The Reality of Hell

I began this book many months ago, hoping to have it completed by now, but I have just gotten either lazy or side tracked preparing two other manuscripts for publication.  Probably both.  Perhaps it is best that I have not finished as yet, for I can now express to a greater degree than before my key reason for writing this book.  It has become more focused in my mind.

Today is August 24, 2010.  Although I did not hear about this event until just yesterday (either the news has not covered it adequately or I have just not heard it when it was reported or seen it on the web), it occurred some 18 or 19 days ago.  I am referring to the 33 Chilean miners who have been trapped a half mile underground in an area of approximately 500 square feet. 

As of this writing, they have all survived and are seemingly in sufficient enough spirits that they can sing their national anthem.  Compassionate people around the world rejoiced with Chile and the families involved when a camera was lowered through an air vent into the room and faces were seen, some even smiling.

To the rest of the world, or at least to me, it is hard to envision the unfathomable horror of the situation of those 33 men.  They are stranded underground, in a small area estimated to be about 500 square feet, which is much too small for all of them to have any space to themselves.  They have inadequate food, water, air and ventilation and must endure temperature of approximately 90 degrees.  They have absolutely no way to escape.  They are surrounded by immeasurable weight of rock in all directions.  Very little or no light.  It is a suffocating, terrifying, helpless and perhaps hopeless, mind numbing experience.  Death, it would seem, is to be preferred over their current circumstances.  (On February 13, 2011, 60 Minutes reported that they all indeed deliberated on mass suicide and cannibalism).  And what they do not know as of this writing is that they may be imprisoned there for up to another four months before a rescue shaft can be drilled in order to haul them out, one at a time, upwards through a two foot diameter for a half a mile that may take up to three hours per person.

I pause to ask a question to all readers.  Would any of you want to experience that?  Would any of you choose to experience that dreadful, horrifying, frightening beyond all comprehension ordeal?  Would any of you choose to be literally buried alive for up to five months?  Even for a month?  A week?  A day?  An hour?  I didn’t think so.  Nor would I.  No one who I know would willing put themselves in the position of undergoing such agonizing, excruciating horror.

Yet, I dare say that some of you who are reading these words right now are placing yourself in a far worse position than the one being experienced by those 33 miners.  What can be worse than being buried alive under millions of tons of rocks a half a mile down into the earth, struggling to breathe properly and to remain calm when the reality of your situation cries out in utter, uncontrollable panic that desires freedom from what could be your coffin?

Is there something far worse than this dark, crowded, hot, smelly, claustrophobic environment that is attempting to drain the very life from them?  The answer is yes.  It is the eternal punishment of those who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That place is called hell and it is pictured by this situation in Chile.  Those buried miners are on vacation compared to those who have already entered the fires of hell and those who will one day be there.  Because we do not hear screaming voices from hell or see the actual torment of hell, and because it is hidden from our view, because it is in the realm of what lies beyond this life, of death, people tend to cast aside any thoughts of hell.  So many people, in fact, most of the world’s population, dismiss it as either a myth or something that is not nearly as bad as what those “religious fanatics” make it out to be.  Many people I have personally spoken with think it is a joke or a place of laughing and playing cards and drinking beer around the fire.  If you are one of those, do you think those miners are laughing and joking about their situation?  Neither are those in hell.  And neither will those who think it is a joke or a myth now.  If we could but lift the veil that conceals that awful place from our view for only five minutes and see the agonies of those in hell, then we would never forget the sight. Our flesh would tremble, our hair would stand on end, and our souls would be paralyzed with horror. Your eternal destiny is the most serious consideration you can occupy your mind with.  It is real.  Man has no say in whether or not hell is real, but man can choose not to go there.

Because of the reality of our future judgment, of the “balancing of our books”, of an accounting of our life on earth, it is incumbent upon every person to consider the gravity of the stewardship of life.  It is not to be taken lightly or ignored or rejected as false.  It may be that those miners thought that being trapped only happens to others, not them.  But it happened to them without warning.  They were not prepared for the collapse within their work space. 

