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Ok Pre I think I have the right information you requested...
If we are hunting GMU 19 You may take ONE caribou male or female Three Black bear, five wolves and one wolverine. The wolverine however is not in season until 09/01. I believe wolf and wolverine tags are interchangeable.
This is the best I can do right now as the Alaskan F@G site has been down all day.
I did some reading up on planes today. Will we be taking a Cessna 180? I believe they have a 100-gallon fuel capacity, with a 28-gallon back up. There seem to be some funky rules when it comes to carrying loads outside the plane.
I also read up on some spring hunt success rates. Brown bear was knocked dead this year. On several of the sites there is bragging about new B@C records.
Paule Walnuts
It's raining and 53 in Illiamna right now
Paule Walnuts
I think I'm going to take my boy to see the movie Final Fantasy today. Is anybody here into those types of movies?
Is anybody here?
Paule Walnuts
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Paule Walnuts
Fire and Brimstone in Hell,
to Burn the Wicked
by Thomas Vincent
Fire and Brimstone in Hell was first published in 1670. This version was first published in 1994 and is copyrighted. © Copyright 1994 by International Outreach, Inc.
Psalm 11:6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest, this shall be the portion of their cup.
Chapter 1
The Introduction
The flames and fiery streams, which were rained down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah formerly, and which issued forth from the earth in the eruptions of Mount Aetna lately, are but shadows of the future flames, and like painted fire in comparison, with the streams of fire and brimstone, which in hell shall burn the wicked eternally. For as the glory of heaven (while we are in the dark vale of this world) does far exceed all conception, and therefore cannot be set forth in full by any description; but as one says, whoever attempts to speak of an heavenly state, while himself is upon the earth, his discourse of that must needs be like the dark dreams and imaginations of a child, concerning the affairs of this world, while itself is yet swaddled and cradled in the womb; and the Apostle Paul himself, though he had been taken up unto the third heaven, and had such discoveries made unto him there, that he lacked words to utter what they were, as II Corinthians 12:2, 3, 4, yet acknowledges that he understood like a child, and had but dark views of this glory, even as through a glass, I Corinthians 13:11, 12. So also the torment of hell through that fire and brimstone, which shall burn the wicked, is beyond all thought to imagine, or words to express. And when we have strained our conceptions unto the highest pitch, when we have made use of the most dreadful and tremendous things that ever came to our eyes or ears, or any way to our understanding to help us in forming notions to ourselves of the horrible punishment, which the damned shall endure in the unquenchable flames of hell-fire; all does fall beneath and far short of the thing, all our views hereof by any representations, being like our sight of colours in the night, which if not in whole, yet in the greatest part do fly from our sight and disappear.
Yet since we are capable of understanding such future things only by shadows and representations, and nothing can represent future burnings in hell so well, as the greatest burnings that have been upon the earth, therefore we may receive some help by the relation of Sodom and Aetna's storms and streams of fire and brimstone, to conceive something of those, whereby the wicked in hell shall eternally be tormented.
Doctrine. That an horrible tempest of fire and brimstone, God will rain upon the wicked in hell, as their deserved portion.
In treating of this great subject, I shall show,
First, That there is such a place as hell, where the wicked shall be tormented.
Secondly, That it is a place of fire and brimstone.
Thirdly, What are the properties of this fire.
Fourthly, Who are the persons that shall eternally burn in these flames.
Fifthly, The reason of the eternal torment of the wicked by these flames.
Sixthly, And lastly, And chiefly I shall endeavour to improve this doctrine in some uses.
Chapter 2
That there is such a place as hell,
where the wicked shall be tormented
The blind heathen were persuaded of this; for however they were ignorant of Christ, and his first coming to redeem the world, as also of the resurrection, and his second coming to judge the world; yet by the light of nature and reasonings from thence, they arrived at the understanding of a Deity, who was both just and good, as also that the soul was immortal, and that both rewards and punishment were prepared for the souls of men after this life, according as they were found, either virtuous or vicious; and therefore as they did feign such a place as Elisian Fields, where the virtuous should spend an eternity in pleasures: So also a place called Tartarus, or hell, where the vicious and impious should be eternally tormented. This Tartarus the poets did set forth with many fictions, to frighten people from vicious practices, such as of the four Lakes of Acheron, Stix, Phlegethon, and Cocytus, over which Charon in his Boat did ferry over the departed souls; of the three Judges Aeacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthys, who were to call the souls to an account, and judge them to their state; of the three furies Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto, who lashed guilty souls to extort confession from them: of Cerberus the dog of hell with three heads, which would let none come forth, when once they were in; and of several sorts of punishment inflicted, iron chains, horrid stripes, gnawing of vultures, wheels, rowling great stones, and the like. And Virgil described this place, which he feigneth Aeneas to have visited (Lib. 6.), as a place where wickedness is punished, a place of fiery streams where the noise of chains, cruel lashes, groans, and cries are heard day and night.
Although most of these things which we may find in many poets, and other heathen authors are fictions of their own brains, yet that there is such a place as hell is real, and the punishment real, and far beyond whatever any of the heathens could imagine it to be. Therefore let us consult the Scripture, which will give clearer light in this thing, where God, who has made and prepared hell for the wicked, has made known the thing, and threatened to punish the wicked there everlastingly. Look into the Old Testament, Psalm 9:17. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations which forget God. I know that the original word for hell signifies the grave; but here it must have a further signification than that of the grave, since it is appropriated unto the wicked, and such as forget God, otherwise, it might as truly be said, that the righteous shall be turned into hell, and those that remember and fear, and love, and serve God, for they shall be turned into the grave. So Isaiah 14:12, 13, 15. How art thou fallen from heaven (speaking of the king of Babylon,) O Lucifer son of the morning, thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into heaven, and exalt my throne above the stars of God; yet thou shalt be brought to hell, to the sides of the pit. That hell here is not to be understood of the grave only, but of the place also where the wicked shall be tormented will appear, if you compare this place with Isaiah 30:33, where the prophet speaking of the same king of Babylon says, Tophet is ordained of old, yes for the King it is prepared, he has made it deep and large, the pile thereof is fire and much wood, the breath of the Lord like a stream brimstone does kindle it. Which description is applicable unto no place, but that place of everlasting burnings, which the Lord has prepared for the wicked. Indeed Tophet was a real place upon the earth, where some idolatrous Israelites did offer up their children in sacrifice to Molech; but here hell is called Tophet, in allusion to that place, because of the shrieks and cries which the damned shall make there are worse than the children did in Tophet, when they were sacrificed by their cruel parents.
In the New Testament it is most clear that there is such a place as hell prepared both for the soul and body of the wicked to be tormented in, Matthew 5:29, 30. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee; it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell, and if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. That this hell is not meant of the grave, into which the body shall be thrown is evident, because those who do cut off the right hand, and pluck out the right eye which offend, (that is mortify those offensive lusts, which are as dear and as hard to be parted with as the members of the body) shall be exempted and delivered from this hell, whereas none shall be exempted, though never so holy and mortified from the grave. Yes, and in this hell it is said that both soul and body shall be destroyed. Matthew 10:28, Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Now the soul is not destroyed with the body in the grave, as they both shall be (if they are wicked) after the resurrection in hell. Moreover this hell threatened by our Savior to those that don't cut off right hands, & c. will appear plainly to be the place of torment prepared for the wicked, by the description of it repeated three times, Matthew 9:43-48. To go into hell into that fire which never shall be quenched, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. By the unquenchable fire we are to understand the fire which shall burn the body; by the never-dying worm, the worm of conscience, which shall eternally gnaw the soul.
This hell is called a prison, I Peter 3:19, 20. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. By the spirits in prison, we are to understand the souls in hell, the souls of those wicked and disobedient persons in the old world, who would not give ear to the preaching of Christ by his spirit in Noah, and therefore a whole world of them were sent into the prison of hell together, unto whom are gathered the souls of all that since have died in their sins, where they are bound up in chains of darkness, and reserved unto the judgement of the great day. Hell is also called a place of outer darkness, where there is weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, Matthew 25:30. It is called a furnace of fire, where all those that offend and do iniquity shall be thrown, Matthew 13:41, 42. It is called the great wine-press of God's wrath, where all the wicked shall be crushed to pieces under the exceeding and eternal weight of his wrath, Revelation 14:19, 20. But especially it is set forth as a place of fire of which in the next particular.
Many have been the conjectures of divines, concerning the place where hell is. Some have thought it to be in the bowels of the earth, because it is spoken of as a place below, and called by the name of a pit, the bottomless pit, out of which the smoke and locusts did arise, Revelation 9:2; and in which Satan was bound and held as in a prison, Revelation 20:1, 2, 3, 7. And they have thought the pit spoken of in Numbers 16:33, into which, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram went down alive, when the earth clave asunder and swallowed them up, was the pit of hell into which both their soul and body together were immediately conveyed; and that which has the rather established such in this opinion has been, the vast quantity of subterranean fire, which they imagine to be in the bowels and caverns of the earth: others have rather thought it to be beyond this visible world; (which will pass away at the last day,) and removed at the greatest distance from the place where the righteous shall eternally inhabit. But the Scripture being silent as to this, whatever is spoken on this subject where hell is, must needs be only by conjecture, the Lord grant that none of us may know by experience. Our chief care should be that we may escape the punishment, and not be inquisitive about that which the Lord has not thought fit to reveal. Let it suffice us to know that there is such a place as hell, where the wicked shall be tormented.
Chapter 3
That hell is a place of fire and brimstone
There is nothing that hell is described by in the whole book of the Scripture so much as by fire, and sometimes by fire mingled with brimstone. It is called fire, Matthew 3:10. Every Tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire; hell-fire, Mark 9:47, It is better for thee to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell-fire; a furnace of fire, Matthew 13:42. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire. It is called a place where the wicked shall be tormented with fire and brimstone, Revelation 14:10. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy angels. A lake which burns with fire and brimstone, Revelation 21:8. And shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
I know that it is a great question amongst divines, whether the fire of hell, which shall burn the wicked will be a real fire, or a metaphorical fire. There are men of great name, who assert it to be a metaphorical fire only, and that because it is called a fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, who cannot be hurt by a real fire; because the worm which never dies is metaphorically taken for the everlasting gnawings of conscience; because the New Jerusalem, which is above is metaphorically described to be of pure gold, clear like glass, the foundations to be garnished with all manner of precious stones, and the gates to be pearls, Revelation 21:18, 19. And by the same reason, they say the description of hell in the Scripture is metaphorical: those that thus affirm the fire of hell to be metaphorical, are so far from lessening the torment hereby, which this fire will inflict, that they so much the more aggravate it, because that metaphorical fire, they say, will afflict more than if it were real fire; for as the glory of the New Jerusalem, that building of God made without hands eternal in the heavens, does far surpass all metaphors, whereby it is set forth. These metaphors are made use of only to help our understanding in the conceiving of it's glory. So also the pain and torture of the damned in hell, will be more horrible and intolerable, than if they were to be cast into Nebu-chadnezzar's fiery furnace, when it was heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated; insomuch as the metaphor does come far beneath the thing, which it is used to set forth.
Others are of the judgement that hell-fire will be real fire, it being so positively, so plainly, and so frequently asserted to be fire, fire with flames, fire which shall burn, and because nothing will put to greater pain than fire, and because it is proper for the body to be tormented with some real material substance. And when the holy Ghost tells us it shall be fire, why should he turn this fire into a metaphor, which may tend rather to weaken our conceptions of it's horrour than to heighten them. And therefore in answer to that great objection, that it is said to be prepared for devils, they are ready to say, it shall be such fire as will not only torment the soul, but also devils too, God having power to make such a fire. The other metaphors are made use of but once, this of fire is the almost constant expression in Scripture, where hell is described.
I confess that I do not judge these answers to be fully satisfactory, for however the souls of wicked men and women may by sympathy with the body be tormented by real fire, yet God having made devils to be wholly spirits which are wholly incorporeal, I don't apprehend how any fire or bodily substance can have any impression upon them, but that fire, air, earth, or water, are all the same things to them and that they are incapable of suffering by any of them, that as water cannot drown them, so neither can fire burn them, that as air cannot refresh them, so neither can fire afflict them. Indeed were the opinion of some ancients true that devils have bodies, but more pure and refined, such as cannot be seen any more than the air, a real fire might be made so pure by God as to torment the devils. But I am altogether of the judgement that devils are wholly spirits, the Scripture asserting it, and many reasons I might give of it, but that it would be too large a digression. Moreover the fire of hell I believe will be such as immediately to afflict the souls of the wicked, and not only by sympathy with the body, because otherwise the torture of the body would be greater from it's immediate object, than the anguish of the soul by sympathy, when the soul's desert of punishment is greater, being more highly guilty of sin than the body which is made use of only as an instrument.
Yet I cannot be of the opinion that the fire of hell will wholly be metaphorical for the reasons before given. Therefore I judge that both the opinions may be reconciled with themselves and the truth, by asserting that this fire of hell will be partly metaphorical and partly real.
First, I conceive that the fire of hell will be in part metaphorical, and that this also will be the most grievous and tormenting, though not to the sense, yet to the soul and to the devils, who can be tormented by no other fire. My meaning is that the fire which will be metaphorical, is to be understood of the fierce anger and wrath of the sin-revenging God, who himself is called a consuming fire, Hebrews 12:19, and whose anger is often expressed by the metaphor of fire in the Scripture. And so that everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and for the souls of wicked men and women, (which will be accompanied also with a real fire, prepared for their bodies, of which in the next particular) is the everlasting wrath of God, which he has treasured up against the day of wrath, when he will open and bring forth those treasures, and make immediate impressions thereof upon all damned spirits, which shall burn worse than fire, and cause greater anguish to the spirit, than any fire can do to the sense. Hence it is said, Hebrews 10:31, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and that because the immediate strokes of God's vengeance, which damned spirits shall fall under, when he takes them into his own hands to punish them in hell, will above all things be most intolerable. The Apostle says in II Thessalonians 1:8, that the wicked shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. This is to be understood causally; as if he should have said, that the destruction of the wicked shall arise from God's presence and glorious power, which shall put forth itself so mightily, as to glorify itself in the punishment of them in hell. God will appear in heaven to the angels and saints, in a flame of love, and make immediate and most sweet impressions thereof upon them, which will be their chief happiness. And God will appear in hell to devils and damned spirits in a flame of wrath, as a consuming fire, and make immediate impressions of his wrath upon them, which will be their chief misery. For sinners to be taken thus into the hands of God, and punished by the fire of his wrath will be more dreadful, than if the most furious creatures in the world were mustered up together, and let loose upon them to tear them in pieces and devour them. If they were tormented with the most exquisite torments, which can possibly proceed from any second causes, it would be no more than the biting of a flea, or the prick of a pin in comparison with these immediate strokes of God's vengeance, and the burning under the fire of his indignation.
Secondly, The fire of hell I believe will be in part real, I mean that fire whereby the body shall be afflicted, I judge that as the torture will be real, so that the fire whereby it will be tortured will be real too. Of all senses the feeling is most capable of being cruciated and afflicted, and of all the objects of this sense fire is most afflictive and painful, and therefore God has appointed fire to be for the punishment of the body. Indeed other senses will be afflicted too, the ear with hideous noises, shrieks, and yellings of fellow damned sinners; the eye with fearful ghastly and horrible spectacles; the smell with suffocating odious and nasty stench, worse than of carrion, or that which comes out of an open sepulchre. But the feelings will be most afflicted by the devouring and eternally burning fire, which the wicked shall be thrown into.
I shall not dispute whether this real fire of hell will be such as our culinary fire, (I mean that in our chimneys) which sometimes creeps into houses, and is of so great force as to burn down cities, and seizes upon all combustible matter before it, and which will continue no longer than it is fed by such gross matter, or whether it will be more purely elementary fire, such as philosophers affirm to be between the upper region of the air and the lower orb of the heavens; or whether it will be such fire as sometimes breaks forth out of the bosom of the earth, at the mouth of flaming mountains, of which some think there are vast treasures below, beyond whatever did not appear to the eye, such as did send forth those flaming and burning streams from Mount Aetna of late, which at least will help us to conceive something what the lake of fire and brimstone will be; or whether it will be a fire created on purpose by God, sulphurous and stinking like unto, but far beyond that which was raised upon the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah, which of all burnings that ever have been in the world, I conceive did most lively represent the burnings of hell-fire. I shall not, I cannot determine in this case; but am most inclinable to think this fire will be immediately created by God, differing from all fires that ever have been in the fierceness of it, which by the word of God's power will be made, and by the breath of his indignation will be kindled, and kept alive to eternity without any fuel to feed it, except the bodies of the wicked, which though they shall be tormented by it, shall never be consumed by it.
Chapter 4
Concerning the properties of hell-fire
There are seven properties of hell-fire.
First, It will be a great fire.
Secondly, It will be a dark fire.
Thirdly, It will be a fierce fire.
Fourthly, It will be an irresistible fire.
Fifthly, It will be a continual fire.
Sixthly, It will be an unquenchable fire.
Seventhly, It will be an everlasting fire.
First, The fire of hell which shall burn the wicked will be a great fire. We have seen some great fires, which have burned many houses together, such as that in 1666 which burned down the greater part of London. But this fire of hell will be so great, as to burn all wicked persons together, all the wicked will be in flames at the same time. The greatness of this fire is set forth, Isaiah 30:33. Tophet is prepared of old, he hath made it deep and large, the pile thereof is fire and much wood, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it. Tophet does signify hell, the place where the damned shall be tormented, of which before. God has made it deep and large. The depths of the earth, or the depths of the sea are nothing in comparison with the depths of hell; for those depths have a bottom, but this is called the bottomless pit, Revelation 20:1. It is deep and large, of vast capacity. It will be sufficient to contain all the sinners of the old world, and all the sinners of this world who have lived or shall live in every generation until the time of the world's dissolution. The pile thereof is fire and much wood. As much wood being kindled does make a great fire, so this fire though it have no real wood, but that which will be equivalent, will be very great, especially being kindled by the breath of the Almighty. As the breath of the Lord kindled those showers of fire and brimstone, which came down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah, so the breath of the Lord will kindle those streams of fire and brimstone which shall be in hell.
