Books For Christian.com - Books - Journey To Hell by John Bunyan

Publisher: Whitaker House Publisher
ISBN: 0883685839
Pages: 268
Book Type: Trade Paperback

Description:
John Bunyan portrays one man's lifelong journey to hell and what we can do to avoid the same fate. On the Day of Judgment, will you inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you? You can live a successful life now and be ready to enter the eternal City of God.

Sayings of John Bunyan .....6
The Life of John Bunyan .....7
The Author to the Reader .....21
1. The Consequences of a Bad Man¿s Death .....35
2. A Bad Boy .....41
3. Badman¿s Apprenticeship to a Pious Master .....69
4. Badman¿s New Master .....97
5. The Tricks of a Wicked Businessman .....104
6. Badman Deceives a Good Woman .....110
7. Badman¿s Disguise Is Removed .....118
8. Badman Uses Bankruptcy to Gain Money .....143
9. Badman¿s Fraudulent Dealings .....162
10. A Christian View of Extortion .....176
11. Instructions for Christians in Business .....186
12. The Sin of Pride .....191
13. God¿s Judgment on Drunkenness .....211
14. False Repentance .....216
15. Badman¿s Return to Sin .....220
16. A Christian¿s Death .....225
17. Badman Receives His Own Medicine .....233
18. A Death in Sinful Security .....237
19. A Quiet, Hardened Death..... 252
20. Final Judgment .....263
Closing Thought.....271

