Revelation 20:11-15, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
I think the most disturbing truth I have ever heard is the Bible truth that there is a literal place of Hell. The inspired Word of God has much more to say about Hell than Heaven. And yet, many false religions completely deny the reality of Hell. Seventh-Day Adventism and the Jehovah's Witness religions both deny the existence of Hell. I don't see how anybody could deny the reality of Hell in lieu of Scripture passages like Revelation 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Dear friend, is your name recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life in Heaven? Your name must be in that blessed Book for you to enter into the pearly city. Your name was in that book before you were even conceived. That is why all babies go to Heaven. It is not until you knowing hear the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen and you reject God's free gift of grace that your name is blotted out of the Lamb's Book of Life. I believe that is Scriptural. We know biblically that Once Saved, Always Saved (John 10:28-29). So no one could ever have their name entered and then removed from the Book of Life.
We read in Revelation22:19, “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Since we know that salvation can NEVER be lost, this can only mean that everyone's name was already in the Book of Life from birth. To intentionally corrupt the Word of God is the same as rejecting Christ. This makes sense because Jesus is the Living Word (John 1:1-3, 14) and the Bible is God's Written Word (Matthew 4:4; 2nd Timothy 3:16).
The faithful man of God Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) used to call Jesus and the Bible “twins.” I like that. We find Scriptural support for this in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” If you want to learn all about Jesus, then SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES dear friend. Also, consider Revelation 19:10, “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The Bible contains 31% prophecy, all of which testifies concerning the precious name of Jesus. If you want to know the Bible better, always look for Jesus in every passage of prophecy.
I am saddened as I reflect upon famous celebrities who have died in recent years:
- The Baha'i faith is of the Devil. They teach that all religions lead to the light. Sadly, Dan England (one of my favorite singers) died and almost assuredly went to Hell, because he was a lifelong follower of Baha'i.
- David Bowie died a Buddhist, as did Steve Jobs of Apple.
- Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen, died a devout follower of Zoroastrianism.
- Michael Jackson was a lifelong member of the Jehovah's Witness cult, but his own brother converted him over to the Black Muslim religion in the years prior to his involuntary murder at only age 50.
- George Harrison of The Beatles died being a lifelong follower of Hara Krishna.
John 5:40-44, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?”
Wow! Jesus sure nailed it. We've all seen the Grammy Award Shows in Hollywood, where the entertainment industry fall all over each other, honoring one another. That is exactly what Jesus said in John 5:40-44. Wicked people receive honor one of another, but they seek not the true honor which comes from God alone. Notice that Jesus said in verse 40, “ye will not come unto me.” He didn't say, “Ye cannot come unto me.” God never sends anybody to Hell who didn't CHOOSE to go there!!! What saith the Scripture? 2nd Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” Eternal life is a free gift which God freely offers to ALL MEN (1st John 2:2; 2nd Peter 3:9).
Knowing That Most People Go To Hell Is The Most Disturbing Truth
The most disturbing truth I can think of is knowing that billions of human beings will spend eternity, suffering in torment and fire day and night without rest (Revelation 14:11, 21:8). It is a horrifying thing to imagine. If you believe the Bible you must concede that Hell exists!
Matthew 7:13-15, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
Oh my, that is so terrifying! Why, dear friend, do most people go to the Lake of Fire? Why do only a few humans find the way that leads to life? I mean, eternal life is a totally free gift from God. All you need to do is receive it by faith. So if being saved is so easy, simple and free, why do most people end up burning in the Lake of Fire? What a paradox!
Thankfully, the Bible does give us the reason why this phenomena happens. Satan blinds people, tricking them. 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Here we clearly see that the Devil BLINDS people from the truth of the light of the Gospel, to keep them lost. This is why Jesus followed up His warning in Matthew 7:13-14 that very few people find the path unto life with Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” The reason why so many people go to Hell instead of Heaven is because of false teachers whom Satan uses to blind people!
We see a classic example of such false teachers in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” The Lord very plainly says that you must do the Father's will to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
What is the Father's will? We find the answer in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” We see Jesus in the Scripture and are saved by BELIEVING on Him. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” God's plan of salvation is so simple. You simply need to BELIEVE.
Those false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23 spent the entire life preaching in Jesus' name. They boasted of their many wonderful works done in Jesus' name. They had even cast out devils in Jesus' name. They followed Jesus calling Him “Lord, Lord.” Yet Christ Himself denied knowing them as His sheep. How horrified they must have been? Please heed the Lord's warning dear reader. Jesus told this true story to WARN everyone that “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
The Devil is an evil thief, murderer and liar (John 10:10). It is tragic and unimaginable to realize that most of the 8 billion people alive on the planet today will be burning forever in Hell just one hundred years from now. Try to think about that, if you can. I have a difficult time wrapping my human brain around such a shocking truth. The Lord's warning in this passage is very clear. Dear friend, you can serve Christ for a lifetime. You can surrender to Him as your “Lord.” You can preach and talk positively about Jesus everywhere you go. You can spend your life doing many wonderful works, sacrificially giving and suffering for the name of Jesus. You can turn many people to religion and be well respected among churches. You can try to turn away from sinful behavior and live a morally clean life. You may do all these things and yet die in your sins without Christ as your Savior, and split Hell wide open, cursed under the condemnation of God's law.
The reason why is simply because you don't get to Heaven by doing those aforementioned things. Jesus said in John 6:40 that the Father's will is to BELIEVE ON HIM. I hear countless pastors today insisting that people must “repent and turn away from your sins” to be saved, but the Bible does not teach that. Repentance is simply acknowledging THE TRUTH (a change of mind) that you are a guilty sinner (2nd Timothy 2:25; Romans 3:19-20), which accompanies believing THE TRUTH of the Gospel to be saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Repentance is automatic.
The only things that you need to know to be saved is that you are a guilty sinner (Romans 3:23). There is a penalty for sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). This includes the Second Death in Hell (Revelation 20:15, 21:8). But God loves you and me and sent His only begotten Son into the world to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. If you know that you are a sinner, and that Christ died, was buried and physically resurrected from the dead three days later, that is all you need to know to be saved. Simply BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS dear friend and you are saved!!!
One of my favorite Bible passages is found in Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” The Apostle Paul wanted to know how the churches at Galatia were they indwelt with the Holy Spirit? That is, how did they get saved? So Paul asks them a direct question—Did you get saved by doing the works of the law; or did you get saved BY THE HEARING OF FAITH? I love that phrase so much: THE HEARING OF FAITH. That simply means you get saved by placing your childlike faith in the GOOD NEWS when you hear it preached. Anybody can do that! That is how 3,000 people were saved on the blessed Day of Pentecost. Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” They were saved by receiving the Gospel, and then they received believer's water baptism as a public profession of that faith.
That is how you get saved dear reader. That is the simplicity that is in Christ. If you read Acts chapter 10, it is a beautiful true story about an Italian man named Cornelius. He was a good man, who prayed, fasted and gave alms to the poor. Yet he was still lost. God arranged for the Apostle Peter to meet up with Cornelius and his friends, so they could hear the Gospel preached. As they simply listened, they believed and were saved in Acts 10:43-44. If you check the Bible you will find that Peter didn't tell them to do even one thing. Peter simply told them the wonderful story of Jesus Who was crucified on the cross for our sins, buried and raised up miraculously three days later from the dead for our justification. And as they heard this GOOD NEWS they gladly believed it and were immediately and forever saved by God's saving grace. Amen and amen!
I love that! Peter never told Cornelius and his friends to do anything. Peter didn't tell them to turn away from their sinful lifestyle. Peter didn't tell them to get water baptized. Peter didn't tell them to make public confession. Peter didn't tell them to keep the Sabbath Day. Peter didn't tell them to do anything!!! Peter simply preached the Gospel and as they heard THE TRUTH they put their faith in it and were saved. I love the simplicity that is in Christ. Dear friend, this is why most people go to Hell. They either won't come to Christ because of their love for sin (John 3:20, 5:40); or else they have been deceived by the Devil, given a false hope (Mark 7:7-13). Have you believed a lie? Please make sure that you've been born-again, because today could be the last day of your life. Thank you for reading my blog.
“God is worthy of our trust; He is always faithful. Our nearest friends may deceive us, but God never will.” —Pastor Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.