Secondly, Hell-fire will be a dark fire. There will not be the least glimmering of light in that doleful place, which will add to the horrour thereof. Hell is called by the name of outer darkness, Matthew 25:30. It is called blackness of darkness forever, Jude 13. There will be no light of God's countenance, not the least smothering of his brow. His wrath will be poured forth without mixture into the cup of his indignation which they must drink of, Revelation 14:10. There will not be the least light of comfort, nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth; there will not be the light of the sun, or the moon, or the candle, and the fire itself will give no light, all will be dark and black, black devils, black bodies, black souls, and they may without light have perceivance one of another, as devils have now unto whom light is of no use; or if there be a duskish light there, to represent one another's rueful countenances, and other frightful spectacles. Be sure there will be no refreshing light. There the damned will be in a place and state of darkness forever.
Thirdly, Hell-fire will be a fierce fire. The fire of Sodom, of Aetna, yes, of London in the day of it's burning was fierce, but no fire burns so fierce as hell-fire will do. The fire of God's anger and wrath will burn fiercely. Now it does but smoke against sinners, then it will break forth into a flame. Tongue cannot express how fiercely the wrath of God will burn, when hereafter it shall seize upon the ungodly, Psalm 90:11. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear so is thy wrath. The power of the anger which any creature may have, may be known. It is finite. It is limited. It reaches no further than the body; but who knoweth the power of God's anger? it being infinite, and unlimited, and such as will reach the soul, and most grievously torment the soul through it's immediate impressions. According to thy fear so is thy wrath, that is according to the fear which we may have of thee. The wrath of man is not proportionable unto the fear which we may have of it. We often fear that men can do more than they are really able; but the wrath of God is commensurate and proportionable unto the greatest fears thereof, yes does far exceed them. He can afflict more than our fears are able to conceive, and that because of the infinite power of his wrath. God will hereafter make the power of his wrath known, as Romans 9:22 and how fiercely then will it burn? The fire also which will torment the bodies of the wicked will be very fierce. It will be so fierce, as to torment every part from the crown of the head unto the foot, and every part in extremity, in the utmost extremity, and that beyond the present capacity.
Fourthly, Hell-fire will be an irresistible fire. All the power of hell with their combined forces, shall not be able to make the least resistance against the fire of God's anger, Nahum 1:6. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. Isaiah 27:4, Who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would throw them, I would burn them together. Briers, thorns, dried stuble, chaff cannot resist a consuming fire, so neither shall the wicked be able to resist the fire of God's jealousy. And the real fire prepared in hell for the body, will burn with that fierceness that it will master and prevail over all. None shall be able to keep off it's force. It will pierce through and through every part of the body. We read of the three children which were preserved in the midst of the fiery furnace, so that not so much as the smell of the fire was upon their garments; but none shall be preserved from burning in this fiery furnace. Indeed, the wicked shall not be burned up and quite consumed, but they shall be always burning. For
Fifthly, Hell-fire will be a continual fire. Other fires sometimes are in, and sometimes out, but this fire will be always in, always burning without any intermission, and always burning in the same high degree of intention. There will be no assuagement of the flames of God's anger, no abatement of the fire of hell. This fire will be always alike hot, and always hot in the highest degree.
Sixthly, Hell-fire will be an unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:12, But will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Mark 9:44, Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Now the fire of God's anger before it breaks forth into so vehement a flame may be quenched by the blood of Jesus Christ; and the fire of hell may be prevented. But hereafter it will be too late. No sacrifice will be accepted then to appease God's wrath, and if all the waters of the sea could be poured upon the flames of hell-fire, they would not put them out, And therefore,
Seventhly, Hell-fire will be an everlasting fire. Matthew 25:42, Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Revelation 14:11, And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. This fire will be ever burning, and the damned will be ever tormented therein. Extremity and eternity are the two most bitter ingredients of the damned's torments. Who can set forth the eternity of the wicked's punishment in hell-fire? This eternity is immeasurable. It is incomprehensible. All the rays of the sun may more easily be comprehended in a small room, and all the waters of the sea contained in a small nutshell, than boundless eternity be conceived by our finite and shallow understanding. None have shadowed eternity, and set it forth better than those who have shown how infinitely short all measures and numbers do fall, when they are applied to the space of it's duration. One expresses himself thus on this subject in another language: suppose ten thousand years past, after that an hundred thousand millions of years past, after that ten hundred thousand million of millions of years past, and yet you are not come to the end of eternity, no nor to the middle of eternity; yes, you are but at the beginning of it. Add unto this the number of all the thoughts of angels and men, of all the motions in every creature, of all the grains of sand which would fill ten thousand worlds; gather all the minutes of time, from the beginning of the creation of the world, all the numbers of arithmetic that can possibly be conceived, and all this is but the beginning of eternity. How long will eternity last? Always. When will eternity end? Never. As long as heaven shall continue to be heaven, and God shall continue to be God, and the saints shall be happy in the enjoyment of God, so long shall the wicked be tormented in the fire of hell. We may apprehend the everlastingness of this fire of hell, but we cannot comprehend it.
Chapter 5
Concerning the persons that shall burn eternally in the flames of hell
It is upon the wicked that the Lord will rain this horrible tempest of fire and brimstone in hell. All the workers of iniquity, all that live and die in their sins, must suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. These are the chaff which shall be cast into the unquenchable fire, Matthew 3:12. These are the tares which shall be bound up in bundles to be burned, Matthew 13:30. These are the goats which shall be condemned to everlasting fire, Matthew 25:41. Look into a few places where in the plain letter of the Scriptures, the persons are described, that shall be the subject of everlasting torment in hell-fire. Matthew 13:41, 42, The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Romans 2:6, 8, 9, Who will render to every man according to his deeds, to them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man, that does evil of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile. II Thessalonians 1:7, 8, 9, The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. Take one place more among many, Revelation 21:8, But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake, which burns with fire and brimstone. I shall speak more of the persons when I come to the application which I would chiefly insist upon, the Doctrine being so well known, and therefore I shall but briefly touch upon the reason, why the wicked shall be eternally tormented in the flame of hell, and so come to the Use, which I mainly intend.
The torment of the wicked in hell is a punishment, and therefore has a respect unto sin, the guilt of which does lay the wicked under an obligation hereunto, and lays God under an obligation to inflict this punishment upon them. Sin is the violation of a holy and righteous law; and an offence of an Infinite Majesty, whose justice requireth infinite satisfaction, which it can receive no other way from sinners themselves, than by their undergoing the punishment of hell. Although this punishment is not infinite in regard of the quality, yet it is infinite in regard of it's duration, and therefore the torments of the wicked shall have no end.
Chapter 6
Application
Use of Examination
When you had the relation of Sodom and Gomorrah's burning, you might think this was done long ago, and look upon yourselves as unconcerned. When you had the relation of Aetna's burnings, you might think this was done afar off, and look upon yourselves as unconcerned. But when you come to discourse of hell-burnings, here you all are concerned. Those burnings are past, these are burnings to come. Those were burnings for a while, these will be burnings forever. The greatest part of the children of men will be cast into these burnings, and very few comparatively will escape. Oh, what a vast number of all kindreds, and nations, and languages will there be tormented forever in hell! What a vast number of Christians, yes, of professors of the Gospel! You had need to look to it, that none of you be found in the number.
The dreadfulness of these everlasting burnings, I think should stir you up with all solicitousness and utmost
diligence, to enquire whether you are in danger, and what you might do to escape.
The most men and women that live this day upon the face of the earth are in danger of being thrown into the flames of hell. The whole world may be divided into two parts, they are either such as are in a state of nature, or such as are in a state of grace. The former are many thousand times the greater number, and the Apostle tells us expressly that such are children of wrath, Ephesians 2:3. And if children, then heirs; the children of God are heirs of heaven; the children of wrath, who also are called the children of the devil, are heirs of hell. The latter only (I mean such as are in a state of grace) are in a state of salvation, they only are free from all obligation to the punishment of hell, having interest in Christ's satisfaction. There are two ways, in one of which all the sons and daughters of men may be found, Matthew 7:13, 14. One is a narrow way, which has a strait gate, and very few are to be found therein, and that is the way of holiness, of self-denial, of mortification and Gospel-obedience, and although this is the way of life and salvation, the way to glory and honour and everlasting happiness, yet it has but few passengers, few take this course. The other is a broad way, which has the greatest crowd and throng although it leads unto destruction. And this is the way of sin, the way of profaneness, licentiousness, unrighteousness, disobedience. This is the course of the world. This way has a wide gate, and many there be that go in thereat. And the reason our Savior gives, because the other way has so strait a gate, because of the difficulty of it's passage; namely, the wicket of regeneration. Few attempt to go through this strait passage, or if they do attempt, they are quickly discouraged with the difficulty, and so let it alone, taking the broader, because the easier way of sin, the steps of which will certainly take hold of death and hell.
I beseech you all with the greatest seriousness to examine yourselves, whether you be in a state of nature, or in a state of Grace? You have been all born once, have you been born again? You have been born of the flesh, have you been born of the spirit? You have born the image of the earthly Adam, do you bear the image of the heavenly Adam? You are partakers of the human nature, are you partakers of the Divine nature? Have you new and clean hearts? Are they changed? Do you lead new and holy lives? Are they reformed? I beseech you examine which of the two ways you are walking in: is it the broad way of sin and wickedness, or is it the narrow way of faith and holiness? These are questions of great moment to be resolved in, your everlasting weal or woe, your salvation or damnation does depend upon them. If you be brought into a state of grace, and are got in through the strait gate, into the narrow way, you are made men and women happy you that ever you were born, you not shall perish with the wicked, but most assuredly attain eternal life and glory. But if you are in a state of nature, if you are in the broad way, and continue therein to the end of your lives, you are undone men and women, woe be to you that ever you were born, heaven will be shut upon you, and hell will be opened unto you, where you shall be unconceivably and eternally tormented in the flames of that unquenchable fire.
Take heed that you do not mistake your state and way. Thousands have gone to hell through a mistake. It is very easy to mistake. It is difficult not to mistake, and no mistake is worse than this mistake. All is not gold that glitters. All is not grace, that has the show of it. All are not in the way to heaven that pretend to it. Many deceive others much and deceive themselves much more. Nothing is likely to hinder you more effectually from attaining grace than ungrounded conceits that you already have it. If you should nourish in yourselves a false faith, and false hope, they would be so far from saving you, that they would fasten you the more strongly in Satan's chains, whereby he will the more unperceivably and inevitably drag you into hell. And think if you should go out of the world, under a mistake with fair, but groundless hopes of heaven, and shall find yourselves unalterably judged by God unto hell, how this will render the loss of heaven the more bitter, and the pains of hell the more grievous; the disappointment of happiness, especially so great happiness, and to be overtaken with misery, especially so great misery, and that when all means are cut off forever, of attaining the one or avoiding the other, this will be unspeakable vexations. And let me tell you, that it is better to be mistaken on the other hand than on this. It is better to fear when you are gracious, than to hope when you are ungracious. A dangerless fear is better than a fearless danger. The former may cause you to go droopingly for a while towards heaven. The latter if it cause you to go merrily, it will also cause you to go securely and surely to hell.
I need not spend time (neither may I lest this volume swell to big) in telling you that idolaters, and adulterers, and drunkards, and swearers, and blasphemers, and scoffers of religion, and persecutors of God's people, and thieves, and murderers, and liars, and apostates, and profane persons, and all the more notorious workers of iniquity shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; amongst whom if any of you who cast your eyes upon these lines be numbered, and your conscience with a slight reflection do accuse you herein, give me leave to hold you a little by the arm and ask you why so fast? What means this hurry? Why so furious? What means this eager pursuit of lust? Do you know whom you serve and do you think what your wages will be? Do you know what is before you? Do you see the end of a sinful course? Do you know what hell is? Is it desirable to dwell with devouring fire? Do you think to escape in this way? But the awakening Use is afterward.
But let me beseech you that are more sober, and although professors of religion, to examine your state. Take heed you do not deceive yourselves, and thereby undo yourselves irrecoverably. Have you been under convictions of sin? And these followed with contrition(!) and that backed with sound humiliation, such as has rendered sin above all things most odious, and yourselves of all other persons most vile in your own eyes? Have you had conviction of Christ's righteousness! and this working hungering desires after him, and these accompanied with faith, and that bringing you to Christ, choosing him as most precious and needful for you, casting yourselves upon him, with a renouncing of your own righteousness, accepting of him and his righteousness; resigning up yourselves unto him, putting your neck under his Yoke? Have you received the spirit enabling you to pray, mortify sin, and quickening you unto all the duties of new obedience? Hereby you may know the change of your estate. If your hearts remain unhumbled, unbroken for sin; if you are strangers unto the work of faith, and never truly closed with Jesus Christ; if you are without the spirit of Christ, and under the power, the reigning power of any sin; if you live in the neglect of prayer secret and with others, and of the great salvation, which the Lord Jesus has purchased, if you have a form of godliness but are without the power thereof, you will be found foolish virgins at last, which will have no admittance into the bride-chamber. You will be found hypocrites, whose portion is the burning lake, and it will be impossible for you to escape the damnation of hell. Hebrews 2:3, How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?
Chapter 7
Use of admiration at the security the wicked, showing the cause thereof
Are the burnings of hell so certain, being threatened by God! are they so dreadful, beyond any burnings that ever have been, both in regard of fierceness and duration? And are they indeed prepared for the wicked, and all graceless, Christless persons as their deserved portion? And are most of the children of men wicked, ungracious, unrighteous, unregenerate, unbelievers, who are already condemned to this place of torment (John 3:18)? And by consequence every moment are such in danger of being dragged forth to execution? Here then we may sit down, and wonder at the senselessness and carnal security of such persons, especially of those who sit under the light of the Word, which does make discovery of all this most plainly unto them, whatever their danger be, whatever their sins which have deserved hell, whatever God's threatenings of everlasting burnings, whatever execution there is, and has been upon other sinners like themselves, yet they are without any fear, they are fast asleep in sin and very secure. Though their conscience be full of guilt, their hearts full of lust, their lives full of sin, though their steps are carrying them forward in the broad way, which leads unto destruction; though death has them upon the chase, and is at their heels, though the wrath of God pursues them hard, and is at their backs, though the day, wherein they must give an account, and be punished for their iniquity hastens greatly, and the Judge stands at the door; yet they care not, they fear not, none of these things do move them, none of these things do trouble them. They eat and drink, and sleep, and buy and sell, and plant and build, and go on in a sinful course, as if they should live here eternally, or as if their soul should perish with their body, and all these things foretold in the Word, concerning future retributions were but nicer fables.
First, Some are thus secure, through an atheistical persuasion that there is no God. Because they are enemies unto God, and live in a course of rebellion against him, and so it is their interest and desire that there should be no God. Therefore they do what in them lyeth to work themselves unto this persuasion. There are too many in our age who endeavour to wear off all sentiments of a deity from their minds, that they might sin freely without any check and control, that hereby they might arm themselves against the thrusts and wounds which the sword and arrows of God's threatenings would otherwise give unto them, and that by this means they might still the noise of their clamorous and accusing consciences, which otherwise would give them no rest under such heaven-daring provocations, as they daily are guilty of. But such persons, if they will not believe the engravings of God, which are upon the face of the universe, the impress of infinite power, and an invisible Deity on his works, which are visible unto the eye, they shall not remain long under their atheistical apprehensions but he will make them to know and feel that there is a God by the immediate impressions of his wrath upon their souls, and the dreadful flames of hell-fire, which his breath will kindle to burn their bodies everlastingly.
Secondly, Others are secure, notwithstanding their danger, through a fond persuasion that there is no hell, that there is no account to be given, no judgement to be passed, no punishment to be endured after this life, but that death puts a total end to their being, and that forever. We read in the Book of Wisdom, chapter 2 of the reasonings which such have: Our life is short, and in the death of a man there is no remedy, neither was there any man known to return from the grave: For we are born at all adventure, and we shall be hereafter, as though we had never been; for the breath in our Nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart; which being extinguished our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air: our life shall pass away as the trace of a Cloud, or like a Mist driven by the Beams of the Sun; our time is a very shadow that passeth away, and after our end there is no returning, for it is fast Sealed that no Man cometh again. Hence they are secure and encourage themselves in wicked and licentious practices, Come on therefore let us enjoy the good things that are present, let us fill our selves with costly Wines and Ointments, and let no flower of the spring pass by us; let us crown our selves with Rosebuds before they be Withered, let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness, for this our portion and our lot is this. Such persons they live like beasts, and they would persuade themselves that they shall die like beasts, that there is no immortality of the soul, that there will be no resurrection of the body, and by consequence no punishment of both in hell; whereas right reason will evince, that the soul being a spiritual substance will survive the body, which the wiser heathens have acknowledged. And the Scripture does clearly reveal this, and that the body shall be raised again at the last day, and both the soul and body of the wicked be eternally tormented in hell; which Scripture being the Word of God, which no carnal reason could ever yet disprove, these things are as certain as God is true.
Thirdly, Others if they have not drunk in those atheistical and anti-Scriptural persuasions, which some are besotted and intoxicated with, yet are secure and senseless of their danger, through their ignorance or misapprehensions of God; they conceive him to be made up all of mercy, that there is no fury in him, that however sinful they are or have been, yet that God is more merciful, and nothing more easy than to obtain a pardon, and if they call on his name and cry for mercy, though at the last gasp (whatever their wicked lives have been) they shall be saved; not considering that God is holy and jealous, just and righteous, as well as merciful and gracious; and that such as go on still in their trespasses have no share in his mercy or any of his promises.
