Place of Torment

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, prostitutes, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”  Revelation 21:8

 

Personal responsibility is a concept that is disappearing quickly.  Nowadays there are people who look towards others to bail them out of troubles that oftentimes they have gotten themselves into.  Whether it is trouble with the law, troubles with finances or a host of other issues.

 

In all reality men and women, by and large, need to have the personal responsibility, when they are capable, to provide for their own families and obey the laws of the land.  Failure to do so results in consequences.  Likewise, preachers also have a responsibility to God to preach His truth regarding the condition of man, Salvation and declaring what God says about the ultimate destiny of mankind and their personal responsibility regarding their sin. 

 

“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,  desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  So it happened that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  Then 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.  But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, nor can those from there pass to us.  Then he said, I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, that they not also come to this place of torment.  Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.  And he said, No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.  But he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one should rise from the dead.”  Luke 16:19-31

 

Let’s get this straight and with boldness let the Word of God be proclaimed (Eph. 6:19).  There is a place of torment, Hell is a real place.  You are separated from God due to your sin, you have a personal responsibility for your sin unless you repent and by faith believe into the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will ultimately end up in the Lake of Fire, a real place of torment.

 

“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”  Matthew 25:46

 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

 

“And do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who has power to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”  Matthew 10:28

 

“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were set forth to this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny the only Lord God, even our Lord Jesus Christ.  But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.  And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the Great Day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after other flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”  Judas (Jude) 1:4-7

 

“Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, that He will not hear.”  Isaiah 59:1-2

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has established a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has appointed. He has given assurance of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”  Acts 17:30-31

 

“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.  There is also an antitype which now saves us; immersion (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who has gone into Heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”  1st Peter 3:18-22

 

“Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be immersed in the name of Jesus Christ to the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Acts 2:38

 

“And he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  So they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  Acts 16:30-31

 

Who believes in Hell anymore?  So many preachers for many years have either sideswiped the issue or wholesale deny the existence of a literal place of torment, a literal Hell.  Why? 

 

Why?  Do they not believe in a Holy and Righteous God who has warned all of humanity?  Do not believe in the necessity of Christ to die on the Cross for our sins?  Do they not believe that without the blood of Christ, no one could be Saved?  Do they not realize the fullness of the great gift of God, who sent His Son that all might not perish, but have everlasting life? 

 

“Do I delight with pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord Jehovah, and not that he should turn back from his ways and live?”  Ezekiel 18:23

 

“The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but is longsuffering toward us, not purposing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with intense burning; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”  2nd Peter 3:9-10

 

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:  Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth;  who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but gave Himself over to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”  1st Peter 2:21-25

 

“And according to the Law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.  Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the Heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Holy of Holies every year with blood of others; He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once for all, at the end of the ages, He has been manifested to put away sin through the sacrifice of Himself.  And as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, without sin, unto salvation.”  Hebrews 9:22-28

 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone believing into Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  The one believing into Him is not judged; but the one not believing is judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But the one doing the truth comes to the Light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been worked in God.”  John 3:16-21

 

Do they like to get up on the pulpits and pound their nonsense, their sensational doctrine of lies (1 Tim. 4:1), leading their listeners to nothing more than a vain faith in God (2 Tim. 3:7), where what they preach about Him does not have the attributes of the Most High, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Ex. 3:6)?  Do they love to tell of the golden streets in Heaven (Rev. 21:21) and how there are so many wonderful things there (John 14:2-3)?  Do they love to tell of those lost loved ones who look down upon you, despite the fact that they might never have repented and believed the Gospel (Heb. 4:12-13)?  Do they love to tell you how God loves you and wants you to be successful in every economic endeavor in this world?  Do they love to tell you how much you are worth, pumping your self esteem through the roof? 

