Illustrated Message Overviews of Visions of Heaven and Hell by John Bunyan

We continue today with John Bunyan’s visit to heaven, so please read page 6, the 6thparagraph to the end of page 7 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Visions of Heaven and Hell” with the title; Chapter 3 – Elijah Explains.

In most churches today, the praise and worship is a very calculated time slot that is dedicated to God, with preset restrictions that limit the congregation because of the need to accommodate lengthy, unnecessary announcements from the pulpit, that could all be done sufficiently through church bulletins or social media. Neither God nor yourself will have to endure this in heaven, simply because it does not exist and the worship of Him will be 24/7. So, when you are sitting in Church, bored out of your mind with all the unnecessary announcements, programs and distractions that flood your mind to keep you from whole heartedly worshiping the Lord and hearing His word preached, it won’t be that way in heaven.  

The story opens by saying; “Here is one," said my conductor to Elijah, "who by the commission of the Imperial Throne has been permitted to visit these realms of light, and I have brought him to you, to learn from you."  

"That," said the prophet, "I shall gladly do. For it is our meat and drink in these blessed regions to do the will of God and the Lamb, to sing His praises, and serve Him with the humblest adoration, saying, 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sits upon the throne; and to the Lamb for ever and ever: for He has redeemed us to God by His blood out of every kindred and tongue, and people and nation, and has made us unto our God kings and priests: even so, Amen.'" And I likewise added my "Amen" to that of the holy prophet.”

What Elijah is referring to is the same as what the Apostle John writes in Revelation 5:11-13; “11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and [a]ever!”

Elijah says: "When the soul and body are both happy, as mine now are, I count it a complete state of happiness. For throughout all the coming ages of eternity, it is the soul and body joined together in the blessed resurrection state that shall receive this happiness. But concerning the object of our happiness, which is the ever-adorable and blessed God, our vision of Him is forever new. For as the divine perfections are infinite, nothing less than eternity can be sufficient to display their glory. This makes our happiness eternally added to, as well as our knowledge of Him to be eternally progressive also.”

Our knowledge of God will continually grow in heaven, it is eternally progressive. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:8-10; “8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

Although God gives us glimpses of heaven by His Holy Spirit, there is always going to be more to know in heaven, and there will be no such thing as that term, ‘suddenly arrived to a knowledge of all things’ in heaven, simply because God is eternal with no beginning and no end. You will grow in the Lord and the knowledge of God in heaven. Even as you grow in knowledge from a child through to adulthood, it doesn’t end when you die on this earth, but will continue on in heaven.

Revelation 1:8 says; “8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, [a]the Beginning and the End,” says the [b]Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

If there is a beginning, Jesus is the beginning, and if there’s an end, then He’s the end. But Jesus is both. It’s almost a play on words to say the beginning and end, since there is and has never been a beginning and an end to the God-head. Jesus is the ‘I am’, in essence saying ‘I’ve always existed’.

There will be no yawning, or thoughts of Sunday after noon lunches, or distractions of any sort in heaven, but rather the gain of inexhaustible understanding of God and heaven that has no limits. It’s like a circle that has no beginning or end, it keeps on going infinitely.

The story continues with Elijah saying; "Therefore the apostle Paul said, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor can it enter into the heart of man to conceive what God has prepared for those who love him.' Yet the human eye has seen many admirable things in nature. It has seen mountains of crystal, and rocks of diamonds, it has seen mines of gold, and coasts of pearls. Nevertheless, the eye that has seen so many wonders in the world below could never pry into the glories of this triumphant place. And though the ear of man has heard many delightful and harmonious sounds, even all that man and nature could supply him with, yet he has never heard the heavenly melody which both saints and angels make before the throne.”

A glimpse of heaven is given to us, but this is only a portion of what God has in store for the Christian in heaven. God is named I AM.  

Moses asked God His name in Exodus 3:14-15; “14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’”

This present generation is included in that statement. He is still called, I AM.  

No one created God. He always existed, always will and He can not be measured, or fabricated in fullness, even through computer generation (CG) in movies and films, which only can give us once again a glimpse of what God and heaven could look like.  In the Old Testament, God spoke to Moses in the burning bush, He revealed to him His name as I AM, and in the New Testament He revealed Himself in the person of His Son Jesus, who also revealed himself as, I AM.

John 8:53-58 says; “53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is [a]your God. 55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Jesus clearly states here that He is God who is named, I AM.

Philippians 2:5-11says; “5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [a]robbery to be equal with God, 7 but [b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

God has given us a glimpse of who He is thru the person of Jesus His Son, and this same Jesus is the one who John sees in a vision where Jesus is revealed to be the Alpha and Omega.

Revelation 1:17-18says; “17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying [a]to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of [b]Hades and of Death.”

Isn’t it interesting that the very person that the world is rejecting to be their Lord and Savior, is the very one who is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, who always existed and always will exist without an ending.

In 2 Corinthians 5:1-8, Paul preaches about the assurance of the resurrection of our earthly body; “5 For we know that if our earthly [a]house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our [b]habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as [c]a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

Our guarantee, our deposit, our pledge, our down payment, is the Holy Spirit, The Taste of Heaven on Earth!

Colossians 3:1-4says; “3 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

Elijah says: “The heart of man is so fine and imaginative that it can conceive almost anything that is, or was, or ever shall be in the world below, and even what shall never be. Man can conceive that every stone on earth shall be turned into pearls, and every blade of grass into the brightest of shining jewels. He can conceive that the whole earth be turned into a mass of pure gold, and the air turned into crystal. He can conceive every star to become as bright as the sun, and the sun to be a thousand times larger and brighter. But all this is infinitely short of what the eternal Majesty has prepared for all His faithful followers."  

It’s amazing that there is no limit to a person’s imagination – it’s limitless – yet is infinitely lacking compared to what God has in store for us in heaven.

Keep in perspective that Bunyan is hearing from Elijah, who operated in the supernatural above and beyond those of his day and age, (except for maybe his successor Elisha who followed after him), and also is one of the few who did not die a natural death, but was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. Here’s a list of just some of the miracles that Elijah performed.

1. Shut up the heavens causing a drought

1 Kings 17:1

2. Multiplied flour and oil for a widow

1 Kings 17:14-16

3. Raised the widow's son from the dead

1 Kings 17:22-23

4. Defeated the prophets of Baal with fire from heaven

1 Kings 18:25-38

5. Brought rain to end the drought

1 Kings 18:41-45

6. Destroyed 51 soldiers with fire and lightening

2 Kings 1:9-10

7. Destroyed another 51 soldiers with fire and lightening

2 Kings 1:11-12

8. Parted the waters of the Jordan River

2 Kings 2:8

Including all of these miracles that God performed thru Elijah, it fell short of what God had in store for him in heaven. They were just a taste of heaven on earth.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit that we can receive with all of its supernatural signs, wonders, miracles, casting out devils, speaking in new tongues and all the rest of the Gifts of Holy Spirit, are just a taste of heaven on earth, but will always fall short in comparison to what God has in store for us in heaven.  

My question to you today, what have you done with The Taste of Heaven on Earth – the Holy Spirit? Have you rejected the Holy Spirit or have you operated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and operated in that Taste of Heaven on Earth? A day will come when you stand before God and He’ll reveal to you all of the opportunities that you  had to experience heaven on earth, that you missed because you grieved the Holy Spirit by not allowing His gifts to operate through you. Even Elijah, who was not filled with the Spirit, but had the Holy Spirit on him, did not have the opportunity you have, which is to be filled with and have the Holy Spirit live in you. Elijah did not have the opportunity that you have today.  All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to you…so what are you doing with them?

We know about the parable of the unjust steward who buried the talent given to him; will that apply to you on judgement day or will you allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit to move in and through you to a broken and dying world, giving them the opportunity to experience a taste of heaven on earth? With this taste of heaven on earth, you will be able to bring a miracle into someone’s life, to lead them to Jesus, to cast the devil out of them so that they might have life again.

You will be accountable on judgement day, even if you are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak or have spoken in new tongues. Jesus says in John 3:34 that “He gives the Spirit without measure”. Don’t put a cap on the Holy Spirit thinking that ‘you’ve arrived’, you’ve ‘done and received’ all He has. The Holy Spirit desires to grow and grow in you, without measure or limits, there is always more to know about Him and always more that He wants to do thru you. Don’t stand before God with a cup half empty when He wanted your cup to overflow with unceasing power and glory of the Holy Spirit into the lives of those around you.

