Monthly Archives: July 2017

Hell, The Truth About The Fate of The Lost, What is God Like?

Lord Teach Me About Hell-Conclusion-Personal Experience

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God’s Character Maligned

Since my conversion to Christ over 40 years ago I have learned through God’s word (and practical experience) that our beliefs about God’s character affect our relationship with Him and our salvation.  I know people who turned away from God when a loved-one died either suddenly or slowly over time.  Maybe you do too. Some have stopped associating with Christians, praying, or reading their Bible because they feel God allowed (or caused) something in their life to make them sick, uncomfortable, unhappy or inconvenienced them.

If we believe God is angry and looks for reasons to keep us from peace or repays evil for evil we are sure to rebel.  Lucifer’s original rebellion in heaven included the charge that God’s character and actions were harsh, secretive and selfish.  Listen closely to the lies and charges of Satan in the garden as he worked to convince Eve about a false picture of God’s personality.

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3: 4-5

To paraphrase:  “Eve, forget this idea of dying….You are going to live forever.  God is someone who is not telling you all the truth.  He knows your eyes are going to be open when you eat this fruit and you will be like God Himself!  He’s holding back!  He is not as good as you think!”  Sadly, these are often the general thoughts of people who do not know God personally.

It is important that we know God’s character and His word, especially in the context of His temperament and our troubles.

Understanding and knowing God the Father and Jesus is vital to our salvation.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

John 17:3

Jesus Clears up the Wrong Ideas About God

To have a false conception of God is dangerous and will lead to death.   It is Satan’s desire to give the world a wrong impression of the only true God and Jesus. By doing so, the enemy turns people away from the source of peace and happiness.  If the storms of life come to the professed Christian and there is no trust (faith) in the goodness and mercy of God, apostasy is sure to come.

To “know” someone means you have an understanding of who they are.  After spending time with them, you learn to either trust them or not.  You know their heart; their emotions; and how they feel about you as a person.  Knowing someone takes time and events.  That is often why people wait about marrying.  They want to know the person and how they will respond to things like their family.

Let’s consider another question:

Is Jesus different from the God of the Old Testament? The answer is a resounding, “No!”

By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, the professional teachers and leaders had made God out to be something He wasn’t.  The life of Jesus was a demonstration of what God is like….in the flesh!  His actions showed us the will and the character of the Father.  God loved us and wanted us to know Him, so He sent Jesus on a mission of salvation that included the opportunity to know the Creator.

Jesus’ coming as a babe, a youth, a young man and an adult demonstrates how important it is to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.

Yes! Jesus came to this earth to show to people the true nature of God.  He said, to his disciples, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father:

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 14:9

“By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. He was the Word of God,—God’s thought made audible. In His prayer for His disciples He says, “I have declared unto them Thy name,”—“merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,”—“that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

Desire of Ages p. 19

God desires for his Creation to know him.  Knowledge of God is both power and peace.  We are invited by Jesus to learn of him. When we take up the invitation, we will know more about God the Father.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Did you know Jesus was this kind of God? He wants us to learn from Him and about Him. Jesus is the perfect reflection of what God the Father is like!

Jesus offers us rest for our souls if, by faith, we come to Him. He is gentle and lowly in heart!  His burden is light and His yoke easy! How many Christians think the opposite?  Sadly, so many, even those who claim to be His followers, fail to go to Jesus when trouble comes…instead, they go to pieces!

Unending Torture in Hell Teaching Makes Unbelievers

 Someone once said that the concept of unending torture has turned more people into atheists than most anything else.  I don’t know if this is true, but it certainly must have a negative effect on a true understanding of God.

When I was young, I could see the gentle Jesus in the experience of my grandmother, but something would change all that and I would begin to see an angry God, with arms crossed, frowning at me for being such a terrible person. In my mind, He was looking for ways to make sure I was left out of heaven and burned at the stake.  As I got older, I went into total unbelief.  The Bible and God became a fairy tale created by men to keep society in line and have power over people. I hope the following will show how wrong I was and encourage you to search out God for yourself.  Here is how it started.

When I was about 8 years old, my saintly grandmother sent me to Vacation Bible School.  I recall loving everything about it except for the last day.

I liked the teachers and the programs.  The cookies, milk, and rest time in the church were enjoyable.  Of particular joy to me was the arts and crafts where I was making a jewelry box for my beautiful mother. She was a single mom (My Dad left when I was 6 years old) and pleasing her was something I cherished. The jewelry box, made from a King Edwards cigar box, was carefully painted with a dark color and little small shells and decals carefully attached to it.  To this day, I can still smell the fresh paint on it!

On Friday, the parents were going to join us for cookies and milk and they would get to see what we had created.  I was so excited, but something would happen that would change my view of God for a very long time.  It would eventually turn me to unbelief and to embrace atheism.

As we prepared for our parents, the teachers told us that we were all going to gather in a room and listen to one of the elders of the church talk about God.  We sat around him on the floor with our legs crossed and our eyes bright with anticipation.

I can still recall his name.  It was Mr. Hale.  Mr. Hale wanted to know how many of us knew about God and how to have eternal life?  Only a couple of hands went up.  I was not sure, but I knew my grandmother would know.  She knows the Bible better than anybody! Maybe I should ask her tonight, I thought.

Mr. Hale then begin to tell us that we could have salvation and be free from the “horrors of hell” if we accepted Jesus as our Savior.  We should acknowledge it by responding to the preacher’s altar call on Sunday.  Then we should be baptized.  If we did, we would escape the “horrors of hell.”