Fourthly, Others do lull themselves asleep upon the bed of security, because of their own and others impunity, thus abusing God's patience and longsuffering, which should lead them to repentance, to grow more hardened and impenitent hereby, Romans 2:4, 5. Because Sentence against their evil works is not speedily executed, therefore their hearts are fully set in them to do evil and they are secure, Ecclesiastes 8:11. Not considering that though God be long-suffering, yet that he is not ever-suffering; that patience long and much abused will at length break forth into fury; not considering that God's vengeance, though it has leaden heels, yet it has iron hands, and though the fire of God's anger be long kindling, yet that it will be longer, yes forever burning.
Fifthly, Others quiet themselves for the present, and arm themselves against fears of hell, through their intention of future repentance and reformation. However they indulge themselves for a while in their sinful course, yet they resolve shortly to become new men and women, to turn over a new leaf, and lead a new life, and to become as holy and strict as the best; not considering that repentance is not in their own power, and how they provoke God hereby to deny the grace to them hereafter, and to remove from the means of working it; not remembering how many thousands have perished with such intentions, which never have been put into execution.
Sixthly, Others are quiet and secure through want of serious consideration, what their guilt and danger is. They fill and throng up their time so full with worldly business and secular employments that they leave themselves no room or leisure to think of sin and their near-approaching death, and future wrath, and the eternal burnings of hell, which they are in danger of. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches do choke their meditations in the first springing forth of them that no fruit does come from them to perfection. Did but guilty sinners sit down one quarter of an hour every day, and look upward to the angry God who frown upon them, and downward to the flames of hell, which are preparing for them, and forward to the last judgement, when they will be sentenced by the Judge to dwell with devouring fire, and inhabit everlasting burnings; and were persuaded that if they continue in sin, they can be no means escape; surely they could not be so secure.
Seventhly, Others are secure though they are going on in the way of sin which leads to death and hell; because the most of the children of men are going on in the same course, and they hope they shall fare as well as others. Their fore-fathers trod in these steps, and their neighbors are their companions in sin, and if they are punished at last in hell, they think they shall have company enough, and bear it as well as others; not considering how intolerable the wrath of God is by any, and that their company in hell will be so far from alleviating, that it will exceedingly heighten and aggravate their pain and torment.
Eighthly, Others and the most are secure through their frequent practice of sin. Custom in sin has taken away the sense of sin. Their lusts have enthralled them, and their lusts have stupefied them. However conscience did grumble at first, especially when they first ventured upon some more notorious sins, yet now they have shut the mouth of conscience, they have charmed and seared it as with a hot iron, I Timothy 4:2.
Ninthly, Others are quiet and secure under their danger of hell, because they are not so bad as others, because they do not run with others unto the same excess of riot, and have escaped the more gross pollutions, which are in the world through lusts; especially if they carry some face of religion too, if they have a form of godliness, and employ themselves in all the outward exercise of devotion, and with these have had some inward flashy affections, and a counterfeit of all saving grace, though they never were truly humbled for sin, emptied of themselves, cut off the old stock, and truly by faith engrafted into Christ, and from him draw virtue and spiritual influence, (which is proper to all those that are in Christ, and are freed from condemnation through him, Romans 8:1). Thus the devil and the deceitful hearts of men do bewitch and befool the most, some of these ways, to sit still in peace and security, until destruction comes upon them suddenly, and that without remedy; and they are not awakened out of their spiritual slumber until they are awakened in the midst of the flames of hell.
Chapter 8
Use of reproof and terrour for the awakening
of the wicked and ungodly, out of their
carnal security
How long will you sleep oh you sinners? How long will you slumber in such imminent danger, you graceless and Christless persons? What sleep under the light? What sleep upon the brinks of the burning lake? And will nothing rouse you, and awaken you out of this sleep? Are you resolved it shall prove the sleep of death? Shall it insensibly and effectually usher you to hell before you are aware? Have you been called already so long, so loud, so frequently, so fervently, and yet do you deafen your ear? Have you been told so often of your guilt and danger, and yet harden your heart? Yet will you hold fast your sins, resolving not to let them go whatever they cost you? Have your hearts been like so many brazen walls, beating back all the arrows of reproof, and threatenings which have been shot at you or are they like clay and mud, which grows the more hard and obdurate under the sun and light of the gospel which has shined upon you? Have no heavenly dews and showers of the Word yet melted and softened you, no fire and hammer new-moulded and framed you? Have you been threatened with death, and wrath, and misery forever, and yet not startled, yet stupid and senseless?
Oh, that yet at length you might be awakened, and by the spirit of the Lord effectually persuaded to lift up your eyes, and look a little before you, Yonder, Yonder! Look sinner yonder is a horrible burning tempest driving towards thee, a dreadful burning lake preparing for thee, but you cannot see it; look through the perspective of Sodom's burnings, when fire came down from heaven, and Aetna's burnings when fire came forth of the earth, and this will discover something. But the perspective of the Word will show it plain; if you look upwards with this perspective, you may see some glimpse of the glory of heaven, and if you look downward with it, you may see some glimpse of the fire of hell. Look do you not see a horrible deep and large pit filled with horribly burning fire, and that fire filled with damned men and women? Lay your ear to the mouth of this pit, and hear what the dolorous complaints, what the shrieks and yellings be of that cursed company. And do you not perceive yourself hastening forward in the way to this place of burning? And will you go forward still? Will you suffer yourself to be carried on furiously by your impetuous lusts, until you are fallen into this pit, and there is no possibility of ever getting out again?
But more particularly I shall lay before you some considerations for the awakening of the secure.
First, Think how doleful a day of trouble and adversity is like to be to you, if you be then in danger of hell, where will the quiet and security which now you have appear on that day? Possibly it may last and abide with you so long as the warm sun of prosperity does shine upon you, in the spring of youth and sensual delights, while you thrive and flourish in the world, while your friends and flatterers are about you, your health and outward peace does remain with you. But you may live to see all your outward comforts lie dead before you, and hidden in the grave from your sight forever. Your sun of prosperity may set at the noonday of your lives, and a black night of adversity may come upon you; stormy winds and a bitter cold. Winter of trouble and affliction may assault you, and wither all your sensual pleasures like the herb and flower of the field. Some unlooked-for-providence may blast your estate, and your name, bereave you of your dearest friends and relations, and withdraw all the fuel and provisions which you have been storing, and laying up for your flesh and sensual satisfactions. How well and strong so ever you are for the present, an unexpected sickness and death-threatening distemper may suddenly invade you, and bring you down to the sides of the pit, and fill you with such pain and grief as no outward enjoyments shall be able in the least to aswage.
And then think with yourselves, you that are in danger of hell, what dread is like then to seize upon you like an armed man, which you will not be able to resist. Then your carnal security will fly away like a bird or a cloud, and vanish like smoke in the air. Then your false peace will be broken and torn to pieces, like the spider webs by the fierce winds, as being utterly unable to resist the fierce blasts, and rougher assaults of an adverse estate. And oh how doleful and dismal is a day of trouble like to be to you, when all outward stays and comfort, and all inward quiet and peace shall fail together; when there are storms abroad, and worse storms at home; great trouble without, and greater trouble within; when you shall fall under the scourge of outward affliction, and under the lashes of an accusing conscience. The fear of hell and everlasting burnings is like to be more lively, and afflictive in a day of trouble, than when prosperity does restrain conscience from doing it's office.
Secondly, Consider if you should escape the greater storms of outward affliction in your life, yet you cannot escape the stroke of death, and think how the apprehensions of future wrath and burnings are like to consume you with terrours at your latter end, Psalm 73:19. Death has a grim aspect, and looks with a fierce countenance upon guilty souls; and when this enemy shall assault and wound you, when your last sickness shall come and prove mortal to you; when the physician shall give you over and leave you, your friends shall mourn and stand weeping about you, when death has seized upon the extreme parts of your body, and the cold, clammy sweats are upon you, and then you apprehend the second death near you, which will immediately follow upon the first death, when you think that while friends are conveying your body to your grave, that devils shall drag your souls to hell; how are you then like to awake in horrour, despair and utter confusion? The dying sobs and groans of some guilt sinners, when awakened at their entrance in at the port of death are dreadful, but the inward anguish of the heart is beyond all compass and conceit, or expression of tongue.
Thirdly, But think how fearful the separation of your souls and bodies will be. Think with what dread your spirits will appear before God, when your consciences shall furiously charge you with guilt of all the sins which ever you committed, and you have not one pardon to show, nor one word to answer for yourselves; when being examined and accused and found guilty, you shall be condemned unto eternal punishment. Think oh think what your horrour is like to be then.
Fourthly, Think of the day of doom, when the Lord Jesus shall come. I mean when he shall come down from heaven to judge the world. When the graves shall be opened and you called forth to appear before him, and the book of your conscience shall be opened, and all your sins made manifest to the whole world, and having nothing to answer when you shall be sentenced to everlasting fire: Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and when the Lord shall then drive you out of his presence into hell, O what will your shrieks and outcries be at that day? See my book of Christ's Certain and Sudden Appearance to Judgement.
Fifthly, Think of the punishment of hell itself, which you will be condemned unto; and that,
First, What will there be taken from you.
Secondly, What there will be denied unto you.
Thirdly, What there will be inflicted upon you.
First, Think what in hell will be taken from you. All your riches will be taken away. Riches will then take the wing and be gone, and you shall never set your eye upon them any more. You shall never buy and sell, and get gain any more, never purchase houses and lands, and inheritance more, and not then have so much land left, as whereon to set the sole of your foot, all your money and estate will perish with yourselves, and oh how poor and miserable will you perceive yourselves then to be when you are deprived of all your riches and treasures on earth, and instead thereof are made to possess treasures of wrath? Your honour also will be taken away, and everlasting shame and contempt shall be poured upon you. Although you may be raised to a higher seat than the ordinary rank now, then you must stand upon even ground with the meanest, even such whom you would think scorn to set with the dogs of your flock, or to employ in the meanest office about you. The crown will then be plucked from the head, and the robe be torn from the back, and all the honour of wicked great ones be laid in the dust; and they will find no more respect in hell than other men. Wicked princes and noblemen, wicked knights and gentlemen will have none to bow to them there, and do them homage. And the most high-born ladies that are not new-born (whatever they have here) will find no courtship hereafter, but will be handled as roughly as the meanest of their attendants. All your sensual delights and pleasures will then be at an end, they are now but for a season, Hebrews 11:25, yes, but for a moment, Job 20:5. Sometimes they fail before the life is at an end. Be sure hereafter they shall have an eternal period. In hell there will be no feasting and delicious fare to pamper the flesh, no carousing and drinking wine in bowls, no chanting to the sound of the violin, no singing, dancing, and making merry. The glutton shall there have no sweet morsels, the drunkard no sweet droughts, no not so much as a drop of water to cool and refresh him. The wanton shall no more melt in lascivious embraces, nothing will remain of all your sweetnesses and pleasures here, but the bitter remembrances accompanied with unutterable grief and groans, and the intolerable sting and bitings of the never dying-worm of conscience, whatever you have prized and pleased yourselves with here. You will then be stripped of all, and oh how bitter will this be to lose all that which you now so much esteem and love, and place your chief happiness in?
Secondly, Think what in hell will be denied unto you. You shall be denied admission into the Kingdom of heaven. When you see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and many from the east, and west, and north, and south, come and sit down in the Kingdom of God; when you shall see all the saints of all ages shine like the sun, and be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord, and be crowned by him and received to inherit the Kingdom prepared for them, you shall be shut out. No room will be found for you there. You could find no room for Christ in your hearts here, and he will find no room for you in his Kingdom hereafter. The loss of heaven of that unspeakable happiness, which the angels and saints shall have in the immediate vision and fruition of God, when you come to understand what it is, will appear as many observe to be greater than the punishment of sense, especially this loss will be most grievous unto you; who have had discoveries and proffers of it, but neglected and refused it, preferring some base lusts before it. Oh, how will you then be ready to tear yourselves to pieces for madness and vexation!
Thirdly, Think what punishment in hell will be inflicted upon you.
First, The soreness and intollerableness of it.
Secondly, The sureness and unavoidableness of it.
Thirdly, The nearness of it.
Fourthly, The everlastingness of it.
First, Consider the soreness and intollerableness of hell's torments and think on both the pain which there you shall feel in your bodies, and of the anguish which shall be put upon your souls. If you be found amongst the wicked and ungodly at the last, your bodies shall be tormented in every part in the flames of hell-fire. No pain is more grievous now to the body, than the pain of fire. But what is the extinguishable fire on earth, in comparison with the unquenchable fire of hell? What is the fire of man's kindling in comparison with the fire of God's kindling? What is fire fed by wood in comparison with fire fed by the breath of God? No fire here can torment like to the fire which God has prepared for the bodies of the wicked hereafter. You have seen fiery ovens, and you have heard of Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace. Should your bodies now be thrown into such fires, you would find them horribly painful. But the pains of hell-fire will be ten thousand times more horrible and tormenting. Your bodies now cannot endure much pain, without expiring which puts an end there unto. But hereafter God will strengthen your bodies to endure. They shall have greater strength and quicker sense, and so more capacity for pain, and they shall be filled to the uttermost of their capacity. Your bodies shall never die, and they shall be filled with pain in extremity, and that to eternity. This will be very sore. All the tortures that ever were invented by the most mischievous mind, or executed by the most cruel tyrant on whom they have had the greatest spleen unto, are not so much as the least gentle touch in comparison with the torture which the least member of the damned shall endure in hell.
Some of you have had extreme pain in your heads. Others have had extreme pain in your bowels. Others have been extremely afflicted with pain in your legs. Others have felt much torture with the pain in your teeth. But if you live and die in sin, you shall be extremely and eternally tortured with pain in every part. Your eyes shall be full of pain, your tongues full of pain, your hands full of pain, your heads full of pain, your backs full of pain, your bellies full of pain, your feet full of pain, from the crown of your head unto the sole of your feet, no part shall be free. Your bodies shall roll and tumble in flames, and there burn with horrible pain, and yet never be consumed.
But the anguish of your soul will far exceed the tortures of your bodies, and here words fail, conceptions fall short. Who can tell how the worm of conscience will bite! How dreadful the lashes of your consciences will be, when they are let loose (as God's executioners) with full rage upon you? Who can utter the anguish you shall endure under the immediate impressions of God's wrath upon your souls. This will exceed whatever can be inflicted by the means of any second causes. The punishment of hell-fire will be very sore and intolerable. Such as are tender cannot without unutterable fear and grief bear the thoughts of being burned alive here on earth, and oh the shriekings of such persons, when they have been brought to the fire, and the flames have begun to seize upon them! Oh, I cannot endure it! Oh, I cannot endure it! How intolerable then will hell-fire be! Many martyrs have endured great tortures in their bodies with much patience, some were slain with the sword, some burned with fire, some scourged with whips, some stabbed with iron forks, some their skins plucked off while alive, some their tongues cut out, some stoned to death, some starved with hunger and cold, some dismembered and naked to the shame of the world; and yet in the midst of all their pains they have had a composed mind. Yes, sometimes have been filled with joy. God has not suffered man to inflict upon them more than he has given them strength to bear; but there will be no patience to undergo the pains of hell. The spirit will utterly sink under the heavy burden and pressure thereof, especially the pressure of that pure and weighty wrath, which shall be immediately upon the soul. The terrours of conscience here and forecasts of wrath are intolerable in this world, Proverbs 18:14. The spirit of man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear? If the body be infirm and weak, full of distemper and pain, yet while the spirit is whole and sound, while there is peace within, the spirit may sustain this, and bear up under it. But if the spirit be wounded by the arrows of the Almighty shot into it, who can bear it? If God let fall some scalding drops of his wrath upon the spirit, if he kindle a spark of hell-fire in your conscience, who can endure it? No balm, no physician on earth can cure such wounds. No earthly riches or sensual delights can aswage these inward griefs and horrours, which by the hand of God are imprinted upon the spirit: when the wicked are filled with dispairful agonies, through apprehension of future approaching wrath, and there remains nothing but a fearful looking for a judgement and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries, Hebrews 10:26. This is enough to sink the heart of the stoutest under it's burden. And if the wounds of the spirit here are so intolerable, what will those be which the Lord with such mighty force and by his immediate hand shall give hereafter? If you cannot bear some drops of God's wrath now, what will you do when the full vials of God's wrath shall be poured out upon you, if you be found under the guilt of sin? If you cannot endure the sparks of hell-fire, how will you endure the flames, and most burning heat thereof? If the forecasts of hell affect your heart with such horrour, and the fears of it fill the spirit with such amazement, what will hell itself do when the pains and anguish thereof are beyond the greatest fears, and highest conceptions of it?
Should you fall into the hands of the most cruel men to torture and massacre you, this would be fearful. Should you fall under the power of devils to tear and rend you, this would be more fearful. But to fall into the hands of God, this will be most fearful. This you cannot bear. And yet if you are wicked, you must bear it, and that to eternity. And can you sleep still in sin, under the thoughts of such danger?
