The Reality of Hell

July 20

(Luke 16:19-24 NIV) ““There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. {20} At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores {21} and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. {22} "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. {23} In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. {24} So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’”

(Matthew 13:40-43 NIV) “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. {41} The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. {42} They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. {43} Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

The story of the rich man and Lazarus is one of those rare occasions when God lifts the veil between this world and the next, and we are allowed to see what is beyond. Jesus taught the reality of heaven and hell, and that there is a direct relationship between the here and the hereafter. Jesus believed in hell because He created it for the devil and his angels. It is not a place where one parties with friends. Hell is the absence of anything good. There is no love there, so no one will have any friends. Hell is a place of conscious suffering and torment, and part of that torment is being aware of what we could have had. There are two eternal destinations for all mankind: heaven or hell. There are no others. They are permanent, and there will be no second chances after death. There is only eternity in one place or the other.  Jesus wants us to grasp this. Make a decision. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day