This is an unusual perspective on a familiar story that should really make you think. Many have heard the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar who sat at his gate. The selfish rich man had plenty of worldly wealth, but he refused to give Lazarus even the crumbs that fell from his table.

However, the situation change dramatically when they both died. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame (Luke 16:22-24). This previously rich man had now become a dead beggar, pleading for just one drop of water. Even after death, he still possessed the same selfish characteristics he had carried on Earth. He wanted things only for his own benefit, and he still wanted others to serve him. Looking across the gulf between Heaven and hell, he asked Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue.

But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment (Luke 16:25-28). The rich man initially asked Father Abraham to send Lazarus to him; and when that didn’t work, he wanted him to send someone to warn his five brothers. He didn’t think about anyone else’s brothers; he only thought about his own family. How selfish! He didn’t have God’s love, and he didn’t use the grace that Jesus brought. How sad! He wanted his brothers warned so they wouldn’t join him in hell, but there was a gulf between this man and Lazarus that prevented any further interaction; and the spiritual gulf was much wider than the physical gulf.

Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead (Luke 16:29,31). Abraham tells him that they already have the truth; but if they haven’t listened to it in the past, then they wouldn’t listen to Lazarus if he was raised from the dead, either.

There Is Fire in Hell

Jesus said very little about hell, but this is one time that He spoke of a person actually being there; He wanted to let us know that there is fire in hell. The Bible also speaks of hell-fire and brimstone in Revelation. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Revelation 21:8).

The devil has tried to cover up hell. The Bible lets us know that hell was originally created for the devil and his angels; but because of man’s sins, hell had to be enlarged. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure (Isaiah 5:14). Hell had to be big enough to accommodate all those who won’t live free from sin.

The Love of Riches Leads to Eternal Damnation

Lazarus, once a poor beggar, now has everything in Heaven. No one would have traded places with him while he was on Earth; but they didn’t realize that, in spite of his appearance, he was actually rich because he had God. People think the same way today. They’ll look at a man with great wealth; and although he has gone the world’s way and isn’t serving God, people coveting riches would still love to take his place. They don’t realize, however, that on tomorrow this man may lift up his eyes in hell because when people trust in riches, it leads to eternal damnation. Jesus said, For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul (Matthew 16:26)? Sin causes you to lose everything, including the life you have been offered from Heaven.

Adam and Eve sold out to the devil. They had been warned to stay away from the tree of death just as people are warned today. But there are many more people in the world church than there are in the Jesus Church, and only the Jesus Church prepares people for Heaven.

The Lord said, Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13,14). That strait gate is down here on Earth, but few will enter through it into eternal life. People can do whatever they desire and satisfy every lust of the flesh on the broad way, but they won’t like their final destination.

In hell, the rich man saw the great gulf. He couldn’t cross to those in Heaven, and they couldn’t cross to him. After death, no one has a second chance even though many believe that they do. Jesus taught that when a person dies, their eternity is sealed. They’ll never have another opportunity to accept Jesus. He came all the way from Heaven and spent over thirty years here for you and me. He brought everything we need to make us brand-new and fit citizens for Heaven.

Characteristics for Hell

As I mentioned earlier, the rich man still had the same characteristics in hell that he had on Earth, but many fail to think about this. When you’re young, you develop habits that remain with you the rest of your life. They become part of your personality, and you have to be born again for these habits to be changed.

A sinner is in the habit of saying no to God and not having any feelings for the Lord. He doesn’t feel the flames of hell at the moment, so he’s not conscious of the fact that he could plunge into eternal darkness at any time. He doesn’t recognize that Jesus is truth.

Take note that this story of the rich man in hell comes from Jesus, not from one of the disciples or apostles. The rich man in hell still has his same selfish spirit. If you thought hell was going to convert people, that’s not so. Yes, they will finally believe there is a hell, a God, a Son of God and a Holy Spirit; and they will realize there is a Heaven they have missed. But they will still have their same characteristics; selfishness, cursing, lying, stealing and other such works of the flesh will still be part of their spirits. They will still only want things that benefit themselves. Outside of their own little circle of family and friends, they have no missionary spirit.