Secondly, Consider the sureness and unavoid-ableness of hell-fire. Nothing is more sure than what God has revealed in his Word, and nothing more unavoidable than what God has threatened; and such is the tormenting of the wicked and ungodly in the flames of hell-fire. While you are here upon the earth, there is a possibility of escaping future torments. Pardon, peace, and salvation are attainable. If you lay your sins to heart, if you confess and forsake them, you may find mercy. If by faith you apply yourselves unto the Lord Jesus you shall not perish but obtain eternal life. But if go on still in your trespasses, if you live and die in a state of impenitence and unbelief, it will be impossible for you to escape. Indeed could you make your party good against God, could you gather forces together, and wage war against heaven and obtain the victory, you might avoid the threatened punishment. But alas God is infinite in power, and will not permit any such attempts. You will not be able to hold up your head or hand against him. Who can stand in his sight when once he is angry? God will bind all the devils and wicked men and women together in chains of darkness, stronger than any iron chains, and none shall be able to make any resistance. Could you hide yourselves at the last day from his eye; could you fly from his presence into some remote corner, could you creep under some rock or mountain, and there be covered from his view you might think to escape. But this cannot be. God's eye will follow you, and his hand will reach you whither soever you go. Could you by your prayers and tears move God to compassion, and prevail for mercy as now you may do, there might be some hopes of avoiding this punishment. But soon God's ear will be shut, and the doors of mercy shut against you forever. Your knocking at the door will be in vain. It will never be opened. Your cries and prayers will be to no purpose. They will receive no answer. Hereafter the punishment of hell will be unavoidable by the wicked.
Thirdly, Consider the nearness of this punishment of hell. The sands of your life are running swiftly. The time of your abode here is wasting very fast. Your bodies will quickly be in the grave, and if you die in your sins, your soul will be as quickly in hell. You cannot long escape this punishment. You may shuffle the thoughts of God and future wrath out of your mind for a time. You may busy your thoughts about other things while you are here. But all these things will shortly shrink away from you, and leave you naked, and you must stand before God to be judged by him, and to be condemned by him, and to be punished by him. God will meet you as a bear bereaved of her whelps, and rend the caul of your heart, or like a roaring lion, and tear you in pieces; when there shall be none to deliver. God will take you into his hand, and throw you out of his presence into the bottomless gulf of unquenchable burnings. I think this should awaken you.
Fourthly, And lastly, consider the everlastingness of hell-fire, and your torment which there you must endure, if you be found in the number of unbelievers. The wrath of God will never be at an end. The worm of your conscience will never die, and the fire of hell will never go out; but the smoke of your torment will ascend up forever and ever. When you have been the space of as many years in hell, as there are stars in the firmament, as there are drops of dew upon the earth in the morning, as there are spires of grass which spring out of the earth, as there are drops of water in the ocean, as are there sands upon the seashore, your torments will be as far from being aswaged, and as far from being ended, as at the first minute of your entrance into this dreadful place. As there is an infinite space of place (if I may so call it to help our apprehensions) beyond the circumference of the heavens, and the visible world in comparison with which ten thousand millions of worlds would not fill up the space of the least speck: so there is an infinite space of duration beyond the circumference and bounds of time in comparison with which the duration of ten thousand millions of worlds for ten thousand millions of years, would not be so much as a minute, or the least imaginable instant. And this whole eternity you, if wicked, must spend in extremity of torment. The real length of eternal torment cannot be measured, and the imaginary length will be greater (if I may so say) because of your misery. If a short time of misery here on earth seem long, what will an eternity of misery seem to be in hell? When the body is in health, and the soul is sweetened with delight, time steals away insensibly, years seem months, months weeks, weeks days, days hours. But when the body is sick and the soul embittered with sorrow, a short time seems long, and it passes away slowly in our apprehension. Hours seem days, days weeks, weeks months, months years. How do we count the clock, and reckon the sands that fall in the glass, and time seems to have a leaden heel. How long then will the eternity of misery in extremity seem to be? I believe that the space of one quarter of an hour in hell will seem longer to the damned that a whole life of misery in this world. Yes, I think I may add that a minute's pain in hell will seem longer to the wicked than a thousand years of pleasures in heaven to the righteous, who will sweetly pass forward in the infinite duration of joy, without the least trouble or tediousness. So that the eternity of misery in hell will be as it were a double, triple, yes thousand-fold eternity.
I think these considerations should startle all you that are asleep in sin. I think they should make your hearts to quake, and every joint to tremble. I think the sinners in Zion should be afraid and fearfulness should surprise the hypocrites, and I should hear some of you cry out, as Isaiah 33:14. Who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Who among us shall inhabit everlasting burnings? and as the jailor in Acts 16:29, 30, when awakened by the earthquake, and the impression of guilt was made by God upon his conscience: Sirs, what shall we do to be saved?
Chapter 9
Use of comfort to the righteous
Such of you as are righteous through the perfect righteousness of Christ made yours by faith, without the imputation of which (whatever righteousness you may have within you, because imperfect) it is impossible you should escape the damnation of hell; you that are clothed with the white robes of Christ's righteousness, under which all your iniquities are covered, and with all have the spirit of Christ given unto you, to work you into a conformity unto the image of Christ in your regeneration and sanctification, which are inseparably joined unto justification by faith; you may take comfort in this Doctrine, which is matter of such terrour unto the wicked and ungodly. As in Samson's riddle, out of the strong and fierce lion came forth honey and sweetness: So this Doctrine which looks with such a fierce aspect upon those which are out of Christ, yet will yield sweetness unto you which are in him, because there is no condemnation unto them which are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1. Because Jesus has delivered you from the wrath to come. I Thessalonians 1:10. Who shall lay anything to your charge, when God has justified you? Who shall condemn you when God has acquitted you? Need you value then the wrath of men, when you are delivered from the wrath of God? Need you fear mens' threatenings of temporal punishment, which can reach no farther than the body, when you are delivered from condemnation to the eternal punishment of soul and body in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone? What does it matter though you should lose your estates, since you are not in danger of losing your souls? What does it matter though you should be thrown into a prison on earth, since you are not in danger of being thrown into the prison of hell? You may take comfort and the consideration of this may alleviate all your fears and grief upon the account of any pains and afflictions, which in this life are upon you, or you are in danger of. You may say of them all, these are not the torments of hell. These are light, the other heavy; these short, the other eternal. Lift up then your heads with joy. Yet a little while and you shall see what a difference the Lord will put between you and the wicked. When they shall weep, you shall laugh. When they shall mourn, you shall be glad. When they shall cry and howl, you shall sing and leap for joy. When they shall go with fighting to hell, and everlasting horrour in their hearts, and all mirth and joy shall flee away from them forever; you shall come with singing to heaven, and everlasting joy in your hearts, and all sorrow and mourning shall flee away and never any more be found.
Chapter 10
Use of exhortation both to the wicked
and righteous
And now sinners what will you do? Will you dare to go on in that broad way of sin, which before long will open under you, and let you down into the horrible gulf of unquenchable burnings? Can you be contented with a portion in this life, and to receive all your good things here, when fire andbrimstone, and everlasting burnings shall be the portion of your cup hereafter? Will any pleasure of the flesh and sin for a season countervail that everlasting pain and misery, which will be the bitter fruit and consequent of them? Let me therefore exhort you without any delay to come out of the broad way of sin. It is the way of hell, and will you proceed any further in it? You that are profane and unclean, you that are swearers, Sabbath-breakers, scoffers of religion, persecutors of God's people, drunkards, covetous persons, yes, all you that are hypocrites, that are impenitent and unbelieving persons, give me leave to stop you in your course, or rather hearken unto the voice of God in his Word, who calls you to turn from your evil ways, that iniquity may not be your ruin. Come out of the broad way, and get into the narrow way. It has a strait gate, namely the gate of regeneration. This you most pass through; you must become new creatures, get new hearts, and lead new lives. You must walk in the narrow way of mortification, self-denial, new obedience, otherwise you will certainly be numbered among the damned, who will be everlastingly burned in the fire of hell. The passage is difficult, and the way narrow, but both are necessary. It is the passage from death to life, and the way from hell to heaven.
Paule Walnuts
SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD
by Jonathan Edwards
-Their foot shall slide in due time- Deut. xxxii. 35
In this verse is threatened the vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites, who were God's visible people, and who lived under the means of grace; but who, notwithstanding all God's wonderful works towards them, remained (as ver. 28.) void of counsel, having no understanding in them. Under all the cultivations of heaven, they brought forth bitter and poisonous fruit; as in the two verses next preceding the text. The expression I have chosen for my text, Their foot shall slide in due time, seems to imply the following doings, relating to the punishment and destruction to which these wicked Israelites were exposed.
That they were always exposed to destruction; as one that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to fall. This is implied in the manner of their destruction coming upon them, being represented by their foot sliding. The same is expressed, Psalm lxxiii. 18. "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction."
2. It implies, that they were always exposed to sudden unexpected destruction. As he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall, he cannot foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once without warning: Which is also expressed in Psalm lxxiii. 18, 19. "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction: How are they brought into desolation as in a moment!"
3. Another thing implied is, that they are liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down by the hand of another; as he that stands or walks on slippery ground needs nothing but his own weight to throw him down.
4. That the reason why they are not fallen already, and do not fall now, is only that God's appointed time is not come. For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed time comes, their foot shall slide. Then they shall be left to fall, as they are inclined by their own weight. God will not hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and then at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands on such slippery declining ground, on the edge of a pit, he cannot stand alone, when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost.
The observation from the words that I would now insist upon is this. "There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God." By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, hindered by no manner of difficulty, any more than if nothing else but God's mere will had in the least degree, or in any respect whatsoever, any hand in the preservation of wicked men one moment.
The truth of this observation may appear by the following considerations.
1. There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Men's hands cannot be strong when God rises up. The strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his hands.-He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it. Sometimes an earthly prince meets with a great deal of difficulty to subdue a rebel, who has found means to fortify himself, and has made himself strong by the numbers of his followers. But it is not so with God. There is no fortress that is any defence from the power of God. Though hand join in hand, and vast multitudes of God's enemies combine and associate themselves, they are easily broken in pieces. They are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind; or large quantities of dry stubble before devouring flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by: thus easy is it for God, when he pleases, to cast his enemies down to hell. What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?
2. They deserve to be cast into hell; so that divine justice never stands in the way, it makes no objection against God's using his power at any moment to destroy them. Yea, on the contrary, justice calls aloud for an infinite punishment of their sins. Divine justice says of the tree that brings forth such grapes of Sodom, "Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?" Luke xiii. 7. The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and it is nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God's mere will, that holds it back.
3. They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell. They do not only justly deserve to be cast down thither, but the sentence of the law of God, that eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and mankind, is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are bound over already to hell. John iii. 18. "He that believeth not is condemned already." So that every unconverted man properly belongs to hell; that is his place; from thence he is, John viii. 23. "Ye are from beneath." And thither be is bound; it is the place that justice, and God's word, and the sentence of his unchangeable law assign to him.
4. They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell. And the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them; as he is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth: yea, doubtless, with many that are now in this congregation, who it may be are at ease, than he is with many of those who are now in the flames of hell.
So that it is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness, and does not resent it, that he does not let loose his hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such an one as themselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them.
5. The devil stands ready to fall upon them, and seize them as his own, at what moment God shall permit him. They belong to him; he has their souls in his possession, and under his dominion. The scripture represents them as his goods, Luke xi. 12. The devils watch them; they are ever by them at their right hand; they stand waiting for them, like greedy hungry lions that see their prey, and expect to have it, but are for the present kept back. If God should withdraw his hand, by which they are restrained, they would in one moment fly upon their poor souls. The old serpent is gaping for them; hell opens its mouth wide to receive them; and if God should perrnit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost.
6. There are in the souls of wicked men those hellish principles reigning, that would presently kindle and flame out into hell fire, if it were not for God's restraints. There is laid in the very nature of carnal men, a foundation for the torments of hell. There are those corrupt principles, in reigning power in them, and in full possession of them, that are seeds of hell fire. These principles are active and powerful, exceeding violent in their nature, and if it were not for the restraining hand of God upon them, they would soon break out, they would flame out after the same manner as the same corruptions, the same enmity does in the hearts of damned souls, and would beget the same torments as they do in them. The souls of the wicked are in scripture compared to the troubled sea, Isa. lvii. 20. For the present, God restrains their wickedness by his mighty power, as he does the raging waves of the troubled sea, saying, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;" but if God should withdraw that restraining power, it would soon carry all before it. Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul; it is destructive in its nature; and if God should leave it without restraint, there would need nothing else to make the soul perfectly miserable. The corruption of the heart of man is immoderate and boundless in its fury; and while wicked men live here, it is like fire pent up by God's restraints, whereas if it were let loose, it would set on fire the course of nature; and as the heart is now a sink of sin, so if sin was not restrained, it would immediately turn the soul into a fiery oven, or a furnace of fire and brimstone.
7. It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows this is no evidence, that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, unthought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noon-day; the sharpest sight cannot discern them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear, that God had need to be at the expence of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked nian, at any moment. All the means that there are of sinners going out of the world, are so in God's hands, and so universally and absolutely subject to his power and determination, that it does not depend at all the less on the mere will of God, whether sinners shall at any moment go to hell, than if means were never made use of, or at all concerned in the case.
8. Natural men's prudence and care to preserve their own lives, or the care of others to preserve them, do not secure them a moment. To this, divine providence and universal experience do also bear testimony. There is this clear evidence that men's own wisdom is no security to them from death; that if it were otherwise we should see some difference between the wise and politic men of the world, and others, with regard to their liableness to early and unexpected death: but how is it in fact? Eccles. ii. 16. "How dieth the wise man? even as the fool."
9. All wicked men's pains and contrivance which they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ, and so remain wicked men, do not secure them from hell one moment. Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he shall escape it; he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do. Every one lays out matters in his own mind how he shall avoid damnation, and flatters himself that he contrives well for himself, and that his schemes will not fail. They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the greater part of men that have died heretofore are gone to hell; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than others have done. He does not intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take effectual care, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail.
But the foolish children of men miserably delude themselves in their own schemes, and in confidence in their own strength and wisdom; they trust to nothing but a shadow. The greater part of those who heretofore have lived under the same means of grace, and are now dead, are undoubtedly gone to hell; and it was not because they were not as wise as those who are now alive: it was not because they did not lay out matters as well for themselves to secure their own escape. If we could speak with them, and inquire of them, one by one, whether they expected, when alive, and when they used to hear about hell ever to be the subects of that misery: we doubtless, should hear one and another reply, "No, I never intended to come here: I had laid out matters otherwise in my mind; I thought I should contrive well for myself: I thought my scheme good. I intended to take effectual care; but it came upon me unexpected; I did not look for it at that time, and in that manner; it came as a thief: Death outwitted me: God's wrath was too quick for me. Oh, my cursed foolishness! I was flattering myself, and pleasing myself with vain dreams of what I would do hereafter; and when I was saying, Peace and safety, then suddenly destruction came upon me.
10. God has laid himself under no obligation, by any promise to keep any natural man out of hell one moment. God certainly has made no promises either of eternal life, or of any deliverance or preservation from eternal death, but what are contained in the covenant of grace, the promises that are given in Christ, in whom all the promises are yea and amen. But surely they have no interest in the promises of the covenant of grace who are not the children of the covenant, who do not believe in any of the promises, and have no interest in the Mediator of the covenant.
So that, whatever some have imagined and pretended about promises made to natural men's earnest seeking and knocking, it is plain and manifest, that whatever pains a natural man takes in religion, whatever prayers he makes, till he believes in Christ, God is under no manner of obligation to keep him a moment from eternal destruction.
So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell, and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that anger, neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment; the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out: and they have no interest in any Mediator, there are no means within reach that can be any security to them. In short, they have no refuge, nothing to take hold of, all that preserves them every moment is the mere arbitrary will, and uncovenanted, unobliged forbearance of an incensed God.
APPLICATION
The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation. This that you have heard is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ.-That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell's wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of, there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.
You probably are not sensible of this; you find you are kept out of hell, but do not see the hand of God in it; but look at other things, as the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own preservation. But indeed these things are nothing; if God should withdraw his band, they would avail no more to keep you from falling, than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it.
Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock. Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you one moment; for you are a burden to it; the creation groans with you; the creature is made subject to the bondage of your corruption, not willingly; the sun does not willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan; the earth does not willingly yield her increase to satisfy your lusts; nor is it willingly a stage for your wickedness to be acted upon; the air does not willingly serve you for breath to maintain the flame of life in your vitals, while you spend your life in the service of God's enemies. God's creatures are good, and were made for men to serve God with, and do not willingly subserve to any other purpose, and groan when they are abused to purposes so directly contrary to their nature and end. And the world would spew you out, were it not for the sovereign hand of him who hath subjected it in hope. There are black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign pleasure of God, for the present, stays his rough wind; otherwise it would come with fury, and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like the chaff of the summer threshing floor.
The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose. It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God's vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the mean time is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should only withdraw his hand from the flood-gate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power; and if your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, yea, ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it.
The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligatioti at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart,
by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God. However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction. However unconvinced you may now be of the truth of what you hear, by and by you will be fully convinced of it. Those that are gone from being in the like circumstances with you, see that it was so with them; for destruction came suddenly upon most of them; when they expected nothing of it, and while they were saying, Peace and safety: now they see, that those things on which they depended for peace and safety, were nothing but thin air and empty shadows.
The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.
O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment. And consider here more particularly
1. Whose wrath it is: it is the wrath of the infinite God. If it were only the wrath of man, though it were of the most potent prince, it would be comparatively little to be regarded. The wrath of kings is very much dreaded, especially of absolute monarchs, who have the possessions and lives of their subjects wholly in their power, to be disposed of at their mere will. Prov. xx. 2. "The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: Whoso provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul." The subject that very much enrages an arbitrary prince, is liable to suffer the most extreme torments that human art can invent, or human power can inflict. But the greatest earthly potentates in their greatest majesty and strength, and when clothed in their greatest terrors, are but feeble, despicable worms of the dust, in comparison of the great and almighty Creator and King of heaven and earth. It is but little that they can do, when most enraged, and when they have exerted the utmost of their fury. All the kings of the earth, before God, are as grasshoppers; they are nothing, and less than nothing: both their love and their hatred is to be despised. The wrath of the great King of kings, is as much more terrible than theirs, as his majesty is greater. Luke xii. 4, 5. "And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, Fear him."
