you Good morning. Good morning. I'm glad to see each and every one of y'all this morning. Thank you for coming. We'll go ahead and open in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for allowing us to gather once again in your house, Father. Father, we come to you this morning, Father, just seeking your guidance and your will, Father, as you be with us as we study our lesson this morning, Father, as we study the nature of hell and get a better understanding of what hell actually is, Father. Father, we thank you for your great mercies that you've given us, and thank you for this cooler weather. We love you, Father. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Continuing our study, we're moving on to the nature of hell. Last week, we talked about the final judgment for the wicked, for those who are lost. We talked about how the final judgment is everlasting. It does not change. It is final. And today we're going to be looking at the nature of hell. The author starts off, he says, We have learned that the wrath of God is manifested in man's alienation from God. He's being turned over to sin, exposed to misery, and subject to physical death. As we study on, we will consider the greatest of all manifestations of divine wrath, and that is hell itself. One of the most solemn truths of Scripture is that the consequences of sin do not end with physical death. After death, there is a final judgment, and those who die in their sins are sentenced to spend eternity in hell. Even though this doctrine is often ridiculed and rejected, we cannot ignore the clear teaching of Scripture. There is a place of eternal judgment for the wicked. In any attempt to understand the nature of hell, we must proceed with caution. On one hand, we must be careful to follow the scriptures and not the fanciful descriptions of hell created by both ancient and modern literature and media. So we all have an idea of what hell is, right? On the other hand, we must be careful not to explain away the doctrine of hell or diminish its horrors. According to the scriptures, and especially the teachings of Jesus Christ, there is a real place that is called hell. and that it is both terrible in its suffering and eternal in its duration. So what do you think about when you think about hell? Anybody? Burning, fire, darkness. And we always have this thought that it's the complete absence from God, right? As we study this lesson, this is something I never thought about. But it is not the complete absence from God. And we will see why here in a minute. So don't go up there and say, Robby's lost his mind. We've got to remember that everything God does, He does it for how long? forever, right? It never changes. So we'll look at right here, he starts off with Hades. and Gehenna. In the New Testament, the two specific terms are used with reference to hell, Hades and Gehenna. We can come to a clear understanding of the nature of hell through a careful study of these two references. When we look at Hades, the word Hades comes from the Greek word, which it looks like Hades, I don't know how you say it, but that's what it It occurs ten times in the New Testament and the scripture references are there if you have your book. And although it is most often employed as a reference to death and the general abode of the dead, it is clearly used in Luke 16, 23 with a reference to a place where the wicked are tormented. There are two major interpretations with regard to Hades and its relationship to Gehenna. Either one, Hades is the temporary abode of the wicked until the last judgment when the wicked are reunited with their resurrected bodies and assigned to an eternal place of torment known as Gehenna, or Hades and Gehenna are both references to the same place of torment. In the latter interpretation, the wicked suffer a disembodied state before the last judgment and the resurrection. Then after the resurrection and the last judgment, the wicked are united with their resurrected bodies and return to the same place of torment. And then we look at Gehenna. The word Gehenna is a Latin word from the Aramaic expression Gehennium. It refers to the valley of Hanom, which is located south of Jerusalem. The Greek word is, I don't know what that word is, I don't even want to try to say it, but it occurs 12 times in the New Testament. And this is, he gives a pretty eye-opening description of this here. He says, under the reigns of the wicked kings Ahaz and Manasseh, it was a place where parents offered their children as sacrifices to the Ammonite god Molech. Right? I don't know if you all remember any of that from Jeremiah and Kings. But during the reign of Josiah, the practice of the child sacrifice was ended and the Valley of Hinnom was desecrated and eventually became a refuse pile for garbage to dump. for the carcasses of the dead animals and the bodies of executed criminals. It was a place of continuous fire and smoke, and it was infested with maggots, worms, and vermin. And by the time of Christ, the word was commonly employed to denote the place of final punishment and torment for the wicked by human standards, a place of eternal death, pollution, defilement, and misery. And I don't even come close to describing what hell is. So as we move on, we're going to look at the exclusion from the favorable presence of God. This is something I never thought about when I thought about hell. The author goes on to say, possibly the most terrible truth about hell is that its exclusion from the favorable presence of God in modern evangelical thinking, hell is often described as a place that torment outside of God's presence. And that's the general consensus, right? The absence of God. It's often said that heaven is heaven because God is there, while hell is hell because God is not there. Although this statement contains an element