Here at Sagebrush, we take matters of eternity very seriously. We believe that the Bible teaches that there really is a heaven and there really is a hell, and everyone will end up in one of those two places when they die. As followers of Christ, our mission is to make Christ known so that those around us will come to know Christ and spend eternity with Him in heaven one day.
God warns against the physical agony of hell through the words found in Revelation 21. This chapter describes what will happen when one stands before Christ to face judgment. Those who have placed their faith in Christ will experience an incredible, new, and perfect earth. Those who do not will experience life apart from Him in hell. Here is what John writes in this passage of Scripture as he recounts the vision God gave him about the end times, including the judgment of Christ and the consequences of that judgment for those who do not place their place in Christ. He wrote, "The cowards, unbelievers, corrupt, murderers, immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all the liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur" (verse 8). This is the fate and physical pain awaiting those who do not place their faith in Christ.
We do not like to think about hell and the consequences for those who do not place their faith in Christ, but it is essential to remember that both heaven and hell are eternal realities based on whether or not we place our faith in Christ. This does not have to make us fearful and discouraged. Instead, this should motivate us to make Christ known everywhere we go, inviting those around us to place their faith in Christ.
Where are you currently going to seek out the lost? Is it the gym, the dog park in your neighborhood, your favorite coffee shop, or somewhere else? Take some time to evaluate how it is going when it comes to sharing your faith and making Christ known. Are you pointing the people around you to Christ? Take a few moments to think about one way you want to grow in making Christ known as you go to reach those who are lost.
8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
9 Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10 So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal. 12 The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. 13 There were three gates on each side—east, north, south, and west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. 17 Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel).
18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. 19 The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
21 The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
