The video above will deepen your sense of the gravity of sin, and God’s merciful call to flee it.
Hell lasts forever. And hell lasts forever because God’s glory is unending, and all sin is against God (Psalm 51:4). And if we’ve sinned against God, then the consequences themselves are unending.
“Her (Babylon’s) smoke rises up forever and ever” (Revelation 19:3 NKJV). Hell is forever. Babylon’s seductions have eternal consequences because sin and rebellion against God— the book of Revelation helps us understand—are immeasurable.
Thus, we can only be saved through the cross of Jesus Christ who has redeemed us with his precious blood—the only way by which we can be redeemed. That is why—because of the eternal consequences, because of the weight of sin against God—that is why the book of Revelation has been saying to us, “Come out!” (Revelation 18:4). Come out! Come out of rebellion against God. Come out of sneaking sin. Come out of those hidden places. Come out of the seductions of the world. Come out of the fog of lies. “Come out!” is the call of the book of Revelation (Revelation 18:4).
He (John) said in chapter 18 verse 4, “Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins.” (Revelation 18:4 NASB) That is a loving, saving call. “Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins,” (Revelation 18:4 NASB) is a loving call because sin always destroys, sin always blinds, sin always grinds.
We’ve talked about this a lot. [Sin] never shows you the horrific, destructive side on the front end. It always puts on a pretty face. You see, but what helps us to come out is when we see sin’s judgment and the promise of something better.
What the book of Revelation tells us is that evil, injustice, immorality, idolatry, will only ever result in regret. And the book of Revelation tells us if we don’t repent and put our trust in Jesus, then our regret will last forever!
Isn’t it wonderful to come to Jesus, to be forgiven, to experience his love, to be brought near to the Father, to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and begin to move beyond regret? Isn’t that a wonderful gift?
You know, hell is a place where we will never move beyond regret—an eternity of regret.
And so we have to have these images of God’s judgment sealed in our hearts and in our minds so that when sin tempts us—anybody here ever tempted?—we have to have this picture of Babylon judged (Revelation 19:1-4) and this promise of something better to come in the marriage supper of the lamb (Revelation 19:5-8) sealed in our hearts and minds so that when sin tempts us, we are reminded of Babylon’s smoke that rises up, forever and ever (Revelation 19:3).
We can look upon, again through the lens of Scripture, the ashes—the piles—of regret that smolder for eternity. And that helps us to say in a moment of sobriety, “Wait a minute, let me turn away from this thing. I have the promise of something better in union with Christ, intimacy with Christ, eternity with Christ. Let me turn away from this thing today and following Jesus!”
It helps us to see that her (Babylon’s) smoke goes up forever and ever (Revelation 19:3).