Illustrated Message Overview with Marjorie

In today’s Illustrated Message, we’re continuing with the conversation that Mr. Bunyan had with this lost soul in hell, so please read pages 12, 13 and half of 14 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Vision of Heaven and Visit to Hell”, with the title; The Fourth Encounter – What we have lost and What we undergo.

This lost soul expounds on the miseries in the infernal dungeon and says they are of two sorts; “What we have lost: In this sad dark abode of misery and sorrow, we have lost the presence of the ever blessed God. And this is that which makes this dungeon hell. Though we had lost a thousand worlds, it would not be so much as this one loss. Could but the least glimpse of His favor enter here, we might be happy; but we have lost it to our everlasting woe.”

Knowing that the presence of God is impossible in hell, there are those today that have lost the presence of God while alive on earth, before they even make it to hell, because of their actions to serve the devil. But as a Christian, while you are alive there is safety to be found in the presence of the God. And this is what the soul in hell has lost for eternity. They lost the safety on earth by going down a road of destruction. Now they’re in hell and there is no safety there. 

This protection that we read about in Psalm 91 is conditional and can only be obtained by Christians. It’s ascribed to have been written by Moses, the servant of God under the Old Covenant, but can only now be attained by born again Christians under the New Covenant. A non-Christian can quote this until they’re blue in the face, but it will be to no avail. Until a person repents of their sins, and is born again of the Spirit, Psalm 91 will not work for them.

Psalm 91

“1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

It says that you will see the reward of the wicked, clearly showing that this Psalm is only for those who are in covenant with God. Being wicked means that you’ve rejected Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, you’ve rejected His salvation plan, and that makes a wicked and evil person. If you’re not serving Jesus Christ, who then are you serving, or who is your Lord? It must be the devil – the author of sin, wickedness and evil. This must be made clear, you can call on God all day and night, but unless you repent of your sins and confess them as sin and receive Jesus Christ into your life in the power of the Holy Spirit, God will not deliver you. He delivers and protects those who intimately know Him. He looks at the thought and intent of your heart and sees if you’re calling on Him is sincere or a farce.

Jesus cares for and loves you as a sinner and worldly individual, He’s not willing that you perish. The choice of perishing is in your hands and will. You choose to serve Him, you choose to confess and repent your sins and you choose to become born again. You exchange your salvation plan with His salvation plan, that’s the only way He’s going to hear and rescue you. 

Verse 13 also parallels with what Jesus said in Luke 10:19; Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Jesus has given us, the born again Christian, authority over the devil and his assignments. Just as there were plagues, pestilences, diseases, snares and attacks when Moses wrote this Psalm, so there are today. But the New Covenant written with the blood of Jesus Christ will deliver you from them all.

The story continues with the Lost soul saying; “Here we have likewise lost the company of saints and angels, and in their place have nothing but tormenting devils.”

There are people alive on earth who have lost the company of saints and angels already before they make it to hell. Why? Because they’ve rejected Jesus and have chosen to live in selfishness, rebellion and wickedness. They too suffer from the torments of the devil who possess their children and families. Those outside of the covenant of grace, who’ve rejected God’s salvation plan through Jesus, are being tormented by devils, out from the protection of angels and are out of the fellowship with the body of Christ, the saints. They’ve rejected it.

When even one person repents and receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the very angels of God receive joy. Jesus says so in Luke 15:8-10 in the parable of the lost coin; “8 Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

This lost soul, by not repenting, has lost the joy of the angels rejoicing over his salvation. When you become a Christian, the angels are rejoicing in heaven over your salvation and then they’re commissioned to watch over you.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says; “1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

This is a great loss for the non-Christian, for not only do they lose their salvation, they lose out on the opportunity to run the race of faith while alive with a host of heavenly witnesses cheering them on. 

Lost soul continues to say; “Here we have lost heaven too. The seat of blessedness. There is a deep gulf between us and heaven, so that we are shut out from there forever.”

What is the seat of blessedness? The Christian is seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus while they are still alive in earth and this is our assurance of salvation.

This is another great loss for the non-Christian, in that they have no assurance of salvation, and have lost the opportunity of living forever in heaven.  

Ephesians 2:4-7 says; “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

A person who is not born again, is living in hell while alive on earth and they can’t even perceive it because they’re so blinded by satan and the love of the world.

Philippians 3:20-21 also says; “20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

What a glorious promise we have as saints, that our lowly bodies will be transformed and conformed into His glorious body! Our passport and citizenship are in heaven! But not for the one who has not received Christ into their lives.

