Take your Bibles and look with us in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 66. It has been a while since we have met on Wednesday night. I think we had two weeks where the weather kept us from getting here. And then we had a business meeting last Wednesday night, so it's been four weeks. Tonight makes four weeks. But it's good to be back. We are studying the eternal hell. And this is part six. And I think there will be probably one more. And I don't think you want to miss that one. Because that one's going to really... I'm going to share some things with you in that one. that is really hard for us to understand, but it's Bible, so it must be so, amen? Must be. Isaiah chapter 66, we are going to begin reading with verse 20, well, we're gonna read one verse of scripture. I'm just gonna read one, verse 24. And the Bible says, and they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me. For their worms shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, God, we do thank you for the privilege and joy, God, of gathering together to study thy word. God, what a joy it is, what a wonderful thing to sit down with thy word, with thy people, and God, just look at, God, what you have for us. And God, Lord, it's so rich, and it's so full, and God, we are so hungry for it. I know, God, that I am. I thank you for this freedom that we still have in this country. I don't know, God, how much longer we'll have it, But God, I thank you for it tonight. And I pray, God, that while we have it, that God will make the most. I ask you, God, to take control tonight, to God, to feel me. God, you know I'm not feeling too good. Seems like I never do anymore, Lord. But God, I just pray that you'll touch me, that God, you'll feel me, that God, you'll give me the power to teach this in such a way that everyone can understand. And oh God, that Jesus might be glorified. And we might learn and we might grow. And God, that we might leave here with a burden for the lost. We might leave here, Father God, with a fear, God, of this place that we call hell. And God, a fear that anyone should go there. So God, you just take control. Glorify thy son. We'll give you the praise and the glory for it all. In Jesus Christ's name we do pray. Amen. In our study on the eternal hell, we have learned many things. Some of what we've learned is this. We have learned why men reject the idea of hell. We talked about that in the very first session. We've learned, beloved, about Hades. that temporary spiritual prison of fire and torment. We've learned about Gehenna, the eternal hell. Revelation calls it the lake of fire. We've learned, beloved, that hell is real. It is not a state of mind, folks. It is a real literal place with literal fire and literal torment. We've learned, beloved, that it is eternal, that these people who go there are not annihilated, but, beloved, that it goes on and on and on. They exist forever in that torment, in that torment. We've learned that hell is a place of separation from God. Now, beloved, everything good God gives, amen? If you're where God, beloved, where you are separated completely from God, there is nothing good, there is nothing comforting. That is hell. Now, the last time that we met, we learned what Jesus meant when He said, In hell, the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if you missed any of these, if you'll let me know, if they're not back there, I will make you a copy. Now, tonight, we wanna look at another aspect of hell. We want to look at who will spend eternity there. And I know the first thing that comes to your mind, well, preacher, we know the laws, and that's true, but we wanna go a little bit deeper than that. I wanna draw your attention again to the words found in Isaiah 66, verse 24. It says, and they look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me, God says. Now, beloved, as you recall, these last verses in Isaiah 66 deal with the millennium, the 1,000 year reign of Christ. He is telling us, beloved, about those who will be alive and living in the millennium. He's not talking about the church here. We are the bride of Christ. We're going to be in the Millennium, but that's not who He's talking about here. He's not talking, beloved, about the Old Testament saints, or even those who will die for their faith during the tribulation. He's not talking about them. What He's talking about, beloved, is those who live through the tribulation and enter into the millennium in bodies of flesh and blood. Okay? That's who he's talking about. And he says of them, All flesh shall come and worship before me. He says, beloved of them, that they will look upon the carcasses of those that have transgressed against me. But then, beloved, he says something unusual about those carcasses. He says, for their worms shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched. Beloved, these are the words that Jesus