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March 27, 2024, 12:55:24 pm Mark says: Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked  When Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida began a speech marking the 100th day of the war in Gaza, one confounding yet eye-opening proclamation escaped the headlines. Listing the motives for the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, he accused Jews of "bringing red cows" to the Holy Land.
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January 29, 2018, 01:21:57 am Christian40 says: It will be interesting to see what happens this year Israel being 70 years as a modern nation may 14 2018
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October 16, 2017, 03:28:18 am Christian40 says: anyone else thinking that time is accelerating now? it seems im doing days in shorter time now is time being affected in some way?
September 24, 2017, 10:45:16 pm Psalm 51:17 says: The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the league rulebook. It states: “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”
September 20, 2017, 04:32:32 am Christian40 says: "The most popular Hepatitis B vaccine is nothing short of a witch’s brew including aluminum, formaldehyde, yeast, amino acids, and soy. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that destroys cellular metabolism and function. Hundreds of studies link to the ravaging effects of aluminum. The other proteins and formaldehyde serve to activate the immune system and open up the blood-brain barrier. This is NOT a good thing."
http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.html
September 19, 2017, 03:59:21 am Christian40 says: bbc international did a video about there street preaching they are good witnesses
September 14, 2017, 08:06:04 am Psalm 51:17 says: bro Mark Hunter on YT has some good, edifying stuff too.
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Author Topic: Hell Videos for the Lost  (Read 927 times)
Christian40
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« on: June 28, 2012, 02:27:38 am »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZSLgSTQIew&feature=youtube

HELL IS REAL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgP9F11YlUg&feature=relmfu
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Mark
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« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2013, 12:29:25 pm »

IS HELL A MYTH?

by Robert G. Lee (1886-1974)

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able
to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell."—Matt. 10:28.




I.   The Asking—"Is Hell a Myth?"

A myth? Like Aeolus imprisoning in a leather bag tied with a silver string such winds and tempests
as might be hurtful to the further voyage of Ulysses? Like the cranes of Ibycus? Like the Minotaur, the fierce animal with a bull's body and a man's head, which demanded a tribute of seven young men and seven young women—and the killing of this beast by Theseus with the aid of Ariadne?

A myth? As when Proserpina cried for help and her voice was heard by all the mothers of earth? As Laocoon, the priest of Neptune, and the serpents of the sea in fierce attack?  As Nemesis, the avenging deity of mythology?  As the three Furies -Alecto, the relentless  -Tisiphone, the avenger -Megaera, the grim --three woman-like creatures, with writhing snakes for hair, a whip of live scorpions in the other?

A myth?  As Hercules and the poison garment of Nessus?  As Hercules strangling two serpents with his hands at birth?  As Hercules and his "Twelve Labors"?  As Midas and his golden touch?  As Sisyphus who made a chair with automatic workings -so that when a creditor called upon him to collect a debt, Sisyphus invited him to sit down, and no sooner had the fellow taken a seat when one hundred ligaments of steel darted out and bound the fellow fast -and Sisyphus kept him there until he canceled the debt?

A myth? As the winged feet of Mercury?  As Ulysses who filled the ears of his crew with wax and bound himself with knotted thongs to the mast -as they neared the sorcerer's shore?

Asking , "Is Hell a myth?" is but an interrogatory way -on the part of some -of stating the Hell is a myth -as much as the wild mythologies of the Greeks.  With playful raillery do many speak of the fact of Hell.  With a blighting barriken do many speak of the fact of Hell,  With many hell is the wild nightmare of a disordered brain -the fanciful fake of an erratic mind.  A myth?  Just as well say a lion has the mouth of a mouse!  A myth? Just as well say an eagle has a sparrow's wings!  A myth?  Just as well say you can cradle a furnace in a thimble!  All of which brings us to consider some...

II.  Asseverations

Asseverate means "to affirm, to aver positively or with solemnity."  Many there are who, with ridicule of those who disagree, declare that there is no Hell.  Atheists tell us that we die like dogs -that our
souls perish with our bodies -that when the earth has swallowed us up, we become part and parcel with clay; and that is the end of the whole matter.  We,  believing not what the atheists say, doubt if the atheists believe themselves.

But note what some say:  "Milton's conception of Hell was inconsistent with the character of God as revealed in Jesus Christ."  "The pulpit teaching about Hell is an unauthorized accretion to the true doctrine -and repugnant to reason."  "Hell-fire is a riot of imaginative genius."  "The Dantesque picture as a place of penal flames, smoke, and physical torture is an absurd picture."  "Indeed, it is to be doubted whether men ever believed fully in the existence of such a Hell, for if preachers believed in the Hell they taught thirty years ago, and had any humanity in them, they would have been unable to sleep in their beds.  To talk of a Hell so horrible that no man with a heart in him would throw a dog into it, and yet to preach that the Almighty Father casts the bulk of the human family into it to burn for ever and ever, was to insult the very name of the Being whom we are taught to love."

