The Recent Car Crash and Fire!

Do We Really Believe in Hell?

Richard Hollerman

Some days ago we learned from news reports that a California superstar, a sodomite (lesbian) by the name of Anne Heche, was involved in a dreadful car wreck. Apparently she was drunk and drugged and ran her car off the road and into a house. The owner, Lynne Mishele, was able to survive along with her dog. Both house and car and this woman star herself (Heche) were engulfed in the flames of the wreck. Heche has now died (after being declared “brain dead”) but this has become the subject on the internet broadcasts, read by multiple millions in the world.

We all know that the world is in mourning about this death. Although we live in a world in which many thousands die every day of poor nutrition, this actress will be sorely missed. Heche’s oldest son, Homer, said in a statement (from himself and his brother, Atlas):

“My brother Atlas and I lost our Mom,” he told People. “After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness. Hopefully my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom.”

He added, “Over those six days, thousands of friends, family, and fans made their hearts known to me. I am grateful for their love, as I am for the support of my Dad, Coley, and my stepmom Alexi who continue to be my rock during this time.”

“Rest In Peace Mom, I love you,” Homer Heche concluded.

Earlier on Friday a friend of the actor, Nancy Davis, wrote on Instagram: “Heaven has a new Angel. My loving, kind, fun, endearing and beautiful friend went to heaven. I will miss her terribly and cherish all the beautiful memories we have shared.

“Anne was always the kindest, most thoughtful person who always brought out the best in me … My heart is broken.”

Yet, we ask our reading public: Was Heche really, “free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom”? Was this talented actress really “free from pain” when Scripture reveals that one who dies without Christ will be subject to unending pain and anguish? And then we read that one voiced the idea that she was to “rest” in peace when God says that a person out of Christ will have “no rest day and night” (Revelation 14:11)? See our article on angels on this website. We know that “heaven” will not have a “new angel” especially for one who denies God and His will! (Remember that this dear actress was a practicing and unrepentant sodomite who took drugs and drink). As for whether a person “goes to heaven” when she dies, we encourage you, the reader, to see this site for more on both heaven and hell. Yes, I along with you may feel like weeping but in the process we must not deny what God says and what Scripture affirms.

In all of our reading about this and similar news stories, there seems to be not one word about hell! Why? Doesn’t God say that this exists? Doesn’t He say that everyone will live for a few short years and then there is either an eternity with God or an eternity without Him awaiting them? Some nine billion of us are alive today and (providing God delays Christ’s coming) we will all be gone in 100 years or probably fewer. This means that some nine billion people will go to be with God or be cast off forever from Him for all eternity! Don’t we believe this? Or have we caught the lie that says that everyone will eventually be accepted by the Lord? Or are we like the dog and will one day just cease to exist?

On the one hand, are we all Universalists that say that all people will eventually be accepted into a Better Place? We know that probably one billion people on earth, perhaps ten percent of people, are genuine Universalists and think that we all will be accepted by God—either immediately or eventually. And there are those who think that vast numbers will just die and that will be it. And there are various false world religions in which it is thought that people will be accepted through their doctrines and views of life. Regardless of whether they are right or wrong (and they indeed are wrong), sadly billions of people accept these lies and theological view.

And so great numbers do not take sin seriously and think that all will be saved. Yet, we know that God’s written Word says that either “eternal punishment” or “eternal life” waits us all (Matthew 25:46). Jesus says that His angels will “throw” people into a “furnace of fire” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:41-42). Even if this “furnace” were to be symbolic, we know that eternal fire awaits those who are unprepared! This is not a pleasant and palatable truth—but it is a truth nonetheless.

The Lord Jesus plainly said: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Take note of the words: narrow and wide, small and narrow, many and few. Does this sound at all like the view taken by an increasing number of people around the world and that they would have us believe? What Jesus is saying is that most people are on the way to “destruction” while only a few are on the way that leads to “life.” Of course, there are many dozens of other passages in Scripture that would say the same thing!

When this frightful and terrible auto crash occurred, we wonder why no one seemingly mentioned hell. Yet we know that anyone who dies without Christ will be eternally condemned to the flames of hell (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 14:10-11; 20:11-15; 21:8). This is a clear revelation of Jesus Himself (John 3:16-18, 36). Why don’t we think of this when we hear of a horrible crash like we did about this Hollywood star, Anne Heche? Why don’t we ask, “Was Heche prepared to meet God?”

What about other world tragedies? What about the war between Russia and Ukraine—with several million people displaced? What about the ongoing fighting in Iran, in North Korea, in China, and in other places? What about the shameful exodus from Afghanistan? What about tragedies in earlier periods—the “killing fields” of Cambodia, the “final solution” in Germany, the “Gulag” in Russia, and the murder of 30 million under Mao? Are we concerned about whether these people who die are prepared to go to be with God or not?

We know that such people as those who follow false religions (such as Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Islam, and others) are unprepared to die. We also know that atheists, agnostics, many of the young people (the so-called “Nones”) are not prepared regardless of their denial of this. But although most people are not ready to be received by God (because of their sins forgiven through Christ and those who give evidence of this by following Him) and most will be cast off forever through the wrath of God the Almighty, we go on without a thought of what happens after death!

When will we wake up to this dreadful, horrible tragedy? When will we get beyond such a terrible car crash in California (as horrible as this may have been) and begin to think of an eternity in the flames of hell for all eternity?