One day a frightening reality will instantaneously set in upon those who scorn the blessed gospel of Jesus Christ.  All who reject, refuse, scorn, neglect, or otherwise ignore the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary for their sins will face the eternal wrath of God.  Rightfully so.  They may think it cannot happen to them because they have chosen to consciously ignore it, to pretend it does not exist.  But when that reality occurs - not if it does, but when it does - their fate will be sealed.  There will be no escape from their prison.  It will be like the situation of the miners in many respects, but it will also be unlike the miners’ entrapment because there will be no contact with the “upper world.”  There will be no contact with others within the dark, confining, bottomless pit, the lake that burns with fire.  There will be total isolation forever, from all other beings, but most importantly, separation from God.  They will experience intense emotional suffering, far worse than that of the miners.  Their minds will be filled with unimaginable horror and agony, far worse than anyone can imagine.  They will be screaming for deliverance, for release from the eternal chains that bind them.  They will endure unbearable, tortuous pain from the fire and from their own memory of their sin and their rejection of truth.  They will know and be constantly aware that they are there because of their refusal to bow the knee to Jesus and to confess Him as Lord, even when they knew the truth of who Jesus is and His reason for living among us.  They will be reminded throughout eternity that they are there because they chose to live life their own way rather than by the decrees of God’s Holy Word, because they chose temporary pleasure over eternal joy.  They will agonize eternally with the knowledge that they are there because their sensual, hedonistic, materialistic, self-pleasing and self-promoting idols were more important to them than was the God of creation and the God of salvation.  They deliberately chose to be lord of their own lives rather than to submit to the Lordship of Jesus.  This knowledge will only serve to increasingly terrify them and torment them through the eons of an everlasting hell.  Their suffering never lets up; it only gets more intense.  Forever.

The miners may be rescued, and as of this writing, it is my prayer that they will be.  May God be merciful to them and to their families.  But, no amount of prayer will release one soul from hell once they have entered it.  

A Parallel to Consider

A Parallel to Consider

Am I the only one who sees the parallel between what the political and media establishment (really one and the same) is doing to Donald Trump and what the Jewish establishment – the Priests, Pharisees, and Sadducees – did to Jesus?  The hatred that the political establishment vomits upon Trump is identical to the animosity that the Jewish establishment spewed upon Jesus, and it is done for the same reasons.

Now, before I go any further, let it be understood that I am not even coming close to implying that Donald Trump is to be compared to Jesus in his character, life-style, comportment, or any in any other way.  Donald Trump is a sinful human being like the rest of us are.  He is no worse or better than any of us, just sinful in different ways than we are.  Jesus was the perfect Son of God, the God Man, God in the flesh, and as such was incapable of sin in any way.  So, the hatred that was directed toward Him was sin in the greatest degree.  Hatred against Donald Trump is still sin, however not nearly to the extent that hatred against Jesus is.

The Jewish establishment was the political establishment of their day.  They were the rulers.  They dictated what the Jews could or could not do.  They hated Jesus because He was not one of them.  He did not teach what they taught.  He did not see people the way they did – as vile sinners who did not keep the law (the way they interpreted it); these sinners needed to be condemned, not saved.  Jesus saw them as sinners in need of forgiveness and redemption.  However, the law did not apply to them.  They were exempt from the law they demanded others keep.  So they thought and practices because they were the elite. 

He was an outsider.  He did not play by their rules.  Why, He even had the nerve to heal people on the Sabbath Day after they told Him not to.  He did things His way, the true way, God’s way; He did not live according to their phony, self-seeking, self-promoting, arrogant life style.  He criticized them for seeking to gain more wealth and power to themselves by stealing from widows.  They were only concerned with their power structure and maintaining it for themselves.  They would not admit any others into their exclusive club. 

The common people loved Him.  He met them right where they were.  He explained the way of God in language that they could understand and relate to, not like the Pharisees.  The establishment began almost immediately to seek to destroy Him.  If He continued drawing people to Himself, why they would lose influence and power over them.  They just could not allow that.  Their prestigious positions and life-styles depended upon His total destruction, or at least the collapse of His impact in the lives of those who were being deceived by Him.