Next, he began to describe hell as the place where “our flesh would almost melt, but it would keep burning.”  Our blood “would boil like hot water.  We would scream for mercy and find none.  This will go on forever and forever.”

I was scared.  This did not seem like the same God my grandmother was always describing in her stories.  Many of the kids began to sob.  Mr. Hale wanted us to raise our hands if we wanted to “go forward” when the preacher had the altar call on Sunday.  We all raised our hands!

As promised all of us kids went forward that next Sunday when the preacher made the altar call.  There were many “Amens!” and “Praise The Lords”  throughout the congregation.

After church, my grandmother seemed troubled instead of excited about my decision to be baptized and escape the “horrors of hell.” When we got home, she looked at me with those kind and understanding eyes and said these words, which many may think to be wrong, but looking back I think it was the wise counsel of a Godly woman who knew her Father well.

“Eddie, you are too young to know why you need to give yourself to God.  You don’t understand sin, repentance, and confession. When God brings conviction on you, you will know it.”

I was not baptized.

The description of hell by Mr. Hale was reinforced many Sundays afterward.  It may not have been described in such detail, but all the teachers and preachers said my soul was immortal and that it would spend eternity in one of two places:  Heaven with Jesus or Hell with the devil.

As I contemplated it, I began to see God as an angry old man waiting for me to make a big mistake so He could send me to the flames forever.  This was the God I knew for a long time as I tried to be good and earn God’s love.

After a while, the contradiction of my grandmother’s God and the God of Mr. Hale and the preachers led me to believe there is no God and perhaps the Atheists were right.  God is an invention of mankind to keep everyone in line and as a tool for power over the people.

Is God like Mr. Hale’s description or that of my Grandmother’s?  Is He like Jesus or like the strict destroying God of the Old Testament?  How do we reconcile the two?

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How Unending Torture Maligns God’s Character

We have seen in this series that Jesus did not teach more about hell than heaven (Did Jesus Really Teach More About Hell Than Heaven?) This is a false statement meant to insinuate the “horrors of hell” are so bad that you should want to come to Jesus on the basis of fear.

As we studied verses that seem to indicate an everlasting fire, we discovered that context is important in understanding everlasting fire….It is everlasting punishment, not everlasting punishing.  The fire is everlasting in its effect, not its duration. Lord Teach Me About Hell-Part 2-Difficult Verses

We also saw that “hell” is a word used by the Hebrews and Greeks to signify the grave.  But, it is also the ultimate destruction of the sin problem at the end of time. This hell is hotter than any because it burns up the earth and all its elements.  Lord Teach Me About Hell-Part 3 Eternal Death Not Torture.

Now that we have sufficient proof about the ultimate fate of the lost, let’s consider the character of God further and why it makes no sense for our Creator to burn people without mercy or rest for all of eternity.

Some may think “torture” sounds like too strong of a word especially in the context of a Holy omnipotent God and Creator.  They will try to separate hell from God, but hell as described Mr. Hale cannot exist without an omnipotent God allowing it to.  Wouldn’t you agree?

What would you call it if you were burning constantly and no one was there to put out the flames or give you relief?  That is the highest form of torture someone could think up.  Imagine if our prison system used flames that kept the person alive while burning their tender skin as a form of punishment?  Would that be called torture?  Would it be justice?  What is its purpose other than cruel torture?

Let’s think this through.

The unsaved could be someone like uncle  Harry who never went to church with his wife and children because he was an unbeliever and life kept him busy and with different priorities.  By society’s standards he was a good man; never arrested nor did he break the law. He visited a few prostitutes when he was young private in the army.  At one time when he was younger, he secretly looked at pornography, but as he got older, he lost interest.  He pays His taxes.  He is faithful to his wife and loves his kids and grandkids, but he never professed Christ.  He just enjoyed life and saw it as a few good years then he would turn to dust.

One day uncle Harry dies of a heart attack from years of not taking care of himself. He enjoyed food so much that he could be described as a glutton.  In many cases, the preacher will talk about Harry as if he is in heaven enjoying his gardening with the Lord, but in the sermon at church the next Sunday, this same preacher will talk about salvation in Christ alone, which is true.   The preacher would never describe Harry as being lost and in eternal flames even though the congregation could put two and two together to come to some simple conclusions.

According to most preachers, Uncle Harry is lost and will be tortured without end for his bad decisions and sin.

This seems to be the philosophy of many who live on this planet.

Jesus said,

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

Did you notice that Jesus talks about a way that leads to destruction? This would have been the perfect time for Jesus to say that the broad way leads to hell that would burn forever, but no…it is destruction.  Uncle Harry got his desire of enjoying his short time of life on earth, but then it will be over.  He does not have an immortal soul.

The soul who sins shall die

Ezekiel 18:20

Jesus said that the lost soul would be destroyed

But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

The hell here is the grave, but even if you wanted to think of it as the place of burning, the soul is destroyed!

Without a doubt, there are more on the path to “destruction” than those who are not.

Here is the first hint of the fate of the lost, the continued use of the word “destruction.”  “Destruction” and “Perish” are the favorite words used by Christ, Peter, and Paul to describe the fate of the lost (Collectively used 42 times).  This happens by fire, but there is no eternal life for the lost in flames.

