I think the best way to encourage Christians to witness is tell remind them how terribly terrifying and painful and tormenting hell really is. Understanding the horrors, the pain and the suffering of hell will create a deep compassion for you to witness to others no matter how uncomfortable you may feel about witnessing. You will not want your worst enemy to go to hell. Satan does not want us to know the truth about hell.
Many people say that when witnessing that we should not talk about hell. They criticize the �hell, fire and brimstone� preachers. But nowadays, many people are so deceived that they do not even believe that there is a hell. So they need to know that hell still exists along with heaven as well. Jesus frequently referred to hell when He was teaching people. Over and over He referred to it. When witnessing it is helpful to let the sinner know that if they receive Jesus, then they will be saved� from going to hell. Yes, it is still there. At the same time, you need balance to witness with kindness and compassionate loving boldness. If they do not believe, you need to refrain from witnessing with an angry tone of voice saying: "You're going to hell!"
Many people do not believe in hell because they somehow think that if they do not believe that it is there, that it will somehow not be real. These following scriptures and the following testimonies will help you see and understand that hell is real. Many people have gone there and have even come back to tell about it.
Jesus Preached Against Going to Hell -
Scriptures from KJV Matt. 8:10 When
Jesus heard the centurion speak, He was astonished and said to those following
him, �I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in
Many do not really understand the word gnash or
gnashing because it is not a common word used today.
But the dictionary defines it as: when one grinds (crushes or
reduces to powder) their teeth
together in pain and anger.
Matt 7:19 �Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Matt. 7: 21 �Not
everyone who says to me, �Lord, Lord,� will enter into the kingdom of
heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, �Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in our name and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles?� Then I
will tell them plainly, �I
never knew you. Away from Me, you
evildoers!�
Matt 10:28 Jesus said to His disciples � Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell�.vs. 32-33 Whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Matt.11: 24 Woe
to you, Korazin and Woe to you
Matt 13:41 At
the end of the age� the Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will
weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matt 13:47 � the
Matt. 18:8 �Woe
to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! �If your hand or
foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two
hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it
away. It is better for you to enter
life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of
hell.
Why did Jesus say this? Because
He knows how horribly terrible hell is and He is telling the truth.
Matt. 18:32 Then the Master called the servant in. �You wicked servant,� he said,�I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn�t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my Heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.�
Deut. 32:21-22 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities�For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
2 Sam 22:6 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; the sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God.
Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Psalm 16:8, 10 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved�For thou will not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Psalm 55:15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell; for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.
Psalm 86:12-13 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify they name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
Psalm 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me. And the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord.
Proverbs 5:3-5 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
Proverbs 7:27 [A woman with the attire of a harlot] Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
Proverbs 9: 13 � 18 A
foolish woman is clamorous: she is
simple and knoweth nothing. Whoso is
simple, let him turn in hither (to her house) �She saith to him, �stolen
waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.�
But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in
the depth of hell.
Prov. 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
Prov. 23:13-14 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beateth him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell
Prov. 27.20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Isaiah 5:11, 14 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!�they regard not the work of the Lord. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend down into it.
Isaiah 13: 6-9 Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man's heart will melt, And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger. To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it.
Isaiah 14:5, 11-15 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, and the scepter of the rulers�Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming�They pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thin heart, I will ascend into heaven, will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the side of the pit.
Isaiah 66:24 �And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Brother
Kenneth E. Hagin
Kenneth E.Hagin was a church member and had been water baptized, but was not a Christian. He was not born again. In his book he says:
�I could feel the circulation as it cut off. Suddenly my toes were numb. Faster than you can snap tour fingers, my toes, feet, ankles, knees, hips, stomach and heart went dead and I leaped out of my body and began to descend. Until this time, I thought, �This is not happening to me. This is just a hallucination. It can�t be real! � But then I thought, �This is the third time. I won�t come back this time!� Darkness encompassed me �round about, darker than any night man has ever seen. The Bible talks about men and women being cast into �outer darkness,� where there is �weeping and gnashing of teeth.� (Matt 8:12)
And in the darkness, I cried out, �God! I belong to the church! I�ve been baptized in water! (You see, I was telling Him, �I shouldn�t be going this direction; I�m going the wrong direction!�)
I waited for an answer, but there was no answer; only the echo of my own voice through the darkness. And the second time I cried a little louder, �God, I belong to the church! I�ve been baptized in water!�
I waited for an answer, but there was no answer; only the echo of my own voice as it echoed through the darkness.