They would not give up their pursuit of His demise.  They needed Him to disappear so they could continue in the administration of their power without interruption.  They had no clue as to what was going to happen.  The object of their hatred would indeed die, but would only remain dead for three days.  His resurrection would set in motion a government that would have no end.  Their power, city, temple and way of life would perish in a few short years when Titus swept through Jerusalem and completely destroyed them and their city.  What they desired for Jesus came back on their own heads as they cried out to Pilate “His blood be upon us.”

Can you see how the political establishment consisting of Democrats, Republicans, and the media, today parallels this in regard to Donald Trump?  He is an outsider who does not play by the rules they have established.  He tells it like it is, not as how the establishment has defined it.  The establishment specifies life and politics as they want it to be and they vilify anyone with the audacity and temerity to deviate from their definition.  They are a closed club that only allows those who are like themselves to enter. 

But he is appealing to the common folk and the establishment just cannot understand why.  As Hillary recently said, “Why am I not 50 points ahead?”  Could it be that people are just sick and tired of the same old crap that the establishment endorses?  The same old lies?  The same old cronyism?   The same old “do as we say, not as we do”?  The same old “we deserve a better health care system and retirement system than you peons”?  The same old “let’s enrich ourselves and let them get by as best as they can”?  The same of way of doing things that never changes or improves?  The same old way of giving away money and status to those who have no interest in supporting America?  The same old “we can commit adultery and fornicate to our hearts content – even if it is in the Oval Office, and that is OK because we are in power.  (This is exactly what the Pharisees did).  But if he even suggests such thoughts in a private conversation many years ago, we need to condemn him without mercy.”

I am afraid that many people don’t care.  They are either blind to what is happening or they are selling their souls for a mess of pottage.  I am not criticizing the concept of government, for it is ordained and established by God.  But we need a righteous government, not a greedy power structure that only seeks its own progression at the expense of those it is designed to serve.  It is time for the political establishment to crumble. 

I realize that some people will not agree with what I am about to say, but it is my understanding of the book of Revelation.  After 50+ years of study I have come to the following conclusion.  All governments that seduce people into worshiping them, that persecute those who do not buy into their system, that increase their own power at the expense of others, that will not tolerate any form of criticism or discontent is a manifestation of the beast of Revelation 13.  There have been many appearances of this beast throughout human history, and there are many today, and our own is one of them.  Our government is not Godly; it is corrupt because its leaders are corrupt.  Donald Trump cannot change most of it, but he can make some improvements.  Only when Jesus returns will wickedness in all of its forms be destroyed forever.

The Pharisees were blind to who Jesus was and what the ultimate outcome of their hatred would be.  Donald Trump is not Jesus, but there are many in the establishment who would not mind seeing him crucified, if not literally, then politically.  They, however, do not have the ultimate say in these matters.  God is still on the throne of the universe and will have His way regardless of what the power elite want. 

There is much more that could be written here, but this is enough to hopefully get you thinking of the absolutely disgraceful way those who “dare to be different” are treated.

Transgender Heroes?

There has been much made recently of what is called “transgender” individuals.  (I put that word in quotes because no one is actually changing their gender – that is impossible to do).  These are people who for one reason or another (nothing that I can figure out) believe, however mistakenly, that they were born the wrong gender.  God made a mistake with them.  (Not that they believe in God.  If they did believe in God they would not be engaged in such absurd behavior).  They believe that they should have been born the opposite gender than what they were.  They have always known that inside of themselves they were not who they appeared to be on the outside.  To correct this discrepancy, they undergo medical procedures to become outwardly what they believe they are inwardly.  These individuals have been hailed as heroes by the media, by Hollywood, and by other non-thinking entities.  One was even named “woman of the year.” 

Not being content to simply live their lives quietly, they have chosen instead to attempt to force their perversity upon others in the most obnoxious of ways.  They proudly parade their despicable lifestyle demanding approval and acceptance by all and vociferously condemning as bigots those who have the spiritual fortitude to call it what it is – sin.  Rebellion against God.  Telling God that He doesn’t know what He is doing.  Telling Him that they know what is best.  Believing that they have the “right” to do as they please and not even God has the authority to prevent them from doing so. 

