading for you? --- Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is reaching out for you, with nail scarred hands?? --- For He declares in (Mt. 7:7-8); --- “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” --- The Spirit filled word of God is showing you the way! --- All the angels of heaven will sing and rejoice over your humble repentance! Jesus put it thusly; --- “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” --- All the faithful among Christ’ church are pleading for you! --- ALL these are pleading, praying and hoping that you will not go to this horrible place called Hell!! --- But rather that you will go to heaven! --- But the choice is yours and yours alone!!

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                                                                                                                                  In the service of our Lord God,
                                                                                                                                              Earl Wilburn

Questions and comments more than welcomed: ewilburn@austin.rr.com

Please don't delete this from your files, as who knows that while you may not at this time be moved by these scriptures but perhaps in time you might want to refer back to this and come to know better the love of the Lord. --- ew