The Grapes of Wrath

It's such a joy to worship with you all each morning.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean.

I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Kings Church,

and it's my privilege to preach God's word to you this morning.

Please turn with me to Revelation chapter 14, verses 6 to 20.

Revelation 14:6–20

We've been in this passage.

We've been in the book of Revelation since the winter.

And we are in chapter 14, verses 6 to 20.

I have the grave task this morning of preaching the passage that Pastor and Theologian D.A. Carson calls

the most horrific passage on hell in the whole Bible.

But God's word includes sobering passages like this because God knows that we need to sober up from the wine of sin.

Because God knows that we need a healthy dose of eternal reality check.

Though hell might be an inconvenient truth that we might wish to ignore,

and Jesus spoke of it repeatedly throughout the Gospels.

And it's dangerous for us to ignore.

So in Revelation chapter 14, verses 6 to 20,

Revelation 14:6–20

we pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father,

give me grace this morning

to preach the horrors of hell

that conveys

your love

and justice,

your worthiness

and glory

and your mercy.

As we

humble ourselves before your word,

please, God,

make us sober-minded people

with their eyes set on eternity

so that we might live in this life

in a manner that is pleasing to you.

In Jesus' name,

we pray.

Amen.

If you are able,

please stand and join us for the reading of God's word

from Revelation chapter 14,

Revelation 14 · chapter mention

6 to 20.

Amen.

Then I saw another angel

flying directly overhead

with an eternal gospel

proclaimed to those who dwell on earth,

to every nation

and tribe

and language

and people.

And he said with a loud voice,

Fear God

and give Him glory

because

the hour of His judgment

has come

and worship Him

who made heaven and earth

the sea

and the springs of wire.

Another angel,

a second,

followed,

saying,

Fallen,

fallen is Babylon the great,

she who made all nations

drink the wine

of the passion

of her sexual immorality.

And another angel,

a third,

followed them,

saying with a loud voice,

If anyone worships the beast

and its image

and receives a mark

on his forehead

or on his hand,

he also will drink

the wine

of God's wrath,

pour full strength

into the cup

of his anger,

and he will be tormented

with fire and sulfur

in the presence

of the holy angels

and in the presence

of the Lamb.

And the smoke

of their torment

goes up forever

and ever,

and they have no rest,

day or night,

these worshipers

of the beast

and its image

and whoever receives

the mark of its name.

Here is a call

for the endurance

of the saints,

those who keep

the commandments

of God

and their faith

in Jesus.

And I heard a voice

from heaven

saying,

Write this,

Blessed are the dead

who die in the Lord

from now on.

Blessed indeed,

says the Spirit,

that they may rest

from their labors,

for their deeds

follow them.

then I looked,

and behold,

a white cloud

and seated on the cloud

one like a son of man

with a golden crown

on his head

and a sharp sickle

in his hand.

And another angel

came out of the temple

calling with a loud voice

to him who sat

on the cloud,

Put in your sickle

and reap,

for the hour to reap

has come,

for the harvest

of the earth

is fully ripe.

So he who sat

on the cloud

swung his sickle

across the earth,

and the earth

was reaped.

Then another angel

came out of the temple

in heaven,

and he too

had a sharp sickle.

And another angel

came out from the altar,

the angel who has

authority over the fire,

and he called

with a loud voice

to the one

who had the sharp sickle,

Put in your sickle

and gather the clusters

from the vine of the earth,

for its grapes

are ripe.

So the angel

swung his sickle

across the earth

and gathered

the grape harvest

of the earth,

and threw it

into the great

winepress

of the wrath

of God.

And the winepress

was trodden

outside the city,

and blood

flowed from the winepress,

as high as a horse's bridle,

for 1600 stadia.

This is God's

holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

61 million people

are estimated

to have died

last year

in 2023.

That's approximately

5 million deaths

monthly,

167,

123 deaths

daily,

and 6,963

deaths

hourly,

116 deaths

every minute,

and two deaths

every second.

just now,

two people

went to either

heaven or hell.

And two more.

And two more.

Yesterday,

over 167,000 people

went to either

heaven or hell.

We often forget

that death

is coming

for us all.

We lather on

anti-aging creams

to hide

the appearance

of aging.

I'm not saying

that's wrong

for you to do.

I'm just saying

that's what we tend

to do.

We run on treadmills

and ellipticals

and eat fish oils

and turmeric

to improve our health

and extend

our lives.