God gave you a taste of heaven when He gave you the Holy Spirit, don’t grieve Him. Elijah, Elisha and all of the prophets and saints under the Old Testament did not have available what you have today. Do not grieve Him, step out in the gifts He’s given to you as it’s an ongoing flow, just like it is in heaven. People need to see heaven on earth through your life. Now is not the time to be silent or idle, now is the time to allow the Holy Spirit to use you while you have a short window of opportunity to impact peoples lives for eternity. Allow your light shine bright.  

What are you doing, what have you done and what are you going to do with the Holy Spirit in your life today?

We continue today with John Bunyan’s visit to heaven, so please read page 9 starting at the 2ndparagraph and page 10 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Visions of Heaven and Hell” with the title; Chapter 4 – The Happiness of Heaven.

In the story, Elijah says the following; "In heaven our understanding and knowledge is enlarged according to the greatness of what we can observe and think. In the world below light could only shine into our minds through the windows of our senses, so God had to condescend to our limited capacities when revealing His Majesty. Our purest ideas of God were very imperfect, but here the gold is separated from the dross and we can conceive the simplicity and purity of God. We understand about His decrees a nd counsels, His providence and dispensations. We clearly see here that from eternity God was sole existing, but not solitary, that the Godhead is neither confused in unity, nor divided in number. We see that there is a priority of order but no superiority among the persons of the Trinity, but that they equally have the same excellency and power, and equally are adored. Those ways of God that in the world below seemed unsearchable and beyond our comprehension, we understand so clearly here by His divine wisdom that the truth could not be made more simple.”

We read in 1 Corinthians 13:9-12; “9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is [a]perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

The perfect love of God never fails, but our love and knowledge of Him continually falls short of what our knowledge of Him will be in heaven. We are only experiencing a taste of heaven on earth right now, a fragment of the knowledge of God that only exists because of His Holy Spirit who is the third person of the Trinity Godhead.

Jesus talks about the Trinity in the following verses;  

Matthew 28:19; “Go [a]therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

John 14:16-17; “16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [a]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

The apostle John wrote about the Trinity in 1 John 5:6-8; “6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness [a]in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”

When a person rejects the baptism of the Holy Spirit and His gifts for them, they are in essence rejecting God and Jesus at the same time, and the supernatural taste of heaven given by the Holy Spirit on earth is limited and often replaced with religious formalism and rationalism that ultimately never satisfies.

The story continues with Elijah saying; “"These are some of the things that make our souls happy. However, the happiness of the saints in heaven will not be complete until their bodies are resurrected and united with their souls. I will therefore show you what the resurrection body shall be like: "First, the resurrection bodies of the blessed will be spiritual bodies, like mine. You may better understand this not only by seeing but by touch. (After saying this, the holy prophet was pleased to give me his hand.) They will be bodies that are purified from all corruption, yet will have substance. They will not be like wind or air, as people on earth sometimes foolishly imagine."

Most people perceive that those who go to heaven don’t have bodies that can actually be touched or have substance. When Jesus rose from the dead, His body was flesh and blood and this will be the same for us when our dead physical bodies are resurrected to join with our souls in heaven.

Jesus was raised in a physical body and appeared unto His disciples but at the same time did some spiritual things that went beyond the physical, such as appearing to His disciples in a room without entering through a door.

It talks about this in John 20:25-27; “25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”  

When Jesus appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus, His identity was spiritually concealed to them, but then was revealed when He physically vanished from their site. Jesus was in a flesh and blood body after being resurrected from the dead. Although it was all supernatural, He was still in physical appearance with flesh and blood, eating and drinking like everyone else.

We’ll only read a portion of Luke 24:13-35where it says in verses “15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did notknow Him.” 

This is amazing because these disciples had been with Jesus, they knew what He looked like, yet here they could not identify Him. They were talking to Jesus about Jesus, not knowing it was Him. Jesus restrained their eyes, He didn’t cover himself or concealed His image. The scripture continues in verses 30-31; “30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.”  

This is the type of body that we receive in heaven after the resurrection of the dead when our bodies are united with our spirit in heaven. Resurrected bodies that operate in the supernatural, that are spiritual and that are pure.

We see too that Jesus ate in His resurrected body in Luke 24:41-43; “41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish [a]and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence.”

They weren’t talking to a spirit, they were talking to a flesh and blood person, the same one who was nailed to the cross and rose from the dead.

John 21:1-14 similarly says the following when Jesus appears to the disciples at the Sea of Galilee. We’ll read starting at verse 4; “4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.” Then verses 9-10 say; “9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

Amazing again that Jesus’ own disciples did not recognize Him. This is the supernatural side of our resurrected body. If we’re not alive when the church is raptured and we die before then, our bodies that are in the grave will be resurrected and joined with our souls in heaven and will be as one. It will be one of the most awesome supernatural events the Christians will experience.

The Bible continues telling us in Acts 1:1-3 how Jesus appeared in His resurrected body to His disciples over a 40-day period; “1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which [a]He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many [b]infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

When Jesus ascended to heaven, He was in a resurrected body made of flesh. While Jesus was on earth after his resurrection, He continued to operate in the supernatural in His resurrected body. He was the demonstration of the spiritual body like we will receive in heaven. Elijah, who did not die but was taken up to heaven in a flesh body was made into a spiritual body. Somewhere between earth and heaven, there was a transformation that took place with Elijah.  

There were two men in the Old Testament who did not physically die but were taken up into heaven supernaturally, they were Enoch and Elijah. We read about what happened to Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11; “11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” Between earth and heaven, there was a spiritual body given to Elijah, a transformation took place.

That’s why until the resurrection of the dead at the end of days, those who die are souls in heaven that are not complete until they are joined with their physical body that is made a spiritual body that can be touched.  

When a Christian dies, they are not going to be complete in heaven until they receive their resurrected body that they lived in on earth and this will happen just prior to the rapture of the Church when Christ comes for His Bride. We know that flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom heaven, but our old bodies will become new bodies that are perfect and according the Bible, are neither male nor female but are as the angels in heaven. There will be no husbands and wives, no pro-creation, no intimate relations in heaven. You will know one another but in a different way than when it was on earth.

Jesus says in Matthew 22:23-33; “23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are [a]mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels [b]of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”

You will be known as you were on earth, but you’ll be as the angels; your body will be supernatural and one you can touch. It will be your body that you had on earth but it will go through a transformation in heaven.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 we read about the comfort of Christ’s coming; “13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen [a]asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who [b]sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [c]asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

The hope of all those who have died in Jesus is that their earthly bodies will be resurrected at the sound of the trumpet of God, they will rise first. Then, those born again Christians who are still alive on earth will be raptured, caught up like Enoch and Elijah and will not experience earthly death. But the resurrection of the dead is first.

The story continues where Elijah says; “Our bodies in the resurrection shall be immortal, and incapable of dying. Below their bodies are all mortal, perishing, and subject to crumbling into dust at any time. But here our bodies will be incorruptible and freed from death forever, for our corruption here shall put on incorruption, and our mortality will be swallowed up of life."

So, it appears that our souls in heaven are not complete until they are joined with our resurrected body that is made spiritual and yet at the same time physical to the touch.

Romans 8:11 says; “11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [a]through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Elijah continues telling Bunyan; “When I say that the bodies of the blessed here are immortal, I am speaking about the bodies in their resurrected state, that then they are subject to death no more. Man in his corruptible state is mortal and subject to death. And there is nothing more evident to all that dwell in the world below. Even the bodies of all those glorified souls that are here in heaven are at this time still kept under the power of death. At the resurrection day, when they shall be raised up again, they shall then be immortal.”

Very interesting to read that those who have died and are in heaven, are still under the power of death. Only when Jesus comes back to take His Bride with Him to heaven, that He destroys death once and for all. We know He conquered death, hell and the grave at the cross, but when He comes back for His Bride – the church – that the power of death will be broken forever.  

It almost seems like a dichotomy or mystery as the Apostle Paul says, because you think that when the soul dies and goes to heaven, it would come out from under the power of death. Well the soul does but the body is still in the grave and that’s what makes you incomplete. That’s what makes a person still under the power of death because they haven’t been resurrected yet. The body in the grave, or the one who’s been cremated or been dismembered in an accident or burned in a house fire or whatever the circumstance may be, is no problem for God to put them back together again to resurrect them. In that resurrection then, the earthly mortal body will join the soul in heaven and will become immortal.

We read this in 1 Corinthians 15:50-55; “50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a [a]mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, thenshall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O[b] Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

Someone would ask, how much more victorious can it get than going home to be with Jesus? That’s just a part of it! Apparently, being in heaven without your body is a big deal, big enough for Jesus to come back for it and resurrect it from whatever state it might be in, however it may have died or been destroyed or martyred throughout the ages. It’s a very big deal to Jesus to see a Christian restored with their body in heaven.  The soul in heaven is longing for the victory, which comes from the resurrection of their dead physical body.

