Today's Journal
HELL IIII
This is the last Journal entry in a short series on Hell. The series started with a quote from Paul, an apostle, in a letter to the church at Thessalonica: “when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).His word to this group was for “those who do know God and those who do not obey the gospel (good news) of our Lord Jesus.” This leaves the situation of Hell and consequences of Hell as a willful choice. They are the heaviest and most severe of all consequences: “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” That is Hell… away from the presence of the Lord. Heaven is… to be in the presence of the Father eternally.
Two other quotes from C.S. Lewis: “It's not a question of God 'sending' us to Hell. In each of us there is something growing up which will of itself be Hell unless it is nipped in the bud.”
And, “A man can't be taken to hell, or sent to hell: you can only get there on your own steam.”
The Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom way are a choice for every person… we choose to live in Kingdom presence with the Father now and forever… or we choose not to.
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.” Jesus