Anyone who says anything to the contrary can expect a barrage of hatred and name calling spewed against them.  “How dare they have the audacity to even think that what someone else chooses to do with their own body should be criticized or questioned?”   If anyone, especially a Christian, speaks out against this he or she is then condemned by open-minded people as being hateful and a bigot.  These people are so open-minded that truth cannot find a resting place with them but instead rushes straight through their heads because there is nothing there to stop it. 

But is “bigot” properly used in this context?  Let’s allow Merriam-Webster to offer us a definition of the word: “a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices especially one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or religious group) with hatred and intolerance” 

Mutilating one’s body in order to appear to be someone of the opposite sex has nothing to do with national origin, skin color or religious belief.  Well, in the abstract, it may very loosely fit in the religious definition because the person who so chooses to do so to their body is a member of the “I’m my own god” religion.  What is being criticized is an action that has been taken, not an inherent attribute or condition of the person.

To applaud this activity and promote it as normal is political correctness at its worst.  Liberal politicians, in order to gain support by any deviant group of people, will attempt to legitimize even the most absurd activity as worthy of acceptance.  Election and reelection is their god.  After all, their political career is of prime importance to them – even more important than their immortal souls.  They willing trade one for the other. 

But it is not just politicians who espouse this nonsense, but everyone who thinks they are smarter than anyone else – especially those who disagree with them.  This includes practically every political and religious liberal.  Both believe that they have all the answers that are necessary in any given situation.  Anyone who disagrees with them based on Biblical principles is guilty of the worst offense possible – trying to force God on them because their belief system is rooted in the premise that man is supreme and cannot be forced to acknowledge a Being who is superior to themselves who rules even over their affairs.  They will not allow anyone to say or do anything that jeopardizes his freedom to do whatever he desires to do as long it does not hurt others.  They are convinced that belief in God hurts people because believing just might prevent someone from engaging in certain activities and it just might make them feel guilty.  And we just cannot have guilt or conviction that actions are wrong.

Political correctness, at its basic level states that no one has the right to criticize what another does, that anyone can make decisions that they deem to be best for themselves – as long as they vote for me.  There are no absolute ethics that apply to everyone.  What is good for you is not necessarily good for me.  Like in the days of the Biblical Judges, everyone can do what is right in their own eyes.  No one has the right to offend anyone else by disagreeing with their actions or words.  Unless, of course, it is a Christian who is speaking out; then he or she is fair game for hateful attacks, even violence against his or her person.  But to use Biblical principles to demonstrate the error of one’s ways and choices is attacked by these open-minded individuals as a hate crime.  But it is not the Christian who is guilty of hate; it is those who hatefully criticize the Christian – which is true bigotry according to Webster's definition.

So, in the world’s view, I am guilty of mean-spirited, hateful, bigoted rhetoric because I am simply stating truth as contained in the Word of the Almighty God. Regardless of who may reject this truth, there remain absolutes in this world that are still governed by God.  No one has the right or ability to change what God has established even if they think they do.  In the fundamental sense of the word, there is no such thing as a “transgendered” person.  What a person is born as is what they will remain regardless of how they modify their bodies or convince their minds that they are different.  Chromosomes cannot be altered to make a male into a female or a female into a male.  What you are born with is what you are.  Your delusional mind may tell you that you  are not what your body is, but you cannot change the x chromosome into a y chromosome or vice versa.  

You can mutilate your body and thereby deceive yourself into thinking that you are now what you choose to be, but you are still what God has made you.  If you were born a male, you will always remain a male; born a female, you remain a female.  You have deceived yourself right into eternal damnation because you have taken pleasure in sin and have not humbled yourself under the laws of God.  Your pride and arrogance have exalted yourself to self-imagined godhood – the condemnation of the devil.