True, only God can determine who is ultimately lost and who is saved, but Jesus gives us plenty of reasons to know the character and life of the saved compared the character and life of the lost.  Not all have death-bed conversion.  They are probably the minority.

“Wherefore by their fruits, ye shall know them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘ I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Matthew 7: 21-23

Notice, that even those who claim to “know” the Lord and done incredible works in the name of the Lord missed out because they practiced lawlessness.  These might be called hypocrites and religious. Their habits of sin showed they did not “know” the Lord.

At the other end of the spectrum are guys like Hitler and child molesters, and those who cursed and mocked God believing there was no accountability for their blasphemy.

If all are tortured if hot flames for eternity according to the Mr. Hale’s of the world.  Harry and Hitler (although hugely different in their lives) have the same fate and will live with no rest from the flames.  Every day is the same.  There are no lunch breaks, no sleeping, no vacations. no water.  No medications to help endure the pain.  Only intense, torturous non-stop pain and unending weeping.

Many teachers will try to minimize this by saying, “God does not send them to hell, they send themselves.”  But, even if it was so, it takes a miracle of God to keep them all alive so they can burn more.  It would take a miracle to keep the flesh from consuming.

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God’s Character is Longsuffering and Merciful

“I take no delight in the death of the wicked.”

Ezekiel 33:11

God does not want anyone to die or perish.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

There’s that word again, “perish.”  God’s longsuffering with us means He desires more people to have life and not “perish.”

Our God does not torture.  He wants people to come to repentance so that they will not have to experience eternal death (non-existence).  Their fate (death, perish, destruction) is horrible enough. But to root out the seed of sin, God performs his “strange act” of eternal destruction.

Do you know God?  Your eternal life depends on it! We are invited to learn about Jesus.  This takes a personal experience.  It is His loving kindness and its demonstration on the cross that draw us to Him.

Lord, thank you for your word and the life of Jesus that teaches us about who you are.  May we each have an experience with you that will lead us to trust you more. Amen.

 

Hell, The Truth About The Fate of The Lost, What is God Like?

Lord Teach Me About Hell-Part 3 Eternal Death Not Torture

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There is a hell, but is it like some teachers describe?

I once had a lively discussion with a relative about hell. When it seemed like we were going nowhere,  I asked her if she had asked the Lord to reveal to her, through His word, the truth  about hell.  She said, “No!”  It led me to think, do people really want to know what the Bible teaches about the ultimate fate of the lost or are they satisfied with the descriptions portrayed by well-meaning teachers and pastors.  What if we were to simply pray, “Lord Teach Me About Hell.”?

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Are the tortures of hell in line with the character of God and the many  teachings of the Bible about His great mercy and love?  Some preachers have said they need to preach hell to bring fear into the heart of a person so they will turn to Jesus. They conclude that anything other than an unending burning hell is letting the sinner off too easy.

Some hell-fire-and-brimstone preachers portray a God whose vengeance is so great that it is never satisfied, hence the non-ending torture. But, the Bible tell us that He takes “no pleasure” in the death of wicked.

 As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked

Ezekiel 33:11

If God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, He certainly would not take pleasure in their torture.

For the last few studies, we have discovered that Jesus taught more on the kingdom of God and heaven than he did about hell.  We also saw how many Bible verses used to support everlasting torture were simply misinterpreted in the light of the whole scripture and the character of God. The Bible is clear that the fate of the lost is eternal death.

Let’ now compare the terrible picture of people roasting in a fire that offers no hope and no relief for eternity with the character of God as revealed in the Bible and in the teachings of Jesus.

Is it true that non-ending torture is “justice” for the three score and ten (70) years of life?  Does a holy and just God give a sinner trillions and trillions of years of pain and torture in exchange for 70 years of life without Christ?

Is there something we have missed?

Lord Teach Me The Truth About Hell.

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Following are the two typical modern understandings about hell.  This is what a majority of protestant Christians believe.

View 1:  If you die and are unsaved (e.g. did not profess Christ), your immortal soul immediately (or after a quick judgment scene) goes to a place under the earth where the devil resides and your soul is tormented by blistering hot flames throughout eternity without end.  You will scream and desire to die, but you will stay alive in flames never finding relief.  This could be called the immediate and present Hell.

View 2:  If you die and are unsaved, at the end of time your immortal soul is judged at the Great White Throne judgment and your soul and body is cast into the lake of fire prepared for Satan and his angels where you are tortured by flames throughout eternity.  You will scream and desire to die, but you will stay alive in flames never finding relief.  We will call this future Hell.

The Catholic church throws in a couple of “holding” places such as purgatory and some talk about a place called “Abraham’s bosom.” There may be some other slight variations, but if you ask a Christian or a pastor about hell, this is very close to the answers given.  It is often softened up a bit to take out the idea of a Holy God torturing the unsaved by saying non-biblical things like, “The lost choose hell.”  Is that right?  Who in their right mind would choose to be tortured? The Bible teaches they are choosing death over eternal life not so much from a conscious choice, but rather unbelief in Jesus and the pull of the Holy Spirit to repent and turn away from the sins that lead to death.

The common idea with both basic views about hell involves non-stop burning and torture.  We often hear preachers say, “You will live eternally in one of two places.”  Is this true?  Do the lost also have eternal life?  Are their souls immortal?  What is tortured?  The soul? The body?  Both?

What does the Bible have to say about all this?