Separated from God

Sinful characteristics separate people from God. The Lord told Israel, Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2). Sin separated Adam and Eve from God, and it separated the people in Noah’s day from God. It brought death, death, death; yet many people today won’t get away from the tree of death. They’re headed for eternity unprepared, although they’ll tell you that they’re ready to die.

When I was young, I had an aunt who the doctor said was dying. Weeping loved ones gathered around as she told them goodbye and that she would see them in Heaven. As it turned out, however, she didn’t die; and later she received real salvation and the Holy Ghost baptism. Had she died earlier, she would have been lost. She thought she was saved, but she wasn’t; she only had a form of godliness. But God knew she was honest-hearted, and He gave her a second chance. She was a good woman, but goodness won’t get you into Heaven. You have to be born again, re-created in righteousness and true holiness.

Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, but the Bible tells us that the rest of us were conceived in sin and iniquity. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalm 51:5). When God looks at people before they’re born again, He doesn’t see His image. But Jesus came so that we could receive His image once again and be resurrected into the newness of life. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Corinthians 5:17). When you’re born again, you live in the righteousness and holiness of God. Those characteristics of the past are destroyed and replaced with divine traits that Jesus brought for us. Then your life becomes different. You’re able to walk like Jesus walked, talk like He talked and live just like Him. He is our example, and He tells us, Follow thou me (John 21:22).

Jesus, Our Only Salvation

The New Testament tells us again and again that Jesus is our only passport to Heaven. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 3:11). The Lord said that not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).

The Bible also says that Jesus was perfect with no sin. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth (I Peter 2:21,22). That’s the power of divine blood, and Jesus had it in His veins and in His soul. Man and woman were created in Eden with only divine blood, and God never intended them to have anything but that. They were to have lived forever in a body of clay that would never wrinkle, decay or grow old. All of their needs would have been supplied without any worries, depression or oppression; but sin changed all that. So he [God] drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Genesis 3:24).

The cry went forth, The soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:20). Adam and Eve were told that if they sinned, they would die. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:17). But the devil told them, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4,5). They listened to the devil, and they did die. All divine life went out of their souls, and the soul is the only part of humanity that comes from Heaven.

When the blood stops moving in a physical body, the person is gone. Without physical blood in the body, there is no life for the flesh. So it is with divine blood; without it, the soul will die.

Make Your Choice

The final door into eternity is one of either mercy or judgment; and when you pass through that final door, it determines your destiny forever. Man was to have had only one door, a love door of mercy. There are many entrances into the heavenly city Jerusalem; but to Eden there was only one door, and it was a door of Heaven’s mercy. It was to never have been anything else but God’s loving mercy.

God had great love for His man and woman. He had made them in His own image with the same kind of mind, spirit, appearance, love, joy, happiness and peace. But they sinned away that door of mercy. The Bible asks, How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation (Hebrews 2:3)? Salvation is the door of mercy, and it’s the only chance for us. Many people are careless with that chance, and others have strayed so far away from that door that I’m afraid they’re not going to get back to it before darkness overtakes them. Many people have waited until it was too late.

No Side Doors to Heaven

People have tried to make all kinds of side doors into Heaven, but there aren’t any. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber (John 10:1). Of course, you can’t get into Heaven through any kind of side door; but this scripture says that if you even try, you’ll be considered a thief.

Jesus declared, I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9). God’s great mercy was gone after the fall of man, and it was replaced with terrible judgment—an angel with a flaming sword turning every way. There was no way for man or woman to get back to God, to talk to Him or to feel His living touch.

Failure Brought Murder

What a judgment it was when one son killed the other and they faced death for the first time. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear (Genesis 4:8-13).

The ground was cursed! Everything had been so beautiful in Eden, and now they would have to wrestle by the sweat of their brows. They worked from sunup to sundown trying to make a living. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Genesis 3:17-19). The vegetables and fruit weren’t healthy and beautiful anymore. Worms and insects appeared, and it was judgment!

Think about how Adam and Eve must have suffered. How many times did they regret their actions and wish they could get back into Eden? You may plan to get into the mercy of God one day; but if you’re not careful, you’re going to put it off until it’s too late, and there won’t be any mercy left.

