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| − | ====HELL==== | + | ==== YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR==== |
| − | <p>"The rich man also died and was buried. In <strong>Hell</strong>, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 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!" Luke 16:22-24<br><br>
| + | <em></em> |
| − | HELL! <strong>What </strong>is it? It is <em>God's great prison</em>, where His criminals are confined. It is the place of <em>punishment</em> — where the wages of sin are paid. It is the house of despair, the residence of desperation, the dwelling-place of the worm that never dies. It is called the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. It is a place of terrible torture, dreadful agony, and soul-racking remorse. <em>Hope </em>never enters there. <em>Repose </em>is never enjoyed there. <em>Light </em>never shines there. But all is pain, gloom, restless agony, and indescribable torment! There is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth — forever!<br><br>
| + | <p><em>And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 2:28) </em><strong></strong></p> |
| − | HELL! <strong>Who </strong>are there? The <em>rich man</em>, at whose gate Lazarus lay, is there. <em>Judas</em>, who betrayed Jesus, is there. <em>Cain</em>, who slew his brother, is there. <em>Demas</em>, who preferred the world to Christ, is there. The <em>covetous </em>and <em>thieves </em>are there! The <em>immoral </em>and <em>liars </em>are there! The <em>proud </em>and <em>vain </em>are there! All who made light of the Gospel are there! All who neglected the great salvation are there! All who worshiped the Roman beast are there! And they are all "tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb! The smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever — and they have no rest day nor night!"<br><br>
| + | <strong></strong> |
| − | Many perhaps whom you have <em>known </em>are there! Some of <em>our relations </em>even may be there! <em>Old friends </em>of ours may be there. Some who lived in the same street, met in the same place of worship, and whom we once hoped to meet in Heaven — are there!<br><br>
| + | <p><strong>What Is the Nature of the Kingdom, the Redemption That Is Drawing Near? </strong></p> |
| − | Who are there? Why, we were nearly there <em>ourselves! </em>We lay at the entrance of Hell! We were within a few inches of Hell! A slight accident, a stroke, or a disease — would have sent us there. <em>Yes — but for free and sovereign grace — WE would have been in Hell!</em><br><br>
| + | <p>Exactly what did the Lord mean when He said, "your redemption draweth nigh"? </p> |
| − | "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life!" Revelation 21:27<br><br>
| + | <p>Did He mean we all are going to die and go to Heaven? </p> |
| − | "Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying!" Revelation 22:15<br><br>
| + | <p>If we are to understand the drawing near of our redemption we must adopt the frame of mind of the Lord's listeners. The redemption that is at hand will not bring us to Heaven. The people to whom the Lord was speaking would not think in terms of making their eternal home in Heaven. </p> |
| − | HELL! What do they <strong>suffer </strong>there? No tongue can tell. No <em>pen </em>can write; no <em>heart </em>can conceive — what lost souls suffer in Hell! Who can tell what the <em>unmixed wrath</em>, the <em>fiery indignation</em>, the <em>endless curse </em>of Almighty God is? Who can set forth what <em>sin deserves</em>, and what is the obstinate sinner's due?<br><br>
| + | <p>The Lord's hearers, in Luke 21:28, were Jews. They had been taught the oracles of the Prophets. The Prophets spoke of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. They declared also that Jerusalem and all Israel would be exalted. </p> |
| − | They weep, they wail, they gnash their teeth. They are tormented in eternal flames. In every member of the <em>body</em>, in every power of the <em>soul</em> — the lost in Hell will suffer. <em>Memory</em>, <em>conscience</em>, and the <em>imagination</em> — will especially increase their agonies! And<em>hopeless despair </em>will render their doom indescribably dreadful!<br><br>
| + | <em> |
| − | What do they suffer in Hell? Tell! O tell me — what God can justly inflict, what an immortal man can bear, what the threatenings of the violated law require, and how devils can add to the torments of lost souls — and I will tell you what they may suffer in Hell!<br><br>
| + | <p>Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. (Psalms 96:13) </p> |
| − | But, O! may you never know in your own <em>experience </em>what lost souls have to endure, and endure forever! Could we but lift the veil that conceals that awful place from our view, and see but for five minutes the agonies of those in Hell — we would never forget the sight! Our <em>flesh </em>would tremble, our <em>hair </em>would stand up on our heads, and our <em>souls </em>would be paralyzed with horror!<br><br>
| + | <p>And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (Isaiah 2:2) </p> |
| − | HELL! Who will <strong>yet </strong>go to Hell? Who? Perhaps the <em>reader </em>of these lines! Who? ah, perhaps many of whom we have now no suspicion! Will any of our <em>children </em>go there? Will any of our <em>brothers </em>or <em>sisters </em>go there? Will any of the members of the <em>church </em>go there? Will any of this <em>congregation </em>go there?<br><br>
| + | <p>And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. (Luke 2:38) </p> |
| − | Who will go there? All <em>liars </em>shall have their part in the lake that burns with brimstone and fire. All <em>swearers</em>, all <em>drunkards</em> — will find a place set apart in Hell for them. All <em>immoral </em>people; all <em>covetous </em>and <em>dishonest </em>people — all will find a place in Hell prepared for <em>them</em>.<br><br>
