We ought to find ourselves in a position where we are motivated by the glory of eternal life in addition to being convicted by the reality of eternal punishment. This life fades as fast as it blooms and we must be diligent to find ourselves prepared whenever our personal timeline comes to an end. In that finale of life, two destinations will be presented before each soul and it is up to each individual to prepare for such a consequence.
Many preachers have been ridiculed in the past for preaching “hell-fire and brimstone” sermons. While there certainly needs to be a balance in the pulpit, one would revel in shame if they ignore the warnings of the biblical text on the topic of hell. I’m of the opinion (again, an opinion) that we don’t communicate the reality of hell enough. We often talk of the blessings of being found in Christ but seldom discuss how awful an eternity without God would be. Here are two quick points to briefly identify what hell is like from the letter of 2 Thessalonians. In the brevity of the warning, Paul makes sure that his readers would be mindful of the despair that awaits those who are outside of Christ’s gospel.
Hell is where those who “know not God” abide (2 Thess. 1:8) — Think of the ideal Christian. Something like what Paul describes in Rom. 12:9-13. Those who know God and are obedient to His word are loving, servant-minded, selfless, joyful, generous, and hospitable. This is merely one section that describes some of what a Christian is. If one follows the Word correctly, they are an incredibly great person to be around. Hell is reserved for those who follow after their own lusts and their own pursuits. Those who do not obey God’s Word will find their eternal home in the fires of hell. It is in this eternal abode that the twisted, distorted, and most wicked of human beings will be – most definitely a place that I don’t want to be.
Hell is where God is absent (2 Thess. 1:9) — Perhaps there is nothing more convicting about hell than the phrase “away from the presence of the Lord.” If we understand the source of our blessing, joy, and goodness then we’d know that God is absolutely necessary for those things to exist in life. Removing God from the equation eliminates any pleasure, joy, satisfaction, and goodness (James 1:17). Imagine a place where there is no mercy, there is no use for praying to God to get you out of the situation, and being in a position where you can’t quit when you’re tired of the pain. When we are found in a position without God, truly there is “eternal destruction.”
These two verses are just a brief glimpse of what Hell is like. It is a place where God’s saints are absent and where God’s presence is void. There are a number of other passages that encompass the reality of such a place including the harm, pain, and suffering that one will undergo for an eternity, but these these two absences discussed in 2 Thess. are perhaps the most convincing for us to realize that we do not want to be in this place; especially for the eternity.
Life is simply too short to not understand the gravity of eternity and to cling on to the resurrection that Jesus promises. In the words of Paul, “our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20,21).
Tyler King