2. It is the fierceness of his wrath that you are exposed to. We often read of the fury of God; as in Isaiah lix. 18. "According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries." So Isaiah lxvi. 15. "For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and wifh his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." And in many other places. So, Rev. xix. 15, we read of "the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." The words are exceeding terrible. If it had only been said, "the wrath of God," the words would have implied that which is infinitely dreadful: but it is "the fierceness and wrath of God." The fury of God! the fierceness of Jehovah! Oh, how dreadful must that be! Who can utter or conceive what such expressions carry in them! But it is also "the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." As though there would be a very great manifestation of his almighty power in what the fierceness of his wrath should inflict, as though omnipotence should be as it were enraged, and exerted, as men are wont to exert their strength in the fierceness of their wrath. Oh! then, what will be the consequence! What will become of the poor worms that shall suffer it! Whose hands can be strong? And whose heart can endure? To what a dreadful, inexpressible, inconceivable depth of misery must the poor creature be sunk who shall be the subject of this!
Consider this, you that are here present, that yet remain in an unregenerate state. That God will execute the fierceness of his anger, implies, that he will inflict wrath without any pity. When God beholds the ineffable extremity of your case, and sees your torment to be so vastly disproportioned to your strength, and sees how your poor soul is crushed, and sinks down, as it were, into an infinite gloom; he will have no compassion upon you, he will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand; there shall be no moderation or mercy, nor will God then at all stay his rough wind; he will have no regard to your welfare, nor be at all careful lest you should suffer too much in any other sense, than only that you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires. Nothing shall be withheld, because it is so hard for you to bear. Ezek. viii. 18. "Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them." Now God stands ready to pity you; this is a day of mercy; you may cry now with some encouragement of obtaining mercy. But when once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God, as to any regard to your welfare. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; you shall be continued in being to no other end; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction; and there will be no other use of this vessel, but to be filled full of wrath. God will be so far from pitying you when you cry to him, that it is said he will only "laugh and mock," Prov. i. 25, 26, &c.
How awful are those words, Isa. lxiii. 3, which are the words of the great God. "I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment." It is perhaps impossible to conceive of words that carry in them greater manifestations of these three things, vis. contempt, and hatred, and fierceness of indignation. If you cry to God to pity you, he will be so far from pitying you in your doleful case, or showing you the least regard or favour, that instead of that, he will only tread you under foot. And though he will know that you cannot bear the weight of omnipotence treading upon you, yet he will not regard that, but he will crush you under his feet without mercy; he will crush out your blood, and make it fly, and it shall be sprinkled on his garments, so as to stain all his raiment. He will not only hate you, but he will have you, in the utmost contempt: no place shall be thought fit for you, but under his feet to be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
The misery you are exposed to is that which God will inflict to that end, that he might show what that wrath of Jehovah is. God hath had it on his heart to show to angels and men, both how excellent his love is, and also how terrible his wrath is. Sometimes earthly kings have a mind to show how terrible their wrath is, by the extreme punishments they would execute on those that would provoke them. Nebuchadnezzar, that mighty and haughty monarch of the Chaldean empire, was willing to show his wrath when enraged with Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego; and accordingly gave orders that the burning fiery furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was before; doubtless, it was raised to the utmost degree of fierceness that human art could raise it. But the great God is also willing to show his wrath, and magnify his awful majesty and mighty power in the extreme sufferings of his enemies. Rom. ix. 22. "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endure with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?" And seeing this is his design, and what he has determined, even to show how terrible the unrestrained wrath, the fury and fierceness of Jehovah is, he will do it to effect. There will be something accomplished and brought to pass that will be dreadful with a witness. When the great and angry God hath risen up and executed his awful vengeance on the poor sinner, and the wretch is actually suffering the infinite weight and power of his indignation, then will God call upon the whole universe to behold that awful majesty and mighty power that is to be seen in it. Isa. xxxiii. 12-14. "And the people shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut up shall they be burnt in the fire. Hear ye that are far off, what I have done; and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites," &c.
Thus it will be with you that are in an unconverted state, if you continue in it; the infinite might, and majesty, and terribleness of the omnipotent God shall be magnified upon you, in the ineffable strength of your torments. You shall be tormented in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and when you shall be in this state of suffering, the glorious inhabitants of heaven shall go forth and look on the awful spectacle, that they may see what the wrath and fierceness of the Almighty is; and when they have seen it, they will fall down and adore that great power and majesty. Isa. lxvi. 23, 24. "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."
4. It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For "who knows the power of God's anger?"
How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be. Oh that you would consider it, whether you be young or old! There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have. It may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they are not the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in the whole congregation, that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knew who it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up a lamentable and bitter cry over him! But, alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell? And it would be a wonder, if some that are now present should not be in hell in a very short time, even before this year is out. And it would be no wonder if some persons, that now sit here, in some seats of this meeting-house, in health, quiet and secure, should be there before to-morrow morning. Those of you that finally continue in a natural condition, that shall keep out of hell longest will be there in a little time! your damnation does not slumber; it will come swiftly, and, in all probability, very suddenly upon many of you. You have reason to wonder that you are not already in hell. It is doubtless the case of some whom you have seen and known, that never deserved hell more than you, and that heretofore appeared as likely to have been now alive as you. Their case is past all hope; they are crying in extreme misery and perfect despair; but here you are in the land of the living and in the house of God, and have an opportuniry to obtain salvation. What would not those poor damned hopeless souls give for one day's opportunity such as you now enjoy!
And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. How awful is it to be left behind at such a day! To see so many others feasting, while you are pining and perishing! To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit! How can you rest one moment in such a condition? Are not your souls as precious as the souls of the people at Suffield*, where they are flocking from day to day to Christ?
Are there not many here who have lived long in the world, and are not to this day born again? and so are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and have done nothing ever since they have lived, but treasure up wrath against the day of wrath? Oh, sirs, your case, in an especial manner, is extremely dangerous. Your guilt and hardness of heart is extremely great. Do you not see how generally persons of your years are passed over and left, in the present remarkable and wonderful dispensation of God's mercy? You had need to consider yourselves, and awake thoroughly out of sleep. You cannot bear the fierceness and wrath of the infinite God.-And you, young men, and young women, will you neglect this precious season which you now enjoy, when so many others of your age are renouncing all youthful vanities, and flocking to Christ? You especially have now an extraordinary opportunity; but if you neglect it, it will soon be with you as with those persons who spent all the precious days of youth in sin, and are now come to such a dreadful pass in blindness and hardness. And you, children, who are unconverted, do not you know that you are going down to hell, to bear the dreadful wrath of that God, who is now angry with you every day and every night? Will you be content to be the children of the devil, when so many other children in the land are converted, and are become the holy and happy children of the King of kings?
And let every one that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, whether they be old men and women, or middle aged, or young people, or little children, now harken to the loud calls of God's word and providence. This acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favours to some, will doubtless be a day of as remarkable vengeance to others. Men's hearts harden, and their guilt increases apace at such a day as this, if they neglect their souls; and never was there so great danger of such persons being given up to hardness of heart and blindness of mind. God seems now to be hastily gathering in his elect in all parts of the land; and probably the greater part of adult persons that ever shall be saved, will be brought in now in a little time, and that it will be as it was on the great out-pouring of the Spirit upon the Jews in the apostles' days; the election will obtain, and the rest will be blinded. If this should be the case with you, you will eternally curse this day, and will curse the day that ever you was born, to see such a season of the pouring out of God's Spirit, and will wish that you had died and gone to hell before you had seen it. Now undoubtedly it is, as it was in the days of John the Baptist, the axe is in an extraordinary manner laid at the root of the trees, that every tree which brings not forth good fruit, may be hewn down and cast into the fire.
Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation: Let every one fly out of Sodom: "Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed."
Paule Walnuts
Hells Torments...First Published in 1601. Author Unknown.
Of the punishments which our Lord threateneth unto such as live a sinful life.
One of the principal means that our Lord hath used often times to bridle the hearts of men, and to draw them unto the obedience of his commandments, hath been, to set before their eyes the horrible plagues and punishments that are prepared for such persons as be rebels and transgressors of his law. For although the hope of the rewards that are promised unto the good in the life to come, may move us very much hereunto: yet are we commonly more moved with things that be irksome unto us, than with such as be pleasant: even as we see by daily experience, that we are vexed more with an injury done unto us, than delighted with any honor, and we are more troubled with sickness, than comforted with health and so by the discommodity of sickness, we come to understand the commodity of health, as by a thing so much the better perceived, by how much more it is sensibly felt. Now for this cause did our Lord in times past use this means more than any other, as it appeareth most clearly by the writings of the Prophets, which are every where full of dreadful sayings and threatenings, wherewith our Lord pretendeth (desireth) to put a terror into the hearts of men, and so to bridle and subdue them under the obedience of his law. And for this end he commanded the prophet Jeremy, that he should take a white book, and write in the same all the threatenings and calamities which he had revealed unto him, even from the first day he began to talk with him, until that present hour, and that he should read the same in the presence of all the people, to see if peradventure they would be moved therewith unto repentance, and to change their former life, to the end, that he might also change the determination of his wrath, which he had purposed to execute upon them. And the Holy Scripture sayth, that when the prophet had done according as he was commanded by Almighty God, and had read all those threatenings in the presence of the people, and of the rulers; there arose such a fear and terror amongst them, that they were all astonished, and as it were frightened out of their wits, looking one in another's face, for the exceeding great fear which they had conceived of those words. This was one of the principal means which Almighty God used with men in the time of the law written, and so he did also in the time of the law of grace: in which, the holy Apostle sayth, That as there is revealed a justice, whereby God maketh men just, so is there also revealed an indignation and wrath, whereby he punisheth the unjust: for which cause, John the Baptist (the glorious forerunner of our Saviour Christ) was sent, with this commission and embassage to preach unto the world, That the axe was now put to the root of the tree, and that every tree that brought not forth good fruit, should be cut down and cast into the fire. He said moreover, That there was another come into the world, more mighty than he, that carried in his hand a fan, to winnow and cleanse therewith his floor, and that he would put up the corn into his garner, but the chaff he will burn in a fire that should never be quenched. This was the preaching and embassage which the holy forerunner of our Savior Jesus Christ brought into the world. And so great was the thunder of these words, and the terror which entered into men's hearts, so dreadful, that there ran unto him of all estates and conditions of men, even of the very Pharisees and Publicans, yea, and soldiers also (which of all others are wont to be most dissolute, and to have least care of their consciences) and each of them demanded for himself particularly of that holy man, what he should do to attain unto salvation, and to escape those terrible threatenings which he had denounced unto them, so great was the fear they had conceived of them.
And this is that (dear Christian brother) which I do at this present (in the behalf of Almighty God) deliver unto thee, although not with such fervency of spirit, and like holiness of life, yet that which importeth more in this case, with the same truth and certainty; for so much as the faith and Gospel which John the Baptist then preached, is even the same now taught.
Now, if thou be desirous to understand in few words, how great the punishment is, that Almighty God hath threatened in his Holy Scriptures to the wicked, that which may most quickly and most to the purpose be spoken in this matter, is this: that like as the reward of the good is an universal good thing, even so the punishment of the wicked is an universal evil, which comprehendeth in it all the evils that are. For the better understanding whereof, it is to be noted, That all the evils of this life are particular evils, and therefore do not torment all our senses generally, but only one, or some of them. As taking an example of the diseases of our body, we see, that one hath a disease in his eyes, another in his ears: one is sick in the heart, another in the stomach, some other in his head. And so diverse men are diseased in diverse parts of the body, howbeit, in such wise, that none of all these diseases be generally throughout all the members of the body, but particular to some one of them. And yet for all this, we see what grief only one of these diseases may put us unto, and how painful a night the sick man hath in any one of these infirmities, yea, although it be nothing else but a little ache in one tooth. Now let us put the case, that there were some one man sick of such an universal disease, that he had no part of his body, neither any one joint or sense free from his proper pain, but that at one time and instant he suffered most exceeding sharp torment in his head, in his eyes, and ears, in his teeth, and stomach, in his liver and heart: and to be short, in all the rest of his members and joints of his body, and that he lay after this sort stretching himself in his bed, being pained with these griefs and torments, every member of his body having his particular torment and grief: He (I say) that should lie thus pained and afflicted, how great torment and grief of mind and body (think ye) should he sustain? Oh, what thing could any man imagine more miserable, and more worthy of compassion? Surely, if thou shouldest see but a dog to be so tormented and grieved in the street, his very pains would move thy heart to take pity upon him. Now this is that (my dear Christian brother, if any comparison may be made between them) which is suffered in that most cursed and horrible place of hell, and not only during for the space of one night, but everlasting, for ever and ever. For like as the wicked men have offended Almighty God with all their members and senses, and have made armour of them all to serve sin, even so will he ordain, that they shall be there tormented every one of them with his proper torment.
There shall the wanton unchast eyes be tormented with the terrible sight of devils: the ears with the confusion of such horrible cries and lamentations which shall there be heard: the nose with the intolerable stink of that ugly, filthy, and loathsome place: the taste, with a most ravenous hunger and thirst: the touching, and all the members of the body with extreme burning fire. The imagination shall be tormented by the conceiving of griefs present: the memory, by calling to mind the pleasures past: the understanding, by considering what benefits are lost, and what endless miseries are to come.
This multitude of punishments the Holy Scripture signifieth unto us, when it sayth, Math. 15. Psalm 10. That in hell there shall be hunger, thirst, weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth, swords double edged, spirits created for revengement, serpents, worms, scorpions, hammers, wormwood, water of gall, the spirit of tempest, and other things of like sort. Whereby are signified unto us (as in a figure) the multitude and dreadful terror of the most horrible torments and pains that be in that cursed place. There shall be likewise darkness inward and outward, both of body and soul, far more obscure than the darkness of Egypt, which was to be felt even with hands, Exo. 10. There shall be fire also, not as this fire here, that tormenteth a little, and shortly endeth, but such a fire as that place requireth, which tormented exceedingly, and shall never make an end of that tormenting. This being true, what greater wonder can there be, than that they which believe and confess this for truth, shall live with such most strange negligence and carelessness as they do? What travel and pains would not a man willingly take to escape even one day only, yea, one hour, the very least of these torments? and wherefore do they not then, to escape the everlastingness of so great pains and horrible torments, endure so little a travel, as to follow the exercise of virtue? Surely, the consideration of this matter were able to make any sinful soul to fear and tremble, in case it were deeply regarded.
And if amongst so great number of pains, there were any manner hope of end or release, it would be some kind of comfort: but alas it is not so for there the gates are fast shut up from all expectation of any manner of ease or hope. In all kind of pains and calamities that be in this world, there is always some gap lying open, whereby the patient may receive some kind of comfort: sometimes reason, sometimes the weather, sometimes his friends, sometimes the hearing that others are troubled with the very same disease, and sometimes (at the least) the hope of an end may cheer him somewhat: only in these most horrible pains and miseries that be in hell, all the ways are shut up in such sort, and all the heavens of comfort so embarred, that the miserable sinner cannot hope for remedy on any side, neither of heaven, not of earth, neither of the time past, or present, or of the time to come, or of any other means. The damned souls think, that all men are shooting darts at them, and that all creatures have conspired against them, and that even they themselves are cruel against themselves. This is that distress whereof the sinners do lament by the Prophet, saying: The sorrows of hell have compassed me round about, and the snares of death hath besieged me: For on which side soever they look or turn their eyes, they do continually behold occasions of sorrow and grief, and none at all of any ease or comfort. The wise virgins (sayth the evangelist) that stood ready prepared at the gate of the bridegroom, entered in, and the gate was forthwith locked fast. O looking everlasting, o enclosure immortal, o gate of all goodness, which shall never any more be opened again. As if he had said more plainly, the gate of pardon, of mercy, of comfort, of grace, of intercession, of hope, and of all other goodness, is shut up for ever and ever. six days and no more was manna to be gathered, but the seventh day, which was the Sabbath day, was there none to be found: and therefore shall he fast forever, that hath not in due time made his provision on aforehand. The sluggard (sayth the wise man) will not till his ground for fear of cold, and therefore shall he beg his bread in summer, and no man shall give him to eat. And in another place he sayth: He that gathereth in summer, is a wise son, but he that giveth himself to sleeping at that season, is the son of confusion. For what confusion can there be greater than that which that miserable covetous rich man suffereth, who came to such an extreme necessity that he begged (yea, and shall forever beg in vain) only one drop of water, and shall never obtain it. Who is not moved with that request of that unfortunate damned person, who cried, O father Abraham have compassion on me, and send down Lazarus unto me, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and touch my tongue, for these horrible flames do torment me exceedingly. What smaller request could there be desired than this? He dust not request so much as one cup of water, neither, that Lazarus should put his whole hand into the water, nor yet (which is more to be wondered at) did he request so much as the whole finger, but only the tip of it, that it might but touch his tongue; and yet even this alone would not be granted unto him. Whereby thou mayest perceive, how fast the gate of all consolation is shut up, and how universal that interdict and excommunication is, that is there laid upon the damned, that this rich glutton could not obtain so much as this small request. So that wheresoever the damned persons do turn their eyes, and on which side soever they stretch their hands, they shall not find any manner of comfort, be it never so small. And so he that is in the sea choaked, and almost drowned under the water, not finding any stray whereupon to set his foot, stretcheth forth his hands oftentimes on every side in vain (because all that he graspeth after, is thin and liquid water, which deceives him) even so shall it fare with the damned persons, when they shall be drowned in that deep sea of so many miseries, where they shall strive and struggle always with death, without finding any succour or place of stay, whereupon they may rest themselves. Now this is one of the greatest pains wherewith they be tormented in that cursed place: for if these torments should have their continuance limited but for a certain time, though it were for a thousand, yea, a hundred thousand millions of years, yet even this would be some little comfort unto them, for nothing is perfectly great, in case it have an end: but alas, they have not so much as this poor and miserable comfort: but contrary wise, their pains are equal in continuance with the eternity of Almighty God, and the lasting of their misery with the eternity of God's glory. As long as Almighty God shall live, so long shall they die: and when Almighty God shall cease to be God, then shall they also cease to be as they are. O deadly live, O immortal death! I know not whether I may truly term thee, either life or death: for if thou be life, why dost thou kill? And if thou be death, why doest thou endure? Wherefore I will call thee neither the one, nor the other, for so much as in both of them there is contained something that is good: as in life there is rest and in death there is an end (which is a great comfort to the afflicted) but thou hast neither rest nor end. What art thou then? Thou art the worst of life, and the worst of death; so of death thou hast the torment, without any end, and of life thou hast the continuance without any rest. O bitter composition, O unfavored purgation of our Lord's cup! of the which, all the sinners of the earth shall drink their part.