Many people have already blasphemed against the Holy Ghost, and there’s nothing but judgment left for them. They will never find mercy because they have sinned against the Holy Ghost. They turned their backs on God’s miracle greatness, on His miracle love, mercy, goodness and saving grace; and the Lord doesn’t care about them anymore.

God Can Hate

The Lord told me one day, I can hate just as much as I can love. That was such a strange statement to me, and it really shook me up; but if you study the book of Revelation, you’ll find that it’s true. Even in Old Testament days, God killed thousands with His mighty sword of judgment because of people’s sins, disobediences, arrogance and rebellion against Him. Look at the people in Noah’s day; God had to destroy them because they would not repent. Noah warned the people about what was to come, but not one soul heeded God’s mercy. The world was filled with violence just like it is today, and God had had enough. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:7,8). Of all the thousands of people on the earth at that time, just eight found favor with God.

Our ark door today is about to close, and man’s destiny is going to be sealed. People are moving farther and farther away from God just like the Bible said they would. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived (II Timothy 3:13).

The Falling Away Is Here

The Lord said a falling away would come before the door would close, and that falling away is happening now. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (II Thessalonians 2:3). People who had once really served God are now turning away.

The Lord said, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15,16). Only true born-again Christians can have the favor of God. What a day of judgment is coming upon this human race! But many are so far from God and dead in sin that, as Paul said in writing to the Ephesians, They are without feeling. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleaness with greediness (Ephesians 4:17-19).

God is sending judgments today to warn people, but many won’t recognize them as judgments. The Bible tells us that in the last days there will be earthquakes in places where they’ve never been before, and such things are happening. Many judgments are now falling, and thousands of people have already died. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:7,8). We don’t know what the next hour may bring, but those who have gone through the door of mercy won’t have to worry. They have found the way out, the door to Rapture ground and the door into Heaven.

Destruction Will Come

Oh, people want help when destruction comes; they think more about God when calamity falls. They’re ready to scream and cry out to God; but when the crisis is over, they soon forget about God until the next time they need Him. God will soon get enough of this just as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah. God decided, I’ll destroy them! Remember Abraham’s conversation with God as he pleaded for the city: And he [Abraham] said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake (Genesis 18:32). Unfortunately, God only found three righteous people because Lot’s wife was in a lukewarm condition, and she didn’t make it out. She turned her back on God’s mercy and found only judgment. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. But his [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:17,26).

The door of mercy was open; but of all the multitudes living in those two cities, just three took advantage of God’s mercy. But God wants us to Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32). That was a tragedy to Heaven. She was offered freedom, but she refused it and looked back. Her heart had never really left the sins of the city. The lord has to have your heart or He doesn’t have you. You would have thought that Lot’s wife was saved, but her heart was still back with the sins of the people, lost and eternally damned.

Be Ye Holy

Don’t look back to the world and its sins that only satisfy the lust of the flesh, or the Spirit of God will leave you. We have to stay in the channel of obedience and put our lives on the line every day we have left. We must give ourselves completely and present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1). It’s just our reasonable service to give ourselves as a living sacrifice.

Adam and Eve looked into the face of God; and through God’s holiness, mercy and divine blood, we’ll all be able to look into His face one day. Our eyes will be holy; our lives will be holy, and without holiness no man can see the Lord. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

The Egyptians Rejected Mercy

The Egyptians were offered mercy; but Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to Moses’ message from God that said, Let my people go! Pharaoh was the head of the Egyptian people, and he closed the door for the whole race; but he didn’t believe that.

When Israel escaped by the dry-land passage through the Red Sea, Pharaoh thought he could take advantage of it, too. He sent his great army into the Red Sea after them but the Lord drowned them all. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore (Exodus 14:22-30).

Israel Turned Away

Israel saw what God did to their enemies, and yet they went back to their sinful ways. God had warned them that if they didn’t walk in His statues and keep His commandments, judgment would be theirs. I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:16-19).

God destroyed thousands and thousands of the Israelites because of their disobedience, and you would think that it would have changed them; but it didn’t. Again and again they turned their backs on God’s mercy, God’s love and God’s will.

