I have entitled our message this morning “The Reality of Hell.” Hell is a topic that tends to be avoided in a lot of churches and by a lot of pastors today. One person has accurately identified the perception of hell today when he said, “Since the days of fiery sermons from Puritan preachers like Jonathan Edwards, it seems that hell isn’t as hot as it used to be.”(1) Let me tell you that God’s Word speaks of the reality of hell, and there is no way we can question the existence of hell without questioning the authority and inspiration of the Bible.
Some people reason that hell is contradictory to God’s love and mercy. You have likely heard someone ask before, “How can a loving God send someone to a terrible place like hell?” What would be our answer to this question? The Lord doesn’t send people to hell, but individuals choose to go there by refusing to accept God’s gift of salvation found in Jesus Christ. People fail to realize this fact though, and so they reason that God would not send someone to hell; therefore, hell is an outdated belief that shouldn’t be taught anymore in the church.
Others believe that preaching about hell should be minimized because we should never try to scare people into heaven. In an article called “Whatever Happened to Hell?” Larry Dixon states that many people think that a fear of hell is an outdated and terrible motive for moving a person toward Christ. However, in response he says, “Upon hearing the rattle of a diamondback, who would stand and debate the persuasive power of [fear]? If running for one’s life makes sense in the presence of a snake, how should we respond to the soul-threatening reality of hell?”(2) He goes on to say, “If we neglect the bad news, some people won’t listen to the [Good News].”(3)
Dr. K. P. Yohannan, founder and director of Gospel for Asia, tells us that, “In His earthly ministry, [Jesus] made more references to hell and judgment than He did to heaven. Jesus lived with the reality of hell, and He died on Calvary because He knew it was real and coming to everyone who doesn’t turn to God during his life.”(4) “There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warn of hell. And over 70 of these references were uttered by the Lord, Jesus Christ!”(5) Hell is a reality, and until we come to grips with this truth and preach it, we will be ineffective in seeing people come to Christ.
While speaking in London, evangelist D. L. Moody was once approached by a British companion who wanted to know the secret of his success in leading people to Christ. Moody directed the man to view the people outside of his hotel window, and what he showed him revealed why he had so much success in ministry. He stated, “I see people going to hell without Jesus. Until you see people like that, you will not lead them to Christ.”(6) Hell is a powerful motivator in both preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ and in receiving Jesus as one’s Savior.
Some recent polling has shown that most people think of hell as “an anguished state of existence” rather than a real place.(7) Robert Jeffries, in his book entitled “Hell? Yes!” thinks that “many rationalize that hell is for evildoers such as Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein or Charles Manson. But Jeffries says they draw the line at swallowing the idea someone should go there just for not believing in Christ as Savior.”(8) It is apparent that many individuals have a skewed understanding of hell; therefore, our task this morning is to gain a better handle on what hell is really about, and see why people wind up going there.
Gehenna or “Hell” (Mark 9:43-48)
43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched – 44 where “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched – 46 where “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire – 48 where “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
Mark 9:43-48 will be our focal passage this morning, but as we go along I will point out numerous other Scriptures. Now, depending on which translation of the Bible you use, you will find one having either more or less uses of the word “hell.” The King James Version appears to contain the most uses of this word. The reason why we find some translations having more and some having less renderings of the word “hell” is because there are two different words in the original Greek that are translated as “hell” – one word is Gehenna and the other is hades.
If you read from the New King James Version you will notice a frequent appearance of the word hades, where in some translations you might read it as “hell.” In the NKJV, where hades appears in the original Greek, the word is not translated as “hell,” because it actually means “the grave” and is equivalent to the Hebrew word sheol that is found in the Old Testament.(9) The word Gehenna, on the other hand, is properly translated as “hell,” and our Scripture in Mark 9:43-48 uses Gehenna in the Greek. We are going to look at the word Gehenna, or “hell,” in more detail as we go along.
In our passage, Jesus said some things about amputating body parts that seem a bit extreme. He was using figurative language to emphasize how adamant we should be in steering clear of sin. I am not going to focus on this particular aspect of the passage this morning. I instead want us to look at the description that Jesus provided here of the real place called hell.
Jesus said that hell is a place where “the worm does not die” and “the fire is never put out.” I want you to listen closely as I read a similar description found in Isaiah 66:24: “And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” We find here an added description of hell, and we see how it is also “a place of the dead for those who have sinned against God.” To apply this information, we must understand the original Greek word here, which is Gehenna.
I have already noted that Gehenna is translated as hell, but what is the background behind this word? Where do these descriptions of hell originate? Why is hell said to be a place of worms, fire, and the dead? Does this word Gehenna have a deeper meaning that will help us gain a more vivid picture of hell? Why, yes it does! Let me fill you in on what Gehenna actually was in Old Testament times and in ancient Israel.