Mr. Wiseman. Good morning, my good neighbor, Mr. Attentive. Why are you out walking so early this morning? You look as if you are concerned about something. Have you lost any of your cattle, or is something else the matter?
Mr. Attentive. Sir, good morning to you. I have not as yet lost anything, but you are right. I am troubled in my heart, but it is because of the evil of the times. Sir, you, as all our neighbors know, are a very observant man. Please, therefore, tell me what you think of these times.
Wise. Why, I think, primarily, that they are bad times, and bad they will be, until men are better; for bad men make bad times. If people, therefore, would change, so would the times. It is foolish to look for good days as long as sin is so rampant and those who promote its growth so many. I pray for God to bring sin down, and for those who encourage it to repent. Then, my good neighbor, you will be concerned, but not as you are now. You are distressed now because times are so bad, but then you will be glad because times will be so good; now you are concerned and it causes you to be perplexed, but then your interest in the times will cause you to lift up your voice with shouting. I daresay, if you could see such days, they would make you exclaim with joy!
Atten. Yes, so they would. I have prayed for and longed for such times, but I fear things will turn worse before they become better.
Wise. Make no conclusions, friend, for He who has the hearts of men in His hand can change them from worse to better; likewise, bad times into good. I pray that God will give long life to those who are good, especially to those who are capable of serving Him in the world. The grace and beauty of this world, next to God and His wonders, are those who glitter and shine in godliness.
Now as Mr. Wiseman said this, he gave a great sigh.
Atten. Amen, amen. But why, good sir, do you sigh so deeply? Is it for the same reason that causes my apprehension?
Wise. I am as troubled as you are over the wickedness of the times, but that was not the reason for the sigh that you noticed. I sighed at the remembrance of the death of that man for whom the bell tolled in our town yesterday.
Atten. I hope that your neighbor Mr. Goodman is not dead. I heard that he had been sick.
Wise. No, no, I am not referring to Mr. Goodman. Had it been he, I would have been concerned, but not as distressed as I am now. If he had died, I would only have mourned because the world would have lost a light. But the man whom I am concerned for now was one who was never good; therefore, he is one who is not only dead, but also damned. His natural death brought him into eternal death. (See 1 Corinthians 6:9.) He went from life to death, and then from death to death.
As Mr. Wiseman spoke these words, tears welled up in his eyes.
Atten. Indeed, to go from a deathbed to hell is a fearful thing to think about. But, good neighbor Wiseman, please tell me who this man was and why you judge him to be so miserable in his death.
Wise. Well, if you can stay, I will tell you who he was and why I conclude that his end was wretched.
Atten. My schedule will allow me to stay, and I am willing to hear you out. I pray to God that what you say will take hold of my heart so that I may be bettered by it.
So they agreed to sit down under a tree. Then Mr. Wiseman proceeded.
Wise. The man whom I mean is Mr. Badman. He has lived in our town a long time, and now, as I said, he is dead. But the reason for my concern over his death is not because he was related to me, or because any good conditions died with him, for he was far from them. But I greatly fear, as I hinted before, that he died two deaths at once.
Atten. I see what you mean by two deaths at once. To speak honestly, it is a fearful thing to have grounds to think of any person going to hell. To die in such a state is more dreadful and appalling than anyone can imagine. Indeed, if a man had no soul, if his state was not truly immortal, the matter would not be so devastating. But since man has been made by his Maker to be a sensible being forever, for him to fall into the hands of revenging justice, punishing him in the dismal dungeon of hell to the utmost extremity that his sin deserves, will always be an unutterably sad and lamentable end.
Wise. Any man, I think, who is capable of perceiving the worth of one soul, must, when he hears of the death of an unconverted man, be stricken with sorrow and grief. As you have already well stated, man¿s state is such that he is a sensible being forever. For it is sense that makes punishment heavy. But yet sense is not all that the damned have; they have reason, too. So then, as sense receives punishment with sorrow, because it feels and bleeds under the pain, so by reason, and the exercise thereof, in the midst of torment, all present affliction is increased. That happens in three ways.
First, reason will consider thus with itself: For what am I being tormented? It will easily discover that it is for nothing but that base and filthy thing: sin. Now vexation will be mixed with punishment, greatly heightening the affliction.
Next, reason will consider the following question: How long must this be my state? Then it will soon return this answer: This must be my state forever and ever. This realization will greatly increase the torment.
Finally, reason will consider this last thought: What more have I lost than present ease and quiet by the sins that I have committed? This answer will quickly come: I have lost communion with God, Christ, saints, and angels, and a share in heaven and eternal life. This awful thought must increase the misery of poor damned souls. And this is the case of Mr. Badman.
Atten. I feel my heart shake at the thoughts of coming into such a state. Hell -- what person who is yet alive knows what the torments of hell are? The word hell produces a very dreadful sound.
Wise. Yes, it does, in the ears of him who has a tender conscience. But if, as you say so truthfully, the very name of hell is dreadful, what is the place itself like, and what are the punishments that are inflicted there, without the least intermission, upon the souls of damned men, forever and ever?
Atten. Before we go on with that subject, since I have the time to talk, please tell me what it is that makes you think that Mr. Badman has gone to hell.
Wise. I will tell you. But first, do you know which of the Badmans I mean?
Atten. Why, was there more than one of them?
Wise. Oh yes, a great many, both brothers and sisters, and yet all of them were the children of a godly parent, which makes the truth even more pitiful.
Atten. Which of them therefore was it who died?
Wise. The eldest, old in years, and old in sin; but the sinner who dies a hundred years old will be accursed.
Atten. But what makes you think he has gone to hell?
Wise. His wicked life and fearful death, especially since the manner of his death so corresponded to his life.
Atten. Please let me know the manner of his death, if you know the details accurately.
Wise. I was there when he died. While I live, I hope I never see another man die in the way he did.
Atten. Please tell me about it.
Wise. You say you have time and can stay; therefore, if it is agreeable with you, we will examine his life and then proceed to his death, because hearing about his death may affect you more once you have heard about his life.
Atten. Did you know him well during his life?
Wise. I knew him when he was a child. When he was a boy, I was a man, so I had the opportunity to observe him for his whole life.
Atten. Then please let me hear an account of his life, but be as brief as you can, for I am interested in hearing about the manner of his death.