I would scare a congregation out of their wits if I ever imitated the way
I screamed the third time, although if I could scare them out of hell and into
heaven, I�d do it. I�d flat do
it.
I literally screamed, �GOD! GOD! I BELONG TO THE CHURCH! I�VE BEEN BAPTIZED IN WATER!"
But you see, although being baptized in water is right, although belonging to the church is right, it takes more that being baptized in water to miss hell and go to heaven!
And all I heard was the echo of my own voice as it echoed through the darkness. I came again to the bottom of that pit. Again I could feel the heat as it beat me in he face. Again I approached the entrance, the gates into hell itself. That creature took me by the arm. I intended to put up a fight, if I could, to keep from going in. I only managed to slow down my descent just a little and he took my arm. Thank God that voice spoke. I don�t know who it was � I didn�t see anybody �I just heard the voice. I don�t know what he said, but whatever he said, that place shook; it just trembled. And that creature took his hand off my arm. I was just like there was a suction to my back parts. It pulled me back, away from the entrance to hell, until I stood in the shadows. Then it pulled me up headfirst. As I was going up through the darkness, I began to pray. My spirit, the man who lives inside this physical body, is an eternal being; a spirit man. I began to pray:
�O God! I come to you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I ask you to cleanse me from all sin.�� I came up right beside the bed the third time and leaped right inside my body.
When I got inside my body, my physical voice picked up my prayer right in the middle of the sentence. I was already praying out of my spirit; my physical voice picked up my prayer and continued to pray�.I want you to know that it was like a two ton weight lifted off of my chest. Peace came on the inside. I looked at Grandpa�s old clock on the mantelpiece, and it said 20 minutes till 8 o�clock. So I was born again at 20 minutes til 8 o�clock on April 22, 1933 in the south bedroom, and I�ve been saved ever since. (Hagin, 15-19)
Men and women, boys and girls, young men and young women: There IS a heaven to gain and there is a hell to shun. This may seem old-fashioned to some, but the old-fashioned Gospel is still true today. The first and foremost faith that we need to understand is having faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior.� (Hagin, 32)
Jesus Christ took a woman, Mary K. Baxter, to hell and told her to write a book about it called A Divine Revelation of Hell (Whitaker House). As I read this book, I knew it was true because what Jesus said in the Bible backs up every experience she had. Jesus said to her: �Tell the world that hell is real and that men and women must repent of their sins.� Here I�ve included seven excerpts from her book to reveal just what type of people end up in hell and why they ended up there.
The next cell we came to, a woman�s voice said, �Help me�it�s so painful�Lord, I will do what is right now. I once knew You, and You were my Savior �� Big pieces of burning flesh fell from her, and only bones clenched the bars of the cell. �Why won�t you save me now? You even healed me of cancer and told me to go and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon me. I tried, Lord; You know I tried. I even tried to witness for You. But Lord, I soon learned that those who preach Your Word are not popular. I wanted people to like me. I slowly went back into the world and the lust of the flesh devoured me. Nightclubs and strong drink became more important than You. I lost touch with my Christian friends and soon found myself seven times worse than I had been before. And though I became lover of both men and women, I never intended to be lost. I did not know that I was possessed by Satan. I still felt Your call upon my heart to repent and be saved, but I would not. I kept thinking I still had time...But I waited too long and now it is too late.�
Reader, if you are not saved, your good intention of becoming born again someday will not keep you out of hell.
II.
