Something is Out There:
Rumors of the Invisible World of the Sacred God
3/15 The Other Side of the Coin
INTRODUCTION
Video -- Letter from Hell
This video illustrates something that most Christians know, but few articulate: that of all the doctrines of the Christian faith, the one we feel most uncomfortable discussing is hell. And it is not difficult to understand why this is so.
The doctrine of hell is offensive to unbelievers, and contradicts the emphasis on tolerance and on human potential that dominates our times.
For many of us, the doctrine of hell is also difficult to reconcile with the love and grace of God.
Furthermore the doctrine of hell has been misused as a means to control and dominate others.
As a result many have sought to distance themselves from the doctrine of hell. Not wanting to be accused as one of those who have abused this doctrine, or seeking to avoid appearing intolerant and uncaring, many removed the word "hell" entirely from our vocabulary. For most it has become one of those beliefs of a personal matter.
ƒÀ Most Americans now reject the idea of Hell
Ill: A survey conducted by George Gallup in 1990 revealed that just under 60% of Americans believe there is a hell (down over 10% from 1978), though only 4% believe that hell was their own personal destination.
ƒÀ Followers of Jesus struggle with how to assimilate this truth.
Ill: A survey in the mid-1980s of American evangelical college and seminary students revealed that only one in ten believed that the first step in influencing unbelievers for Christ should be to warn about hell. 46% of seminary students believed that to emphasize to non-believers that eternal judgment would be a consequence of rejecting Christ was "in poor taste."
In spite of the prevailing attitudes toward hell the doctrine is firmly grounded in the teaching of Scripture.
All but one of the letters of the Apostle Paul mention the wrath or judgment of God on sin.
And of the twelve uses of the word gehenna (the strongest word for hell) in the New Testament, eleven come from the lips of Jesus himself!
Of the 40 or so parables uttered by Jesus, more than half relate to God’s eternal judgment on sin. Surprisingly, the much beloved "Sermon on the Mount" contains some of Jesus’ most straightforward words about hell!
T.S. So this morning, we’re going to take a look at the other side of the coin. If we are going to let our imaginations run wild with the concept of heaven, then we also need to give some thought to the idea of Hell.
P.S. Followers of Jesus must embrace Hell as just as vital a truth as Heaven.
What do the Words Reveal?
HADES
Hades is also sometimes translated Hell but it often has a different meaning.
The Greek term (Hades) is used to translate the Hebrew term (Sheol, meant death) for example, Isaiah 38:18).
Isaiah 38:18 - For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.
This use refers the term hades to the abode of the dead in general, rather than the abode of the wicked.
Thus too, in New Testament Greek, the Hebrew phrase (you will not abandon my soul to Sheol) in Psalm 16:10 is quoted in Acts 2:27 as (you will not abandon my soul to Hades).
There are only 10 instances of the word hades in the New Testament, generally simply transliterate the word, as "Hades".
In all appearances but one, "Hades" has little if any relation to afterlife rewards or punishments.
The one exception is Luke’s parable of Lazarus and the rich man, in which the rich man finds himself, after death, in Hades, and "in anguish in this flame", while on the contrary the angels take Lazarus to "the bosom of Abraham", described as a state of comfort.
Death and Hades are repeatedly associated in the Book of Revelation.
The word "Hades" appears in Jesus’ promise to Peter:
Matt 16:18 "And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it",
and in the warning to Capernaum:
Matt 11:23
"And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades." KJV
23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.
NIV
T.S. The Most Common word for what we call Hell was Gehenna.
GEHENNA
Gehenna occurs in Matt 5:22,29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6.
In all of these it designates the place of eternal punishment of the wicked, generally in connection with the final judgment. It is associated with fire as the source of torment. Both body and soul are cast into it.
The name Gehenna is derived from a geographical site in Jerusalem known as the Valley of Hinnom, one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City. Fires were kept burning and the valley became the garbage dump of the city. The dead bodies of criminals, and the carcasses of animals were also thrown there.
Gehenna is cited in the New Testament and in early Christian writing to represent the place where evil will be destroyed.
Jesus uses the word Gehenna 11 times to describe the opposite to the life during the promised, coming Kingdom. It is a place where both soul and body could be destroyed (Matthew 10:28) in "unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:43).
Ghenna is a description of someone’s relationship with God’s kingdom. Those who are outside of that kingdom, because they are found to be unfit, unfit because there has been no remedy for their sin, are described as existing in ghenna.
Place of Darkness, Weeping Gashing of teeth.
Hell is also portrayed as a place of darkness and regret.
Matt 22:8-14
8 "Then he said to his servants, ’The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12’Friend,’ he asked, ’how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
13 "Then the king told the attendants, ’Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen."
Matt 25:26-30
26 "His master replied, ’You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 "’Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Lake of Fire
The Book of Revelation, written some time in the last half of the first century, has five verses that mention a "lake of fire" often thought of as a depiction of Hell:
Rev 19:20
20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Rev 20:10 -- And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:14-15 - Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev 21:8 - But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
A commonly accepted and traditional interpretation is that the "lake of fire" and the "second death" are symbolic of eternal pain, pain of loss and perhaps pain of the senses, as punishment for wickedness.
Appl: Conclusion #1 The New Testament speaks not only speaks of death and heaven, but also an of existence separated from God and all his goodness.
Conclusion #2 The New Testament speaks of this separated existence as being just as real as heaven.
Conclusion #3 In the same way we see heaven only through glimmers and whispers, through figurative language, (hell is both a like of fire in Rev. and the place of darkness and weeping an groaning in the Gospels). We only have glimmers of what hell will be like.
What We Definitely Know?
Hell is separation from God
The dumping ground of all the eternal ones he created who deny him.
It is Ghenna like
Hell is a conscience existence
(not Annihilation)
In the same way those in heaven are aware of their existence and fate, so are those in hell.
Jesus hints at this in one of his stories parable.
Luke 16:19-24
19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ’Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
Hell is forever the same way heaven is forever.
Just as those in heaven dwell in his ever present I am beyond the laws of time, those in hell will dwell outside of that presence.
Rev. 20:10 talks about their fate lasts forever and ever.
Hell is a place of torment
(suffering)
No reason to believe this is not emotional, physical and spiritual.
Hell is a place of anguish
(grief, loss, angst)
Hell is a place of total regret
(awareness that it could have been different)
There will be no do overs.
Rich man seeks a do over, none is granted.
Hell is a place of isolation
(darkness, aloneness)
Who is in Hell?
Ultimately fallen angelic beings.
Rev. 20
There are two types of people in hell.
Those who were exposed to the truth of Grace in Jesus but rejected his forgiveness and lordship.
1 Tim 2:5-6
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men
Acts 4:12
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Those who never heard his name and denied the general revelation of God that should have led them to Him.
Rom 1:18-20
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
CONCLUSION
So Why is Hell Important to us
Personal motivation to embrace Christ
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else,
Corporate motivation to embrace the Call
The great commission, the Gospel, the Call
