“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (ESV)
I was aimlessly surfing the net recently, when I came across a comment mocking Christians generally, and those who believe in a literal hell; specifically. Their fundamental question was this: Would it be any fun being a Christian if god closed down hell? It implied two things; 1. Christians enjoy telling people they are going to hell, because it makes them feel superior; and, 2. That God sends people to hell, and he enjoys doing so. Both of these points show a terrible ignorance of the faith they mock.
Any Christian believer who has spent even a little time studying the Holy Scriptures knows that hell is a terrible place; a real physical place of eternal suffering where those that reject Jesus’ Grace and Blood send themselves to, and no true Christian, who is supposed to love his brother, would want to see anyone go there. In Luke 16:19-26 (ESV) The rich man who calls out to Father Abraham is being tortured, and learns that it will be so for eternity. Because he rejected the things of God, and worshipped the things of the world, he has sent himself to hell, a place God did not design for man, but for Satan and his demons.
Copyright 2007 Timothy E. Davis