Of particular concern at this time is their forceful demand that the public recognize and accept them on their terms.  The smaller the group, the more right they think they have not to be offended.  Of course the offense comes when anyone does not bow to their demands and has the audacity to reject it as immoral.  The infinitesimally small minority is trying to force the much greater majority to write special laws just for them.  Men who want to be viewed as women are insisting they be allowed to use women’s bathrooms in a public locale.  And vice versa.  Somehow, this has become the most important issue in their lives – where they choose to relieve themselves.  The majority no longer has rights.  Minorities rule.  This is absurd.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, money issues are taking precedent over righteousness.  Several corporations have withdrawn their decision to locate their businesses there because of the state law that rightfully refuses to allow men to use women’s bathrooms.  Some rock musicians have cancelled their appearances for the same reason, calling the law unfair to this group.  “It’s just so unfair and discouraging to them not to be able to use the bathroom of their choice.”  Some states have issued mandates to state employees against travel to North Carolina.  All because a small group of men can’t use women’s bathrooms?  Are they serious?  How is it possibly discriminatory to prevent men – even if they believe they are women – from using bathrooms that women and girls are using?  Target stores have caved in to the pressure to allow anyone to use a bathroom that they self-identified with.  What if someone self-identifies as a dog.  Will they be allowed to pee in the aisle?  This entire politically correct debacle is obscene and disgusting and will end with God's judgment poured out upon America unless there is national repentance.

The majority of Americans are being discriminated against by having this issue forced on them.  Now Charlotte is trying to change this state law because they are losing money.  Money is the predominant issue for them.  They are willing to bow to pressure to conform to the wishes of so few rather than stand for what is right and Godly.  

I know that my choice of words may offend some, but I really don’t care.  I am highly offended by this utter nonsense.  God is highly offended by it.  The truth of the matter is that I am offended by this “transgender” nonsense because it is an offense to God.  What offends God offends me.  The entire world system is an offense to God because it totally disregards Him and His order for man.  

My purpose is not to be obnoxious or to intentionally cause emotional distress to anyone, but to state the issue as clearly as I can.  The problem in this world is that very few people speak truth if there is any possibility that someone would feel offended by that particular truth.  “Ooh ooh!  We don’t want them to get hurt feelings.  What will they think of us?  They might get mad at us.” 

Psalm 12 is a relevant today as it was when David penned it. 

1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains; the loyal have disappeared from the human race.
2 They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.  3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks boastfully.  4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power; our lips are our own—who can be our master?  5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up,” says the Lord. “I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.” 6 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.  7 You, Lord, will guard us; You will protect us from this generation forever.  8 The wicked wander everywhere, and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.

Christians have allowed the world to force its way upon us without standing up for what is right.  We are so unlike the apostles who told the Sanhedrin “we ought to obey God rather than man.”  Because we have obeyed man rather than God, God is the offended Party.  That is far more serious than people being offended.  Man’s spirit needs to be offended and convicted by the Holy Spirit if he is ever to realize his lost condition and his need for God.

But God will rise up against the worthless nonsense that the world craves and exalts.  They think they are unassailable and are protected by sheer numbers, but God is the majority.  He will prevail.  You may or may not agree with what I say, but I have as much right to speak what I believe as others have the right to speak what they believe.  It is not spoken hatefully, just clearly and unambiguously.  I want to be faithful to the Word of God.

Just so there is no misunderstanding my point of view: giving perverted people special rights that offend the majority is not right.  It is wrong by any decent standard.  I do not for one minute believe that they should be persecuted or mistreated, but they do not deserve special consideration under any circumstance.  God will take care of any punishment if there is any to be administered.  But they do need to live by the same rules and laws as the rest of us do, but do so quietly.  They do not deserve to have the right to do whatever they want to do just because it makes them feel that they are being true to their inward selves.  If they choose to mutilate and mangle their bodies, so be it, but do not try to jam it down anyone else’s throat.  We do not have to accept it as normal or as their constitutional right (the constitution does not address the issue of man correcting God’s perceived mistakes).  It is not a right in God’s view no matter what courts may rule or celebrities deem to be heroic.  It is a choice one makes that is against God’s laws that no one is obligated to recognize as proper.