Revelation 3:7:“These things says He who is holy, He who is true, ‘He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.’ ”


Last week, Mary Ann and I went over to the City (San Francisco) to see Alcatraz, also known as The Rock. On our tour, we were able to view the various cells where famous criminals like Al Capone were kept. At one point, we also were able to walk into the tiny cells. It was such a horrible place to be. They said that no one ever escaped alive from that island prison. It was truly a place of isolation.

Not only does the Bible compare hell to a garbage dump, but it also compares it to a prison. One of the clearest pictures Jesus gave of hell was when he described it as a prison. He told a parable about the king’s servant who was sent to jail for cruel and unforgiving behavior. Then He added this warning: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Matthew 18:33). Jesus was saying that going to hell was like being cast into prison.

I recently received an email from a man who is an inmate at a minimum security prison in Arizona. He wrote of his hope of getting out soon and having a changed life. The hope of getting out is the only thing that keeps him going.

But for those who have been condemned to hell, they won’t get out. Once they are in, they are in for good. Once they are there, there are no other chances.