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Some will say, “It is the immortal soul that is being punished not the body.“  Of course, there is no biblical proof for this Also,it contradicts  those who support a literal interpretation of  the Rich Man and Lazarus where the rich man has a tongue and gets thirsty in the flames. He has a body!

Some will say, “God is just and this is their fate.”  We can’t understand it and aren’t suppose to.”

Is this true?

It is true that our thoughts and our ways are not like His, but there are things He has revealed that we can know with certainty.“

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, 

Deuteronomy 29:29

Is the fate of the lost one of those things revealed to us?

Yes! But we must understand it from ALL that has been revealed to us!

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The bible tells us that having life eternal is based on knowing God and having a relationship with Him.  We are drawn to Him as He is lifted up (Cross).  Is a torturing God, the One we want to get to know?  Or is God like a father who loves his child.  Does God use hell to scare us into coming to Him or does he draw us a different more divine way?

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

John 17:3

Knowing God and Jesus Christ and their character is important in our experience and in our salvation from death.  To have a false conception of God is dangerous as we shall see.

We are not scared into a relationship with the Lord, He draws us with “lovingkindness.”

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:3

It is the cross, not hell, that draws people to Jesus.

‘”…And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.‘  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.”

John 12:32-33

That day on a lonely hill dying on a rough wooden cross is the ultimate demonstration of the sacrifice and love God offers to all people. A clear view of the things leading up to the death of Jesus and the day He said, “It is finished” will bring the sin weary to repentance, forgiveness, and salvation from eternal death.

What confuses me is that people get angry over this topic of unending torture.  It’s as if they want this type of fate for the lost.  Each person who is lost had a mother, dad, and perhaps a loving family.  Will they be remembered when the saved portion of the family gets to heaven?  How could it be heaven knowing Uncle Harry is burning in hell non-stop?

There is something missing in all this.  For the next few moments, lets look at the rest of the story.

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  The soul is not immortal.  only God has immortality.  The saved are not given immortality until  Christ returns.

If a soul can die, it is not immortal.

“ Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die..”

Ezekiel 18:4

Only God has immortality!

I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:14-16

We all die and do not get immortality until Jesus returns and we are changed and “put on” immortality then and not before.  IT IS ONLY WHEN JESUS RETURNS, THAT WE CAN CLAIM IMMORTALITY AND SAY THAT DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. IMMORTALITY IS NOT GIVEN AT DEATH.

Want to know a mystery about death that has been solved. Something God has revealed to us and our children?  Listen closely:

 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, THEN shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

1 Corinthians 15: 51-54

Is this not as clear as a bell?  Immortality is “put on” when Jesus returns!  Until then we sleep in death.

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Eternal death, not torture, awaits the lost

“Death has come upon all men by the offence of one man. But, through grace and the gift of righteousness life came by Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:12, 17

Wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 3:23.

Wages is something due to us for our work of sin.  Sin leads to death, not life. Both are mutually exclusive.  You can’t have both.  You must have one or the other. The gift of eternal life is reserved only for the saved.

He that has the son has life.  He that does not have the son does not have life. 

1 John 5:20

“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

Here is a simple straightforward comparison of what awaits the lost VS the saved:

Believes in Jesus = everlasting life

Not believing = perish (eternal death)

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life…”

John 3:36

Believes in the Son = everlasting life

Does not believe in the = shall not see life.

Man, nor his soul, is immortal.  As shown above, immortality is not given to the saved until Jesus returns and resurrects the saved:

The soul can be destroyed,

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

The body and soul are destroyed in hell (aka the grave).  It is not kept alive to suffer through out eternity. If there is a fear to be taught, it is the fear of both the body and the soul are forever destroyed, while the redeemed have a new immortal body and life without end.

As described before, the belief in God AND the resurrection of Jesus are both vital to receiving salvation from eternal death:

… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

It was Paul’s goal to be raised from the dead…..Not to die and be with Him,

” if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:11

The mortal “puts on” immortality and death is no more when Jesus returns.

The dead in Christ are resurrected

 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words”

1 Thessalonians 4: 15-18

Note:  Those who died in Christ and those who are alive when He returns start to “be with the Lord forever” when He returns.  So resurrection is our hope…Our eternity with the Lord does not start until He returns.

Jesus will raise the saved up in the last day.

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”

John 6:39

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:44

“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:54

“Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

John 11:24

The teaching of resurrection as our hope s ancient.  Example: Job said,

“my redeemer lives and I will see God in the flesh in the latter day upon the earth.”

Job 19:25, 26

The resurrection is extremely important because we are lost if it doesn’t happen.

Our faith is futile without the resurrection. Our hope is in the return of Christ and the Resurrection, not in dying and floating off to heaven.

“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

1 Corinthians 15:14-19

The Rich Man and Lazarus story does not include a resurrection and is clearly a parable because it comes at the end of a line of parables.  But, there was a resurrection of another Lazarus that clearly describes the state of those who die.  The event is described in John 11.  Here Jesus describes Lazarus’ death with sleep:

“Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep…Then said Jesus, unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”

John 11:14

Notice something else, when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life after being dead for 4 days, he did not say to him to come down, but rather come forth (v. 43). If Lazarus had been in heaven, he would have had many things to share, don’t you think?  Why is he silent?  It is because he was asleep.

The unjust have a resurrection too (after the millennium): 

                Resurrection of unjust.

“I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.”

Act 24:15

Rest of the dead live again after the 1,000 years Rev. 20:4, 5

“And they lived and reigned with Christ for a[a]thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.”

