02.12.2012 A Scriptural Understanding of Hell

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Next week we will be beginning our Lenten series – I’ll be out of town – staying with my Mom while my dad is in the hospital. Jeff will be speaking on the Psalms – if you start next Sunday – and read 3 Psalms a day – you will finish the Psalms on Easter Sunday.
You can do it in a couple of ways – 1,2,3, one day, 4,5,6 – or you can do it my way – 1,51,101 one day, 2,52,102 on the next. This will be a really encouraging series – and if you participate for those 50 days, I promise it will be a blessing.
On Ash Wednesday we will have a casual, informal time of prayer and communion at 7:00.
Today, we are talking about hell – let’s pray
Lord, thank You as we have gone through this series on heaven and hell, we as believers can look forward to eternity with You on the new heavens and new earth – where all sorrow and pain will be eliminated, taken away by You. As we look at this topic, give us hearts that are broken before You to understand Your grace and mercy, and Your justice – to see how all of those work together. Our minds are too small, and You are too great, but help us to trust in You, to know that You are good.
When we started this series, I asked for questions – and a number of them were on this topic. What I would like to say about this- two things – first, from a theological/spiritual perspective, I will go through the verses on hell today. There are many verses and some are very clear (some are confusing) but many are clear. That is not a difficult thing – to quote verses. But a number of the questions were personal concerns – questions about loved ones and friends and how can I imagine them – if they never came to Jesus – that is not easy to answer and there is no proof-text for that – I don’t know what God does throughout a person’s life – and that is between them and God – and God knows. I will acknowledge up front that my answers will not satisfy those personal questions – but I will show what the Scripture and Jesus say about hell.
Rob Bell’s book – Love Wins – stirred a controversy and there are a lot of books that were written to counter that. And I am not going to talk about that. There are a lot of blogs and interwebs about that.
Having said that – I’d like to start with a section by Scot McKnight –
I wish I had written this – "I believe in heaven. I believe in heaven because Jesus did and I hope to believe in heaven as Jesus did. I believe in heaven because I believe in justice, in peace, and in love. I believe in heaven, in part, because of the apostles and the saints and the Reformers and Harriet Beecher Stowe and C.S. Lewis and Dorothy Sayers and Mother Teresa and the children in Rwanda.
I don’t, however, believe “heaven” is forever and ever. I believe that what is forever and ever is called the New Heavens and the New Earth, the time and place where heaven comes down to earth. The New Heavens and New Earth will be the fullness of flourishing.
But belief in the New Heavens and the New Earth also means I believe in hell. I believe in hell because Jesus did. And I hope to believe in hell as Jesus believed in hell. I believe in hell because I believe in justice, in peace, and in love.”
This has to start off a little technical:
First – do you know how many times the word HELL is used in the Bible? Zero. There is a word that is translated ‘hell’ in the Bible – especially by the newer translations – Gehenna – a Greek translation of a Hebrew word – the Hebrew word is where it comes from – most translate this as hell – because we understand that.
Matt. 5: 22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty [enough to go] into the fiery hell. (Gehenna)
This is used 11 times – by Jesus. The people listening knew exactly what He was talking about – because they knew the Hebrew Scripture and they knew History.
Valley of the Son of Hinnom – Gehenna –
2 Ch 28: 3 Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom, and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Ahaz – and then Mannasseh:
2Chron.33: 6 And he made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him [to anger.]
They understood this as an abomination – a place of unthinkable, horrible, evil.
He is describing a reality that they could not understand (hell) with a reality that they could (Gehenna).
For Jesus to describe to our minds what hell is like is like trying to describe the streets of gold. When we get there – it just won’t matter to you. One of the kids asked – will I get a million dollars in heaven? That just won’t matter.
When Jesus uses the word Gehenna – 11 times – and most of those are parallel passages – he uses it in three ways.
First – we don’t want to proof-text – take a verse out of its context – it is always always always bad – don’t do it – even if it proves your point! 7 of the 11 times – it is used in this context – Matt. 5: 29 "And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
7 Times it is used as throwing away a body part – than to be thrown into hell. He is using this metaphor – this valley of judgment – and then hyperbole – cut off your hand, eye, whatever – to say this place is so bad, you don’t want to go there. And if it means – cutting off your hand – Will cutting off your hand keep you from going there? No – but you don’t want to experience God’s judgment.
Jesus is speaking all of those verses to the disciples.
Second – Jesus does this a couple of times – paralleled in Mark – this time is speaking to missionaries:
28 "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Gehenna)
He is sending out the missionaries – and you will be persecuted – don’t fear them – fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell
Matt. 23: . 33 "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?
Sheol – the place for the dead – both the good and the evil –
Gen. 37 – Jacob was righteous – and he said he would go down to Sheol.
Matt. 16: 18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.
Hades – Death – won’t stop the Church – it will be the seed of the church – growing out of His death. This is agreed on by scholars – Hades/Sheol is simply the place of the dead.
When Jesus spoke, there was an understanding that Hades had an upper and lower chamber – the upper for the righteous and the lower for the wicked. Thus the story of Lazarus and the rich man. He is just using the story of what they understood.
There were other similar stories written between the Testaments similar to Lazarus and the Rich Man.
He took things they understood – and related that which was hard to understand.
Outer Darkness/Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth – mentioned in the context of the Kingdom – always in that context. That is how they must be understood.
