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And you know, as I look at 2
Timothy 2.15, to rightly divide the word of truth, I'm reminded
in this series so far, we've been doing that. in a number
of areas. We've looked at the three tenses
of salvation. We've looked at justification
versus practical sanctification. We've looked at the natural,
spiritual, and carnal man. We've looked at the family of
God versus fellowship with God. We've looked at the relationship
of the gift of salvation to the believer's reward. We've looked
at the ministries of the Holy Spirit. We've looked at the eight
biblical covenants, the differences between Israel and the church,
the various judgments and so forth. And today we're going
to begin distinguishing between the three hells of the Bible. And there are three distinct
places that we put into one general category called hell. A quote from a book written by
Chuck Swindoll in his Growing Deep in the Christian Life, he
says this, It's not unlikely that within
the last 24 hours you've heard someone say, what the hell are
you doing? Or, I sure as hell will. Or, who in the hell do you think
you are? Now, I'm quoting, remember? OK.
That word, yes? No, you don't need to. Just leave
it as part of it. OK? That word hell has become a conversational
byword in our day. Good friends dare to say playfully
to one another, go to hell. They surely don't mean go to
the place of punishment for the wicked after death, though that
is how the dictionary defines the word hell. But why use the
word hell? Why not instead, what the jail
are you doing? Or I sure as school will. And
why not say, oh, go to Chicago? simply because jail, school,
and Chicago, even for the enemies of each, have no real sting. They have only the flavor of
vanilla at a time when chocolate or peppermint is needed. When
it comes right down to it, in the English language, hell is
the strongest expletive available that carries the idea of ultimate
deprivation, devastation, fear, torment, punishment, suffering,
and loss. Whether or not the user of the
term hell believes in an actual literal hell is of little or
no consequence. There is an inbuilt, inarticulated,
yet understood bite in the very word itself. Swindoll goes on
to say, so if hell really is the place of eternal punishment
of the wicked after death, how comes it's used so lightly, millions
and millions of times each day? Why is there such an apparent
lack of seriousness about the word? Why is a word so heavy
with meaning used so indifferently? Why do people pretend the place
doesn't exist? When is the last time you heard
a serious sermon on the subject or read an article of note dealing
with judgment and eternal punishment? Even the evangelical crowd has,
by and large, avoided the topic, opting for a more positive approach. Hell has come on hard times.
Deep below the surface of things, a proliferating erosion concerning
the seriousness of hell, brought on by a complex web of modern
ideas about hell. has stripped this weighty word
of most of its awesomely solemn content." And I agree. I mean, hell is a word that has
a lot of bite to it. It is not to be used lightly. In fact, Billy Graham, in his
book, Facing Death and the Life After, says, whatever happened
to hell? In contemporary society, hell
is not a popular subject. George Gallup made a survey on
hell, and there were some interesting results in his national poll.
53% of the general population of the United States said they
believe in hell. The percentage goes down dramatically among
people with a college education and those with high incomes.
Simply stated, the Gallup poll shows that the more education
and more money people had, the less likely they were to believe
in hell. And then he goes on to state
some other things. In fact, kind of interesting,
I remember I read a stat recently I shared with you, I think. Do
you remember what it was? How many people think they're
going to go to hell? It's a very small amount. In fact, to every person who
thinks they're going to go to hell, like 150 think they're
going to heaven. But that is just typical. Because
one, we don't understand how to go to heaven. And two, we
don't think we're that bad. And number three, we don't think
God is that holy. therefore, of course, and then
there's false teaching that comes along like the Jehovah Witnesses
who have been trained a little bit in the Greek words or the
Hebrew words of Hades and Gehenna and Tartarus and Sheol and if
you are uninstructed and Undiscerning about those words they can spin
this argument because they don't believe in an eternal retribution
they believe in a annihilation They do not believe hell goes
on forever, and that you are tormented day and night, forever
and ever. They believe there's just an
annihilation, as it were, for the unredeemed, per se. And so, there are three words,
four in particular, if you go through the Hebrew, that we need
to become familiar with, that are all translated by the word
hell in your Bible. First of all, its designation.
First word is Sheol. That's the Hebrew word. The Greek
word is Hades. And they're both translated hell
in the Bible. Now, Sheol occurs about 65 times. This word Sheol. 65 times in the Old Testament, and
it is translated grave some 30 times, and hell some 30 times,
and pit a few times. So you've got grave, it's translated,
it's translated hell, and it's translated pit occasionally.
