Matthew 25:41-43, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.”
Many people, particularly Americans due to Hollywood, have several misconceptions concerning Hell. One big misconception is that there are demons in Hell (Hades) that torment the damned who go there. The Bible teaches that the Devil roams the earth (1st Peter 5:8). We know from reading the New Testament that demons also roam the earth, looking for a human or animal host to possess.
The Bible teaches that demons will ultimately be cast into their own place in Hell (Greek: Tartarus). This unique word Tartarus is used for hell in 2nd Peter 2:4.
Humans at present who die in their sins without Jesus Christ go to Hell (Greek: Hades). I believe that the place of Hades is compartmentalized into two areas: Torment and Paradise. We see this truth in the true story of The Rich Man And Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. There are two distinct sides of Hell (Hades) separated by a Great Gulf fixed between them, so that someone cannot pass from one side to the other. We read that the formerly rich man was now poorer than poor, taking nothing with him into the afterlife except regret and woe.
Oh dear reader, please don't let this happen to you! Have you been born again? I didn't ask if you go to church. I didn't ask if you've been water baptized. I didn't ask if you've kept the seven sacraments of Roman Catholicism. I didn't ask if you've become a follower of Christ. I didn't ask if you've invited Jesus into your heart or life. I asked if you have been BORN AGAIN. John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” We rarely hear this important Bible truth taught anymore from church pulpits, religious schools and TV evangelists. Jesus plain warned in no uncertain terms that unless you become born again, you cannot go to Heaven.
After The Great White Throne Of Judgment, all the damned of human civilization will be cast into Hell (Greek: Gehenna). We read about this in Revelation 20:15.
Our text passage from Matthew 25:41-43 plainly teaches that it was never God's original intention for any human being to end up burning in Hell. God has never sent anyone to Hell who didn't choose to go there on their own. God is freely offering eternal life as a gift to whosoever wants it, through faith in His only begotten Son (John 3:16-18). God made Hell for the Devil and his fallen angels (demons). But dear reader, there are no demons in the place of Hell that humans go to. There is nothing in the inspired Scripture which teaches otherwise.
Many years ago a corrupt evangelist named Bill Wiese bizarrely claimed that he had died and gone to Hell for 23 minutes. Mr. Wiese claimed to have seen 8 foot tall demons with sharp teeth and fangs, torturing people. We know without any doubt whatsoever that Bill Wiese is a fraud and a liar! We know this because the Bible plainly teaches that the Devil and demons are at work wreaking havoc upon the earth today.
Some demons are already suffering in Hell, reserved for the judgment to come. That is, those fallen wicked angels in locked away in jail, awaiting their court appearance, which I humbly believe will be at The Great White Throne of Judgment. Matthew 8:28-29, “And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” The demons who are already confined in the pit of Hell today are suffering in torment. They are not tormenting departed human souls in Hell, as Hollywood erroneously depicts. Some demons were so evil that God has already cast them into the depths of Hell. Most of the demons are still at large, lurking the earth to wreak havoc. As we learn from the Scripture, demons have limited power. A demon cannot just do whatever he wants. God is always in ultimate control.
Demons have the power of influence. That is one strong reason why I preach against all forms of substance abuse, because an idle mind is a demon's workshop. We all have dark thoughts at times as humans. We all have horrible thoughts enter into our mind. The Bible teaches us how to handle these wrong thoughts in 2nd Corinthians 10:5-6, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
When someone gets drunk, inebriated with alcohol, that individual may fulfill some of those dark horrible thoughts, and regret it forever. By God's grace, I have never drank a single drop of booze in my life, and I don't plan to ever start. I praise God for that clean testimony! I do not claim to be a good Christian. I don't think there is any such thing as a “good Christian.” We are all horrible sinners. I agree with something that my favorite preacher Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) said: “Don't be reluctant to admit to people that you have feet of clay, but don't ever show them your feet.” That is, only confess your sins to God (Psalm 51:4).
The demons who have already been cast into Hell before their time are in Tartarus, not Hades. The word “hell” in the following passage of Scripture comes from the Greek word Tartarus. 2nd Peter 2:4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment...” God never wanted any human being to spend eternity burning in the torments of Hell, but when Adam sinned he opened the floodgate of sin and death upon the entire world (Romans 5:12).
Any lost sinner who dies in his sins and goes to Hell won't see any demons!
Hell is a very real and literal place, where the Devil, his demons and all humans who died in their sins without faith in Jesus Christ will spend eternity suffering in torments and misery.
Thank you dear friend for reading my ministry blog. To God alone be the praise and glory.
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