Taking the Lid Off Hell, Part 2

What matters is the glory of God. What matters is the glory of the Lamb. What matters is the truth of revealed scripture as it relates to who he is. Paul made it very clear when he said, Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be what? Shall be saved. Romans 10, 13. Not any name, his name. Paul went on to say that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.

Not any word, this word. Not of anyone, but of Christ. The message of the Gospel is clear. God delights in saving sinners through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone who responds in true faith is saved and becomes the recipient of eternal life. Now, some people try to deny that hell exists at all.

Some teach that it's temporary, but eventually you can escape. Here on Wisdom for the Heart, we're committed to telling you the truth. In today's lesson, Steven Davey is going to help us develop accurate theology regarding hell.

So let's get started. The wrath of God will be personal to all who suffer. It will be terrible, undiluted anger. The wrath of God will be painful. There's more to this angel's warning.

If he doesn't have our attention yet, he'll have it now, perhaps. He goes on to say in verse 11 that the wrath of God is eternal. Look at that phrase. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.

They have no rest, day and night. Those who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name, of course, the immediate context is those who choose to follow after this religion rather than Jesus Christ. The broader context is those, of course, who deny him.

And one day Hades will be poured into an everlasting lake of fire. There are those that would say that the wrath of God is not eternal. And there are more and more in our generation. There are more men now filling the pulpits of churches in our country today who are denying this doctrine. That up until about the early 1800s was universally believed by those who claimed to know Christ and the scriptures.

In the last 180 years to 200 years, it's amazing to see as J.I. Packer, Universalism, the idea that hell is not eternal for people in conscious torment. He said it has quietly slipped within the evangelical church.

And I don't hesitate to say names at times, but I really do in this account because I think it would be too embarrassing to be recorded and then played on the radio. The names of men who've abandoned the eternal truth of hell. And they're going to have to contend with Christ who said in Matthew's gospel that those who are condemned will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. You might write this reference down because you'll have people asking you about the eternality of hell. Matthew 25 verse 46. The condemned will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. In that text, the same construct, the same vocabulary, you have a parallel between eternal life in one verse and eternal punishment, clearly stating that both are without end. You can't believe that one doesn't last forever if you don't believe the other doesn't last forever. And how many want to believe in an everlasting heaven?

Just about everybody I talk to. In other words then, the torment of the lost in hell will last as long as the blessedness of the saved, the redeemed, in heaven. Furthermore, in Mark chapter nine, Jesus Christ refers to hell as that unquenchable fire. He refers to hell as a place where their worm does not die.

In other words, they have some sort of body, immortal, but yet it is capable of enduring the corrupting influences of disease and the effects of this torment. He said in Mark 9 48 again, the fire is never quenched. His message is consistent with the prophet Isaiah who said that the transgressors will suffer where their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched, Isaiah 66 24. Add to that the Lord Jesus who at one point pulled the curtain back and allowed us to see down in Hades, as it were, a place separated by a chasm. All those unbelievers went to the site of torment. Those who believed prior to the resurrection of Christ went to Abraham's bosom, I believe now taken to heaven.

It was paradise. He allowed us to see, not in a parable, but in a true story, the place of torment where he says that this rich man who didn't believe in Christ as Lazarus who did, or the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, fulfilled in the person of Christ, that this rich man went to a place of torment and he was in anguish in the flame. Luke 16.

Now let me ask and answer quickly three questions related to this doctrine of eternal conscious punishment. First, are these flames fire and brimstone? Revelation 14. Luke 16, the place of flame. Isaiah 66, the fire that will not be quenched. Are those flames literal flames? Is this literal? Is this really fire?

Well, you have a choice. You can either hold a sola scriptura and let the scriptures answer that question for you, or scramble, as religions do, for another explanation. But let me give a further answer beyond what we've already heard from the lips of Christ and the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and from the pen of Isaiah.