There is no sting of death over the Christian, but your final victory is when your body is resurrected with you in heaven with all of the other saints over the ages. It’s pretty overwhelming to think that every saints body who has ever died is in the grave, from Adam, to all the saints of the Old Testament, all the saints of the New Testament, all of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, will all at the same when the sound of the trumpet of God is heard, will be joined with their bodies in heaven! In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye! Those Christians who are alive when this happens are then raptured into heaven. They don’t see or taste death.

However, ‘out there’ this may sound, it’s the Bible and it’s truth. It is a very important date and time on God’s calendar where death is swallowed up in victory through Jesus Christ. There is no sting of death, hell and the grave for the Christian or all those who had faith in God, death is swallowed up in Jesus.  

This is the happiness of heaven. That’s why we have peace, joy and happiness while we are alive and wait for the sound of the trumpet! Are you ready? Is there oil in your lamp and is it trimmed and burning? Are you a wise Christian serving the Lord or a foolish Christian? Are you ready to meet Jesus?

We conclude today with John Bunyan’s visit to heaven, so please read page 12, starting at the 2ndparagraph to the end of the page, of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Visions of Heaven and Hell” with the title; Chapter 5 – We Shall Know Each Other.

In the story, The Redeemed one says; “Thus I have given you a brief account of our heavenly Canaan. It is not the thousandth part of that which might be said, yet it is enough to let you see it is a land flowing with milk and honey." In this happy place worldly relations cease. Nor is there male and female here, but all are like the angels. For souls cannot be distinguished into sexes, and therefore all relations are here swallowed up in God.”

Let’s clarify who a “Redeemed One” is. They are a soul in heaven that is waiting on the resurrection of his/her body. In heaven, all of your relations are swallowed up in God. All of your time on earth is preoccupied with family, procreation of children, sexual relations, money, food, prosperity, and everything that man strives for…all of these things on earth is an exchange given in heaven for the glory of God. What an amazing exchange, because it’s far beyond everything on earth that could be offered, and it is more than sufficient.

It’s interesting to note that a person’s sexual identity or orientation are not even part of their identity in heaven, but rather they are like the angels, neither male nor female. This is not to say that you who die a male or female on earth, will not have the appearance of being that in heaven, but rather you do not desire nor possess the ability to procreate. Once again, it’s amazing to see that what we place so much emphasis in on earth regarding sexual pleasure and identity, does not even exist in Heaven.   

What’s on the news and social media all of the time? What’s being promoted in movies, music, films, etc., is sexual identity, fulfilment and sexual orientation, money, fortune, fame; yet in heaven, it doesn’t exist. All that people strive after to obtain and in many cases separates them from God, does not exist in heaven.

Let’s read what Jesus our Saviour says about this in Matthew 22:23-33; “23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are [a]mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels [b]of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”

It’s important to note that the marriage partner you have now does not exist as your wife or husband in heaven, but rather both of you have become the bride of Christ and are as the angels. Again, all that people live for on earth is over in heaven. Should that not be your focus while on earth, being the bride of Christ? The Apostle Paul spoke about this in I Corinthians 7:29; “But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none,”  

Even though he was not married, he understood all that goes into marriage, he knew the distractions that come through marriage and how much focus can get off of the harvest of souls if you’re not both going in the same direction. Paul continues saying in verses 33-34; “33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.”  

This isn’t to contradict that marriage is from God. It is. We are living in a day and age where the church has placed more focus on the family and its issues, than that of individually and corporately preparing to be the bride of Christ. As Christians, there needs to be less focus on the family and more focus on the harvest of lost souls you can bring to heaven with you who will also become part of the bride of Christ. In heaven as the bride, everyone is on equal terms although some may have greater glories as we mentioned in previous messages.  

If husbands and wives would spend more time and money on soulwinning and preparing for heaven than they do on Christian family counselling, psychology, self-help books, teachings, seminars that they pay for to be a better spouse and family; they would live happier, healthier lives that have an eternal purpose. This is not saying that you or your family may not need counsel during a challenging time, but it seems like today, everyone’s focus is primarily on the family, self, internal healing, healing of marriages, children and family structure.

Some Christians have gone so far in their separation of the world, where they can’t walk down the road to even greet or acknowledge their neighbour, Christian or non-Christian, because they’re so into self, self-righteous and being set apart. Some go so far as to set up communal living, instructing their children to not communicate with anyone and keep their faces down while walking down the sidewalk, because they’re separate from everyone else. So, I ask – all of the focus is on the family, but for what? It’s only to be given up to Jesus in heaven to be equal with everyone else.

You heard it said that if the preachers’ house is not in order, he’s not fit to preach. So if he’s preaching and his son rebels, he has to stop the ministry. But don’t you think that the devil knows that too? Don’t you think that the devil would do everything possible to get your son or daughter to rebel to stop you from ministering the gospel, to keep you from winning souls who will also become the bride of Christ? But many become religious and pious telling those preachers that they have to quit the ministry because their son or daughter are in rebellion, which is almost normal because the devil will do everything to stop you from preaching the gospel.   

There needs to be less focus on family on frivolous, time consuming things being overly protective and more time on the harvest of souls. Preachers who are forced to leave the ministry because their children, husband or wife fall into sin or rebellion are now supposed to spend thousands of dollars on counselling to get their house in order. Ultimately, in heaven it’s just you, your resurrected body and the souls you bring with you even if your spouse or children don’t make it. Jesus said to go out into the world and preach the good news of the gospel, not to spend your time protecting, covering and sheltering your family from the world. Doing all of that as a religious act doesn’t guarantee that your spouse or children will even make it to heaven. Each one has a personal will, either to accept salvation or reject it. Obviously, we know that we’re to teach and train our children in the ways of the Lord.

We spend so much money, time, energy on me, myself and I and focusing on the family instead of focusing on the harvest. There is a big money market in Christian psychology and counseling, which take up time and energy to keep you from fulfilling the call on your life. Jesus says get your eyes off of yourself today. Jesus says seek first the kingdom of heaven and everything else will be added to you. These are the end times even as Paul alluded to in the scripture above in I Corinthians 7:29 that “the time is short.”  

2 Timothy 3 says that in the end times “men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, [b]unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

Did you notice that children will be disobedient to parents? Jesus even said in Luke 12:51-53; “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 

All of this division is because of being obedient to Jesus Christ, being the bride that He’s calling you to be. Wholly, set apart unto the bridegroom, Jesus. Jesus knew how family could divide and deter from ministry because even his family thought He was crazy and out of His mind, Mark 3:21. Should it be a big surprise to your spouse, family and others when you have the call of God on your life? Jesus didn’t stop preaching did He.

What can possibly be more important than sharing the gospel of salvation with someone and seeing their redeemed soul some day in heaven – because outside of your resurrected body, it’s the only other thing you can take to heaven with you; souls of men and women. You can’t take anything in this life that you value and cherish to heaven. Only souls. We’re not saying to neglect or forget the family at all, make that clear. It’s making the priorities right in seeking the kingdom of heaven first…and then…everything else will be added.

In the story, the Redeemed soul says to Bunyan; “Here all human relations cease and are swallowed up in God Who is alone the great Father of all this heavenly family. As for the members of the family that I left behind in the world below, I have committed them to God. I shall be glad to see them all heirs of this blessed inheritance. But if they should join with the grand enemy of souls and refuse the grace offered them, and thereby perish in their unbelief, God will be glorified in His justice, and in His glory I shall still rejoice.”

All of the cares that you have about family members making it to heaven and not going hell will not be a  concern  to you in heaven, and in fact the only knowledge of their salvation you have of them on earth is given to you by the angels who minister to the heirs of salvation.   

Referencing angels in Hebrews 1:14 it says; “Are they not all ministering spirit’s sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”

When a person is saved on earth, the knowledge of that salvation is given to you and every one else in heaven by an angel. That knowledge or awareness could be likened to the gravy, or the cherry on top of the pie, it’s the extra joy that is added to your joyful state in heaven to know that someone you shared the gospel of Jesus to was born again.

Jesus says in Luke 15:7 & 10; “7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine [a]just persons who need no repentance.” “10In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

As the angels and all heaven are rejoicing, all of that good news comes to you and me when we’re in heaven. So, be encouraged today knowing that everyone you have shared the gospel with in whatever capacity, that if at some point they become born again when you’re in heaven, you’ll get the good news. The angels and all heaven aren’t rejoicing over a new car you got or house you bought or how together the family is or the job you have or education you have; but are rejoicing over the soul who you preached to who ultimately got right with God and became born again.

