"The Horrors of Hell"
By Steven L Anderson
Bible Text: Revelation 21; Luke 16
Preached on: Sunday, May 18, 2008
Website: www.faithfulwordbaptist.org
Audio Sermon: www.faithfulwordbaptist.org/051808p.mp3
I pray that you would please help us toaccept the truth tonight as it is preached—as unpleasant as it may be. We love
you and thank you so much for the wonderful things that you have done for us in
the last 48 hours. What a exciting weekend it has been, what a blessing. But, God, it is not over yet and I pray that
you would please just bless the preaching service now and use it for the
purpose that you intended and help it to be a fitting end to such a great
weekend in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Now Luke chapter
16. Turn, if you would to Revelation 21.
We’ll come back to Luke 16. But in Luke
16 we saw the very famous story that Jesus tells where he describes the rich man
and Lazarus and their eternal destiny. One is spending eternity with Jesus
Christ and with his spiritual progenitor Abraham. The other is tormented in hell in fire and
brimstone and torture forever.
But look, if you
would, at Revelation 21. And I am going
to preach to you tonight on a subject that I really don’t preach very often on
this subject and...because it is a unpleasant subject. And, believe it or not,
it is a subject that I don’t really like to think about very much.
Now I preach a lot
of very hard sermons and I would be described by most as a hell fire and
damnation preacher because I preach hard on sin. I beat the pulpit. I shout
against what is wrong. But when it comes to hell it is a horrible thought, it
is a horrible subject. It is something that I don’t like to often thing about. But it is my duty as a preacher, I believe,
to preach to you tonight on this subject, “The Horrors of Hell.”
Now I think in the whole time I pastured since I started this church a little
less than two and a half years ago, I believe I have only preached one entire
sermon dedicated to the subject of Hell.
But tonight I am going to do that and I want to start tonight by way of
introduction by talking about who is it that is going to go to hell. Who will be spending their eternity in hell?
Well, look down at
Revelation 21 verse eight. The Bible
reads, “But the fearful, and unbelieving.”[1] Of course the unbeliever will spend eternity
in hell. It says, “And the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars.”[2] Well, that covers everybody. “And all liars, shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”[3]
Now go down to verse
21, if you would. We are going to see
the description of heaven here. The
Bible reads in verse 21:
And
the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and
the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.[4]
Talking about heaven,
of course. “And the city had no need of
the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten
it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”[5] And watch this.
And
the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the
kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all
by day: for there shall be no night there.
And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.[6]
Watch this now. “And there shall in no wise...”[7]
What does that mean? He is saying, “No
way.” “There shall in now wise enter
into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination.”[8]
Watch this. “Or maketh a lie.”[9] How many lies? A lie.
I have heard people say
when I showed them that verse that said all liars are going to hell. They said,
“Well, that’s talking about a habitual liar.
That is talking about somebody who lies all the time.”
I am going to tell
you. There are people who are saved who lie all the time. I have known
them. I can tell you about them. But he
says here, “No. Even a person who maketh
a lie is not allowed to go into heaven.” He says, “But they which are written
in the Lamb’s book of life.”[10]
They who are saved will be granted entrance to the pearly gates of that
glorious city, the New Jerusalem which descended from God out of heaven.[11]
Right now it is in
heaven. Right now if you go to heaven
you would see the pearly gates and the golden streets. One day that city is going to descend upon a
new earth. “And the nations of them
which are saved shall walk in the light of it:”[12]
You see, in order to
go to heaven you have got to be saved.
You say, “How can I
be saved?”
Hey, “Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”[13]
You see, if you
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved from the awful punishment of
hell. You will be forgiven of every lie that you have told, every sin that you
have ever committed, any murder that you have committed, any abomination you
have committed. The moment that you believe on Jesus Christ your sins are
washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. Hey, past, present and future, gone,
gone, gone, yes my sins are gone.
You say, “Are you
ever going to tell a lie when you get to heaven?”
