The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. Revelation 16:8&9 ESV
Contrast the attitude of these heart hearted proud God rejectors to a rich man who ends up in hell and wants to get out.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ Luke 16:22-28 ESV
The point is, I am amazed at how, even when in the torment of being in hell, there are some people who will still not repent and desire a way out.
The rich man in the story above, wanted out. When he realized there was no way out of hell, he requested that someone tell his brothers about the fate that awaited them. But in the other example from Revelation, those people hated God's authority so much that, even in torment, they were unwilling to change, or to even ask for or desire change.
Both the rich man and the proud, hard-hearted God haters ended up in hell. People do not end up in hell because they are rich, although riches can keep us from wanting to know God. As with all of us, the rich man and the proud, hard-hearted people ended up in hell because there was no covering for their sin. They did not repent of their sins while living on earth. They closed their hearts to God and refused to open up to Him. They never saw their need for a Savior while living on earth.
There is hope for us, as long as we have breath. If God is working in our hearts, we can turn to Him in repentance and faith. We can put our trust in Jesus Christ, and His blood will cover over our sins. We will have clean and pure hearts when we turn to Him in repentance and faith. He will never turn us away when we put our trust in Him to save us from our sins.
Of course, this scenario does compare with people today. We can see politicians who are trying their best to destroy the country, yet, God is working against them. They just keep on with their marching orders from Satan, regardless of what God is doing to oppose them. There is no fear of God in their eyes, whatsoever. They are bent on evil, much like those described in the book of Revelation.
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