WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE PLACE CALLED HELL?
Proverbs 27:20 – Isaiah 5:14
Intro: If you have ever looked closely in the Bible you will realize that hell is preached on more than Heaven. Jesus preached on the subject of hell 56 times and only preached on Heaven 24 times. In the book of Matthew Jesus preached on hell 10 times. He preached on Hell in his first Sermon on the Mount and preached on Hell in his last Sermon on the Mount of Olives. So if preachers are supposed to be preaching the same gospel what has happened to the preaching on hell? The problem today is that the subject of hell is too controversial. To many preachers today are portraying God as a God of universal love. They are portraying God as someone who pats sin on the back and looks over it. And while God is not sending any one to hell he will judge sin and cast unbelievers there. God is love he is also a God of wrath. I want to preach on the subject “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO A PLACE CALLED HELL.”
A lot of people think hell is a state of being and not a literal place. There are some that think hell is here on earth as we speak. But every time I read about hell I find a geographical description
I. Hell is a REAL place
A. (Matthew 16:18) says that hell has gates
B. (Revelation 14:11) says hell has smoke
C. (Revelation 21:8) says hell has brimstone
D. (Mark 9) says there are worms in hell
E. (Revelation 20:15) refers to hell as a lake
F. (Isaiah 14:9) says hell is a place beneath
G. (Psalms 55:15) speaks of going “down into hell”
H. (Revelation 20:3) refers to hell as a bottomless pit
I. So Hell is a real place
II. Hell is a place created for a purpose
A. (Matthew 25:41) tells us that hell was created for the devil and his angels
B. However, because of the wickedness and disobedience of mankind the purpose of hell has changed
C. Now hell is not only a place for devil and his angels but it is also a place for the devil and his children
D. In (John 8:44) Jesus addresses the Jews and says You are of your father the devil
E. (II Peter 2:4) Hell was created for those who rebelled against God. And because God spared not the angels that sinned he will not spare any on this earth that rebel against him.
III. Hell is a place with a growing population
A. The perimeter of hell is growing on a second by second basis. In (Isaiah 5:14) we read that hell hath enlarged herself
B. Atlanta is the fastest growing city in the south adding nearly 8,000 people a day. But think of this on the average in the United States there are 28,800 people a day die, 10,512,000 a year in the US alone How many of those go to hell?
C. 600,000 died in the Civil War, 50,000 alone at the battle of Gettysburg
D. The Bubonic Plague in the 1300’s wiped out ¼ of the population of Europe
E. In 1556 the greatest earthquake to ever hit Japan killed 830,000
F. During World War II 55 million people were killed.
G. World Stats of dying unbelievers
Number of people in the world (as of Jan. 2004) 6.339 billion
Number of true believers 410 million
Number of non-believers 5.989 billion
% of the world’s population which will die this year .883%
# of the non-believers who will die this year 52.9 million
# of seconds in a year 31,536,000
# of the non-believers who will die each second 1.68
H. No wonder hell is expanding even as we speak
IV. Hell is a place of prominent people
A. A lot of prominent people have died and gone to hell. People who have been mentioned in the Bible are in hell
B. Do you realize that when people die they take their Adamic Nature with them?
C. The drunk will still want his alcohol but it will not be there
D. The drug addict will still want their fix but they will not have it and the DT’s will ravage their bodies for eternity
E. The prostitute will still desire the insatiable cravings for lewd sex
F. Cain is there, Ahab, the Rich Man, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and many others who have made their mark in history are there
G. My question is will you be the next?
Close: In closing let me read some quotes of some of the most prominent men and atheists as they lay dying on their deathbed
Talleyrand Perigord – Catholic and Napoleon Bonaparte’s foreign minister
“I am suffering the pangs of the damned”
Thomas Hobbs: (1588-1679) –founder of modern political philosophy --"I say again, if I had the whole world at my disposal, I would give it to live one day. I am about to take a leap into the dark."
Voltaire: (1694-1778) French writer and philosophist - "I am abandoned by God and man; I will give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months’ life." (He said this to Dr. Fochin, who told him it could not be done.) "Then I shall die and go to hell!"
Thomas Paine: (1737-1809) Revolutionary Patriot, Writer of Common Sense "Stay with me, for God’s sake; I cannot bear to be left alone ... O Lord, help me! O God, what have I done to suffer so much? What will become of me hereafter?"
NOW DO YOU BELIEVE THERE IS A PLACE CALLED HELL?