And more:  "Hell is a state -and not a place.  To live in harmony with what we understand to be God's law is the truest Heaven.  To live out of harmony with that law is Hell."  "Heaven and Hell might be the same place -and Heaven will be Hell to the man who loves evil things."  "Many of the terms describing Hell are allegorical or metaphorical or poetic -and imply the spiritual state which is the antithesis of salvation."  "If the Bible teaches 'everlasting punishment,' so much the worse for the Bible, because we cannot believe it!  We are no longer the slaves of a book, nor the blind devotees of a creed, we believe in love and evolution!"   

Now let me ask, if there is no Hell, is not the Bible a bundle of blunders, a myth, a book of fairy tales?  Are not the prophets, who spoke of God's mercy, liars?  If there is no Hell, does not Jesus Himself deserve to wear the label of the impostor?  Into the valley of Hinnom, outside the city of Jerusalem, the Jews threw the refuse of the city and the dead carcasses of animals -where the worms would eat them and a fire was kept continually burning.  Jesus used this great valley of offal to describe the awful reality of Hell.

"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 9:43-44

If there is no Hell, is not Calvary, with all its suffering and sacrifice and finished atoning work, a blunder and all the voices thereof a babel of incoherence?  By every contemptuous mouthful of spit that befouled His face, by every hair of His beard which cruel fingers tore from His cheeks, by every bruise of His face, by every mark of the scourge upon His back, by every thorn that punctured His brow, by every nail that held Him to the tree, by every breath He drew which was a pang of death, by every beat of His heart which was a throb of agony -by all the shadows that covered the earth when black midnight came at noon-day, we say that if Calvary be not the way of escape from an eternal Hell, then Calvary is a mistake!

It is not credible that the Son of God should have become man and died on the cross merely to save men from the short and temporal consequences of sin.  The infinity of the sacrifice implies as infinity of punishment as that from which the sacrifice was intended to deliver those who would accept the sacrifice.  If a man accepts the atonement of Christ -how can he doubt the dogma of Hell?  Let us ask, can there be a Heaven if there be no Hell?  The Bible, book above and beyond all books as a river is beyond all books as a river is beyond a rill in reach speaks of Heaven.  But the same Bible also speaks of Hell.  The same Bible that speaks of the glories and bliss of Heaven speaks of the woes and pains and miseries of Hell-as the portion of those who reject Christ.  So let us consider thee...

III.  Actuality

Though some today in the theological and educational world are "fond of a mist that rises from the ground" and rebel against the concrete, the definite, the actual ---still there is a Hell.  Though many vaporize every great fact and doctrine of the Christian faith and talk as though they believed that only when these great facts and weighty doctrines have been "sublimated  into the mythical and poetic" are they worthy of the intellectual--still there is a Hell.

We need realities to meet realities --and we find them in the New Testament, which is not "a collection of Photographed mirages" and does not "tantalize wit vapors a world perishing of thirst."  Watkinson says"  To take away Hell is to reject the physician and leave the plague, to overthrow the lighthouse and leave the hidden rock, to wipe out the rainbow and leave the storm, to take away the firelight and leave the fire to rage, to take away the vaccine and leave the smallpox.  To take away Hell is to meet the tragic blackness of sin with a candle gospel, to make a mild twilight out of eternal retribution, to take away the trumpet and open the gate to enemies, to take away roses and leave the thorns, to throw away gold and press bankruptcy upon human life."

In the light of Bible truth, consider the actuality of Hell.  If there is NOT a Hell, I do not want to preach that there is.  But I would rather believe and preach unpleasant truth than to believe and preach error.  And as awful as the thought is, I can have no other conclusion than that there is a Hell --because I believe the Bible is the very Word of God.  The Bible is the only book that makes the death room bright.  The Bible is an oasis in a desert of despair.  I must believe it!  In the original purpose of God, there was no manifest provision for Hell.  Every being, bearing the image of the Creator, was with Him about the throne of Heaven.  There was no necessity for a Hell.  Necessity arose when His hosts rebelled in Heaven and were cast out.  Then was the "everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared, for the devil and his angels."—Matt. 25:41.

"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." —II Thess. 1:7-9

Hell is a terrible actuality. 

Yet some say: "Scholarly preachers have given up belief in an orthodox Hell."  If so, they did not give up that belief for reasons of Greek or New Testament scholarship.  If so, they gave it up for sentimental and speculative reasons.  No man can go to the New Testament and not find Hell there.  But suppose it is true that some preachers have given up a belief in Hell.  That would not prove anything.  Religious scholars have been wrong more than they have been right.

