Men Have to Climb Up to Go to Hell! In this text passage, note the obstacles Jesus mentions in Matthew 23:34. Let us hear the Word of our Lord here: ... behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 1)Prophets are people who received the inspired Word of God and faithfully wrote it down. Sometimes, their message was orally only, like John the Baptist. However, most of the prophets of the Scripture wrote their message down so it could later become canonized and included in our Bible. 2)Wise Men are persons of professional or semi-professional status who [are] regarded as particularly capable of understanding the philosophical aspects of knowledge and experience. [Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: based on Semantic Domains, Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, United Bible Societies, p. 384]. In other words, Wise Men were able to take the principles of the Word of God and uniquely adapt them to the situation of the moment in a local church, for example. This was a huge part of the ministry of the Apostle Paul, and you see him performing exactly this task time and time again in his many epistles. 3)Scribes refers to the one who preaches the Word of God. These men were learned in the Mosaic Law and the Prophets [Major and Minor Prophets]. Therefore, Jesus told the Pharisees that He was going to send prophets, wise men, and scribes who would follow Him, and who would attempt to tell them the truth. Yet, Jesus foretold that the Pharisees would climb up over these obstacles to persist in their unbelief! The Pharisees would climb over these obstacles that Jesus Christ was promising to place in their way! Jesus Christ did not have to send these obstacles to the Pharisees unbelief, as they already had the full revelation of God in their own Hebrew Scriptures, which we call the Old Testament today. Yet, Jesus in His great love, sent them men like the Apostle Paul, all His disciples, and James and Jude, to be huge obstacles to the unbelief of the Pharisees. Yet, the Pharisees climbed over these obstacles and continued on their way to Hell. Truly, God is love, so much so that He somberly declares, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die ... [Ezekiel 33:11]. Every single person who ends up in Hell can blame only themselves for being there; a loving God placed all sorts of obstacles in their life pathway, which they had to ignore and climb over, or curse and climb over, to get to Hell. What are some of the obstacles which a loving God and Jesus Christ have placed in our way? 1) Climbing Over Childhood Influences All young children are very impressionable. Many of them go to Sunday School at least some time in their early childhood. Many more go through systematic programs like Awana. Yet, over 80% of those children are never saved and later stop coming to church. Quoting Dr. Parker, It was not easy for you, as a little child, to put those impressions aside. It was not easy for your to climb over those good impressions, to go over that little hill of good influence. Your feet were tender, your mind was impressionable, and your heart was tender. It was not easy to push conviction aside, but you walked over those influences and you went on toward Hell. And God said, I dont want to see that child lost. Ill put another barrier between him and the pit of Hell. 2) Climbing Over the Word of God And [God] reared up this blessed mountain, the Word of God ... the impregnable Rock of Holy Scriptures ... you cannot look upon it without conviction ... it is the authoritative, infallible, true Word of God, no matter how hard you may try to deny it, and no matter how long you listen to todays false teachers telling you that the World of God cannot be understood nor trusted. At the time of the White Throne Judgment, Gods Word, the Bible, shall stand before you as Jesus pronounces Divine Judgment and casts you into Hell. You will have deliberately climbed over Gods Word to get into Hell. 3)Climbing Over the Prayers of the Saints Everyone who goes to Hell is an intruder there. He climbs over the revelation and the call of God, and he climbs over the prayers of the saints. Most people in Western Civilization have had many saved loved ones, praying diligently for them. In some instances, beloved Moms and Dads have prayed for their children for several decades. Every Wednesday and Sunday nights, our church solicits prayer requests from our members for those people in our life who are not saved. In most instances, the people for whom we pray are unsaved loved ones; however, we regularly pray for co-workers, for bosses, and for people who are mistreating us. You have got to climb over these mountains of prayers to get to Hell. 4)Climbing Over Caskets When I was in Christian college, I walked away from Jesus Christ, away from His calling in my life, and away from His great love. My Mom and Dad prayed for me, along with many others, for 15 long years. Finally, in 1980, in an accident on the operating table in a major hospital, my Dad went home to be with the Lord. In the family grieving room, the surgeon spent several hours with us, crying with us. He kept saying, His death was so unbelievable; it was such an accident; I just cannot believe he died; he is the first I have ever lost in the many years I have been performing this operation; he should not have died! All my other family members voiced some of the same sentiments. From that moment on, I could not climb over the reality of my mortality and my sinfulness. Less than six months later, I came back to Jesus Christ. I knelt on the slopes of that mountainous obstacle and repented of my sin, and was wondrously restored to fellowship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Most people who have lived in a Western Civilization country will have walked over the