Absolutely not. The only reason I tell lies now is because I
am in the flesh. I mean, my spirit is a brand new creature. “Old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.”[14]
That’s why if I walk in the spirit I’ll not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.[15] That is why if I put on the new man I will do
what is right and godly. But right now,
“O wretched man that I am!”[16]
Living in this sinful flesh that causes me to sin on a daily basis, one day,
the moment that I breathe my last breath this sinful flesh will be gone
forever. My soul [?] will be transported
to heaven in a sinless condition and then one glorious day my body is going to
be resurrected from the dead, changed in a moment and the twinkling of an eye
and I will live forever in heaven without sin, sinless and perfect.
Now none of us can be there now because we have the flesh. But one day that
will be the case. So who is not going to
heaven? Those who are not saved are the
ones who are going to hell. They will be excluded from heaven.
What do you have to
do to be saved? The Bible said you have
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That is who...John 3:15, “That whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”[17] John 3:16:
For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.[18]
You know what I love
about the word “saved?” It has a “d” on the end. It is done. It is past tense. And so he said, “He that believeth on him is
not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”[19]
Somebody said this.
They said, “Well, maybe you could lose your salvation if you stopped
believing.”
Well, you can’t lose
your salvation or God is a liar because he said, “I give unto them eternal
life; and...neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”[20]
They shall never
perish. But what if purging out...
Personally I believe
that when you are saved the Bible says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children of God.”[21]
Ok. But let’s say, theoretically, a person did stop believing. Well, Paul said to Timothy, he said, “If we
believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”[22] He cannot alter the thing that is uttered out
of lips. It says in Psalm 89, “Once have I sworn and I will not repent. Thy
seed shall endure forever,”[23] he said of Jesus Christ in Psalm 89.
But what about
this? I just quoted for you John 3:18
where he said why? “He that believeth
not is condemned already, because he hath not believed.”[24]
That’s past tense. He never believed on
Jesus Christ. He hath not believed in name of the only begotten Son of
God. Because if Jesus Christ said,
“Depart from me. I never knew you,”[25]
once you believed on Jesus Christ you are saved. Ok. If
you go to hell it is because he never knew you. It is because you have not believed
on the name of the only begotten Son of God.
But let’s go into a
little more the finer points of who is going to be excluded. Look at Romans
chapter 11. While you are turning to
Romans chapter 11—and this is the introduction to the sermon on the Horrors of
Hell—we had better establish who it is that is going to be in hell. Let me quote for you Ephesians 2:8-9 while
you are turning to Romans 11:6.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith.”[26]
Faith and believe are the same words. “And
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast.”[27] It is not of works. It is by grace through
faith.
Look down at your Bible to Romans 11:6. We are going to look at
something. And this is horrific, my friend, to realize that this group is going
to hell. But I am going to show you
right now that they are going to hell. Look at Romans 11:6. The Bible says, “And if by grace, then is it
no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then
is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”[28]
What is he saying? You cannot
mix faith and works. You can’t do it. He
says as soon as you start trusting works, it is no longer grace.
Now, let me just prove that to you right now. I shouldn’t have to,
because that is what the Bible said. But
I will prove it to you anyway. If I said to you, “I am going to give you a free
gift.” Ok. Brother Boscoe, I am going to give you a free gift tonight. It is
totally of grace. It is nothing that you have earned. It is just a free gift.
Now how much money would you have to give me where it would cease to be
a free gift?
One cent, right? I mean, if he
put anything forward of his own that is not free. That is not grace. Do you
understand what I am saying?
So God says, “If it is of works, if he has to lift one finger for me in
order to get that gift, it is no longer faith and grace. It is works.”
And by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight.[29]
So, number one, we saw the unbeliever will go to hell. Number two, the
person who is trusting faith plus works is on their way to hell tonight. I am going to prove it to you again. Turn to
Galatians chapter five. The person who is trusting faith plus works will split
hell wide open.
