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Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jeffers and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition, a Pathway to Victory, the Bible said there are two ways. That leads to two gates that open to two different destinies. What is the destiny of those who die without Christ?
We're going to see what Jesus says is the eternal fate, the destiny of those who die without Christ. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffers. Throughout human history, people have developed seemingly endless theories about what happens after death. With so many opinions floating around out there, how can we know what's really true?
Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffers shares what the Bible says and doesn't say about our final destiny. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. For the last several weeks, we've been conducting a fascinating study of the end times I've called Perfect Ending.
And just before we begin the next message, I need to remind you that time is running out to request the companion book I've written for you. The Perfect Ending series concludes Friday. Be ready to jot down our contact information later on because I want to send you my brand new book called Ask Dr. Jeffress about the end times. In my book, I answer 20 of the most common questions about the end times.
And a copy is yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. And then, let me give you a heads up on the message you're about to hear. You know, we often hear from grateful friends who say, thank you, Pastor Jeffress, for tackling the tough issues.
Well, I promise I will never stop preaching the truth, even when it's uncomfortable. And on today's program, we're going to wade into some of those unpopular truths. Most of us enjoy hearing about the rewards of heaven, but you hear very few sermons today about the eternity of hell. In fact, one popular mega church pastor talked about how he never preaches on the subject of hell because, well, it's just too negative. Today we're going to talk about the reality of eternal judgment.
Take your Bibles and turn to Luke chapter 16 for an eye-opening study. I called this message the truth about eternity. Rabbi Harold Kushner. It tells a story about a godless, immoral man who died. And to his surprise, he awakened in a place that Hands.
Soft music and warm lights, and figures all dressed in white. And the godless man thought to himself, well, you know, God must have a soft spot in his heart for people like me. I'm surprised I'm here. And so he went to one of the men dressed in white and he said, Buddy, do you know where you can get a drink around here? And the figure in white said, Well, if you're referring to alcoholic beverages, sir, we don't serve those here.
He said, well, where would I go for a game of blackjack or poker? He said, Well, sir, if you're talking about gambling, we don't allow that either up here. The new entrant said, Well, if you don't have booze and you don't have gambling, what do you all do around here all day? The man in white said, Well, we read Psalms in the morning. We have prayer meetings all afternoon, and we read the Bible and have Bible studies at night.
The guy said, Psalms, Bible studies, prayer meetings? Boy, heaven isn't cracked up to what I thought it was going to be like. The figure in white said to him, smilingly, I can see you don't understand, sir. We're in heaven, you're in hell.
Now, you know, it's a cute story. But unfortunately, it's a misleading one. It's a misleading story that underscores one of the most greatest misconceptions about eternity that most people believe. And that is that when we die, regardless of who we are and what we've done or what religion we've embraced or rejected, we all go to the same place. In fact, an increasing number of Christians and Christian pastors have also embraced that view that we all go to the same place regardless of our beliefs.
But Jesus said just the opposite. He said, There is not one destination. There are two possible eternal destinations. In fact, remember his words in Matthew 7, verses 13 and 14. He said, Enter by the narrow gate.
For the gate is wide, and the way is broad, that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter it. But the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Up to this point in our series on Bible prophecy, we've been looking at what happens to Christians when they die. We've saw that when a Christian dies, his spirit immediately goes into the presence of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:8, to be absent from the body for a Christian is to be at home with the Lord.
But that's not all. The Bible says if you die as a believer, not only will your spirit go to the Lord, but one day your physical body will be resurrected and changed, and you'll receive a brand new body. We've seen that some people will receive the resurrected body at the rapture, others at the second coming, others after the millennium, but eventually we all receive that resurrected body. And that's not all. The Bible says there are eternal rewards for those who die in Christ.
Not only that, the Bible says we'll experience a recreated heaven and earth that we'll talk about next time. Resurrected bodies. Eternal rewards are recreated heaven and earth. That is the future of Christians. But the Bible said there are two ways.
That leads to two gates that open to two different destinies. What is the destiny of those who die without Christ? Well, that's what we're going to talk about today. If you have your Bibles, turn to Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16.
We're going to see what Jesus says is the eternal fate, the destiny of those who die without Christ. Many of you may know the name of Robert Ingersoll. He was a famous atheist in the 19th century. He was to the 19th century what the late Madeline Murray O'Hare was to the 20th century, the most well-known atheist of the day. Robert Ingersoll used to travel by train all across America, delivering lectures against Christianity.
And one of his most famous lectures was about the absurdity of hell. In that particular lecture, he would talk about how hell is nothing but a scarecrow for religion. It is a myth. He said, no intelligent person actually believes in the reality of hell. And on and on and on he went.
After one of those lectures, a drunk came up to him and he said, Mr. Ingersoll, I like what you had to say about hell tonight. But, Mr. Ingersoll, I hope you're right because I'm depending on you. Unfortunately, many people are depending on the wrong person or the wrong people to tell them what happens to us when we die.
You know when you think about it. If you're thinking about a future destination, the only reliable guide to tell you what really awaits you is somebody who's already been there before. There's only one person who's seen life on the other side of the grave and come back to tell us what awaits us. His name is Jesus Christ. And Jesus had a great deal to say about the subject of hell.