Revelation 20: 4, 5

The second death is the fate of the lost who are not part of the first resurrection, but rise in the 2nd resurrection. Revelation 20:6

“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power…”

Revelation 20:6

At the end of all things, the saved may have died once, but they will never have to die again because they have been given immortality.  But the lost who died once, will die again fully aware that there death will be forever. This knowledge is their punishment and it creates wailing and gnashing of teeth.

At the end time, fire destroys the earth, Satan, and sinners:

Jesus comes a thief in the night in which the heavens, earth, elements, and all the works are burned up.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” 

2 Peter 3:10

Everlasting Destruction

“The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 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

Wicked destroyed forever (Psalm 92:7, Psalm 9:5)

“When the wicked spring up like grass,
And when all the workers of iniquity flourish,
It is that they may be destroyed forever.”

Psalm 92:7

Death and hell grave are destroyed

“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

Revelation 20:14

Fire comes down from God when the resurrected lost try surround the beloved city. This fire devours them. When something is consumed or devoured, there is nothing left.

“They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.” 

Revelation 20:9

“For our God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:29

The Anti Christ (lawless one) is destroyed when Christ returns by the brightness of the Lord’s coming.

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” 

2 Thessalonians 2:8

(Read the preceding verses for context)

Wicked are burned up reducing them to nothing

“For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will leave them neither root nor branch.”

Malachi 4:1

Satan is burned to ashes and shall never be anymore

“You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.”

All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
You have become a horror,
And shall be no more forever”

Ezekiel 28:18, 19

So, scripture is clear, the wages of sin is death, not eternal life in burning flames.  There is a hell, but it is a work of eternal destruction. Even Satan’s fate is total destruction.  His end will wipe the universe clean of sin and its results.

Eternal life is given only to those who turn to Jesus and place their trust in Him. Life eternal is given to those who know Him and not about Him. It is all about Jesus.  He holds the keys to the grave and death:

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Revelation 1:18

Because we believe He can resurrect us and give us immortality, we have passed from death to life. I want to be part of the first resurrection, don’t you?

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

John 5:24

I often wondered why God wipes away all tears. The passage in Revelation 21: 4, Revelation 7:17, Isaiah 25:8 are in the context of the end of time when all of God’s people arrive in heaven at the same time after the resurrection as desribed in 1 Thess. 4:15-18

The saints will spend their first day in heaven wondering about a loved one who didn’t make it. Then they will understand from the Lord Himself that they were lost and will never be anymore. There will be tears in heaven, but Jesus will literally and symbolically wipe away the tears.  He will explain and show them the many opportunities given them to receive eternal life as a free gift, but they refused.

Then all the saints will bow, throw their crowns, and proclaim

 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation 4:11

 

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Further Study:

Want to go deeper?  below is information for those who might want to look at things a little closer.

The Word “Hell”

Hell is an English word coming from the same root as: heel, hill, hole, whole hall…etc. Its original English meaning was any place, or someplace covered over. This sounds like a grave which is confirmed by the following Hebrew and Greek words.

The writers of the Bible had several words to choose when talking about what we call “hell”:

1.) Sheol/Hades

2.) Gehenna

3.  Tartarus

Sheol is a Hebrew word used 63 times in the Old Testament (KJV).  The New Testament equivalent is Hades which is used 11 times. Both are proper names for a literal place (grave) and figurative place (destruction). What is notable is that righteous men such as David, Jacob, Jonah, and even our Lord are described as going to Sheol or Hades! To go to Sheol means to be cut off from life, to die. It is the state or place of the dead.

Jesus compared death to “Sleep.” (e.g. Lazarus- John 11:11, and a 12-year old girl-Mark 5:39). Paul used it often (e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:51, Ephesians 5:14, 1 Thessalonians 4:14) as did David (e.g. Psalm 13:3) and Job (Job 14:12). Daniel used it in a Paul like vision of both the righteous and the unrighteous coming up from sleep (resurrection),

“And many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Gehenna

Gehenna is a Greek word derived from the Hebrew words ‘ge hinnom’ meaning the Valley of Hinnom. Used 12 times in the new testament.

“Gehenna was a well-known valley, near Jerusalem, in which the Jews in their idolatrous days had sacrificed their children to the idol Moloch, in consequence of which it was condemned to receive the offal and refuse and sewage of the city, and into which the bodies of malefactors were cast and where to destroy the odor and pestilential influences, continual fires were kept burning. Here fire, smoke, worms bred by the corruption, and other repulsive features, rendered the place a horrible one, in the eyes of the Jews. It was a locality with which they were as well acquainted. But in process of time Gehenna came to be an emblem of the consequences of sin, and to be employed figuratively by the Jews, to denote those consequences. But always in this world. The Jews never used it to mean torment after death, until long after Christ. The word had not the meaning of post-mortem torment when our Savior used it.” –J.W. Hanson’s, Bible Threatenings Explained.

When Jesus used it 11 times, he was not referring to a place under the earth, or even the lake of fire described by John in Revelation, but rather a valley where the refuge of the city continually smoked and the ultimate fate of dead animals.  It was not a place of unending torture, but rather a fitting symbol of death and destruction.

Jesus again used the word “Gehenna” when he described the destruction of both the body and soul in hell.  “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).

Tartarus

Tartarus is used only once to mean ‘to cast down to Hades’, referring to the angels who sinned in 2 Peter 2:4. The angels described in Jude 1:6 are told to be reserved in everlasting chains until judgment. If Tartarus means a burning hell, why would the angels be there before judgment?

