I have a wonderful, Christian doctor – and I had an appointment with him yesterday. He shared with me the topic of their office Bible Study, which I found extremely profound.
If you could spend ten seconds in Hell, how would that affect your life?
My answer was quick, I would want to get more urgent in my evangelism – more than it is now.
You see, you would find the torment, the smell of fire and brimstone, the agony and anguish that people there are going through – and any believer would want to warn others.
It reminds me of the story of Lazarus in Luke 16, starting in verse 19 – and if your Bible isn’t handy, here it is:
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)
There is no greater example than this parable – where Jesus gives us a glimpse of Hell. There is eternal torment and flame from which you cannot get any reprieve. The rich man was in Hell, and screams, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.” But the response is given simply in verse 25, “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.”
When we’re giving the gospel of Yeshua ha’Mashiach – Jesus, the Messiah and Savior – we’re giving these people a chance to repent, and save themselves from this misery. We’re to evangelize, that’s our job as believers. If we are given the opportunity, and we don’t fulfill it, we’ll be held accountable.
In verses 27 through 31, we see the rich man imploring Abraham to tell his five brothers so that they too, won’t have endure Hell, but Abraham tells him that they have to be led by the Spirit , not from someone from the dead.
We plant seeds – we tell our story, we use our testimony – the best tool you have in your evangelistic toolkit – to tell how God worked in our lives. How we were destined for Hell, until God got hold of us.
It’s the job of the Holy Spirit to convict to salvation.
On the converse side, if you could spend ten seconds in Heaven, how would that affect your testimony?
You would see all of the good things there – the comfort, the peace of being in the presence of Christ, the worship of the King.
In the same parable in Luke 16, we also get a glimpse of Heaven.
It says that Lazarus was comforted and now has all of the good things that he didn’t have when he was alive. This, of course, is a metaphor to show that he was miserable here in the world, but now he wasn’t – but the rich man, who had everything one could want here in this world – was now utterly miserable.
Ten seconds in Heaven would show you the comfort and contentment that believers will experience. You can add that to your witness.
To be honest – I see the end times just around the corner. Current events show Ezekiel 38/39 coming for fruition and getting set up before our very eyes.
We need to be evangelizing in earnest.
What are you doing today, to get the Word out?