of truth, He goes on to say, it's extremely misleading. And I'm thinking, what am I reading here, right? It is not the absence of God that makes hell a place of torment, but the absence of His favorable presence. In fact, hell is hell because God is there in the fullness of His justice and His wrath. Again, something I really never thought about. because of his justice and his wrath. Second Thessalonians 1 9 is one of the most important texts in the scriptures with regard to separation of the wicked from the favorable presence of God. So what does it say? These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. Words we've read many times before, but now given this new insight that we have, the everlasting presence of His judgment and His wrath, these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. Regarding to the prior verses, we see this. It says in verse six, for after all, it is only just for God to repay with affliction to those who afflict you and to give grief to you who are afflicted to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in a flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And then we read, these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. Paul Walsher says in his notes, the phrase away from comes from the Greek preposition which has been interpreted and translated in two different ways. The first one is away from the presence of the Lord, meaning that the punishment itself exists in being separated from the Lord. How do we know that? Because God is mighty. He's all-powerful. He passes judgment. Does it end? No, it is forever. And then the second is from the presence of the Lord, meaning that the punishment comes forth from the Lord's presence. Either way, the phrase from the presence of the Lord cannot mean that nothing of God's presence or power exists in hell, as hell itself is a manifestation of his wrath. Something to think about. Number two. In the scriptures, several texts refer to man's final judgment and sentence to hell as being cast out or excluded from the favorable presence of God. He tells us to consider each text carefully and then write your own thoughts. Matthew 7, 23. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. And then we have Luke 13, 27. And he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you are from, depart from me all you evil doers. Great works will not earn you entrance into heaven. These two verses are talking about people who said I've ate with you, I've followed you, I've heard your teachings. but they don't know him. Great works will not earn you entrance into heaven. Jesus is the one who is the judge that will grant entrance into heaven. He condemns the ones who have not placed their faith in him and him alone, and they will be forever separated from himself and the Father for eternity. As we look at this wrath and final judgment, Matthew 25, 30. throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Is that right? No. Matthew 25, 30. Is that right? I got the wrong verse down. Well, good. All right. Matthew 8, 12. I'm glad I read the screen and not my notes. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness, and that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Okay, in verse 22, verse 13. Then the king said to the servants, bind him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Again, those who do not serve Christ while claiming to be his servants are not his servants. They have placed their faith in their own works and therefore refuse to acknowledge his lordship. And on that final day, they will be cast out. Matthew 7, 23 tells us, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. So what is the use of being famous or well known? Or even just saying that we know him here on this earth. When heaven doesn't even know our name. Hell is a real place. And it lasts forever. It's not the absence of God that makes hell a place of torment, but the absence of his favorable presence. Hell is hell because God is there in the fullness of his justice and wrath. What does Revelations 14 9 through 10 teach us about this truth? Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice. If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or his hand, He also will drink of the wine and the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his anger. And he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence and the holy angels in the presence of the lamb." Did you catch that part right there where it says, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his anger, talking about God's wrath. How many times have we been so angry that in our wrath we overdid it? I'm not saying God overdone it. I cannot come close to explaining this, but have you ever been so mad that what you've done in your mind was not enough? He says here the wicked will not only be judged and sentenced by the Lamb, but their ongoing punishment will also be under His watch. At Christ's coming, the wicked will cry out to the mountains and rocks and fall upon them to hide them from the presence of Him who sat on the throne and from wrath of the Lamb. Can you imagine what it would be like to cry out to have mountains fall on you so you can think they will hide you from the presence of His wrath? What kind of torment that must be, right? And this lasts forever. It's important to be faithful to Scripture, especially to the words of Jesus, and at the same time to seek and deny or ignore the truths that they teach regarding the suffering of the wicked in hell. As we see, the Scriptures, especially the Gospels, describe hell as a place of indescribable suffering. It's rightly said that the bliss of heaven goes beyond the power of the mind to comprehend and the power of human language to communicate. According to the scriptures, the same may be said of the suffering and the