Contradictions?:

The origin of a place of eternal torture for rejection of God comes from Egypt and was adopted by the church during the dark ages to scare the people into submission to the church.  The teaching of purgatory was also used by the church to obtain money for the lost.  That is another study in itself, but I will stop here.

But, how do we understand those verses that describe everlasting fire, eternal fire, and unquenchable fire? The answer is very simple in the light of the context about the final destiny of the unsaved i.e., eternal death, destruction and ashes.  The fire that burns up the earth, the elements, and the unsaved is eternal in its results, not in its duration.  It is unquenchable in that it can’t be put out.  But once it has done its work of destruction, it goes out. Ask any fireman about an unquenchable fire and they will tell you that they can’t put it out, but that does not mean that it does not go out. Once all the wood is burned up, there is nothing left to burn, so the fire goes out.

How about the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16? This has to be a parable and not an actual teaching of the fate of the lost because of these reasons:

1.)  It is the last parable in a series that starts with the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15:8. While it doesn’t specifically say it is a parable, neither does it say that the parable of the lost son is one either.  The point of the parable is not what happens to the lost, but rather the Pharisees (who loved money, Luke 16: 14 would never believe Jesus even if He was raised from the dead because they had not heard (believed) Moses and the Prophets.) They had the idea that being rich and because of their ancestry (i.e., Jacob) they would be in heaven and the others would be tormented in hell.  They made all this up because there is not Biblical example.  Just like they made up all the Sabbath laws without any scriptural authority, they made up this scenario. Jesus turns their story around and the non-Jewish poor man winds up in the place they thought was theirs automatically because of who they were.

2.) Jesus typically talked to the religious leaders and the people in parables.  Yes, He spoke very directly to them on several occasions, but when he was attempting to teach them or show them the truth, he would use parables. Those who wanted to know the truth would go looking for it as did the disciples. “All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them.” Matthew 13:34. “Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” Matthew 15:15. Peter is a good example for us.  If we don’t understand a teaching, simply go to Jesus and ask him. If we really want to know the truth, He will tell us.  Don’t you think?

Conclusion:

There is good reason to believe from scripture that the unsaved die and await their final judgment which is destruction by the lake of fire as described in Revelation and many other Bible verses.

But, to use the teaching of eternal torment where a person’s life is maintained by God himself to simply let him suffer more is beyond reason and scripture.  Is this suppose to scare someone enough to start a loving relationship with Jesus?  Did your wife scare you into a relationship or did she “woo” you?  If she is like my wife, she did everything she could to show me that she loved me.  I was drawn to her spirit of kindness and love for me.

The scriptural way to bring people to Christ is by lifting Jesus up for all to see His great sacrifice, goodness, kindness,  mercy, forgiveness, and power!

“Come to me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

When the disciples were trying to win souls to Christ, they never used the threat of unending torture, but words like:

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Romans 2:4

It is not the fear of eternal torture that leads people to a relationship with Christ!

The Holy Spirit brought convicting power to the sermon of Peter and the disciples when they showed how Jesus died for their sins.  The people were “cut to the heart and asked, ‘What can we do?’” (Acts 2:37) Peter said, to them:

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2: 38, 39)

Thousands that were converted to Jesus in the early church came from the topic of Jesus and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.  Not one sermon about the possibility of being tortured without end!

But, Peter did let us know that the fate of the world and ungodly is destruction when Jesus returns…everything will be burned up!

There are, perhaps, no clearer words about the fate of the lost and this world as these passages from Peter.  If you want to know the truth about the fate of the lost and this world, listen closely to what is being revealed to you and your children and follow the instructions to eternal life reserved only for the saved:

“…knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,  by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3: 1-9

Notice Peter again uses the word “Perish” as the fate of all those who do not come to repentance!

The Day of the Lord

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3: 10-13

My brother or sister, here is your hell.  It is hotter than the one taught.  It is not a slow roast, it is immediate and it makes way for a heavens and earth where only righteousness dwells.  They is no corner of the universe somewhere where people are writhing in pain.

The time of Jesus must be soon.  It is time to turn to Jesus and ask Him about things we don’t understand so we can be more powerful preachers and teachers for Him!  Don’t you agree?

Hell, The Truth About The Fate of The Lost, What is God Like?

Lord Teach Me About Hell-Part 2-Difficult Verses

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Some Difficult Texts Explained

We have studied the topic of hell and the error of teaching that the God of John 3:16  tortures the lost non-stop without mercy for eternity.  A few verses misapplied weave the terrible story of a wrath so horrendous that it cannot be satisfied.   People (you and I have known for a lifetime)  have no way to escape the terrible agony of frying in the pan of a burning hell.

So far, we have seen this horrific misconception falls under the weight of a multitude of Bible passages that says clearly, the lost will die with no hope of eternal life and happiness. We have discovered using a systematic approach that it is not true that Jesus taught more about hell than heaven:

Did Jesus Really Teach More About Hell Than Heaven?

The parable of Jesus about the Rich Man and Lazarus is not a story of literal events, but a parable with a different objective than scaring people into a saving relationship with Jesus.

Lord Teach Me About Hell-Part 1 (Rich Man & Lazarus)

This time, we look closely at verses seemingly supportive of the idea of eternal torture. We will view comparable verses to get clarity.

