Eternal Destinations

Notice two categories that Jesus mentions:

1. The sheep (saved)

Sheep may be stupid, but they are also loyal and will quickly follow their leader.

Read John 10:1-5. Sheep will recognize the voice of their shepherd, and they will not follow someone who might be imitating the shepherd.

2. The goats (lost)

Goats are completely different from sheep. They’re more aggressive and inquisitive, and they will dominate other animals by using their horns as a tool of submission.

Upon His return, King Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. It won’t be hard for Him to determine who’s who. The sheep will be those who have loyally followed Him, while the goats are those who have been rebellious against Him. Some will claim to be sheep, but actually, they will have failed to recognize Jesus as their Savior, and therefore they are nothing more than traitors.

There are only two eternal destinations:

1. HELL (everlasting punishment)

Despite the objections of many theologians today, hell is a real place. Jesus actually spoke of hell more than heaven. Here in Matthew 25:46, Jesus refers to hell as everlasting punishment. Those who go to hell must pay the price for their sins, and no human can ever pay off that debt.

Many today are detested by the thought that hell is an everlasting place of torment. Here are some false views of hell that are common today:

Metaphorical View of Hell: This was pushed by William Crockett, who said that teachings on both heaven and hell are largely symbolic. He believes that hell is a place of torment, but not a literal fire because a literal fire cannot torment spirit beings. This view is wrong in two respects:

Hell IS a place of literal fire. Mark 9:44, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Jesus never alludes to any kind of symbolism, but is speaking of literal fire. The second problem is that people in hell will not be spirit beings. They will have new resurrected bodies.

John 5:28-29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

“Worm dieth not” —the worm is the body

Purgatorial View of Hell: This was pushed by Zachary Hayes, who stated that eternal destiny, either heaven or hell, is set irrevocably at the moment of death; that most are not “bad enough” to be consigned to an eternal hell, nor are they good enough for heaven. So a cleansing process needs to take place between death and entrance into heaven.

This view is believed by many Catholics today. The Scripture they use: II Maccabees 12:41-46 (this is NOT Scripture). Also Matt. 12:31-32 (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) mentions you cannot be forgiven “either in this age or in the age to come.” They also cite I Cor. 3:11-15, “but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.” These Scriptures are taken out of context. There is NO solid argument from Scripture to believe in purgatory.

Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Conditionalist View of Hell: This is also the annihilation view, which was pushed by Clark Pinnock. He argued that if we are to take the Bible literally, we must take words such as “perish” and “death” literally. His argument has to do with morality: is God a God of infinite cruelty? Do sins committed in time and space justly merit limitless divine retribution?

This sounds good until you realize what Jesus meant by “perish” and “death.” The Greek word for “perish” in John 3:16 means this according to Thayer’s Lexicon: “to incur the loss of true or eternal life, to be delivered up to eternal misery.” Also, death in the Bible always has to do with separation. The annihilationist view takes no account for what the Bible calls the “second death” (Rev. 2:11, 20:6, 14, 21:8). The second death is eternal separation from God in hell. If someone is annihilated at death, then what on earth is the second death?

These unbiblical views of hell are dangerous. We must make sure that we continue to hold up the true biblical teaching of an eternal hell.

“I want to go to hell, that’s where my friends will be. We’ll have a party in hell.” Tell them what hell will be like (Luke 16):

—a place of eternal fire

—eternal darkness

—smoke

—screaming and gnashing of teeth

—remembrance of your former life

—no identity

—no relief

—no rest

—no friends

—no parties

For those who have died in their sin, they have been appointed a meeting with God Himself. This will happen at the Great White Throne Judgment. Read Rev. 20:11-13.