| + | </em> |
| − | Who will go to Hell? All who live and die <em>impenitent</em>; "for unless you repent — <em>you </em>shall all likewise perish!" All <em>unbelievers</em>; for "he who believes not, shall be damned!" All who are in their <em>natural state</em>; for "unless a man is born again — he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."<br><br>
| + | <p><em>When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6) </em></p> |
| − | Without <em>faith </em>in Christ, and <em>repentance </em>toward God; without <em>love </em>to God and man, the proof and evidence of the new birth; without union to Christ, and the possession of the Spirit of Christ — there is no escaping the wrath to come — the person must go to Hell! O solemn consideration! Let a man therefore examine himself, whether he is in the faith; let each man and woman prove their own selves, and see if Christ is in them.<br><br>
| + | <p>To our knowledge, there is no verse of Scripture in the Old Testament or New Testament that suggests we are saved to go to Heaven or to live in a mansion in Heaven. The concept of being saved in order to go to Heaven was added at some point after the writing of the New Testament. </p> |
| − | HELL! How may we <strong>escape </strong>it? Only by <em>fleeing </em>to Jesus, by <em>believing </em>in Jesus, and <em>receiving </em>the Spirit of Jesus. No one can save us but Jesus, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we can be saved. Jesus has done all that is necessary to save souls from Hell, and he is ready to put on our account — what he has done to us; whenever we go to him, plead with him, trust in him, and commit our souls to him. We <em>need </em>not go to Hell, for Jesus is both able and willing to save us; and yet we <em>must </em>go to Hell, unless we apply to him, to be saved by him.<br><br>
| + | <p>Exactly when and under what conditions the idea of the believers "making Heaven their eternal home" was added to Christian doctrine would be an interesting dissertation for a candidate for the Doctor of Divinity degree. </p> |
| − | As therefore Hell is so <em>dreadful;</em> as the punishments of Hell are <em>eternal</em>; as once lost, we are lost <em>irrecoverably</em> — as no one can save us but Jesus — and as Jesus will only save those who make <em>personal application </em>to him — let us at once, with all our hearts and souls, apply to Christ! "Behold! now is the accepted time. Behold! now is the day of salvation." Let us then "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon!" Isaiah 55:6-7
| + | <p>When the Lord spoke of the coming of redemption the Jews who were listening would think of deliverance from the rule of the Roman Empire, of the restoration of the glory of the kingdom of David and Solomon, and also of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. </p> |
| | + | <p>The message of John the Baptist and of the Lord Jesus . </p> |
| | + | <em> |
| | + | <p>In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:1,2) </p> |
| | + | </em> |
| | + | <p><em>From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17) </em></p> |
| | + | <p>It is clear neither John nor the Lord preached that the Good News was we would go to Heaven when we die. Rather, they both spoke of a kingdom that was at hand, a kingdom that was to come from Heaven and be installed on the earth. </p> |
| | + | <p>The parables of the Lord Jesus were about the Kingdom of God, not about Heaven. If we would understand the Divine salvation we must begin to think about the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth rather than the going of the Church to Heaven. </p> |
| | + | <p>When the Lord commanded them to lift up their heads because their redemption was near, the Jews would picture the exalting of the people and land of Israel and the bringing of justice and Paradise to the earth. </p> |
| | + | <em> |
| | + | <p>At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:17) </p> |
| | + | <p>He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:4) </p> |
| | + | </em> |
| | + | <p><em>For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12) </em></p> |
| | + | <p>The definition of <em>redemption </em>. </p> |
| | + | <p>To "redeem" something is to restore to the original or rightful owner what has been taken from him by purchase, or trickery, or violence. By definition, <em>redemption </em>involves only what was in one's possession originally. </p> |
| | + | <p>Redemption could never refer to our going to Heaven to live in a mansion because we never have lived in Heaven in a mansion. </p> |
| | + | <p>What then did mankind forfeit? What did the Jews forfeit? </p> |
| | + | <p>In the beginning human beings were placed in a garden on the earth that surpassed the most glorious environment possible for people to imagine. Have you ever thought much about the garden in Eden, in the area now known as the Middle East? </p> |
| | + | <p>What did mankind forfeit? </p> |
| | + | <p>By obeying Satan rather than God, Adam and Eve lost the Presence of God. Adam and Eve lost Paradise. They also lost immortality in the body. The fruit of the tree of life apparently changed the chemistry of the physical body, making the body incorruptible. </p> |
| | + | <p>What did the Jews forfeit? </p> |
| | + | <p>Because of their continued sin and disobedience the Jews lost the blessing of God. The Jews lost the territories won by David and governed by Solomon. The Jews lost the Temple and the priestly ceremonies that took place there. They lost Jerusalem, and finally the entire land of promise. </p> |
| | + | <p>Mankind and the Jews forfeited all that God had given them. Satan enticed them and tricked them. Mankind and the Jews need a redeemer. </p> |
| | + | <p>The Redeemer has come. His name is Jesus. God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. </p> |