In fact, it's really interesting. Jesus talked more about hell than he did about heaven. And yet, many people readily accept what Jesus said about heaven. They want to dismiss what he said about hell. You can't be intellectually honest and do that.
I think about the renowned agnostic philosopher Bertrand Russell. Bertrand Russell actually rejected Christianity in general and Jesus specifically because of what Jesus said about hell. Russell wrote, There is one very serious defect in my mind in Christ's moral character, and that is that Christ believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment. And how's that for hubris?
To say, you know, that Jesus, he'd be a pretty good guy. But unfortunately, he believed in hell. And that means he's not as moral as I am, and therefore I can't believe in him.
Now, you have to hand it to Brett Trend Russell. At least he knew that Jesus talked about hell. And at least he was intellectually honest enough to say, look, If I'm going to accept Jesus, I have to accept what he taught about hell, and I can't do that. Therefore, to reject what Jesus said about hell is to reject Jesus Himself. You know, if Jesus is not telling the truth about heaven, It's only because, number one, he really doesn't know what happens to an unbeliever when he dies.
If that's true, he's not God. The only other reason would be that he's wrong about hell is he knew hell didn't exist, but he was just trying to scare people. That makes Jesus a liar. If you accept Jesus as Savior, you have to accept everything He taught, including what He taught about hell.
Well, that begs the question, what did Jesus teach about the future of unbelievers when they die? If you have your Bibles, turn to Luke chapter 16, verses 19 to 26.
Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores. And longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table. Besides, even the dogs were cunning and licking his sores. And it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom, that is the presence of the Lord.
And the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades the rich man lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and he saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And the rich man cried out and said, Father Abraham. Have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue. For I am in agony in this flame.
But Abraham said, Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things. But now he is being comforted, and you are in agony. And besides all of this, between us and you, there is a great chasm fixed in order that. Those who wish to come from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over there. to us.
I want you to notice in this passage five truths that Jesus taught us. about hell. The fate of those who die without Christ. I want you to write them down on your outline and remember them forever. What did Jesus teach us about hell?
First of all, Jesus taught that hell is an actual location. It is an actual location. Again, it's popular today to try to theorize: well, hell is really just a state of mind, it's not an actual place. And yet, if you believe that heaven is an actual location, as we'll see next time, there's great reason to believe it is an actual location. If you believe that heaven is an actual location, you logically have to accept that hell is a real location as well.
Why do I say that? Listen to Jesus' words in Matthew 25, verse 46. These are the words of the judgment he pronounces at his second coming. He says in verse 46, these, that is the unrighteous, will go away into eternal punishment. but the righteous will go into eternal life.
Now here's the point. The unrighteous are going to eternal punishment, the righteous to eternal life. You can't have one group of people at the judgment going to an actual location, heaven. and having another group going into a state of mind. It doesn't work that way.
Either they're both figurative states of mind or they're both literal locations. Jesus taught that hell was an actual place. In fact, you'll notice that in the Greek New Testament, there are actually three words for hell that are all translated by the generic word in our English language, hell. I put those on your outline for you. The first one is Tartaros.
That's not tartar sauce, that's tartarous. It's actually used only one time in the Greek New Testament in 2 Peter 2:4, and it refers to a special place of judgment for the wicked angels. You say, well, what wicked angels are you talking about? It's the ones referred to in Jude, verse 6. And the angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, he has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
This is a reference to Genesis chapter 6 that tells us about a group of angels that left heaven. They were called the sons of God, and they cohabitated with human women on earth, the daughters of men. And because of that wickedness, they went after strange flesh. Because of that, God punished them and confined them to this place called Tartaros, and it's sometimes translated hell in your English Bible. The second word that is also translated hell in the Bible is the word Gehenna.
Gehenna. And this is the most popular term for hell. It's used 12 times in the Greek New Testament, and it's sometimes translated the lake of fire. This is the eternal. Residence of the unsaved, the eternal residence of the unsaved.
Now, the term Gehenna actually comes from an actual location on earth, the valley of Hennom, which is just south of Jerusalem. Many of you have been to Israel and we'll be there. We'll look out. Right beyond the wall, there is a valley, the valley of Hennom. In the Old Testament times, under the evil Israelite kings Ahaz and Manasseh, it was the place that Israelites would actually offer their children as burnt sacrifices to God.
A horrific place. Later on, it became a garbage dump. It was the place where the city would burn its refuse day and night, day and night. It was also where in that refuse would be the bodies of executed criminals. The stench there was unimaginable.
You can imagine the sewage and dead bodies being offered up in a flame that never stopped. One can hardly imagine spending five minutes there. much less all eternity. But that is the phrase Jesus and the New Testament writers use to describe the eternal destiny of those who die without Christ. Remember Revelation 20, verse 15?
And if any man's name was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into where? Gehenna, the lake of fire, to be tormented day and night. Forever and ever. The third word that is translated sometimes hell in your Bible is the word Hades. Hades, and that's the word we find here in Luke 16.
