People from every corner of the world were convulsed with grief and shock as images of the tsunami disaster of December 26, 2004, were flashed around the world. The pictures of the suffering caused by this giant wave of destruction have been indelibly etched into our minds. Images of people being swept away by the wave to their death, of shocked survivors staggering in the aftermath searching for loved ones, of mass graves and unidentified bodies-these images and many more like them will stay with us as long as we live.
The tsunami was created by an earthquake in the depths of the Indian Ocean. From the epicenter, the wave raced at nearly five hundred miles an hour to the Indonesian coast. When it reached land, the wave rose to more than eighty feet in some places. Most people were taken by complete surprise. With little or no warning, very few were able to escape. If only there had been adequate warning.
There is another terrible disaster looming over humanity, but for this one God has provided plenty of warning and a perfect shelter. This one will be the judgment that will fall on all who have not taken shelter while there is time. God has spoken about a real, eternal hell as the final destination of the wicked. Hell is not a pleasant topic to talk about or even to think about, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
Hell is a place of torment: “The rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments.”
Hell is a place of darkness: “Blackness of darkness forever.”
Hell is a place of never-ending punishment: “These shall go away into everlasting punishment.”
Every person, male or female, who has come to the age of understanding will be swept into that everlasting darkness of hell if they continue in their sins. Should they die without ever having come to the Savior, it will be as though a giant wave of destruction has swept them away with irresistible power. It will obliterate everything good and replace it with darkness, pain and sorrow.
The only way to escape eternal punishment is to trust in the Savior. So that souls wouldn’t have to perish, God sent His Son into the world. The Lord Jesus went all the way to the cross-all the way to death—so that sinners could escape the punishment their sins deserve. Now all who put their heart’s confidence in Him will be saved. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)).
Those who hear the warning of impending judgment can flee to the Savior. They can do it alone in the privacy of a room; they can do it on a busy street. You can do it in a prayer out loud, or you can do it soundlessly in the depths of your heart, but if you are ever going to escape that overflowing flood of judgment it must be done. You must go to Jesus Christ and to Him alone. And once you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the one way to be saved from sins, you should confess Him before others. Don’t keep the good news to yourself! “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:1010For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:10)).