Pompeii was a beautiful seaside city in southern Italy. It was situated between Mt. Vesuvius and the Mediterranean Sea. In the year A.D. 79, this region was a wealthy, prosperous part of the Roman Empire.
On the morning of August 24, there was a sharp increase in seismic activity. Several times the earth rumbled like an upset stomach under the townspeople’s feet. Also, a good deal more smoke than usual issued out of the top of Mt. Vesuvius. The danger of living so close to an active volcano is that the people grow accustomed to smoke and rumblings. Most townspeople did not think that the increase in activity was anything to worry about. They continued on with their daily routines as if all was well.
We live in an age where people are failing to take warning too. For 2000 years, the gospel has been preached, telling of a Saviour who came from heaven and died on Calvary’s cross. The good news is that all who sincerely believe in the Son of God will be saved. The flip side of the good news is that those who never repent of their sins are under God’s wrath. If they pass out of this world unsaved, they will pass into the darkness of a lost eternity. Perhaps you have grown accustomed to hearing the warnings about the judgment to come. Perhaps you have convinced yourself that a place like hell couldn’t possibly exist. That’s a dangerous way to live.
On the morning of August 24, life went on as usual. The sun shone brightly. Some went to work. Others went shopping in the market. But early in the afternoon, with a tremendous explosion, Mt. Vesuvius erupted. With incredible force and energy, the top of the mountain dissolved into tiny bits and pieces and millions of tons of hot ash, poisonous gasses and pumice from deep inside the earth shot straight up into the sky, reaching a height of over 12 miles. Within minutes, pieces of pumice, or small volcanic rock, started to fall like rain on Pompeii. People in the streets took shelter in the doorways of stone buildings. What a choice the people had to make! Should they immediately flee the city with ash and pumice falling from the sky? Or should they seek shelter in the strong buildings?
When we come to realize that God is angry with our sin, we are presented with a similar choice. Do we flee from God’s wrath against sin? Or do we try to take shelter in places that cannot provide it? The Bible says to “flee from the wrath to come” (Matthew 3:77But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7)). “Flee” means to hurry as fast as possible. How we “flee” is to come by faith to the Saviour of sinners. On the cross, He gave His life as the one sacrifice for sin that God will ever accept. Take the warnings about sin seriously and flee to the Saviour! He is the sinner’s only refuge.
Many Pompeiians held something over their heads to protect them and fled to the harbor where they crowded onto boats and put out to sea. Others stayed behind seeking safety in the strong walls of their homes. But the safety they found in Pompeii was only temporary. Pompeii was a doomed city. In a short while, it was to become a city of destruction.
The world, in large part, has rejected the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and can be looked at as one great city of destruction. Individuals still have time to see their danger and flee out of it, but sadly, the multitudes that are living at ease as if they have nothing to worry about will be doomed. Don’t go on with this world that is headed for certain judgment. Make a clean break with it. Renounce its sins. Instead, place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and begin to live a radically different life that is characterized by faith, love and obedience to God. Christ is the sinner’s only hope.
An eyewitness account of the eruption has been passed down through the ages. Pliny the Younger wrote:
“Ashes now fall upon us though as yet not in great quantity. I looked behind me; gross darkness pressed upon our rear and came rolling over the land after us like a torrent. ... Darkness overspread us like a room that is shut up and the lamp is put out. You could hear the shrieks of women, the crying of children, and the shouting of men; some were seeking their children, others their parents, others their wives or husbands ... many lifting up their hands ... imagining that eternal night was come upon the world.”
The total darkness that descended on the city probably was caused when the giant cloud of ash and gasses cooled and began to fall back to earth, covering Pompeii like an impenetrable blanket.
The darkness that rolled over Pompeii is suggestive of the darkness of hell that will engulf lost sinners. The Lord Jesus spoke more about hell than any other person in the Bible. In Matthew 24, He said, “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:3030And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:30)). In this verse, He calls hell the “outer darkness.” A word that is synonymous with “outer” is “utter.” “Utter darkness” conveys the thought of complete, total and absolute absence of light. If the idea of being lost in the darkness of hell doesn’t scare you, it should, because hell is a real place and utter darkness is its real condition.
Unfortunately, those trapped in the terrible darkness of Pompeii would never leave it alive. They would lie down in their homes, in the streets, or in their barns, and they would die. For long hours, the volcano continued to erupt and belch out a tremendous amount of ash. So much ash fell on the town that the entire town, buildings and all, was buried under it.
Life as we know it will not last forever. Someday will be your last on earth. It might even be a day when the sun is shining warmly. When you pass out of this world, will you pass into the eternal darkness of hell to hear other lost souls around you weeping in misery? Or will you enter heaven to be with the One who died and rose again, that your sins might be forgiven? Joyous sounds will only be heard in heaven. Crying and sorrow form no part of the place. In heaven there will not be the slightest agony, but only imperturbable peace and delight. Throughout the endless ages, nothing will ever disrupt the perfect joy and delight of souls in heaven. I want to be there, and I hope you do too.
Where you spend eternity depends on what you do with Christ. Don’t waste another second before you take to heart God’s warnings about sin. Flee to take Christ as your Saviour, and start down the road that leads to life everlasting!
Now is your opportunity. Find out about people unashamed to ask for help in Should You Make a Distress Call?