Lesbians, Homosexuals and Adulterers
In the heart of hell, a woman�s voice from another cell said��Sometimes we are brought before Satan and he tortures us for his pleasure. Satan feeds on our pain and grows strong on our cries of despair and sorrow. Our sins are always before us. We know we are ungodly. We know also that we once knew the Lord Jesus, but refused Him and turned away from God. I was a prostitute. I took men and women for their money and called what we did �love.� I destroyed many homes. Many lesbians, homosexuals and adulterers are in these cells.� (Baxter, 108 �109). Heartbreaking screams and great cries of pain came from these cells. The souls inside were being burned alive by this hotter than hot lake of fire, and yet they could not die. The demons, too, joined in the laughter as Satan went from cell to cell, torturing the lost. (Baxter, 99)
As I looked closer, I saw many souls, each chained to another. The weight of the chains dragged them under the surface of the lake of fire. Jesus said, �These are the souls of the unbelievers and the ungodly. These were lovers of their own flesh more than lovers of God. They were men loving men and women loving women, who would not repent and be saved from their sin. They enjoyed their life of sin and spurned my salvation.� I looked again at the souls in the fire. They were a fiery red and their bones were blackened and burned. I heard their souls cry out in regret and sorrow. The Lord said, �This is their torment. Chain after chain, they are linked together. These desired the flesh of their own kind, men with men and women with women, doing that which is unnatural. They led many young girls and young boys unto acts of sin. They called it love, but in the end it was sin and death. I know that many boys and girls, men and women were forced against their wills to commit such atrocious acts � I know and will not hold this sin to their charge. Remember this though,� said Jesus, �I know all things, and the persons who made these youths to sin have the greater punishment. I will judge righteously. To the sinner, I say, �Repent, and I will have mercy. Call on Me and I will hear. Time after time I called to these souls to repent and to come unto Me. I would have forgiven them and cleansed them; and in My name they could have been set free. But they would not listen to Me. They wanted the lust of the flesh more than the love of the living God. Because I Am holy, you must be holy. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you,� said the Lord. (Baxter, p130-131)
I heard a cry so desperate that it filled my heart with despair, �No hope! No hope!� he called from a coffin in a endless wail of regret. The demons pushed their spears into the soul of the man in the coffin. I looked inside and saw a bloody mess. Before my eyes was a soul. Inside the soul was a human heart, and blood spurted from it. The thrusting spears were literally piercing his heart. �I will serve you now, Lord.� He begged, �Please let me out�.I will now preach the true Gospel. I will tell about sin and hell. But please let me out of here.�
Jesus said: �This man was a preacher of the Word of God. There was a time when he served Me with all his heart and led may people to salvation. Some of his converts are still serving Me today, many years later. The lust of the flesh and the deceitfulness of riches led him astray. He let Satan gain the rule over him. He had a big church, a fine car, a large income. He began to steal from church offerings. He began to teach lies. He spoke mostly half-lies and half-truths. He would not let Me correct him. I sent My messengers to him to tell him to repent and preach the truth, but he loved the pleasures of this life more than the life of God. He knew not to teach or preach any other doctrine except the truth revealed in the Bible. But before he died, He said the Holy Ghost Baptism was a lie and that those who claimed to have the Holy Ghost were hypocrites. He said you could be a drunkard and get to heaven, even without repentance. He said God would not send anyone to hell � that God was too good to do that. He caused many good people to fall from the grace of the Lord. He even said that he did not need Me, for he was like a god. He went so far as to hold seminars to teach this false doctrine. He trampled My Holy Word under his feet. Yet, I continued to woo him. He did not listen to Me. I called him to repentance, but He would not come to Me. One day he was killed and came immediately here. Now Satan torments him for having once preached My Word and saved souls for My kingdom. This is his torment. The blood of many lost souls are upon this man�s hands. Many of them are in torment right now.� With sorrowful hearts, Jesus and I walked on. (Baxter, p 71)
The woman said to Jesus, �You remember, Lord, how I went to church and was a good woman. I joined the church. I was a member of Your church. I knew your call was on my life. I knew I had to obey that call at all costs, and I did.�
Jesus said, �Woman, you are still full of lies and sin. I called you, but you would not hear Me! True, you were a member of a church, but being a church member did not get you to heaven. Your sins were many, and you did not repent. You caused others to stumble at My Word. You would not forgive others when they hurt you. You pretended to love and serve Me when you were with Christians, but when you were away from Christians, you lied, cheated and stole. You gave heed to seducing spirits and enjoyed your double life. You knew the straight and narrow way. And you also had a double tongue. You talked about your brothers and sisters in Christ. You judged them and thought you were holier than they, when there was gross sin in your heart. This I know, you would not listen to My sweet Spirit of compassion. You judged the outside of a person, without regard to the fact that many were children in the faith. You were very hard. Yes, you loved me with your lips, but your heart was far from Me. You knew the ways of the Lord and you understood. You played with God and God knows all things. If you had sincerely served God, you would not be here today. You cannot serve Satan and God at the same time.� (Baxter, 51).