Our society

seeks,

at all costs,

to alleviate pain

and avoid death

for as long

as possible

because ultimately

he doesn't want

to reckon

with death

and what lies after.

But it would be

spiritually helpful

for us to think

about the inevitability

of death

and the eternal

destinies of heaven

and hell

more often.

Moses' prayer

is recorded

in Psalm 90.

For all our days

pass away

under your wrath.

we bring our ears

to an end

like a sigh.

The years

of our life

are 70

or even by reason

of strength

80.

So teach us

to number

our days

that we may get

a heart

of wisdom.

By confronting us

with the eternal

and inescapable

realities of heaven

and hell,

Revelation 14,

6 to 20

seeks to give us

that heart

of wisdom.

God,

the inevitable

judgment of God

should make

all of us

fear him

and give him

glory.

I'm going to

first talk about

the contrast

of the call

to repentance

and a call

for endurance

in verses 6

to 13

and I'll talk

about the harvest

of grain

and the harvest

of grapes

in verses 14

to 20.

It says in

verse 6,

Then I saw

another angel

flying directly

overhead

with an eternal

gospel to proclaim

to those who dwell

on earth,

to every nation

and tribe

and language

and people.

This seems

auspicious

at first.

This angel

has an eternal

gospel to proclaim

to all those

people who dwell

on the earth.

And the gospel

means good news

as we talk about

every week.

It's what we

rehearse during

worship every Sunday,

the good news

that Christ Jesus

came into the world

to save sinners,

that he died

on the cross

to atone

for our sins

and to appease

the wrath of God

and that Jesus

was raised

from the dead

so that we might

have everlasting

life and fellowship

with him.

That's the good news.

However,

there are clues

here in this passage

that suggest

that the emphasis

of the angel's

pronouncement

is not actually

salvation

but judgment.

This angel

in chapter 14

is flying

directly overhead

and proclaims

the eternal gospel

in a loud

voice

and begins

a threefold

announcement

of divine judgment.

And these details

are parallel

in chapter 8

verse 13

of the evil

that flies

directly overhead

and proclaims

in a loud voice

the threefold

woes

of divine judgment.

They both

have as their

addressees

those who dwell

on the earth.

And those who dwell

on the earth

is John's way,

the way he

characteristically

refers to those

who do not

have faith

in God,

those who refuse

to repent

of their sins

and therefore

are the object

of the wrath

and judgment

of God.

That's in contrast

with those

who dwell

in heaven

as Revelation

13, 6

and 12, 12

talk about

which is us,

God's people,

those who believe

in Christ.

Even though we

might live here

presently on earth,

even now

our dwelling place,

our citizenship,

and our home

is in heaven.

The focus

on the judgment

of God

is confirmed

by verse 7.

It says,

And he said

with a loud voice,

Fear God

and give him glory

because the hour

of his judgment

has come

and worship him

who made heaven

and earth,

the sea and the

springs of water.

This raises

the question,

how is the

announcement

of the judgment

of God

the eternal gospel?

That's because

there is no gospel

without the judgment

of God.

For example,

when Isaiah 60

prophesies of the

good news

of Jesus Christ

that's to come,

it announces

good news

and the mercy

of God

to the people

of God,

how God

will deliver them

and build them up.

But in that same

exact context,

it also speaks

of the fact

that the nations

and the kingdoms

that opposed God

and oppressed

God's people

will perish

and be utterly

laid waste.

The good news

of deliverance

on the one hand

for God's people

necessarily includes

on the other hand

bad news

of judgment

for God's enemies.

The gospel

is often summarized

with John 3.16

for God so loved

the world

that he gave

his only son

that whoever

believes in him

should not perish

but have eternal life.

But God's judgment

is also implied

by the gospel

because those

who reject the gospel

will be punished.

John 3.16

is followed

by verses 18-19.

Whoever believes

in him

is not condemned

but whoever

does not believe

is condemned

already

because he has

not believed

in the name

of the only

son of God.

And this is

the judgment.

The light

has come into

the world

and people

love the darkness

rather than the light

because their works

were evil.

The eternal gospel

is the message

of God's deliverance

and rescue

but the corollary

is that

those who refuse

God's rescue

and deliverance

will surely perish

and face

God's eternal judgment.

We frequently

observe this pattern

in scripture.

Romans 1.16

I am not ashamed

of the gospel

for it is the power

of God

for salvation

for those who believe.

