What makes the eternal doom of the wicked so awful?
The eternal doom of the wicked is so awful because it is an eternity of regret, not merely the heat of flames or unsatisfied appetites. The lost will constantly realize that salvation was fully paid for, yet they rejected it, and there is nothing worse than that regret.
Les explains that the awful nature of eternal doom is not the heat of flames or unsatisfying appetites, but an eternity of regret. The wicked will constantly realize, "I didn't have to be here. This was all paid for, and I rejected it." Les notes there is nothing worse than regret, and while he has experienced regret over mundane bad business deals, eternal torment with constant regret is far worse because there was no need for it. He says this is what the world does today—walking underfoot and rejecting a pardon. A pardon is a decree that sets a person right back as if they had never broken the law, wiping the slate clean, and that is what God has done for us. So the lost are rejecting God's offer of salvation, which is rejecting a pardon.