A Pastor saw a woman in church

A pastor saw a woman in church who should have been crying but was laughing instead. The pastor was deeply disturbed. He went to the woman after the service concluded and asked her about her salvation. The woman plainly stated, “I am lost.”

The pastor asked, “Do you know what that means?”

The woman replied, “That means hell.” She smiled as she uttered those words about her own fate.

During my Tennessee Temple days in Chattanooga, I often rode the city bus. One afternoon I checked a poster at the bus stop for route information. Someone had written on the poster, “Protect God’s reputation. No souls live forever in torture. God is not guilty of such a trap.” I wrote down the words and have shared them often with people.

I recall reading a poem in our company newsletter during my banking days. The poem was titled, “Why Worry?” It’s a popular poem to this day, but I don’t like it at all. It ended with the lines, “If you go to heaven there is nothing to worry about. If you go to hell, you’ll be so busy shaking hands with friends you won’t have time to worry.”

Those three stories describe the world’s attitude toward God’s warning of—His words, not mine—everlasting punishment. I speak honestly when I say I wish that was not so. I wish it was only temporary punishment or instant punishment such as is preached by the annihilationist. But it is not so.

How long is eternal life with God? Forever and ever. I praise God for allowing me to enjoy that quantity and quality of life forevermore. Please note the same Greek word (“aionios”) is also used to describe the quantity and quality of punishment in the preceding words. In other words, as long as heaven is, so equal in length is the punishment of eternal hell. Fully conscious in heaven, fully conscious in hell. Unending duration for each person no matter where they are.

I urge you to saturate yourself with God’s Word about eternal realities and not allow your thoughts to be watered down by the philosophy of this world.

Never forget that people around you are making decisions with eternal consequences.

Therefore, always live in accordance with this old-time mandate and adapt it to your own life: “Preach as a dying man to dying men headed for eternity!”

For surely that is what all of us are!!!

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Matthew 25:46 ESV

Tom Swartzwelder was born again at the age of nine in an old-fashioned revival meeting. Tom received his B.A. from Tennessee Temple University and his M. Div from Luther Rice Seminary. He has pastored for nearly forty years in both bi-vocational and full-time roles. He provides practical how-to-do-ministry resources for the disciples of Jesus Christ at http://www.godsgreenhouse.net. Tom’s latest book is “God Speaks–Today!”