Another insight is provided, in fact, in the parables. When Jesus Christ preached his parable on the wheat, referring to the believers, and the tares, or the weeds, referring to the unbelievers, it's interesting that as he came back later to explain it to his disciples, each element was given a figurative meaning except fire. In Matthew 13, the Lord explained that the one who sows the good seed is the Messiah.

The field is the world. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom. The tares, or weeds, are the sons of the evil one.

The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. But then Christ stepped away from parabolic analogy and he said, this is what's going to happen. We're going to come through and cull through, reap through the kingdom, and we'll take those who are lawless, that is those who deny the gospel, and we will throw them into the furnace of fire in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He that has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13.

In other words, are you listening? Everything in this parable has figurative meaning to describe what will happen except for fire in this place of torment. It's to be understood as it is in the words of Christ in several passages of scripture as literal, and their fire will not be quenched. The angel here reminds them in this gospel message, and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone. It's literal language.

Number two, second question. If the fire is literal, well then literal fire consumes, so then people would be consumed in hell. In other words then, we have found us a reason to believe in annihilationism.

That's a popular belief that is growing more and more popular again with evangelical circles. It's a loophole that basically says that after some time based on how bad of a sinner you are, you are extinguished. You're snuffed out. You cease to exist then. If you're not so bad a sinner, it's quickly.

If you're one of those really bad guys, it's a long, long time. Listen, I would love to believe that. You could push me across the line into annihilationism with a feather if it were up to me. I would love to believe in a place other than an eternal place of conscious torment. I would love to believe that those who disbelieve in Christ will at some point in time be snuffed out.

But I can't because of the record of scripture and what it teaches. Isaiah uses the same language, that it is literal, which means just as the resurrected body, the believer is raised to enjoy the eternal conditions of heaven and there are going to need to be some changes for us to enjoy the eternal conditions of heaven, right? So also the resurrected body, the unbeliever is equipped to endure forever the eternal suffering of hell. And so we're told here that this fire even, the smoke goes up forever and ever. One evangelical stalwart who defends the truth of a literal interpretation of scripture made an interesting point. He said, I'd like for those people who believe that the wicked are going to be burned up, I'd like for them to explain if God is going to burn up the wicked.

Why? He doesn't put out the fire. It goes on and on forever and ever. But doesn't the Bible say that the unbeliever will be destroyed?

It does. Peter writes that a judgment of fire is coming for the judgment and destruction of ungodly men, 2 Peter 3.7. And there's a proof text for the annihilationist.

Those who are leaving, abandoning orthodox doctrine as taught in scripture, there is their proof text. The only problem is that they must ignore the Greek language. The word for destruction is apolia and it can be translated ruined or wasted. In fact, the same word is used by the disciples in Matthew chapter 26 verse 8 to speak of the ointment that was poured upon the head of Jesus Christ. They complained that it had been wasted or ruined.

Apolia, it's the same word used here. So that ointment didn't cease to exist. It's just in their assessment it was ruined. It was wasted. So the unbeliever then is apolia. He is destroyed. It doesn't mean he ceases to exist.

It means that his life is ruined. His life is eternally wasted in the assessment of God. So the fire is literal. And yet the flames only torment. They do not consume.

A third question would be this then. Is this really, Stephen, is it really eternal? In other words, does forever mean forever? Well, the angel warns using again the phrase and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.

They have no rest day and night. Those who have effectively denied the true Messiah. Well, that phrase forever and ever appears 11 times in the book of Revelation.

I'll give them to you. It expresses, first of all, the eternal existence of God. How long will that be forever? Revelation four, seven, 10 and 15. It speaks forever and ever. It's used in Revelation to speak of Christ's eternal existence. It speaks of God's eternal reign. Chapter 11, verse 15.

Christ's eternal existence. Chapter one, verse 18. It's used to speak of the eternal glory of the Lamb. Chapter five, verse 13. It appears again to describe the eternal reign of the Father. It also is used to describe the eternal doom of the devil. Chapter 20, verse 10. Would you like a loophole that allows him to get out?

Would you like an escape hatch? Or maybe after so much time, he also enters heaven. Many that I've talked to would like to believe in that. And so this forever and ever, however, consistently with its other usages would mean that the doom of the devil is eternal. And finally, it is used to speak of the eternal torment of the lost. Chapter 19, verse 3. And here in our text today, chapter 14, verse 11. Listen, eternal means eternal. Forever means forever. The same Greek word used over and over again to speak of the eternality of heaven is used to speak of the eternality of hell. And no kind of semantic manipulation or the twisting of scripture can get around the horrifying message contained in the gospel that just as heaven will last forever, so will hell. So one last question. Is there no way out of it?

Is there no way out of it? Certainly religions worldwide have found loopholes. Mankind is desperate to find one. Universalism is one of them. Growing in popularity, this belief says that hell does last forever, but the devil and his angels are the only inhabitants simply because everybody else is going to be saved. In differing ways of explaining it, universalists believe that everybody somehow connects to some truth of Christianity, no matter how diluted or strange. Even though they may deny the deity of Christ, even though they may deny the sufficient atonement of Christ, even though they may deny many of these other cardinal doctrines that we would consider saving, they somehow at some point out there intersect the truth and God will see that and their sincerity and say, come on in. All they have to believe perhaps is in some kind of force and that intersects truth some bizarre way.

And even though they deny Christ and who Christ is, they will be led into heaven. A gentleman came up to me a couple of weeks ago with a bulletin from a church that he had attended about a month earlier when he was traveling to another state and he said, here, this is an illustration of what you've been talking about in Revelation 14 about the inclusive universal belief of the church and how quickly the Protestant evangelical church is now abandoning historic doctrine for this. So he gave it to me. It's been sitting on my desk this past week. I opened it up beautifully done.

Amazing. This is a massive, famous Protestant church. They were having communion and the entire liturgy was laid out, printed out on about eight pages. The list of pastors on the back column was the length of the page. The opening statement of the bulletin gave the church's mission statement. It read, we believe in one God known to us in Jesus Christ, also known by different names in different traditions.

Now there's a tip off. Go to another church for communion. Then the program goes along just fine. In fact, some well-known hymns are sung about the triune God. And I'm wondering, do they connect the dots here?

But then the confusion returns later in the program. The worship leader says, Alleluia, we break this bread for those who journey the way of the Hindus, for those who follow the path of the Buddha, for our sisters and brothers of Islam, for the Jewish people from whom we come. And of course, just in case we left anybody out, for all those who walk the way of faith. And I muttered under my breath, yeah, and that way leads to destruction.

It is a broad way. It was interesting that after reading the bulletin, getting to the end of it where they included the Buddhists and the Hindus and the Muslims and everybody who denies the atonement of Christ, denies the deity, the singular equality of Christ with a father, doesn't matter. Then they come out and they sing this.

Actually didn't check the lyrics. The hymn stands and says, salvation to God who sits on the throne, let all cry aloud and honor his son. The praises of Jesus the angels proclaim, fall down on their faces and worship the lamb. I said, well, amen to that.

Talk about confused. But everybody's getting into heaven. And that's what matters. No, my friend, what matters is the glory of God. What matters is the glory of the lamb. What matters is the truth of revealed scripture as it relates to who he is. Paul made it very clear when he said, whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be what? Shall be saved, Romans 10, 13. Not any name, his name. Paul went on to say that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. Not any word, this word. Not of anyone, but of Christ.

Do you know what? You don't have to travel far to hear the sounds and strains of universalism today. Somebody handed me a month ago, a copy of our own News and Disturber that ran an article in the faith section that usually is very disturbing to me. A section on the unity church of our county. I read the interview with one of its pastors who said this, and I quote, we honor all religions. Unity is a spiritual movement that respects the individual's right to choose his or her own unique path to God.

How tragic is that? Unity practices positive, practical Christianity. In other words, if it's negative, we don't worry about it. We honor the universal truths in all religions. You see, there you have the intersecting of whatever that truth may be.