10 Now when Jesus heard [this,] He marveled, and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 "And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline [at the table] with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
God is light – and this is a place that is separate from the light of God. With weeping and gnashing of teeth – there is a feeling of regret and anger. Here is the tricky part – and why Jesus does this I don’t know – in each case this is mentioned – he is speaking to those who believe they are in, but they are out. In every case when he mentions this – it is to those who believe they are good but are bad.
Now, I don’t say that for you to go home thinking – Oh no! But that is where it is – if you have come to Christ – truly believe, and have put your faith in Him – you are okay – but this is a challenge to make sure you are right with God. The Jews thought they were right with God just because of their heritage, and Jesus is saying, no, you are not.
Next phrase: Lake of fire.
Rev. 19: 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
This is kind of like the new heavens and new earth – hell is not the final destination of those who are damned, the lake of fire is – this is at the end of all things.
My perspective – fire speaks of judgment – it is symbolic – that is my perspective – God is using words that we can’t understand – Let me show you why I think this:
Paul and Hell -2 Thess 1: 7 and [to give] relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power
There are some who believe in annihilation – that through the lake of fire, the person is consumed and the person is no more. The traditional view is what I will talk about – but there are books about this – One is – Two Views of Hell – and another called Four Views of Hell –
I don’t feel I could do justice to that – so if you wonder about it – look up those books.
the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power – Judgment entails a complete separation from God – complete and total – in every way – from God. To the extent – Tom Wright and others would say that the person being judged would completely lose the image of God. Which is an incredibly horrible thing to think about.
Some have said they will no longer be human – but the Bible doesn’t go into detail on that.
Those are basically the verses on hell in the Bible. There are others that basically say the same thing.
Now, what do we do with this?
Heb. 9: 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this [comes] judgment,
Our decisions are made here in this life – and at death is judgment – so we need to make our decisions now in this life –
For a person who has not come to Christ – HE is our only salvation.
Lazarus and the Rich Man
This is a parable – there is a small minority who say it is a real story – but I believe it is a parable.
In light of this parable – will we look down and see those we loved in hell – and how would that be heaven? As a parable – there are points that are given as illustration – but aren’t the literal way things happen. If there are 99 righteous sheep and 1 wanders away – does that mean that 99% of the people are saved? If you believe that – you have to believe the other.
Luke 16:19 "Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day.
The primary point of this parable is toward those who love money.
20 "And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 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. 22 "Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 "And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and ^saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus , that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.'
Point 2 – a person will be judged by how they lived in this life – and the Pharisees and this man were judged for not showing compassion to the poor.
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.
Third – we don’t know much about Lazarus – except that he was poor – and Luke is the gospel of the poor – and he sees that those who don’t have trust in their property and possessions and understand their poverty put their trust in God – and those are the ones who will be comforted and rewarded in the next life.
26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and [that] none may cross over from there to us.' 27 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father's house-- 28 for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 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, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.'"
Final point – even the resurrection of Christ will not convince some. That is clear. Because Jesus is the one who rises from the dead.
Part of this, what it shows – and CS Lewis said this well – Hell is locked on the inside – I think there is a reality – we can’t understand this – but people simply refuse and won’t want to be with God. There are those who want nothing to do with God – no matter what. No matter what God did for them.
On the positive side – those are the Scriptures – I laid it out before you – you may not believe everything I believe. We are saved by God’s grace – and we should rejoice in that. Judgment comes based on deeds – Salvation comes from grace. People will be judged for what they have done – But Christ was judged for us that we might have life and that should make us very very grateful. We should never underestimate or limit God’s incredible power to save.
1Tim. 2:3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth .
We don’t understand how powerful God is in His power to save. We don’t know the opportunities that God gives to people. God wants everyone to be with Him. That does not eliminate peoples’ free choice. But it should cause us to believe that God will move heaven and earth – and moved heaven and earth – because He left heaven, which is bigger than moving it – and came to earth that He might save.
In closing – I think the concerns – and there are many – and I will throw out – there are good Christians who disagree with some aspects of what I’ve said – and I’m okay with that – I stand where I stand – but most important – we will understand God’s character at some point –
Ps. 18: 30 As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
When we stand before God in eternity – I believe without question that we will know with deep within our hearts sense of hope and comfort – that God, in everything was completely blameless. Not in the sense that God says, I’m right, you’re wrong – you need to listen to me – but this deep assurance that God was right in all things – I think all of us will have that without question.
Psalm 145: 9 The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His work
When we get to heaven – we will believe this – He is good to all and His mercy is over all His work – everything He has done is merciful.
Ps. 11: 7 For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.
As a dad – I confess there were times that I said – Because I said so! But God is not that way – it is that we will understand – and say – that is RIGHT – that is how I would have done it! Once you get to that point.
Ps. 89: 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before Thee.
When we get to heaven – we will understand love and justice – and that is all we will see.
Rev. 21 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, 4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be [any] death; there shall no longer be [any] mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. "
I know I have not answered all concerns – and I appreciate deeply and understand that we all have questions and doubts – and that is okay – what I believe – is that in that day – what this passage is saying – is that all memory of – all evil in every way, shape and form will be gone from us. How that happens, I have no idea – but there will be no sorrow, no tear, no regret at all. All – everything attached to what is old – that which is of this life – the fall – all the evil – will be gone in the presence of God.
Let’s pray.
Lord, we do come before You – I say that – this can be a touchy subject – one that we ought to face honestly and with humility. In the end, to know that your mercies are over all of your works and all that You do is love – it is what you are. We will understand that You are all love in all that You do – we will have that comfort and assurance at some point – in Your name we pray. Amen.