Now in this continuance in this eternity, I would wish that thou (my dear Christian brother) wouldst fix the eyes of thy consideration a little while: and that as the clean beast cheweth the cud, even so thou wouldest weigh this point within thyself with great deliberation. And to the intent thou mayest do it the better, consider a little the pains that a sick man abideth in one evil night, especially if he be vexed with any vehement grief, or sharp disease. Mark how oft he tumbleth and tosseth in his bed, what disquietness he hath, how long and tedious one night seemeth unto him, how duly he counteth all the hours of the clock, and how long he deemeth each hour of them to be, how he passeth the time in wishing for the dawning of the day; which notwithstanding, is like to help him little towards the curing of his disease. If this then be accounted so great a torment, what torment shall that be (think you) in that everlasting night in hell, which hath no morning, nor so much as any hope of any dawning of the day? O darkness most obscure! O night everlasting! O night accursed even by the mouth of Almighty God and all his Saints! That one shall wish for light, and shall never see it, neither shall the brightness of the morning arise any more. Consider then what a kind of torment shall that be, to live everlastingly in such a night as this is, lying not in a soft bed (as the sick man doth) but in a hot burning furnace, foaming out such terrible raging flames. What shoulders shall be able to abide those horrible heats? If it seem to us as a thing intolerable to have only some part of our feet standing upon a pan of burning coals, for the space of repeating the Lord's prayer, what shall it be (think you) to stand body and soul burning in the midst of those everlasting hot raging fires in hell, in comparison of which, the fires of this world are but painted fires? Is there any wit or judgement in this world? Have men their right senses? Do they understand what these words import? or are they peradventure persuaded, that these are only the fables of poets? or do they think, that this appertaineth not to them, or else that it was only meant for others? None of all this can they say, for so much as our faith assureth us most certainly herein. And our Savior Christ himself, who is everlasting truth, crieth out in his Gospel, saying, Heaven and earth shall fail, but my word shall not fail.
Of this misery there followeth another as great as it, which is, that the pains are always continuing in one like degree, without any manner of intermission, or decreasing. All manner of things that are under the scope of heaven, do move and turn round about with the same heaven, and do never stand still at one state or being, but are continually either ascending or descending. The sea and the rivers have their ebbing and flowing, the times, the ages, and the mutable fortune of men, and of kingdoms are evermore in continual motion. There is no fever so fervent, that doth not decline, neither grief so sharp, but that after it is much augmented, it doth forthwith decrease. To be short, all the tribulations and miseries are by little and little worn away with time, and as the common saying is, Nothing is sooner dried up than tears. Only that pain in hell is always green, only that fever never decreaseth, only that extremity of heat knoweth not what is either evening or morning. In the time of Noah's flood, Almighty God rained forty days and forty nights, continually without ceasing upon the earth, and this sufficed to drown the whole world. But in that place of torment in hell, there shall rain everlasting vengeance, and darts of fury upon that cursed land, without ever ceasing so much as only one minute or moment. Now what torment can be greater, and more to be abhorred, than continually to suffer after one like manner, without any kind of alteration or change? Though a meat be never so delicate, yet in case we feed continually thereupon, it will in very short time be very loathsome unto us for no meat can be more precious and delicate than that manna was, which Almighty God sent down unto the children of Israel in the desert, and yet because they did eat continually thereof, it made them to loath it, yea, and provoked them to vomit it up again. The way that is all plain (they say) weareth more than any other, because always the variety (yea even in punishment) is a kind of comfort. Tell me then, if things that be pleasant and savoury, when they be always after one manner, are an occasion of loathsomeness and pain: what kind of loathsomeness will that be which shall be caused by those most horrible pains and torments in hell, which do continue everlastingly after one like sort? What will the damned and cursed creatures think, when they shall there see themselves so utterly abhorred and forsaken of Almighty God, that he will not so much as with the remission of any one sin, mitigate somewhat their torments? And so great shall the fury and rage be which they shall there conceive against him, that they shall never cease continually to curse and blaspheme his holy name. Unto all these pains, there is also added the pain of that everlasting consumer, to wit, the worm of conscience, whereof the Holy Scripture maketh so often times mention, saying, Their worm shall never die, and their fire shall never be quenched. This worm is a serious raging despite and bitter repentance, without any fruit, which the wicked shall always have in hell, by calling to their remembrance the opportunity and time they had whiles they were in this world, to escape those most grievous and horrible torments, and how they would not use the benefit thereof. And therefore when the miserable sinner seeth himself thus to be tormented and vexed on every side, and doth call to mind how many days and years he hath spent idlely in vanities, past times, and pleasures; and how oftentimes he was advertised of this peril, and how little regard he took thereof: What shall he think? What anguish and sorrow shall there be in his heart? Hast thou not read in the Gospel, that there shall be weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth? The famine of Egypt endured only seven years, but that in hell shall endure everlastingly. In Egypt they found a remedy, though with great difficulty and charge, but for this, there shall never any remedy be found. Theirs was redeemed with money and cattle, but this can never be redeemed with any manner of exchange. This punishment cannot be pardoned, this pain cannot be exchanged, this sentence cannot be revoked. Oh, if thou knewest and wouldest consider, how every one condemned to hell, shall there remain tormenting and renting himself, weeping, and wailing, and saying: O miserable and unfortunate wretch that I am, what times and opportunities have I suffered to pass in vain? Wherefore did I not look before me? How was I blinded with things present? How did I let pass the fruitful years of abundance, and did not enrich myself (spiritually)? If I had been brought up amongst infidels and pagans, and had believed that there had been nothing else but only to be born, and to die, then might I have had some kind of excuse, and might have said, I knew not what was commanded or prohibited me: but for so much as I have lived amongst Christians, and was myself one of them professed, and held it for an article of my belief, that the hour should come when I should give up an account after what order I had spent my life: forsomuch also as it was daily cried out unto me by the continual preaching and teaching of God's ambassadors, forsomuch I say as I made light of all these examples, and persuaded myself very fondly, that heaven was prepared for me, though I took no pains for it at all: what deserve I that have thus led my life? O ye infernal furies, come and rent me in pieces, and devour these my bowels, for so have I justly deserved, I have deserved eternal famishment, seeing I would not provide for my self while I had time. I deserve not to reap, because I have not sown: I am worthy to be destitute, because I have not laid up in store; I deserve that my request should now be denied me, since when the poor made request unto me, I refused to relieve them: I have deserved to sigh and lament so long as God shall be God; I have deserved, that this worm of conscience shall gnaw mine entrails forever and ever, by representing unto me the little pleasure that I have enjoyed, and the great felicity which I have lost, and how far greater that was which I might have gained, by forgoing that little which I would not forgo. This is that immortal worm that shall never die, but shall lie there everlastingly gnawing at the entrails of the wicked, which is one of the most terrible pains that can possibly be imagined.
Peradventure thou art now persuaded that there can be added no more unto this, than hath been said. But surely the mighty arm of God wanteth not force to chastise his enemies more and more: for all these pains that are hitherto rehearsed, are so as do appertain generally to all the damned: but besides these general pains, there are also other particular pains, which each one of the damned shall there suffer in diverse sort, according to the quality of his sin. And so according to this proportion, the haughty and proud shall there be abased and brought low to their great confusion. The covetous shall be driven to great necessity: the glutton shall rage with continual hunger and thirst. The lecherous shall burn in the very same flames which they themselves have enkindled. And those that have all their life time hunted after their pleasures and pastimes, shall live there in continual lamentation and sorrow.
But because examples are of very great force to move our hearts, I will bring only one for this purpose, whereby somewhat of this matter may the better be perceived. It is written of a certain holy man, that he saw the pains (in spirit) of a licentious and worldly man in this sort. First he saw how the devils that were present at the hour of his death, when he yielded up his ghost, snatched away his soul with great rejoicing, and made a present thereof to the prince of darkness, who was then sitting in a chair of fire, expecting the coming of this present. Immediately after that it was presented before him, he arose up out of his seat, and said unto the damned soul that he would give him the preeminence of that honorable seat, because he had been a man of honor, and was always very much affected to the same. In contingently after that he was placed therein, crying and lamenting in that honorable torment, there appeared before him two other most ugly devils, and offered him a cup full of most bitter and stinking liquor, and made him to drink and carouse it up all, perforce; saying, It is meet, since thou hast been a lover of precious wines and blankets, that thou shouldest likewise prove of this our wine, thereof all we do use to drink in these parts.
Immediately after this there came other two, with two fiery trumpets, and setting them at his ears, began to blow into them flames of fire, saying, this melody have we reserved for thee, understanding that in the world thou wast very much delighted with minstrelsy and wanton songs: and suddenly he espied other devils, loaden with vipers and serpents, the which they threw upon the breast and belly of that miserable sinner, saying unto him, that forsomuch as he had been greatly delighted with the wanton embracings and leacherous lusts of women, he should now solace himself with these refreshings, instead of those licentious delights and pleasures, which he had enjoyed in the world. After this sort (as the Prophet Isaiah sayth in the 47th chapter) when the sinner is punished, there is given measure for measure, to the end, that in such a great variety and proportion of punishments, the order and wisdom of God's justice, might the more manifestly appear.
This vision hath Almighty God showed in spirit to this holy man for advertisement and instruction, not that in hell these things are altogether so materially done, but that by them we might understand in some manner the variety and multitude of the pains which be there appointed for the damned. Whereof, I know not how some of the pagans have had a certain knowledge: for a poet speaking of this multitude of pains, affirmed, that although he had a hundred mouths and as many tongues, with a voice as strong as iron, yet were they not able only to express the names of them. A poet he was that spake this, but truly therein he spake more like a Prophet or an Evangelist than a poet. Now then, if all this evil shall most assuredly come to pass, what man is he, that seeing all this so certainly with the eyes of his faith, will not turn over the leaf, and begin to provide for himself against that time? Where is the judgement of men now become? Where be their wits? yea, where is at the least their self-love, which seeketh evermore for his own profit, and is much afraid of any loss? May it be thought that men are become beasts, that provide only for the time present? Or have they peradventure so dimmed their eye sight, that they cannot look before them? Hearken (sayth Isaiah) O ye deaf and ye blind, open your eyes that you may see, who is blind but my servant? And who is deaf but ye, unto whom I have sent my messengers? And who is blind, but he that suffereth himself to be sold for a slave? Thou that seest so many things, wilt thou not suffer thy self to see this? Thou that hast thine ears open, wilt thou not give ear hereunto? If thou believe not this, how art thou then a Christian? If thou believe it, and doest not provide for it, how canst thou be thought a reasonable man?
Aristotle sayth, that this is the difference between opinion and imagination, that an imagination alone is not sufficient to cause a fear, but an opinion is: for if I do imagine that a house may fall upon me, it is not enough to make me afraid, unless I believe or have an opinion it will be so indeed: for then it is sufficient to make me afraid. And hereof cometh the fear that murderers always have, by reason of the suspicion they conceive, that their enemies do lie in wait for them. If then the opinion and only suspicion of danger is able to cause the greatest courage to fear, how is it that the certainty and belief of so many and so great terrible miseries (which are far more sure than any opinion) doth not make thee to fear. If thou perceivest, that for these many years past thou hast led a licentious and sinful life, and that at the last, according to present justice, thou art condemned to these horrible torments in hell: if also there appear by probable conjecture, that there is no more likelihood of thy amendment for ensuing years to come, than there was in those already past, how happened it, that running headlong into so manifest a danger, thou art not at all afraid; especially, considering the sinful state wherein thou livest, and the horrible pains and torments which do attend for thee, and the time which thou hast lost and the endless repentance which thou shalt have therefore in the most horrible torments of hell? Assuredly, it goeth beyond the compass of all common sense and conceit of human reason, to consider, that there should be such negligent, wilful, gross, and careless blindness, able to enter and take such deep rooting in the soul of man.
Paule Walnuts
Hell....
"So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:49-50).
The doctrine of hell is one of the most neglected doctrines in all of Scripture. When hell is mentioned today, it is generally ridiculed, as if the whole idea of hell were so old-fashioned that only the naive and ignorant would really believe that such a place actually exists. This is not hard to understand. Natural men hate the idea of being held accountable for their lives to a holy God, because they love sin and do not wish to part with it. The carnal mind throws up objection after objection to the idea of hell because it does not want to face the reality of it. Men live their lives thinking that maybe if they ignore a difficulty long enough, it will go away. Even conservative religious leaders are now attacking hell. Let men do what they will, the frivilous objections of the foolish will not do away with hell.
Amid the clamour to annihilate hell, those who believe the Bible to be true must stand and speak. Your consideration of the terrors of hell may be one of the most important things you can do in this life. "Then he who hears the sound of the trumpet, and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head" (Ezekiel 33:4). Please, I implore you, invest the time it takes to read this chapter and book to the end.
Why should we be so concerned about hell? Why should we spend time reading about hell? There are several reasons why it is profitable to do so:
1) Hearing about the terrors of hell may shock your conscience and awaken you out of your false security.
2) Hearing about hell helps to deter men from committing sin. Both the godly and the ungodly are persuaded not to sin as much when they are regularly reminded of the terrors of hell.
3) Hearing about the terrors of hell may help to awaken those among us who may think they are saved because they believe in Christ or the facts of the gospel, but who are not really saved and are on their way to hell, but don't know it.
4) Preaching the doctrine of hell is profitable to both the godly and the ungodly alike, as will be demonstrated.
Why aren't people fearful of hell? There seems to be a real lack of fear today of the reality of hell. This applies to both those who are in the church and those who are in the world. People are not afraid of hell. Why?
You would not be afraid of a lion when it is only painted in a picture upon a wall. Why is this? Because it is only a picture. You know that it is not real. But if you were left alone in a jungle and came face to face with a real lion that growled ferociously at you, you would be terrified. The consciences of men are much like the man who only views the painted lion. We hear of hell in the Bible. We know that the Lord Jesus spoke of hell. In fact, Christ spoke more of hell than anyone else in the Scriptures. Why do men not believe hell is real? Because they do not hear enough about it. We don't study what the Scriptures say about hell. It is not just what we hear which makes up what we believe, it is what we don't hear as well which helps to form our belief system. Only the Spirit of God can present the terrors of hell to our hearts in such a way as to see them alive before us. The doctrine of hell has been used by God more often to the conversion of sinners than any other doctrine in the Scriptures. Pray now that as you read this chapter the Holy Spirit will set hell before you as real indeed.
THE NECESSITY OF HELL
Most who scoff at hell today probably do so for several reasons. Primary among them is a desire to pursue their own paths of sin without having their consciences troubled about the consequences of their actions. They do not want to hear that what they are doing is wrong. They do not want to hear that their sin will be punished. I can hear someone say, "But isn't eternal torment in hell inconsistent with a merciful and loving God? How could a good God punish people in hell forever?" A misunderstanding of the character of God and the nature of sin can easily lead to such questions. Why is hell necessary? Let us examine several reasons for the necessity of hell.
1) The Great Evil in Sin and the Holiness of God. The difficulty most people have in understanding the necessity of hell is related to an incomplete and inadequate understanding of both how awful sin is and how glorious God is. We do not see what a great evil is in the least sin, nor do we understand God's holiness, His justice, and His wrath. If we saw sin as the greatest evil in the world and realized that every sin is a rejection of God's rule over us, a sneering at Him, a shaking of our fist in His face, and a hurling of dung at Him, we would begin to understand a small bit of what our sin is like to God. Every time we sin, we either set ourselves, or a pet lust, up in our hearts as a rival god. Sin rejects the Creator as God and sets up the creature in His place.
If we could comprehend God's holiness and what it means to be holy, pure, perfect, upright, and untainted by the least sin, we would have a better idea of why God hates sin so much. Absolute holiness cannot tolerate the least sin, "Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, and Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor" (Habakkuk 1:13). If we could understand the glorious holiness and purity of God and also the abominable nature of sin more, then we would have no problem with the absolute necessity of hell.
"The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). The human heart is sick. The human heart is wicked. The human heart is deceitful. The corruption in the heart causes us to be deceived about the awfulness of sin as well as many other things.
2) God's Infinite Nature. In understanding what our sin is really like, we must view it through the eyes of God. God is an infinite, eternal being. Every act of sin is committed against an infinite, holy God. In every act of sin we dethrone God and set ourselves above God. In every sin this question is the issue, "Whose will shall be done, God's will or man's? Now, man by sin sets his own will above the Lord's, and so kicks God as filth under his feet."1 A single act of sin committed against a holy, infinite God deserves infinite punishment. It is an infinite evil to offend an infinite God even once.
3) Divine Justice. Even one sin against God calls for God to vindicate His name and His justice by punishing it as fully as it deserves. God can and will vindicate His justice. He promises to do so in Romans 12:19 where it says, "leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, `Vengence is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" One of the greatest preachers that ever lived, Jonathan Edwards, wrote, "The glory of God is the greatest good; it is that which is the chief end of creation; it is of greater importance than anything else. But this is one way wherein God will glorify Himself, as in the eternal destruction of ungodly men He will glorify His justice. Therein He will appear as a just governor of the world. The vindictive justice of God will appear strict, exact, awful, and terrible, and therefore glorious."2
A DESCRIPTION OF HELL
Hell is a furnace of unquenchable fire, a place of everlasting punishment, where its victims are tormented in both their bodies and their minds in accordance with their sinful natures, their actual sins committed, and the amount of spiritual light given to them, which they rejected. Hell is a place from which God's mercy and goodness have been withdrawn, where God's wrath is revealed as a terrifying, consuming fire, and men live with unfulfilled lusts and desires in torment forever and ever.
In Matthew 13:47-50 the Lord Jesus tells a parable relating to the judgment. In verses 49-50, the Lord describes the fate of the wicked: "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
In examining these words of the Lord Jesus we should first notice that hell is described as being a furnace of fire. Nebuchadnezzar's furnace was heated seven times hotter than normal and is described as "a furnace of blazing fire" (Daniel 3:23). John the Baptist spoke of "unquenchable fire" and Revelation describes hell as "a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Revelation 19:20). Can we really imagine the horror of which these words speak? Imagine every part of your body on fire at the same time, so that every fiber of your being felt the intense torment of being burned. How long could you endure such punishment? Christ tells us that "there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." The lost will wail and gnash their teeth from having to endure the most intense pain and suffering they have ever felt as the flames consume them and constantly burn every part of their bodies. And there will be no relief.
Jonathan Edwards describes in graphic language what the fires of hell will be like: "Some of you have seen buildings on fire; imagine therefore with yourselves, what a poor hand you would make at fighting with the flames, if you were in the midst of so great and fierce a fire. You have often seen a spider or some other noisome insect, when thrown into the midst of a fierce fire, and have observed how immediately it yields to the force of the flames. There is no long struggle, no fighting against the fire, no strength exerted to oppose the heat, or to fly from it; but it immediately stretches forth and yields; and the fire takes possession of it, and at once it becomes full of fire. Here is a little image of what you will be in hell, except you repent and fly to Christ. To encourage yourselves that you will set yourselves to bear hell-torments as well as you can, is just as if a worm, that is about to be thrown into a glowing furnace, should swell and fortify itself, and prepare itself to fight the flames."3
Hell is also described as a place of darkness. The Lord tells us of the guest without wedding clothes who was cast "into outer darkness" (Matthew 22:13). Jude writes of those in hell "for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever" (Jude 13). Christopher Love says in his work Hell's Terrors: "darkness is terrible, and men are more apt to fear in the dark then light: hell is therefore set forth in so terrible an expression, to make the hearts of men tremble; not only darkness, but the blackness of darkness".4
Hell is compared to Tophet in Isaiah 30:33. Tophet was the place where the idolatrous Jews sacrificed their children to the heathen god Molech by casting them into the fire. Day and night shrieks and howls were heard in that place, as day and night shrieks, howls, and wailing are heard in hell.
Isaiah speaks of "the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone" setting hell ablaze. There is good evidence from the Scriptures that God Himself will be the fire in hell. Hebrews 12:29 says, "Our God is a consuming fire." The ungodly on earth ignorantly dance for joy when they hear pastors speak about the love and mercy of God, but they will be the beneficiaries of neither, unless they repent. To them God will be an all consuming fire. Hebrews 10:30-31 warns: "For we know him who said, `Vengence is Mine, I will repay,' And again, `The Lord will judge His people.' It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." It is a fearful thing, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God! You shall not escape hell, sinner. God will be your hell and His wrath will consume you and be poured upon you as long as He exists. "Who understands the power of Thine anger?" (Psalm 90:11). It is because God Himself will be the fire in hell that words cannot possibly express the terrors of the damned in hell. "There is no reason to suspect that possibly ministers set forth this matter beyond what it really is, that possibly it is not so dreadful and terrible as it is pretended, and that ministers strain the description of it beyond just bounds...We have rather reason to suppose that after we have said our utmost, all that we have said or thought is but a faint shadow of reality."5
In Luke 16:19-26 Christ tells us of two men. One of them was rich (he has traditionally been called Dives); the other man was poor (his name was Lazarus). Both men died. The poor man was carried by angels to heaven and the rich man went to hell. The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich, nor did the poor man go to heaven simply because he was poor. The Lord shows us through this contrast that our circumstances may change drastically when we pass from time into eternity. We are not to be fooled that just because God may not have dealt harshly with us here, that he will not do so after death. The eternal abiding place of both men resulted from the condition of their hearts before God, while they were on earth. Lazarus was a true follower of God. Dives was not. We want to carefully note what the Scriptures tell us about Dives and his condition, for from that we may learn much about hell. Verses 23-24 indicate to us that Dives is "in torment." What does it mean to be "in torment?" This torment refers to both torment in body and torment in soul as well. As we have seen, men's bodies will be tormented in a furnace of fire. Every part of the body will feel the pain of that fire. Men with severe stomach pains can be in great agony from that alone, but this pain will be far greater. Death from cancer is sometimes said to cause extreme pain in the body, but the pain of hell will be far worse. If your body were afflicted with many different and painful diseases all at the same time, you still would not begin to approach the pain of the damned in hell.
Men's consciences shall be in torment in hell as well. Conscience is the worm that will not die which the Scriptures speak of (Mark 9:48; Isaiah 66:24). Dives is told to "remember that during your life." Men will be tormented with extreme pain, but they will also be tormented by their own memories. They will remember hearing of hell and scoffing at it. They will remember being warned and told to repent or told that accepting the blessings of heaven without submitting to Christ as Lord falls short of salvation, but they took no heed to those warnings. They will be tormented by seeing at a distance the glories of heaven (as Dives was able to do), and knowing that for all eternity they will be damned. They will be tormented by unfulfilled desires and unfulfilled lusts (Dives is not able to receive even a drop of water to cool his tongue). They will be tormented by the knowledge that they will never escape from hell (Dives is told that "neither can you pass to us"). They will be tormented by the cries, shrieks, and curses of the damned around them. The most extreme torments a man can experience on earth will be like flea bites compared to the torments of hell.
Jonathan Edwards speaks of men unable to find even a moment of relief in hell in his sermon on The Future Punishment of the Wicked: "Nor will they ever be able to find anything to relieve them in hell. They will never find any resting place there; any secret corner, which will be cooler than the rest, where they may have a little respite, a small abatement of the extremity of their torment. They never will be able to find any cooling stream or fountain, in any part of that world of torment; no, nor so much as a drop of water to cool their tongues. They will find no company to give them any comfort, or do them the least good. They will find no place, where they can remain, and rest, and take breath for one minute: for they will be tormented with fire and brimstone; and they will have no rest day nor night forever and ever."6
THE ETERNITY OF HELL
The most terrifying aspect of all about hell is its length or duration. Hell is eternal. Hell will last forever. Can you comprehend eternity? No mathimatical equation or formula can explain it. Your mind cannot conceive of eternity, but it is none the less real. This aspect of hell alone should cause men to cry out in repentance. It is not surprising that skeptics of all ages have attacked the eternal nature of hell, substituting doctrines like the annihilation of the wicked in its place. Let us look at the Scriptures to verify the eternal nature of hell and to try and understand eternity better. Then we will explore why hell must be eternal.
"And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). This verse clearly gives us the duration of hell. Hell is forever and ever. How could a stronger, more certain expression be used? If the Spirit of God wanted to communicate the eternal nature of hell to men what could communicate it better than the expression "forever and ever?" The Scripture has no higher expression which is used to denote eternity than "forever and ever" for it is the very phrase used to tell us of the eternal existence of God Himself, as in Revelation 4:9: "to him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever." Does anyone doubt that God will live to all eternity? How then can you doubt that hell will not last to all eternity when the same expression is used for both?
"We can conceive but little of the matter; but to help your conception, imagine yourself to be cast into a fiery oven, or a great furnace, where your pain would be as much greater than that occasioned by accidentally touching a coal of fire, as the heat is greater. Imagine also that your body were to lie there for a quarter of an hour, full of fire, and all the while full of quick sense; what horror would you feel at the entrance of such a furnace! and how long would that quarter of an hour seem to you! And after you had endured it for one minute, how overbearing would it be to you to think that you had to endure the other fourteen! But what would be the effect on your soul, if you knew you must lie there enduring that torment to the full for twenty-four hours...for a whole year...for a thousand years! Oh, then, how would your hearts sink, if you knew, that you must bear it forever and ever! that there would be no end! that after millions of millions of ages, your torment would be no nearer to an end, and that you never, never should be delivered! But your torment in hell will be immensely greater than this illustration represents."7
Christ, describing the great day of judgment, tells of the separation of the wicked and the righteous using these words: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:46). Is there anyone who would deny that heaven exists eternally? Will the lives of the blessed in heaven be brought to an end one day? Of course not. But the same Greek word is used here in this verse to speak of the eternal life of the righteous and the everlasting punishment of the wicked. Hell will last as long as heaven does.
In hell there will be different degrees of torment appointed to men as indicated by a number of Scriptures. Luke 12:47-48 says: "And that slave who knew his master's will and die not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Christ says in Matthew 11:24: "Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you." The verses in Matthew indicate that the people in Capernaum will receive a greater punishment on judgment day than those who had lived in Sodom. The verses in Luke speak of a differentiation in judgment based on the amount of light received: some will receive many stripes and others will receive few.
Those who commit greater sins than others or more sins than others will receive greater punishment in hell (John 19:11). Religious hypocrites, those who profess Christianity but are not real Christians, will be punished more severely than others (Matthew 23:14-15). The Lord said of Judas Iscariot, "It would have been good for that man if he had not been born" (Matthew 26:24). How could any of these things be said to be true if annihilation were what awaited men after death? The presence of different degrees of punishment only makes sense in light of the ability to sensibly feel the torment. Could it be said that it would have been better for Judas if he had never been born if annihilation was all that awaited him? Annihilation is like no punishment at all.
Each time the unbeliever sins he is adding to his torment in hell. The person who sins twice as much as another with similar light will receive twice as much punishment. Every day that sinners continue to live and breathe here on earth without repenting, they are adding to their torments in hell. Romans 2:5 tells us: "But because of your stubborness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." The Lord Jesus encouraged the righteous to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. The wicked are increasing their future wrath and torment in hell every day by their continued sinning. They add to their punishment daily. In hell men will wish that they had never been born.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said: "In hell there is no hope. They have not even the hope of dying--the hope of being annihilated. They are forever--forever--forever lost! On every chain in hell, there is written "forever". In the fires there, blaze out the words, "forever". Above their heads, they read, "forever". Their eyes are galled and their hearts are pained with the thought that it is "forever". Oh, if I could tell you tonight that hell would one day be burned out, and that those who were lost might be saved, there would be a jubilee in hell at the very thought of it. But it cannot be--it is "forever" they are cast into the outer darkness."8
Christopher Love uses an illustration to try and help us understand what eternity means: "Suppose all the mountains of the earth were mountains of sand, and many more mountains still added thereto, till they reached up to heaven, and a little bird should once in every thousand years take one (grain of) sand of this mountain, there would be an innumerable company of years pass over before that mass of sand would be consumed and taken away, and yet this time would have an end; and it would be happy for man, if hell were no longer than this time; but this is man's misery in hell, he shall be in no more hope of coming out after he hath been there millions of years, then he was when he was first cast in there; for his torments shall be to eternity, without end, because the God that damns him is eternal."9
Earlier we looked at the necessity of hell or why there must be a place like hell. Now we will look at why hell must not only exist, but why it must exist eternally. Why is it necessary that hell be eternal? There are several answers to this which we shall explore briefly.
The first reason we will look at is the one mentioned by Christopher Love in the passage just quoted. The God who damns men is an eternal God. "Ultimately the eternality of hell is based upon the nature of God."10 Is God's Word eternal? Is God's nature eternal? The Scripture tells us: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). "His righteousness endures forever" (Psalm 111:3). "The Word of the Lord abides forever" (I Peter 1:24). If God's Word is eternal, if God's righteousness is eternal, if God Himself is eternal, then why shouldn't His wrath be eternal as well? As eternally existent, all of God's attributes are eternal and immutable; therefore, hell, as an expression of God's wrath, must be eternal.
Hell must be eternal because God's justice could never be satisfied by the punishment of sinners no matter how long it lasts. Christ makes this clear when He speaks about settling with your accuser before you get to court, otherwise you shall be cast into prison and "I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite" (Luke 12:59). Man can do nothing to pay for his sins. No amount of punishment in hell, no matter how long, can ever atone for sins. It is impossible; therefore, hell must be eternal.
Thirdly, hell must be eternal because the Scriptures tell us that the worm which gnaws the conscience of men in hell never dies. "For their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched" (Isaiah 66:24). If the worm never dies, then those being tormented by the worm shall never die.
Lastly, hell will be eternal because men continue to sin in hell. They increase and compound their guilt there. Hell is a place where tormented men curse God, curse themselves, and scream and wail with blasphemous language at their fellow men around them. Wicked men will increase each other's torments as they accuse, blame, and condemn one another. Men will not repent in hell because the character of sinners does not change. They remain sinners. Men will sin to eternity, therefore, God will punish them eternally.
APPLICATION TO BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS
The Old Testament prophets warn us repeatedly of the dangers of hell: "Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?" (Isaiah 33:14, KJV). "Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire" (Nahum 1:6). Sinner, are you so arrogant as to think you can bear the wrath of God poured out in full measure upon you? You may think that hell is not so hot and that you will be able to bear it quite well. If you believe that you are more than a fool. The terrors of hell cause the devils to tremble and are you so foolish as to be unmoved by them or make light of them?
Do not think that simply because you go to church, or believe in God, or believe intellectually in the truths of Christianity that you will escape hell. The majority of those who regularly attend churches every week, all over the world, will go to hell. Thomas Shepard, pastor and founder of Harvard University, wrote: "Formal professors and carnal gospelers have a thing like faith, and like sorrow, and like true repentance, and like good desires, but yet they be but pictures; they deceive others and themselves too...most of them that live in the church shall perish."11
You who profess to be Christians, but do not read your Bible much and pray little: how shall you escape the damnation of hell? You who are not especially bothered by little sins or troubled by the vain and filthy thoughts which you have: are you ready to go to hell? You who think the kingdom of God consists in a verbal profession of Christ or intellectually believing that Jesus died for your sins, but who are not concerned with living a holy, godly life and give little or no thought to God during the week: are you prepared to endure the torments of hell, day and night, forever and ever? You had better be, because if these things are true of you, you are headed straight for hell, unless you repent. Do not delude yourself! Christianity does not consist in words, or pious statements, or mere intellectual belief, but in a new heart and a new life dedicated to not sinning and living for the glory of God. If your heart and life have not been changed by God, you are still in your sins. If you are living in known disobedience to the word of God and are unconcerned about it, you have no right to assume you are going to heaven: you are on your way to hell! Repent of all your sins and turn to Jesus Christ and surrender to Him as Lord. Listen to the words of Christ: "If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell" (Matthew 18:9). "Nothing short of the complete denying of self, the abandoning of the dearest idol, the forsaking of the most cherished sinful course--figuratively represented under the cutting off of a right hand and the plucking out of a right eye--is what He claims from every one who would have true communion with Him."12 But remember, the difficulty involved in forsaking all for Christ is nothing compared to spending eternity in hell.
I do not believe anyone can be scared into heaven, but I do believe they can be scared away from hell, so that they might begin to seek God with all their hearts, and to beg Christ to have mercy on them. Men stand on the brink of the pit of hell and are ready to fall headlong into it and yet they are completely unaware they are in any danger. If hearing about hell can cause otherwise senseless men to consider eternal truths, then preaching about hell is valuable indeed. It is better to view hell now, while you are living, and be terrified by it, than to have to endure hell forever when you die.
I would not have you to be more afraid of hell than of sin. Sin is your real enemy. Sin is worse than hell because sin gave birth to hell. Would you be willing to go to hell for all eternity for the enjoyment of a little pleasure and lust here on earth? Flee from sin! Flee from living for self and self-pleasing to Jesus Christ. When you die it will be to late. All opportunity to repent ends at death.
This doctrine is useful to the godly as well as the ungodly. The doctrine of hell should stir up within the righteous a fear of God. A godly fear is useful in many ways. The one who has a fear of God in his heart has a greater respect for the commandments of God. He who truly fears God will not fear men and would rather displease men than God (Isaiah 8:12-13). This doctrine should increase your faithfulness and joy in Christ that you have been delivered from the torments of hell and should likewise increase your love for Christ who endured the wrath of God upon the cross for you.
The doctrine of hell should stir up within you a fear of sin. It should cause us to fear even little sins and be careful to confess and forsake sins of the heart and thought life also. Let the doctrine of hell keep you from the practice of sin.
The doctrine of hell should help the godly to be patient under all outward, temporary afflictions which come to them. No matter how great your afflictions are in this world, they are far less than the torments of hell from which the Lord has freed the godly. You may have to undergo lessor torments while on earth, but remember they are only temporary and you have been freed from the greatest of all torments so you may rejoice even in a time of affliction.