caskets of many saved loved ones to continue their climb to Hell. But, you know, God speaks through the death of unsaved people to the people still alive, and His message is almost always the same -- repent, turn to My Son, Jesus Christ, before it is too late for you. 5)Climbing Over The Cross The Cross on Golgotha -- the place where our dear Savior, Jesus Christ, died for our sins so we would not have to -- is the one mountain over which all the unsaved must climb to get to Hell . ... there is one mountain I know youll have to climb. Its not a very high mountain, but its a very rugged one. Its in the shape of a skull. And on the brow of that skull is an old rugged Cross. On that Cross theres a bleeding Lamb. Nay, thank God, Hes on no Cross, Hes in no tomb. But, He died on a Cross, and if you go to Heaven, youll go by way of the Cross. We sing this wondrous truth in this beloved chorus: God leads His dear children along. Some thru the waters, some thru the flood, some thru the fire, but all thru the blood... {Chorus to God Leads Us Along}All human beings will have to go by the way of the Cross. The saved will cling to it and love it dearly, while the unsaved will trample the Lord Jesus Christ as they climb up over it so they can continue their path toward Hell. But, youll also have to climb over the Cross to get to Hell. Youll walk over Jesus, youll step on His heart, youll trample in His blood, youll spurn His love. [Ibid., p. 53] 6) Climbing Over Random Witnesses -- On so many occasions, when I have been struggling with something, God has caused someone to cross my path to give me encouragement, or giving me a particular truth I needed to hear at that time. Sometimes, I have seen a handwritten sign that simply told me, Jesus Saves. The Holy Spirit performs this work in the life of so many people, saved and unsaved. At that particular moment in a persons life when they are struggling with conviction of sin, or of some spiritual matter, God will cause some message to cross that persons pathway. Many multitudes of people will lift up their eyes from Hell, crying out as they remember these random incidences where the Holy Spirit tried to reach them. Dr. Parker concluded his sermon on this most important issue with an eloquence that I need to be share with you. Knock, Knock, Knock. Who is that knocking at your hearts door tonight? Its Jesus. Jesus! Where did You get those scars? These scars? Put your finger here in this nail print. Put it here. Thrust your hand in here. Feel here, where the thorns tore My brow. Feel here where they plucked out My beard. Feel here, where thongs of leather tore My flesh. You cant feel the big scar. Thats in My soul. I got these scars when I died for you. And, if you have any gratitude, if you have any appreciation in your heart, if you have any backbone, I dont see how you can walk on the Son of God Who died to keep you out of Hell. Dont climb over Jesus. Dont climb over this appeal tonight. Dont climb over the call of Gods Holy Spirit in this service. Let us bow for prayer. [Ibid., p. 54] UNIQUE APPLICATION OF THIS PRINCIPLE TO THE END OF THE AGE But, wait, we are not concluded with this study yet. We still have some work to do on this most important subject. You see, the End of the Age is coming nigh with a rapidity that is causing me to catch my breath. Like a freight train, Gods final judgment upon a sinful world is bearing down upon mankind. The Apostle Pauls words of warning almost 2,000 years ago carry even greater weight in this day and age, and for this people today. Listen: Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts ... [Hebrew 3:7-8] We need to study one more instance where God is going to raise some HUGE, mountainous obstacles at the End of the Age to prevent people from going to Hell. You will be shocked when you read the End of the Age prophecies with this idea in your mind. 7)Climbing Over End of the Age Events -- In Judgment after Judgment, God is actually raising up huge obstacles in the path of all mankind, over which they will have to climb to get into Hell. Consider: 7a)Climbing Over the Rapture of the Church -- When Jesus Christ calls His Church to meet him in the air, He will be placing the most shocking fulfillment of Bible prophecy directly in the lives of all the unsaved who remain on the earth! Think of the terrible shock when tens of millions of people suddenly disappear in the twinkling of an eye! How many instances over the earth will an unsaved person be talking to a saved person, who suddenly disappears in mid-sentence? How many unsaved people will be eyewitnesses to this historically unprecedented event? If Jesus plans on having the clothes of the saved drop to the ground as they are whisked upward, instantly receiving their glorified bodies, then we really do have an event which will shock everyone left behind, like no other event has ever shocked before. Consider the opening of the graves of the saved who have already passed away. Have you ever stopped to think that Jesus did not have to open any graves at the Rapture? He could have just given glorified bodies to the souls of the departed saints in Paradise, and have them join the Raptured in the air, with Him! The only reason Jesus will physically open the graves is to raise up the most powerful sign in world history, of His reality, of the faithfulness to His Word, and of His omnipotent power. Can you imagine the scene at a typical graveyard, with dozens and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of graves opened with the dirt thrown back and the casket protruding from the ground? Remember, the entire world will soon know that the one common denominator shared by those Raptured and those whose graves were opened, was that they were fundamental believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and had