ONE HEARTBEAT AWAY - PART 48

                                               ONE HEARTBEAT                       AWAY

    PART 48

(Mark Cahill's Book)

There is a hell, and one of the clearest pictures of it in the Bible, is the well-known story of the rich man and Lazarus:

There was a certain rich man, which was 
clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptously every day.

And there was a certain beggar named 
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores.

And desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham'sbosom: and the rich man also died and was buried.

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in 
torments, and seeing Abraham afar off, 
and Lazarus in his bosom, and he cried out and said "father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he might dip the tip of his finger in water ; and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame."

But Abraham said, " Son, remember that in thine lifetime received thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented.

And beside all this, there is a great gulph fixed between us, so that they which would pass from hence to you, cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence."

Then he said, "I pray thee therefore father that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment."

Abraham saith unto him ; " They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them." And he said "Nay, father Abraham, but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent."

And he said unto him " if they hear not 
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. 
(Luke 16:19-31).

Notice that when the rich man was in hell, all five of his senses worked just fine. He was in such torment that he begged for even one drop of water. One thing that hits me hard as I read this is that there is no crossing over. Judgement is set once you take your last breath. 

The rich man could not have someone 
bring him water, neither could Lazarus run over to help, even if he had wanted to.

After you die, you cannot change your 
eternal destination. You have a one-way ticket to eternity. You must know before your last heartbeat which side of the chasm you will be forever... and ever and ever. The rich man wanted his brothers warned so that they wouldn't end up in hell with him for all of 
eternity.

I hope you will consider this book your 
warning. God doesn't want you to go to hell and neither do I.

If the people taking a recent Barna group  
survey, were accurate in their opinion, 
which I don't believe they were, hell would be a sparsely populated place. 

Only one half of  1%  

of Americans said they expected to go to hell, when they die, while nearly two thirds (64%) 
think they are headed for heaven.  
But what did Jesus say? 

Enter ye at the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat. (Matthew 7:13)

Therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 24:44).

What is it that determines your final destination?  What criteria will decide where you are going?  That crucial question is the topic that we will discuss in our next chapter, as our search for eternal truth continues to narrow.

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