But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars-their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.     Revelation 21:8 HCSB

On July 17th, the Washington Post had an article about record-breaking temperatures and heat advisories from South Florida to the northwest region of Nevada.

They reported that the south and southeast where we live, were experiencing above-normal temperatures with sauna-like humidity making the heat intolerable, with triple-digit heat indexes for days. I can attest to the truth of that statement. It’s hot!

Now one thing this heat has caused me to think about is hell. From what I’m seeing on social media, I’m not the only one having these thoughts. If the heat here is so hot it has you staying inside with the air conditioning, what do you think hell will be like? There will be no way to cool down in hell. You will live in this type of heat continually. Not only will you live in this heat, but you will be tormented.

So, if you think you are being tormented by the heat, that’s not the only thing that will torment you in hell. In Revelation 14:10 it says that anyone who worships the Beast and receives the mark of the Beast will be tormented with fire and brimstone. Verse 11 goes on to say they will be tormented forever and ever and have no rest day and night.

It’s important to understand that hell is forever. Matthew 25:46 describes it as eternal punishment. In Matthew 13, Jesus explains the parable of the wheat and the tares. The good seed is Jesus Christ. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom or those who follow Christ. The tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The reapers are the angels. The tares are gathered and burned in the fire.

In verses 41-42, Jesus says, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

I urge you to check the list from our Scripture passage and be sure you don’t fall into any of those categories. First, let’s look at the cowards. Many people are always ready for a fight unless it comes to defending their Christianity. They cower and go along with the crowd rather than stand up for Jesus and His holy word.

The unbelievers are those who simply don’t believe. 2 Timothy 3:1-6 goes through a whole list of bad behavior we can expect in end times. It ends by saying some will have a form of godliness but deny its power. Many people claim to believe in God but live their lives as though there are no consequences for disobeying His commands.

Vile or in some versions abominable refers to those who willfully sin against God and do things that the Bible considers an abomination. Sexually immoral can cover anything from having sex outside marriage to pedophilia. Sexual sin is sexual sin, my friend.

Murderers are not only those who kill other people. 1 John 3:15 says, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” Jesus said in Matthew 5:22 that everyone angry with his brother is subject to judgment. Murder begins in the heart.  It’s not only referring to the physical act.

Sorcerers are pretty self-explanatory, but it refers to anyone who even dabbles in any type of witchcraft. Here in Louisiana, Voodoo seems to be a popular practice. When we put our trust in sorcery, we are treading on dangerous ground.

Idolatry is anytime we put anything before God. We can put money before God. We can put material things or even our family before God. We must not do this.

I think we all know what a liar is.

Hebrews 10:26 tells us if we willfully sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries. Our sin causes us to be God’s adversary.

We all sin and fall short of the glory of God, but we can repent. We can stop our sinning and turn to Jesus. He will strengthen us against temptation. I know because I’ve been there and done that and got the T-shirt. Jesus saved me and He can certainly save you if you will only trust in Him today.

Have a great day!