If a family member, friend, or acquaintance, etc., rejects God’s salvation plan and decides not to be saved by Jesus and ends up in hell, it will simply be seen as a just decision that God has made and will not effect you at all in heaven. The only way you are going to know is by an angel announcing their salvation or bringing them to heaven after death.

Keep in mind that there is still a gap of time between becoming born again and actually dying which could occur immediately or years later. A person’s salvation can become common knowledge in heaven, but whether they live the life of a Christian and not backslide will determine their salvation upon death. Either way it will not affect the redeemed soul in heaven because in heaven there is only joy and no sorrow and it will simply be seen as a just decision of God.  

You need to personalize this message today. Look at family members and those you’ve shared the gospel with. What if they said the pray of salvation and the angels and all of heaven rejoiced, but what if they never stayed on the straight and narrow path and backslid. They still have a will. It will be a just decision by God to not allow them into heaven.

The story continues; “Then I desired to know whether the saints in heaven understood and were concerned for what was happening in the world below.

To this she replied, “As to the affairs of particular persons, we are not concerned with them and are ignorant of them. Only God is present in all places and sees all things. But the struggles and the victories of the church below is told to us by the angels, who are ministering spirit’s sent forth to minister to those that shall be heirs of salvation. From what they report we are excited to renew our praises to Him that sit’s upon the throne.”

Once in heaven, the redeemed soul doesn’t turn on the news to follow all of the destruction, famine and plagues that have been prophesied about. That’s not part of their thoughts in heaven, they’re ignorant of it. So since angels are ministering to the heirs of salvation, there must be some pretty good campfire or bedtime stories – just to make it understandable in our terms. How about Peter being letting out of jail, Paul and Silas in the midst of their imprisonment and they’re let out, all that went on with the Book of Acts church and all of the ministry of the angels to the persecuted church today – these angels are bringing reports of it all of those in heaven.

This sounds pretty exciting. It’s like the salsa, or the spice or sugar that we like that’s the icing on the cake, it’s the bonus and good news; the angels are sharing the struggles of the church but are rejoicing in the victories of the bride of Christ. It causes heaven to rejoice! They may show up with battle scars after doing battle in the heavenly realms against the demonic forces, that’s speculative.

It seems that knowledge of the Church is what souls in heaven know about, and not anything else, and this is given to them by angels who are ministers to the heirs of salvation. If angels are ministering to Christians, it would seem that sharing that knowledge with redeemed souls in heaven to be good. I don’t believe that Christians can communicate with angels to give messages to loved ones in heaven or vice versa, redeemed souls in heaven communicating with angels to give messages to Christians on earth. This just opens up the door for all sorts of demonic activity in your life with familiar spirits that will lead you down a road that is not of God.

Don’t pervert the ministry of the angels of God to the church with being able to communicate with angels who give messages to a family member in heaven and they’re giving you messages back. That’s of the demonic realm. Don’t get involved in the worship of angels and their communication of messages from those in heaven, because that opens the door to satanic activity and what’s called familiar spirits. The devil will come as an angel of light – don’t get into communication with the dead from ‘apparent messenger angels’. Angels of God do not bring messages from loved ones from heaven to you. The Holy Spirit is your gift that Jesus has given to you who you are to communicate with.

It’s important today to examine your life. It’s good to look at the gap in your life from when you accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour until now. It’s good to examine how much time you’ve spent on soul winning and how much time you’ve time you’ve spent on focusing on the family, the cares of life and self. Are you going to be ready or are you going to be empty handed? Are you ready to give Jesus an account of your life? Do you want to see the slide-show or film of your life played? Examine your heart, examine the gap from salvation until now, look honestly at what you have to give up to start focusing on the harvest of souls. You have an eternity to face. Do not let what family or friends think about you deter you from preaching the good news of the gospel. Keep on praying and fasting for them but remember that they have a free will and will be accountable to God for their decisions. So this is for the Christian.

But now to those who got saved at one time but are now backslidden. You’re in the world, you’re caught up in the family and the cares of this and that, you’ve given up the salvation of your life for the pleasures of the world. The big celebration when off in heaven when you were at the altar and gave your life to Jesus, but somewhere in the race, you got off the straight and narrow and now you’re on the broad and wide road. It’s time to repent because there is no ‘once saved always saved’. What have you done in the gap from the time of salvation until now that got you on the road of destruction? The only way out is to repent and ask Jesus to forgive you to get you back on the straight and narrow. You might die tomorrow and not make it into heaven. Those in heaven would not mourn about it because they see what God has done is just. That’s what this story has showed us today. It’s not God’s will that anyone perish, but He will not get in the way of your will and your choice. Be ready to meet your Maker.

Please read pages 7-8 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Vision of Heaven and Visit to Hell”, with the titles; First Encounter in Hell: Seeing Lucifer and Second Encounter: Two Friends in Hell.  

First Encounter in Hell: Seeing Lucifer

It appears that John Bunyan had a vision of the future of Lucifer’s captivity in hell. We can read in the book of Isaiah 14:12-15 the prophecy regarding the fall of Lucifer from heaven to earth.

Isaiah 14:12-15; “12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O [a]Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the [b]lowest depths of the Pit.”

Do you see all of the ‘I will’s’ in Lucifer’s pride? The end result though is that a day will come when he is cast into hell and tormented day and night forever. There are no fire escapes or exits in hell, once you’re in, there is no way out.

The Apostle John shows this end result in Revelation 20:10; “10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where[a] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

We know that Lucifer is not in hell now, but is presently ruling the spirit realm with 1/3 of the angels who were cast out of heaven with him. That’s not to say that the demons don’t have authority in hell right now and may be tormenting people who are in hell today, but they have not been bound eternally as of yet. But their days are numbered.

When Jesus was hearing of the great joy and reports that the 70 were testifying of how that even the demons were subject to His name, He shared with them that He witnessed satan cast out of heaven which we just read about in Isaiah 14:12-15. Jesus saw it all! Jesus however did not want them to focus solely on that fact, but that their names were written in heaven, in the Book of Life. A person can have authority over the devil in Jesus’ name, just like Judas Iscariot did while traveling with Jesus those three years before he betrayed him, and yet his name was not written in the Book of Life. The question to you today is; are you going to make it into heaven and will your name be written in the Book of Life?

We read about this authority that Jesus gave to his disciples over the demons, (fallen angels), in Luke 10:17-19; “17 Then the [a]seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 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.”

What can be concluded is that a time will come, when Satan and his fallen angels, will be cast into hell for eternity. Until then, Jesus has given us as believers authority over the satan and his angels that are operating in the spirit realm.

Jesus says in Matthew 18:18-20; “18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again[a] I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus says this; “17 And these signs will follow those who [a]believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[b] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Apostle Paul knew all too well about spiritual warfare and so he admonished the church at Ephesus saying this in Ephesians 6:10-13; “10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [a]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

This is the authority that you have as a Christian today. The spiritual warfare you face is not against people, even though satan uses people to work through to achieve his plans, but as you pray for these people, the power of the devil is broken off of them. A day is coming when we will witness the devil and his angels cast into hell, but until then we have to keep in perspective that they are very much alive on earth in the spirit realm and have it in them to take as many souls with them to hell as possible.

That includes any wavering or double-minded Christians who are being enticed by his seductions and if he can get you to backslide, he has a trophy in hell.  

The Apostle Peter also says this regarding the spiritual warfare we’re involved in as Christians in 1 Peter 5:8-9; “8 Be [a]sober, be [b]vigilant; [c]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

Jesus, in Matthew 25:41-46, shows the eternal destination of those who reject Him; “41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer [a]Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Second Encounter: Two Friends in Hell

The second thing that Bunyan saw, were two friends accusing and cursing each other out. It’s a terrible scene he describes. This must be said clearly, when a person is not a Christian, their Father is not God but their father is the devil, and works of their father they ultimately will do. They’re not born again and are still in the kingdom of darkness. People don’t like to hear or preach this. It sounds harsh and hard in their opinion because most non-Christians have good hearts. But Jeremiah 17:9says; “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

If the good heart of a man is going to get a person into heaven, then why did Jesus have to die for their sins?

These two individuals who maintained an ungodly friendship on earth are now in hell together, blaming each other for them being there. What a horrid place and situation to be in. Imagine that they spent their whole time on earth, living the dream, partying, enjoying all the sin of the flesh they could indulge in, etc., only to spend all of eternity in hell together, but they’re not so ‘happy’ now.  

