Scripture to Read: Luke 13:28
Jesus talked more about hell than He did heaven. Jesus did not want those who were listening to Him, nor anyone today, to misunderstand that hell is a place of eternal torment. Jesus said in Luke 13:28, “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.” The weeping lets us know that it’s a place of severe suffering and the gnashing of teeth gives us the picture that everyone there knows that they are in a place where all hope is gone. Hell was never created by God for humans, for Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Hell was designed for Satan and his angels and not for mankind. But for those who refuse Christ as Lord, they will be sent to the same place of torment as Satan and his angels. Jesus describes hell in Mark 9:48 as the place “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” As Jesus spoke to the crowd that day, who were Jewish, He told them that for those who refused Him as Messiah, they would one day see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God before being cast out of God’s kingdom—a reminder that God is the God of the living.
Challenge & Application
Why did Jesus give the warning about the horribleness of hell?
Why is it important to realize that God is the God of the living and not the dead?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!