"They will be tormented day and night forever and ever!"
Revelation 20:10
Our earthly fires may be quenched and extinguished.
The hottest flames, the greatest conflagrations have
been quenched and extinguished by water. Fires on
our hearths and in our chimneys often die and go out
by themselves. Our fire is maintained with wood—and
put out with water. But the fire of hell never goes out;
it can never be quenched. It is . . .
an everlasting fire,
an eternal fire,
an unquenchable fire!
In Mark 9 from verse 43 to verse 49, this fire is five
times said to be unquenchable—as if the Lord could
never speak enough of it. Beloved, the Holy Spirit is
never guilty of idle repetitions; but by these frequent
repetitions, the Holy Spirit would awaken men, and
teach them to look upon hell as a real thing, and as
a serious thing, and not sport with unquenchable
flames—nor go to hell in a dream!
Certainly the fire into which the damned shall be cast
shall be without all intermission of time or punishment.
No tears, nor blood, nor time—can extinguish the fire
of hell. Could every damned sinner weep a whole
ocean—yet all those oceans of tears together, would
never extinguish one spark of infernal fire!
The damned are in "everlasting chains of darkness;"
they are under the "vengeance of eternal fire;"
they are "in blackness of darkness forever."
Said a poor despairing creature on his deathbed,
"Oh, that word 'forever'—breaks my heart!"
The damned in hell would gladly die—but they cannot.
They shall be always a-dying—yet never dead.
They shall be always a-consuming—yet never consumed.
"The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever!"
Revelation 14:11
Be the first to react on this!
Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680)
Much of what is known about Thomas Brooks has been ascertained from his writings. Born, likely to well-to-do parents, in 1608, Brooks entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1625, where he was preceded by such men as Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard. He was licensed as a preacher of the Gospel by 1640. Before that date, he appears to have spent a number of years at sea, probably as a chaplain with the fleet.After the conclusion of the First English Civil War, Thomas Brooks became minister at Thomas Apostle's, London, and was sufficiently renowned to be chosen as preacher before the House of Commons on December 26, 1648. His sermon was afterwards published under the title, 'God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright', the text being Psalm 44:18: 'Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy way'. Three or four years afterwards, he transferred to St. Margaret's, Fish-street Hill, London. In 1662, he fell victim to the notorious Act of Uniformity, but he appears to have remained in his parish and to have preached as opportunity arose. Treatises continued to flow from his pen.[3]
Thomas Brooks was a nonconformist preacher. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He soon became an advocate of the Congregational way and served as a chaplain in the Civil War. In 1648 he accepted the rectory of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London, but only after making his Congregational principles clear to the vestry.
On several occasions he preached before Parliament. He was ejected in 1660 and remained in London as a Nonconformist preacher. Government spies reported that he preached at Tower Wharf and in Moorfields. During the Great Plague and Great Fire he worked in London, and in 1672 was granted a license to preach in Lime Street. He wrote over a dozen books, most of which are devotional in character. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.