Picture this. There is an airplane at an airport. The airplane is Jesus. Ok, this is just an illustration. It is a
parable that I am telling you. The airplane is Jesus. The destination is heaven. You get on that plane. It is headed for
heaven. What happens if you put one leg
on the plane and one leg on the tarmac?
What happens when that plane takes off?
You are not going anywhere. You are going to split your britches. You
are going to land flat on you face on that tarmac. You are not going anywhere unless you get all
the way on board. And it is just like
when Noah got on the ark. God shut him
in. God shut the door behind him. You
have got to get on board, shut the door. You are in. You can’t get out. You are on your way to
heaven. That is what salvation is.
Look at verse one of Galatians five. We will see this proven further
than if a person is trusting faith plus works, faith plus baptism, faith plus
church attendance, faith plus I gave up my sins, faith plus live a good life,
they are on their way to hell. Look at Galatians 5:1:
Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall
profit you nothing.[30]
Does that sound like
you are going to heaven if Christ profits you nothing? No.
Watch this.
“For I testify again.”[31] Look at how he is reiterating this.
I
testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the
whole law. Christ is become of no effect
unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.[32]
Here we have people
teaching the
For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God: Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.[33]
So we see here that
another category that is going to hell is those who believe in faith plus
works.
Matthew chapter
seven and this is by way of introduction to the sermon on the horrors of hell
that we have got to talk about who is going to hell. Number one, everyone who is an unbeliever.
Number two, those who are trusting faith plus works, Jesus plus baptism, Jesus
plus living a good life. That is your Roman Catholic. Jesus plus the sacraments, plus living a good
life. That is your Methodist. You have got to live a good life. You have got to
endure to the end or you are going to lose your salvation. There is your
charismatic. There is your Nazarene. There is your Assemblies of God. There’s
all these denominations that teach that if you get out of church and quit on
God he is going to take it away from you, as if church attendance is a
prerequisite, as if living a good life is a prerequisite, as if the works of
the law are part of your salvation.
Matthew 7:21 the
Bible reads, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”[34]
You say, “Wait a
minute. Doesn’t the Bible say, ‘For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’?”[35] Well, keep reading.
For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed?[36]
You have got to call
on Jesus Christ by faith. Belief is what saves you.
And so he says here,
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”[37] He says, “You have to go God’s way, the way
that the Father has ordained.”
“Many will say to me
in that day...” [38]
Who is going to hell
the few or the many? The many.
Broad
is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat: Because strait is the gate, and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.[39]
And so he says, “Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?”[40]
He is saying, “We
preach in the name of Jesus Christ.”
“And in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful...”[41]
And the word that is going to resonate in their minds throughout all eternity
“works.”
“And then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you.”[42] There is proof enough that you can’t lose
your salvation. He said, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity.”[43]
I will read you two
more verses. You don’t have to turn
there. Matthew 25:41. “Then shall he say
also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”[44]
Verse 46. “And these
shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”[45]
So, number one. Now we are in to the sermon. Number one, what
is the horror of hell? Do you know what
the biggest horror of hell is? The duration, how long it lasts. That is the
most horrible part about hell. I mean, if you ask me what is most horrible,
fearful part about hell. Hands down in a
moment I will say to you, “The length of time that you are in hell, the fact
that it goes on forever.” That is what is so horrible about it. I mean that is
the worst part about it.
He said that they
will depart from me into everlasting fire.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses
say they will be burned up. They will be
annihilated. I show them this verse and
they say, “Well, then it also says they will be burned up.”
Well, I guess the
Bible contradicts itself then if it says too opposite things. But it doesn’t
say that. It says that nowhere.
You see, the Bible
is clear that they shall go in to everlasting punishment. That’s talking about being punished for all
eternity. I mean a hundred years from
now, punishment. I mean a punishment that never ends is what everlasting
punishment means.
Number one, the
length of eternity.