None of the scholars in Noah's day believed  a flood would come.  But it did.  No scholars, except for Abraham and Lot, believed that fire would fall on Sodom and Gomorrah.  But it did.  No scholars, except Jeremiah and Baruch, believed Jerusalem would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.  But it was!  Four leading schools of thought in Jesus' day scoffed at Jesus' prediction concerning the coming judgment of God on Jerusalem.  But secular history tells us that in spite of the dissent of all the scholars, it came true just as Jesus predicted.  No university in the world in the days of Luther and Huss believed in the doctrine of justification by faith.  But it was so --and Luther was right --and every university of Germany, France, England and Scotland was wrong.  So if all the scholars, preachers, scientist, artists, statesmen, politicians, musicians, and teachers on earth gave up belief in the doctrine of an orthodox Hell, it would not prove anything.

Some say: "I hate hell."  So do I.  But nobody can hate Hell out of existence.  I hate snakes, but my hatred does not exterminate them.  I hate rats, but rats still live.  If we are Christians, we hate hypocrisy.  But hypocrisy continues.  Christians hate all manner of sins, but that hatred does not alleviate the sins.  The hatred of Hell does not alter the fact that THERE IS A HELL!   

Now consider some...

IV.  Attestations

1.  The Bible.  We have looked at some scripture on the subject already.  Here are more verses:

"And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be iveeping and gnashing of teeth."  Matt. 25:30.

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."  Matt. 25:41.

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."  Matt. 10:28.

See also, Rev. 20:15;  Mat. 13:40-42;  Rev. 14:10-11

2.  Dr. R.A. Torrey:  "I claim to be a scholarly preacher.  I have a right to so claim.  I have two degrees, specializing in Greek in one of the most highly esteemed universities in America.  I have read the Bible in three languages for many years.  I have written between thirty and forty books that have been widely read.  I have a right to claim to be a scholarly preacher.  Yet I believe the old-fashioned Bible doctrine regarding Hell."

3.  D.L. Moody:  "The same Christ that tells us of Heaven with all its glories, tells us of Hell with all its horrors; and no one can accuse Christ of drawing this picture to terrify people, or to alarm them, if it were not true.

4.  T. DeWitt Talmage:  "Not having intellect enough to fashion an eternity of my own, I must take the word of the Bible.  I believe there is a Hell.  If I had not been afraid of Hell I do not think I would have started for Heaven."

5. Charles Spurgeon:  "Our joy is that if any one of us are made, in God's hands, the means of converting
a man from the error of his way, we shall have saved a soul from this eternal death. That dreadful Hell the saved one will not know, that wrath he will not feel, that being banished from the presence of God will never happen to him."

6.  Paul Stewart:  "The preaching that ignores the doctrine of Hell lowers the holiness of God and degrades the work of Christ."

7.  B. H. Lovelace   "There are foregleams of Hell all around us (Rom. 8:22). Read the tragedies that besmear the front pages of our daily newspapers, behold the victim of drink writhing in the tortures of delirium tremens,  see the human wrecks strewn all along life's highway, and hear the sobs and sighs of a sin-cursed world. These are but a few sparks from the Lake of Fire, the eternal  abode of the lost.  Hell is a logical necessity.  It is the ultimate and inevitable consequence of the law of moral gravitation, which begins in life and ends in eternity.  What was said of Judas Iscariot will be true of all men, 'he went to his own place.' "

8.  William Elbert Munsey  "There is a Hell.  All principles of quality, character, and state exist in correlative dualities.  God and evil are correlates.  The very argument which makes Heaven the saint's reward beyond the grave must, give a correlating punishment to the lost beyond the grave."

9.  Billy Sunday:  "You will not be in Hell five minutes until you believe that there is one."

10.  Sam Jones: "I believe in a bottomless Hell, and I believe that the wicked will be turned into Hell.  The legitimate end of a sinful life is Hell.  Every sinner carries his own brimstone with him.  How many men can meet Truth without a tremor in their muscles?"

The popular theory of this age is: "I die like my dog. I die a sinner, and am nowhere ever after.  The coffin holds both body and soul so any kind of eternal punishment is an impossibility."  This theory denies the immortality of the soul.  God says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell...where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."  Go to your Bibles, men and women!  Let us have the truth about the matter, whatever it be!  I cite God himself,  "The wicked shall be turned into hell.." You may scatter the everlasting mountains or split the sun in two, but you cannot alter God's Word.  I cite the tenderhearted Savior; and three times in one chapter! (Mark 9)  He speaks of a worm that never dies, and a fire that never shall be quenched.  Take time, you, whoever you are, to read the 9th chapter of Mark.  Read it and then tell me, did the Lord Jesus lie when he spoke of unquenchable fire?  Did the Son of God picture a lie when He showed us the rich man lifting up his eyes in torments, and begging a drop of water to cool his tongue?  Did He purposely put fright in our souls with lying pictures of something which never existed?  Scripture says, "It is impossible for God to lie."  Well, then, it is impossible that there is no Hell, and let that forever settle the question.

