The First Second After Death!

Imagine for a moment, friend, that you have just collapsed.  A loved one finds you and calls for help, but it's too late.  Your body is cold and lifeless.  Plainly speaking, you're dead.

At your funeral friends will say, "At least he didn't suffer".  If they only knew!  Actually the very moment your heart stopped beating, your soul, the conscious part of you that never dies, was literally ripped from your body, and in Hell you opened your eyes, being in torments!

Reality sinks in.  Could you really be in Hell?  You never even believed there was a Hell.  And besides, what great crime did you commit?

As panic sets in you begin to scream out to the very God you've denied your whole life, begging that he would send relief from the tormenting flames.  He tells you however that there is a great gulf fixed, that none may pass from the place of torment to the place of Glory.

A sickening fear grips you.  Could this awful punishment truly last forever?  Could you really be guilty?  You begin to reason that no one had ever showed you the way of salvation, or told you of the penalty for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ.  But you are suddenly reminded of a time when you slammed the door on a gentleman from the local church who came by to speak to you concerning your soul.  If only you would have listened and heeded his simple message of the gospel.

Your thoughts turn to your family now.  You beg God to send someone by to warn your loved ones lest they too come to this awful place of torment.  God answers however that they have the Bible and witnessing Christians to share with them.  The same opportunity you had.   You plead however that if someone could just go back from the dead and warn them they would believe.  Again God answers no, even if someone would go back from the dead, they would not believe.

After suffering in Hell for what seems like forever, you feel a slight reprieve.  It seems now that you are being led out of Hell.  You are glad it's over!  But wait... What is this place?  It resembles a large courtroom.  You've never seen so many people before.  You shield your eyes from the brightness of the One sitting on the throne.  His great glory fills the arena!  There are multitudes with Him, dressed in white, assisting with the books and records.  One by one you see others like yourself being called to the bench.  One now is on his knees begging for mercy.  The books are opened.  His name cannot be found written in the Lambs Book of Life.  GUILTY is the decree!!

In the distance you hear horrifying screams as men and women are cast "alive" into the burning Lake of Fire.  Suddenly your name is called.  You humbly approach the bench and fall to your knees.  You beg and plead for mercy, but find none!  There is no mercy here, no forgiveness.   The great era of grace and mercy has passed. It is only now that you realize that you could have avoided all of this by simply accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior during your lifetime.  But you chose not to receive the greatest gift ever offered to mankind.   You are without excuse!

In a moment you hear that your name cannot be found in the Lambs Book of Life.  Again the verdict echo's out: GUILTY!!  You kick and scream and gnash your teeth for pain.  As you are being led to the burning Lake of Fire you catch a glimpse of Satan himself.  He too is awaiting an eternal inferno as punishment.  he doesn't look so victorious now does he?  It's hard to imagine that you allowed him to deceive you all of those years on earth.

Remember how he made you laugh and mock at the story of The Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross for your sins?  Friend, he is actually trying to deceive you even now as you read this message.  Those thoughts of unbelief are his.

Being consumed in a fire is terrible enough, but to have to endure it throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity is incomprehensible.  You will be there alone.  Your "buddies" won't be coming over to have a good time with you.  It's over for you, and then again it's only the beginning.  Just think, after you have been there 1,000,000,000 years, it will be like the first day!  Do you understand that friend?

Believe it or not there is only ONE way to avoid the scenario pictured above.  Contrary to popular belief being a good person and even going to church will not help you escape the fires of Hell that now await you.  So what does?  I'm glad you asked!  Read on...

The Bible says in Romans 3:10 that, "there is none righteous, no, not one".  Romans 3;23 says, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God".  In other words you can forget about ever being good enough to enter Heaven.  In Romans 5:12 we read of the origin of sin: "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned".  Adam was the first man.  His disobedience to God brought the curse of sin upon all of us.  It's hereditary in nature; we are born sinners.  ALL have sinned!

In Romans 6:23 we read, "the wages of sin is death..."  This means just what it says.  A wage is something we earn, like a paycheck.  Thus God owes death to everyone who has ever been born into this world, as all are sinners.  Not just physical death, but a "second death" as well.  Revelation 20:14 says, "death and Hell were cast into the Lake of Fire, this is the second death".

Continuing in Romans 6:23 we also read that, "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord".  Can a gift be earned?  No, of course NOT.  It is FREE with no strings attached!  How then do we receive this gift of eternal life?

Romans 10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved".  Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved".

If you dear friend,  would like to trust Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you simply need to call upon Him, believing in your heart the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as outlined in the Bible verses above.  If you believe and would like to receive Him now, pray from your heart a prayer similar to the one below. (Now there is nothing magical about reciting a prayer, it is God who knows the sincerity of you heart as you pray)

Pray:  Dear God, I realize I am a sinner.  I realize as well that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for my sin and I do now accept Him as my personal Savior.  Thank you Lord for saving my soul.  Amen.

Friend, if you were sincere, God saved you just then.  His word is true.  God said He would save you.  He cannot lie as a man lies.  I am so glad that you made this decision today.  You will NEVER regret it!