Let’s use our
imaginations for a moment as we get into the sermon tonight. Let’s think about
a person, think about a man who is living his life and he is an unbeliever. He
is unsaved. He has heard the
gospel. Maybe he hasn’t heard it as
clearly as he ought to have heard it, but he has heard the name of Jesus like
everybody in this world has. I don’t care what anybody says. That’s the truth. Somewhere along the way they hear something
somewhere. I mean, even in
Somebody said, “What
about people in
You know,
The Muslim knows who
Jesus Christ. All over the world, “Their sound went into all the earth and
their words unto the ends of the world.”[46]
God asks, “Have they
not heard? Yes, verily.”[47] They have heard. They have heard the
truth.
But let’s picture,
if you will, a man and he is on his death bed dying. He has lived his life. He
is an old man and he is in the hospital perhaps. And the little monitor is
measuring his heart beat. It is slowly declining. He closes his eyes and slips off into death. What happens to him? What is going to happen? He is an unbeliever.
He is unsaved.
Well, the Bible said in Luke 16—and you can turn there if you like—but in Luke
16 the Bible says, “And in hell he lift up his eyes...”[48]
That’s how fast that man is going to be in hell.
You say, “Well, is
he going to stand before judgment before God?”
No. He is condemned
already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of
God.
That man breathed
his last breath and in a moment, from the time it takes him to close his eyes
for the last time when he opens them he is in hell.
What does he
experience? What is he feeling?
Well, immediately he
feels pain as though his entire body...Have you ever burned yourself before?
Have you ever stuck your finger onto something that was very hot or burned? I remember one time I laid my hand on a metal
pan that had just come out of an oven.
And I seared the whole palm of my hand and it peeled and blistered and
it was extremely painful. And even after I took my hand away and ran it under
cold water I could still feel that burning sensation.
Another time as a
child I spilled hot glue on myself and I couldn’t get the glue off. It was
extreme pain and it went on for hours after I had gotten rid of the glue, hours
after I had run it under cold water.
He is going to feel.
The first thing that is going to get his attention is just the feel, the
burning all over his body. Every square inch of his body in flames and literal
fire.
The Bible says, “And in hell...”[49]
Look down at Luke 16 in front of you
there.
And
in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom. 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...[50]
Watch this. “For I am tormented in this flame.”[51] He said, “I am being tortured by flame.”
And so the rich man
here his body didn’t go to hell at this point. His body was laying there for
everybody to see just like the man in our hypothetical story. He is laying in
the hospital bed. He breathes his last breath. The monitor goes flat and there
he is. His body is laying there, just a lifeless shell of what was once the man
that lived and breathed and talked and spoke. Now it is just a lifeless
cadaver.
But his soul is in hell. He can feel every part of the flame.
And you say, “Well,
he doesn’t have a body.”
Well, but, you know,
in a little bit of doctrine here. At the
end of the book of Revelation the souls of them that had been martyred for
Jesus before the rapture, it talks about them receiving whit raiment and
wearing it. You know, they were able to
wear clothing. So we understand it is a soul, but it is...it is a body of
sorts. It is just not made of flesh and
blood, ok, but it is still in the shape of a person and he is still going to
have hands and he is still going to have a tongue because he said, “Put water
on my tongue.”
Do you see what I am
saying?
So it is a spiritual
soul, but it is like a body. It has the same parts of the body, just not flesh
and bone. It is just not a physical
flesh and bone body.
But he man’s body is
not here, but his soul is burning in hell. The first thing he is going to feel
is that burning sensation all over his body.
But then there is going to be an extreme fear of falling because the
Bible describes hell as a bottomless pit.
Of course we know
from Ezekiel 30 and 31 and elsewhere in the Bible that the Bible says that hell
is in the nether parts of the earth, in the lower parts of the earth. Hell
beneath is what the Bible calls it. And so in the center of the earth there is
no gravity. And it is a sensation not of
weightlessness, but of continual falling is what it feels like because he says,
“The bottomless pit”[52]
in Revelation 20.
And so he is
falling. And you can imagine somebody just free falling. And they are trying to
grab hold of somewhere. They don’t know if they are going to hit the ground.
