Glimpse of Hell

Glimpse of Hell

10/13/21

The title of this article may take some of you by surprise, but it is one that is dead on and presenting itself today.  Not much is spoken in the Christian realm about Hell, nor are its characteristics given on a regular basis so that people can see the Kingdom warfare that currently whips around us.  God is absolutely correct to state that Hell was created for the devil and his angels; however, because of our willingness to disobey we now fall into this grievous process.  We have allowed ourselves to become so numb concerning Hell that we are almost to the point where we no longer believe in its presence.  There are many signs and symptoms of Hell that our eyes behold every day, and God wants us to take a few looks sees into this truth. 

Once a culture finds out that something that has been taught as evil or something one does not want to accept as normal is "not so bad" the inhabitants tend to back off from the lethality of said chambers.  When I was a kid, my parents would occasionally yet consistently tell me things about what Hell stood for and what it was, and who would inhabit such a tumultuous place, and how Jesus conquered Hell when He was in the grave.  They also told me that individual people can express hellish traits and that if one understands Kingdom principles that recognizing these ugly measures would be able to correctly fight off those tricks of the devil.  It is possible that people can recognize these attributes of the worldly kingdom and not have to face its consequences or control over a person's life, they can be defeated right from the introduction and they will go no further.

Sadly, many people who identify as Christians do not wish to understand such spiritual truths; therefore, cannot fully win the battles that continually advance on their lives for they wish to fight physically and not spiritually.  Also, this lack of understanding concerning the spirit realm weakens them for the enemy fights both spiritually and physically and if you only are able to fight in the physical you have already lost half the battle, the important half.  A while back, God shared with us about being whole and it is vital that we witness to people and through that process, we become fully whole but if we cannot tell people about the entire Gospel, then we will not win very many people to Christ.  

Look at how we deal with those who approach us in an argumentative manner, look at how we respond to them as they throw a tantrum for the beliefs that we stand for that do not agree with theirs.  It is sickening that we have no true offensive motion toward the ones who use vile profanity and hurl vicious insults our way.  Many of us return the favor and begin a yelling match with them, trying to take this approach will only raise up further and deeper anger towards you and most importantly, God.  Another time in the past, I was commenting on a specific social media post and one of the responses that I received was a tirade filled with profanities along with a few physical suggestions that are impossible to achieve.  Anyway, I asked this person if it was necessary to use such colorful metaphors and he replied with a long list of them and said that it was important enough to him so I had better get used to it.

As time has gone along, I have noticed that those types of words and phrases have become more easily stated and are being used as part of normal grammatical sentence structures.  I find it repulsive and embarrassing at the same time that the younger generations cannot dissect a sentence but they can add such filth without batting an eye.  It is this type of word usage that God wants us to think about today and our Scripture text for this article is as follows:

Matthew 25: 29-30

"For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

It is frightening to hear some of the spoken words and phrases that come from our hearts that are directed toward another human being or group of people.  Yet, today it is acceptable to use such degradations against each other and what is more devastating is that this word usage can be spoken in two forms, both of which are harmful to the recipient.  If you sit down on a public bench downtown or just walk up and down a school hallway, you will hear these phrases coming from every type of kid or adult on a regular basis; no repentance at all, they just shout it out loud some even use them as to get one's attention a few steps away.  What we do not realize is that our language is taught to us and we learn it according to how our hearts receive and accept it.  Slang is almost always an issue for many people and times, it can be a derogatory statement that we pick up and then use as the common language of that day.

Look at how people act today, and if one really studies this behavior of the population they will see that those words and phrases are constantly being used in all sorts of references.  Moreover, it is the aspect of anger that is transmitted to many who differ from other opinions, why is that?  It is a Kingdom issue and principle that should be understood and dealt with appropriately but obviously, it is not.  The problematic aspect of this is that it does not matter what context one says or directs those phrases to they have a derogatory catch tune with them and when they have been relayed to others, the content of said words or phrases enters into the spirit of the listener.  This allows those meanings to next and then grow in that environment and it is not too much longer than those words and phrases can be used against someone else.  This is an evil method of spreading the kingdom of Satan, thus creating a newfound hatred for those who disagree with the new "life" and opinion within.

