This is a very interesting topic that many preachers shy away from. The reason for that is not far-fetched, but shying away from it does not repudiate the fact of its existence. As such, it is better to know as much as you can about it because the Bible says “through knowledge shall the just be delivered. Prov. 11:9^b. If you want to have dominion over darkness you must have dominion over the headquarters of darkness otherwise, your dominion will be partial. Matt. 8:11-12 says, “And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into utter darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. As Christians, we are light and as long as we walk in the light, our final destination is the headquarters of light. We need to know very important things about the power and kingdom of darkness. The headquarters of darkness is hell.

Why talk about hell?

1. Because hell is real. Not talking about it does not make it less real.
2. Because Jesus frequently talked about hell.
3. So that we will not end up there through ignorance. It is through knowledge (not ignorance) that the just shall be delivered.
4. So that we would help others to escape this eternal horror. Meditate on the phrase ‘eternal horror’.

Mark 9:43-48 “And if thy hand offend thee, cut if off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched”.

What the Bible says about hell

1. It was originally prepared for the devil and his agents. Hell was never meant for man; God never prepared hell for man. Matt. 25:41 says, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”. There are people, even religious leaders, who have come out to say that hell does not exist. No matter how highly placed a person is, no matter the level of ecclesiastical ladder that person has climbed, the moment he or she believes something that is not consistent with the word of God, that belief is wrong. Hell is real! As a matter of fact, there are three dimensions of hell: there is hell, the place, there is hell, the realm and there is hell, the person. In the Bible, whenever hell is mentioned, it either refers to hell the place of eternal torment, hell as a person or hell as a realm, that is, the span of influence of the power of darkness. Of course, we know who the strong man of hell is but we don’t have any business with that personality.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .