"What the Bible Says About Hell"

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*Acts 4:12 (repeat)

*John 3:16

Sermon Title: “What The Bible Says About Hell”

1. Descriptions of Hell

2. Reason for Hell’s Existence

3. The Punishment of Hell

4. Conditions of the Inhabitants of Hell

5. Major Words for Hell

Scripture Passage: Luke 16:22-23, Matthew 25:41-46

Text: 22 “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.” (Luke 16:22–23 ESV).

Scripture: Matthew 25:41–46

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’

45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

PRAY

Introduction

It is a common belief that… hell designates the place of future punishment for the wicked.

Satan hates the doctrine of an eternal hell.

Many groups today (some calling themselves evangelical) either deny the existence of hell or make it a place of annihilation.

Satan has even used mythology to discredit the existence of hell in modern minds—such as the character Mephistopheles from Faust; the River Styx; and Pluto, who is conceived to be the ruler of this region in the depths of the earth (Dante’s Inferno); and so on.

*Today is an overview introduction of Hell… we will have two more sermons…

I. Descriptions of hell:

A. Hell is described as a place of everlasting fire (Matt. 25:41) and eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46).

41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

B. Jesus also called hell a place of “outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12).

“while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The “children of the kingdom” to whom he referred were apparently Jews who, because of natural birth, considered themselves automatically children of the kingdom of God.

C. Paul referred to hell as a place of everlasting destruction (2 Thess. 1:9).

9 “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,”

D. Perhaps the most common description of hell is found in John’s revelation: “The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20).

II. The reason for hell’s existence: (Why is there a Hell?)

A. Jesus clearly taught that hell was prepared “for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). The inference is that human beings who go there must choose the philosophy and lifestyle of Satan’s kingdom over the invitations of God.

B. Hell exists for the wicked. “But the fearful, the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

C. Hell exists for those who are disobedient. “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile” (Rom. 2:8–9).

D. Hell was also prepared for the fallen angels. “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be served unto judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).

E. Hell awaits those who reject the gospel. “Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city” (Matt. 10:15).

III. The punishment of hell:

A. The punishment of hell will be eternal, everlasting. “They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev. 20:10 NIV).

B. It will be a painful punishment. “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:49–50).

C. Apparently the punishment of hell will vary in degree, according to the opportunity one had to avoid hell.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation” (Matt. 23:14).

D. The punishment of hell will be unchangeable, revoking the possibility of a “second chance” (see Luke 16:22–31).

22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’

25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—

28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’

30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

(here and now we preach that God is a God of 2, 3rd and 4th chances…)

IV. The condition of the inhabitants of hell:

A. They will be able to remember people, events, and opportunities in the earthly life (Luke 16:23-25).

23 “and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.”

B. They will cry for release (Luke 16:24).

24 “And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’”

C. They will have no escape from the sovereignty of God (Ps. 139:8).

8 “If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”

**Nurses testimony at a death bed…

V. Major words for hell in the Scriptures:

A. “Sheol” occurs sixty-five times in the Old Testament and is translated thirty-one times “hell” and three times “pit.”

The general idea is “the place of the dead,” not the grave, but the place of those departed from this life. It is used both for the righteous and the wicked.

(righteous: Ps. 16:10; 30:3; Isa. 38:10; et al.; wicked: Num. 16:33; Job 24:19; Ps. 9:17; et al.).

B. “Hades”—one of the New Testament terms rendered “hell”—is similar in significance to the Old Testament “Sheol.” It refers to the underworld, or the region of the departed. It occurs eleven times in the New Testament and is rendered “hell” every time with one exception. (1 Cor. 15:55, “grave”).

Hades is the state in which all the dead exist. In the New Testament a descent to Hades may simply refer to someone's death and disembodied existence.

Jesus associated judgment and suffering with the condition of the inhabitants of “Hades” (Matt. 11:23).

C. “Gehenna,” or “the valley of Hinnom,” was a place where the Jewish apostasy, the rites of Molech, were celebrated (1 Kings 11:7).

King Josiah converted the valley of Hinnom into a place of abomination where dead bodies were thrown and burned (2 Kings 23:13–14).

The word occurs twelve times in the New Testament and in every case denotes the eternal state of the lost after the resurrection.

Christ’s descent was into “Hades” (intermediate state) and not into “Gehenna.”

Conclusion

We can be certain of this: hell is eternal and is primarily to be considered a place of separation from God.

In the final analysis, everything else is incidental.

No light there, Suffering is there, God is not there,

PRAY

Invitation

“Are you born again?”

Is your name written in the Lambs Book of Life?

“Have you surrendered/repented to Jesus?