refused all opportunities to deviate from that fundamental faith. The Rapture of the Church will raise up the most difficult mountain and the highest mountain over which unbelievers must climb if they are to get into Hell! 7b)Climbing Over the Appearance of Antichrist -- The staged appearance of Antichrist will be another huge mountain of an obstacle God will throw up to warn men. The appearance of this Man of Sin has been so thoroughly covered in prophetic Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, that when he appears in precise fulfillment of these prophecies, the peoples of the world will have a huge reason to suddenly believe in Scripture. Of course, the vast majority of people will not think according to these lines, but that will be no excuse when they face Jesus on the day of the White Throne Judgment. Have you ever stopped to think that Antichrist could not appear as long as a majority of people were familiar with the prophecies about his appearing? No, Satan had to wait to stage the appearance of Antichrist until the vast majority of people were totally ignorant of Biblical teachings, especially Biblical prophecy. This is the meaning of the Apostle Pauls shocking statement about the appearance of Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2. Listen: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [Verse 3]. The word translated, falling away, here has two meanings; it can mean a departure from the faith, and it can mean the sudden departure of something. In this context, I believe it means both. The Antichrist would have arisen in Pauls time if he could have, but he was prevented by the Holy Spirit because it was not yet Gods appointed time. But, as Gods appointed time draws near, the Christian Church will begin to depart from the Faith of the Fathers, thus opening the door for Antichrist to appear! In other words, the current apostates of the Christian Church are opening the door for the Son of Perdition to appear! But, then, the second part of the meaning of this Greek word, apostasia is the Rapture -- the sudden snatching away -- of the true believers. Then, Antichrist can arise! Antichrist is foretold to be able to perform the most wondrous and miraculous signs and wonders mankind has ever seen. He will do these lying signs and wonders in order to convince the peoples of the world that he is God, so they will fall down and worship him. However, anyone who sees this guy arising, claiming to be Jesus Christ returned, and performing all these signs and wonders, should know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that they are witnessing Biblical prophecy being fulfilled in their sight. They will have to climb over this huge mountain of fulfilled prophecy to continue their march to Hell. People living in the time of the prophesied appearance of Antichrist will have to climb over these several huge mountains God has raised up to warn them, if they hope to still reach Hell. 7c) Climbing Over the Fulfilled Prophecies following the appearance of Antichrist. -- When Antichrist arises, anyone in the world can pick up any translation of the Scripture, even the Roman Catholic translations, and understand the events that are about to come to pass, very speedily. 1. In Revelation 6:3-4, Jesus tells everyone who cares to listen that the world will experience a great war, coming from a demon riding the Red Horse, and carrying a huge sword. If the Bible a person is reading at this moment has footnotes, that person will probably be taken to the passage in Daniel 7:20 and 24, where we see that three (3) of the original 10 Super Nations that formed just before Antichrist took power are to be totally destroyed. The people living in the lands not destroyed by this war should be fully aware that Biblical prophecy is being fulfilled, and fall to their knees asking for forgiveness through Jesus shed blood. 2. In Revelation 6:5-6, we see that huge famines will hit various places in the world in unprecedented force. Once again, everyone not killed should be fully aware that Gods prophecies are being fulfilled. 3. In Revelation 6:7-8, we see that enormous plagues will hit the earth following the appearance of Antichrist. Once again, if the Bible being read has footnotes, the reader will be taken to Luke 21:11, where Jesus foretells of deadly, unprecedented diseases that cannot be cured. 4. People will have to climb over the witness of the people who will be martyred for the cause of Jesus Christ during this period. Not only will unsaved people see the refusal of Christians to worship Antichrist, they will be able to see prophecy being fulfilled in front of their very eyes, as untold millions of Christians are martyred for their faith. [Read in Revelation 6:9-11; 7:9-17; 12:11; 14:12-13]. Jesus Christ has so strongly proclaimed the coming persecution of the true believers after Antichrist arises, anyone with any Bible knowledge, or any Bible to read, will have to climb over this huge mountain of the witness of these dead bodies to get into Hell. 5. People will have to climb over the witness of the appearance of the False Religious Prophet acting on behalf of Antichrist and performing the same lying signs and wonders. Further, they will have to climb over the witness of the global effort to force everyone on earth to take the Mark of the Beast [Rev 13:16-18] or be beheaded [Rev 20:4]. Once again, people will have to climb up this huge mountain God has placed in their way in order for them to continue their path to Hell. 6. People will have to watch the Jews rebuild their Third Temple and resume the Old Testament animal sacrifices [Matthew 24:15; Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11] People will have to climb up over this witness to continue their march to Hell. 7. People will have to ignore the entire sequence of Natural Disasters which God has promised in the Book of Revelation following the appearance of Antichrist. God has foretold that He will provide a series of historically unprecedented earthquakes, meteors, famines, a Sun that is hotter than normal, so hot it will scorch men, and the angels holding back the winds at the four s of the earth [Rev 7:1 -- did you know the Earth really has four s? Read NEWS1194 to see the probable impact of holding back the winds which are causing the Four s]. 