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Eternity - Fact or Fiction

Luke 16:19-26 – “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’”

            Is there a literal hell?  Billy Graham writes, “It may surprise you that no one in the Bible spoke more about the reality of hell than Jesus.  He declared, ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell’ (Matthew 10:28).[i]

            Eternity is not a myth. There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun.  We need to be reminded that there is an afterlife. In Hebrews 9:27 we learn, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”  There is an after this.  We are going to spend eternity either in heaven or a hell that was prepared for the Devil and his angels. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote these words in James 4:14, “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” 

            In Luke 16 there is a parable about a rich man and Lazarus.  This rich man lived in luxury, while Lazarus was full of sores, and begged for crumbs.  They both die.  Lazarus is ushered into Abraham’s Bosom, while the rich man goes to Hell.  Luke 16:23 says, “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

What does the Bible teach concerning Hell?  Pastor Allen Carr writes, “No matter how you approach the subject, Hell is an awful thought. Hell is a place where there is eternal torment and pain in unquenchable flames. Hell is a place of terrible memories and horrible thirst. Hell is a place of eternal separation from everything of beauty that resides in this world. Hell is a place of eternal separation for the presence of God. Hell is a place prepared for the devil and his angels, but all those who reject Jesus as their Savior will go there for all eternity. Hell would be a horrible place to spend eternity.”[ii]

We must prepare for eternity.  Where will you spend eternity? I have good news.  You don’t have to spend eternity in hell.  I love the reassuring words of II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” We can be saved from an eternity in hell.  The Bible reveals in Acts 2:21, “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”


[i] https://billygraham.org/answer/i-think-hell-is-just-a-myth/
[ii] http://www.sermonnotebook.org/mark/Mark%2048%20-%20Mark%2010_17-22.htm

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