We're all getting in. What do you think about Jesus? Well, he said we see Jesus as a master teacher of universal truths. We believe Jesus expressed his divine potential and every person has the potential to express that same perfection. Well, isn't that reassuring? How many of you are living up to the potential of your perfection? Nobody?

Me neither. It's universalism. You can choose your own path and you're told that it will lead to God. Jesus Christ made it very clear that only the path marked by him and his name leads to the Father. Right across the page of that very encouraging faith section was a question and answer guy, sort of a religious Ann Landers, and he'd been asked a question and I wish I could have written the answer, but the question was about how to get to heaven and who knows the way there. And this man, evidently some kind of religious leader responded and I quote him, we can't know who has the right password until we die. Testimony from our own scriptures doesn't suffice. Christianity wrote further, does have to deal with that exclusivist claim of John 14 six where Christ said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. But even with this belief, there's theological wiggle room for those who want it.

Why do you want it? He ends by writing, resolution will only come when our souls stand before God after death. I've got news for you, my friend. According to the Bible, it's too late that it's too late. That's why we have the gospel delivered and that's why this angel is circling the globe.

It's too late then unless everybody's getting in. And then when they stand before God, everybody's given the password and told to enter. The fact that we are given the password now gives this angel objective reason to let us know then why we're blessed. In fact, after saying all of this horrifying stuff, after delivering the truth of hell, he uses the word happy, if you can imagine it in the same context. Look at verse 13. He says, blessed, your translation may read or happy, my Kairos, happy are the dead.

Are you kidding? Happy are the dead. I don't want to die. I'm going to stay with the lights on tonight because something could happen.

I know where I'm going, perhaps. No, happy are the dead who die in the Lord. From now on, immediate context, those who refuse the antichrist, broad context, those who accept Christ and the gospel. Blessed are those, these, the dead who die in the Lord.

How are you happy? How can you be happy in the face of death? When you die in the Lord, that is, in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, who is your living Lord. And since the Lord, by the way, is alive, after you die, you will live because of him forever. And I thought, what a great Easter sermon text. You thought I'd forgotten. Stephen, it's Easter. Hell, you know, leave that for next week.

That was a great text. Why? Because everything that you have been given, the horror of his wrath, follows with this wonderful promise that we can be happy. God has not promised any of us a long life. He has promised us death.

We said it earlier. The wages of sin is what? Is death. But he has promised us that we can be happy even in that prospect if we are in Christ Jesus. We can say with redeemed because of the truth of what we have heard and the truth of God's wrath and the truth of God's pardon in this person and the life that he now lives, resurrected, having been defeated at death, we can celebrate life because we know where we're headed when we die. And so we can say with the church, with great joy, he is risen. He is risen indeed.

That's our confidence. He is risen. He is risen.

That's our assurance. He is risen. He is risen indeed.

Listen, our appreciation for the resurrection of Christ is only genuinely possible because we believe who Christ is. And our appreciation for him ought to grow out of this text and context that this one bore the wrath of God. He took the cup of undiluted wrath. He took our punishment upon himself so that he could take our sin away.

He isn't just a teacher. He isn't just a model of perfection. He is our savior. And those of us who've come to place our faith in him find in him forgiveness. And he himself is our password to everlasting life. And that would be the final point of this angel's sermon if we had time to give him another point. And it is this, and I'll just say it in close. The wrath of God is not only personal.

It is not only terrible. It is not only painful. It is not only eternal. The wrath of God is entirely avoidable. Because the wrath of God is avoidable, I encourage you to evaluate your faith today and place your faith in Jesus Christ if you haven't already. Thanks for joining us today here on Wisdom for the Heart. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davey.

Stephen's working through a series called A Preview of Things to Come. Today's lesson is called Taking the Lid Off Hell. If you want to listen to this lesson again or share it with a friend, we've posted it to our website. You'll find us online at wisdomonline.org. We post each day's broadcast, so if you ever miss one of these lessons, you can go to our website and keep caught up with our daily Bible teaching ministry.

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