WHO WAS HELL PREPARED FOR?

There is a detail in Matthew 25 that is easy to read straight past. Jesus welcomes the righteous into a kingdom “prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Seven verses later, He describes everlasting fire and names who it was prepared for: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:34, 41 KJV. Jesus names Satan and his angels, yet the ones being told to depart are human. People can end up sharing the punishment prepared for angels who rebelled against God. Revelation 20 carries that through to the final judgment. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire himself. Death and hell are cast into it, followed by anyone whose name is absent from the book of life. The devil has a sentence waiting for him too. Revelation 20:10, 14, 15. People do not have to like the idea of hell to reject the One who saves them from it. Someone can want eternal life while wanting nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Wanting a room in His house while refusing the Owner is a strange arrangement to expect Him to agree to. Jesus addressed that refusal plainly: “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:40 KJV. That is a person refusing the very One offering him life. John 3:18 says the unbeliever is condemned already, and the next verse explains that people loved darkness because their deeds were evil. We have real sin to answer for. Rejecting Christ leaves that sin unforgiven. Separation from God comes with judgment. Paul describes it this way: “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;” 2 Thessalonians 1:9 KJV. God has made His desire clear. Second Peter 3:9 says He is patient, wanting sinners to come to repentance rather than perish. Consider how far He went to bring us back. Jesus Christ came here, died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. Salvation is offered by grace through faith. You cannot pay for it with good behavior or earn it by finally getting your life together. It is the gift of God. 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4. Ephesians 2:8, 9. If God wanted nothing to do with you, the cross is a very strange way of showing it. #MoreJoyMinistries