8. People will have to ignore the 144,000 Jewish evangelical witnesses which God will raise up to take His Gospel to the farthermost ends of the earth. These 144,000 supernaturally empowered missionaries will cause the greatest ruckus possible, as people will positively hate their sins being exposed as sin, and will be especially infuriated because they cannot kill any of these missionaries, until their mission is fulfilled [Revelation 7:3-8] Furthermore, people will be really mad at the two witnesses, foretold in Revelation 11:1-13. For 3 1/2 years, these two witnesses will faithfully proclaim the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Whenever anyone, wielding any weapon, tries to kill these two witnesses, they themselves will be killed. People will also be treated to the foretold spectacle of these two witnesses finally being allowed to be killed, of their bodies lying in the street for 3 1/2 days, and then having global television networks capture their sudden coming back to life, and their unbelievable resurrection into heaven! People will really have to work hard at climbing over this huge mountain which God will raise up before them; but climb it they will, because men really want to spend eternity without God. The only thing they do not want is to be punished by an Unlimited God, for an unlimited amount of time, and to an unlimited degree! But, make no mistake about the fact that most unbelievers do not want to spend time in eternity with the God whom they detest. As Charles Haddon Spurgeon says in his monumental book, The Treasury of David , in a footnote to Psalm 1, Sinners cannot live in Heaven. They would be out of their element. Sooner could a fish live upon a tree than the wicked in Paradise. The only way they would be able to endure Heaven is to be born again, and become new creatures with pure hearts, able to fully enjoy the presence of God, His holy angels and the redeemed. People will have to climb up over these huge mountains of witnesses God will raise up, in order to reach their goal of Hell. 9) People will have to climb over the mountain of fulfilled time tables. God has foretold that, from the time Antichrist confirms the covenant with the leaders of Israel [Daniel 9:27], Antichrist has only 7 Jewish years of 360 days each, or 2,520 days, before Jesus Christ returns at the Battle of Armageddon. Further, at precisely the half-way mark [1,260 days], the Bible clearly states that Antichrist will walk into the rebuilt Temple, and defame the Holy of Holies by declaring himself to be God, erecting a talking statue there, and possibly even having swine sacrificed on the altar. [Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:6-14; and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4]. Thus, when people see Antichrist being anointed as the Jewish Messiah, and signing the Jewish national covenant, they can count forward exactly 1,260 days and know that, on that date, Antichrist will defame the Holy of Holies. Then, once they have seen him profane the Temple, they will know that precisely 1,260 days later, Jesus Christ will return to destroy the forces of Antichrist, throwing him and the False Prophet into the Sea of Fire. Perhaps this is one of the largest mountain over which people will have to ignore and climb so they can get to Hell. God has given people the most precise time table possible in which these key events will occur. The only reason He gave this precise prophecy is to turn the hearts of the wicked when they see these events occurring, so they can repent while today is still called today. MOUNTAINOUS OBSTACLES LARGER THAN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANGE When I consider all the fulfilled prophecies in the Scripture, which are going to be fulfilled right in front of peoples eyes, I can see a mountain range greater than the mighty Rocky Mountain over which people are going to have to laboriously climb in order to continue to march to Hell. Now, you can understand Gods amazement in Revelation 9:20-21, when He mused, And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. At the White Throne Judgment, Jesus will show each man and woman who lived at this time the enormous mountain range of fulfilled prophecy which God raised up to get them to recognize Him as God, themselves as sinners, and then repent and turn so they may be saved. Hundreds of millions of people during the Great Tribulation will have climbed over a mountain range higher and more rugged than the Rocky Mountains so they could continue their march toward Hell. They will be without excuse. What about you, my friend? Are you climbing over huge mountains of evidence which God has raised up, ignoring Gods pleas that you turn and repent, in order that you may get off your path to Hell, and turn on to the path to Heaven? Are you spiritually ready? Is your family? Are you adequately protecting your loved ones? If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study. If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, but have come to realize His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to accept His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can also do so now, in the privacy of your home.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 16:43:28 +0000
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