How terrible to be lost ! Judas Iscariot was lost—lost from the Presence of His Creator forever. And for thirty silver coins!

Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve disciples. There was nothing unusual about Judas except his love of money. He carried the bag of money, the common purse of the disciples. Money meant so much to Judas he would steal the money belonging to his comrades, his fellow disciples.

Jesus referred to Judas, Simon's son, as "the son of perdition" (son of destruction). Jesus declared, "it had been good for that man if he had not been born" (Matthew 26:24).

This indeed is a fearful statement. How would you like to hear your Creator say it had been good for you that you never had been born?

Judas was not a man without a conscience. His future conduct portrayed conscience and remorse. But Judas loved money. The love of money provided the door through which Satan was able to enter him.

The moment Judas' despicable deed was performed his conscience spoke to him. Judas repented and brought back the thirty silver coins to the priests and elders of Israel—the price of the life of God's Christ.

"I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood," Judas cried. Judas' sorrow was not that he had betrayed Christ of Israel but merely an innocent human being.

Judas went and hanged himself. Truly, the love of money is the root of all evil.

What must have been Judas' terror when he discovered, as he was descending into the bottomless pit, that he had betrayed God's holy Son to the Romans? What will be our terror if we discover when we enter the spiritual realm that we have failed Christ because of our love of money?

Can you imagine the agony of Judas' soul and mind? Christ was not the only person who suffered the pangs of death and Hell during those terrible hours. But Christ's agony led to the throne of glory while Judas' agony increased a thousand times as he entered the frightful caverns of darkness that are the abode of Satan, the fallen angels, and the most vile people of history. It was no comfort to Judas to realize he was surrounded with spirits like his own.

Christ was welcomed by the Father and the holy angels. Judas was greeted by fallen angels and demons, the sight of whose faces surpasses in horror any other experience possible to human beings.

There were three crosses on Golgotha: God was crucified; the saved criminal was crucified; the unsaved criminal was crucified. Nor did Judas escape. He also was "crucified," so to speak.

There is no way to escape crucifixion in the world. Those who enter willingly into the cross of Christ are lifted in His omnipotent resurrection.

Those who choose the way of the riches of the world, trusting their money will give them the power to escape the tribulations of life, destroy their relationship with their Creator. In the end, all are "crucified" in one manner or another, and the possession of great wealth cannot prevent it.

To be continued.