repeated when he spoke about Gehenna, when he spoke about the eternal hell. In Mark chapter nine, three times, three times, Jesus said about those in hell, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Now what in the world does that mean? I believe it means that what we have in Isaiah 66, is a type, is an example of the eternal hell. Of the eternal hell. Now, if that be true, and it must be, then in this type, found in Isaiah 66, we see, beloved, who or what kind of people will inhabit hell. God says, it's men that have transgressed Me. Now, when He says men, He's not leaving you ladies out, okay? Don't want to leave the ladies out, alright? He's talking about mankind, okay? It's men who have transgressed against Me. Now, While here in Isaiah 66, it may literally be talking about those who transgressed against God during the tribulation. Now follow me. It may literally be talking about those who transgressed against God during the tribulation. But remember, this is all a type of what? Hell, it's a type of hell. So those who transgressed against God in the tribulation are a type of those who transgressed against God throughout human history. Throughout human history. They're a type of those who will spend eternity in hell. Who will go to hell? Those who transgress against God. Now what does that mean? Does it mean those that break his commandments? Yes it does, but it means more than that. Does it mean those who disobey God? Oh, yes, it does. But it means more than that. Does it mean those that live evil and wicked lives? Yes, it does. But beloved, it means more than that. Listen to me. On seven occasions, Jesus said about hell, where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Pretty gruesome picture, isn't it? Wailing and gnashing of teeth. That's what you will hear in hell, beloved. Wailing and gnashing of teeth. Listen to Matthew 13 verse 42. Listen to what Jesus said. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. He used that word picture seven times, beloved. But what, beloved, have these people done wrong to merit such punishment from God? Beloved, what they did so wrong is all wrapped up in this phrase, they transgressed against God. They transgressed against God. Notice first. who it was against. Beloved, it was against who? Talk to me, it's right here in scripture. God. God. It was against God. Did you know? Did you know, beloved, that the magnitude of any offense depends in part upon who that offense is against? Now, I know that sin is sin, amen? But beloved, it makes a difference who you sin against. I know that you say, preacher, well, that don't make no sense. Well, just bear with me. Beloved, who you offend can magnify your crime, any crime. Let's take a pop quiz. Let's have some fun, okay? Just listen to this and you'll see what I'm talking about. If I were to threaten Scott, beloved, that would be wrong, amen? That would be an offense, amen? But suppose I threatened the president. You know what would happen if you threatened the president? They'll come and get you. They'll come and get you. Beloved, I mean, you know, both of these, which of these would be the greatest offense? Which one, beloved, would be, would I be punished the most for? Threatening Scott or threatening the president? You see, who the offense is against magnifies the crime, amen? See what I'm talking about? Suppose. Suppose a man sexually assaulted a woman. Terrible crime. Terrible sin. Terrible offense. And I cry for any woman that that happens to. But suppose another man sexually assaulted in the same way a nine-year-old child. A nine-year-old child. Same crime, but one. is far more grievous, far more worse than the other. Amen? See what I'm talking about? Beloved, who you offend, who you sin against, who you transgress against, it makes a difference. It magnifies. It magnifies. How about this? Suppose somebody stole a car from Donald Trump, $75,000 car. It's a sin. It's wrong. But suppose somebody else stole, beloved, the grocery money from an elderly lady who all she had to live on was Social Security and they stole it from her and she had to go hungry. Which crime is worse? Which crime, beloved? Both were stealing, both, beloved, were wrong, but one crime is magnified by who it is against. Now, with that said, beloved, and by the way, stealing is wrong, period, but the offense is magnified, beloved, if it's stolen from someone who has little or nothing. Now, notice again, who will be in hell? Those who transgress, but not just transgress, but transgress against God. Against God. Beloved, those in hell, they are there or they will be there for offending the God of the universe. And that's worse than offending me. And that's worse than offending you. That's worse than transgressing against me or you. They've transgressed against God. What could be worse than that? This is God. Beloved, transgression against God is worse than