Demons Fear Hell

One of our mandates, as believers, is to share the good new of the salvation we have in Christ with unbelievers. The hope is that when an unbeliever hears this good news, they will accept the truth and ultimately become a follower of Christ. I’m convinced that it is not by our persuasive words that anyone ever accepts Christ. It is the Father who draws souls unto himself. So, we shouldn’t expect to always find acceptance when sharing Christ with others. We may even find resistance. We may hear them mock God, curse us or even make light of hell. Have you ever heard someone say, that they don’t fear going to hell because it’ll be one big party? Or that at least when they go to hell, they won’t be alone, implying that if others are suffering with them, it won’t be so bad? The truth is, in their ignorance, that don’t really know what they are saying. They don’t truly understand what hell will be like. I would argue that none of us fear hell enough. Why do I say this? Because in Luke chapter 8, verse 30 and 31, we learn that even the demons fear hell. It says:

“Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Legion,’ he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.”

If hell is so undesirable that even the demons don’t want to go there, I would imagine that no human would either. The Bible says that the demons begged him repeatedly not send them to hell, or the Abyss. That sounds pretty serious to me. In this story, Jesus healed a man possessed by multiple demons. When he commanded the evil spirits to come out of him, they begged him not to order them to go into the Abyss. Instead, they begged him to let them go into a herd of pigs, which he did. This should raise an alarm within all mankind - not just unbelievers. I’m not sure what comes to your mind when you think about hell. But the reality is likely worse than anything you can imagine. It is so bad that even the demons don’t want to go there.

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I used to think the worse aspect of hell was eternal separation from God. I imagined a great chasm, like the one referenced in Luke 16; that those in hell would be able to see heaven, and the blessings and happiness that believers in Christ enjoy, but would not be able to cross over. The Bible tells us that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This kind of behavior supports the imagery from Luke 16. If you were forever separated from the eternal joy of being in heaven and confined to eternal misery, I’m sure you could imagine yourself weeping and gnashing your teeth in anger and jealousy. But I think this picture is still incomplete. The Bible also says that for those in hell “the worms that eat them do to die, and the fire is not quenched”. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it doesn’t sound good. And I still don’t think that is the entire picture. Eternal agony sounds horrific. Separation from God sounds unimaginable. But when the demons fear hell, we may need to even further adjust our thinking. So, the next time you hear someone making light of hell, you might want to remind them of this truth.

The Inside

One of my favorite verses in the Bible comes from Matthew, chapter 6, verse 33; “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” One of the reasons that verse impacts me so much is that it does an amazing job of simplifying a truth we tend to complicate. We learn that instead of concentrating on all of the worries of life; instead of taking our eyes off of God and striving in our own strength to make sure we have our physical needs met, we should turn our attention to just one thing: seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness. If we do, Jesus explains that the very thing we were worrying about will take care of itself. There is another saying from Christ that helps to simplify a truth we tend to complicate. It comes from Matthew, chapter 23, verses 25 through 26, where Jesus says:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

So, just as when we seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, we don’t have to worry about our physical needs, if we focus on cleaning our insides, we won’t have to worry about our outsides. Many of us spend an enormous amount of time making sure that we appear holy and righteous. We can participate in highly visible ministries and Christian activities. We can learn to speak using all of the right Christian words and phrases. We can dress formally and modestly making sure we don’t have a hair out of place. We can make every effort to appear as though our Christian walk is impeccable. But in Matthew, Jesus called the Pharisees who did that, “hypocrites”. Because though they looked righteous on the outside, it was their insides that were dirty; it was their insides that were full of sin. He told them to clean the inside, then the outside would take care of itself. We need to heed these words as well. We need to concentrate on our insides. We need to make sure that our heart, or our insides, line up with the character of God. If we do, the outside will clean itself.

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Have you ever met a physically attractive person who looks amazing on the outside, but when their personality is revealed and you find out who they really are, you are repulsed? In your mind you might’ve wished that the inside of the person was as attractive as the outside. You may have felt disappointment because you didn’t find what you were expecting. When it comes to our spiritual walk, we need to concentrate on our heart first. As Jesus says, we need to make sure that we “first clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean”. I encourage you to spend the majority of your Christian efforts working on cleaning the inside of yourself, or cleaning your heart. That is what matters most to God, and that is what should matter most to us. Because when we are clean on the inside, people will be genuinely attracted to the outside as well. It may not be an attraction that can be seen with the naked eye, but it will be a much deeper and a more genuine than mere physical beauty.

Avoid Extremes

In John 10:10 Jesus tells us that he came so that we may have life, and have it to the full. But what does that actually look like? If we focus solely on making sure we read 10 Bible chapters every day, maintain a spotless church attendance, and fill our calendars with ministry activities every day of the week, will that fulfill us? Or should we indulge in the fruits of the world by throwing caution to the wind as we straddle the line between what is spiritually unhealthy and what is outright sinful? Ecclesiastes helps us to understand that either extreme should be avoided. By only pursuing religious endeavors we may work ourselves to the bone in an effort to achieve a false sense of perfection that can lead to burn out. Or pursuing wicked, or risky, behavior that compromises our walk in an effort to experience all that life has to offer can send us to an early grave. That’s why King Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, said this in chapter 7, verses 16 through 18: 

“Do not be over righteous, neither be overwise - why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool - why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.”