They don’t know what’s happening. They feel like they are going to fall and
hurt themselves or hit themselves. They
are burning and burning. They are trying to grab for something and it is just a
continual falling.
I can’t even imagine what that would be like to just be falling forever. But
engulfed in flames, falling, total darkness, trying to see, but the light is
not enough for them to see any thing.
You say, “I want to
go to hell where all my friends are.”
Nobody has any friends in hell.
This man said, “I
don’t want my brothers to go to hell to be with me because I love them too
much.
You won’t have any
friends in hell. TV and movies try to make hell out to be a place where sin
dominates and sin reigns. That’s a lie.
You know, from the
Merry Melodies cartoons that you show your children—and that is why I am
against all the world’s TV and all the world’s garbage and movies because they
all have an agenda. From Looney Tunes
and Merry Melodies where Porky Pig is the devil and he is dancing around in
hell like he owns the place laughing.
The devil is not even in hell, my friend. And one day when he goes to hell he is not
going to be laughing. He is going to be tormented. He is going to be punished. He is not rolling
around.
You see tables set
up in hell and there’s...you know, there’s a couple of coals smoldering here
and there in the underworld. Porky Pig has got a pitchfork. Everybody is
sitting around the tables playing cards, drinking, smoking. You know, we have
all seen the images. They are drinking.
They are cursing. They are just
committing all this sin. And everybody is just kind of committing sin.
No, because you have
to understand the person who is running the show in hell is not the devil, but
God. That is who is in charge. The Bible
says in Revelation 14:10, “They shall be tormented in the presence of the holy
angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”[53]
You say, “Well, I
believe hell is to be separated from God.”
It is a lie.
“I believe hell is
eternal separation from God.”
It is a lie.
Hell is a place
where people are tormented in the presence of Jesus Christ. It is in the Bible.
He said they will be tormented in the presence of the holy angels, in the
presence of the Lamb.
And so the devil is
not running the show in hell. Jesus
Christ is running the show in hell. He is the one who created hell. It is
fulfilling his will and his purpose, not that of the devil. And so there is falling.
The man who just
entered hell, let’s say he just entered 10 seconds ago, the man who we are
talking about. He is falling. He is
burning. He is in darkness. He is scared
to death. And he is waiting for it to
end.
I mean
that...wouldn’t you? I mean, if you got
into some kind of that you would say, “The only hope I have is that this is
eventually going to end.” That is what Jesus said when he was in hell in Psalm
16:10 he said, “For thou wilt not...”[54] He said, “My soul shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One of corruption.” [55]
Acts
But, you see, Jesus’
only hope is that he was going to one day get out of hell and reign forever
more and be lifted up at the right hand of the Father. Of course, Jesus Christ,
God in the flesh. He said, “I have the power to lay down my life. I have the
power to take it up again.”[57]
But the man who is
in hell, he must be thinking, “Surely, there is going to be an end to this. I
mean, surely there is going to be some reprieve. Surely it is going to
end. I mean, it is just...I have just
got to hang on. If I could just hang on
for 10 more seconds or maybe just five more minutes...I don’t even know if I
could endure five minutes of this. But
maybe if I could endure for five minutes it will be over.”
But it goes on and
on and on and on. Days go by. I mean one
day in hell is unthinkable. Three days and three nights in hell, unthinkable. I
mean going to hell for five minutes it must seem like five years. But he waits and waits and years and years go
by. In fact, hundreds of years go by and he is going to start to realize and
say, “This is never going to end. This is never going to be over. This is going
to go on forever. I am never going to get out.”
I remember when I
was a young child, maybe about 10, 11, 12, somewhere around there. I remember just sitting down and just trying
to...trying to understand hell. You know
what I mean? Because I was just a kid and I...and I knew what the Bible said,
you know. I got saved when I was six years old and I had a clear understanding
of hell at that time, for sure, a clear understanding of Jesus Christ and
salvation and eternal life and heaven and everything like that. But I remember just sitting down as a 10, 11,
12 year old boy, sitting down on the couch in my house and just trying to wrap
my mind around hell. And, you know, to
this day I can’t fully comprehend it, of course. But I sat there and just tried to understand
it.
