He did not wince. Prison officials said he was "entirely cooperative"
as he was taken from his final cell to the chair
where he helped them to strap him down.
Timothy McVeigh was determined to die as he saw himself,
a soldier fighting a war. 
Perhaps, though, there was a moment of doubt.
Afraid that his voice might falter, he chose not to speak his final words
and asked the warden to distribute instead
the text of a melodramatic 19th-century hymn to the human spirit,
' I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.'
Although he had consistently refused spiritual advice, 
McVeigh did receive the last rites before the execution. 
Media witnesses say the execution was as clinical as it was brief. 
"There was no sign of suffering, no sign of discomfort, no sign of fear," 
The Warder said he could make a last statement." There was no response. 
Then he turned his head away, looking up to the camera in the ceiling
that was relaying the execution to Oklahoma, 
where 232 other victims and their families watched over a secure link. 
"That was the hardest moment," one of that group, said later
"We were looking in the face of evil."

Well, earthly judgement and punishment
has been passed on a confessed mass murderer
and if there is a case for capital punishment
it is easier to justify for someone who deliberately caused 168 deaths
than it is for the hundreds who languish on 'Death Row'
often convicted on flimsy evidence and with inadequate defence.

The reason I make this gruesome introduction is simply to remind us all
in the words of Hebrews 9.27
'it is appointed to us to die once and after that to face judgement.'
The US justice system has finished with Timothy McVeigh
but there is another who judges him and judges us all.
Difficult though this subject is, are you not glad that God does judge?
McVeigh paid a price for his atrocities
but there are many who escape scot-free in this life
and something is surely lacking if we have a view of God and eternity
which sees him merely patting them on the head and saying
Dear me , you did some bad things but it doesn't matter.
Something in us cries out, it does matter, justice does matter.
Something in us also cries out when we are aware of our own sin
the injustice of which we are guilty
we cry out for mercy and the Bible tells us there is mercy
That passage in Hebrews goes on:
'just as it is appointed to us to die once and after that to face judgement
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;
and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin,
but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.'

It is inappropriate for me to pronounce on the eternal state of Timothy McVeigh;
I am not his eternal judge.
Who knows, even in the closing seconds of his life, 
he may have seen his folly and cried out to God for mercy
and if so, even then, he would have received mercy.
But apart from the fact that he received the last rites
all the indications are of one determined in unbelief and great evil.
Look at the 19th century poetry he quoted in his last days 
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. 
'I am the captain of my fate. I am the master of my soul.'
This points to someone determined to block God out and take control of his life
to the point that his conscience became deadened to great evil
and death seemed to him merely an entry into unconsciousness and extinction.

But is it like that? Is it true that we can live life for and to ourselves
and there is no final reckoning?
Shakespeare's Hamlet highlights one reason for being afraid to die.
In his famous speech, 'To be or not to be...'
where he struggles with the meaning of his life and why not embrace death -
Hamlet draws back because of, as he says
'the dread of something after death -
the undiscovered country from whose bourn 
No traveller returns - puzzles the will;
and makes us rather bear those ills we have, 
Than fly to others we know not of'
Some people try to deaden that fear, as McVeigh did so chillingly
but the Bible invites us to face that fear
and to come to terms with the reality of what lies beyond death.

The Bible clearly says that there is more to life than this life
and that we have a choice to make:
forgiveness and eternal life with Christ for those who repent;
for those who refuse to repent, condemnation and eternal punishment. 

This is expressed in 2 Thessalonians 1.9
'those who do not know God
and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
will be punished with everlasting destruction
and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power'
What Paul says here is illustrated again and again by Jesus himself
who spoke more about hell than anyone else in the Bible.
Jesus used two pictures: the burning rubbish heap and the shut door.
The burning rubbish heap is such a vivid picture of 'everlasting destruction'
In Jerusalem fire smouldered continually in valley of Hinnom,
hence name used by Jesus Gehenna, rubbish dump
place of burning and destruction, of all that is worthless and useless to God.
And so we read in Luke 16 of the fiery fate for the rich man.
Isn't this story a great wake up call?
It tells us there is more to life than this life.
Their roles are reversed from earthly life
and if you want to argue that we should take this as a symbolic picture,
that's all right as long as we face up to the reality it symbolises:
the reality and finality of the great gulf between them.
The rich man could have helped Lazarus in this life
if he had turned from selfishness to service, from greed to grace
Now it is impossible for Lazarus to help him.

