He’s in the bed inside the tiny house that he’s lived in since his birth. Without a miracle, it seems that he will soon die there. He has been in the same bed for weeks. The doctor has been by several times in that time frame. However, instead of getting better, he has increasingly gotten worst. The doctor hasn’t told him directly, but he knows that he is very sick, and quite possibly near the point of death.
As he lies in bed pondering what the future holds, suddenly he feels a strange sensation in his chest. More specifically his heart. His entire body begins to turn numb. First his feet, then the rest of his body. He attempts to call for help to his family member, as he noticed his body getting weaker and weaker until a quick jolt.
Suddenly, he didn’t feel weak, pain, or anything at all. He only noticed that his perspective had changed. Instead of laying in the bed as he had for weeks, he was somewhere hovering around the ceiling of his room. He was looking down at his lifeless body still lying in the bed. As he hovered, suddenly, he began to rapidly descend.
As he descended, the next events seem to coincide with one another. He was in freefall. As he dropped, the darker everything around him became. The darker everything became, the more intense the heat was. In fact, when he didn’t think the heat could get any hotter, he would continue to fall and as he did, the heat became unbearable. It was like nothing he could ever imagine.
Then, he abruptly stopped falling. There are no human words to describe what he saw, smelled, heard, and felt. He said he felt that he was being pulled toward an object in the distance. He didn’t want to go, but he wasn’t able to stop it. As he got closer to the object, he was finally able to see what it was, due to the light from the flames. It was the gates of Hell.
Not only was the heat unbearable, but also the endless terrifying screams were beyond frightening. There were some of the most grotesque smells that didn’t compare to anything on earth. As he drew near to the gate, some sort of a creature grabbed him. He couldn’t explain how he knew it, but he knew that the creature’s intent was to throw him inside the gate.
However, just as the creature grabbed him, a booming voice said something that shook everything down there. The teenager didn’t know what the booming voice said, but when it spoke the creature immediately released him, and he then started to ascend.
As the boy returned to his body, his grandmother was by his bedside. He remembers saying that he knew he was going to die again, but he wanted to tell his mother goodbye first.
This happens three times that he left his body and dropped down to the gates of Hell. The third time while he was dropping to the bottom, he cried out to GOD. He said, “GOD, I was baptized, and I belong to a church.” However, it wasn’t until he asked for forgiveness for his sins, and asked Jesus to be his Lord and savior that he stop descending to Hell.
If you have read my previous blogs, you will know that I like to watch movies. However, I do not like when movies glamorize Hell. In some movies, the hero must risk his life to save someone. It frustrates me when someone reminds the hero that they could die rescuing a group of people, and the hero says, “If I die, then I’ll see you in Hell.”
Also, there are songs that glamorize Hell as a big party. I guess they think that they will eat, drink, have sex, and party in Hell.
Some people have repeated a statement from John Milton’s book Paradise Lost- Book 2, as a statement of wisdom. In the book, after Satan and his angels are cast out of Heaven, Satan says, “It is better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven.” Some have taken that statement and lived their life by it.
In addition, I personally had a former co-worker on more than one occasion tell me that he wanted to go to Hell because that’s where the good girls go.
If all of those examples weren’t bad enough, why do people find the need to constantly say, “Hell Yes?”
So, what’s the truth? Is Hell a place of great torment, or a lot of sinful fun? Or does Hell even exist at all?
Well, let’s take a moment to see what someone who knows a great deal about the afterlife says, Jesus.
We will briefly look at three examples that Jesus used to describe Hell.
First, in Luke 16:19-31, Jesus told the story about the rich man and Lazarus. In short, both the rich man and the beggar Lazarus died. The rich man went to Hell and Lazarus went to Abraham’s Bosom. The rich man was in great torment in the heat of the flame. It was so hot that he only wanted a drop of water to give him some relief from the heat. Both you and I know that a drop of water will not be enough to quench someone’s thirst.
The rich man also asked if Lazarus could go back and warn his brothers not to come to Hell. I’m sure that the rich man loved his brothers, and he wanted to be with them forever. However, Hell was so bad that he would rather be separated from them forever than live with them in torment.
A second example is in Matthew (13:41-42), when Jesus told the parable of the Sower sows the word. He said that at the end of the world, the angels would gather all they which do iniquity, and all things that offend, and cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
In the third example in (Mark 9:44), when referring to people in Hell, Jesus said that their worm dies not, and the fire is never quenched.
There is no question that Jesus believes that Hell exists and that it is a place of great torment. Remember in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said that his soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death (Mark 14:34). Yes, I do believe that he didn’t want to go through the beatings and death that he faced. However, even though those things were terrible, he also knew that he had to spend time in Hell.
For those who don’t believe that Jesus spent some time in Hell, look at this scripture. In Acts 2:31, Peter stood up to speak and said that his (Jesus), soul was not left in Hell.
Jesus was separated from GOD to pay the penalty of sin for mankind. Jesus had first-hand knowledge of the pain, the torment, the hopelessness, and the separation from GOD.
That’s why Jesus both before and after his death, spoke about repentance to GOD, and witnessing to the world. Jesus wants and expects us to witness to the unsaved to prevent this eternal punishment.
As I write this article, it is the week we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus (Easter). Jesus suffered a great punishment, not only physically, but also spiritually. He did it so you can say no to Hell, and yes to heaven. There’s no greater gift to GOD than snatching a soul that was headed for Hell and winning them for Jesus.
Unfortunately, my former co-worker passed away several years ago. I really hope he changed his mind about Hell before he died.
The sick young teenager that had several near-death experiences wasn’t healed right after he received Jesus in his heart. He continued to have poor health for some time. In fact, he had another near-death experience several months later. However, this time, he didn’t descend to Hell, he ascended toward Heaven. Then, he heard a voice telling him to go back to earth. The teenager was healed a year later, and he went on to have a great ministry for GOD. His name was Kenneth Hagin Sr.
So, when movies say I’ll see you in Hell. We should say No!
When songs say that we are going to party in Hell. We should say No!
When people say that it is better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven. We should say No!
When people say that they want to go to Hell because that’s where the good girls, or boys go. We should say No!
When people say Hell yes. We should say No!
So, give your life to Jesus or win a life for Jesus.
Say Hell no, and Heaven YES!
G. Edward Wyche