Throne of Judgment
Notes
Transcript
God is so holy that nothing can stand in His presence, or even view His face.
God is so holy that nothing can stand in His presence, or even view His face.
Exodus 33:20
Exodus 33:20
But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
Hell is a commonly corrupted doctrine, and a favorite of the false teachers.
Jehovah’s Witnesses deny it, and many liberal theologians deny it.
I’ve often wondered about the motives of the person who denies hell. The Bible is so clear on its existence, that you can’t make a Biblical case against it.
So… let’s look at what Scripture has to say.
No one is exempt from God’s judgment. Everyone standing here has rejected Jesus Christ, and they will suffer the consequences.
Instead of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, they will be judged on their own righteousness, of which they have none.
Everyone at the Great White Throne will be judged on their own righteousness, of which they have none.
Everyone at the Great White Throne will be judged on their own righteousness, of which they have none.
Romans 3:10
Romans 3:10
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;
Our works are insufficient, and can never gain us a place in heaven.
Our works are insufficient, and can never gain us a place in heaven.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Hebrews 11:6
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
At this point, all will be found guilty and will be cast into the lake of fire.
I can only guess that the people who teach that hell doesn’t exist simply don’t believe the Word of God.
Rob Bell even goes so far as to teach universalism by stating that everyone will go to heaven whether they profess Christ or not.
And why wouldn’t you believe that if you don’t believe in hell? Where else are you going to go? Universalism is the logical progression from a denial of hell.
And if there is no need to profess Christ, then why did He die? You can see where this type of teaching leads.
While it may make people feel good to believe that God’s love will not send people to hell, its simply not the truth.
It is common for Christians to say “God doesn’t send people to hell, we send ourselves there.” However, that is not what Scripture says. Hell is real, and God does send people there.
Revelation 20:15
Notice that these people are cast into the lake of fire, they are not jumping in on their own.
Certainly people make the decision to reject Christ, and therefore accept the consequences of hell, but just as a criminal willfully breaks the law, his fate is not sealed until the judge sentences him to prison.
At that point, the criminal does not willingly drive himself to the prison and check himself in.
No. . . he is handcuffed and taken away.
In the same manner, a sinner’s fate is not sealed until God pronounces judgment.
At that point, they are cast into the lake of fire. Yes, God does send people to hell.
Let’s go ahead and look at an overview of the Biblical case for hell. First, understand that this was a very important topic for Jesus.
Hell is not a word we need to avoid. Jude tells us that we need to pull people out of the fire.
Hell is not a word we need to avoid. Jude tells us that we need to pull people out of the fire.
Jude 23
Jude 23
but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Jesus talks about a literal and eternal hell.
Jesus talks about a literal and eternal hell.
Mark 9:43-44
Mark 9:43-44
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 hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’
Matthew 25:46
Matthew 25:46
And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Notice that Jesus says that the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
It is a place where the body never burns up, and the fire never burns out! What’s more, Jesus was actually quoting the Prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah and Daniel also speak of eternal punishment.
Isaiah and Daniel also speak of eternal punishment.
Isaiah 66:24
Isaiah 66:24
“And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
Daniel 12:2
Daniel 12:2
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
In Revelation, John speaks of eternal torment.
In Revelation, John speaks of eternal torment.
Revelation 14:9-11
Revelation 14:9-11
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
As you can see, the Bible speaks very clearly about a place of eternal torment and punishment.
Some People teach that hell is real, but the soul is annihilated. The preceding verses, however, clearly teach that the soul is eternal.
Another teaching is that people in hell will eventually repent.
Though the preceding verses should be enough to refute that idea, the Bible has more to say on that.
There will be no repentance in hell.
There will be no repentance in hell.
Matthew 13:41-42
Matthew 13:41-42
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
This term “wailing and gnashing of teeth,” in the Greek, literally gives a picture of someone who is in a fit of anger and rage, not sorry and repentant.
People in hell will simply be angry and blaming God, not repentant.
Take the story of the Rich man and Lazarus. We see the rich man in hell, but he was not repentant, he still viewed Lazarus as a servant.
Notice that in verse 24 that he wanted Lazarus to bring him some water. This man’s attitude had not changed one bit!
Luke 16:19-31
Luke 16:19-31
“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 tormented in this flame.’
Yes, the Bible makes it very clear that hell is real, and that anyone whose name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire.
Without faith in Jesus Christ, and acceptance of the sacrifice that He made on your behalf, your name will not be recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and that is the only thing we should truly fear.
The only thing we should fear is not being in the book of life.
The only thing we should fear is not being in the book of life.
Matthew 10:28
Matthew 10:28
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 hell.
Hebrews 10:31
Hebrews 10:31
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The thought of hell may be fearful, but God’s amazing love shines through.
He gave us the escape that we didn’t deserve, and “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
He took the punishment that we deserved, when He could have simply turned His back.
Instead, God turned His back on Jesus, so that He would never have to turn His back on us.
As is emphasized throughout Scripture. There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.
There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.
There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.
John 14:6
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Acts 4:12
Acts 4:12
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
The acceptance of God’s grace couldn’t be easier.
The acceptance of God’s grace couldn’t be easier.
Romans 10:9
Romans 10:9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