Now Hades is the temporary place. of the unsaved. When an unbeliever dies, he goes not to the lake of fire. That's his final judgment. He goes to this temporary place.
It's not purgatory. It is a place of actual suffering. Just like when a Christian dies, he doesn't go to the new heaven and new earth. That's still future. He goes into the presence of God to begin to experience God's blessing.
Hades is the temporary place of the unsaved. And of course, we know in Revelation chapter 20, at the end of time, at the great white throne judgment, the Bible says, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. That is, all of the unsaved who were waiting in Hades are placed before the great white throne. They are judged. And then listen to Revelation 20, verse 14.
And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. That is, they were moved from this temporary place to the eternal place. This is the second death, the lake of fire. The reason I mention this is in this parable, Jesus is talking about the immediate place of the unsaved, Hades. When the rich man died, he went into Hades.
But the things we're talking about that are true of Hades are also true of the eternal dwelling place for the unsaved, the lake of fire. What did Jesus teach about these places? Not only is hell an actual location, secondly, hell is a place of physical torment. It's a place of actual physical suffering. Look at verse 24.
The rich man cried out and he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off for my tongue, for I am in agony. in this flame.
Some people try to turn down the temperature of hell, so to speak. But I say, well, No loving God could actually eternally Torment people. That is just unthinkable.
So many people, in an attempt to diminish the reality of hell, have embraced the doctrine of annihilationism. The idea that unbelievers, after they are judged, they're cast into the lake of fire where they are instantaneously destroyed. That is, they cease to exist. Is that what the Bible teaches?
Well, actually, there are some words in the Bible that Could support that doctrine, at least if you don't look at it very closely. For example, John 3:16, we all know, for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not what? Perish. but have eternal life. Or Matthew 10, 28, and do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both the soul and the body in hell.
Some people say, well, these words perish and Destroy, they mean instantaneous destruction.
So maybe hell isn't that bad after all. Maybe it means you just cease to exist. But I want you to think about those words perish and destroy. They don't always mean instantaneous destruction. For example, if you said the mountaineers perished.
from starvation when they got lost. Does that mean they drop dead after missing their first meal? No, it wasn't instantaneous. Starvation can take a long time. days, perhaps weeks.
Or let's say I said, My wood deck was destroyed by the Texas sun. Does that mean that my wood deck on my patio just erupted in flames instantaneously and was gone? No, it's a long process it took to destroy that deck. What I'm saying to you is perish and destroy don't always mean instantaneous destruction. They can mean a destruction that goes over a long period of time.
And in this case, the Bible teaches that period of time is eternity. Turn over, hold your place here, and turn over to Revelation 19, verse 20, where I show you, can show you with absolute certainty that unbelievers do not simply perish when they land in the lake of fire. Revelation 19:20, the setting for this remembers the second coming of Christ. And notice what he does to the beast, that is the Antichrist and the false prophet. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.
These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone.
Now, turn over to chapter 20, verse 10. It's a thousand years later. after the millennium, after the final rebellion against God. And what does God do? And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone.
were the beast and the false prophet. R. Also. No, the beast and false prophet were thrown in there a thousand years ahead of time. But when it's Satan's turn to be thrown into the lake of fire, John says the beast and the false prophet.
are still alive. After a thousand years of suffering, they are still there. And they will be tormented, verse 10 says, day and night. Forever and ever. Verse fifteen says For the unsaved, if any man's name was not found written in the book of life, he was also cast into the lake of fire.
to be tormented day and night forever and ever. You've heard me say before that word translated forever and ever is the Greek word ionos. And interestingly, it is the very same word, the word that refers to the eternality of hell, that is used to describe the eternality of heaven as well. In Revelation 22, verse 5, John says, And there shall no longer be any night, and they shall not have need of the light of the day or the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them, and they shall reign. Forever and ever.
Do you see it? Same word that describes the eternality of hell is used to describe the eternality of heaven. Hell is a place of eternal suffering. Once we deal with the realities of hell, we're far more motivated to pursue the glories of heaven. There's so much more to learn from this shocking passage in Luke 16 as we talk about the truth about eternity.
As your radio pastor and Bible teacher, I want to relay my gratitude for the growing family of friends responding every day to Pathway to Victory. This is a non-profit ministry that relies entirely on contributions from friends like you. Our financial supporters are special. You share our passion for the Bible. And you care deeply about our nation.
As a result of these factors, and because you give so generously, We're reaching millions of listeners all around the world with the light and hope of God's Word. To thank our financial partners today, I'd like to send you a copy of my brand new book, Ask Dr. Jeffress, about the end times. After 30 years of ministry, I can tell you with certainty, no subject moves an audience the way Bible prophecy does. In my book, I give 20 biblically grounded answers to the questions people ask me most.
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Now if you'd prefer to write, here's that mailing address, PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins.
Tomorrow, we'll open again to Luke chapter 16 to hear the conclusion of the message: The Truth About Eternity.
So join us again Wednesday for Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. What if your next vacation changed the way you read your Bible forever? Join me for nine nights sailing the Mediterranean with every detail taken care of.
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