Soon all opposition to your individual program will be accompanied by anger and when you look into the eyes of these people, there is nothing but anger present.  This is where the gnashing of teeth comes into play and it does not paint a very good picture or outcome.  In this passage, we find the word "gnashing" and it comes from the Greek word "brygmos" which means grinding or a grating.  In the English dictionary, the word gnashing means grinding one's teeth together, having one's teeth set on edge, or biting down in pain, anguish, or anger.  In whichever definition one wishes to attend, there is nothing sweet, kind, or innocent about the definition or action of this word.  This verse also says that darkness will be present in these people's lives which is why the gnashing of teeth is granted permission to live and thrive.  This scene plays out when the treasure (worldly) that many have stored up and savored enough to bury is attacked; therefore, when attacked it is counted as a loss and will be defended appropriately (worldly) according to their defenses.  But, Christians do not see this fight, nor do they comprehend exactly what is being fought over.  Many of us have watched such encounters between people with opposing opinions and at some point, it seems like things are going to subside and the parties involved part in separate ways, but for some reason arguments and anger flare again and the entire scene is compromised again.

What we are witnessing in these examples is people of God confronted with those who do not believe in God or the Ways of His Word.  I believe that this is pretty obvious to some with many not figuring out what is actually transpiring.  The people who are angry and refuse to listen to the Truth are fighting against just that, the Truth.  If people are fighting against Truth then that means they have no Truth within their spiritual confines and that means they can only act like those involved with Hell.  In other words, what you are witnessing and seeing is a glimpse of Hell.  This is how people in Hell shall act but in Hell, it shall be far worse because while this is only a glimpse God is still present here and in control of all situations.  In Hell, God shall not be present, their wish granted to them for eternity.  Jesus gives us a pretty good idea of what one characteristic of what Hell will be like and from this example alone it is not going to be anything fun at all.

This is where God struggles with the direction of the heart of the Church, it is not fully understanding her mission and the importance of her mission.  How many of us have actually thought about this passage in such a manner?  I know I had never looked at it in this way, but it was a tad unnerving to me when God showed me this fact, the fact that this is a glimpse of what people shall do in Hell, live in tormenting conditions but the difference is that they have the option and choice to change now but not in Hell.  They will have a life but without any hope of productivity or profitability, which is a key ingredient and example that God is nowhere to be found.  

Another interesting portion of this article is that its verses come directly following the Parable of the Talents, which accurately depicts what occurs when we are given something to take care of and multiply but sit on it and build an unstable existence.  How much more defined of anger and selfish inner content can one display from the heart toward any other person?  Growing to the point where the wickedness of the heart becomes so blackened that it goes to the extreme of gnashing its spiritual teeth, not to mention the physical teeth as well.  Once again turn back to the thoughts of how people act around you that do not agree with your opinion, can you see a similarity?  It is right in front of us folks, Jesus gave us this picture thousands of years ago and its presence still lives amongst us.  This should tell us that we have not gained much ground in the knowledge of the spirit realm.

It also means that we better start putting our hearts back into the Bible and study its every letter for if it cost people their lives back when these verses were written you can be sure that this legacy has not changed at all.  Do you doubt this concept?  If so, go read the story of Cain and Abel, and then think about his action toward his brother and then revisit this passage again; it is very clear folks.  We have reached the point that we would rather film such a gnashing of teeth episode on our phones than try to mediate the situation's end.  God cannot operate on any level when peace and truth are not present, it is spiritually and physically impossible.  So, yes, if God is not present on any level then what you encounter as a result is a glimpse of Hell.  God says this type of setting is a glimpse of Hell, only a glimpse or small or quick portion.

Church, we have given away so much spiritual ground (your lives) that it is difficult to see exactly what damage has been done.  But this state of life does not have to be this way, God can repair and restore our lives back to where He intended us to be but we must first repent and set our hearts back to spiritually beating again.  If we do not stand up and fight for our eternity and to share the Truth about eternity to others, this glimpse of Hell that we are witnessing today shall continue to grow and a progression of sin like we have never watched develop before, an enveloping to be honest.  It takes guts to stand up to the world, but if we do not do it now, how can we stand when times become really tough?  God loves each and every one of us and it is our responsibility to tell those who are lost of the salvation plan for eternal life, for if we do not and continue in silence this glimpse of Hell shall increase unabated and all Hell will be released upon us.

DLB