 

“If then you are raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth; for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.  Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: sexual perversion, uncleanness, passion, evil lusts, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience; in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.  But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his practices, and have put on the new man who is renewed in full true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all.  Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.  And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, even the Father, through Him.”  Colossians 3:1-17

 

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves dig through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not dig through and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  No one is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. It is not possible to serve God and mammon.  Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Observe the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by being anxious is able to add one cubit to his stature?  So why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear?  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  Matthew 6:19-24

 

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or self-glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others as surpassing himself.  Let each of you not look out for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider clinging, to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found comprised as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in Heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, cultivate your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:3-13

 

Indeed!  And they love to pump the world’s music, under the guise of ‘Christianity’, as you grab a coffee from the bar, your heart filled with the false sensations of the deceptive moment.  They love for you to leave their meetings full of the deception to think that God is there to help you fulfill your desires!  Why would they tell you to die to self and live to God?  Why would they tell you to love the Lord your God with all of your being?!  Why would they preach hellfire to their congregation where they might upset the masses and realize that they are indeed politically incorrect?  Would not the social justice warriors pounce upon such a notion? 

 

“But He answered and said, Every plant which My Heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch.”  Matthew 15:13-14

 

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20

 

“So he answered and said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.  And He said to him, You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”  Luke 10:27-28

 

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the intelligent.  Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who are believing.  For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, truly to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”  1st Corinthians 1:18-25

 

“And you will be hated by everyone on account of My name. But he who endures to the end will be kept safe.”  Matthew 10:22

 

Would the preacher indeed call sodomy a sin that is an abomination to their Creator (Lev. 18:22)?  Would the preacher tell the hearer that they are deserving of going to Hell due to their sin (Rom. 6:23) and that all have sinned (Rom. 3:23)?  Would the preacher tell people to stop chasing the world’s goods and store up treasures in Heaven (Matt. 6:19)?  Would the preacher tell the congregation to stop thinking about yourself and think of others (Phil 2:3), to follow the example of Christ (Gal 2:20)?  Would the preacher tell the congregation of the doomed that unless they repent they will ultimately end up in a place of torment?  That their future is the Lake of Fire, where they will be cast for all eternity because of their sin!  Will he tell those who attend that they will be personal responsible as they stand before their Creator at the Great White Throne Judgment and their will be no bailing them out at that time?  Will he let them know that the bailout is readily available and found in no other name than Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who sits at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19)?!

 

“And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. And there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. And books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, out of the things which were written in the books.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one, according to their works.  And Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.”  Revelation 20:11-15

 

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men that is required for us to be saved.”  Acts 4:12

 

“Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6

 

Why not?!  Why should not a man who is truly called by God Almighty preach what God has called him to preach?!  Why should not that man be in fear before His Creator to do what he is called to do and do it appropriately?  Why should he not fall on his knees before His Maker, instead of falling prey to those who hold the checkbooks that fund the ministry, if God has indeed called him?  Who is he held accountable to, the congregation or the Most High?

 

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”  2nd Tim. 2:15

 

“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will deliver both yourself and those who hear you.”  1st Tim. 4:16

 

“Therefore, take heed to do as Jehovah your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”  Deuteronomy 5:32

 

“For there is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, nor hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into Gehenna; yes, I say to you, Fear Him!”  Luke 12:2-5

 

The personal responsibility of a Believer is to be doing the work of God through Jesus Christ (Matt. 24:46).  The responsibility of the Church is to remain faithful (1 Cor. 4:2) and separate unto Christ (2 Cor. 6:17).  The responsibility of the preacher is to be faithful and speak the truth (1 Tim. 4:16; 2 Tim. 2:15), according to the Gospel (Jud. 1:3). 

 

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many entering in through it.  Because narrow is the gate and distressing is the way which leads unto life, and there are few who find it.  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them from their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree produces excellent fruit, but a corrupt tree produces evil fruit.  A good tree is not able to produce evil fruit, nor is a corrupt tree able to produce excellent fruit.  Every tree that does not produce excellent fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore from their fruits you will know them.  Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many works of power in Your name?  And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who work out lawlessness!  Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be likened to a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”  Matthew 7:13-27

 

Amen!