Context determines. The word sheol is the Hebrew
word for the lower parts of the earth. and can refer to the grave
or the place of judgment. And I'll just show you the verses
here. Habakkuk, well, I guess not. Let's go to Habakkuk chapter
two. Habakkuk chapter two. Some pronounce
this Habakkuk as well. I like Habakkuk myself. Back in chapter 2, verses 4 and 5. Behold the proud! His soul is
not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. Familiar
with that verse at all? found three times in the New
Testament. Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, he's a
proud man and does not stay at home because he enlarges his
desire as hell. And he is like death and cannot
be satisfied. He gathers to himself all nations
and heaps up for himself all peoples. We see the word hell there, and
that is a translation of the Hebrew word Sheol. Now it's interesting to note
the phrase, the just shall live by faith, is quoted three times
in the New Testament. Once in Romans, once in Galatians,
once in Hebrews. So this is a very important verse. The Scofield Note from Habakkuk
chapter 2 verse 5 says, the Hebrew Sheol is, in the Old Testament,
the place to which the dead go. Number one, often, therefore,
it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, where all human
activities cease, the terminus toward which all human life moves. So it's used of the grave. And
it's found in Genesis 42, 38, where he said, my son shall not
go down with you, for his brother is dead and he is left alone.
If any calamity should befall him, Jacob said, along the way
in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hair with
sorrow to the Sheol. to the grave. This is Jacob protesting
about letting his son go to Egypt, which Joseph was requiring. In
Job 14, 13, all that you would hide me in the grave, that you
would conceal me until your wrath is passed, that you would appoint
me a set time and remember me. Again, the word is Sheol, grave,
the place where the dead go. Psalm 88.3, for my soul is full
of troubles and my life draws near to the grave. To the grave. A second thing
the Scofield note says, to the man under the sun, the natural
man who of necessity judges from appearances, she all seems no
more than the grave. The end and total cessation not
only of the activities of life, but also of life itself. And
by the way, this is where the Jehovah Witnesses sometimes go
to these verses in Ecclesiastes, to try to prove their point.
The problem is Ecclesiastes is largely how man, apart from divine
viewpoint, looks at life from human viewpoint. And how does
the natural man look at human life? He looks at it as, well,
when I'm dead, I'm dead. Activity ceased. Number three,
but scripture reviews Sheol as a place of sorrow. 2 Samuel 22,
6, Psalm 18, 5, 116, 3, into which the wicked are turned,
Psalm 9, 17, and where they are fully conscious, Isaiah 14, 9
through 17, Ezekiel 32, 21. Compare Jonah 2, 2, what the
belly of the great fish was to Jonah. Sheol is to those who
are therein. The Sheol of the Old Testament
and Hades of the New Testament are identical. Okay? So when you're talking about
hell in the Old Testament, and by the way, there are not a lot
of references to hell in the Old Testament, but the word that
is used is the Hebrew word Sheol. Its New Testament equivalent
is the word Hades, which we'll look at in a little bit. Number two. Hades is the Greek
synonym for Sheol. and was the place for the saved
or unsaved dead prior to Christ's work on the cross. And I'd like
you to go with me to the book of Luke, chapter 16. Now, there are those even good
Bible teachers at times that dismiss this passage and dismiss
this idea that Hades had two categories, but I don't know
how they can do that with a normal, literal understanding of the
passage. And furthermore, this is not
a parable, because parables do not use specific names like Abraham
and Lazarus, which are found in this passage. In Luke chapter
16, we begin in verse 19. There was a certain rich man
who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously
every day. But there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring
to be fed with the crumbs from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked
his sore. Source so it was that the beggar
died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom the rich man
also died and was in and was buried and being in torments
in Hades He lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and
Lazarus in his bosom Now, you must always remember
that death refers to some kind of separation in the Bible. And in physical death, the soul
is separated from the body. And here in our passage, we see
that whether rich or poor, they both died. All human beings are
under the curse and will die physically apart from the rapture. And what a ride that must have
been to be carried into Abraham's bosom by the angels. And by the
way, that's where the old spiritual comes in. Swing low, sweet chariot,
coming for to carry me home. Where does that come from? I
looked over Jordan, and what did I see? Coming for to carry
me home. A band of angels coming after
me, coming for to carry me home. Where does that come from? This
passage right here. And by the way, we're thinking
of the black spirituals of the past. These people lived very
difficult lives. And many of them claimed to be
Christians. I hope they were. And they looked forward to the
next life. They looked forward to going
to heaven. They looked forward to the angels
coming to carry them home. Now we know prior to the cross
and prior to the ascension of Christ, that both the saved and
the lost went to Hades, the place of the dead here. Verse 24 goes
on to say, Then 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 for I am in torment, tormented in
this flame. Now, did the rich man know he
was tormented? Yes. Did he know who the people
were he was dealing with? Did he have reasonability? Did
he have consciousness? Did he have memory? He had all
of that. And he knew he was being in torment.