Now along with these attestations, I would have you think of some...

V.   Adjectives

Here are some adjectives that describe the severe nature of Hell.

1.  "Everlasting Fire"   I am not going to split hairs to prove the fire of Hell is literal fire any more than I would split hairs to prove the gold of Heaven is literal god.  I believe when God says "fire," He means "fire."  When He says "gold" he means " gold."  Those who would deny the "fire" of Hell have only removed part the physical pain, which is the least significant feature of its character.  Hell is the madhouse of the universe where remorse and an accusing memory cause unspeakable torture. All words are incapable of describing that awful place.  The very thought of Hell ought to make one uncomfortable.  No music -but the weeping, wailing gnashing of teeth.  No rest -but the wicked wanting rest, yet forever tired.  No fragrance -"smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever." 

2.  "Everlasting fire is a real PLACE."  The rich man of Luke 16 is in Hell bodily.  He wanted his brothers to know that where he was after death was a PLACE.  Jesus taught that the body would be in Hell along with the soul.  (Mat. 10:28)

3.  A place of TORMENT.  "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall 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 ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."  Rev. 14:10-11

4.  A place of VILE COMPANIONSHIPS.  "But the fearful, and unbelieving and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and birmstone: which is the second death."  Rev. 21:8  The Devil will be there with all his demons.  Read the list of the wicked persons in Romans 1:29-31...

5.  A place from which there is NO EXIT.  In public halls we find in bold letters, "EXIT."  But "exit" is a word not in the vocabulary of Hell.  In other places there may be signs to help point the way out.  But there are no exit signs in Hell.  Jesus says "there is a great gulf fixed..."  It is impossible to escape from Hell to a better place.

6.  A place that is ETERNAL.  " And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."  Matt. 25:46  No one has any trouble believing the "eternal life" part of this verse.  But by every known law of exegesis, it must mean the same thing in the other part of the verse.  This word means "unto the ages of the ages."  It is an unimaginable duration, a length of time that cannot be expressed.  Sometimes it is used to describe the duration of the blessings of the saints, other times it describes the suffering of those in Hell.  Eternal...  Without end....    There are 10,000 grains of wheat in one bushel, let us day.  Multiply that by all the grains in the millions of bushels of wheat grown every year.  Multiply that by all the leaves on all the trees of the world.  Now multiply that number by all the grains of sand on all the seashores of the globe.  Now take that number and multiply it by the number of stars in the sky.  The number you would get after making such a calculation, if you could, would not even begin to count the length of eternity.  Hell would not be Hell if it were just a 10-year sentence.

The Greek word "Gehenna" means a place of everlasting punishment.  Southeast of Jerusalem was a valley where, for a long time, the idol Molech was worshipped.  Little children were thrown into his fiery arms and consumed in the flames.  Because of their cries it came to be know as the Valley of Lamentation, or the Valley of Hinnom.  Those horrible sacrifices were abolished by Josiah. (2Kings 23:10)  The jews so abhorred the place that they cast into it all manner of refuse, dead bodies of animals, and of criminals who had been executed.  Fires were constantly needed to consume the dead bodies and so the place was called "Gehenna of fire."  It is the word "Gehenna" that the New Testament uses to describe the place of punishment appointed for the unsaved after death.

What a terrible place Hell must be.  A world where the Holy Spirit never strives, where every soul is fully left to its own depravity; and where there is no leisure for repentance, even if there was a desire for it.  Richard Fuller called it "An immortality of pain and tears: an infinity of wretchedness and despair; the blackness of darkness across which conscience will forever shoot her clear and ghastly flashes -like lightning streaming over a desert when midnight and tempest are there;  Weeping a wailing and gnashing of teeth:  long, long eternity, and things that will make that eternity seem longer, making each moment more miserable than the last..."

But now I would have you to think of the....

VI.  Assistance

Now I speak of the assistance the doctrine of Hell is in preaching to win the lost.  The preaching of this doctrine is ever an asset -never a hindrance- to the success of gospel preaching.  The minister of the Gospel is under obligation to preach the whole truth of God's Word.  If he does, God will take care of the results. We are to preach "as a dying man to dying men," as Richard Baxter wrote.  If we are to preach at all, we must preach the whole message, and that includes the doctrine of Hell.   

Mary Slessor, who became a missionary to West Africa, heard a message on Hell.  She feared for her soul and turned to Christ.  Look at the thousands who have been saved because of Mary Slessor's ministry.  Preachers must preach the doctrine of Hell to wake up sinners to their lost condition.  Salvation implies a danger.  There is a place for fear in preaching if the danger is real.  If we are never to preach on Hell, what is one saved from?

