On March 21, 1963, a federal prison called Alcatraz was closed after 29 years of operation. The U. S. Army had used the island for more than 80 years until the government decided to operate it as a maximum-security, minimum-privilege penitentiary to deal with inmates that failed to follow the rules in other facilities. It was also an attempt to show to the law-abiding public that the government was serious about stopping the rampant crime of the 1920s and 1930s. Several well-known criminals, Al Capone, George “Machine-Gun” Kelly, Alvin Karpis (the first “Public Enemy # 1”), and Arthur “Doc” Barker did time there. Three prisoners managed to escape, but their bodies were never found and were presumed to have drowned.
“Words from Above” in the Bible tell us of what would certainly be called an inescapable, maximum-security prison called the “bottomless pit”. In the Greek language in which the New Testament was written, the word “abyss” is used to describe a bottomless, unbounded, pit of immeasurable depth. The bottomless pit mentioned in Revelation 9 is the home of the beast who makes war against the two witnesses from Revelation 11. At the beginning of the 1000-year reign of Jesus, the bottomless pit is where Satan is bound, according to Revelation 20. God uses the bottomless pit to hold the most evil of angels, including Satan himself and those who tried and who failed to stop God’s plan to bring the Seed of the woman into the world. Due to hating and seeking to destroy humanity, prisoners of the bottomless pit are placed there for God to control their terror and limit their power.
The Bible also speaks of the unrighteous being confined to hell-fire, where they are tormented in flames of fire, like the rich man in Luke 16. The rich man saw a beggar named Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, and asked that Lazarus be allowed to dip his finger in water and bring it to him to cool his tongue and relief his torment. Abraham reminded the rich man of the good life he enjoyed on earth, far better than what Lazarus had enjoyed. He also pointed out to the rich man that there was a great gulf preventing anyone from crossing between heaven and hell, so it is obvious that there is no escape from hell.
The only way to not end up in hell is to confess our sins to God, to ask for His forgiveness, and to invite Jesus to live in our hearts and lives. As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me. “
Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville. Everyone is welcome to attend. For information, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.