Verse 25, but Abraham said, son, remember, and notice you have
to have memory to remember. that in your lifetime you received
your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now
he's comforted and you are tormented. Now based on this verse is the
saying I've often said that I heard first from John White, for the
unsaved this life is the best it gets. For the saved, this
life is the worst it gets. It's only going to get better.
And that's exactly what that verse is saying. Going on, we read. What verse are we on? And beside
all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed,
so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor
can those from there pass to us. And so we see Hades clearly
has two compartments. There is a paradise side, and
there is a torment side, and there is a great gulf between
them in which you cannot cross over. You can't cross over. I find it interesting that Jesus
Christ takes a prophetic jab at the Pharisees in the crowd And he is indicating something
that would really strike at their core. Remember, the thinking
of the Pharisee was this. If you're righteous, you will
be what? Blessed. In what way? Physically. So the rich man should have been
viewed as righteous, and where does he end up? Torment. And most of the Pharisees were
rich, And here Lazarus is poor, so
therefore he would have been viewed as unrighteous, and it's
just the opposite. Just the opposite in this case. Going on, we read, verse 27,
and he said, I beg you therefore, Father, that you would send him
to my father's house, where I have five brothers, that he may testify
to them, lest they also come to this place of what? Torment
Abraham said to him they have Moses and the prophets. They
have the Word of God Let them hear them and he said no father
Abraham as if he was smarter than Abraham But if one goes
to them from the dead, they'll repent they'll change their mind
But he said to them if they do not hear Moses and the prophets
neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead
by the way, that's my conclusion if they ever find Noah's Ark
and Do you really think there's going
to be a great revival if they find Noah's Ark? No way. They
won't believe the Word of God. Why are they going to get saved
if there's Noah's Ark? Noah's Ark. And so we just read
the story of the rich man and Lazarus. We've just noted Sheol
in the Old Testament is the place of Hades in the New. There's
two compartments to this. Now, next we notice its description
in Destiny. Number one, Sheol or Hades consists
of two compartments, torment for the unsaved and paradise
for the saved. And we know paradise is now in
the third heaven. Second Corinthians 12 says, Paul
says, I knew a man in Christ, whether in the body or out of
the body, I cannot tell, but he was caught up into paradise. The next verse, he was caught
up into the third heaven. So paradise today is no longer
in Hades, which was viewed in the lower parts of the earth,
but paradise today is in the third heaven, the very throne
room of God. And so, Old Testament prior to
the cross concept, the redeemed went to paradise and enjoyed
the presence and blessings of God. The unsaved went to torment
due to their failure to put their faith in the Lord and his offer
of salvation to them. And this is the way it was. Number two, Sheol or Hades is
described as a literal place of torment. of conscious memory
in which a person's destiny is unchangeable. We just saw that
in our passage. Four times in this passage, Hades
is mentioned as a place of torment. Verse 23, and being in torments
in Hades. Verse 24, I am tormented in this
flame. Verse 25, but now He is comforting
you, you are tormented. Verse 28, lest they also come
to this place of torment. The unbeliever experiencing this
great pain, suffering, and anguish and torment has a greater evangelistic
vision than the average believer does. It's a place of conscious memory. It's a place in which the person's
destiny is unchangeable. You cannot cross over. There is no means of escape.
from the torment of hell. There is no second chances. There is no purgatory. The lost
are destined for eternal torment. And so, we see very clearly that
Sheol is the place of physical pain and torment. It's a place
of conscious memory again, as I noted. Number three, Hades is the temporary
place of God's judgment for the souls of people, and it will
eventually be cast into the lake of fire. Now keep in mind, the Bible says
that punishment is everlasting for the unsafe. But it does not
say that the everlasting punishment has to be in only one place. But it's everlasting. So when
an unbeliever dies today, where do they go? They go to Hades,
which no longer has a paradise side to it. and they await the
great white throne judgment in which they then are cast into
the lake of fire. Why? Because Hades is also cast
into the lake of fire. And so I've tried to explain
it before this way, utilizing our location here. When someone
gets in trouble with the law, they are usually put into the
St. Louis County Jail. They are incarcerated. They are awaiting their day in
court. One day they go to court, and
if found guilty, they are not usually put back in the St. Louis
County Jail. They move on to a more permanent
place of punishment. In the same way, when an unbeliever
dies today, they go to Hades. But Hades isn't the final place
of the punishment, though the everlasting punishment has begun. Just like while the believer
today goes upon death into the presence of the Lord in that
place that Christ has gone to prepare for them, that place
doesn't remain there. It eventually moves down and
lands on the new earth, doesn't it? And so, as you study the
Bible, these things become obvious. Now go to Revelation chapter
20. And you're familiar with this passage, but I want to just
point it out again. Revelation chapter 20. Now, chronologically,
this is after the Millennial Kingdom. And the final rebellion,
verse 10, the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of
fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.