What does that tell us about hell? Unlike this life, it is to exist without hope.
People often say this life is hell enough, that hell happens here;
if they mean that there is so much suffering in this life, that is true
but this is the awesome final difference about hell: the door is closed.
In this life there is still the hope of change of something better.
But after you die your destiny is final, there is no second chance,
just as there was no possibility of relief for the rich man.

The Italian poet Dante describes this inscription over the entrance to hell:
'Abandon hope all you who enter here' There is hope in this life; hell has none.


The other picture Jesus uses is no less terrible no less final 
than the burning of the rubbish.
It is exclusion, in Paul's words
shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power'
excluded from the party, from life and light and love.
Have you ever walked along a road
and seen people arriving for a party in a house
the lights blazing, the cries of greeting, the music playing
but you know you cannot go in because you've not been invited.
Or in a hotel lobby, you see a wedding party in the ball room
but you have no place in there, you are not a guest.
Isn't that sad? But we can get over it.
There's always the possibility of other parties, other celebrations.
But to be excluded for ever from God's presence? 
Jesus tells more than one story which ends in exclusion in outer darkness:
the man who buried his talent in a hole in the ground
guests who couldn't be bothered with the wedding invitation,
the man who turned up with no garment, 
the foolish virgins who are left hammering on the locked door
'The door was shut' those who are careless or unprepared are left outside.

There was a Christian song popular in the 70's about the end of the world:
'Life was filled with guns and war and people all got trampled on
I wish they'd all been ready.' 
What a haunting refrain, I wish they'd all been ready.
The author of that song died in an airplane disaster, but he was ready.
He had found peace with God, he had handed over control of his life to Christ.
But how many are ready? 
How many will find the bridegroom coming and they are unprepared
and the door will be shut and they will be left outside?

This is not an easy sermon to preach.
I would far rather speak of the great love of God for sinful people like us
and the way of forgiveness we have through Jesus who died for us.
But I believe that every now and then,
and maybe it has been too long since I spoke directly about hell
it is my and every preacher's duty to warn you
of the consequences of not believing in Christ.
The same Bible that speaks so vividly of the redeeming love of Jesus
also warns vividly of what will happen to those who reject the love of Jesus,
the fate of the rich man, the fate of the lazy and careless people in the parables.
It is not popular these days to speak about hell, 
it is not fashionable, it is not pleasant
but a reality that Jesus himself spoke of is no less true
because it is unpopular, unfashionable and unpleasant.
Months ago, years ago, teachers all over the country warned their students
that the day would come that they would have to sit their leaving cert.
I am sure few of them were thanked for the reminders
but they spoke the truth about an unpleasant reality.

I know you may have many questions about hell about unfair it may seem
but I am not going to try and deal with them today.
It is my duty to warn you and to show you a way to escape that judgement.
The story is told of a minister who was in discussion
with a man much more learned and intellectual than he was.
The minister felt very much out of his depth.
He could not match the philosophical twists and turns,
he could barely understand them.
But instinctively he used the strategy
which is now taught to politicians facing a David Hanley, (radio interviewer)
stick to the bottom line, stick to one unassailable statement.
So the minister kept saying to his sophisticated friend
and he said it from a sense of weakness and also of loving concern.
'I cannot answer all your questions or respond to all the points you make
but can I say this to you from Hebrews 9
'it is appointed to us to die once and after that to face judgement'
And this bottom line he kept repeating:
'it is appointed to us to die once and after that to face judgement'
The conversation ended but these words kept echoing in the mind of his hearer.
So much so that the next day that he approached the minister
and asked to be shown how to face that judgement.
Just as the verse continues
'just as it is appointed to us to die once and after that to face judgement
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;
and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin,
but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.'
There is a way out. Christ was punished to take the punishment we deserve.
There is a hell, eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord
but there is no need for any one to go to hell.
if we will only get ready by turning from running our own lives
to let Jesus Christ be in control.

Father, your perfect love casts out fear which has to do with punishment
Pour out that love upon us, the love of Jesus who died for us
that we will choose him and choose life
Have mercy on those who love the darkness while there is still time
that they may come to Christ before the door is locked

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling
and to present you faultless before his presence of his glory
with exceeding joy,
to the only wise God our saviour,
be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever