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Secondly, and I think more tragically, a "fire" of the passions heated up in the hopeless despair of their situation.
THINK OF THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF THE DAMNED! They are in physical pain! They live only with Satan, demons, and wicked self-centered fallen human beings! They forever must live with the knowledge of eternal separation from that which is lovely, graceful, joyous, and pleasurable! They are consumed by hatred-- hatred for themselves... hatred for those with whom they share hell... hatred for God and the host of heaven.
More could be said about the conditions within hell, but one final point is certain. Even though in life on earth the damned lived in sin and justified their sin through a thousand artful reasons and excuses, in hell their intellect will recognize God as the most just judge and the most severe avenger of sins.
SO, THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT HELL IS A PLACE AND STATE OF MIND THAT IS ETERNALLY HORRIBLE BEYOND HUMAN METAPHORS, EVEN OF FIRE AND SULPHUR.
Finally, lets ask who was made for hell and who will go there.
The first thing to point out here is that hell was first created for Satan and the fallen angels, as we just read from the words of Christ Himself. Satan and all fallen angels will be in hell.
Yet, as we continue with these same words of Christ, hell has been remodeled so that it can also house unrepentant, wicked people. And interestingly, the wicked in context to this verse, are those who chose the easy way and did not recognize Christ as they discovered Him through a life of serving others.
We aren’t saved by serving others. We aren’t saved by our works, period, any more than an apple tree is made out of its apples. But a healthy tree bears fruit, and a dedicated Christian, who believes in the biblical Jesus as Savior, will bear fruit. Jesus told His disciples: "By this my father is glorified, that you bear much fruit."
But here we come back to the problem. Many people do not take seriously the Jesus Christ of the Bible. They have invented their own understanding of Christ, and this Christ indulges them in what ever they want to do. |
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