In our present society almost no one trembles at the Word of God or before God Himself. We have become a proud, although broken, generation that is glorying in our self-esteem and positive thinking. Since we do not need to fear Him, we do not respect Him and are therefore slowly replacing Him with an impersonal god that is more on our human level.
Religious educators and leaders have convinced the modern preachers to present a more benign God and gospel to this generation to attract a larger portion of the community to their institutions. Indeed it has, but the level of Christianity in these churches is woefully unbiblical.
America needs a dose of the theology of Hell. A proper presentation of the final judgment and the eternal abode of unsaved and wicked men would help shake our churches back to their senses. Our permissive discipline in the home has destroyed the family and is now destroying the church. Three doctrinal truths must be clearly enunciated before the realities about Hell are taught and preached.
Commitment to the Bible
If you don’t believe the Bible is absolute, you will have trouble believing what it says about the horrors of Hell and the Lake of Fire. I would not dare write what I’m writing about this horrible place if I did not know the Holy Scripture was God-breathed and perfect. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” - II Timothy 3:16. I also believe the reverse is true, that families and society will have a greater respect for Holy Scripture when they clearly understand eternal judgment.
The Holiness of God
Our God is absolutely holy. He is perfect in every aspect of His eternal being and cannot tolerate rebellion in His universe without proper consequences. To think of our Heavenly Father turning murderers and rapists loose to continue the defiling of humankind right into eternity defies the perfect nature of His very person. The flaming sword at the entrance to the Garden of Eden sets the tone for how He treats sin and rebellion. Rebellion could not eat of the Tree of Life lest it exist forever.
The Redemption of Jesus Christ
The cruelest thing you can suggest is that Jesus Christ died for everyone; that He took our sins on Himself as our substitute; and that He experienced the judgment of God against sin at Calvary. Yet, that same God will not send anyone to Hell because a loving God could not possibly do that. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” - John 3:16.
The Biblical Picture of Those Assigned To Eternal Horrors:
Nothing will awaken you to spiritual things like the picture of damned souls separated forever from everything beautiful. According to the Bible, the following is an incomplete list of persons and groups of individuals who will be lost and judged to spend eternity in the “Lake of Fire.”
1) The Children of this World’s Kingdom: “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” - Matthew 8:11-12
2) The Selfish and Worldly Who Live For Themselves: “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “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.’ 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. 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” - Luke 16:23-26
3) Unprofitable Servants Who Bury Their Talents: “So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” “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” “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” - Matthew 25:28-30, 41, 46
4) Multitudes Who Were Undisciplined As Children: “Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell” - Proverbs 23:13-14
5) Those Who Offend And Do Iniquity: “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn” “The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness” - Matthew 13:30, 38-41
6) Those Who Reject the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” - 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
7) Whosoever Was Not Found Written In The Book Of Life: “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” - Revelation 20:10, 15
8) The Fearful, Unbelieving, Abominable, Murderers, Whoremongers, Sorcerers, Idolaters, and All Liars: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” - Revelation 21:8
Difference Between Hell and the Lake Of Fire
Remember, Hell is the abode of the wicked dead, but the Lake of Fire is the place of eternal judgment. The wicked will remain in Hell from the time of their death until the White Throne Judgment. Then Hell will deliver up its dead to be judged. Then, they will be assigned to the Lake of Fire. It’s important to understand the kind of bodies that the wicked will possess for eternity.
Jesus described the resurrection of all men during His earthly ministry. John records His words, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” - John 5:28-29
Notice the difference in the two groups; one is a resurrection of life, while the other is a resurrection of damnation. The children of God will come out of the graves with glorified bodies, endued with life in the fullest sense. It will be life without the limitation of anything human.
The opposite is true for the wicked and unsaved. There is a resurrection of damnation. Even their bodies will be fashioned in the horrors of depleted humanity. Every conceivable limitation and misery of human experience will constitute the design of these eternal creatures. They will dwell forever in a body that is full of death. It will be an eternal death.
Maranatha.....
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