Isaiah 14:9
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Isaiah 14:3-23 is a prophecy written to the King of Babylon. He would be the strongest man on earth in his lifetime, his city would be called the City of Gold, He would conquer Kingdom after Kingdom, and his life would be lived in unrestrained luxury. He would be lifted up in pride and yet in the life to come, He would be cast down, how far down? Down to the sides of the pit, down to Hell.
I suspect there is a little bit of sarcasm being used in our verse today. As this great king would ride into a city, the officials would gather the nobles, they would have all the pomp they could muster to welcome this mighty man, and the commoners would shut down their shops and run into the street to catch a glimpse of him. The whole city would be moved to meet him at his coming. One second after death he experienced a cursed sort of welcoming party. As the flames begin to lick him Hell churned up all those nobles and kings that went on before him, all the souls of the damned are chuned up and he is welcomed to his eternal home by the souls that he will be with for eternity. The welcoming committee seems shocked that he is there, "All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?" [vs.10]. Perhaps they, like the rich man, had been praying that someone would warn their friend, and when they saw him arriving they were reminded that no prayers are answered in Hell.
He who was so strong in his life has been made weak, he slept in palaces, dined on the finest foods and drank the best wine, now there will be no such thing as rest, "there is no rest for the wicked." Imagine an eternity of no rest. There will be no feast, rather you become the feast, no wine, nor even a drop of water. It matters not what heights you ascend to in this life, one second in hell will strip all the years of joy and pleasure from you. It matters not if you're a king, or if you gain the whole world. Hell will churn up all those who have gone on before you and they'll say "Art thou also become weak as thee?" Those who are there now have no desire to see you come there and neither does God, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." [2 Pet 3:9b]
In verse 12 the Prophet, by the Holy Ghost, uses the fall of satan to illustrate the fall of the king of Babylon. It makes perfect sense, this man is following the exact example set for him by his master Satan. Satan was once in the heavens with God and by his pride and attempt to become like the most high he fell, from the splendors of heaven to one day the horrors of hell. If you are still of your father the devil then one day soon you'll go to that place prepared for him, hell. You'll fall from the pleasures of sin to the horrors of hell, from the heights of pride to the "sides of the pit." Dear friend, hell is a reality, and from what the bible has to say about it, we know that our souls have consciences, eyes, ears, identity, and memory, and it seems that you won't be less aware of reality but more aware of reality. Your soul lives in a temporary body but the second that temporal body is gone, and you pass into the life to come I believe you will become like a nerve that was covered over by flesh but was made bare and becomes immediately inflamed. Your soul will feel pains never imagined, hear sounds never heard, and see things they told you were just spooky stories. If you could hear your loved ones who've gone on to hell before you they are begging and pleading that you don't come there. Nor does Jesus want you to go there, he suffered and died to cleanse you from the sin that is taking you to this place. Repent and believe on Jesus this moment, before this day strikes noon, your welcoming party could be arranged, churned up from the depths of the pit to meet you at your coming.
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