By the way, they were thrown in a thousand years earlier and
they're still there, which clearly indicates it's not annihilation
and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And,
you know, sometimes they want to downplay the words forever
and ever. But that very phrase is used
of God in the book of Revelation, who lives forever and ever. And
that clearly means forever and ever. Verse 11, Then I saw a
great white throne, and him who sat in it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place
for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, standing before God. And the books were opened, and
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were
judged according to their works by the things which were written
in the books. The sea gave up the dead who
were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were
in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works.
Why? Because they didn't put their faith in Christ and his
work. Then death and, here's our word, Hades, were cast into
the lake of fire. Why? Because both death and Hades
are temporary. This is the second death. And anyone not found written
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And so again, if we're looking
at this chronologically, we're looking here at the great white
throne judgment, and where the unsaved are cast into the lake
of fire, but so is Hades cast into the lake of fire, or Sheol,
because it was simply the temporary holding place, as it were, for
the unsaved, though it was clearly a place of torment And as it
were, maybe you could say at the first stage of the everlasting
punishment that the unsaved experience. It is interesting to note, dear
students, that according to Revelation 118, Jesus Christ alone has the
keys of Hades and of death. And keys symbolize the authority
to lock or unlock the gates of hell, and only Christ paid the
penalty for our sin, and His resurrection is evidence of God
the Father's satisfaction with that payment. Therefore, the
Father is given all authority to judge mankind to His Son,
Jesus Christ. No rituals are the keys. No surrendering
of your life is the key. No church has the key. No works
of any kinds are the keys. Only Christ is the key. In fact,
he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me. Revelation 1 17 and 18 and when
I saw him I fell at his feet is dead But he laid his right
hand on me saying to me do not be afraid. I am the first and
the last I am he who lives and was dead and behold I am alive
forevermore amen, and I have the keys of Hades and of Now, before we go on to Gehenna,
let me pause and open it up for questions. Anyone have any questions
about what we've covered so far? Okay, Bailey? Okay. Obviously, we know that
that a place of punishment was established at the beginning
of time for those who were without Christ and who died. And we don't
know the first person that died physically, though it certainly seems to
be Abel. And Abel's body would be put
in the ground, but his soul had to go somewhere. His soul would
go into the presence of God because he was righteous and with our
understanding of scripture we would be He went to the paradise
to the paradise side of Hades To enjoy the presence of God
This would have been true of all of the redeemed in the Old
Testament Clearly there is the other side of the coin. And by
the way, when the Genesis flood came and God wiped out the whole
planet, the torment side of Hades had a major population growth. So, but God still had his redeemed
and there were those who he saved by his grace, through faith in
him, having some sense of need, having some sense of sin, having
some sense of holiness, having some sense of punishment, but
having a sense also that through faith in the Lord, they could
be forgiven and declared righteous, apart from ritual law and works. And so this is the way it was
until the Lord Jesus died. And remember, what did the Lord
Jesus even say to the thief on the cross? Today you will be
with me in paradise. And I believe that was the paradise
side of Hades. And I believe that Jesus Christ
upon death, what did his, while his body was in the grave for
three days, what was his soul doing during three days? went to paradise for one of the
things he did. Secondly, we're going to see he went and preached
to the spirits that were in prison. Did that as well, clearly. And
so there's some interesting things. Now, by the way, there are those
who falsely teach. And this is true of a group down
in the Milwaukee area who taught that on the cross, Jesus Christ
paid for our sins, but not completely. Then his soul was taken and tormented
by Satan and the demons for three days until he was raised from
the dead. That's just nuts. Again, it comes
from the Greek word, nutos. Now, what did Jesus say on the
cross? It is finished. You don't need demons and the
devil to torment him further. It's ridiculous. Now, a second
key word you're going to have to be familiar with is this word,
Tartarus. Tartarus. Which is also called
the Abyss. The two are the same place. And
it's not to be confused with Sheol and Hades. Its designation,
number one, this Greek word Tartarus, is found only in 2 Peter 2.4. Now, the word Tartarus is found
there. Reference to the same place is
found in a few other places, though. 2 Peter 2.4, so go there
with me. 2 Peter 2, verse four. Verse one. But there were also
false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers
among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even
denying the Lord who bought them and bring on themselves swift
destruction. And many will follow their destructive
ways. By the way, is that true today?
