Sobering Reality

The loss of Air France Flight 447 is pretty disturbing. I don’t have a phobia about air travel, but the thought of a jetliner breaking apart thousands of feet over the ocean is simply terrifying. I can’t help wondering what the final moments were like for the 228 passengers and crew who lost their lives early Monday morning.

Whoever they were – whether they were rich or poor, whether they were famous or anonymous, whether they sat in first-class or coach – did not matter when the moment of death came upon them so quickly. All that mattered was this: Were they prepared for the state of existence that comes after death? If they were not, then the terror they felt in those final moments was miniscule compared to the horror they are now experiencing.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). I think a lot of people tend to categorize Christians. In one group are the garden-variety faithful who go to church most Sundays and generally live “good” upstanding lives. Then there are the “born-again Christians,” the ones who tend to be more vocal and passionate about their faith – the ones who might even be described as “holy rollers.”

I’m generalizing, but I do cringe when I hear the term “born-again Christian,” because here’s the thing: A true Christian, by the very definition, is born again. Being born again means coming to a point of repentance from sin, placing one’s faith in Christ alone (as opposed to any amount of “good works”), and committing oneself to following Him as a way of life. The believer is born again into a whole new life. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17)

That’s the good news. The bad news, for those who do not accept the new life Christ offers, is that eternal separation from God in hell awaits on the other side of this temporary life on earth. People don’t like to think about hell. Even a lot of churches don’t like to discuss it. But Jesus himself talked a lot about hell – a heck of a lot, if you will – more than 70 references in the four gospels.

One of the most vivid descriptions comes in the 16th chapter of Luke, where Jesus spoke of a rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus: “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 hell, 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.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’” (Luke 16:22-26)

The reality of hell is surely the hardest truth to accept from God’s word. I wish it were not true. But I believe it is, and I want people who are headed there to realize there is another way, that there is the promise of heaven for those who put their faith in Christ.

I recently read a powerful book called 23 Minutes in Hell by a man named Bill Wiese. He experienced a life-altering vision of hell and is convinced he was physically transported to this awful place. Wiese repeatedly encourages his readers to consider what the Bible has to say on the subject, even if they don’t believe his own story. For more on Bill Wiese’s ministry and experiences, visit http://www.soulchoiceministries.org/ or http://www.amazon.com/23-Minutes-Hell-Bill-Wiese/dp/1591858828/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244310527&sr=1-1.

If there’s even the slightest possibility of a never-ending hell and a never-ending heaven on the other side of this life, it makes sense to investigate how to avoid one and reach the other. Because, as countless people have learned through the ages, once death comes, it’s too late for investigation at that point.