Do you know what its going to be like on judgment day. We spend a lot of time talking about heaven but we don,t talk about that other place to much. Nobody likes to picture a place of eternal torment and pain. That's what hell is going to be.
A lady ask me last week just what is gnashing of teeth? Well folks I,m hear to tell you gnashing of teeth is the act of grinding your teeth together. When this phrase is used in the bible it is a description of great anger or anguish. On the day of judgment there is going to be a great gnashing of teeth. People will be both angry and in anguish. They are going to be angry at God and Satan, they will be angry at whoever taught them the wrong thing to believe. They will be angry at themselves for not doing what they knew they were suppose to do. And they will be in anguish as they are cast into the lake of fire were the worm of man doesn't die. See Mark 9:43-48
A few years back my wife had a kneecap come out of place and go around to the back of her leg. Now this is not a pleasant experience and as you can imagine she was in a great deal of pain.For about fifteen minutes she screamed at the top of her lungs because she was being tormented. I'm here to tell you it was not a pleasant thing to witness. If you think a baby wailing is a disturbing noise you haen't heard anything yet. Now that was just a kneecap and she was the only one screaming. She was screaming so loud that when I called 911 they sent the police instead of an ambulance because they thought someone was being killed. Picture what it will be like when millions of people are screaming like that all at once as everybody's worst nightmare comes true and they land in the place of everlasting torment.
I know I'm painting a bleak picture and I intend to. Hell is going to be a bleak place with no hope. Nobody is going to be happy over there. I have heard people say that hell can't be any worse than the life their living now, and boy do I have some news for them. Can you think of anything worse than burning to death? Think about it. Have you ever burn,t yourself? Really made you jump didn't it? Now imagine not being able to pull your hand out of the fire, but instead add your arm and your leg and then the rest of your body. Open your mouth to scream and feel your mouth burst into flames. This is not a pleasant picture is it? There couldn't possible be anything worse than this could there? Wrong!! This is just the beginning of eternity. Eternity is a long time and even though your burning to death and feeling this great torment you can't die. This will be the scene of all hope lost and people in this condition will gnash there teeth.
Now I want to tell you a little about the fellow this place was created for. We generally refer to him as the devil or Satan. Satan was a angel of God at one time, but he rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven and banished to earth. The bible has many terms describing Satan. One is as the great deceiver. Who is Satan deceiving? Anybody he can. You've heard the old saying that misery loves company. Well that's Satan's byline. He already knows his fate and he is working hard to get as many people as he can to join him. If he can deceive you he will. Satan will employ any tactic that will cause a person to turn from God.
Kim was telling me about this physic that works for the police to help find lost children. Now on the surface this sounds like a good thing but when you really think about it, its just another ploy of the devil to get you to put your faith in something other than Jesus. If he can do some apparent good helping the police to find one or two lost children once in a while he won,t mind because in the end this may cause hundreds or thousands of people to be lost forever. Remember misery loves company.
The prince of this world is one of the terms that Jesus used to describe Satan. If you choose to make this world your home you will face eternity with its prince (Matthew8:12) but if you choose to follow Jesus and follow that straight and narrow road it will lead you to the home that He said he was going to prepare for you. Satan is always lurking around trying to detour people from entering the straight and narrow road. He puts up all manner of road blocks. Satan will try to get you to rationalize just like he did with Eve.( Genisis 3:3-5) If science says that earth is billions and billions of years old then why does the bible only indicate it in the thousands. How could it possibly flood higher than the tallest mountain on the earth, there's not that much water in all the oceans and the sky. And so on and so forth. Now I can,t tell you how old the earth is and I don,t know where all that water came from but I do believe that God created the earth and if he choose to put water over the whole earth I don,t think I'll worry about how he did it. ( James 4:7)
Satan is a tempter, he will use all manner of things to tempt you. Lust, money , entertainment, emotions, friends you name it and he will use it. The bible warns us about all of these things. But men and women under the influence of Satan will justify anything if it makes their life easier or makes them happy. And if these servants of Satan can they will convince you that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. We live in the age of instant gratification. Everyone what's everything right now, but when you walk the narrow road you have to keep in mind that the only prize that really matters is the reward you receive for obeying Christ and remaining faithful.
Jesus came to earth and lived the life of a man and was tempted by Satan and resisted him. He died on the cross and went to the grave and defeated death. All of this he did for you and me. Depending on when Christ comes back for us, we will also face death and go to the grave. No one can escape this fact. But if you go to the grave of baptism and put on Christ and lead the life that a Christian is suppose to lead you won't have to face the second death.( Revelations 20:14) Reject Christ and you will find yourself gnashing your teeth in anguish as you suffer the torment and hopelessness of the lake of fire and brimstone that awaits Satan and his followers. (Matthew 25:41)
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Almost everyone has heard this verse. You see it on shirts and on signs at sporting events. People put a lot of stock in this verse and think that its enough just to believe. This is another trick of Satan. He doesn't mind if you believe so long as you don't obey the rest of the gospel. Well hold on a minute you mean a man can believe and not be saved. Yes it is possible to believe and be lost. If somebody ask you how to get somewhere, you can tell them . Well lets assume they believe you but you've told them wrong or only given them part of the directions. They follow your directions and low and behold they end up somewhere they don,t intend to be. They believed you and there still lost. Now what if after you told them how to get there they got a map and checked out the directions ? Well they would find out you were wrong.
Its the same way with being saved. If someone gives you wrong or incomplete directions and you believe them but don't check with the map on judgment day your going to find out your somewhere you don't want to be. The bible is the number one best seller of all times. No other book has been printed in as many languages as this book, that is the word of God. Christ commanded that it be preached in all the world. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. On the day of Pentecost Peter answered the question of how to be saved Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (ACTS 2:37-38) So why do so many people teach that to be saved that all you have to do is believe? Because Satan deceived somebody along the way. And people in there desire for instant gratification accepted this as the whole truth. Or maybe they were to lazy or to busy to get the map out and check the directions to see if they were complete.
I would recommend Matthew 7; 13-15 " 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."
Now if you believe the things that I have told you that's fine, but I don't want you to trust me on this. I want you to get a bible and read the Word of God for your self and see if I have given you the right directions to get to the place where you want to spent eternity. In a nut shell if you want to get to heaven you have to hear and believe the word , you have to confess your belief , you have to repent , you have to be baptized and after that if your faithful you can count yourself among the number of the saved. If you want to go to hell, well don't do anything. You will get there and you will have plenty of company, but you will spend eternity feeling all alone.
TONY JUDE