terrors of hell. It's important to remember that although the doctrine of hell is repulsive to many, it is nevertheless most certainly true. It's important to understand that hell is not a place where the wicked are cruelly tortured, rather it is where they suffer perfect justice for their sin. The world don't want to look at it that way, does it? It does not. God is not cruel. The world teaches us that God is cruel. And for those who want to tell you that, my words to you is to tell them they believe a lie. God is not cruel. He does not gleefully torture his enemies. In fact, the Bible teaches that God takes no pleasure in death of the wicked. Nevertheless, God is the God of justice and hell is the place where that justice is dispensed on the wicked and they receive the exact measure of punishment that is due to them. It goes on in our lesson to say in the following scriptures, how does Jesus describe hell and the suffering therein? We look at Luke 16, 28. For I have five brothers. In order that he may warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. Do y'all remember this parable? Lazarus, the poor man. And the rich man. The rich man. He doesn't make it to heaven, he goes to hell. And he's talking. To the father. And he said, please, for I have five brothers in order that he may warn them so they will not come to this place in torment. So how bad it must be. He says this word for torment refers to severe pain often associated with torture. However, we must remember that hell is not a place of demonic torture, as we have seen it described in Dante's Inferno. Rather, it's a place of perfect justice, where every man is paid the exact measure of what he deserves. He says it's a place where weeping and gnashing of teeth, Matthew 8, 12. What does it say? But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness and at the place that will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. What do you think about weeping and gnashing of teeth? Everyone talks about weeping and gnashing of teeth. They're crying out and they're grinding their teeth. Have you ever been so scared or so upset that you ground your teeth? Try to imagine. Sorry about that. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. What torment. The following two passages of scripture reveal to us something that the indescribable suffering in hell So let's see what they say. Luke 16, 19-31. A little lengthy, but we'll get through it. Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a 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 coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died and was buried. And Hades, he lifted up his eyes being in torment and saw that Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger and 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 here." and you are in agony and besides all this between us and you there is a great chasm fixed so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able and that none may cross over from there to us and he said then i beg of you father that you send him to my father's house For I have five brothers, in order that the man may warn them, so they will not also come to this place of torment. But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. But he said, no father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. But he said to them, if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead. Because the story of the rich man and Lazarus has similar characteristics to a parable, some have sought to dismiss the deception of hell as merely figurative. However, although it is uncertain how literally we should interpret every detail of the story, there are certain undeniable truths that can be gleaned. After death, there is a separation of the righteous and the wicked, and the righteous are comforted with eternal reward, while the wicked suffer eternal and conscious punishment. Eternity with a conscious punishment. They know it. They feel it. It's never ending. And his desire was to send Lazarus back to his five brothers so they could hear. And he said, well, he's got Moses and the prophets. If they don't hear them, they're not going to hear anybody else. Why is it so important for us to share the gospel? They got to hear it, right? We can't make them believe it, right? But they got to hear it. Hell is real. Revelations 14, 9 through 11. Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast in his image and receives the mark on his forehead or his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his anger. And he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. and the smoke of the torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." So what do you think about that? Any thoughts? So is the way we look at hell, is it starting to change now? I'm telling you, I really didn't think of it the way Paul Washer had it laid out here. And I'll be the first to admit, I always just thought it was the complete absence from God. But to realize that his wrath and his judgment, that stays his place. It's never ending. It never ceases. It is forever. And we looked at the verse where it talked about mixing his wrath and his anger. It's indescribable and it's heartbreaking. And it ought to make us have a new desire to get out and share the gospel with those who we love, right? And even to the point of examining ourselves to make sure that we are where we need to be. Are we under the divine guidance and providence of God? Or are we the ones who are saying, I followed you, I ate with you, I heard you teaching in the streets. Is there a difference? Absolutely. Is Christ our Lord today and forever? Does he take preeminence in everything that we do today and everything that we do from sports to hunting, to fishing, to work, even coming to church? Does he take preeminence in everything we do? Is he