Hell seems to be a place where men and women are continually brought into an account for their sinful lives by those that they caused to stumble while alive, and are now in strife with them for eternity in Hell. It appears that the demon spirits that ruled their lives on earth also rule them in hell with ongoing torments.

You may have heard non Christians make statements like, “I’m  gonna be partying with my friends in hell forever”, but the reality, is that they are with their friends in hell but the party is over and it is a place of eternal torment with a heart full of “could of’s, would of’s and should of’s.” So, was their sinful friendship worth it all only to spend an eternity cursing each other out?

Jesus gives a clear story of the consequences of a person’s choices and where they will spend eternity at in Luke 16:19-31. “19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and [a]fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with [b]the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ 27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

It wasn’t only the rich man’s torment in hell itself that he was suffering from, but the knowledge that it would be exacerbated as ongoing, as friend after friend and family members die and go to the same place of hell where he is and his torment will be intensified. That’s why Bunyan says; “it was love unto himself and not to them that was his motive; because had they come hither, his torments would have thereby been increased.”

We all are living for eternity, either in heaven or in hell. I believe that it is of utmost importance to be careful of how you choose your friends. As Christians, you’re to be friendly with those who are not Christians, but this does not mean that you are to establish friendship with them, that could ensnare you and lead you down a road of destruction. Be friendly, but have the ever-present goal of leading them to Christ.

James 4:1-6 warns of what friendship with the world will do to the Christian; “4 Where do [a]wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and [b]war. [c]Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 [d]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 

1 Corinthians 15:33 says; “33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

You may justify your actions in that you’re just involving yourself with the community, going for coffee and chatting it up. But what is your chatter about? Is your mind on things above, is your fellowship around God’s word, are your intentions to evangelize the sinner or is it just to talk about what’s happening in the community and the world and ultimately not bringing hope and offering salvation to those you’re with?

In 2 Corinthians 6:11-18, Paul talks about being holy and not being unequally yoked with unbelievers. This goes beyond marriage; this affects every part of your life. It says; “11 O Corinthians! [a]We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open. 14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what [b]fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what [c]communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[d] are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” 17 Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” 18 “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

How much true, Godly fellowship can a Christian have with an unbeliever? Be honest with yourself. How deep can you go? You’re in the light and they’re in darkness, how can you even yolk with them? The great commission admonishes us to preach the good news of the gospel, give them a Bible or give them a gospel track. They may get offended with you, they might remove you from their social media, they may not want to go out for coffee or go to restaurants with you any more. But that’s the cost of being a Christian, taking up your cross and following Jesus. It can’t be any clearer than that.

Be friendly to sinners, to co-workers, class-mates, etc. Don’t have the attitude of a separatist where you can’t look or talk to sinners, that’s quite ridiculous because how will you be salt and light to them, pointing them to Jesus. But know your boundaries because the enemy, as we know, prowls around seeking whom he may devour, I Peter 5:8.  

The reason why James said above; “Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God”, is because you will sooner or later participate in their sin, it will be attractive, innocent, enticing and non-threatening, but before you know it, you’ll be ensnared. Every day we need to be friendly to sinners, but ultimately to really be in their ‘club’ or ‘circle’, you have to ‘sin with them’.

Jesus totally knew that offenses would come because of Him when He says in Matthew 18:6-9; “6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of [a]offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! 8 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into [b]hell fire.”

Cut off and remove the things or people in your life that are causing you to sin or being led into sin. That might involve cutting off fellowship with the ungodly, to not go to places that are causing you to stumble, to cut off conversations and coffee times that are opening up the door to sin opening up the door to gossip, slander and a road of destruction. Your ultimate goal must be to pray for them, speak the Word of God into their heart, lay hands on them to see them delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.  

The temptations can seem so innocent; you like what that person has, you like their perspective in world views, you like how they easily blend in social gatherings, you like their way of speech and eloquence, you like their friends….well the list can go on. Ultimately, it’s covetousness, you want what they have. It’s better that you flee these temptations, stay home and pray for them, pray for other laborers who are filled with the Holy Spirit to be sent into their paths.

I believe that Jesus is calling Christians to guard their fellowship with those outside the faith; the reason is that bad company corrupts good morals, it can lead to backsliding from the faith and ultimately shipwreck your relationship with Him and in the end can cost you an eternity separated from Him in hell.  

No friendship on earth is worth spending an eternity in hell for.

Please click on this link to watch this short video entitled; “The Rich Man and Lazarus”.

Please read pages 10 to the bottom of page 11 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Vision of Heaven and Visit to Hell”, with the title; The Fourth Encounter – A Lost Soul Speaks.

In this vision of John Bunyan’s, it must be remembered that God permitted him with an angel’s escort, to visit hell and like the previous messages, he’s given the opportunity to not only listen to what the residents of hell are saying but is given permission to talk to them. In this discourse we read about a los soul, one of many, that have made hell their eternal destination.

You must remember that the visual of seeing this lost soul on a bed of burning steel and choking on sulfur, is not the same as our physical body while alive on this earth. When a person dies, they put on imperishable bodies, one to everlasting righteousness and heaven or the other to damnation and hell. They are eternal and have true feeling, sensing, experiencing and comprehension. It’s more real than our physical life. That’s why this man, because it refers to him as ‘he’, is not consumed on this bed of burning steel.  

I feel it’s important today to simplify this teaching and allow the Bible scriptures to minister a true illustration of eternal torment.  

We read in Galatians 6:7-8; “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

This lost soul tormented in hell knows very clearly why he is in hell and how he could have avoided being there had he not hardened his heart to the numerous times that the Gospel was presented to him yet chose to reject the salvation plan in exchange for a temporary season of sin.  

It says: “Ah, miserable wretch! Undone forever, forever! Oh, these killing words forever! Will not a thousand thousand years suffice to bear that pain which if I could avoid it, I would not bear one moment for a thousand thousand worlds? No, no my misery will never have an end; after the thousand thousand years it will be forever still. On, hapless, helpless, hopeless state indeed! It is this forever that is the hell of hell!”

God is not mocked, and what you sow to the flesh for a temporary season of sin, unless repented of, will cost you an eternity in hell. The torment will be equal to that of this poor lost soul that Bunyan spoke with. Even Moses knew that the pleasures of sin were to be fled from as we read in Hebrews 11:24-26; “24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”

Revelation 14:9-11 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.”

God is not emotionally moved by what is going on in hell as His judgments are just and righteous. It says in Psalm 2:4-5; 4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure.”

There’s a misconception and lie that mocks God; it is that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. This is a lie that simply mocks God’s salvation plan found in His Bible in exchange for an independent self-serving salvation plan that is based on good works yet is void of holiness. That holiness can only be found by repenting of your sins and receiving the person of Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit into your body and become born again of His Spirit.  

Bad people go to hell because they reject God’s salvation plan. They don’t go to hell because their bad. Jesus shed His blood and died for the bad person. If they confess their sins, He’ll remove their sins from them as far as the east is from the west.

There are no fire exits in hell, once you’re in hell there is no way out. Jesus says in Matthew 10:28; “28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [a]hell.” Fear God only.

Examine all of the times that you were presented with the Gospel and rejected it in exchange for a life of sin. Count them, write them down from when you were young until now. Do a reality check on the spiritual state of your heart.

2 Peter 3:9 says; “9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward [a]us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

God is merciful and doesn’t work with a slack arm to get your attention. He’s sent preacher after preacher after preacher to you; teacher after teacher, evangelist after evangelist, radio sermon after radio sermon, family, friends, co-workers, strangers etc. There is NO slackness of His love reaching out to you to redeem you from sin. Whatever hell you’re living in on earth, however deep you are in sin, He is ALWAYS reaching out to you because He is NOT WILLING that you spend eternity separated from Him. His plan is to save your soul from the consequences of hell.

Bunyan’s story continues saying; “Oh, how my own neglect stings me to death, and yet I know I cannot, I must not die! But live a dying life, worse than ten thousand deaths; and yet I might once have helped all this and would not! Oh, that is the gnawing worm that never dies! I might once have been happy, salvation once was offered me and I refused it. Ah, had it been but once, yet to refuse it had been a folly not to be forgiven, but it was offered to me a thousand times, and yet (wretch that I was) I still as often refused it.”

How sobering! How many thousands of times has God sent Christians into your life and the life of mankind, yet it’s refused only to partake in the temporal pleasures of sin.

Jesus says in Mark 9:43-48; “43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 46 where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— 48 where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary says this about the worm; “The soul that is food to this worm, dies not; and the worm is bred in it, and one with it, and therefore neither doth that die. Damned sinners will be to eternity accusing, condemning, and upbraiding, themselves with their own follies, which, how much soever they are now in love with them, will at the last bite like a serpent, and sting like an adder.”