Just think of all the people following the prosperity gospel
preachers of today. Many will follow their destructive
ways because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed,
and by covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. For a long time their judgment
has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them
down to hell." Now, I just would put in my Bible right there Genesis
6. Delivered them into chains of
darkness to be reserved for judgment and did not spare the ancient
world but saved Noah One of eight people preacher of righteousness
bringing in the flood the world and then godly you can put Genesis
7 and 8 next to that and verse 6 in turning the cities of Sodom
Gomorrah and ashes, that's Genesis 18 and 19 There are three chronological
illustrations here of the fact that God does intervene in human
history by way of judgment. But we're after the word hell
in verse four. You see, that word hell in verse
four is the Greek word Tartarus. It's the only time it's found.
By that word. Number two, it's also called
the abyss in Luke 8 31, or the bottomless pit in Revelation
9 verses 1 through 3. Listen to
Luke chapter 8 verse 29. For he, Jesus Christ, had commanded
the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often
seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and
shackles. And he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into
the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, What
is your name? He said, Legion, because many
demons had entered him. And they begged him that he would
not command them to go out into the abyss. Now I want to ask
you a question, why would these demons, and by the way, the word
legion is a word for the multiplicity of demons, that indwelt this
person, why would he beg them not to be thrown into the abyss?
Because there was a select group of demons previously in human
history that were confined in chains of darkness in a place
called Tartarus, otherwise known as the abyss. The abyss. While it's close,
go to Revelation 9. Revelation 9. Verse 1. Remember, those demons knew of
the abyss. They knew what had happened to
their cousins. And they also knew who had the authority to
send them there. In Revelation 9 verse 1, Then the fifth angel
sounded, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To
him was given the key to the bottomless pit. You know what
the Greek word is? Abismos. The abyss. He opened the bottomless pit
and smoke rose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace
So the Sun in the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit
then out of the smoke Locusts came upon the earth and I believe
these are demons that look like Locusts and to them was given
power as the scorpions of the earth have power This angel will
release demons from the bottomless pit or the abyss and they will
spread over the earth like smoke with power to destroy like locusts
or inflict pain like scorpions. And so Tartarus, abyss, bottomless
pit are all referring to the same place. Now notice its description and
destiny. Number one, the word Tartarus
or abyss refers to a temporary place of God's judgment for select
fallen angels who king is Satan. In fact, we read again, the name
of their leader is Apollyon, which is a word for Satan here. Remember, Satan is the prince
of the power of the air. Under him are principalities,
powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts
of wickedness. Revelation 9 verse 11, And they
had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose
name in the Hebrew is Abaddon, but in the Greek he has the name
Apollyon. These demons bound in chains
of darkness still have a king over them named Abaddon or Apollyon. Now, what did these particular
angels do to deserve this judgment? What did they do? These angels were involved in
the unsuccessful satanic plot in Genesis 6 to destroy the bloodline
of the Redeemer, Since then are kept in chains of darkness Now
to see that I want you to see some verses. Let's go to Genesis
6 very quickly By the way, you know the the
movie Noah I Haven't seen it. I don't plan to see it. I don't
want to see it But with the reviews that I've read talk about a lot
of unbiblical things. In fact, it appears as though
the Rockmen that helped build the Ark are the sons of God that
are being referred to here. And someone snuck on the Ark. I mean, just dumb. Verse one, now it came to pass
when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and the
daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were beautiful and they took wise
for themselves of all whom they chose. Now, there's discussion
as to who the sons of gods are. Even in the Scofield Bible, there's
the view of the daughters of Seth or is it actually angels? I am absolutely convinced it's
angels. In fact, I think I could give about 12 reasons why it's
angels. And remember in this phrase,
sons of God, was used in Job chapter 1. That the sons of God
had to come and present themselves to the Lord, and Satan came also. Sons of God is a term for angels,
angelic beings, who in somehow wanted to cohabit with the daughters
of men in such a way that involved, I think, more than the possession
of a male body in order to do this. And they crossed a line
that God said, you do not cross. And as a result, their objective
was to somehow pollute and to derail the birth line of the
Messiah, and God took this select group of individuals, these demons,
and He took them right out of commission and He put them in
the abyss, the bottomless pit, or Tartarus. Verse 3, the Lord said, my spirit
shall not strive with men forever, for he is indeed flesh. Yet his
days shall be 120 years, as God is very gracious and gave them
time. And there were giants on the earth in those days. Those
are supposedly the rock men, I think, of the Noah movie. And
also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters
of men and they bore children to them, those were the mighty
men who were of old men of renown. Notice God's evaluation, verse
5. The Lord saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord
was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved
in his heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have
created. from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping
things and the birds of the air, for I'm sorry that I have made
them, but knoweth on grace in the eyes of the Lord." That's
the first reference to grace in the Bible. Not the first example
of grace, but the first reference directly to grace. And so we see here this satanic
plot of Genesis chapter 6. And only Noah and his family
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The rest of humanity had
been so corrupted by the influence or actual engendering of children
with these fallen angels that God had to destroy them all.