 

1.)  “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:28

Jesus clearly teaches in this text that the soul is not naturally immortal. It can and will be destroyed in hell. But what does He mean about killing the body, but not the soul? Is it possible for the soul to exist apart from the body? Some say it is, but the Bible indicates otherwise.

The Hebrew word “psuche” has been translated “soul” in this text, but in forty other texts it has been translated “life.” For example, Jesus said,

“Whosoever will lose his life [psuche] for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 16:25.

Obviously, “psuche” could not mean soul in this instance, or people could be said to lose their soul for Christ’s sake. It is properly translated “life.”

But what of Matthew 10:28? Put in the word “life” instead of “soul” and the text makes perfect sense in its consistency with the rest of the Bible. The contrast is between one who can take the physical life, and He who can take away eternal life. Here is proof in the words of Jesus:

“And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell.”

Luke 12:4, 5.

In other words, the word “soul” here means not only life, but also eternal life. Notice that Luke says everything just like Matthew except that he does not say “kills the soul.” Instead, he says, “cast into hell.” They mean the same thing. Men can only kill the body and take away the physical life. God will cast into hell and take away eternal life. Not only will their bodies be destroyed in that fire, but also their lives will be snuffed out for all eternity.

 “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

Matthew 25:46:

It is well to notice that Jesus did not say that the wicked would suffer “everlasting punishing.” He said “everlasting punishment.” What is the punishment for sin? The punishment is destruction, and it is of eternal duration

“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

(2 Thessalonians 1:9).

In other words, it is a destruction which never ends, because there will be no resurrection from that destruction.

Paul says,

“the wages of sin is death.”

Romans 6:23.

John describes that death as “

the second death”

Revelation 21:8.

That death or destruction will be eternal.

2.)  “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

Mark 9:43, 44:

In this verse, the word “hell” is translated from the Greek word “Gehenna,” which is another name for the Valley of Hinnom just outside the walls of Jerusalem.There the refuse and bodies of animals were cast into an ever-smoldering fire to be consumed. Maggots that fed on the dead bodies were constantly destroying what might escape the flames. Gehenna symbolized a place of total destruction.

Jesus taught in this verse that the fire of hell could not be quenched or put out by anyone. Isaiah said,

“They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame.”

Isaiah 47:14.

Yet, he hastened to say in the same verse,

“There shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before it.”

So the unquenchable fire will go out after it has finished its work. Jerusalem burned with unquenchable fire

….then swill I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

(Jeremiah 17:27)

yet it was totally destroyed

And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.

(2 Chronicles 36:19-21).

The flames and worms of Gehenna represented the total annihilation and obliteration of sin and sinners. With the fires of Gehenna burning before their eyes, Jesus could not have spoken a more graphic word to the Pharisees to describe the final total destruction of sinners.

As a fireman if they have seen an  “unquenchable fire.” They will tell you it is a fire they cannot put out, but eventually it will go out, once it has consumed the fuel it is burning. It does not continue to burn with no end.

Those who cite this text to support their doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul are thrown into a real dilemma. Why? Because the fire and worms are working, not upon disembodied souls, but bodies! Christ said, the

“whole body” would be cast into hell.”

Matthew 5:30

In Isaiah 66:24, the same Gehenna picture of hell is presented with the unquenchable flame and the destroying worms. But in this case, the word “carcasses” is used, revealing the fact that the fire consumes dead bodies, not disembodied souls.

And they shall go forth, and look

Upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me:

For their worm shall not die,

Neither shall their fire be quenched;

And they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Isaiah 66:24

3.) “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:43:

Some have assumed from this verse that souls go to their reward immediately after death, contrary to scores of other Bible texts. But notice two things wrong with this assumption. First, even though Jesus told the thief,

“Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise,”

three days later He told Mary that He had not yet ascended to His Father.

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father:

John 20: 17

His Father is in Paradise.  Here is the evidence  Revelation 2:7 says the tree of life

“is in the midst of the paradise of God,”

and Revelation 22:1, 2 describes the tree of life by the side of the river of life which flows, in turn, from the throne of God.

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

So there is no question about Paradise being where the Father’s throne is located. The question is: How could Jesus tell the thief that he would be with Him in Paradise that day, when He did not go there until three days later?

In the second place, Jesus and the thief did not even die on the same day. When the soldiers came just before sunset to take the bodies off the cross, Jesus was already dead (John 19:32-34). The thieves were very much alive, and their legs were broken to hasten death and to prevent them from escaping. They undoubtedly lived on past sunset into the hours of the Sabbath and possibly longer. So how could Jesus assure the thief of being with Him in Paradise that day when they did not both die on “that day”?

The apparent contradictions clear up when we consider that the punctuation of Luke 23:43 was added by uninspired men when our English Bible was translated. They placed a comma before the word “today,” when in reality it should have been placed after “today.” Then the verse would correctly read,

“Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.”

In other words, Jesus was saying, “I give you the assurance today, when it seems I can save no man; today when my own disciples have forsaken me and I’m dying as a criminal dies—yet I assure you of salvation right now.”

Please notice that the thief did not ask to be taken to Paradise then. He asked,

“Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”

That’s exactly when he will be remembered and taken into that Kingdom.

