I do not often think about hell. I think about heaven far more. But I do need to think about hell more since Jesus taught about it often.

The closest thing to hell I experience is when I’m sitting in the steam room. It’s upwards of 160 degrees in there and I can’t stay longer than 5 minutes. And when I get out, I usually pour a splash of cold water on my face to cool off. I just can’t imagine being in something like that forever! And it’s not going to be 160 degrees. It’s going to be burning sulfur that boils hotter than water (Rev. 21:8)

But even more than the heat, it’s the utter darkness that scares me (Matt 22:13). Not being able see beauty or any form for that matter and being in darkness forever is almost too much for the imagination. It will be utterly unbearable. But it will never end. It is eternal punishment… (Matt 25:46)

Jesus spoke often about this hell. He died on the cross – the most cruel death – to save us from this hell. God does not want us to go there. If we knew that we were going there, we would do anything, including being ripped to shreds, to avoid it.

“O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.” Ps. 30:3

Even if we lost everything on earth, just knowing that we are not going to hell should make us rejoice.

So, rejoice if your faith is in Jesus Christ. You have avoided hell. Even if heaven turns out not that great, we should be eternally thankful that we are not going to hell. And we should do all we can to help others not go there either.

PH