Some have estimated as many as four billion people. And start
over with just Noah and his family. So these fallen angels were cast
into Tartarus and held by chains of darkness. and tell their judgment. Now go with me, if you would,
to the book of Jude. Jude. And by the way, Jude and 2 Peter
definitely are related to each other. In fact, they make reference to
it. I think it's Jude that refers to 2 Peter. Now in Jude, we begin in verse
5. But I want to remind you, though
you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people
out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, they crossed
over the line that God had set up between man and angel, but
left their own abode He has reserved in everlasting chains, under
darkness for the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah
and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, a
similar manner to who? The Genesis 6 situation. And
in what way is it similar? Having given themselves over
to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh. The word strange means foreign
flesh. Set forth as an example suffering
the vengeance of eternal fire. What was the sin of Sodom and
Gomorrah? It was going after foreign flesh It was man going
after man or women going after women for in flesh What was the
sin of Genesis 6 a similar kind of sin? angels going after Women
Similar kind of sin The God says he would not tolerate He would
not tolerate. Now go with me to 1 Peter chapter
3. In 1 Peter chapter 3, We see something here regarding
our Lord, verse 18. For Christ also suffered once
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit. By the way, in the Greek text,
there is no the before the word flesh. There is no the before
the word spirit. Literally, put to death in flesh,
but made alive in spirit. by whom, literally in which state,
namely spirit, also he went, and the word went is the Greek
word that means to go on a journey, specific journey, he went and
he preached, karuso, this is not the word evangelizo, which
speaks of evangelizing, but proclaiming a message. And who did he go
and preach to? To the spirits. And the word
spirits in the New Testament, unless specifically in context
referring to human spirits, always refers to angelic spirits. He
went and preached to the spirits who were where? In prison. What is this prison? Tartarus.
What is this prison? The abyss. What is this prison?
The bottomless pit. Are we sure these are the same
people? Is this the same time element,
next verse, who formerly were disobedient? When, when once
the divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the
ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight souls, were
saved through water. So it even tells us historically
the context is the Genesis flood. So we've got Genesis 6 again
and 7 and 8 right here being referred to. That these are referring
to the same angelic beings. So this happened again, remember,
in the days of Noah. Jude six again and the angels
who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode
he has reserved into everlasting change under darkness For the
judgment of the great day. So notice this is temporary They're
waiting there for the judgment of the great day for them So number three after Christ's
return Carter's will function as a temporary prison and of
God's judgment for Satan and his angels during the millennial
kingdom on earth. So go with me to Revelation chapter
20. Excuse me. Revelation chapter 20. It is fascinating when you just
study the Bible, let it speak for itself, and then seek to
piece the puzzle together, how all this has a way of coming
together. Verse one, then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
having the key to the bottomless pit. By the way, chapter 19 is
talking about the Lord's return in the battle of Armageddon.
And he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the
devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and he
cast him into the abyss, the bottomless pit. And he shut him
up and he set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations
no more till the thousand years are finished. But after these
things, he must be released for a little while. And after the
thousand years, what does happen when he's released for a little
while? Verse 7, now when the thousand
years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison.
His prison. Do you remember the word prison
was used in 1 Peter 3, 19 as well? About the spirits in prison. and will go out to deceive the
nations which are on the four corners of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as
the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth
of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved
city, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured
them. So what then happened, verse 10, the devil who deceived
them, and his demons as well, we know from Matthew 25, 41 and
others, Was cast into the lake of fire
and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are and
they will be tormented day and night forever and ever And so number four after Satan's
last rebellion the abyss will be replaced by the lake of fire
Where Satan and his angels will be cast into? to be tormented
forever and ever. Hell is not annihilation. The
beast or the Antichrist and the false prophet will still exist,
having been tormented for the thousand years of the kingdom.