Judgment Falls on Israel

Think about the seventy thousand who died in Israel because of David’s disobedience. And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. And the LORD spake unto Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee Either three years’ famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man. So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men (I Chronicles 21:1,7-14). Judgment, judgment, judgment!

Then consider all those twenty years and older who died in the wilderness before they even reached the land of Canaan. Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness (Numbers 14:29,30,33). God’s judgment was upon the Israelites, and He brought death time and time again.

When the young Israelites were finally ready to go into Canaan, the Lord warned them that they were only entering through His loving mercy and kindness. He gave them specific instructions that they were to drive out the enemies, refrain from associating with any of the people, and stay away from worshiping any of their gods. They were to worship and put their trust in Jehovah God only; but once again, they rebelled.

Moses warned them: Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you (Deuteronomy 4:23-27). God said He would scatter the Israelites all over the world if they didn’t obey Him, and He kept His word!

No Unbelievers in Hell

Returning to the story of the rich man…his eternity had been sealed; he was conscious and in hell, and his soul was not dead. Think about how much Lazarus had suffered, and now he was finally in Heaven. He had everything he could ever want, yet the rich man wanted him to leave Heaven to cross into hell to serve him. What a selfish request! People in hell won’t change; they’ll still be as selfish as they were on Earth. Yes, they’ll all believe in God and His Heaven, and they’ll all believe in hell; but they won’t change. Thank God that those in Heaven will no longer be aware of them. The rich man, now the dead beggar, remembered everything about Lazarus; and although he was aware of the fact that there was no more mercy, forgiveness or grace for him, he still didn’t confess his sins.

People had better be conscious of their souls and their eternity or they will miss Heaven. The gulf is too wide, and they can never make it across without the Lord. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie (Revelation 22:14,15). All sin will be shut outside the gate. If you have any sin in your life when you die, you will be one of the denied standing outside Heaven’s gate.

Jesus Brought Mercy

But Jesus Christ came to make it possible that whosoever will can have life eternal; whosoever will can come and bring their burdens to Him. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Revelation 22:17).

Anyone can go the Lord’s way if they really want the holy God who created them and the holy Jesus who bled and died for them. He brought divine blood; and although He knew it would cost Him His life to do it, He still did it. He made a great door of mercy for everyone.

Consider God’s wonderful mercy. Once you accept it and receive it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it a long time ago. When you pass through His beautiful gate, you leave all hate, strife, grudges and unforgiveness outside along with anything else that is unclean or unholy. Then you pass through that gate into the holiness and righteousness of the Lord where you’ll find the great highway of holiness. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it (Isaiah 35:8). How marvelous!

Heaven Is a Wonderful Place

Revelation tells us about Heaven. No one will want for anything there; no one will be needy, sick, crying or in pain. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4).  The Lord’s big, love handkerchief will dry every tear. Today, people have many opportunities to come to Jesus. Untold millions can tune into our broadcasts, but how many will wake up and take heed? How many will listen to the Gospel message and repent? Many right on the verge of dropping into hell are only thinking about making money, entertaining themselves and then taking life easy. However, the soul gets no rest and peace from houses and lands. The body can rest in wealth for the moment, but none of this can feed the soul and keep it alive. Only that which comes from the breath of God can do it because the soul didn’t come from the earth. The body came from the earth, and it can be satisfied with things of the earth; but the soul came from divinity, and it can only be satisfied with the things of God.

Jesus Is the Tree of Live

Consider living in a place where everyone is in need; the people are always wanting but never satisfied. That’s hell; everyone will be hungry and thirsty there. But the people could have gone to Heaven where the living waters of satisfaction flow, where no one will thirst or hunger. The river of life flows freely for all who make it there; all they have to do is drink, and they’ll live forever. Our Tree of Life, Jesus, made it possible. We can eat the wonderful fruit on the Tree of Life, and we’ll live forever. The fruit I’m referring to, the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, is much greater than any of the fruit in the first Eden. But thank God, we can all live in Eden again in the glory of the Lord with His love, faith and grace. Our paths will be made plain, and all our needs will be supplied by the hand of the One who created us. Oh, what love and healing power He has, and He’s ready to heal you soul, mind and body when you’re inside His gate. Once there, you’ll find that you’re a brand-new creature. You’ll find people with the same mind that Jesus Christ had with all its holiness and righteousness, and they’ll be walking in His steps and wearing His shoes!

The Gospel Must Be Preached

Jesus said, This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14). The end-time signs, both bad and good, are shouting that Jesus will soon come. When Jesus was here He said, So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors (Matthew 24:33). Jesus is ready to step over the threshold any time. The Holy Spirit is holding back the waters of tribulation like a great dam until we can get this Gospel to the whole world.

God’s prophecy must be fulfilled. We must now go to all nations that are open to the Gospel. In my overseas crusades, thousands come out of darkness into light in moments of time and then go on to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Thousands of miracles and healings take place as God hears the people call on the blood name of His Son. No case is too hard for our Lord. Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me (Jeremiah 32:27)? Open your eyes and behold the glory of the Lord.

Love or Judgment

God is now turning away from people who have known about Him and His mercy all of their lives and still reject Him. Their only concern is fulfilling every lust of the flesh, and they’re not ready to live inside God’s gate. His voice will soon be a voice of judgment. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (Matthew 24:37-39.

If you don’t respond to God’s voice of love, you’re going to hear His voice of judgment; everyone is going to hear the voice of God in one way or another. The people in Noah’s day didn’t even realize what was happening when their last day of mercy came, and the hand of God shut the ark door. God sealed it, and no one could get inside no matter how much they prayed and cried.

That time is coming again when people will cry and scream but to no avail; God won’t hear them. God can only listen through love and mercy; and when those two are gone from the earth, God won’t hear their voices ever again.

No Hope in Hell

God did not respond to the cries of the dead beggar in hell. While on Earth, he had always had everything he wanted; and he still thought like that in hell. He was hoping to convince Abraham to allow Lazarus to satisfy his thirst. He was still that self-centered. How tragic it would be to live in a place with only selfish, ungodly, degraded people. Jesus said His followers were the salt of the earth and the light of the world; but when Jesus comes, the salt goes back to Heaven with Him and the light goes out. Chaos will reign on Earth.

You’re Not Promised Tomorrow

You are closer to death than you think; just one little thread of life hangs between you and death. The lord never promised tomorrow to anyone. Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1). The rich man had no promise of tomorrow, and suddenly he found himself a dead beggar. In just a moment of time, he went from having everything to having nothing.

Jesus told this story to let us know that we will be conscious after death. If you’re lost, the demons of hell will be there to usher your soul into that awful place called hell, one with no deliverance and no relief. Jesus said, Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal (Matthew 25:41,43-46). The Lord wants no part of those who have rejected their last chance; they will have no other opportunity for salvation. If you believe that you will always have another chance, that’s false doctrine. You’ll wake up in hell like the dead beggar, and you’ll be conscious of where you are and the fact that you rejected the God who gave you your breath.

Do You Grieve the Holy Spirit?

When you dishonor God, criticize and mock Him, and doubt the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, you grieve the Holy Spirit. You’re spitting in the eye of God night and day with your lifestyle, your traits and your opinions. You’re saying, God, I don’t want any part of you. I have everything I need, and I don’t need you. But when you’re in hell with no God to hear you or care about you, you will have nothing and want everything. You’ll realize too late that hell’s a real place, and you’ll remember this story that the Lord gave to warn you.

The dead beggar could never say he wasn’t warned. The message sat at his gate every day, and he knew it was there. He called Lazarus by name when he was in hell, but he had ignored the message on Earth. If he had treated Lazarus right on Earth—sheltered him, fed him, dressed his wounds and listened to the story of the Gospel—he could have found salvation and been in Heaven.

People today think they can live any way they choose, serve the devil and still go to Heaven. At a funeral, many won’t even admit that a person is in hell. They believe that everyone who dies goes to Heaven, but don’t ever let yourself be deceived by that lie of the devil! If people don’t live right and do right, they won’t go to Heaven. If unrighteous people could enter Heaven, the Lord would certainly have to apologize to Adam and Eve, the devil and all the fallen angels for casting them out of Heaven. Sin can never enter Heaven.

Salvation Is at the Gate

The Gospel is yours to hear and heed. You have your chance; but so many people are too busy doing other things, and they’re ready to scorn Lazarus at the gate. We don’t want that starving man covered with sores in our house! If he weren’t so lazy he’d get a job. We work to provide for our families, and he could, too.

Salvation and deliverance were at the rich man’s gate, and now I’ve brought them to your gate. What are you going to do with them? Do you think that I’m just a fanatic? You won’t think so when you lift up your eyes in hell, and some of you could be there tomorrow. Think about all the people on Earth yesterday who had a chance. Lazarus was at their gate, but they didn’t want salvation; they wanted their own way. They didn’t want the Jesus way or His great light; they didn’t want His grace or His love. They didn’t care about His gift of faith because they were satisfied with their own selfish, human faith.

Sinner, you must hurry; the gate is going to close, and there will never be another one. You will find in the book of Revelation that the door is going to close forever. Jesus came as the Lamb of God, but that Lamb is going to turn into a Lion. There will be no salvation then. That ferocious Lion of the tribe of Judah is coming with judgment. That sword will go out of His mouth to destroy, and His vesture will be dipped in the destructive blood of judgment. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:13-16).

It will be such an awful time that only a few men will be left on planet Earth. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days (Mark 13:19,20).

Come to Jesus

Sinner, I pray God has shaken you with this message that He gave. Why don’t you come to Jesus? The Lord has sent me to tell you of His great mercy, love and care and to tell you that no one has ever loved and cared for you like Jesus does. As Lazarus was at the rich man’s gate, I’m at your gate begging you to listen to the greatest story ever told, the love story of Jesus. I offer you mercy in the form of the Old Rugged Cross that Jesus died on. At that powerful blood-Cross is the only place you’ll ever find mercy. If you deny the Cross of Jesus, you’re denying the glorious love-Cross of deliverance, freedom and forgiveness. There will be no mercy left for you.

Why not heed now? Surely your heart is crying out for Jesus, so say this prayer with me.

Oh, God, I’m so sorry that I’ve sinned against you! But I’ve come home, and I’m going to serve you, Lord, the rest of my life. I’m glad you sent the messenger of truth to my gate, and I’m accepting his message because I know it’s from you, Lord. I’m glad you love me and want me in your Heaven, but I know I have to be washed pure and clean. I’m ugly and degraded with sin; but I believe in the blood of Jesus that was shed on Calvary almost two thousand years ago, and I know it has the power to wash away all of my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus, come on in!

Now you can say, Hallelujah, He has come! Jesus is mine! The Gospel message is no longer at the gate; it’s in my heart!

If you meant that prayer, you now have your passport to Heaven; and much more can be yours if you will stay on the journey through prayer, fasting and living in the Word of God.

Healing Time

It’s now healing time for those who are sick and afflicted. Jesus came with healing in His wings for all death diseases. Jesus brought life, and He said, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25). Look to Heaven and see that He is life.

Lord, here they are. Many may be dead in a day or two and others in an hour. Help them, Lord, right now; you’ve done it again and again. You have given life when death was choking it right out of the body, and you came to deliver everyone from death. Heal! in the blood name of Jesus! Heal those who are dying with AIDS, cancer, heart trouble, lung disease, leprosy and those crippled by strokes. Deliver and set the captives free in the holy, blood name of Jesus!

This same message of healing came to me when I was so close to death. I knew I had only a few days left, and I was getting worse. I felt for sure that I was going to die. Then it happened: Jesus came and healed me! God wanted me to travel that path so I could help others. That’s why I don’t give up easily on people no matter how sick they are; I know they can be healed. Always remember that Jesus is the healer of all diseases, the deliverer and forgiver of all sins.

Write or email and tell me what happened to you today. When any of you with AIDS or HIV go back to the doctor and get the good report, share it with us. We would like to use your medical documents and testimony to help others; and we won’t use your name unless you give us special permission.

Don’t forget this message. Dwell on it because the Lord wanted you to have it; and He gave it with much power. God bless you.