I listened as the woman said, �Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father, but by Him. Jesus is the Light of the World. Come to Jesus, and He will save you.� When she spoke, many of the lost souls around her listened. Some swore and cursed at her. Some told her to stop. Still others said, �Is there really any hope?� Great cries of sorrow filled the air. I could not understand why the woman was preaching the Gospel here.
Jesus said, �Child, I called this woman at the age of thirty to preach My Word and to be a witness of the gospel. I call different ones for different purposes in My body. But if a man or woman, boy or girl doesn�t want My Spirit, I will depart.
�Yes, she did answer My call for many years, and she grew in the knowledge of the Lord. She learned My voice, and she did many good works for Me. She studied the Word of God. She prayed often, and had many prayers answered. She taught many people the way of holiness. She was faithful to her house.
The years went by until one day she found out that her husband was having an affair with another woman. And even though he asked for forgiveness, she grew bitter and would not forgive him and try to save her marriage. True, her husband was wrong, and he did commit a grave sin. But this woman knew My Word. She knew to forgive, and she knew that with every temptation there is a way of escape. Her husband asked her to forgive him. She would not. Instead, anger took root. Anger grew inside her. She would not turn it over to Me. She turned more bitter each day and said in her heart, �Here I am serving God all the way, and my husband is running around with another woman! Do you think that is right?� She said to Me.
I said, �No it is not right. But he came to you and repented and said he would never do that again�.Daughter, look inside yourself, and see that you have caused this yourself.�
�Not me, Lord� she said, �I am the holy one, and he is the sinful one.� She would not listen to Me. Time went on, and she wouldn�t pray to Me or read the Bible. She became angry not only at her husband, but also at those around her. She quoted the Scriptures, but she would not forgive him. She would not listen to Me. Her heart grew bitter, and great sin entered in. Murder grew in her heart where love had once been. And one day, in her anger, she killed her husband and the other woman. Satan then took her over completely, and she killed herself.� (Baxter, 54-55)
In the next pit was the soul of a man wrapped in its skeleton form, crying out to Jesus. �Lord,� he cried, �help me understand why I am here.� Jesus said, �Peace, be still. You understand why you are here.� Jesus turned to me and said, �This man was 23 years old when he came here. He would not listen to My gospel. He heard My Word many times and was often in My house. I drew him by My Spirit unto salvation, but he wanted the world and its lust. He liked to drink and would not heed My call. He was raised in church, but he would not commit himself to Me. One day he said to Me, �I will give my life to You one day, Jesus.� But that day never came. One night after a party, he was in a car wreck and was killed. Satan deceived him to the very end.�
We walked on to another cell. In it another man with a skeleton form and a dirty-gray soul was inside. Cries of such utter pain and regret came from this man that I knew I could never forget them. �This man is here,� said the Lord, �because of his rebellion. The sin of rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft. In fact, all those who know My Word and My Ways and have heard the gospel but still will not repent are in rebellion against Me. Many are in hell today because of this sin.�
The man spoke to Jesus and said, �I once thought about making You Lord of my life, but I did not want to walk your straight and narrow way. I wanted the broad way. It was so much easier to serve sin. I did not want to have to be righteous. I loved my sinful way. I desired to drink strong drink and do the things of this world more than obey Your commands. But I wish now I had listened to those you sent to me. Instead, I did evil and would not repent.� Great sobs shook his body as he cried out in regret. �For years I have been tormented in this place. I know what I am, and I know I will never get out. I am tormented day and night in these flames and these worms. I cry, but no one comes to help. No one cares for my soul here � no one cares for my soul.� He fell into a small heap on the floor and continued to cry.
The cell block in hell is 17 miles high. Here in these cells were many lost souls who were involved in witchcraft or the occult, mediums, drug peddlers and evil people with familiar spirits. These are the ones that deceived people and led them away from God.
There are too many people that have died and gone to hell and have come back to life and have verified that hell is there and it is a fiery tormenting place full of pain and suffering for anyone to say that hell is not real or that it is not there.
�
Bill Wiese says he spent 23 minutes in hell.
You can buy his book or hear
his testimony at: www.soulchoiceministries.org
or write him at:
� Jennifer Perez, a 15 year old girl, says she went to Hell. You can find her testimony at www.spiritlessons.com
� Dick Spiller went to hell and came back to life. You can read his testimony at: www.victorious.org/hell.htm
� John W. Reynolds spent 48 hours in hell. You can read his testimony at: www.heaventour.org/testimony.html which has several life after death testimonies.
Hell is there. Hell is real.
