VB185 The Reality of Hell
Thank you, my brothers, sisters, and friends who pray for me. What a joyful time it is, just to know we work together as the body of Christ!
VB185 The Reality of Hell
[Lk 7:47; Rom 6:23; Jn 16:8-9; Lk 16:22-26; Eph 4:9-10; Mt 25:34,41; Jn 16:8-9]
The word Gospel means good news, and it’s not good news to tell people that they are going to hell. However, I believe it’s important for people to understand, there is a real hell for those who don’t accept God’s offer of grace.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to the doctor to see what he thought of a terrible “rash” I had on my thigh. As soon as he looked at it he said, “You’ve got shingles from Hell!”
Doc prescribed the medications that were needed to fight this hellish viral infection in my body. And I went home thinking, “shingles from Hell!”
I hate it when I hear the doctrine of “ultimate reconciliation,” or “universalism,” that has crept into the body of Christ today. It teaches that God will ultimately reconcile everyone to Himself, even the devil and those in hell. Some variations of this say that hell is only a state of mind and not a real place or that those in hell will only suffer punishment for a limited time. Nothing could be further from Biblical truth.
It is a profound sign of ignorance, when Hell is made light of, or diminished in our thoughts or words!
As I prayed about this, the Lord reminded me that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom 10:17). Then He asked me, “When is the last time you taught from Scripture about hell?” I realized I had never taught a whole message on hell. I certainly believe it exists and have mentioned it, but I have never specifically taught on Hell.
Understanding the justice and wrath of God against sin makes me appreciate my salvation even more. Trivializing sin blocks us from receiving a full revelation of God’s love. I think, the intensity of one’s love tends to be proportionate to his perception of the greatness of his forgiveness (Lk 7:47).
So, here is my teaching on hell:
God didn’t just look the other way or change His attitude toward sin. He paid for our sins in full through the sacrifice of His Son (2Cor 5:21). Anyone who rejects or ignores such a great sacrifice will spend eternity paying for that.
Rom 6:23 (KJV) –For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sin has to be judged (Rom 6:23), and it was judged, in the flesh of Jesus (1Pet 2:24). But those who don’t make Jesus their Lord will have hell to pay for the greatest sin of all—rejecting Jesus’ sacrifice (Jn 16:8-9).
Jn 16:8-9 (KJV) – [8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] Of sin, because they believe not on me;
The sacrifice that Jesus made was infinitely greater than we have ever imagined. Not only does the Bible teach that He was not recognizable as a human being (Is 52:14) while hanging on the cross, but it also tells us that He actually became sin (2Cor 5:21).
Just before He died, Jesus said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). God forsook Jesus. He could not look upon the sin that Jesus had become. And if He forsook His only Son, what chance would you or I ever have? That is why, for those who foolishly ignore this great sacrifice, there is a real hell.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word she’owl was translated “hell” thirty-one times and “grave” thirty-one times. Nearly every time it’s translated “grave,” it’s talking about where the godly go after death, and when it’s translated “hell,” it’s talking about the destination of the ungodly.
Before Jesus’ resurrection, everyone went into the center of the earth when they died. It was separated into two compartments. One was called “Abraham’s bosom,” or “paradise,” while the other was called “hell,” a place of torment (Lk 16:23-28).
In the story about Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man spoke to Abraham from hell, the place of torment. Luke 16:22-26 says,
Lk 16:22-26 (NKJV) – [22] “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. [23] “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. [24] “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ [25] “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. [26] ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
There is so much that we can learn from what Jesus said! For one thing, it makes it clear that in she’owl, or hell, those who were in torment could see those across the gulf. They could hear, thirst, feel pain and sorrow, and even communicate with those in paradise. But the one thing that the people in hell will never be able to do, is die. Death is not even available to separate them from eternal torment.
After the Resurrection, things concerning hell changed. Jesus went to hell, took the keys of hell and death (Rev 1:18), and set the captives free—those who were in Abraham’s bosom.
Ephesians 4:9-10 says,
Eph 4:9-10 (NKJV) – [9] (Now this, “He ascended”–what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? [10] He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
After defeating the devil and setting the captives free, Jesus took those in Abraham’s bosom to heaven with Him, where all believers go now. But we will not live in heaven forever. We only live in heaven until the end of the age. Then God is going to make a new heaven and a new earth, and all the believers will live there with Jesus in the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:1-4).
After that, hell will no longer be in the center of the earth, but it will be cast into a place that the Bible calls the lake of fire (Rev 20:14), a place that was prepared for Satan and his angels (Mt 25:41).
In Matthew 25, we read the story of the nations coming to the Lord on His throne where He divides the sheep from the goats.
In Matthew 25:34, He said to the righteous,
Mt 25:34 (NKJV) –“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
But to the unrighteous, He said,
Mt 25:41 (NKJV) –“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
Although it was never intended for man, hell is the painful place where those who reject so great a sacrifice will join the devil and his angels for eternity (Rev 20:10).
The Scripture, in Luke, also shows that the people God honors are not necessarily the same people the world honors (Lk 16:15). This rich man had a beautiful home, fancy clothes, and the best of everything. He had it all, but he never showed the beggar any mercy. You can bet he had a fancy funeral when he died. Thousands of people may have gathered, all talking about how great his accomplishments were.
Yet the Bible says only that he was buried, left to rot in the grave. On the other hand, the beggar who was most despised on earth was carried away by angels. Which of the two would you rather have been? When you see this from an eternal perspective, it makes the suffering of this earth pale in comparison to what God has prepared for us (Rom 8:18).
We can also see from Scripture that there are no second chances. There is no purgatory, as the Catholic Church teaches. There is no ultimate reconciliation. On earth, the rich man rejected God and went directly to hell. When the rich man pleaded for mercy, Abraham could do nothing. There will be no mercy, no hope, and no goodness of any kind in hell, ever.
There isn’t a single person on this earth who deserves anything good from God. And there is absolutely nothing people can do to gain His favor. If that offends you, then you have just experienced the offense of the cross (Gal 5:11). In comparison to God’s standards, man’s righteousness is no better than filthy rags (Is 64:6). But God loves man so much that He sent Jesus, a Lamb without spot, to be a sacrifice for sin.
If Jesus died for past, present, and future sins—which He did—then what determines whether we spend eternity with Him or in hell? The Bible makes it clear that the Holy Spirit convicts us of one sin, and it’s the only sin that will cause people to go to hell. That is the sin of rejecting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said;
Jn 16:8-9 (NKJV) – [8] “And when He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin [singular], and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] “of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
To say the least, avoiding hell is big. However, what Jesus accomplished on the cross is far more than just avoiding hell.
Confession:
I took authority over the shingles, and sent them back to Hell, where they came from! Thank you all for the effective fervant prayers.
Jesus has provided so much more than saving us from Hell. He died that we may live. Life in Christ includes everything we will ever need, healing deliverance and an abundance everything we need to carry out His will while we remain on the planet!
God bless you my friend,
