These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of His power. II Thessalonians 1:9
Surprisingly, God’s Word says relatively little about Heaven. Perhaps one reason for this is our inability, because of such wonder, that we could not comprehend it. And though Scripture states little on Heaven it says even less on the eternity of those who reject the salvation of the Lord. Though there may be little to satisfy our curiosity of Hell, there exists plenty to give us strong warning. It does not mean it is any less real even though little is said. Interestingly it was Jesus who said more on Hell than any other in the Bible. Simply put, Hell is an awful reality.
Though his language may seem dated, it would be foolish to dismiss the truth, and candor of J. Vernon McGee on this subject—
“I know that it is not popular to talk about hell and judgement. Even the Christian testimonies that we hear and read are filled with I, I, I—“I became successful in business. I saved my marriage. My personality changed.” Nothing very much is said about the Lord Jesus. How many testimonies have you heard in which it is said, “I was a hell-doomed sinner going straight to hell, I was lost, and He saved me”? The important thing to say in a testimony is not what He has given you but from what He has delivered you. That was the whole purpose for the coming of our Savior. He came to redeem us! He didn’t come to give us new personalities or to make us successful. He came to deliver us from hell! That’s not popular to say. Folks don’t like to hear it.
Suppose you were asleep in a burning building, and a man rushed into that building to rescue you. He awakened you, picked you up, and carried you bodily out of that burning building. He liked you, so he adopted and made you his child. He brought you into his lovely home and gave you many wonderful gifts. Now if you had the opportunity to stand before a group of people and tell about this man and express your appreciation in his presence, what would you thank him for? Would you thank him for making you his child? I hope you would. But wouldn’t you really thank him most for the fact that he risked his life to save you out of a burning building? Nothing else would have mattered if he had not rescued you from a flaming death.
Psalm 98 reminds us—
The LORD has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
We gain a glimpse into Heaven in Revelation 5. In it we read that we have been redeemed to God by the blood of the Lamb. There in Heaven are those “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” No people are exempted. We have a God and Savior who desires that every man be saved. If you don’t know the Lord Jesus as your savior, may today be the day of salvation— it is what He desires for you and appointed you for.
Maranatha!