“Night and day it shall not be quenched;

its smoke shall go up forever.” vs10

God has promised His wrath upon the wicked. It shall never be quenched. It is a fearful thing, but let us boldly rejoice as God’s people. The End will come. Let us flee from the wrath to come, Oh sinner, the only way that we can, which is by trusting Christ.

First, justice demands the punishment of our sins. God would not be faithful to His word, if He punished Christ and let us go free without faith in Him. Faith is reliance upon Christ as Lord and Savior, as Master and the One that makes us obedient! There is grace in Christ for holiness, which He demands, or we shall not see God [Heb 12:14]. Let us be quick to trust this Christ and count Him more precious than the world.

Secondly, God’s salvation is from sin. People go to hell because they have sins to pay for and for nother other reason: It is not because we are poor or sick; it is not because we are born in Nigeria or the USA; it is because our character offends the Holy God! Therefore, sin must be conquered. It must be punished fully in the cross of Christ; it must be pardoned. It must be overcome by the Spirit, and we must be made obedient. Sin must be eradicated forever, and we must be glorified.

This is God’s work to take away our sins, subdue them, and make us sin no more forever. This is the promise of eternal life, as we are reconciled to God [1 John 2:25]. This is why Christ came to die and why He lives again [Matt 1:21]. He’s resurrected victoriously because He OBTAINED ETERNAL REDEMPTION, meaning all the sins that were laid upon Him are paid for in full. “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all [times], having obtained eternal redemption [Heb 9:12].”

His righteous blood was not shed in vain, but having made atonement, God highly exalted Him for answering the penalty of God’s justice, so that He may righteously give grace. This is the gospel: God has found a way to pardon us, give us holiness, and He’s prepared Paradise for us already, if we only believe, which is trusting this one time work of Christ for our victory over sin! The Spirit comes because He made atonement and all the promises are sure in Him [Acts 2:24, 33].

Look to Christ - not yourself and your imperfect works. Look to what Christ did and plead the blood as the reason that God is merciful, and He will be unto your eternal soul.

Otherwise, you have the wrath of God hunting you down, and He will come. He will not bluff, He will not pardon on the Last Day, and He will not open the dungeon of His torments forever. Like the rich man, there’ll be a great gulf fixed between you and the righteous! They’ll enjoy heaven’s eternal pleasures, while you are, “tormented in this flame [Luke 16:24].”