The Reality of Hell
Notes
Transcript
Hell, we think it’s a bad word. So some use H-E-Double hockey sticks When they say it!
Jesus was not afraid to talk about it, in fact He talked about it more than anyone else in the Bible.
Yet we simply don’t like to talk about it, maybe because we can’t imagine that a loving God could make such a place.
That is true if you focus only on the love God. To have any understanding our focus needs to be on the justice of God.
Even so we saw last week that such a place is a reality in the heavenly places.
It is just as real as Heaven.
What do you think of when you think of Hell?
Dante’s Inferno — Show Picture
There is a place for the Greeks the gates to Hades — Show picture
There was a time when Hell was one the major topics on Sundays and in Gospel meetings.
I grew up hearing the good old preachers preach hellfire and brimstone sermons, where people rushed to the altar because they were terrified of that place — Bang the pulpit and yell like they did develop the image!
Today pastors and preachers like to only preach and teach on the touchy feely fluffy subjects. You know subjects that make you feel good instead of subjects that make you feel uncomfortable!
Thats is why hell is avoided!
Hell should make you uncomfortable!
In spite of its reality many believe that hell does not exist, or if it does God won’t leave you there for all eternity.
R.C. Sproul, “The concept of hell was not invented by Johnathan Edwards, by John Wesley, or by any of the frontier revial preachers. Neither was it invented by the Reformers of the 16th century or by Thomas Aquinus or by Augustine. It is a Biblical concept, and almost everything that we learn about hell in the Bible comes to us, oddly enough from the lips of Jesus himself.”
You know from those passages that liberal and progressive theologians chose to ignore.
Like this one for our lesson today — Luke 16:19-31
19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day.
20 And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
21 and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores.
22 Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23 And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms.
24 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 in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’
25 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.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’
27 And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—
28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’
29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
30 But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’
31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
Are you ready for the message God has for us today?
Cool let’s dig in!
How should we understand what Jesus said?
How should we understand what Jesus said?
Here is something to think about: What if we take the description symbolically or metaphorically?
Now, hear me out here, we are not denying its existence first of all, we are trying to understand it.
Second, symbolic or metaphorical language in Scripture is meant to demonstrate likeness to reality.
A symbol is not the reality itself.
The questions becomes then is the reality more intense or less intense than the symbol.
Some might take comfort when reading about outer darkness, gnashing of teeth, or eternal fire being merely symbolic.
We should be worrying about the reality to which these symbols point being more ghastly than the symbols themselves!
So even though we may not have all the answers about hell and what it is really like, the imagery our Lord uses suggests that it is a place we don’t want to go.
A place of gruesome unspeakable pain and torment, a place of destruction!
9 These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
“Destruction” is the loss of all that gives worth to existence, ruin, worthlessness.
This what happens outside the presence of God, a worthless existence away from the blessings of God’s glory.
This is what the rich man was experiencing the torment of a worthless existence more intense that what Lazarus had experienced in life.
The teaching of the rich man and Lazarus
The teaching of the rich man and Lazarus
A teaching of Jesus significant to the discussion of hell is our passage of Luke 16:19-35.
Jon Sweeney, author of “Inventing Hell” (pg. 9); “As Hades was to the ancient Greeks, and Gehenna to first-century residents of Jerusalem, Hell was a real place and a proper noun to medieval Christians, Dante among them.”
In our passage this morning consider what Luke 16:19 teaches
19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day.
That word “there was” — a verb that is showing actuality or reality.
As much as there had been a rich man the places Jesus is describing are real places.
In this parable or narrative, depending on how you interpret it, Jesus is talking about a real place.
Even in parables we understand that when Jesus barrows form nature, life, or a story, He never presents anything that conflicts with the teaching of God’s word.
This means Jesus would not make a statement that would be fundamentally incorrect or untrue!
In this passage then Jesus is describing something that is not in conflict with any other teaching of God’s word.
Then in inverses 25-31 there is a verbal exchange across the great gulf between Abraham and the rich man.
We see in these verses that the rich man is seeking even the slightest bit of relief.
I do agree with some that the fact the Abraham and the rich man can see each other across gulf does not necessarily mean that people in hell can see people in heaven, and of course in heaven looking into hell.
However, “Because Jesus draws this picture, it’s hard to resist the inference that that is the case.” — R.C. Sproul pg. 82
A point Jesus seems to be making in the torment of the rich man is that a sinner in Hell would do anything, give anything to make their sin committed in life less, even one sin less.
In seeking relief from pain the rich man begs help from the beggar.
He begs for mercy! The very thing he did not show Lazarus in life!
Perhaps, in torment he has learned or understands the pain he is suffering is just?
Hell as Jesus describes it
Hell as Jesus describes it
The main thing Jesus seems to be teaching in this passage is Heaven and Hell are real separate places that exist in the eternal heavenly realm.
Once a person goes to one place or the other that’s it!
27 And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment,
Despite what some believe there is no second, third fourth, or bazillion chances in eternity.
This life is the only chance!
Let’s put this with the descriptions of hell used by Jesus
Outer Darkness — Gnashing of teeth
Because of the sin committed in this life a person in Hell will find that his relationship with God will not improve.
As the person experiences the outer darkness, they weep, they gnash their teeth in ever greater hatred of their maker!
“Darkness” — Hell is a place where the radiance of God’s glory does not exist!
Destruction from the presence of God
We believe in the Omni's of God — Omniscience (All Knowing), Omnipotent (All Powerful), Omnipresent (Everywhere Present).
In some way then the presence of God is/will be felt in hell.
The people there then would love it if God would just desert them, leave them alone!
This is because this is a place where the grace and blessings of God are absent!
In this world — Matthew 5:45
45 so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
The absence of the blessings and grace of God would be worse than anything we could ever imagine.
We should take no comfort in hell being the absence of God!
God’s presence in Hell is not gracious, it’s in judgment!
“He is presence in Hell as the One who executes His justice on those who are there” — R.C. Sproul
Conclusion
We can call this place Gehenna, Hades, Hell, torments, does not matter what you call it the simple fact is this place is a reality!
The symbols Jesus uses to describe hell should be enough to tell us that this is a place we don’t want to go!
Let’s hear the plea of Scripture — Hebrews 2:1-4
1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment,
3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
What are you going to do based on what God has said today?