Hell Is Real (7/9/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Jude 1:3-7.

Jude's short letter points out one of the harshest realities in the Bible:. There is a place of eternal punishment where people and angels will be banished to because of disobedience. Yes, Hell is a real place. Jesus spoke about it, explaining what it's like and who'll go there. Jonathan Edwards famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God started a revival. There was a time when many preachers talked about the destination of the wicked, hell-fire and brimstone preaching wasn't frowned upon in the past. The reality of eternal torment for those who deny and reject Yahweh's plan of salvation through Jesus is something that must be made known again.

Somewhere along the line people stopped being concerned about Hell. There's been a tremendous emphasis on the goodness and grace of our heavenly Father, which isn't all bad or wrong, but the reality of Hell is almost never spoken from the modern pulpit. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Jude wrote of "godless men" slipping into the Church and proclaiming false teachings. They undermined the grace of our loving God, teaching that grace allowed us to sin without penalty. They taught that there are others way to Heaven. As you can see, much of what is taught today has been around for a very long time.

We've all heard the jokes about shoveling coal in Hell, or the traveling salesman so good he can sell air conditioners to the evil. But these are ridiculous and all they do is is cause people to ridicule the concept of Hell. At WIllie Nelson's birthday bash Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, said, "Happy birthday Willie. Here's hoping that we'll have as much fun in Hell as we did here on earth trying to get there." There are many people like him because they have no concept of the reality of Hell. There are far too many people who would rather listen to a joke about Hell than anything about its reality.

Look at the word godless. It means people living without regard for religious belief or practice. They are self-centered, caught up in lustful indulgence. They live for the moment and are guided by whatever they lust after. They justify what they do because of the sensual satisfaction it brings them. If we refuse to believe what Yahweh has written we fall into the category of godless. This isn't just about pagans and sinners, this also means the people in our churches who ignore what they don't like about the Bible. Being a Christian in name only is a very dangerous thing.

Jude says they "deny Jesus Christ." Deny means that they're acting contrary to what Jesus demands of our character and life. They're untrue their Maker and acting the opposite of what he designed them to do. Many believe that their denial isn't an outright rejection of Yahweh, but that some time in the future they can accept him. They want to have their "fun" now, like the rock star said, and someday they'll make things right with the Lord. How can you live your life contrary to what your Lord desires, and just turn it around whenever you decide?

One of the reasons Hell isn't thought about much is because of the reluctance of theologians and preachers to admit its existence. This comes from the Los Angeles Times (June 19,2002). "The tendency to downplay damnation has grown in recent years as churches focus on everyday issues. Bill Farris, pastor of Crown Valley Vineyard Christian Fellowship said, 'It isn't sexy enough anymore." Can you imagine that, the subject of Hell isn't popular.

Karl Barth said, "Bible verses on Hell are only threats from God to keep us from arriving at such a destiny." Nels Ferre said, "In the end, love must dissolve all evil." Emil Brunner said, "Men will be annihilated, the punishment is only temporary." These highly educated men just couldn't stomach the reality of eternal punishment, which is clearly taught in the scriptures. And because these men are "educated," many people will cling to their words to deny the words of scripture.

Billy Graham said, "I believe that Hell is essentially separation from God. I cannot describe Hell in vivid terms like I did 30 or 40 years ago. I don't know if there is actually fire in Hell or not." We've got to be careful how we speak. This could cause someone to deny the reality of torment in Hell. We're supposed to be truth-speakers, letting people know everything we can about what our Lord God Almighty has revealed to us.

But no matter what you think about the subject of Hell, it's still there because Yahweh included it in his Word. The testimony of the Bible is strong on eternal punishment. There are three Greek words we translate as Hell: Hades, Tartarus, and Gehenna. They all describe something that any truly sane person would want to avoid.

Hades is the present abiding place of the wicked and ungodly who've died. All the spirits of the people who died without having Jesus as their Savior inhabit this place. It's a place of incarceration, where the wicked will abide until called forth for final judgment. It's the place Jesus spoke of in the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31). The rich man was in torment, asking for a drop of water to be placed on his tongue. He also didn't want any of his brothers to end up in the same place. That doesn't sound like short term punishment and annihilation to me.

Tartarus is found only one time. 2 Pet 2:4 says this is the place where the fallen angels have been cast and are kept in "chains of darkness." Some translate this as gloomy dungeons. It appears that some of the fallen angels were never let loose on the earth, but are being held in this place awaiting their final judgment. The comparison between these fallen angels and false teachers points out Yahweh's justice in condemning those who harm others with lies.

Gehenna is the place of future punishment. This is the eternal home of all those who die in rebellion to Yahweh and his grace. It will be the place where all the wicked angels, those who reject Jesus, and the ones living a religious lie will spend eternity. It's what Jesus said can't prevail against his Church in Matt 16:18. The word is derived from the Hebrew gehinnom, which was a pit where garbage was dumped. It has a long history of being a place of filth, and of almost constant burning Jesus establishes the reality of Hell by describing it.

I believe that what we need to know most is that there won't be any fun in Hell. No one is going to enjoy themselves. It's a place of torment and separation from their Creator. Jesus spoke of Hell specifically 15 times. He didn't just speak of it to threaten us, but to warn us away from it. He explained that it's a place of torment. He said it's a place of darkness. In fact, the word used means the opposite of light, or a place where Yahweh isn't present. There will be no light, physical or spiritual.

The people who refuse to bow down to Jesus now will eventually have to bow down to him. The problem is at that point it won't help them. They'll already have established their place in Hell, banished from his presence for their denial and rebellion. They'll have already chosen to go to Hell. Many have the idea that Yahweh sends people to Hell, but the truth is that they send themselves by their own choices. It says "every" knee will bow and "every" tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Even those who have denied and rejected him will have to recognize that Jesus is truly Lord of Lords.

Let me tell you how bad Hell will be, at least a bit of a perspective from our earthly understanding. People often say they'd rather die instantly instead of enduring a lingering and painful death. But as near as modern science can estimate, instant death still takes 7/10 of a second. That sounds pretty quick until we look at what transpires in those 7/10 of a second.

A person falling into a volcano would experience this: In the first tenth of a second your clothing catches fire and all your hair is burned from your body. In the second tenth of a second the top two layers of your skin is gone and all the surface liquid in your eyes begins to boil and evaporate. In the third tenth of a second a mad rush of adrenaline causes massive constriction of all your muscles. In the fourth tenth of a second your lungs begin to collapse from breathing in super-heated air and lava. In the fifth tenth of a second your tendons and ligaments constrict and start snapping bones. In the sixth tenth of a second the marrow in your bones expands and breaks all the rest of your bones. In the seventh tenth of a second your skull explodes.

Since Hell is a lake of fire where you can't be destroyed, think of the ongoing agony. The second death, eternal separation from Yahweh, will be more horrible than you can ever imagine. Hell is real. Jesus said so, and said it more than once. We need to be in prayer, seeking to help people avoid this astoundingly terrible place. We should be doing our best to let people know Yahweh's truth. Don't be a false teacher, worthy of a place with the fallen angels. Speak the truth in love, trying to help people get to Heaven.

Blessings & Peace, Mike