our Savior? If he is, then is he our Lord? Capital L-O-R-D. Because if he's not, we're describing where our eternity is going to be, right? And it should give us a firm desire to share the truth with everyone that we meet. Number three, although the Bible makes it clear that every inhabitant in hell will suffer unspeakable torment, it also teaches that his suffering will be according to the sinfulness of each person's life. What do the following scriptures teach us about this truth? Matthew 11, 21 through 24. In the smoke of the, I'm sorry, woe to you. Why don't I read these before? How do you say that word? Corazin, woe to you, but I can't talk. For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, which occurred to you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Captain Noam, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades, for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom, which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless, I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. We've been over the scripture before and talking about how to be more tolerant in Sodom than it is for you today. The reason why it is today is because we know we have the Bible. It tells us what's going to happen. We have God's scripture that tells us. We have the knowledge of who God is. Whether we accept to believe it or not, That's on us, but it's there. And when we think about God's wrath and judgment and trying to get an understanding on what hell is, what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? Anybody? It was, how destroyed was it? To this day, it is still what? Ashes. Nothing's growing, right? That's something, you know, we just kind of pass it over as a fairy tale or whatnot, but it's real, it happened, and it's an example of the wrath and the anger and the torment that God can give. His final judgment, we've got to realize that He is a holy God, and He is just and He is true, right? Luke 12, 47 through 48. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in according with his will will receive fanny lashes. But the one who did not know and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and to him they are entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. Again, we know we have the scripture. We are to get out and proclaim who Christ is, what God has done for us, what great love to understand that we do not do anything on our own, that we get no glory for anything. God gets all the glory. He is the creator. He is a sustainer. He is the one who loves us. He is the one who provides everything that we need. Even this morning as we sit here, we come together in this air-conditioned building, right? And we can do it freely without persecution. We are here. And when we leave this building, what do we do? Do we tell people the good news? I pray we do. Does it reflect in our lives? Does it show in our character and how we walk outside of these four walls? Do we understand that hell is a real place? And does it break our hearts like the brother did for his other five brothers? To go out and warn them? We know. We know. Therefore, the punishment is greater. Matthew 23, 14. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation." And then in Mark 12, 38 through 40, in his teaching, he was saying, beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and like respectful greetings in the marketplaces. and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor and banquets, who devour widows' houses and for appearances' sake offer long prayers, these will receive greater condemnation." Again, we cannot work our way into heaven. All glory must be given to God. We must surrender to his will and be obedient to his word, the way it is written. We cannot add anything to it. We cannot take anything away. If we are faithful to the faithful one, we will follow his commandments, right? We will love him. Paul Washer says here in his notes in Matthew 11, 21 through 24, and Luke 12, 47 through 48, we learn that men are held responsible according to the revelation that has been given to them. In Matthew 23, 14 and Mark 12, 40, we learn that men will also be judged according to the severity of their sins. And that leads us to unending punishment, unending punishment. Anybody got any questions or thoughts before we move on? I think they would because, like I said, the rich man, he remembered that water quenched a thirst. Am I right in that? And he remembered Lazarus and he remembered his brothers and he was longing. Right. There's nothing you can do. Right. Good thought. Good question. Anybody else? All right. Undinting punishment. Possibly the most frightening truth about hell is that it is everlasting. All who pass through its gates are without any hope of future redemption or restoration. They are forever condemned. This truth is probably the most repulsive one to those who reject the biblical doctrine of hell. How can undinting punishment be just? And does the punishment far exceed the crime? Again here, now we're having a humanistic view of a holy God, right? How can unending punishment be just, and does the punishment far exceed the crime? When thinking about the everlasting nature of hell, two truths must be considered, he says here. First, we must take into account the abhorrent nature of sin. Sin committed against an infinitely worthy God is deserving of unending punishment. Second, we must realize that the punishment of hell is eternal because the wicked continue in the rebellion without repentance throughout eternity. We must not assume that the wicked will repent on the day of judgment or even after a short stay in hell. Rather, their hatred of God, hardness of heart, and shameless rebellion will continue throughout eternity. Everlasting rebellion demands everlasting punishment. So the first thing he asks here