Are You Lonesome Tonight?
As we move into short days and long nights, it becomes easier to feel discouraged. If we are increasingly secluded (by weather and, this year, by governmental edict), we can experience genuine loneliness. I enjoy being alone, but I have a choice in the matter; others do not. Solitude occurs when we want to be alone; loneliness happens when friends and family are taken from us. Solitude soothes, whereas loneliness looms. Because God knows all about us, His Word speaks to us about the painful subject of loneliness. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
As we close this study, we must consider the loneliest place of all – hell. Any attempt to soften the Biblical teaching on this subject is a direct assault on the holiness of God, Who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13). Sin separates us from God, and the sin of unbelief – the rejection of the full, free, and forever gift of forgiveness through faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ – must separate us from God eternally. The lonesome lament of Jesus on His Cross (Matthew 27:45-46) is unequivocal in presenting the reality of this separation. Hell is described as a lake off fire or burning sulphur (Revelation 14:10; 19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8). Revelation 14:11 says that “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night.” This place is eternal: Jesus used the same adjective in Matthew 25:46 to speak of everlasting life in heaven and everlasting punishment in hell. For those who speculate that hell will be a raucous reunion of rocking revelry, Revelation 20:3 is especially sobering, for hell is called “the bottomless pit.” There can be no fellowship, friendship, or even casual acquaintance in an unending abyss. No, hell is a place of judgment – of lonely judgment. We all have a choice: a lonesome eternity in hell separate from abiding love of God or eternal life in heaven enveloped in “everlasting arms” of God (Deuteronomy 33:27). May we all be certain that we have made the decision to trust in Jesus as Savior, and may we rejoice that, even if we have some loneliness now, we will never be alone in eternity.