#10
HELL
Throughout the Bible we are continuously confronted with the realization that there is a literal place called “HELL”. There are over 160 references in the New Testament alone which warn readers about a place called “HELL”. Over 70 times the Lord Jesus Christ Himself talks about this awful place called “HELL”.
In (Luke 16:19-31) Jesus gives a startling testimony of a man who had gone to ‘hell’. This account tells of the terrible punishment that awaits those people who “obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thessalonians 1:7-9). Let us be reminded that the picture and story that Jesus is telling is not a parable but an actual event that has taken place, and we must understand that this “certain rich man” has now been in Hell for over 2,000 years and has no hope of ever getting the very smallest of relief from his torments.
I. HELL IS A PLACE OF FIRE
A. (Luke 16:24) The man in this pitiful story cries out …”I am tormented in this flame.
B. (Mathew 13:42) Jesus is speaking and says, “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
C. (Mathew 25:41) Jesus says “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire…”
D. (Mark 9:43-44) Once again Jesus speaking of hell says, “…the fire is not quenched...”
E. (Revelation 20:15) John witnesses the Great White Throne Judgment of the lost and records for us the final place that they must enter “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
II. HELL IS A PLACE OF TORMENT
A. (Luke 16:23, 24, 28) Jesus tells us that the ‘rich man’ was in great torment (pain and misery).
B. (Revelation 14:11) The torment of burning and from having no rest day nor night.
C. (Revelation 20:10) The torment will last forever and ever.
D. (Mathew 8:11-12) There will be the torment of gnashing the teeth.
E. (II Peter 2:17; Jude 13) There will be the torment of everlasting darkness.
F. (Isaiah 66:24; Mark 9:44, 46, 48) The wicked will be tormented with living, crawling, worms forever. It may very well be that the eternal body that a lost person may have is that of a worm. In these verses of Scripture Jesus calls it “their worm dieth not”. We see in (Revelation 12:3) that Satan is described as “a red dragon”; this may be what Satan actually looks like. In (Isaiah 66 & Mark 9) Jesus may well be describing the eternal body of the damned as “their worm”?
G. (Mathew 8:12; 13:42) There will be the torment of weeping and wailing (mournful crying) forever without ever having peace.
III. THE LOCATION OF HELL
The Bible is very clear as to the actual location of Hell. When we “search the Scriptures” (Acts 17:11), we can know for sure the answers to some of the questions that lost people need to know in order for them to hear the Spirit of God rebuking and calling them to Christ.
A. (Isaiah 14:9, 15) Isaiah speaks of Hell as being “beneath” and then talks of Lucifer, (the Devil) as going “down to hell” to “the sides of the pit”. A pit is “a hole in the ground, a shaft or mine”- Webster.
B. (Revelation 9:1-2) John speaks of the “bottomless pit” as the place of a great furnace that had been previously locked up until the great tribulation.
C. (Numbers 16:32-33) Moses gives us an Old Testament view of an actual event that shows God putting people in hell while they are still alive! Notice that “the earth opened her mouth….and they went down alive into the pit and the earth closed upon them.”
D. (Mathew 12:40) Jesus told His disciples that He would have to go to a place that He referred to as being “in the heart of the earth” for three days. In (Acts 2:31) Peter identifies hell as the place that Jesus talked about regarding those three days when he was preaching his great sermon to the people of Jerusalem when 3,000 people got saved.
E. (Ephesians 4:7-10) The Apostle Paul also talks about Jesus descending into the “lower parts of the earth” before He ascended up into heaven.
The Bible is very clear- Hell is inside of this present earth!
IV. HELL IS FOREVER
If we would study our Bible from (Genesis 1:1) through (Revelation 22:21) for 100 years, we could never find one glimmer of hope for anyone who finds themselves in hell. The Bible does not give any indication of a second chance for those unfortunate souls who reject the Gospel of The Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder Jesus asks the question (Mark 8:36) “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” What could possibly be worth an eternity in hell?
A. (Mathew 18:8; 25:41) Hell is an everlasting fire.
B. (Mathew 25:46) Hell is everlasting punishment.
C. (Jude 1:6) Hell means everlasting chains.
D. (Mark 3:29) Hell is eternal damnation.
E. (Hebrews 6:2) Hell brings eternal judgment.
F. (Jude 1:7) Hell has eternal fire.
G. Jude 1:13) Hell is a place of blackness and darkness forever.
This sober reminder of the eternal destiny of all people who do not trust in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ should light a fire in our hearts and souls for our lost family and friends so that we might be used to keep them out of this terrible place called hell.
(John 15:16) Jesus has chosen us to go and bring forth fruit. The fruit that He is talking about is souls.
(II Corinthians 5:20) We are called to be Christ’s ambassadors. We bring His Gospel to the places each of us live, work, and play. We are the vessels that God has chosen to help keep people out of the dreadful place called hell. Hell was never intended to be for human beings (Mathew 25:41) but God uses it now for those who choose to neglect His love and mercy through Jesus Christ.
We must pray that God will help us stay close to Him so that we can have the boldness, the testimony, and the Holy Spirit power to win our lost family and friends that will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment if they make the wrong decision.
“CHOICE, NOT CHANCE, DETERMINES OUR ETERNAL DESTINY”
God bless