And this is what
thought entered mind. I thought to myself....I looked over at the closet and I
thought to myself, “What if I were locked in that closet for 100 years, nothing
to do, nothing to see, the closet is dark.”
You know and I went
in the closet and just shut the door just for a moment and it was completely
dark. I couldn’t really move around
much, right? Because it was a coat
closet. I couldn’t really move around
that much and it was totally dark and there was nothing to do, nothing to read,
no one to talk to. And I thought to myself, “I wouldn’t want to be in here for
two days.” It would be terrible. I wouldn’t want to be in here for two weeks.
Have you ever been
really bored? Have you ever...remember
when you were at school you have detention?
The torture of detention is just sitting there doing nothing. You know, at least that’s the way...you’d be
detained for an hour, an hour and a half. It’s like torture. You just sat there and it went on and on. You
are staring at the clock.
But I thought to
myself, to be locked in this closet for two weeks straight would be
torture. I mean, torture.
You know, and we’re
putting aside, you know, food and water because this is obviously a spiritual
place where you don’t need food and water. He said, “I just water to cool off
my tongue.” He didn’t need to eat food to exist or drink water.
But imagine just
being locked up like that in a place where you couldn’t move around much,
couldn’t see much, couldn’t do anything, just the boredom, just the agony of
just being by yourself alone. Darkness.
And I remember just
thinking about two weeks, a month, years, horrible thought.
And then I thought,
“What if you never get out of that closet.” That would be awful, wouldn’t it,
just locked in a closet forever and you knew you were never going to get out.
But then, that is
not even fire. Do you see what I am
saying? I mean, hell would be horrible without the fire. Think about that. And yet there is fire.
And I remember I
thought about that when I was just a young child. Man, we have got to get people saved. Good
night. It is terrible.
And I remember thinking
to myself. “It is horrible if anybody goes to hell.” But do you know what would be really
horrible? If somebody went to hell and
they could have been saved if somebody would have told them the gospel, they
would have gotten saved.
“Oh, well, if
somebody really wants to get saved, God is going to make sure...”
Nonsense. Garbage.
It’s a lie.
There are people in
this city and elsewhere in the world that if somebody would take the Bible and
really give them a clear presentation of the gospel and really lay it out for
them point by point, they’d be thrilled to receive the gospel and be
saved. They are out there. And if you
don’t believe come out soul winning with me next week. I’ll take you to them. It might take hours. We might knock doors for
hours of being slammed in our face or people saying no. But we will find that
one. And they are going to be passed from death to life and they will never
have to see hell because we were used by God to preach them the gospel.
It is the
truth.
I remember as a
child as a teenager these thoughts would come into my mind. “Please, can we just give them a chance? I mean, if somebody just rejects it and
brazenly says no...I mean, I...maybe I can swallow that a little bit more than
somebody who would have been saved if they had really had it clearly explained
to them....or persistent.”
You know, my
wife...do you know how many times I had to give the gospel to my wife before
she got saved? In excess of 20
times. And I am not kidding. I mean
that. I mean I...it took a long time. It
took hours of persuasion. It took Bible
and verses and talking to her and pleading. And then it took prayer and
weeping. That is what it took.
You say, “Oh, well,
if you hadn’t gotten her saved somebody else would have.”
Do you really think
so? A girl that grew up, born and raised
in German in
And she was, what,
20 years old when I met her.
You can get people
saved if you try. I mean, not everybody
is going to get saved, but you can pull them out of the fire hating even the
garment spotted by the flesh.[58]
And so here is this
man and he is burning in hell. He has pretty much given up on the fact of ever
getting out, you know, after about, well, for sure more than 1000 years have
gone by, over 1000 years because he had gone through the whole rest of history
and through all the events in the book of Revelation, the whole millennial
reign of Christ for 1000 years. He has been languishing in hell this whole
time.
