Opinion
By Judge John Marshall Meisburg, Jr.
01-14-24
The most important message of Jesus while He was on earth was salvation, how to go to Heaven after we die, and how to avoid Hell and the Lake of Fire. However, it is shocking that very few Christian preachers talk about these subjects today because they are not politically correct or religiously correct. They do not fit into the seeker friendly church. They make many people uncomfortable. But, it is vitally important that we teach the people about the importance of salvation and the need to avoid eternal punishment apart from God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. Proverbs 9:10. Healing and prosperity on the earth are wonderful. But, the greatest miracle and gift of God is salvation and eternal life in Heaven with God Almighty.
Jesus said many times that if you believe in me, you shall have everlasting life. John 3:16; John 11:25. But he also says that those who do not believe in Him “are condemned already for they have not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.” John 3:18. Jesus said that “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains upon them.” John 3:36. He also said that the “work” we are to do for salvation is to believe in him (Jesus) as the Son of God, repent or turn away from our sin, and make him Lord our life. And He says He will “raise us up on the last day.” John 6:44.
Jesus spoke of Heaven and the Kingdom of Heaven many times. The first words that Jesus spoke in his earthly ministry were “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17. He later said “I go to prepare a place for you. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.” John 14:2-6. He said that those who are saved will be welcomed into Heaven with these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little things. Now I will make you ruler over many things. Enter now into the joy of the Lord.” Matthew 25:23. The Bible says that “no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him”. 1 Corinthians 2:9. And in Heaven, there are “pleasures forevermore” Psalm 16:11.
But Jesus also warned the people many times about the terrible fate of wicked unbelievers in Hell and the Lake of Fire. Many times, Jesus warned us about eternal punishment for sinners who refuse to believe in him, and repent or turn from a life of sin and evil. Jesus spoke of sinners being thrown into “outer darkness” where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” He also spoke of the “everlasting fire of Hell” and the “Lake of Fire” which is reserved for Satan and his angels and all unbelievers. He said that Hell was a temporary waiting place for condemned souls, who would later be thrown into the Lake of Fire for eternal suffering and punishment apart from God. So the Lake of Fire is even worse than Hell.
Jesus told many parables about people who were wicked and did not believe and ended up in everlasting “unquenchable” fire in Hell, and were also cast into the Lake of Fire. John the Baptist said Jesus would “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12. Jesus said that many would be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, where the “worm never dies” and where there is torment and suffering forevermore. Matthew 8:12. In the parable of the tares, Jesus said that “as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:42-50. In Matthew 25:14, Jesus said this: “Then he/God will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Jesus said to not fear those who can kill the body, but fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28. In the Gospel of Mark Jesus says if your hand or eye causes you to sin, cut them off or tear them out as it is better to enter Heaven with one arm and one eye than to be thrown into hell “where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:43-48. Jesus was quoting Isaiah where God says that men who rebelled against God will suffer a terrible fate: “their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched.” Isaiah 66:24. Jesus also referenced Sodom and Gomorrah which were destroyed by God with fire and brimstone for sexual immorality and for sodomy: “Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” Genesis 19:24. And finally, In the parable of the wedding feast, Jesus said that the people who came to the wedding without proper clothing were bound hand and foot and sent into outer “darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 22:1-14. This was symbolic of hell and the lake of fire.
Jesus taught in a parable that the door to Heaven will be shut and outside will be wicked unbelievers in outer darkness forever, apart from God and “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Luke 13:28. The Bible says that if you reject Christ, your name will not be found in the Book of Life and your eternal destiny will be Hell and the Lake of Fire. In Revelation Chapter 14, an angel of God says that if anyone “worships the Beast and takes the mark of the Beast on their forehead, he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night.” In Revelation 19:20, God says that the Beast and the False Prophet “were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with Sulfur. ”In Revelation 20, we read that the Devil also is thrown in the lake of fire and Sulfur and “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” And, “death and Hades are also thrown into the lake of fire which is “second death.” This terrible fate also awaits all unbelievers: “If anyone’s name is not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15. In Revelation 21, we also read that all wicked and faithless people will also be thrown into the Lake of Fire: “But as for the cowards, the faithless, the detestable, the murders, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8.
Liberal Christians today say there is no Hell and no Lake of Fire, that it is just symbolic, and that a loving God would never send people to Hell with eternal punishment. But they are so wrong. God does not send people to Hell and the Lake of Fire. People choose that fate for themselves by rejecting Christ, and choosing to continue in a life of sin. They often experience Hell on earth even before they die. God is a god of love, but He is also a god of justice and judgment. Righteousness and Justice are both around His throne in Heaven. Psalm 89:14. God made a way for salvation for all mankind. He sent his only Son Jesus to earth to suffer and die on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins, and to give us a pathway to Heaven. Eternal life is a free gift of God for all who will believe. But to reject God’s amazing sacrifice and wonderful plan of salvation is a sin that God cannot forgive, and will result in eternal punishment for our soul and separation from God in outer darkness and torment forever. Since we are spirit beings after death, the punishment will be spiritual as well as physical. It will be everlasting torment and shame and awareness that you are cut off from God and Heaven and all things good. This is too awful a fate to even consider. We must run to the cross of Christ, believe in Him and his plan of salvation, repent and turn from all sin, and make Him our Lord and Savior. God says that today is the day of salvation; do not delay. I pray that you will do so today and receive the wonderful gift of eternal life!
Judge John Marshall Meisburg, Jr., was a U.S. Administrative Law Judge with the Social Security Administration for 26 years in Jacksonville, Florida. He retired as a judge in 2021 and is now living in Fernandina Beach, Florida with his wife of 43 years, Dr. Denise Meisburg. They have six children and 11 grandchildren. Prior to being a judge, he was a lawyer with the Federal government for 23 years, serving in all three branches of the government, with the U.S. District Court, EEOC, Justice Department, Congress, FDIC and Office of Special Counsel (MSPB). He was in private law practice one year in Washington, D.C. and filed the lawsuit that became the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case on sexual harassment. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Kentucky, and a Juris Doctor law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He is a lifelong Christian, being raised in the Baptist faith in Louisville, Kentucky. He was an Elder at New Life Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville where he taught Sunday School, the Jewish Roots of the Faith and the Christian Heritage of America. He was a leader of both the National Day of Prayer and the House of Prayer in Jacksonville for over ten years. He has published ten books relating to Christian and legal ssues. He is now a member of Living Waters World Outreach Center in Fernandina Beach, where he serves in the prayer and home group ministry, and is a member of the Board of Directors for Faith Christian Academy.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florid