This doctrine is useful to motivate you to tell others of the message of Christ. Eryl Davies wrote in his book The Wrath of God: "The eternity of hell's sufferings should make us the more zealous and eager to tell people of the only One who is able to rescue them. Do we shrink from declaring these solemn truths? Does the thought of hell displease us? Remember that God will be glorified even through the eternal sufferings of unbelievers in hell. His injured majesty will be vindicated...What is supreme in the purpose of God in the election and reprobation of men is His own glory, and hell also will glorify the justice, power, and wrath of God throughout eternity. In the meantime it is our responsibility to pray and work for the salvation of sinners before such awful punishment overtakes them."13
I cannot leave without one final word to those who think they are converted, but are not; and also, to those who know themselves to be unconverted. Can you conceive of eternity? Stop now and try to imagine being tormented unceasingly, forever, without end. Does this not terrify you? Never a chance for a moment's rest. Never a drop of water to cool your parched throat. Think again of how long eternity is. Try to imagine it: day and night, forever and ever, burned with fire like a spider in a furnace of flames. Shrieking, howling, wailing, cursing the day you were born, and being cursed by the devils and damned souls around you eternally. Remembering, forever remembering, how you were warned on earth and how you ignored those warnings: self-satisfied and self-deceived that all was well with your soul. Job's wife told him to curse God and die. Unless you repent and flee to Jesus Christ, who is your only hope, you shall curse God eternally and be tormented by Him in His presence in the awful fullness of His wrath, and you shall never die. You shall never die. You shall never die! Eternity is forever!
1 Thomas Shepard, The Works of Thomas Shepard, Volume 1, (New York: AMS Press, 1967), p. 94.
2 Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 2, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1974) p. 87.
3 Ibid, p. 82.
4 Christopher Love, Hell's Terrors, (London: T. M., 1653), p. 19.
5 Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 2, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1974) p. 884.
6 Ibid, p.80.
7 Ibid, p. 81.
8 Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Volume 1, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990), p. 308.
9 Christopher Love, Hell's Terrors, (London: T. M., 1653), pp. 54-55.
10 John Gerstner, Heaven and Hell, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991), p. 77.
11 Thomas Shepard, The Works of Thomas Shepard, Volume 1, (New York: AMS Press, 1967), p. 58.
12 A. W. Pink, Studies in the Scriptures, January 1932, p. 18.
13 Eyrl Davies, The Wrath of God, (Mid Glamorgan, Wales: Evangelical Press of Wales, 1984), p. 59.
Paule Walnuts
Woof!
Paule Walnuts
I’m not even 34 years old there buddy ha ha ha. I wouldn't have had such a long High school career but the female teachers were holding me back for stud purposes. One of them saw me in gym class, and my life’s fate had been decided. Don’t get me wrong. They paid well. I was the envy of the school. However the math teacher always left marks that scarred my back terribly. I ended up spending everything on reconstructive cosmetic surgery!
From Portland where the teachers method of education is always …Hands On!
Paule Walnuts
"Cheapskate is being frugal"
I totally understand frugal. My friends don't like to talk money around me cause I am a tight wad as well as nervous about not having enough. I could be sitting on 10k to go grocery shopping for Oreos and milk, and worry that its not enough or bitch and complain that the Oreos were not on sale!lol
The way I see it, the less money I spend on "Living". The more money I spend on "Living"
As for stretching out investments before relying on SS...At least you're going to get your SS. I'll spend my life paying for your generation and then the Gov will yank it away from mine. Once the politicians realize that they can do more wrong and make more money writing even more worthless legislation privatizing retirement, ss will be a thing of the past.
I can bohoo louder...;OD
Paule Walnuts
Today's selection is Proverbs 23:20-21
American Standard Version
Be not among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; And drowsiness will clothe (a man) with rags.
King James Version
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
New American Standard
Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
New International Version
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
New King James Version
Do not mix with winebibbers, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
Paule Walnuts
Well gee I do now. Sure know how to ruin my grub! Did you catch 2000?...I did.lol
Paule Walnuts
I couldn't find my fall catalog.Hmm I wonder...
1) http://www.cabelas.com/texis/scripts/store/+/CatalogDisplay/displayPOD/CabFALL1998/CabFALL1998AAAaAN...
2)
http://www.cabelas.com/texis/scripts/store/+/CatalogDisplay/displayPOD/CabFALL1998/CabFALL1998AAANAC...
3)
http://www.cabelas.com/texis/scripts/store/+/CatalogDisplay/displayPOD/CabFALL1998/CabFALL1998ACBCAB...
mmmmm I just dont know.
Paule Walnuts
Wait! GRUB 2001
Paule Walnuts
couldn't
hidden grub 2000
Paule Walnuts
I
Paule Walnuts
ok
Paule Walnuts
This pizzes me off I can't get one sound clip to transfer.
test
Paule Walnuts
I'VE GOT Big Balls
Well I'm upper upper class high society
God's gift to ball room notoriety
I always fill my ball room
The event is never small
The social pages say I've got
The biggest balls of all
I've got big balls, I've got big balls
They're such big balls, and they're dirty big balls
He's got big balls, and she's got big balls
But we've got the biggest balls of them all
And my balls are always bouncing
My ball room's always full
And everybody comes and comes again
If your name is on the guest list
No one can take you higher
Everybody says I've got
Great balls of fire
I've got big balls, I've got big balls
And they're such big balls, dirty big balls
He's got big balls, and she's got big balls
But we've got the biggest balls of them all
Some balls are held for charity
And some for fancy dress
But when they're held for pleasure
They're the balls that I like best
My balls are always bouncing
To the left and to the right
It's my belief that my big balls
Should be held every night
We've got big balls, We've got big balls
We've got big balls, dirty big balls
He's got big balls, she's got big balls
But we've got the biggest balls of them all
And I'm just itching to tell you about them
Oh we had such wonderful fun
Seafood cocktail, crabs, crayfish
Ball sucker
Paule Walnuts
HEY NYC if you left camp for good make me head of this thread. I hate absentee landlords. And your assistants suck ass as they don't do a damn thing around here either.
I know make Colt the chairman. At this swamp there is no popularity contest to worry about. No kissing someone’s ass to be accepted into the "inner circle". It may also be hard to believe but we know how to send pictures over the internet without Judds and Waif authoritarian hands guiding the process.
I see just exactly what the word "never" means to a man of honor so relinquish control and go back and kiss some more ass.
Paule Walnuts
I call dibs on post 2001 btw isn't this a grub....
I know its the year I graduated Highschool..Hey, did I even graduate?
Paule Walnuts
Hey all I just invited a friend over to have some drinks with us. Pre knows Old Colt Navy. He's a good guy. If he shows up treat him nice will ya Carolyn? ChLs might have a problem with him though. Colts kind of funny and I don't know If ChLs can compete with that type of gut busting humor...poke poke poke
Paule Walnuts
No sh!t. I knew someone with web TV My first puter was $600 a no memory no power turn it on wait until Thursday to use it puter..I still thought it was better than web tv.
You cheapskate.
I'll buy ChLs drinks for the rest of the day.
Paule Walnuts
This is the Bar is it not? You are only required to remain coherent for the first fifteen minutes…………….
We ARE heading out to nowhere. We aren’t spending that amount of time in the commercial plane!
Paule Walnuts
Pre how many hours will we fly away from the airport?
Paule Walnuts
You do realize Pre that I sent you your ticket this morning. If for some reason every atom in my body is obliterated, and I cannot make it. Save that e-mail as it has your ticket number and conformation code. All we have to do is check in with our government photo ID (drivers license) and check our bags. We can get out boarding passes through one of their Machines in the lobby.
If you go to the AA web site you can read all about it. Anyway you have in your possession the ticket to Alaska.(Don't worry I kept my copy)
Now how are we going to divide up these flyer miles? My wife is trying to take mine already. Do you want yours? We could use them possibly for next trip. If we use the Machine to get our bp I think I will have amassed 6k flyer miles.
Paule Walnuts
No need to worry lass we'll be just fine. I'm like 'this' with the Big Guy upstairs! ;O)
Paule Walnuts
Guns we don't need no stinking guns!
Paule Walnuts
Well you know after watching Pre wrestle bear I knew It was time to shape up. I plan on wrestling wolverine while I'm there. I hear those mean nasty little critters stand bear up and chase them away.
Paule Walnuts
I am hoping for the afternoon thunderstorms...eom
Paule Walnuts
Satan
In medieval Judeo-Christian theology, Satan ("adversary") is the personified concept of evil, and the jealous enemy of mankind. He is the chief of the angels who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven.
The belief that Satan is in Hell is a product of cartoons and movies rather than the reality portrayed in the Bible. The Bible states that he still roams heaven and earth. Job 1:6 states that Satan appeared with other angels "before the Lord." Presumably in heaven. When God asked Satan where he had been, Satan replied, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." Satan has not been and is not in Hell. 1 Peter 5:8 declares, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
It is clear from passages such as these that Satan is not in Hell and probably spends most of his time on earth, seeking to destroy the lives of human beings and to keep them separated from God.
Satan will be cast into the lake of burning sulfur (Hell), but it is only after the battle involving Gog and Magog (which means the nations of the earth). When the enemies of God are defeated, "the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were thrown." Rev 20:7-10 (New International Version).
In the Apocrypha, Satan represents the forces of evil. The rabbis taught that he was responsible for all the sins recorded in the Bible and, according to legend, the shofar is blown on Rosh Hashanah in order to confuse him.
The name comes from Satanas, the Greek form of the Aramic satana.
Paule Walnuts
A Buddist Angel Concept
DAKINIS: Sky Dancing Angels
"The teaching of the whispered lineage is the Dakini's breath"
Milarepa
The literal translation of Dakini is "Sky Dancer". The Western form for Dakinis are Angels. If you believe in or have curiosity about Angels, well Dakinis immediately follow. The Western idea of an Angel being a beautiful celestial being who flies in the sky and who sometimes comes to earth to provide inspiration and support to us mortals is very similar to the Dakinis.
Generally when they are referred to in Buddhist literature it is assumed they are devoted to the Truth (Dharma). But the broader meaning of the word is a female (males are called Dakas) spirit who has some freedom but is still bound by their past actions. Thus there are good Angels and bad (or simply confused) Angels. Some people might argue that you couldn't call them an Angel anymore if they're bad, but that's ridiculous since being predictable is not part of anyones long-term nature.
Thus there are worldy Dakinis who are malicious and use their powers to confuse us, to arouse passions that are destructive, and who use their charms for their own selfish purposes. Dakinis can manifest on earth in human form or take birth as a human. These are then called "worldly Dakinis" and I'm sure you've met at least one or two in your lifetime. Women (or men) who seem to be able to simply will things into being. People who are so charming that they seduce whatever they want from the world and enjoy it fully, yet also remain somewhat disattached from the results.
Dharma Dakinis are devoted to a higher purpose and so their actions are generally positive. But it is hard to generalize the actions of Dharma Dakinis since they aim to break our rabid fixation on concrete thoughts. Dharma Dakinis are not afraid to use their powers to dazzle us, arouse us out of our sleep of habits, and seduce us onto a path of truth. Dakinis are tricky, capricious, and unpredictable. We're in trouble when the Dakini disrupts our mind with magic, breaks our habitual thought patterns with the miraculous, or simply opens our hearts with mad adoration. Messengers between our earthly realm and the higher realms of the teachers, they help to bring the powerful teachings to earth, protect the truth from destructive forces, and bring blessings to sincere seekers. The natural result is to fall in love with a Dakini or Angel. How can you avoid falling in love with someone who inspires wild love and higher meaning suffused with delight?
Fixate on that pleasure and the Dakini does the most compassionate thing possible. They fly away. Dakinis do not manifest simply for our pleasure. (There are people who will do that but it usually requires negotiation and some form of hard currency). Dakinis manifest the beauty of the Truth which is then an invitation to follow the path of Truth. Sky Dancers help us through vision and inspiration. But although we can be greatly inspired by a Dakini (another word is Muse), they will only come back if we put into action what they have shown us.
In that regard a Dakini's love is unswerving and always compassionate. It doesn't matter if we wait a few hours or a few lifetimes to put our inspiration into action. Miracles occur but sometimes it takes years to fully realize the implications. When we do realize or remember, our hearts open, and again the magic and majesty of the universe is open to us. The Dakinis celebrate the Truth and our resolve to work for it in a most extraordinary way. They dance in the sky.
Paule Walnuts
The names of the Archangels vary widely depending on which source or tradition you consult, but many are similar enough to make a workable cross-reference. I'll give a few below, but there are many others that you can use if these don't suit you for some reason.
Source: ENOCH I (Ethiopic Enoch) Earliest Reference to the 7
1. Uriel
2. Raphael
3. Raguel - Ruhiel, Ruagel, Ruahel
4. Michael
5. Zerachiel - Araqael
6. Gabriel
7. Remiel - Jeremiel, Jerahmeel
Source: TESTAMENT OF SOLOMON
1. Mikael
2. Gabriel
3. Uriel
4. Sabrael
5. Arael
6. Iaoth
7. Adonael
Source: CHRISTIAN GNOSTIC
1. Michael
2. Gabriel
3. Raphael
4. Uriel - Phanuel
5. Barachiel
6. Sealtiel
7. Jehudiel
Source: TALISMANIC MAGIC
1. Zaphkiel
2. Zadkiel
3. Camael
4. Raphael
5. Haniel
6. Michael
7. Gabriel
Source: THE HIERARCHY OF THE BLESSED ANGELS
1. Raphael
2. Gabriel
3. Chamuel
4. Michael
5. Adabiel
6. Haniel
7. Zaphiel
Now, it is usually agreed that there are more Archangels than 7. For example, the 10 Archangels of the Holy Sefiroth and the 10 of the Unholy Sefiroth, but these are the 7 most commonly known.
Source: Mathers, The Kabbalah Unveiled, and Waite, The Holy Kabbalah.
Paule Walnuts
Angelolatry - The veneration or worship of angels.
Angelology - The study or science of angels.
Angelophany - The visible or otherwise tangible manifestation of angels to human beings.
Angels are spirits without bodies, who possess superior intelligence, gigantic strength, and surpassing holiness. They enjoy an intimate relationship to God as His special adopted children, contemplating, loving, and praising Him in heaven. Some of them are frequently sent as messengers to men from on high.
In many religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it is believed that between God and mankind there are intermediary beings, called angels. They are bodiless entities that perform certain tasks for God and are commonly thought of as the messengers of God. Angels are good spirits, unlike their counterparts the demons. They are usually portrayed as having a human form, being dressed in long, white clothes, surrounded by a bright light and with long, swanlike wings. They were portrayed thus by artist, often on Church command, to alert the faithful that angels are more than human. There are cases, however, where angels appeared as ordinary men and were mistaken as such (the story of Lot, for instance).
In the early stages of mankind, the belief in spirits was universal. The primitive man believed that there were no good or bad spirits. A spirit simply had powers, called mana, with which it could do either good or evil. With the emerging of Christianity and other major religions, the belief in these kind of spirits was condemned, and they became demons. The belief in angels and demons can be traced back to ancient Persian religion where there were two supreme beings: Ahura Mazda and his eternal opponent Angra Mainyu. The first represents good and the second represents evil. Both have followers and servants, angels serve Ahura Mazda, while demons (the Daevas) serve Angra Mainyu. Here the distinction was first made between good and evil spirits.
In the Old Testament angels play a prominent role as the messengers from God. Also in the Old Testament the leading demon, Satan, is introduced. However, it was not until the New Testament that Satan was portrayed as Lucifer, the first of the fallen angels to rebel against God. In the New Testament, angels are present at all the important events in the life of Jesus. Here, they became more than just messengers; they are portrayed as the agents of God in bringing judgement to the world.
Until the New Testament there were only two orders of angels; the Seraphim and Cherubim. St. Paul extended the number by adding seven new orders. They are, arranged according to their importance: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. Archangels are higher in rank than Angels, but still they come eighth in the order of higher beings. Four of the most important ones are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. In Islam, it is believed that there are four Archangels who guard the throne of Allah.
ANGELS OF PURE CONTEMPLATION:
Govern All Creation:
Seraphim
Cherubim
Thrones
ANGELS OF THE COSMOS:
Govern All The Cosmos:
Dominions
Powers
Virtues
ANGELS OF THE WORLD:
Govern All The World:
Principalities
ArchAngels
Angels
SEVEN ANGELS STAND BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD:
Gabriel
Fanuel
Michael
Uriel
Raphael
Israel
Uzziel
THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD:
The Spirit of Wisdom
The Spirit of Understanding
The Spirit of Counsel
The Spirit of Power
The Spirit of Knowledge
The Spirit of Righteousness
The Spirit of Divine Awfulness
The Four Archangels in Charge of Earth
There are four angels and their innumerable retinues in charge of this world.
The first is Gabriel and his armies. He is in charge of soldier-angels and revelation. Gabriel insures victory and is responsible for the extinction of nations: human, animal, vegetal, or others, when God wills it.
The second is Michael and his armies, in charge of rain and vegetation. He conveys sustenance to nurture mankind.
The third is `Azra'il the angel of death and his assistants. They are in charge of seizing the souls of those who die.
The fourth is Israfil and his assistants, in charge of the Hour of the Day of Judgment.
When the earth has passed away God will order these angels to bring forth their scrolls and they will bring them. Then God will order them to open the Book of Life. They will then find that their scrolls are the same as it.
Paule Walnuts
"Angels transcend every religion, every philosophy, every creed.
In fact angels have no religion as we know it...
their existence precedes every religious system that has ever existed on earth."
St. Thomas Aquinas
Paule Walnuts
Good morning all! How are we this morning?
How many people here spent time with the heavy bag?
My son wanted me to teach him how to fi.. ahem..defend himself. So I went out and bought a pair of father son boxing gloves. Well I ended up coming home with an 80lb punching bag, special wrist protecting gloves, and an attitude that Rocky Balboa himself couldn't touch this.
After only three days, I am sore from head to toe. I am a pretty physical guy anyway, so I decided to start at 1-hour workout sessions. Gasping for air in under ten minutes I decided to break up my workout sessions into 4 groups of 15 minutes. Working the bag works just about every muscle you can think of. Add in various right and left kicks and even your nuts start aching.
My boy loves the heck out of it. I see him kicking the crap out of it all the time. This has me both happy and concerned. I am glad he is learning to protect himself, however if I don't keep up by the time he turns 15 I’m going to be in some serious trouble.
Paule Walnuts
I have air! eom
Paule Walnuts