A.C. Dixon said, "If we had more preaching on Hell in the pulpit, we might have less hell in the community."  General Booth said, "If I had my way I would not give any of my workers a three-year training  in a college, but I would put each of you twenty-four hours in Hell -the best training for earnest preaching you could have."

We need to preach this doctrine along with the truth of the cross.  Preach it -not as dainty tasters of intellectual subtleties.  Preach it -not as dealers in finespun metaphysical disquisitions.  Preach it -not as administrators of laughing gas for the painless extraction of sin.  Preach it -not with stammering tongue but as a trumpet that gives no uncertain sound.  Preach it -with broken heart and yearning soul.  Believing in the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for the sins of the whole world, we must accept the doctrine of Hell -for no lesser fate can they expect who, having heard the offer of the Gospel, deliberately reject it.  How great the folly of suppressing the revealed fact of Hell!

But think now of the...

VII. Agonizing

Not only of those agonize in Hell, but the agony of soul we should have in prayer and in preaching with concern  to save the lost.  If this city had a pestilence descending on it -what would we not do to stop its onslaught?  If your children were in danger of smallpox -how concerned you would be!  If a mad dog were loose in a school -how you would risk your life to save children from the virus of rabies from the dog's fangs!  How much more when there are souls in danger of Hell -eternal Hell!

Who can arrange or describe fitting funeral obsequies of a lost soul? All the tears ever shed by all the graves and tombs of earth cannot. All the moans and sobs and sighs ever uttered cannot. If the inanimate world could break her silence—would that do it? If all seas should utter their deep and dreadful wails—would that do it? If all the mountains should lift up rumbling voices—would that do it? If the sun should drape in darkness—would that do it? If the moon should refuse to give her light—would that do it? If all the stars turned to clay—would all these fitly show the dire catastrophe of a lost soul? No songs on earth, no prayers, no words can fitly show what it means to be lost!

Yet I fear we agonize not as did Abraham over the wickedness of Sodom and Gommorah.  Nor as Moses who pleaded for God to blot him out rather than the people.  Nor as Jacob over the disappearance of his son Joseph.  Nor as Samuel wept all night over Saul.  Nor as David who cried all night over Absalom.  Nor as Jeremiah who wept like a brokenhearted archangel.  Nor as Ezekiel who ate filth to show the horrors of slavery.  Nor as Job who asked God questions through lips that festered with disease.  Nor as Paul who counted all things but loss.

I fear that we as Christians treat our main business as an incidental.  We should be like Whitefield who said, "I am willing to go to prison and to death for you, but I am not willing to go to Heaven without you."  When fishermen are sent to the river, they fish.  When nurses are sent to the hospital, they nurse.  When painters are sent to a house, they paint.  When soldiers are sent to the battle, they fight.  But when our God sends us into the world to win souls, we sing "Throw Out the Lifeline" but do not throw.  We sing "I Love to Tell the  Story" and do not tell it.  Our singing and our practice are so strangely at variance.

We need the passion that girded Francis Asbury as he traveled a distance equal to five circuits around the world every five years, on the average, for forty-five years -and that mainly on horseback.  We need the passion that fired Livingstone and kept him aflame amid jungle dangers and twenty-seven attacks of African fever -the passion that was the power working in the heart of David Brainerd who said: "I care not what hardships I endure, if only I can see souls saved"  -the passion that drove General Booth who said, "God shall have all there is of William Booth."

And lastly let us examine the...

VIII. The Antithesis

We cannot leave speaking without giving the antithesis to Hell.  Allow me to say a word about Heaven. Heaven is the place where no hostility can reach us, where no temptations can assail us, where no pain can pierce us, where no night can shadow us.  Heaven is the most beautiful place the wisdom of God could conceive and the power of God could prepare.

Dr. Biederwolf tells us of a little girl who was blind from birth and only knew the beauties of the earth from her mother's lip.  A noted surgeon worked on her eyes and at last the operations were successful, and as the last bandage dropped away she flew into her mother's arms and then to the window and the open door.  As the glories of earth rolled into her vision, she ran to her mother with tears, crying, "Oh Mama, why didn't you tell me it was so wonderful?"  "I tried to tell you,"  she said, "but I couldn't do it."
And one day when we go sweeping through those gates of pearl and catch our first vision of the enrapturing beauty all around us, I think we may hunt up the Apostle John and say, "Why didn't you tell us it was so beautiful?"  And John will say, "I tried to tell you when I wrote the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of the last book in the Bible after I got my vision, but I couldn't do it."

Heaven  -the land of no heartaches, no graves, no wars or poverty,  no hearse rolls its dark way to the tomb.  Let us have and hold and preach the Bible conception of Hell. Let us have and hold and preach the antithetical conception of that perfect vision of God which we call home -Heaven.  Every human must make his choice.  We pray that choice is Heaven!