What you love and is bringing you pleasure on this earth which is keeping you out of heaven, is going to bite like a serpent and sting like an adder for eternity. The worm that never dies in hell are all the could of’s, would of’s, and should of’s that torment you for eternity.

If you’re not a Christian and you were to carefully examine your life, you could probably see the could of’s, would of’s, and should of’s that would be spoken by you in hell. All the opportunity’s you were given to repent and didn’t and the numerous times you were presented the Gospel and rejected it, all in exchange for a life of sin.

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus gives the parable of the wedding feast; “1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, [b]take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Throughout Bible history we see the martyrdom of preachers, teachers, prophets, evangelists, etc. They were laughed at, scorned, shunned by those were too busy in their businesses and daily work, enjoying the season of sin. God is furious at those who have martyred His saints.  

Do you have your wedding garment on, are you born again and ready for heaven or will you be cast into hell where the worm does not die and the fire does not go out? What is that wedding garment you ask? How did this man even get into the banquet?

Matthew Henry’s Commentary says this about the man that was cast out; “This man was not naked, or in rags; some raiment he had, but not a wedding garment. Those, and those only, who put on the Lord Jesus, that have a Christian temper of mind, and are adorned with Christian graces, who live by faith in Christ, and to whom he is all in all, have the wedding garment.”

Few are chosen because few have walked the straight and narrow path that Jesus required of them. What makes you ready for when Jesus calls you to the wedding feast? Are you truly born again of the Holy Spirit, clothed in Christ, sanctified, set apart, holy, living righteously? Do you have your wedding garment on or still the worldly garment? Today, you’re being given another opportunity to make Jesus Christ Lord of your life. Don’t reject Him again but receive Him and live for Him and you’ll have the assurance of eternity in heaven. Don’t let Jesus say this of you; “13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Please watch this short video entitled; “Parable of the Wedding Banquet”.

In today’s Illustrated Message, we’re continuing with the conversation that Mr. Bunyan had with this lost soul in hell, so please read the bottom of page 14 and page 15 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.

It’s important today to talk about the cost of rejecting God’s salvation plan for our lives, found in the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. When you reject salvation, you make a mockery of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Philippians 2:5-11; “5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [a]robbery to be equal with God, 7 but [b]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

When you reject Jesus Christ and His salvation extended to you, you’re rejecting God himself. You’re also rejecting the name, Jesus Christ, that is above every name in this world, past, present and future. Is there a world ruler today that everyone is bowing down to? No. But as we read, there will come a time in the not too distant future, that every knee will bow, whether dead or alive and demon or angel, to the name of Jesus Christ. Regardless of how you reject Him now, a day will come when you will be confessing Him as Lord. Not as your Lord though if you reject Him.

In the story we read what the tormenting devil says to the lost soul; “Besides,” said he, “don’t you know you deserved it all? How often were you told of this before, but would not then believe it? You laughed at those who told you about a hell; nay you were so presumptuous to dare Almighty Justice to destroy you!”

How many people today are mocking Jesus, mocking and making a laughing stock at preachers who talk about hell and its consequences? Just like they mocked and laughed at Noah while he was building the ark, they ignored his righteous preaching, continued eating, drinking, giving in marriage…life as normal…until the day the rain came. Until then, only the mist came up from the ground to water the land. That generation was so blind to truth, they ignored the warning of what was to come upon them. In their eyes, Noah looked foolish.   

How foolish do preachers and Christians look today to the unsaved world when we talk about Jesus’ soon return, the rapture of the church to take His pure, holy bride and the great tribulation that is to come upon the sons of disobedience. There is tremendous scorn, ridicule, laughing and mocking at this preaching, but when it happens, those who are not born again will face reality just like they did when the flood engulfed the earth and only Noah with his family were saved.

The day you die, you’ll have to be accountable to God for rejecting His son Jesus Christ, who is part of the God head and to whom every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord.

Jesus says in John 3:36; “36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Today, unbeliever, the wrath of God already abides on you while you’re alive because you’re rejecting Jesus to be your Saviour. After you die, then judgment comes. There is no reincarnation, purgatory or another chance in another life. It’s over. You will stand before Almighty God to give an account as to why rejected Jesus as your Lord. Today is the day of salvation, don’t reject Jesus as your Saviour.

The tormenting devil says the following to the lost soul; “You yourself know you had salvation offered you, and you refused it; with what face then can you complain of being damned? I have more reason to complain than you, but I was turned into hell as soon as I sinned. You had salvation offered you, and pardon and forgiveness were often extended to you; but I never had any mercy offered me, but was consigned as soon as I had sinned to everlasting punishment. If I had had the offer of salvation, I never would have slighted it as you have done.”

Wow. The devil tells this lost soul that he had been given every opportunity and mercy extended to him to repent, but the demon absolutely had no opportunity whatsoever. How many times have you been offered salvation? How many times have you rejected God’s mercy extended to you?

The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 6:7-8; “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

When a person rejects God’s salvation plan, in essence they are mocking the death and resurrection of Christ, and as a result secure their future in hell by their own willful rejection. Don’t blame it on God, Jesus, the Christian, your mom, dad or siblings who are serving Christ, or anyone or anything else.  It’s your willful rejection of the gospel that sends you to hell.

Jesus also says in John 3:16-19; “16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

The lost soul in hell died condemned while he was alive, and because he loved darkness rather than light and his deeds were evil; he continually rejected the gospel that was freely offered him time and time again. Unless you are born-again, you are already condemned to hell while you live. But Jesus wants you to come out of the kingdom of darkness and into His kingdom of light.

It’s not God’s will that anyone spends an eternity in hell, He has freely given everyone the opportunity to receive His salvation plan, but He will not interfere with their freewill.

In 2 Peter 3:8-9, the Apostle Peter says; “8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

The story continues with the tormenting devil saying; “To this the devil scornfully replied, “I admit it was my business to entice you here! and you have often been told so by your preachers. They told you plainly enough we sought your ruin, and we went about continually like roaring lions seeking whom we could devour; and I was oft afraid you would believe them, as several did, to our great disappointment. But you were willing to do what we would have you, and since you have done our work, it is but reasonable that we should pay you wages.”

What are those wages? Romans 6:23 tells us; “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The gift offered to you today is eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ. But the wages you will receive if you reject Jesus, is eternal death in hell.

Romans 10:8-10 also says; “8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

What is confession? To repent of and confess your sins, you give them to Christ, you renounce them, you recognize Jesus as your new leader, you renounce the kingdom of darkness and don’t serve it any longer, but you serve Jesus, in your spirit, your soul and your body. When you’re born again, the Holy Spirit comes in and you become His temple.  

Acts 4:12 says; “12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

It doesn’t matter what name you could purport today as your salvation, or what religion it is that you’re trusting in. The Bible is clear that eternal salvation is only found in Jesus Christ. It’s clear from reading about the lost soul in hell, that he was given every opportunity to receive Jesus as Lord of his life but chose to live in sin, and by his own free will rejected Jesus and His salvation plan.

Jesus did everything he could to save this man’s soul and never violated his free will, and that is what sent him to hell, his own free will that chose to yield to temptation, rather than Jesus.

The story continues with the Angelic guide saying; ““How dismal is the condition of these damned souls,” I said to my guide. “They are the devil’s slaves while upon the earth, and when they come to hell, he reproves them and then torments them.” “Their malice against all of Adam’s race,” said my guide, “is exceeding great. And because many souls are ignorant of their devices, they easily prevail upon them to their eternal ruin.”

The devil is malicious against all of mankind and has only one plan, that’s to take them to hell with him. Do you notice the words ‘easily prevail’?  People like this are easy prey for the devil because of their rejection of Jesus Christ.

James 1:13-15 says; “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 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.”

Again, don’t blame God because of the struggles you’re having in your life regarding sin. God does not tempt you. Your decision to sin is in your hands by your free will. Do you know that the devil knows you? He knows your likes, dislikes, pleasures, he observes you, he sees where you go, what you watch on TV and online, he sees where your eyes are wandering, he sees what your habits are. He knows what sins you like. He knows how to tempt to get you distracted and lead you down a road of destruction.  

What are you rejecting today, is it God’s salvation plan? When you choose a life of sin over it, you’re living in death, you’re giving birth to death, which is eternal separation from God by your choice and will. By rejecting salvation; you’re rejecting Jesus Christ the author and finisher of your faith, you’re rejecting Jesus as God in the flesh, you’re rejecting the One with the name above all names.

Choose salvation in Jesus today. Give your life to Him.

Please read page 17 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Vision of Heaven and Visit to Hell”, with the title; Sixth Encounter - Following the Wrong Minister.

A good question to ask yourself today is; am I following the right minister or am I following the wrong minster? Is it even possible that a minister can be wrong? Apparently so as we read in the story and as we’ll study today. The consequences are eternal, unless repented of.

In the story, the wretched man says; “I was told,” said he, “by those that I depended on and thought had informed me correctly, that if I only said, ‘Lord, have mercy on me’, then, when it came time to die, that would be enough to save me. But oh, wretchedly I find myself mistaken, to my eternal sorrow! Alas, I did call for mercy on my deathbed, but found it was too late.”

How could it be too late? Doesn’t the scripture say that, “those that call on the name of the Lord shall be saved”, Romans 10:13? How about the thief on the cross? He called on Jesus to save him, Luke 23:39-43. This thief had no previous repentance and confession, but Jesus knew the heart of that sinner on the cross that he was repenting of his sins. That’s why Jesus said that he’d be with Him in paradise that same day. This same thief was rebuking the other sinner on the cross knowing that they were both deserving of punishment of their sins, yet one was truly repentant. Jesus knows and sees your heart today too. Jesus knows when a heart is truly repentant.

The wrong Minister, whom the wretched man followed, was one and the same as the Seeker Friendly Ministers today who teach the following of this definition found in an article By Steve Shirley at JesusAlive.

“1. A key trait of the "seeker friendly" church is a desire to reach the lost. Of course, this is AWESOME, however, the problem comes from HOW they are trying to do it. "Seeker" means someone who is "seeking" Christ. "Friendly" means basically doing or saying nothing that would offend or drive the person who is seeking Christ away. In regards to the Gospel, this means avoiding any negative talk regarding why we need Christ. There is no talk about the reality of Hell and that Hell is the destination of all people without Christ. There is no talk about sin and the need to repent. There is no talk about the "cost" of following Christ (Mt 16:24-25)(Mk 8:34-35)(Lk 14:25-33). Rarely is the importance of the resurrection mentioned. Instead, Jesus is presented as an answer to your problems, a way to meet your needs, a way to make yourself better, a way to give you a better life.”

There’s a big difference between a sinner repenting of their sins on their deathbed and a sinner simply calling on the Lord to have mercy on them, without repenting of their sins. The one has no sorrow and remains a sinner on his deathbed, the other has sorrow and genuinely repents of his sins, confessing them to God and does not continue in them in heart, mind, or action. How many people today who attend Seeker Friendly Churches are on, or some day will be on their death bed, believing the same lie that the wretched man believed?

2 Corinthians 7:10 says; “10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

The wretched man that is in Hell never repented of his sins, even when he was not able to continue in them in action, but carried them in his heart and mind on his deathbed.

The story continues with the devil saying; “You say some of your lewd companions told you that saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on me’ when you came to die would be enough. A very fine excuse! You might have known, if you’d given yourself but leisure, to have read the Bible that ‘Without holiness no one shall see the Lord.’ Therefore this is the sum of the matter. You were willing to live in your sins as long as you could, you did not leave them at last because you did not like them, but because you could not follow them while lying on your death bed.”

Without holiness no one will see the Lord and the One who makes you holy is the Holy Spirit dwelling in the born again Christian. We know that we’re saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves lest we boast, (Ephesians 2:8), yet that’s been twisted to imply that you don’t have to continue to work out your salvation, (Philippians 2:12). But we do have to continue to work out our salvation by our actions. There’s a false teaching that says that grace covers all of your sins; past, present and future and that you don’t have to confess any sin when you do sin. But the Apostle Paul says that the Lord told him that His grace was sufficient for him in his weakness, (2 Corinthians 12:9). Grace helpsyou to flee sin when you are tempted to sin. You’re without excuse. The Bible says that when you’re tempted God will always make a way of escape, (1 Corinthians 10:13), because you won’t be tempted beyond what you can bear. His grace helpsyou flee the temptation to sin.

James 4:7-10 talks about the power of humility; “7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Had the wretched man in the story humbled himself before Jesus when he had the opportunity, he wouldn’t have ended up in hell. That’s the attitude of a repentant sinner and the attitude you’re to have on your deathbed, if you make it that far. But don’t wait until your deathbed to make things right with God, today is the day of salvation, don’t wait until tomorrow or until the end of your life.

1 John 2:1-6gives us the test of knowing Jesus Christ; “2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God [a]is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

The wretched sinner we are reading about loved his sin to his deathbed and we don’t see any remorse or repentance for his sin. Even though he couldn’t act out his sin on his deathbed, he still had it in his heart and mind to do it, refusing to give it up.

1 John 3:4-9 says; “4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”

In essence what this is saying is that you have the ability not to sin, but if you do, you repent. These words, repent and sin, have been taken out of many pulpits in the world today. It’s offensive. It’s been exchanged with a seeker sensitive scenario, a non-offensive preaching.

The story continues with the devil saying; “You have been warned often enough that you should take heed of being deceived, for God would not be mocked, but such as you sowed you should also reap. So that you have no reason to complain of anything but your own folly, which you now see too late.”

Once you’re in hell, you can’t get out. The devil will torment you for eternity, you believed a lie, you mocked God who gave you a salvation plan which you refused to follow. It’s eternal separation from God.

Galatians 6:7-8 says; “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

Life and death are a choice that’s being given to you today, choose eternal life. Even if you’re on your deathbed, choose life, choose repentance of your sins, ask Jesus to forgive you. Don’t go back to your sins, even in your heart and mind, but truly repent and be remorseful of your sins.

People who attend Seeker Friendly Churches would view what is being taught to be one of condemnation, but the reason they are feeling condemnation is that they are walking according to the flesh and not the Spirit. People say it all the time, they feel condemned by the message of the Word of God. The reason why people feel condemned is because they refuse to repent because they’re in the flesh.

Romans 8:1-8 makes this very clear; “8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be [b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

When you confess your sins, repent of them from your heart, trust in Jesus then to create in you a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit in you. When you’re on your deathbed you can’t go anywhere. Don’t sleep on the decision, you might not wake up. Now is the day and time of salvation. Just like the Wretched man in the story, don’t mock God’s salvation plan while you’re alive like countless thousands do today. There is a protocol to God’s plan of salvation; it’s repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, (Acts 2:38).  

God may raise you up off your deathbed if you become a Christian. James 5:14-16 says to confess your sins God. Maybe He’ll send a preacher to you to pray for you to be healed. Jesus may give you a whole new ministry and life in serving Him. It’s more than throwing up a slap-stick Jesus having mercy prayer, it’s about you confessing your sins and being born again.

The story continues with the Guardian Angel saying; “It is this intentional neglecting the salvation of the soul that is the ruin of so many thousands who do not think about the result of what they are doing, nor where they are going until it is too late to help it.”

You don’t want to be in this position while you’re reading this message, having every opportunity to repent yet intentionally neglecting it for the pleasure of sin. You need to humble yourself before an all holy God, repent of being a sinner and receive Him into your heart and the Holy Spirit will come into you and make you holy. Don’t offer to God a last-minute prayer for mercy without repentance, it won’t work. There is no quick or easy access to heaven. It requires a heart and mind change, bending your knee to the Creator of the heavens and earth.

Did you know that you can believe in Jesus yet not repent of being a sinner? That will not get you to heaven. If this message sounds condemning to you today, it’s probably because you’re still a sinner, walking in the flesh, not wanting to humble yourself before God. Jesus isn’t condemning you, but you’re already condemned because you don’t believe and receive him as Lord of your life, (John 3:18).  

As we said earlier, the two words that have been removed from the Seeker Friendly pulpits today, are sin and repentance. The two very actions that you need to do to become born again, the devil has removed from the pulpits with the lie that it’s too offensive and condemning. Again, it’s only condemning because you are still in the flesh if you feel that way.

It’s very important to follow the right minister and not the wrong one, because it can cost you an eternity in Hell, and once you’re in Hell there is no way out. The wretched man who believed that he could live a life of sin and call upon the name of the Lord to have mercy on him  while on his death bed without having repented, was sincerely deceived and the same demon that deceived him, is the same demon that is tormenting him for eternity in hell.

May 31st, 2020

This is the last message on this book, so please read pages 21-24 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Vision of Heaven and Visit to Hell”, with the title; Seventh Encounter, A Famous Atheist in Hell.

Bunyan says to the atheist the following; “I would ask another question. I heard yourself and others cry out of burning steel and fire and flames; and yet I cannot discern it. Where there is fire there must be some degree of light; and yet from what appears to me you are still in utter darkness.”