transgressing against the president, amen? Than the king of, the queen of England. This is God, beloved, they transgressed again. This is God that they have hurt. This is God that they have slighted. This is God that they have wronged. This is God. This is God. God who created all that is, that even created them. This is God, beloved, who sustained them and blessed them. God who loved them, beloved, with a love that passes all understanding. God who is the giver of all good gifts. Everything they have ever received in this life that was good, God gave it to them. It came from him. God who, in the body of flesh, died for them. God, beloved, who gave his son because he loved him so much, God who reached out, beloved, to them in mercy and grace, who gave them health and gave them family and gave them strength and gave them, beloved, a mind to think and a heart to love and legs to walk and hands to do everything they had. God gave to them. But were they thankful? Talk to me a little bit. No. No, they were not thankful. Instead, beloved, they were unthankful. They transgressed against God. I told you folks Sunday, beloved, that every sin begins with ingratitude. Ingratitude to God. It begins with not being thankful to God. Romans chapter one verse 21 says, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were, what? Thankful. You know, beloved, if we would just be thankful to God, we would not sin. We would not sin. If we realize that everything we have, everything we are, everything we've got, God gives to us. We wouldn't disobey Him. We wouldn't rebel against Him. I'm reminded of Joseph. Remember when Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's wife there in Egypt, beloved. Oh, she was putting the woman wilds on him, let me tell you, beloved. And no doubt he was tempted, but remember what Joseph said. He says, I'll not do this thing and sin against my God. See, Joseph, beloved, knew that if he did this thing, it would hurt God. It would be against God. All sin is against God. And he said, I'll not do this thing. He said, God's been too good to me. God has blessed me too much. God has helped me too much. I'll not do this thing. And sin against the one that's been so good to me. Been so good to me. Suppose here was a man. And he was an orphan. As a young boy, he was an orphan, had nothing, had no body. And this elderly couple saw him one day playing in the street or begging in the street and they took him in, beloved, and oh listen, they loved him when nobody else would. And beloved, they took him in and fed him and they clothed him and they provided his needs and they worked in the fields for him and they sacrificed for him and they loved him with all of their hearts. And then one day, as a grown man, that boy, for no reason, took a knife and began to cut and cut and cut that old couple to pieces. And oh, they begged him and they pleaded with him not to do this thing and they kept telling him how much we love him, we love you, we love you. But he kept on hurting them and cutting them to pieces. How terrible is that crime? They'd given him everything. Loved him when nobody else would. But he just kept hurting them and hurting them until it took their life. But that's what those in hell did to the Father. That's what they did to the Son. That's what they did to the Holy Spirit. They transgressed against God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. They magnified that offense 10,000 times because it was against God. God that had loved them when nobody else did and had given to them and blessed them and provided for them. I'm gonna tell you, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that hell is absolute. I knew it anyway because God is just. But hell, beloved, is seeming more and more just to me. More and more just to me. I want you to know the second it says, those who transgressed, transgressed. The word transgress is the Hebrew word pasha, pasha, P-A-S-H-A. And it means, beloved, to rebel. It means to revolt, to refuse to submit. To refuse to submit. Those in hell will be there, beloved, because they rebelled against God. Because they refused to submit to God. To God. Who is God? God, the Bible tells us, beloved, that He is, listen to this, the most high. Ain't nobody higher than Him, amen? Ain't, beloved, nothing is higher than Him. He is the most high. He is the Almighty, the Bible tells us. None, beloved, can compare with His power. None can compare with His might. He is the Omniscient One. Listen, His knowledge and intelligence is far above anyone, anyone. He is the Creator of all things. He's the judge of the universe, the Bible tells us. He's the giver of all life, beloved. He's the righteous and holy one. He holds everything in his hands, everything. Beloved, a person has to be a fool to rebel against God. I mean, you talk about a no-win situation. You have to be a fool to refuse to submit to the Most