The Lost soul says: “To make our wretchedness yet even more wretched, we have lost the hope of ever being in a better state, which renders our condition truly hopeless. The most miserable man upon earth still has hope.”

No matter how miserable your life is on earth, you can  still have hope and can repent of your sins and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, but the lost soul in hell does not have that hope, it’s over and they can never again obtain salvation that was offered to him freely while alive on earth. Never. Being a lost soul while alive on earth, the devil is killing, stealing and destroying everything from you every moment. From stealing the presence of God, to stealing the fellowship of the saints and angels and robbing you of protection. 

Revelation 20:11-15 talks about The Great White Throne Judgment. It states; “11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Is your name written in the Book of Life? The Lost soul says: “What we under go: Here is a fire that is inextinguishable to burn us with; a lake of burning brimstone ever choking us; an eternal chain to tie us; here is utter darkness to frighten us, and a worm of conscience that gnaws upon us everlastingly. And any one of these is worse to bear than all the torments mankind ever felt on earth.”

Jesus says in Matthew 25:46; “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Revelation 14:9-11 also says; “9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

So all of the sickness, disease, mental illness, violence etc. on earth, cannot compare to what you suffer in hell, and I believe this is because you are in a supernatural body that does not perish, a body that experiences that which is beyond the 5 physical senses. 

Again, the Lost soul says: “Another thing that makes our misery awful is the extremity of our torments. The fire that burns us is so violent that all the water in the sea can never quench it. The pains we suffer here are so extreme that it is impossible they should be known by any one but those that feel them. “Another part of our misery is the ceaselessness of our torments. As various, as universal, and as extremely violent as they are, they are continual, too. Nor have we the least rest from them. If there were any relaxation, it might be some allay. But this makes our condition so deplorable that there is no easing.”

Whatever a person could dream up of as being hell on earth, cannot compare the lake of fire. The demon that fills your life with sin now – non Christian – may be the same demon that will be tormenting you for eternity in hell. That demon or demons that are filling your life with all sorts of sin to get you separated from the presence of God, separated from the body of Christ, separated from protection of angels; may be tormenting you for eternity. 

Jesus says the following in Matthew 16:24-26; “24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

I believe that the greatest torment in hell is going to be that you were given the opportunity to obtain salvation but rejected it and that there is now no hope in hell of obtaining it again. This will surpass all of the other torments that will be there, this will be the greatest.

Salvation is a free gift but it will cost you your life, but what is your life on earth when you compare it to an eternity in heaven or hell?

Please watch this short video entitled “The Great White Throne Judgement”

John Bunyan’s Vision and Visit to Hell -  First Encounter - Conducted to Hell and Seeing Lucifer

March 1st, 2020

Before going into the message today, please read the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Vision of Heaven and Visit to Hell” and read pages 1-6 to the end of ‘Conducted to hell’. The topic of the message today is on suicide and as you read the first paragraph of Bunyan’s story, you’ll read that he was going to commit suicide, or as he says; ‘murder himself’.

According to the World Health Organization’s Mental Health, close to 800,000 people die globally due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds.

If any time we need a vision of heaven and hell it is now. I believe that if a person who is considering suicide as an option, whether individually or assisted, would take a moment to read John Bunyan’s Vision of Heaven and Hell, it would stop them in their tracks and prevent them from making a decision to murder themselves. Yes, that is exactly what it is ‘murder’, let’s call it what it is, murder. Some however believe that because it is your own body that you have a right to do what you want to it and even if it is assisted suicide, so long as you consent to it, it is not murder.

In Canada, legislation on medically-assisted dying became legal in September 2016. On February 24, 2020, another bill was put forth to open the door to allow Canadians who are not terminally ill, but who have degenerative diseases like cerebral palsy, to seek assisted death legally. However, this won’t stop there, but will eventually move to children, elderly, the mentally ill, etc. 

In Canada the report for suicide from July 18, 2019 was the following:

· Approximately 11 people die by suicide each day

· Approximately 4,000 deaths by suicide per year

· 1/3 of deaths by suicide are among people 45-59 years

· Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth and young adults (15-34 years)

· Suicide rates are approximately 3x higher among men compared to women

· This is staggering!

You hear of Christians who have had Christian family members murdered themselves, and in a time of grieving they believe that their family member went on to be with the Lord, but this is not the case. 

For the Christian the following scriptures apply;

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says; “16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone [a]defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

Naturally and humanly thinking, it may sound harsh that God wouldn’t have compassion on an individual who destroys their own temple. After all, that person was living hell while alive and that God should be compassionate to them. Apparently not.