is, how is hell described in the following scriptures? Consider what these descriptions communicate to us about the eternal nature of hell. Matthew 18.8. If your hand or your foot caused you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. Matthew 25, 41. Then he will also say to those on his left, depart from me, accursed ones, and to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. And then Jude 7. just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example of undergoing the punishment of eternal fire." What do the three verses have in common? Eternal fire. Eternal fire. When we look at Sodom and Gomorrah, we see the aftermath, but it is eternal. There's still suffering. That's something we cannot grab a hold of, right? Eternal fire. Unending. It is forever. And then some. Matthew 25, 46. as we look at the eternal nature of hell. It says, these will go away into the eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. These will go away into eternal punishment. It's important to note that the eternal life is mentioned in the same verse as eternal punishment. If we accept the doctrine of the eternal bliss of the righteous in heaven, we must also accept the doctrine of eternal punishment of the wicked in hell. Again, things that we don't typically think about. 2 Thessalonians 1.9. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord from the glory of His power. Eternal destruction. Although some would wrongly argue that the word destruction indicates a ceasing of existence, the word eternal renders this interpretation impossible. and hell the wicked are given over to an existence that can rightly be described as continuous destruction unending unending I can't imagine what that must be like I'm pretty sure that some of us will get caught up in our own self-pity, right? And think, not this again today, right? As I get older, my hands hurt all the time, my knee. It just really makes me look forward to getting even older, right? But they don't even come an ounce close to what this eternal destruction, this eternal punishment is. I can't even fathom it. I can't even describe it. Why do the following biblical texts teach us about the eternal nature of hell and eternal punishment measured out upon the wicked? We look at Matthew 25, 41. Then he will also say to those on his left, depart from me, accursed ones, and to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. So what do we see in this verse, anybody? Depart from them. There's no second chance. Accursed ones, those are the wicked ones, the ones who will not believe. And to the eternal fire, we already discussed this, eternal fire is part of the nature of hell, right? It is real, it's tormented. We've seen scripture that explained how the man was being tormented and how he thirsted just to quench because the fire was burning him up, right? And to the eternal fire which has been prepared, what does that mean? It's set aside, it's already made for the devil and his angels. Mark 9, 47 through 48. If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Eternal torment. Looking again at the eternal nature of hell. where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Revelations 14, 9 through 11. Then another angel, a third one, followed them, sang in a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast in his image and receives the mark on his forehead on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone, and the presence of the holy angels, and the presence of the lamb. And the smoke of the torment goes up forever and ever, that they have no rest day and night. We remember what day and night means in scripture, right? Ever waking moment. To those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. So what does that tell you about the eternal nature of hell and the eternal punishment that is measured out? It's everlasting, right? It's everlasting. It goes up forever and ever. Many who deny the eternal nature of hell would never deny the eternal nature of heaven. However, as mentioned above, consistency requires that if one rejects the eternal nature of hell, he must also reject the eternal nature of heaven. How does Jesus demonstrate this logic? So before we get started on that, are there any thoughts on how we see society today that will try to acknowledge who Christ is, but do not acknowledge the punishment of sin? What do we see today? Abortion. There is no fear, right? Marriage. I know it comes up every week, but it's the truth. Right? We see many churches today that are affirming women pastors, right? So you see, we can't have one without the other. Heaven is real, hell is real. Again, it's something I never gave much thought to, and I'm thankful for this study. It really puts things into perspective, right? So according to Matthew 25, verse 46, it says, the wicked go away into eternal punishment, and the righteous go away into eternal life. These will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. So as we look at this, it would be inconsistent to give two conflicted meanings to the same word in the same sentence. If eternal punishment does not really mean that the wicked are punished forever, then eternal life does not really mean that the righteous live forever in the presence of God. Any thoughts or concerns or questions? I hope that helps you. It helped me. Like I said, it's some things I never thought about. It was a very eye-opening study for me. Any prayer requests before we close? Yes. My uncle has the one who has a heart. He has surgery sometime in November. I don't really know the way that I managed with it. It was pretty odd. She said something about a 1 in 10 chance, but I don't know if that was a 1 in 10 chance of coming out of it or a 1 in 10 chance that it won't work. Either way, he has very, very small arteries, and so it's just a pretty difficult