And Satan joins them and he's tormented forever and ever. And so we've seen Sheol slash
Hades. Who's that for? Initially for
both the saved and the unsaved. Change happens though after the
death and resurrection and ascension of Christ. There's Tartarus, the abyss,
the bottomless pit, only for certain demons initially. Eventually for Satan and all
the demons at the beginning of the millennial kingdom. and then
eventually replaced by our third word, namely Gehenna, or the
Lake of Fire. But I'm going to pause for a
moment and open it up for questions. Make sure everyone's tracking
with me. OK, Mike? Is the place for the Palm Angels on Mars,
would that be similar to the unsafe place of Hades? OK, the question is, will the
angels that are tormented experience similar things to people who
are cast into hell by way of wailing, gnashing of teeth, utter
darkness, sense of abandonment, and so forth? There's no mention
of wailing gnashing of teeth and so forth because angels don't
have teeth But there's clearly a sense of punishment In fact
the words that are used if you go to Matthew 25 41, let's just
go there for a quick minute Matthew 25 41 Then he will say to those on
the left hand, depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. It's called everlasting
fire. So similar terms that are going
to be, in fact, look at verse 46. And these on the left, the unsaved, will
go into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life. And so the people that are unsaved
will be cast into everlasting fire, they'll experience everlasting
punishment, and so will the angels. So, obviously, there's got to
be a tremendous similarity of the sense of torment that goes
on between the two. Also, the idea of darkness is
found in both cases. In fact, go to 2 Peter for a
quick moment here. 2 Peter, if you would. Now notice verse 4, for if God
did not spare the angels of sin, but cast them down to Tartarus,
and delivered them into what? Chains of darkness to reserve
for judgment. Notice chains of darkness. Now
darkness carries the idea of, again, abandonment, isolation,
and so forth. Now notice verse 17, in reference
to humans now. unsaved, unregenerate false teachers. These are wells without water,
clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness
of darkness forever." And notice, darkness is used in both cases.
So I think there's going to be a lot of similarity between the
two, though obviously angels don't have the same kind of bodies
that humans do. So there's no description of
wailing gnashing of teeth in that sense. But obviously profound,
intense, everlasting, unquenchable punishment, fire and darkness. Another question? Mark? Yes. I think the everlasting fire
Again, keep in mind everlasting fire first is experienced in
Hades But then ultimately is experienced in Gehenna So keep
in mind just like where does eternal life when we die, where
does eternal life? Where is it enjoyed? Third heaven,
where is it ultimately enjoyed? in New Jerusalem. But it's still
eternal life. In the same way everlasting punishment
and fire is experienced initially in Hades, its first phase if
you want to say it, but then since Hades is put into the lake
of fire, it's ultimately experienced there. But it's no less everlasting
in that sense. That make sense to you, Mark?
These are good things to think about, Travis. Yes. Yeah, similar. The sense you
get is just like Hades will be cast into Gehenna or the Lake
of Fire, Tartarus in a sense is either replaced, cast into,
so forth, into Gehenna too. So again, The people, the angels in Tartarus
are there in chains waiting everlasting punishment. But Tartarus isn't
the final place of the punishment. Gehenna will be, the lake of
fire. And by the way, Gehenna is used often by our Lord. He
used the term Gehenna quite often. Because you see, right outside
of Jerusalem was this city dump. in which bodies and animals and
criminals' bodies were put, and the fire was just stoking and
going all the time in the Valley of Hinnom. This is where they
get the word Gehinnah. And as a result, the Lord Jesus
used that as a word picture. for people to have a point of
reference to indicate what Gehenna or everlasting torment in the
lake of fire would be like. Because there was no lake of
fire he could refer to. Obviously, do any lakes have
fire? It doesn't usually work that
way. So it's the ultimate destiny
for the unsaved mankind and rebellious angels. Number one, Gehenna was
an actual place in the Valley of Hinnom, southwest of Jerusalem,
Joshua 15.8, where children were sacrificed to Moloch, which was
this pagan deity. And it was horrible. In fact, this is what they would
do. If you can visualize kind of a Buddha. In the belly of
the Buddha idol would be a flame of fire. And what these people
would do to try to appease these false deities is they would take
their babies and they would put them here towards the top and
the arms of the Buddha would act like slides or shoots. And the baby would be put there
and they would go right into the fire and be burned as a sacrifice. You say, how could people do
that? Well, how do people abort their children today? Same problem
as it were. They were sacrificed to Moloch
and was later used to dispose of garbage and dead bodies. Number
two, Jesus Christ repeatedly utilized the word Gehenna to
designate a place of eternal punishment for the lost. Eternal punishment. Number three,
Gehenna is synonymous with the lake of fire. Synonymous with the lake of fire. So let's see if we can keep all
this straight. Sheol, Old Testament, New Testament
counterpart is? Hades. Tartarus for angels. Other terms, two other terms,
abyss and bottomless pit, right? Okay, then you've got Gehenna,
also the lake of fire. And by the way, in your English
Bibles, they're all translated hell. So it's really nice to
have a little Greek text or something to know, well, which hell are
we talking about here? Though there's similarities between
them. So as we think of its description, number one, it is a place where
God is able to destroy both one's soul and body. Matthew 10, 28,
Jesus said, and do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot
kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both
soul and body in Gehenna, translated hell. Number two, it is a place
of God's damnation of the lost, including the religious lost. God's damnation of the lost,