Well, then, suddenly out of nowhere, out of the blue...turn to Revelation
20. He didn’t see this coming. I mean, he had long ago given up. Now he has been in hell for over 1000 years,
but it even seems like longer than that.
Which, I, you know, can’t even fathom these numbers. I mean, think about how long we have been
alive. None of us even knows what 1000 years is. None of us can comprehend that
or let alone 1000 years in hell.
But suddenly out of
the blue. Here he is. He is burning in hell.
He is given up completely. He has got...what is he doing in hell? You know what? The only thing there is to do,
think. That’s all you can do in hell is just think, just remember. And I
believe he is probably just replaying his life over and over in his mind, just
to pass...just to do something, starting from the time he is born, all the way
until he dies. This is just remembering his life, just scene by scene, act by
act living out, reliving his life in his mind. And I bet something keeps coming
up in his mind every time he ever heard any thing about Jesus, every time he
ever heard anything about hell, any time he ever heard anything about the
gospel. Any time he had ever sat in a church service, any time he had ever read
a Bible verse any time he had ever heard somebody quote a verse and, you know,
the Bible has become a part of our society in many ways and our culture. And
you will hear verses. You will hear
people make statements that are from the Bible out and about. People have heard
the verse, “Jesus wept.”[59]
Or I heard somebody say one time he was like on a political type talk show. He
said, “Let not your heart be troubled.”[60] But he was talking about something completely
different. Of course that’s just quoting
Jesus, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God...”[61]
You know, people
speak and they talk about, “Oh, well, render unto Caser the things that be
Caesars.”[62]
He is probably
thinking about every time he heard the Word of God, verses about Jesus, the
Bible, God, maybe somebody knocked on the door at some point and he said, “I’m
sorry. I’ve got to watch the game, the Phoenix Suns are on right now. It is into overtime. I can’t talk right now.”
And he is saying,
“Oh, God, why? Why didn’t I listen?”
And he is replaying
in his mind over and over again. Suddenly he is plucked from hell.
Look down at
Revelation 20 if you would. The Bible says in verse number 12, “And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another
book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of
those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”[63]
Watch this. “And the
sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead
which were in them”[64] Our friend has just been delivered from
hell. Do you see this? All the sudden he is transported. Hell ejects
him into the presence of God, the great white throne of judgment. Will we be there? Yes, everybody will be there. The heaven and
earth are removed. There is found no place for them. Every human being in the world is there at
the great white throne judgment.
Now we are not going
to be there to be judged, because it is the dead who were judged. Of course, we have already been resurrected
and alive. We have been alive for over
1000 years, those of us who are living in 2008.
We have been alive for over 1000 and so.
But the dead are brought out and we are there are spectators at this
event. Everybody is there. The angels, God’s throne, man, every creature.
Everything is there. There is no other place to exist. There is no
universe. There is no sun. There is no
moon. There is no earth. There is no
heaven. It is just the great white throne of judgment. They have all fled away.
No place for them. Everybody is there at this moment.
And I am sure that
man, as he is ejected from hell is saying...he is shocked. He is standing on solid ground. He is no
longer in flames. He is saying, “Oh,
thank you, God, for being merciful to me.”
And in a last ditch
effort he falls to his knees and confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord to the
glory of God the Father.
And as the Bible
says in Philippians two that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow
of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, things
under the earth. Did you hear? And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father.[65]
And he falls to his
knees and says, “Jesus Christ, you are the Lord. You are the Savior of the
world.”
I mean he can’t even
scream loud enough. His voice is cracking and breaking as he cries out to be
heard above the thousands and millions and billions of other people who are
screaming, “Jesus, you are the Lord. Save me.”
But there is a
deafening silence as the books are opened.
Every man in sight is silent and only one thing can be heard. God the Judge, God the Father sitting on his
throne opening the books. And then another book is open, the Lamb’s book of
life. And any name that is not in the
Lamb’s book of life, he gets out the other books.