Gehenna was the “Valley of Hinnom.” It was a deep narrow valley outside of Jerusalem. In Jeremiah’s time it was associated with the worship of Molech and human sacrifices. A little later on the valley was used for burning the carcasses of criminals and animals, and also refuse or waste of any sort.(10) It was also the garbage dump of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus.(11) It is said that “the sight was horrible, the air was polluted and to preserve it in any manner of purity, it was necessary to keep fires continually burning there.”(12)
Are you now able to picture this place in your mind? It was an enormous garbage dump packed with every type of waste imaginable. It was a place where human flesh and animal flesh were rotting, and a place where garbage was degrading. If you have ever driven past a landfill and seen the methane fires burning then you get a mental picture of the fires that never ceased. This is what Jesus said hell is like. It is a place of rotting flesh, crawling with worms, and a place of burning flesh, where the smoke and the smell never cease to fill the air. It is a place reserved for those who have rejected Christ, and the torment of the place continues for all eternity. This is a place you don’t want to wind up.
Other Biblical Descriptions of Hell
I want to provide you with some other descriptions of hell from the Bible:
Matthew 22:13 – “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’.” Hell is a place of outer darkness, and a place of gnashing of teeth.
2 Samuel 22:6 – “The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me” (KJV). Hell is a place of many sorrows.
Luke 16:23 – “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments” (KJV). Hell is a place of numerous torments.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 – “These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” Hell is a place of everlasting destruction, and separation from God’s presence.
Revelation 21:8 – “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Hell is a place where men are tormented with fire and brimstone. Brimstone is sulfur; therefore, the place is filled with the stench of sulfur; and hell is also a place of spiritual death.
Revelation 9:2 – “And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace.” Hell is a bottomless pit, and a great furnace filled with smoke.
Revelation 14:11 – “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Hell is a place of eternal flaming torment, and there is no rest there.
Revelation 20:14 – “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.” Hell is a lake of fire.
Luke 16:24 – “And he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame’.” Hell is a place of hopelessness, a place of unsatisfied desires, and a place of flames.
I think we can see that hell is a horrible place that we should avoid at all cost, but sadly many people still wind up going there when they die. Why is this? Why do people actually go to hell? Well, let’s look at Matthew 22:11-13 and see if we can discover the reason why this happens.
Why People Go To Hell (Mathew 22:11-13)
11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
There are numerous other passages that reveal why people fail to receive eternal life, but I have chosen this particular group of verses because it provides the reason for not making it to heaven, along with the actual punishment. The penalty for not meeting the requirement for entering heaven is being taken away and cast into hell; that place of spiritual darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Here we see a man who arrived at a wedding without a garment. The wedding here is symbolic of the day when Christ returns, at which time all who are perfected in Christ join Him. Revelation 19:7 says, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” The Lamb is Jesus Christ, and Revelation 21:2 reveals that the wife (or the bride) is the New Jerusalem, which is the Church of Jesus Christ, comprised of all who have experienced salvation.
Revelation 7:13-14 reveals the wedding garment spoken of here. Listen closely: “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?’ And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ So he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’.”
This man in our passage didn’t have on a robe washed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. He didn’t have his sins forgiven, and the stains of his sins washed away by faith in Christ. In verse 13, we see that because he didn’t have on a wedding garment, or because he wasn’t saved by the blood of the Lamb, that he was cast into darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. This description is of none other place than hell. If you are not covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, and if your sins are not forgiven by God’s grace, then there is only one place that you will go when you die and leave this earth.
Time of Reflection
We have seen this morning how the Bible speaks about a real place called “hell,” and that it’s a place many people are destined to go when they pass away from this life. You can’t escape hell by being good, or by performing any number of righteous deeds. In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus said, “Many will say to Me in 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’.”
There is only one way to make it through the gates of heaven and escape the flames of hell, and that is to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The apostle Peter stated that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
If you wish to please God and make it into heaven on the day that you die, then you must confess the name of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” In order to make it to heaven, Jesus must confess our name before God; however, we have to first confess His name by calling on Him as our personal Lord and Savior.
NOTES
(1) Jerry De Luca, Montreal West, Canada.
(2) Moody, June 1993, p. 25.
(3) Ibid., p. 25.
(4) K. P. Yohannan, Revolution in World Missions (GFA Books, 2003), p. 91.
(5) Terry Watkins, “The Truth About Hell,” Dial-the-Truth Ministries, taken from the Internet February 2005 at http://www.av1611.org/hell.html.
(6) Rodney Gage, 1993 SBC Pastor’s Conference.
(7) “Hell Hath No Fury,” pp. 45-50.
(8) Ken Walker, “What America Believes About Hell,” Ministries Today, January/February 2005, pp. 29, 32.
(9) M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996.
(10) “Hinnom,” The New Bible Dictionary, Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1962, taken from Logios 2.1E on CD-ROM.
(11) “Hell,” taken from the Internet February 2005 at http://www.ovrlnd.com/ Teaching/hell.html.
(12) Ibid., quoting Barnes.
