Is Someone You Know in Hell?

"And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."—Matthew 8:11-12KJV

I’ll never forget the impact the reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Heaven and Hell sermon had on me several years ago. Even before my present vocation I’d often thought about eternity. I think everyone thinks about eternity at one time or another regardless of his or her age, belief or unbelief. It’s a universal human phenomenon. If one would cease to think about eternity and even deny it altogether it seems they would have to be intentional about it because the concept seems to be hard-wired into us. Eternity is our default mindset because we do not naturally believe we cease to exist when we physically die. We do not naturally believe we succumb to nothingness. We recognize that there is an immaterial reality about us. Indeed there was a time when we were not, but never will there be a time when we are no more. We’ll be conscious forever. There is no end. This brings us to hope and fear alike. The Bible speaks of a great divide that will take place and is even taking place now. Have you ever paused long enough to reflect on the fact that there are people you know and care about that you may never see again? Ever. Unless they trust in Christ to forgive their sins they’ll perish in them forever while you enjoy God’s salvation. Maybe they’ll be the one’s to be saved and you’ll be the one to perish in hell. Some of this may already be a reality for you. Maybe you know someone who died without Christ. What good is it to them that you think about them now? Cherishing their memory may bring you some comfort, but it does not alleviate their present torment. Speaking well of their legacy does not produce even a drop of water to “cool [his or her] tongue” (Luke 16:24) during their present anguish. The dead find no comfort in your previous promise to not ever forget them. Your promise has become their curse. You may have spoken not fully knowing what you were saying because if you are saved you’ll be with God and you will forget them. In the eyes of the dead you’ll do something worse. You’ll “amen” their damnation. I know, I know. This is a most terrible thing to speak of. I’m being a “downer” here, but speak of it we must. These aren’t fairy tales, but reality…unless Jesus was a liar. Do you think Jesus was a liar? Was he a fear monger for warning us about hell? He lamented over those who did not heed his warnings (Matthew 23:37). He even wept because of people’s unbelief (John 11:35). Many have tried to tone down Jesus’ language of hell by appealing to the fact that Jesus used metaphorical language to describe its horrors yet it seems to escape their understanding that metaphors are employed when adequate words escape our efforts at describing something. Metaphors are used to clarify the nature of the thing described. Jesus used metaphors to strengthen the reality of hell not weaken it. Therefore hell is worse then Jesus describes it in the same way the real experience of burning your hand is worse then the previous warning to not place your hand there because the thing was hot. The pain of a burned hand isn’t metaphorical pain. It’s real, but at that point no one needs to convince you. Do they?

People have asked me how it will be possible for us to eternally enter “into the joy” (Matt 25:21) of God while we remain aware that existing simultaneously along with us will be those who were “thrown into the lake of fire” for eternity (Rev 20:15) because their names were “not found written in the book of life” (Rev 20:14). How can we remain happy in heaven knowing about hell? I’m not exactly sure how, but I know that we’ll be changed. We’ll know and agree with perfect justice and know that God did no one any undeserved harm, but he’ll have paid the workers of evil their wages (Romans 6:23). We’ll be like the angels described in Revelation that see God punish the wicked after hundreds of years of divine forbearance. Even as they pour out God’s wrath the angels declare,

"Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!" (Revelation 16:5-6)

Another angel seconds that statement saying,

"Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!" (Revelation 16:7)

In his sermon Charles Spurgeon describes a dream a Christian mother had about her unsaved children. He says,

“That was a dreadful dream which a pious mother once had, and told to her children. She thought the judgment day was come. The great books were opened. They all stood before God. And Jesus Christ said, ‘Separate the chaff from the wheat; put the goats on the left hand, and the sheep on the right.’ The mother dreamed that she and her children were standing just in the middle of the great assembly. And the angel came, and said, ‘I must take the mother, she is a sheep: she must go to the right hand. The children are goats: they must go on the left.’ She thought as she went, her children clutched her, and said, ‘Mother, can we part? Must we be separated?’ She then put her arms around them, and seemed to say, ‘My children, I would, if possible, take you with me.’ But in a moment the angel touched her; her cheeks were dried, and now, overcoming natural affection, being rendered supernatural and sublime, resigned to God's will, she said, ‘My children, I taught you well, I trained you up, and you forsook the ways of God; and now all I have to say is, Amen to your condemnation.’ Thereupon they were snatched away, and she saw them in perpetual torment while she was in heaven. Young man, what will you think, when the last day comes, to hear Christ say, ‘Depart, ye cursed?’ And there will be a voice just behind him, saying, Amen. And, as you inquire whence came the voice, you will find it was your mother. Or, young woman, when thou art cast away into utter darkness, what will you think to hear a voice saying, Amen. And as you look, there sits your father, his lips still moving with the solemn curse.”

In concluding his sermon Spurgeon goes on to say,

I have told you of heaven and hell; what is the way, then, to escape from hell and to be found in heaven? I will not tell you my old tale again to-night. I recollect when I told it you before, a good friend in the crowd said, "Tell us something fresh, old fellow." Now really, in preaching ten times a week, we cannot always say things fresh. You have heard John Gough, and you know he tells his tales over again. I have nothing but the old gospel. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." There is nothing here of works. It does not say, "He who is a good man shall be saved," but "he who believes and is baptized." Well, what is it to believe? It is to put your trust entirely upon Jesus. Poor Peter once believed, and Jesus Christ said to him, "Come on, Peter, walk to me on the water." Peter went stepping along on the tops of the waves without sinking; but when he looked at the waves, he began to tremble, and down he went. Now, poor sinner, Christ says, "Come on; walk on your sins; come to me; and if you do, he will give you power. If you believe on Christ, you will be able to walk over your sins—to tread upon them and overcome them. I can remember the time when my sins first stared me in the face. I thought myself the most accursed of all men. I had not committed any very great open transgressions against God; but I recollected that I had been well trained and tutored, and I thought my sins were thus greater than other people's. I cried to God to have mercy; and I feared that he would not pardon me. Month after month, I cried to God, and he did not hear me, and I knew not what it was to be saved. Sometimes I was so weary of the world that I desired to die; but then I recollected that there was a worse world after this, and that it would be an ill matter to rush before my Maker unprepared. At times I wickedly thought God a most heartless tyrant, because he did not answer my prayer; and then, at others, I thought, "I deserve his displeasure; if he sends me to hell, he will be just." But I remember the hour when I stepped into a little place of worship, and saw a tall, thin man step into the pulpit: I have never seen him from that day, and probably never shall, till we meet in heaven. He opened the Bible and read, with a feeble voice, "Look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and beside me there is none else." Ah, thought I, I am one of the ends of the earth; and then turning round, and fixing his gaze on me, as if he knew me, the minister said, "Look, look, look." Why, I thought I had a great deal to do, but I found it was only to look. I thought I had a garment to spin out for myself; but I found that if I looked, Christ would give me a garment. Look, sinner, that is to be saved. Look unto him, all ye ends of the earth, and be saved. That is what the Jews did, when Moses held up the brazen serpent. He said, "Look!" and they looked. The serpent might be twisting round them, and they might be nearly dead; but they simply looked, and the moment they looked, the serpent dropped off, and they were healed. Look to Jesus, sinner. "None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good."