And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night. Revelation 14:11
Holy God,
Forgive us for our reluctance to talk about hell.
When we refuse to consider its reality,
we fail to understand the great goodness of the gospel,
the hope of salvation to those who believe.
We also fail to be like Jesus,
who talked about hell
more than anyone else in the entire Bible.
He described it as “Gehenna” (Mark 9:43)
a place out side Jerusalem
where corpses and garbage
rotted and burned.
He said it was a place
where the soul and body are destroyed (Matt. 10:28)
and the “fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:47).
Yes, we must see hell rightly
as the place of just punishment for all of our sins,
and we must see you rightly,
as a holy, good, and patient God,
“slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression” (Numbers 14:18).
We must see you as the righteous God
who allowed your Son
to suffer the torment of hell on the cross for us,
that in him, we might never suffer its horror.
And yes, Lord, we must share the good news
of our hope in Jesus Christ,
that others may turn from their sins
and receive your gift of eternal life
in everlasting glory.
Help us we pray, Lord,
to believe your Word and to share its hope urgently.
In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Read Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-311; Rev. 14:11.
(This prayer based on an excerpt from my book, Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions about Living and Dying in Hope of Heaven. (Affiliate link).
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage is the author of Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions on Living and Dying in Hope of Heaven.
(affiliate link)