Does this not sound like the church today, for the most part? One could draw an analogy in that they’ve rejected the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on them and as a result, they’ve ended up walking in darkness.

The atheist says; “O that I could but say I felt no fire! How much easier my torments would be compared to that which I now find them! But alas, the fire that we endure ten thousand times exceeds all culinary fire in fierceness; and is of quite a different nature from it. There is no light at all attends it, as goes with such fire that burns on earth. But not withstanding all the fire in hell, we are in utter darkness.”

Have you ever been in utter darkness before where you can’t see where you’re going? We’ve all been in that position haven’t we. Most of the body of Christ today is in utter darkness; they can’t see where they’re going and they can’t discern the Holy Spirit. It can be likened to a deaf and dumb spirit. But here in this story in hell, it’s worse as they can’t even see in the Spirit. They have no more ability to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Our perception of hell fire stems from that of our understanding of burning fire on earth. But when we think of it, hell is described as a place of outer darkness that is absent of light, and yet how can fire burn without there being light? From Bunyan’s perspective, he saw the atheist in hell being tormented by fire that never went out and never consumed the atheist but rather continually burned him.  

There is also the fire which came down in the book of Acts on the disciples in the Upper Room. It didn’t burn them, yet it landed on them. It didn’t consume or burn their physical being, but it consumed and filled them. There was no scorch or smell of fire, yet it consumed and empowered them to go do great works for God. That fire was the Holy Spirit. This fire changes a man and woman by consuming their lives, changing their direction, it causes them to walk upright, to see and hear the call and election on their life, to be bold and to preach the gospel. So it seems that there are two supernatural fires; the fire of the Holy Spirit and God and the fire of hell.

“Our God is a consuming fire” as Hebrews 12:29says.  Jeremiah said in chapter 20:9; “Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” Jeremiah could not hold back the fire of the Holy Spirit he was feeling. It wasn’t hell fire but the fire of the Holy Spirit.  

But as for the hell fire that is absent of light in outer darkness that the atheist talks about being in, from his perception gives us the impression that hell is a place of darkness that is absent of light. It’s the exact opposite of the Holy Spirit fire in our lives, because that fire is full of the light of Christ. The fire that fell on the disciples was bright light that they could visually see but not to be afraid of as it didn’t physically cause pain, but joy inexpressible and full of glory.

To describe it in our natural terms, it would be like a blind man being burned yet not seeing the flames. It was Bunyan that physically saw the atheist, the lake of fire, and the individuals tormented by fire. From Bunyan’s perspective, he physically sees everything in hell, but from the atheist’s perspective he sees nothing but only feels, hears and smells everything that torments him.  Even when the atheist recognizes Bunyan who he knew on earth as Epenetus, it was by hearing his voice and gives no reference to seeing him.  

Bunyan says; “I had no sooner spoken, when one of the tormented wretches cried out with a sad mournful accent, “Sure, I should know that voice. It must be Epenetus.” I was amazed to hear my name mentioned by one of the infernal crew; and therefore being desirous to know what it was, I answered, “Yes, I am Epenetus. But who are you in that sad lost condition that knows me?”

To this the lost unknown replied, “I was once well acquainted with you upon earth and had almost persuaded you to be of my opinion. I am the author of the celebrated book so well known by the title of Leviathan. “What! the great Hobbs?” I said. “Are you come hither?”

Are you known in hell today? If you were to go to hell in a vision like Bunyan, are there people in hell that would know you? Would they call out your name saying, ‘you were the one who preached the gospel to me, the one who prayed for me, who gave me food, who continually invited me to church but I continually rejected the invitation.’  

Are there those in hell that would know your name and would know the sound of your voice? It’s a sobering question isn’t it.

There are going to be many a people in hell that know your name and remember what you sound like if you’ve been salt and light to them in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Your repetitious sharing the salvation plan to them will be a continuous reminder that they could have changed, they could have repented, they could have gone to church, they could have become part of the body of Christ, yet all the while, they’re being tormented and not consumed by eternal fire.

Jesus describes an aspect of hell in Matthew 8:12; “12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Add to this the memories they have of the gospel being preached to them that they rejected. You see, the more people reject the gospel, the harder it is for them to repent.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on this verse states the following; “In hell there is fire, but no light; it is utter darkness; darkness in extremity; the highest degree of darkness, without any remainder, or mixture, or hope, of light; not the least gleam or glimpse of it; it is darkness that results from their being shut out of heaven, the land of light; they who are without, are in the regions of darkness; yet that is not the worst of it, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 1. In hell there will be great grief, floods of tears shed to no purpose; anguish of spirit preying eternally upon the vitals, in the sense of the wrath of God, is the torment of the damned. 2. Great indignation: damned sinners will gnash their teeth for spite and vexation, full of the fury of the Lord; seeing with envy the happiness of others, and reflecting with horror upon the former possibility of their own being happy, which is now past.”

Jesus spoke in Matthew 22:13 again about the torments of hell; “13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, [a]take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Also, in Matthew 25:30 Jesus says; “30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Who are these people gnashing their teeth at and mad at? God. In hell, there is no way out nor are there fire exits.

Even when you read the dialogs that Bunyan has with all the other individuals in hell, it appears that they talk about the torments of hell as something they feel but don’t see, as though blinded by outer darkness, and the only visuals that remain are the memory’s of their lives on earth, and the could ofs, would ofs, and should ofs, that add to their torment in hell.

Bunyan says; “I have observed,” I said, “that all of them complain most of the torment that arises from their own sense of guilt, which justifies the punishment. This gloomy prison is the best glass [mirror] to behold sin in its most proper colors; for were there not the greatest malignity [sinfulness] in sin, it would not be rewarded with so extreme a punishment.”

There are those today that are living their lives in spiritual darkness which is blinding them to the truth of their need for salvation to keep them out of hell.

The Apostle Paul explains this in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; “3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

When an individual continually rejects God’s salvation plan which saves them from an eternity in hell, it doesn’t get easer to obtain salvation but rather they become more spiritually blinded by the devil. Do you know someone like that today?

John 12:35-36 says; “35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.”

Today there are many who are living the same or similar lives like those Bunyan saw in hell; be it the two friends in hell, the wicked woman, the lost soul, the Christian ministers, the man who followed the wrong minister, and the atheist; they all have the same thing in common that leads them to reject God’s Salvation plan; and that is the love of sin. That seems to be the thread through all of their lives; the love of sin.

The Apostle Paul talks about God’s wrath on unrighteousness in Romans 1:18-32; “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who [a]suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is [b]manifest [c]in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and [d]Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like [e]corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their [f]women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the [g]men, leaving the natural use of the [h]woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, [i]sexual immorality, wickedness, [j]covetousness, [k]maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 [l]undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, [m]unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

You’ve often heard it said; ‘each to their own’, ‘that’s ok, that’s their business, that’s what they do, I wouldn’t do that, but that’s what they do’. That’s called the ‘moral’ standards within the ‘immoral society’; each to their own. Yet this scripture shows that in saying that, they still approve of those who practice their unrighteous acts.

Are any of the sins above really worth being ultimately given over by God as He gives you over to a debased mind, and then separated from Him for eternity in outer darkness, in the torments of hell fire with Lucifer and his fallen angels? Is it worth it?

The following scriptures declare God’s salvation plan for those who repent of their sins. There is a way through Jesus Christ.

John 3:16-20 says; “16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”

John 3:36; “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Romans 10:9-10 says; “9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

John 14:6; “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Romans 6:23 says; “For the wages of sin is death, but the [a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:8; “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 1:9; “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

All these scriptures point only to the truth, who is Jesus Christ, and to what His will is for you. It doesn’t matter how much darkness you’re walking in today; you can come into the light through Jesus Christ. There is no unrighteousness that cannot be forgiven and cleansed when your born again. The only thing Jesus will not do is overstep your free will. You have to make a decision to come out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light through His free salvation.

The next time you’re sharing the gospel with someone, give them the truth about eternity and eternal separation from God. Be bold, preach the gospel with authority. You want to be remembered in hell as one who preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone that the Lord brought across your path. On the same note, you don’t want your name to be on the lips of someone in hell who you didn’t share the gospel with when you had the opportunity too.

As John Bunyan ends his book, he says the following; “And in a very little space of time I found myself on earth again, and in that very place where I designed to have committed that black sin of being my own murderer, having been overcome by the temptations of the devil, who had persuaded me there was no God.”  

Is the black sin of self murder (suicide) worth an eternity separated from God in hell for?