including the religious lost. And then the Lord Jesus in Matthew
23, which was his scathing indictment against the religious leaders
of Jerusalem, says, That is so powerful. And what an indictment. Matthew 23, 33. Serpents, brood
of vipers, how can you extinguish the condemnation of Gehenna? Translated, hell. Number three,
it is a place of unquenchable fire. Unquenchable fire. Where the fire is constantly
lapping up, as it were, and can never be extinguished. It's used
that way in Mark 9, 43 and 45. Jesus said, if your hand causes
you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter
into life maimed rather than having two hands to go to Gehenna. into the fire that shall never
be quenched. And again, they would think of
the Valley of Hinnom, they would think of that constant flow of
fire that was there as a point of reference to a greater fire,
a place of punishment, a place of condemnation where the fire
shall never be quenched. In Matthew 9, 45, and if your
foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to
enter life lame rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell,
into the fire that shall never be quenched." And there's Gehenna
again. By the way, what are these verses talking about? If your
hand offends you, cut it off. Does Jesus want you to literally
cut off your hand and your foot? You know, you hear every once
in a while somebody who does something like this. Obviously
they're a little wacko. you know, to do that. But sometimes
they do. What's his point? I think in
the context, his point is this. Whatever is hanging you up from
getting saved, deal with it so you can get saved. I think that's
the essence. Because if you don't deal with
it, you're going to ultimately go to hell. Number four. It was originally prepared for
the devil and his angels. Matthew 25, 41. It's originally prepared for
the devil and his angels. And we saw that already. Depart
from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels. Number five, it is a place of
everlasting punishment. Everlasting punishment. And again,
we looked at this earlier. Matthew 25, 46. But these will go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Number six,
it is the final place of torment where the beast, the Antichrist,
and the false prophet, the devil and his angels, and all the unsaved
of mankind are cast. The beast, the Antichrist, the
false prophet are the first to enter into the lake of fire.
You know, some people think if you die and you go to hell today,
Satan is there with the welcome wagon. He's not there yet. He
doesn't want to go there, but one day He will be cast there
with His angels, and so will the unsaved of mankind. Again,
Revelation 19-20, in conjunction with our Lord's return to the
earth. Then the beast was captured and with him the false prophet
who works signs in his presence By which he deceived those who
received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his
image these two were cast Alive into the lake of fire burning
with brimstone Revelation 20 verse 10 a thousand
years later The devil was who deceived them was cast into the
lake of fire and brimstone Where the beasts and the false prophet
are and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever
and you know when you think of fire and brimstone What do you
think of when you think of fire and brimstone? What in the Old
Testament do you think of? Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
and they say that brimstone is salt sulfur, you know and That
some of these sulfur pellets and whatever can heat up to four
or five hundred degrees incredible heat incredible destruction But
they'll be tormented day and night forever and ever And then
we see regarding the unsaved humans, the death in Hades were
cast into the Lake of Fire, because the Lake of Fire is the ultimate
place of punishment. This is the second death, and
anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into where? Again, the Lake of Fire. The other word for the Lake of
Fire is Gehenna. Gehenna. Number seven, it is
referred to as the second death. eternal separation from God.
And it's called the second death in Revelation 20 verse 14. Then death and Hades were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And death always carries the
idea of separation. So we read in 2 Thessalonians
1, 8 and 9. Regarding the Lord who in the
future in flaming fire will be taking vengeance on those who
do not know God and on those who do not obey The gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ these shall be punished with everlasting
destruction From the presence of the Lord and from the glory
of his power Number eight it's only escape us through faith
alone in Jesus Christ alone as revealed in the gospel of grace Don't you love John 5, 24? Are
you familiar with it? Most assuredly, I say to you,
he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting
life and shall not come into condemnation or judgment. Why? Because he has passed, perfect
tense, from death into life the moment he has put his faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, questions for our break? Sheol, Hades, can you think it
through? Sheol, Hades. Tartarus, Abyss,
bottomless pit. Gehenna, Lake of Fire. All translated,
hell. But different places. And in
some cases, different groups. Some mankind, some angelic. Ultimately, both angels and men
that are unsaved are cast into the Lake of Fire. Okay? Now, you know, when I first heard
this kind of teaching, I was like, It's my life. And yet it's right there on the
pages of scripture, if you're willing to study it out and let
the puzzle pieces fall into place. Question, David? Okay. The question was, do we
know why people don't immediately go into the lake of fire? Why
is there stages to this? I don't really know why. It's
not unlike our judicial system, though. You know, when you think
about it. And perhaps their judicial system
of the past, I don't know. It's the way God chose to do
it. If someone has a great answer,
let me know later after we break.
Lessons 24 & 25 - Distinguishing The 3 Hells of the Bible
Series GIBS Biblical Distinctions '14
| Sermon ID | 4714199197 |
| Duration | 1:10:12 |
| Date | |
| Category | Teaching |
| Language | English |
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