And then it's

followed immediately

by

for the wrath

of God

is revealed

from heaven

against all

ungodliness

and unrighteousness

of man.

2 Corinthians 2.14-16

says the fragrance

of the knowledge

of Jesus Christ

is a fragrance

from life to life

for those

who are being saved.

But that same

fragrance of Christ

is the fragrance

from death to death

among those

who are perishing.

This eternal gospel

of verse 6

is addressed

to those

who are perishing.

to those

who dwell

on the earth.

And it is

therefore

a fragrance

from death

to death.

That's why

it's described

as an eternal gospel

which matches

verse 11

where it says

that the smoke

of their torment

goes up forever

and ever.

That's literally

eternity

of eternities.

It's the same word

as the eternal gospel.

The gospel

is eternal

because its truth

abides forever

and because

what we do

with that truth

determines

our eternal

destinies.

Not all truths

are made equal.

Not all truths

are equally relevant

or equally important

at all times.

I was looking

for the most

random fact

I could find.

For example,

the 1896

Summer Olympics

held in Athens,

Greece

was the first

international Olympic Games

held in modern history.

Fascinating

but useless.

It's completely

irrelevant now.

But the eternal gospel

is eternally relevant

and it is

eternally important

which is

all the more reason

why we must

proclaim it

to all the nations.

and this gospel

is also universal.

It does not apply

only to a part

of the world

only to a particular

people.

No, he says

it applies to

every nation

and tribe

and language

and people

which is why

we must go

to all the nations.

And the angel

says in a loud voice

in verse 7

Fear God

and give Him glory

because the hour

of His judgment

has come

and worship Him

who made heaven

and earth

the sea

and the springs

of water.

The appropriate

response to this

eternal gospel

and the impending

judgment of God

is for us

to fear God

and give Him glory.

If we know

that God

is the creator

who made

the heaven and earth

and the sea

and the springs

of water

if we know

that God

is the universal

judge

who punish

evil doers

then we ought

to fear God

and give Him glory.

The fear of God

is a prominent theme

in the book

of Proverbs.

Proverbs 9.10

says the fear

of the Lord

is the beginning

of wisdom

and the knowledge

of the Holy One

is insight.

So to fear God

is to know Him rightly.

Similarly,

Proverbs 15.33

says the fear

of the Lord

is instruction

in wisdom

and humility

comes before honor.

So the fear

of the Lord

is not just

being terrified

of Him

but knowing

Him rightly

and relating

to Him

with humility

and submission.

In other words,

if we know

how big God

really is

and how small

we really are,

if we know

how holy God

really is

and how sinful

we really are,

then that produces

fear,

reverence,

awe,

worship.

That's the fear

of the Lord.

In Revelation 16.9

we see unbelievers

who despite

the warnings

and the previews

of God's judgment

refuse to repent

and give Him glory.

But as we saw

in Revelation 11.13

when God's final judgment

comes,

even the most

stubborn unbelievers

will have no choice

but to be terrified,

quote,

terrified

and give glory

to the God of heaven.

That's what it says

in Revelation 11.13.

The day is surely coming

when every knee

will bow before Jesus

and every tongue

will confess

the name of Jesus

and worship Him

to the glory

of God the Father.

That day is coming.

And we then

really only have

two choices.

We can fear God

and give Him glory

now voluntarily

or we will be

terrified of Him

and give Him glory

involuntarily

in the future.

we can worship God

joyfully now

or we can worship God

begrudgingly

in the future.

One way or the other

God will get

the glory

that is due to Him.

But if we wait

until God's final judgment

we will have lost

our chance

to repent

and we will not

escape the fire's path.

So this is a call

for repentance

for all those

who have not yet

put their trust

in Jesus

for salvation.

Fear God.

Please

I plead with you

fear God

and give Him glory.

That is your salvation.

Do it while

you still have time.

After this angelic

pronouncement

of the hour of judgment

the second angel

follows in verse 8

saying

fallen, fallen

is Babylon the great

she who made

all nations

drink the wine

of the passion

of her sexual immorality.

This is a preview

of the more lengthy

section on Babylon

and the fall of Babylon

in chapters 17 and 18.

Prophet Isaiah

prophesied

of the fall of Babylon

in the 8th century BC

using these exact words

in Isaiah 21.9

fallen,

fallen

is Babylon.

That expression

Babylon the great

comes from Daniel 4.30

where the king

of Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar

at the time

boasts

is not this

Babylon the great

which I have built

by my mighty power

as a royal residence

and for the glory

of my majesty.

