In light of this simple Bible study, one might ask, “How is it that these myths about hell could even exist?” The truth is that this false teaching has permeated Christianity not just because it is a good scare tactic for church attendance, but because our adversary the devil loves to teach lies about God. In Revelation 12:9 Satan is described as one who “deceives the whole world.” He deceives them about what? About God and His character. Yes, there are true and false teachings about God in this world. Truth is not a choice, as many would like to believe. Truth is a reality waiting to be discovered in the pages of Scripture. And the reality is that yes, “our God is a consuming fire,”(7) to sin and sinners. But the Bible teaches that, rather than the wicked, it is the saint, “who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,” who will “dwell with the devouring fire” and “everlasting burnings.”(8)
That’s right! According to Matthew 25:31-46, all humanity will one day encounter God, in whose presence “the hills melt, and the earth burns,”(9) But only those who have repented of their sins and sought after God will be able to be protected in His fiery presence where they will dwell through all eternity. The wicked, on the other hand, will cease to exist and “be as though they had never been,”(10) after they are “punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”(11)
Friends, “God is love,”(12) a love which is symbolized by fire. Solomon said God’s “love… hath a most vehement flame.”(13) As fire hardens clay but melts ice, so His fiery love will comfort the saint but consume the sinner. Today you have the choice to harden your heart toward God, or let His flames melt it. Whichever route we choose determines our eternal destiny, but God remains the same. Seek Him today, and His love will warm your heart through all eternity!
1) Examples: Matt. 25:31-41; 2 Pet. 3:3-7, 12
2) 2 Pet. 3:10
3) Zeph. 1:18
4) Mal. 4:1, 3
5) 1 Sam. 1:22
6) Jonah 2:6
7) Heb. 12:29
8) Isa. 33:14, 15
9) Nah. 1:5
10) Obadiah 1:16
11) 2 Thess. 1:9
12) 1 Jn. 4:8
13) Song of Solomon 8:6 KJV
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.