You say, “What are
the other books?” The Bible. There are
66 of them.
Because, you say,
“Well, how do you know?”
Well, because the
dead are being judged out of those things which are written in the books
according to their works. [66] And do you know what? The Bible says this is
what Jesus said on the Church in John five.
He said, “This is what you will be judged by, Moses. This is what you will be judged Moses in whom
you trust,”[67]
to the unbelieving Jews. He said, “You will be judged by God’s Word.”
And so I have heard
people say that these books are a list of everything that everybody has ever
done in their life. Of course, if everything that Jesus had ever done in his
life...God said the world couldn’t even contain the books. [68] And so I believe the books that are opened is
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy...the books are opened. And he begins to expose to them their sin.
And he runs through with them their life. And “Every idle word that men shall
speak, the Bible says, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”[69]
Every time they said
something wicked, every time they said something ungodly, every time they
committed a sin against God it is going to be put forth as evidence against
them.
You say, “Why do
people go to hell?”
Because they are
sinners, because they have lied, because they have murdered, because they have
stolen, because they have thought dirty thoughts, because they have committed
adultery, physically or in their heart.
And so all of those sins will be listed off.
Of course, our sins will never be mentioned to us the Bible says. Gone, gone, gone. The Bible says, “As far as
east is from the west so far has God separated us from our sins.”[70]
Hebrews 10:17,
“Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”[71]
But the unbeliever,
it is not so with him. God runs through
and exposes to him his sins. And then he
opens up the book of life. Names not found therein, he says, “Depart from me. I
never knew you. Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”[72]
I can see a few strong angels take each one of them by the arms and grab them
and cast them into the lake of fire for all eternity. That one little break is
over. That one little reprieve that they had from the flames and torment of
hell, it is over. And now they know it is
forever because God has just explained to them from the Bible that it is
forever.
And there they are
going to languish forever more. Look
down at your Bible. It says, “They were judged every man according to their
works,”[73]
every wicked work, every ungodly thing that was said out of their mouth. He
says, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.”[74]
So now hell is being
relocated. It says in the lake of fire.
And I will prove that to you. “This is
the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire.”[75]
You say, “How do
you know hell is being relocated to the
lake of fire?”
Well, because the
Bible says, “Fear not him which is able to kill the body, but is not able to
kill the soul. But rather fear him which
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”[76]
Now we know that the
unsaved man who dies today, his body is not going to hell. But there is going
to be the resurrection of damnation described by Jesus in John chapter five and
in his soul and his spirit and his body is going to be cast into hell which is
now in the lake of fire.
So it says, “Death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”[77] And they will be there forever, “In the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”[78]
Let me show you two
things about hell tonight. And, by the
way, let me tell you a little story. You know, when I go soul winning, I...you
know, I guess I am a confrontational soul winner, but I am never mean or unkind
to people. You know, there is no reason to be like that and that is not the way
I am. I believe that we are bearing the
good news of salvation, so it should be a positive message. I mean the first
thing I obviously tell somebody is that you have got to tell them that they are
sinner. And you have got to show and I
show them these verses from Revelation 21, showing them that they are condemned
to hell, showing them that the wages of sin is death, showing them that even a
lie and all of these other things that will damn them to hell... But I say,
“You know, God loves you. He doesn’t
want you to go to hell.” And I explain
to them the gospel and Jesus Christ [?].
I am not going to go into that for the sake of time, but what all I
explain to them.
And then I go
through that whole thing with them. I
give them the gospel. And, you know, I don’t go to people and, “You need to be
saved or you are going to go to hell and you are a filthy sinner and...”
You know, people who are doing that, they are not getting people saved. They don’t have love and tear in the eye, they just go around screaming at people. And, you know, if they really loved them they would want them to get saved so they would talk to them in a way that is going get them saved. And I am not talking about toning it down. I am not talking about trimming the message, but the Bible says, “Speaking the truth in love.”[79] It says to be gentle. The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. [80]</