Moment With The Master
“Eternal Punishment”
Categories: Moment With The MasterAnd if your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched- 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched'." (Mark 9:43,44)
In the above passage Jesus gives us a glimpse of the horrors of eternal punishment. Our finite minds cannot fathom how horrible will be this place of unending, unquenchable fire, but to help us to understand its gravity he provides a figurative description.
In his description of hell he uses the following unusual phrase - "where their worm does not die". What is the meaning of this phrase? Historians tell us that these words allude to the Valley of Hinom just outside Jerusalem. In Jesus' day this valley had become a garbage dump,a place of human waste, where maggots ate upon the dead carcasses. But, here the description is of a place where the maggot never dies, but continually preys upon the carcass. This is Jesus' way of helping us view the eternal agony of souls in hell.
In Erik Larson's book, Isaac's Storm, he relates the true story of Isaac Cline, a meteorologist who lived during the hurricane of 1900 that took thousands of lives. Mr. Larson not only provides a vivid description of the storm, but of its aftermath. He tells of survivors searching among the dead for loved ones, of row after row of the dead, and of the stench of decomposing bodies. It is hard for me to imagine how horrible it must have been. It is equally difficult for me to grasp the horrors of eternal hell.
But, Jesus wants us to see how awful it will be and lovingly instructs us as to how we can avoid it. So my brother, heed his warning and live today for Jesus!
George Slover