High, the Almighty. You have to be a fool. Somebody says, well preacher, maybe they didn't know about God. No way, no way. Now, they may not know about God's salvation. But beloved everyone, now listen to me, everyone knows there is a God. Everyone knows that. Listen to Romans chapter one and verse 20. Romans chapter one and verse 20. For the invisible things of him, that is God, from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, listen to this, so that they are without excuse. Beloved, there's not a human being on this earth that don't know there's a God. Not a one. Not a one. Psalm 19, one says, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. All a person has to do is look around him at this world we're in. And beloved, we know that God is. We know that God is. Well preacher, what about the atheist? What about the agnostics? Listen to me, there's a difference in knowing there's a God and not wanting to know there's a God. And beloved, those who call themselves atheists and agnostics, listen to me, deep down inside of them, they know, they know that God is, but they deny him because they don't want to admit that there is a God. Some people just don't want to acknowledge that God is. Why? Because they think it gives them an excuse, beloved, for rebelling against him. But God says they have no excuse, because everything points to God. Everything. God has put many, many, many evidences of himself, beloved, all around us in this world of his glory and of his power and of his righteousness and of his might. How many of you have ever watched, seen a sunset and boy, it just took your breath? You know, that's God's glory, that's what that is. How many of you, beloved, have ever been in a thunderstorm and felt the power of that storm? I remember when we were coming up in them old farm houses, that old wind to get to blowing and that thunder to get to rolling. And you could hear that rain coming down on that tin roof. And, beloved, you'd feel that old house shake once in a while. And you knew that was the power of God. That was the power of God. Yet man, many men, choose to rebel against that God. They choose, beloved, not to submit to Him. What did the people say in Jesus' day? We will not have this man to reign over us. That's what so many, beloved, do with God. They say we won't have God reigning over us. Loved, if you don't submit to the one who has authority over you, there is a price to pay. There is a price to pay. You know, if you're a child and you don't submit to your parents, at least it was at my house when I was coming up, well, there was a price to pay. And it weren't nice, was it, Ms. Dodd? Ms. Dodd's mom and dad are about like mine, I'm telling you. There was a price to pay. If you don't submit to the law, the law has authority over us. If we don't submit to the law, beloved, there's a price to pay. The government has authority over us. If you don't submit to the government, beloved, there's a price to pay. If you doubt it, just try not paying your taxes or filing your tax return, okay? And you'll see. You'll see. And it's the same with God, beloved. He is the most high. He's the judge. He's our creator. He's the authority over us. And if we refuse to submit to him, we have a price to pay. If we rebel against his authority, beloved, beloved, we make him less than God. We make ourselves God. And the price is hell. The price is hell. If you don't submit, beloved, to his love, if we spurn his love, we rebel against it. If we don't submit to his spirit, beloved, we rebel, we grieve his spirit. If we don't submit to his son, to his sacrifice, to his way of salvation, to his holy word, we rebel against God. And there's a price to pay. There's a price to pay. That's why, beloved, they are in hell. Because they dared to rebel against God. They dared not to submit themselves to the Almighty God. The root of this word, pascha, means, beloved, to break away. It carries the idea of fighting against, fighting against. Not only, listen to me, not only are these in hell guilty of rebelling against God, not submitting to God, but they're guilty of fighting against God. Now, get the picture. Here's God. Here's God's commandments. God's will for you, God's will for me, God's will for man. If we rebel against that, beloved, listen to me, we are actually fighting against God. Against God. How did Jesus say it? Luke chapter 11, verse 23. Jesus said, He that is not with me is against me. He that gathers not with me scattereth. Scattereth. Oh, listen, what a verse that is. Don't listen to me. There is no neutral ground, folks. You're either for him, with him, working with him, gathering, or you are against him, fighting against him and scattering. I remember what I think it was Paul said. Paul said, you were enemies of God. before you got saved. Beloved, everybody who's not saved, I don't care how good a person they might be, they are fighting against God. They are fighting against God. If you're not with Christ, submitting to Him, you're against Him. If you're not helping Him in God's work, then beloved, you're hurting the work of God. You're fighting against Him. Here's a person. They live a pretty decent life. And all of us know people like this. How many of you know folks who don't cuss, don't drink, don't lie, don't steal? They just work hard, you know, and mind their own business. But they don't go to church. Though God has commanded it, they don't go to church. They don't tithe, even though God has commanded it, they don't tithe. They won't receive Christ as their Lord and Savior even though God employs them to, even though God pleads with them to. They won't do it. Folks, not only are they rebelling, but they're fighting against God. They're fighting against, because you see, because they don't go to church, their family don't go to church. And a lot of their friends don't go to church, because they don't go to church. They don't tithe, believe it, and because they don't tithe, there's less money to reach the lost with at the church. Listen, because they refuse Christ, beloved, they call God a liar. You're a liar, God, when you say that I'm lost, when you say that I'm dying, when you say that I'm going to hell, you're lying. They spit on the blood of his son. They point people to hell instead of to Christ, instead of to Christ. Oh, but they just live their life. They don't hurt anybody. Yeah. They live their life, a life of rebellion against God. They attack God, beloved, and his purpose and his plan. They disrupt what God is trying to do, beloved, to save souls from hell. They disrupt all of that. Oh, listen. is filled with the sounds of wailing and gnashing of teeth. You ever heard a wail? You ever heard a wail? I remember years ago, I was at a poor boy's house. It was at night. We were out in the yard, and we heard this cry. Oh, man. It was terrible. It was terrible. Sounded like a woman way off somewhere, wailing, wailing. I don't know what was going on or what was wrong. I remember when I used this before one night, Bud Webb, I think, was with me. Bud and myself were fishing down there on the Outer Banks on one of those piers down at Avon. And these two boys walked by us drunk. It was like, I don't know, two o'clock in the morning. And they were so drunk they couldn't hardly walk down that pier. Two young boys. And they got there, they walked by us. We were fishing. There weren't just about, I don't know, six people on the pier. And they walked by us and they got down there to the end. And I kind of forgot about them. They were cutting up down there and you'd hear them once in a while. But all of a sudden we heard a splash. And we heard this wail. And we went down there to the end. Everybody up here ran to the end. And one of those boys had fell in at the end of that pier. And he was wearing shorts. And he was holding to the pile. And those barnacles were cutting his legs. And you could see the blood going out. And he was wailing and begging and pleading. Help me! Help me! Please help me! Help me! And just wailing. Most pitiful sound I ever heard. His buddy was passed out on the bench, and all of us who were there, about six of us, threw down that old net that they keep on the pier there, and he got hold of that rope, and we pulled him up. By the time we got him to the top, the police were coming down the pier because somebody had called them. But I'll never forget, and I told Bud that night, I said, Bud, that's got to be what it sounds like in hell. You hear that guy screaming and wailing. Oh, let me tell you, there's wailing. And there's gnashing of teeth, the Bible says. Who is it? Who are these wailing so in this place of torment? It's those that have transgressed against God. That have rebelled against Him. That's refused to submit to Him. That's fought against Him and His Son. And their sins are magnified because of who? Of who they offend. They offend God. It's against God. But wait a minute. What those in hell have done, I've done. And you've done, you've done. Because we've all done these things that we've talked about tonight. But see, there's a difference. Our transgressions against God has all been taken away. Ha ha, whoo! Have been taken away. Because you see, one day we received God's gift of salvation. We humbled ourselves before him and submitted to him and took Christ who had died for our sins as our Lord and Savior by faith. And his blood washed our sins away. And from that day on, our names were written in the book of life. in the Book of Life, Revelation 20, verses 14 and 15. And I'll close. And 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. Thank God, thank God. Because of Jesus, our names are written in the book of life. And all our transgressions are gone, are gone. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, oh my God.