But that boasting

is short lived

because Isaiah's prophecy

is fulfilled

in an immediate sense

in 539 BC

when the Persian Empire

led by King Cyrus

attacks and conquers

Babylon.

But John

appropriates that prophecy

Isaiah's prophecy

and tells us

that it will be fulfilled

it was already fulfilled

in an immediate sense

but it will be fulfilled

in an ultimate sense

at the end of the age.

Because ancient Babylon

sacked Jerusalem

and destroyed

the temple of God

and led people of Judah

into captivity

and exile

and because King Nebuchadnezzar

tried to assimilate

the Jewish religion

and culture

into Babylonian culture

and religion

the name Babylon

became synonymous

with worldly powers

and influences

that persecuted

God's people

and seduced them

into compromise.

That's what Babylon

represents.

In the first century

Babylon was the

code name for Rome

because in the same way

the Babylonian Empire

destroyed the temple

in Jerusalem

in 586 BC

so the Roman Empire

destroyed the temple

and Jerusalem

in 70 AD.

But Babylon the Great

is not primarily

a reference to

ancient Babylon

or even to

ancient Rome

or even to

modern day Iraq

which is where

Babylon geographically

used to be.

But as John says here

in Revelation 14

because the Babylon

the ultimate Babylon

will fall only

at the end of the age.

So it represents

the center

of the sinful world's

cultural influence

and economic power.

in chapter 17

Babylon is called

the great prostitute

who sits

on the beast

of chapter 13

which has seven heads

and ten homes.

So Babylon and the beast

are intimately related.

They're not identical

but they're related.

The beast represented

the worldly rulers

and governments

and kingdoms

that oppose God

and oppress God's people

and Babylon is carried

by this beast.

meaning Babylon's

sinful influence

and wealth

are given prominence

and propagated

by the beast.

Babylon the great

is described

in 17.5

as the mother

of prostitutes

and of earth's

abominations.

She makes

as we see in our chapter

chapter 14 verse 8

she makes all the nations

drink the wine

of the passion

of her sexual immorality

and in doing so

she is a fertile prostitute

who becomes

the mother of prostitutes

and of all

of earth's abominations.

Babylon's wine

of the passion

of her sexual immorality

is explained later

in chapter 18 verse 3.

For all nations

have drunk the wine

of the passion

of her sexual immorality

and the kings of the earth

have committed

immorality with her

and the merchants

of the earth

have grown rich

from the power

of her luxurious

living.

So this

sexual immorality

I'm sure there's

literal sexual immorality

involved as well

but here

it's also a metaphor

in part

for the commerce

and wealth

that's enabled

by the beast

the worldly kingdoms.

And it's also

a metaphor

for idolatry

because remember

from chapter 13

verse 17

no one can buy

or sell

unless he has

the mark

of the beast

that is the name

of the beast

or the number

of its name

unless you pledge

allegiance

to these worldly

sinful powers

to the beast

you cannot buy

and sell

and prosper

so that these people

who grow rich

through their intercourse

with Babylon

the prostitute

are guilty

of idolatry.

Babylon

has made them

drunk with the wine

of the passion

of her sexual immorality

and seduced them

with prosperity

and pleasure

into committing

spiritual adultery

against the Lord

himself.

To enjoy

the riches

and the pleasures

of Babylon

the prostitute

people have succumbed

to the powers

of the beast.

In what ways

are the pleasures

and the riches

of this world

drawing you

into the grip

of the beast?

This is why

the third angel

announces

in verses 9 to 10

if anyone

worships the beast

and its image

and receives a mark

on his forehead

or on his hand

he also will drink

the wine

of God's wrath

poured full strength

into the cup

of his anger.

Here the wine

of God's wrath

is contrasted

with the wine

of the passion

of the Babylon

sexual immorality.

If you are using

the English standard

version of the Bible

you could look there

in that verse

and you probably

have a footnote

next to the word

passion in verse 8.

That tells you

if you go down

and look at the footnote

that the word

translated passion

can also be translated

wrath.

In fact

outside of

Revelation 14

8

and 18 3

where it's

translated the

passion of

the wine

of the passion

of Babylon

sexual immorality

every single time

that word

is translated

as wrath

anger

or fearing.

And I think

that's a better

translation.

It's the exact

same Greek word

that's translated

wrath in verse 10

the wine

of God's wrath.

So then the

wine of the

wrath

of Babylon

sexual immorality

is being

contrasted

with the

wine

of God's

wrath.

What is

the wine

of the wrath

of Babylon

sexual immorality?

We're told

exactly what's

in that cup

in Revelation

17 6.

It says

that the

Babylon

prostitute

is drunk

with the

blood

of the

saints.

The

blood

of the

martyrs

of Jesus.

So her

wine

is the

blood

of God's

people.

She's

drunk

on

violence

against

the

people

of God

which is

why

it is

fitting

to

describe

as the

wine

of the

wrath

of her

sexual

immorality.

Babylon

and those

who intercourse

with her

rail against

the

people

of God

and they

enrich

themselves

at the

expense

of the

people

of God.

They get

drunk

with the

blood

of the

people

of God

and their

intoxication

leads to

even further

idolatry

and adultery.

But divine

retribution

is coming.

Verse 10

tells us

that those

who worship

the beast

and took

on its

mark,

those who

intercourse

with Babylon

will drink

the wine

of God's

wrath,

pour full

strength

into the

cup of

his

anger.

In the

ancient

world,

most people

diluted

wine,

usually with

two to

three parts

water and

one part

wine,

they dilute

it,

so it

was much

weaker than

the wine

that's

distilled

nowadays for

people to

drink.

And so

that's what

it's referring

to here.

Babylon's

wine of

wrath

is diluted

wine.

No matter

how potent

it seems,

it's only

diluted

wine.

But the

wine of

God's

wrath is

undiluted

poured

full

strength.

The

Lord spoke

of this

wrath in

Isaiah 51

17,

stand up

O Jerusalem,

O you

who have

drunk from

the hand

of the

Lord,

the cup

of his

wrath,

who have

drunk to

the dregs

the bowl,

the cup

of

staggering.

It's a

terrifying

picture.

Imagine

being forced

to down

liquor that

you cannot

handle,

that will

make you

drunk forever,

leaving you

staggering and

completely

helpless.

There's no

sobering up

from the

wine of

God's wrath,

death.

Because it's

the punishment

that lasts

for you.

We see

this in the

rest of

verse 10,

and he

will be

tormented

with fire

and sulfur

in the

presence of

the holy

angels and

in the

presence of

the man.

Can't get

clearer than

this.

When sinners

reject Jesus

Christ and

die,

they do not

simply cease

to exist.

They go to

hell,

where they are

tormented with

fire and

sulfur.

This is the

place that is

called later in

Revelation 19,

20,

and 20,

10,

and 21,

8,

as the

lake that

burns with

fire and

sulfur,

which is the

second death.

fire.

Now,

I do think

these are

metaphorical,

but that does

not make it

less real or

less painful.

To illustrate,

God is

described in

Scripture as a

consuming fire.

He is the

one who dwells

in unapproachable

light, it says

in verse 26,

16.

1 John 1,

5 says that

God is light

and in him

is no darkness

at all.

So God is

light, he is

fire, he dwells

in unapproachable

light.

In contrast,

Jesus describes

hell as the

outer darkness

where there will

be weeping and

gnashing of teeth.

This is Matthew

25, 30.

The expression

gnashing of teeth

refers to your

teeth chattering

because it's

so cold.

But at the

same time,

hell is also

called a place

of eternal

fire.

Obviously,

both of those

two things

cannot literally

coexist because

if there's

fire, there's

warmth and

there's light,

you're burning.

You cannot be

burning and

chattowing and

cold at the

same time.

You cannot be

in outer darkness

and be in

eternal fire

at the same

time.

I think these

are metaphorical.

But these

metaphors reveal

the true nature

of hell.

Christian

philosopher

Henry Stobb

explains it

this way,

hell in the

Bible is very

hot or very

cold,

depending on

whether the

sinner is

perceived as

a rebel or

an alien.

hell is

made by

those who

climb the

holy mountain

and try to

unseat the

holy one

who are

blazed with

glory,

dwells in

the light

unapproachable.

Those who

mount an

attack on

God and

cross the

barrier of

this exclusive

divinity die

like mods in

the flame of

him who will

not and

cannot be

displaced.

And hell is

made by

those who,

turning their

backs on

God,

flee the

light and

move toward

the eternal

blackness that

marks God's

absence.

hell,

then,

is unarrested

sin's natural

and programmatic

end.

Sin is either

rebellion or

flight,

and when

persisted in,

leads either to

the fiery

furnace or to

the cold and

desolate night.

Hell is,

then,

either a place

of outer

darkness and

extreme cold in

the absence of

the light of

God,

or the

place that

burns with

fire and

sulfur with

the wrathful

presence of

God,

who is a

consuming fire.

John,

here in

Revelation 14,

is highlighting

the latter.

The one who

does not put

his faith in

Jesus Christ

will be

tormented with

fire and

sulfur in

the presence

of the

holy angels

and in the

presence of

the Lamb.

This is why

it is not

fully accurate

to describe

hell only

as the

absence of

God.

It is true

in a sense

that hell

is the

absence of

God.

2 Thessalonians

1.9 says

that those

who do not

obey the

gospel of

our Lord

Jesus will

suffer the

punishment of

eternal

destruction away

from the

presence of

the Lord and

from the

glory of

his might.

This

conveys God's

judgment,

God turning

his face

from them.

Instead of

making his

face shine

upon them,

instead of

lifting

up his

gracious

countenance

toward them,

he turns

his face

from them

in judgment.

That's

God's

absence.

But in

another sense,

God cannot

be fully

absent from

hell since

God is

omnipresent,

present

everywhere.

As Psalm

139,

7-8 says,

Where shall

I go from

your spirit?

Or where

shall I flee

from your

presence?

If I ascend

to heaven,

you are there.

If I make

my bed in

Sheol,

you are there.

Revelation 14-10

teaches us

clearly that

the wicked

will be

tormented

with fire

and sulfur

in the

presence of

the holy

angels,

in the

presence of

the Lamb.

This is

not a

contradiction.

God is

present in

hell,

but not

with his

gracious

countenance,

instead with

his wrathful

countenance.

As Pastor

John Piper

puts it,

with,

an everlasting

frown of

disapproving

justice.

The fact

that fire

and sulfur

are metaphorical

does not

decrease the

horrors of

hell.

If you

are a

Christian,

then you

know God

in his

boundless

mercy and

compassion.

But can

you imagine

facing God's

eternal wrath

injustice?

Can you

imagine

spending

eternity

before God's

disapproving

frown of

justice?

Can you

imagine the

eternal

torments of

hell?

This is

why we

Christians

should never

use swear

words like

hell or

damn.

We should

never use

any swear

word,

period.

Ephesians

5, 4

commands us

categorically

that there

be no

filthiness,

no foolish

talk or

crude

joking,

which are

out of

place,

but instead

let there

be

thanksgiving.

Swear

words are

without

exception,

out of

place,

and

unseemly,

because they

profane what

is sacred,

or make

light of

what is

grave.

words are

never just

words.

The words

that we

use shape

our attitudes

and actions

toward the

things that

those words

represent.

Do you

think that

people who

casually throw

around words

like hell

or damn

will take

hell and

damnation

seriously?

do you

speak

casually or

jokingly

about the

Holocaust?

Surely

not.

Why then

would you

speak casually

of the

place of

eternal

torment?

Where the

undiluted

wrath of

God is

poured out

in full

strength.

look at

verse 11.

The smoke

of their

torment

goes up

forever

and ever

and they

have no

rest day

or night.

These

worshippers

of the

beast and

its image

and whoever

receives the

mark of

its name.

In

James Joyce's

novel,

A Portrait of

the Artist

as a Young

Man,

there's a

preacher who

describes hell

vividly in

this manner.

A holy

saint was

once vouchsafed

the vision

of hell.

It seemed

to him

that he

stood in

the midst

of a

great

hole,

dark and

silent,

save for

the ticking

of a

great

clock.

The

ticking

went on

unceasingly.

And it

seemed to

this saint

that the

sound of

the ticking

was the

ceaseless

repetition

of the

words,

ever,

never,

ever,

never,

ever to

be in

hell,

never to

be in

heaven,

ever to

be shut

off from

the presence

of God,

never to

enjoy the

beautiful

vision,

ever to

be eaten

with flames,

gnawed by

vermin,

goaded with

burning

spikes,

never to

be freed

from those

pains,

ever to

have the

conscience

upbraid

one,

the memory

enraged,

the mind

filled with

darkness and

despair,

never to

escape,

ever to

cry out of

the abyss

of fire to

God for

an instant,

a single

instant of

respite from

such awful

agony,

never to

receive,

even for

an instant,

God's

pardon,

ever to

suffer,

never to

enjoy,

ever to

be damned,

never to

be saved,

ever,

never,

ever,