Part 1: You’re going to live forever, somewhere!

PART ONE (of 4)

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’” (Luke 16:23-24)

I love the happy promises, not so much the negative kind!

It’s difficult to tackle negative promises found throughout the Bible, like the promise of hell, for instance, which is a certainty for those who have not received Christ as their savior. We prefer talking about the thousands of happy promises, of course! But we must also pay attention to the negative ones, which are often in the form of warnings. And we must remember that our friends, loved ones, and all others we meet are going to live forever! Somewhere! God says so! It’s a fact that a lot of people choose not to believe in a literal hell. They believe that they will simply cease to exist the moment they die, and life will be completely over for them, period, with no future existence or consequences for their earthly actions. But the Bible doesn’t teach this!

 The rich man who went to hell

 Jesus told the story of two men, one rich and one poor. They both died, and the poor man, Lazarus, who was a righteous man, went to be with God in heaven, and the rich man, who wasn’t righteous and who had lived only to please himself, went to hell and was suffering there in constant torment—and will forever! The rich man pleaded for someone to go and warn his family so they wouldn’t end up where he was. (Luke 16:19-31)!

 By the way

 Some who don’t like this hell story say that Jesus meant it to be only allegorical and not to be taken literally. However, this is not accurate. Jesus said, “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.” (Luke 16:19). He said “was” because he was relating a true story about two men who actually had lived and died, and one of them, Lazarus, He mentioned by name.

 Therefore

 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Tomorrow, Part 2: A free ticket!