4.) “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: … We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 5:6, 8:

In verses 1-8, Paul is contrasting the present mortal state with the future immortal life in heaven. Notice the expressions he uses for the two conditions:

Mortal Immortal
earthly house building of God
this tabernacle house not made with hands
mortality our house from heaven
in the body absent from the body
absent from the Lord present with the Lord

He also speaks of being clothed with “our house which is from heaven,” (verse 2) and again, he longs “that mortality might be swallowed up of life.” Verse 4.

But the key to the entire discourse lies in the description of a third condition. After desiring to be clothed upon with immortality, Paul states that “being clothed we shall not be found naked.” Verse 3. Putting it yet another way, he said,

“not for that we would be unclothed.”

Verse 4.

Clearly, the naked or unclothed state was neither mortality nor immortality, but death and the grave. Paul realized that one did not pass instantly from being clothed with this tabernacle into being clothed with our house from heaven. Death and the grave came in between, and he referred to it as being unclothed and naked.

In another text, Paul spelled out exactly when that change from mortality would take place. In 1 Corinthians 15:52, 53 he wrote,

“The trumpet shall sound and this mortal must put on immortality.”

That will be when Jesus comes.

5.) “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”

1 Peter 3:18-20:

There has been considerable misunderstanding of these verses of Scripture. It has been preached that Christ actually descended into the lower regions of the earth and preached to lost souls that were imprisoned in some purgatory or limbo.

This is very far from what the text actually says. Let’s look at it closely now and get the real message of these verses. It says that Christ suffered once for sin that He might bring us to God by being put to death in the flesh. But He was quickened by the Spirit by which also He went and preached.

First of all, notice how Christ preached to those spirits in prison. He did it by the Spirit, and that word is capitalized in your Bible. It actually refers to the Holy Spirit. So whatever Christ did in preaching during this period of time, He did it through or by the Holy Spirit.

With that in view, let’s ask this: When was the preaching done? The answer is plainly given in verse 20,

“When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing.”

So, the preaching was actually done while the ark was being built—during the preaching of Noah to that antediluvian world. Now, one more question: To whom was the preaching done? The text says here “to the spirits in prison.”

Throughout the Bible, we find this terminology used in describing those who are bound in the prison house of sin. David prayed,

“Bring my soul out of prison.”

Psalm 142:7.

Paul spoke of his experience in these words:

“bringing me into captivity to the law of sin.”

Romans 7:23.

What Peter is telling us here is simply that Christ through the Holy Spirit was present while Noah preached; Christ was there through the Holy Spirit to speak conviction to their hearts and appeal to them to come into the ark. There is absolutely nothing here that indicates that Jesus departed from the body during the time He was dead to go to any subterranean place to minister to wicked spirits. The three questions are clearly answered in the text itself, that He preached by the Holy Spirit, He did it while the ark was being prepared, and He did it to the spirits in prison or to those individuals whose sinful lives were bound in the prison house of sin.

“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:10, 11:

The words “for ever” do not necessarily mean “without end.” In fact, the Bible uses the term 56 times (“for ever” can be found in your biblical concordance under “ever”) in connection with the things that have already ended.

In Exodus 21:1-6 the Hebrew servant was to serve his master “for ever,” but it was obviously only as long as he lived. Hannah took her son Samuel to God’s house to abide “for ever,” but she plainly limited that time to “as long as he liveth.” 1 Samuel 1:22, 28.

The term is very clearly defined in Psalm 48:14,

“For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.”

The desolation of Edom was to continue “for ever and ever.” Isaiah 34:10. Christ is called “a priest for ever” (Hebrews 5:6), yet after sin is blotted out Christ’s work as a priest will end. The Bible states, “The wicked … shall be destroyed for ever.” Psalm 92:7.

1 Samuel 28:14:

“And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.”

This spiritualistic séance has been cited as evidence for life after death. However, here are points to the contrary:

  1. Wizards had been sentenced to death and banned from the land (verse 3; Leviticus 20:27).
  2. God had left Saul and would not communicate with him (verse 15).
  3. Samuel was supposedly “brought up.” Other expressions: “ascending out of the earth,” “Cometh up,” and “Bring … up.” Is this where the righteous dead are—down in the earth? Not according to those who believe in the immortal soul. 4. Samuel is described as “an old man covered with a mantle.” Is this the way immortal souls appear? And where did the soul get the body? They’re supposed to be disembodied. Was there a resurrection? Did God obey the beck and call of the witch, and raise up Samuel? If not, can Satan raise the dead?
  4. The apparition of Samuel told Saul, “Tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me.” Saul committed suicide on the battlefield the next day. Where did Samuel dwell, if the wicked Saul was to go to the same place?
  5. The record never says that Saul saw Samuel. He received his information as second hand from the witch, and only concluded it was Samuel from her description. The truth is that the devil deceived the dissolute old woman, and she deceived Saul. It was nothing more than a devil-generated séance.
  6. The enormity of Saul’s sin is revealed in these words, “So Saul died for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; And inquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him.” 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14.

A careful study of these difficult passages show that they line up with the true fate of the lost.  It is not a non-ending torture chamber, but a fate of eternal death and destruction. It will be as if they had never been.  Because of this, when we arrive in heaven, there will be tears for them knowing they have passed away forever.  These tears will be wiped away by a loving and understanding Savior who guarantees no more pain, sorrow, crying, or pain.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:4

If there were some space in the universe where uncle Bob was roasting in agony, would that be heaven for you?  Would those tears every go away?

NO!  God loves His creation so much that He sent His only Son to die for us so that we don’t have to die forever.  We will not perish like the lost, but have eternal life.

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16