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« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2013, 10:59:25 am »

Fire! Fire!

by J. C. Ryle (1816-1900)
/..
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

                                            —Rev. 20:15
.
When a house is on fire, what ought to be done first? We ought to give the alarm and wake the inhabitants. This is true love to our neighbor. this is true charity. Reader, I love your soul, and want it to be saved. I am therefore going to tell you something about hell. There is such a place as hell. Let no one deceive you with vain words. What men do not like, they try hard not to believe. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to judge the world, he will punish all who are not his disciples with a fearful punishment.
All who are found impenitent and unbelieving; all who have clung to sin, stuck to the world, and set their affections on things below; all who are without Christ; all such shall come to an awful end. Whosoever is not written in the book of life shall be "cast into the lake of fire." Rev 20:15.

The punishment of hell shall be most severe. There is no pain like that of burning. Put your finger in the candle for a moment if you doubt this, and try. Fire is the most destructive and devouring of all elements. Look into the mouth of a blast furnace, and think what it would be to be there. Fire is of all elements most opposed to life. Creatures can live in air, and earth, and water; but nothing can live in fire. Yet fire is the portion to which the Christless and unbelieving will come. they will be "cast into the lake of fire." The punishment of hell will be eternal. Millions of ages will pass away, and the fire will never burn low and become dim.

The fuel of that fire will never waste away and be consumed. it is "unquenchable fire." O reader, these are the sad and painful things to speak of. I have no-pleasure in dwelling on them. I could rather say with the apostle Paul, "I have great sorrow." But they are things written for our learning, and it is good to consider them. They are part of that Scripture which is all profitable, and they ought to be heard. Painful as the subject of hell is, it is one about which I dare not, cannot, and must not be silent.

Who would desire to speak of hell-fire if God has not spoken of it? When God has spoken of it so plainly, who can safely hold his peace? I dare not shut my eyes to the fact, that a deep rooted infidelity lurks in men's minds on the subject of hell. I see it oozing out in the utter apathy of some: they eat, and drink, and sleep, as if there was no wrath to come. I see it creeping forth in the coldness others about their neighbor's souls: they show little anxiety to awaken the unconverted, and pluck brands from the fire. I desire to denounce such infidelity with all my might. Believing that there are "terrors of the Lord," as well as the "recompense of reward."

I call on all who profess to believe the Bible, to be on their guard. I know that some do not believe there is any hell at all. They think it impossible there can be such a place. They call it inconsistent with the mercy of God. They say it is too awful an idea to be really true. The devil of course, rejoices in the views of such people. They help his kingdom mightily. They are preaching up his old favorite doctrine, "Ye shall not surely die." I know furthermore, that some do not believe that hell is eternal. They tell us it is incredible that a compassionate God will punish men for ever. He will surely open the prison doors at last.

This also is a mighty help to the devil's cause. "Take your ease, "he whispers to sinners-" if you do make a mistake, never mind, it is not for ever." I know also that some believe there is a hell, but never allow that anybody is going there. All people with them are good, as soon as they die, all were sincere, all meant well, and all, they hope, got to heaven. Alas! what a common delusion is this! I can well understand the feeling of the little girl who asked her mother where all the wicked people were buried, for she found no mention on the gravestones of any except of the good.

And I know very well that some believe there is a hell, but never like to hear it spoken of. It is a subject that should always be kept back, in their opinion. They see no profit in bringing it forward, and are rather shocked when it is mentioned. This also is an immense help to the devil. "Hush! hush!" says Satan, "say nothing about hell." The fowler wishes no noise to be made when he has laid his, snares. The wolf would like the shepherd to sleep, while he prowls round the fold. The devil rejoices when Christians are silent about hell. reader, all these notions are the opinions of man. What is it to you and me what man thinks of religion? Man will not judge us at the last day.

There is but one point to be settled, "what says the word of God?" do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell is real and true. it is a true as heaven, as true as justification by faith, as true as the fact that Christ died upon the cross. There is not a fact or doctrine which you may not lawfully doubt, if you doubt hell. Disbelieve hell, you unscrew, unsettle, and unpin everything in the Scripture. You may as well throw your Bible aside at once. From "no hell" to "no God" is but a series of steps.

Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell will have inhabitants. The wicked shall certainly be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God. The same blessed Saviour who now sits on a throne of grace, will one day sit on a throne of judgement, and men will see there is such a thing as "the wrath of the Lamb." The same, lips which now say, Come, come unto me," will one day say, "Depart, ye cursed" Alas! how awful the thought of being condemned by Christ himself, judge by the Saviour, sentenced to misery by the lamb! Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell will be intense and inalterable woe.

It is vain to talk of all the expressions about it being figures of speech, the pit, the prison, the worm, the fire, the thirst, the blackness, the darkness, the weeping, the gnashing of teeth, the second death, all these may be figures of speech if you please. But Bible figures mean something beyond all questions, and here they mean something which man's mind can never fully conceive. O reader, the miseries of mind and conscience are far worse than those of the body. The whole extent of hell, the present suffering, the bitter recollection of the past, the hopeless prospect of the future, will never be thoroughly known except by those who go there.

Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell is eternal. It must be eternal, or words have no meaning at all. "For ever and ever," "everlasting," "unquenchable," "never-dying" all these are expressions used about hell, and expressions that cannot be explained away. It must be eternal, or the very foundations of heaven are cast down. If hell has an end, heaven has an end too. They both stand or fall together. It must be eternal, or every doctrine of the gospel is undermined.

If a man may escape hell at length without faith in Christ, or sanctification of the Spirit, sin is no longer an infinite evil, and there was no such great need of Christ's making an atonement. And where is the warrant for saying that hell can ever change a heart, or make it fit for heaven? It must be eternal, or hell would cease to be hell altogether. Give a man hope, and he will bear any thing. Grant a hope of deliverance, however distant, and hell is but a drop of water.

Alas! for that day which will have no tomorrow - that day when men shall seek death and not find it, and shall desire to die but death shall flee from them! Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell is a subject that ought not to be kept back. It is striking, to observe that none say so much about it as our Lord Jesus Christ, that gracious and merciful Saviour, and the apostle John, whose heart seems full of love.

Truly it may well be doubted whether we ministers speak of it as much as we ought. I cannot forget the words of a dying hearer of Mr. Newton: "Sir, you often told me of Christ and salvation: why did you not remind me of hell and danger?" Let others hold their peace about hell if they will; I dare not do so. I see it plainly in Scripture, and I must speak of it. I fear that thousands are on the broad, way that leads to it, and I would fain arouse them to a sense of the peril before them.

What would you say of the man who saw his neighbor's house in danger of being burned down, and never raised the cry of "fire?" What ought to be said of us as ministers if we call ourselves watchmen for souls, and yet see fires of hell raging in distance, and never give the alarm? Call it bad taste, if you like, to speak of hell. Call it charity to make things pleasant, and speak of smoothly, and soothe men with constant lullaby of peace. I have not read my Bible. My notion of charity is to warn men plainly of danger. My notion of taste in the ministerial office, is to declare all the counsel of God.

If I never spoke of hell, I should think I had kept back something that was profitable, and should look on myself as an accomplice of the devil. Reader, I beseech you, in all tender affection, beware of false views of the subject on which I have been dwelling. Beware of new and strange doctrines about hell and the eternity of punishment.

Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: a God who is all mercy, but not just; a God who is all love, but not holy; a God who as a heaven for every body, but a hell for none; a God who can allow good and bad to be side by side in time, but will make no distinction between good and broad in eternity. Such a God is an idol of your won, as truly an idol as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple. The hands of your won fancy and sentimentality have made him. He is not the God of the Bible, and beside the God of the Bible there is no God at all.

Your heaven would be no heaven at all. A heaven containing all sorts of characters indiscriminately would be miserable discord indeed. Alas! for the eternity of such a heaven. There would be little difference between it and hell. Ah! reader, there is a hell! There is a fire! Take heed lest you find it out to your cost too late. Beware of being wise above that which is written. Beware of forming fanciful theories of your own, and then trying to make the Bible square with them.

Beware of making selections from your Bible to suit your taste. Dare not to say, "I believe this verse, for I like it. I refuse that, for I cannot reconcile it with my views." Nay! but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? By what right do you talk in this way? Surely it were better to say, over every chapter in the word, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." Ah! if men would do this, they would never deny the unquenchable fire.
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« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2016, 06:51:36 pm »

Why Do So Many Preachers In America Refuse To Talk About Hell?

When was the last time you heard a sermon about hell?  Just think about that for a moment.  Once upon a time in America, preachers all across the land regularly unleashed fiery sermons that directly confronted people with the reality of heaven and hell.  But today, that has completely changed.  In fact, there are some very well-known ministers in this country that purposely avoid ever using the word “hell” because it might offend someone.  It turns out that “happy church” can be a very lucrative business model, and many people seem to love the “me first” prosperity gospel that has infected virtually all of the major denominations at this point.  So there are countless messages about “blessing”, “breakthrough” and how God can make your life better, and very, very little preaching about sin, judgment, the cross and the urgency that we should feel to reach lost souls with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote about a time when lukewarm believers would surround themselves with preachers that would tell them exactly what their itching ears want to hear.  This is what 2 Timothy 4:3-4 says in the Modern English Version…

3 For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but they will gather to themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, having itching ears, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn to myths.

Is this not precisely what is happening in the western world today?

We have put the gospel on the back burner, and we have exalted preachers that endlessly fill our ears with messages that make us feel better.

Meanwhile, Americans are starting to turn away from the church altogether in alarming numbers.

To celebrate it’s 200th anniversary, the American Bible Society recently released a new report entitled “The Bible in America”.  What this report had to say about the state of Christianity in the United States was not good news…

The research found the reasons included a decline in the number of Americans who believe the Bible is sacred literature from 86% in 2011 to 80% in 2016. Plus there’s a drop in the number of people who say the Bible is sufficient as a guide for meaningful living from 77% in 2011 to 67% in 2016.

In 2015, CBN’s Paul Strand reported how faith is losing its foothold in America.

Millennials in particular are driving these declines as the age group with the most respondents saying there were no books they considered sacred. Sixty-two percent said they have never read the Bible.

Our youngest adults, the Millennials, are far more likely to reject the Christian faith than any generation that has preceded them.  Just consider the following information that comes directly out of a Pew Research Center report…

Millennials – especially the youngest Millennials, who have entered adulthood since the first Landscape Study was conducted – are far less religious than their elders. For example, only 27% of Millennials say they attend religious services on a weekly basis, compared with 51% of adults in the Silent generation. Four-in-ten of the youngest Millennials say they pray every day, compared with six-in-ten Baby Boomers and two-thirds of members of the Silent generation. Only about half of Millennials say they believe in God with absolute certainty, compared with seven-in-ten Americans in the Silent and Baby Boom cohorts. And only about four-in-ten Millennials say religion is very important in their lives, compared with more than half in the older generational cohorts.

We are steadily becoming less religious as a nation.

But even though that is the case, another Pew survey did find that 72 percent of Americans still believe in heaven and 58 percent of Americans still believe in hell.

So even though our society is moving away from God at a frightening pace, most people still acknowledge the reality of heaven and hell.

Most people still understand that God is going to hold them accountable for their actions, and that they are going to go somewhere when they die.

So why are so many preachers afraid to talk about these things in our day?

Where are the men like Charles Finney, D.L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon that won multitudes of souls for their Savior and literally changed the course of history with their fiery preaching?

Sadly, most churches in the United States have already gone apostate.  You may not want to hear this, but it is true.

The good news, however, is that God is still moving.  In a previous article, I discussed how a 40-year-old prophecy from David Wilkerson is literally coming true right in front of our eyes.  He saw the rise of a “supernatural invisible church” that would include believers of all types and that would shake the world in the last days…

I see the rise of a super church, a supernatural invisible church, a union of deeply spiritual followers of Jesus Christ, bound together through the Holy Spirit and mutual confidence in Christ and in his word.

This supernatural church of true believers will become a kind of underground church. It will include Catholics and Protestants of all denominations, young and old, black and white, and people of all nations. While this visible super church gains political power this invisible body of believers will grow tremendously in spiritual power.

This power will come from persecution. The persecution madness that is coming upon this earth will drive these Christians closer together and closer to Jesus Christ. They will be less concerned about denominational ties and more concerned and emphasis on the coming of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will bring together as one people in all walks of life.

My wife and I talked about this “Remnant” that is arising during one of our recent television shows and I also discuss it in my new book entitled “The Rapture Verdict“.  God is raising up an army, and there is no church, denomination or individual that is in charge of it.  Instead, it is an organic move of God that is happening largely outside of the institutional church.  In fact, if the institutional church does not wake up, it is in danger of being completely left behind by what is happening.

And I am completely convinced that we are going to see the greatest harvest of souls in the history of the church in these last days.  God is raising up men and women of God that are going to preach passionately about the reality of sin, judgment, hell and the cross.  They aren’t going to be afraid to offend people, because they are going to be consumed with a passion to help people find eternal life through Jesus Christ.

I want you to imagine something for a moment.

Imagine a line that stretches from one side of your computer screen to the other.

That is your life.  Whether it is 20 years long or 120 years long, it had a beginning and it is going to have an end.

Now imagine that line continuing past the end of your computer screen and traveling out of your house and across the street.  From there, imagine it traveling at a very high rate of speed from city to city, country to country, until it encircles our planet literally millions upon millions of times without ever stopping.

That is eternity.

If the Bible is correct, you have a choice to make.

You can choose Jesus and spend forever with Him, or you can choose to reject Him and be forever separated from your Creator.

Heaven and hell are both very real, and the Son of the Living God came to this planet and died an incredibly brutal death on a Roman cross so that eternal life could be offered to you as a free gift.

If you want to have a relationship with Him, it is very easy.  Just repent of your sins and invite Jesus Christ to come into your life.  He will forgive every evil thing that you have ever done, and He will give you a life that is never going to have an ending.

I pray that you will make that decision today.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/why-do-so-many-preachers-in-america-refuse-to-talk-about-hell


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