Judgement and Hell • Devotion 3

Spared from Anguish
Mitchell Holmes

I would like to take a moment to describe a situation for you. Imagine with me that you are driving on the freeway and suddenly ahead of you is a massive backup of vehicles. It becomes quickly apparent that there is something major going on and the freeway is backed up for miles as more and more cars are stopped by this massive traffic jam. At first, you are optimistic that this setback will lighten up or reduce in a timely fashion, but as 15 minutes turns into 30 and your vehicle has only moved 50 feet, you realize that an end to this is nowhere in sight. To make matters worse, you just finished the last sip of your water bottle, your car’s air conditioning stops working, and the temperature reaches a humid 95 degrees. As you decide it may be in your best interest to get off the freeway and take side roads to your destination, you notice a sign that says, “Next exit: 15 miles ahead.”

What I have just described to you is my own personal Hell on Earth. I cannot think of many things that I would enjoy less than being stuck in a hot vehicle, on a humid day, in traffic for hours, with not even the wind to cool me down. However, as awful as this situation would theoretically be, it pales infinitely in comparison to the scene that we see described for us by the apostle John in Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

This passage is nothing short of terrifying. As all the dead in the sea and all the dead buried in the ground are ripped from their graves and brought before the throne of judgment, we see their every thought, word, and deed judged by the just, holy, and perfect Lord. Those whose names were not recorded in the Book of Life did not meet the requirement of perfection, nor did they seek the name of Jesus for forgiveness and thus they are thrown into a place of eternal suffering, the Lake of Fire.

The Lake of Fire may be made of literal fire as we know it, or it may be a description of something beyond our capabilities to understand and thus, much worse.

Regardless, residency in the Lake of Fire means separation from God and separation from everything that is good. Therefore, it is nothing but anguish and punishment for eternity. In addition, this literal Hell will keep all of its occupants completely and utterly alone and separated from one another in absolute darkness.

If you have confessed your sins and sought Jesus for forgiveness from them, you can avoid this eternal suffering. However, I think it is easy to forget the horrors from which we have been spared because there is no immediate example of this grace in our lives. God did not have to spare us from this torment and yet, He loved us enough to send His Son to die in our place. Take a moment today to thank the Lord for paying the ultimate price in your place and sparing you from an eternity in Hell.

I also hope to use the discomfort of the reality of Hell to motivate you. Every single person reading this has someone in their lives that does not know Jesus and has not repented. Those people will spend an eternity in unimaginable suffering unless someone alters their course. Please do not let it be too late before you try to reach them with the Gospel.