God is the giver of life and He only has the right to take it away. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says; “19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body [a]and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

The collective mindset globally today and even with Christians is that you are your own and you alone have say as to what happens to and in your physical body, but the Apostle Paul says differently. You’re to glorify God in your body. When the Holy Spirit came to live in you when you were born again, your body became holy and it’s not your own.

1 John 3:14-16 says; “14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love [a]his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”. 16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Hating your brother or sister in the Lord is equivalent to murder. It’s premeditated murder in your thoughts. So, if whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and doesn’t have eternal life in heaven, but rather is sent to hell, what is the difference with self-hatred that leads to suicide? There is no difference.

It’s time to stop buying into the lie that it’s acceptable for a Christian to commit suicide and believe that they will go to heaven.

That would be like me premeditating a murder of someone and asking Jesus to forgive me for what I’m about to do and expect to be forgiven and go to heaven. Suicide is murder and it needs to be called what it is, and those who commit suicide will spend and eternity separated from God in hell. There is no grey area or exception.

It’s time to stop this demonic lie in its tracks and call it what it is, it’s an eternity in hell for those who commit it, it’s murder and it’s not an option.

God warned Cain to rule over his spirit in Genesis 4:6-8 where He says; “6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is [a]for you, but you should rule over it.” 8 Now Cain [a]talked with Abel his [b]brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”

Cain had heart and anger issues which God called sin and in disobedience to God’s admonition, Cain killed his brother Abel. God likewise is warning people today to deal with their anger towards themselves, self hatred. It could stem from envy, pride, not obtaining something in life that you were supposed to get, or from a relationship that went sour and you didn’t marry the one that you thought you were going to marry, disappointments that you idolized and made above God … etc. As a result of these and many more, you’ve chosen to want to take your life without the right to. But, all along, God is putting His finger on your heart to deal with this area in your life, you have anger and a spirit of murder towards yourself.

Hell is real, eternal and there are no fire exits nor escape.

1 John 3:11-12 says; “11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”

If you’re wondering why things are not going the way you think they should, you need to check your heart and works to see if they’re evil. The book of James confronts and reveals heart issues and what you’re idolizing. These idols that you’ve made that are not of God, where you’ve suffered disappointment after disappointment, and where God has warned you over and over again to repent of the sin of idolatry, anger or any number of sins, have opened the door to self-hatred with murderous thoughts.

The Apostle Paul really deals a blow to self-hatred in the life of a Christian where he says the following in Ephesians 5:29; “29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”This gives NO room for suicide.

In Galatians 5:22-25, Paul also says; “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Galatians 5:19-21 talks about the works of the flesh, one of which is murder; “19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [a]adultery, [b]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, [c]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

So what it comes down to is the murder of ones self is sin, and falls in the same category of the sins in Galatians 5:19-21, and if you’re contemplating suicide, you’re committing premeditated murder of yourself and you need to repent of it and ask Jesus to forgive you of this sin.

The devil lies to thousands of people a year that they have every right to ‘check out’, to ‘go on to be with the Lord because you’re a Christian’, that ‘the Lord has compassion because you’re a Christian and He understands’. These are lies and it is murder.

Suicide is a heart issue. It’s sin and has to be addressed as such. Unfortunately, not many preachers or churches agree with this stance and view. Most say the exact opposite. They say that if a Christian commits suicide, it’s not a problem because, ‘once saved, always saved’ and they’ll be in heaven. You see, many churches don’t want to rock the boat and they don’t want to call sin, sin. They don’t want to offend any in their congregations who have lost family member or friends to suicide. But we must. We’re accountable to God for teaching what the Bible says about suicide.

Again, Galatians 5:21 says; “of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Suicide slaps what Jesus did on the cross in the face. In essence it says that what He did on the cross wasn’t enough and that you don’t trust in what He did on the cross for you. Jesus’s will for the Christian is not to commit suicide, but He will not cross over your will. You have to choose and He’s given you His word in the Bible, to fight the fight of faith and resist the temptation of suicide – self murder.

The devil is sly and eases in slowly into the life of a person to commit suicide. It’s a slow, pre-meditated process that he seduces a Christian with. He doesn’t show up with the pitchfork and tail but presents himself as an angel of light to deceive. James 1:14-15 says; “14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

Jesus says His grace is sufficient for you in times of weakness, you have not been given a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind. He will not allow you to be tempted above and beyond that which you are able, but will always make a way of escape.