Ecclesiastes shows us that the key to living life to the full is to avoid both extremes. We shouldn’t destroy ourselves by striving to achieve a righteousness that is unattainable, counter productive, or even dangerously unhealthy. But we are also warned against being overly foolish by playing too close to the fire of sin. If we do, we will get burned. In first Corinthians, Paul tells us that even though some things are permissible, not everything is beneficial. And though we have the right to do some things, we should not be mastered by anything. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon explains that the key to achieving this is to have a healthy fear of God. Because when we do, we will be able to recognize, and avoid, all extremes.

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When I give myself to Christian ministry, I always like to see a healthy return on investment. In other words, I don’t mind putting in a lot of ministry work if the spiritual yield is comparable. I don’t mind sacrificing the time and effort it takes to reach souls for Christ if, indeed, souls are being reached. So I choose my ministry opportunities carefully. By seeking God’s guidance, and using this method of discernment, I hope to safeguard myself from being overly righteous and overloaded to my own destruction. But I also like to have fun. I enjoy many pleasures of life that are not in conflict with God’s laws or his character. Even still, I don’t want to spend all of my time on selfish pursuits and waste my life doing things that don’t matter. And I certainly don’t want to drift away from God. Jesus did come so that we may have life and have it to the full. But Ecclesiastes teaches us that this is only accomplished if there is a healthy balance between being overly righteous and overly foolish.

Still Creating

When I read the creation account in the first couple of chapters of the first book of the Bible, I marvel at the amazing creativity, wisdom and power of our God. In such a short period of time, he made everything we will ever know this side of heaven. The complexity of our world speaks to the intricate care that God used when creating our existence. From the vastness of our universe to the smallest forms of microbial life, his majesty can be seen. Typically, I stop at the creation account, forgetting that God has been, and is continually in the business of creating life. David puts it this way in Psalms, chapter 139, verses 13 through 16, which says: 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.”

Every child, every budding plant, and every newborn animal reflects the continuing creation power of our God. He may have set the laws of nature in place to allow such creation to self-propagate while he sits on high watching his plan for life unfold, but I like to think that he is intimately involved in the process of creating each one of us. Like David, I like to imagine his care and attention to detail applied with every freckle, every head of hair, and every cell in our body. There is Biblical evidence to support that notion, and this portion of scripture is one such area. So I encourage you not to limit the awe of God’s creation to the initial creation account. Marvel at his continued hand in the creation of everything around us, including you, your children and your grandchildren. 

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Every believer will agree that the hand of God is powerful and awesome. He created the laws of nature and physics, time and space, and every biological creature that exists. I encourage you to recognize his hand in the creation process, because he is the only one qualified to manage it. Many in our world do not agree with that statement, which is why I believe mankind needs to repent. We have become wise in our own eyes. Many scientists deny God’s existence while at the same time attempt to take on the role of God. Genetically designed babies, abortion, and euthanasia attempt to usurp the plan of God. There is a story early in the Bible where mankind tried to be like God in the Garden of Eden. We should never forget how that turned out. God is God, and we are not. I hope that you will join me in praying that our world will come to realize that as well.

Power of God

Do you believe in the power of God? Do you believe that he is as powerful today as he was when he raised Jesus from the dead? As you consider this question I encourage you to be honest with yourself. Every so often, I believe that it does us well to evaluate our faith level. And if our faith is lacking, we may need to remind ourselves of who God is. We may need to remind ourselves of what he has promised. Paul encourages the Ephesians with these words in chapter 1, verses 18 through 20, which says: 

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,”

Have you been enlightened? Do you know the hope to which God has called you? If you do, your faith should reflect it. Paul reminded the Ephesians of their inheritance in the saints and the power for those who believe. He reminded them that this is the same power exerted to raise Christ from the dead. Besides the creation account outlined in Genesis, I can’t think of a greater example of God’s power. This same power is alive and well today. We may not experience it every day. Many of us may have never experienced it. But it is real, and Paul reminds us of that. If you haven’t experienced it, that is okay. I confess that I’ve never witnessed someone rise from death to life with my own eyes, and I suspect you haven’t either. But that doesn’t make his power any less real. I encourage you to know that God has the power to raise the dead today, because as Paul says, “[God’s] power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead”. 

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Though I have not witnessed someone rise from the dead, I have experienced the power of God firsthand. I saw a woman miraculously and completely healed from a stroke in a fifth-world country after she was prayed for. I witnessed the miraculous multiplication of food at a feeding for hungry Haitian children that had more than doubled. I’ve seen several instances of miraculously answered prayer come directly on the heals of the prayer. I know the same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work today. Do you? If not, like Paul, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe”.