Hell is a word that has virtually been "canceled" by a slew of Christian congregations. In fact some churches posit the position That God is not angry. Well He is, say the Scriptures (Ps. 7:11) and everyday--with the wicked. That is the reason he sent His Only Son. To right the wrong that has been perpetrated by humanity. Believing a lie and denying Gods Truth.
The Uncomfortable Subject Jesus Addressed More than Anyone Else
When was hell first mentioned?
The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel, helle (first attested around 725 AD to refer to a nether world of the dead) reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period.
Why would a good God create an eternal hell of torment? Created for the devil and his angels ( the devils messengers)
God is infinitely holy. Every disobedience, every sin that a person commits is an affront to His holiness and rightly requires an infinite debt. It took Jesus the Christ to pay such a debt for He is the Word who was in the beginning with God and was God. He is the Word that became flesh...(John 1:1-5). He is the image of the invisible God....(Col. 1:13) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men....(Phil. 2:6-7) who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.... (Heb. 1:3) And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as 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 Death. (Rev. 1:17-18) Hebrews chapter two says it so succinctly: Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Heb. 2:14-18) In this is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation
(an atoning sacrifice) for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
For without the shedding of blood their is no remission (forgiveness) of Sins. (Heb. 9:22)
Adam and Eve failed the test. Believed the lie of satan and denied the truth of God. We all come from that original couple. And that curse of disobedience has been inherited by us all. We all have a tainted sinful adamic nature, with the propensity to disobey God. We all age, our bodies deteriorate and we all die. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:10)
In the Old testament there are the scriptures that refer to God's wrath....
Deuteronomy 32:22 NIV
For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,
one that burns down to the realm of the dead below.
It will devour the earth and its harvests
and set afire the foundations of the mountains.
Kiss (embrace-disciple-receive instruction) the Son, lest He (the Lord) be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (Psalm 2:12)
Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry. (Psalm 18:7)
And for all those who refuse to listen and obey the God of the Bible, and follow their own evil hearts bent on worldly lusts and passions know this that in the Old Testament the prophets speak of a time when the Holy One will have His day. A day of justice when he expresses His anger toward sin and pours out His wrath on the day of judgement. called "The Day of the Lord."
For the day of the Lord of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up—
And it shall be brought low— (Is. 2:12)
Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty. (Is. 13:6)
Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it. (Is. 13:9)
Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is at hand;
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. (Joel 1:15)
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (Joel 3:14)
(Matthew Henry comments on the day of decision /the day of the Lord's judgement)
Here is a challenge to all the enemies of God's people. There is no escaping God's judgments; hardened sinners, in that day of wrath, shall be cut off from all comfort and joy. Most of the prophets foretell the same final victory of the church of God over all that oppose it. To the wicked it will be a terrible day, but to the righteous it will be a joyful day. What cause have those who possess an interest in Christ, to glory in their Strength and their Redeemer! The acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favour to some, will be a day of remarkable vengeance to others: let every one that is out of Christ awake, and flee from the wrath to come.)
The great day of the Lord is near;
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.
That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness, (Zephaniah 1:14-15)
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. (Malachi 4:5)
In Psalm 73 the Psalmist is sorely troubled by those who deny and blaspheme the God of Scripture. Their are no pangs in their death, their strength is firm, they are not troubled as other men. They are prosperous, well fed, have a nice home and provide abundantly for their families. Yet when worshipping in the sanctuary God reveals to him the truth of these disobedient unbelievers.....
Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
No one gets away with anything. As it says in Heb 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes
of him to whom we must give account.
And later reminds us "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For our God is a consuming fire." (Heb. 10:31; 12:29)
In the Old testament book of Isaiah 30:33 we see an allusion to the reality of an eternal torment and of an everlasting place of continuous destruction of the wicked.
"For Tophet was established of old, yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; its pyre is fire .....the breath of the lord (the power of His anger) is like a stream of brimestone, Kindles it."
Matthew Henry , 15th and 16th century theologian in his commentary on this verse writes, " Isaiah writes of the final and everlasting destruction of all impenitent sinners. Our Saviour(Jesus Christ) calls the future misery of the damned Gehenna, in allusion to the valley of Hinnom, which gives some countenance to the applying of this to that misery, as also that in the Apocalypse (Revelation) it is so often called the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is said to be prepared of old for the devil and his angels, for the greatest of sinners, the proudest, and that think themselves not accountable to any for what they say and do; even for kings it is prepared. It is deep and large, sufficient to receive the world of the ungodly; the pile thereof is fire and much wood. God's wrath is the fire, and sinners make themselves fuel to it; and the breath of the Lord (the power of his anger) kindles it, and will keep it ever burning.
Jesus refers to this place that was temporal on the earth, Gehenna, as a type of the reality that exists in eternity as the place created for the devil and His angels (his messengers). Which is called HELL in our english bibles.
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.’ 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— where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where ‘Their worm does not die. And the fire is not quenched.’ (Mark 9:43-48)
As the fires of the earthly gehenna never stopped burning, Jesus explains it was but a type of the true and everlasting burnings that exist in eternity for all who refuse Jesus gift of salvation unto eternal life by repenting, confessing, believing, trusting and obeying the only name under heaven by which anyone can be saved. Saved from the wrath of God that is coming on all the world and the unrighteous who prefer darkness rather than light because their deeds (their works) are evil.
As the apostle proclaims in 2 Thess. chapter one beginning in verse seven "and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire 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, (7-10)
And the Apostle John makes it clear in His Apocalypse (Revelation) 22:15 "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." No idolaters can ever enter the new Jerusalem but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Such are dogs "Those who practice magic arts; those who rebel against the rule of God (Deut. 23:18 where a Dog signifies a male prostitute; Matt. 15:26, where dogs refers to Gentiles; Phil. 3:2-3 where "dogs" refers to the judaizers; These will be in the lake of fire. (20:15) (Expositors Bible Commentary)
Annihilation of the body and soul has no place here. As Jesus proclaimed "and these (all those who did not believe and do the good works that God has prepared for us in advance to do.. Eph. 2:8-10) were judged, each one according to their works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. We are not saved by good works but good works are the result of being brought from darkness to light and from death to life.
Doing good works, so called, outside of Christ Jesus, account for nothing. As Jesus proclaims the unbeliever will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt 25:46)
As Paul proclaimed in 2 cor 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." That righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to our account and is our gate into heaven and eternal life.
And note this: Jesus said of his betrayer Judas who handed Him over to those who would crucify Him. Christ proclaimed "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Daniel speaks of the end time as " Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." (Dan. 12:2) (disgust; loathing; abhorrent; replusive to an infinite and Holy God)
Jesus obviously had this Old Testament book in mind when He proclaimed " Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (Judgement, damnation; perdition; doom;)
In Dante's epic poem, Divine Comedy, Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the phrase "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate", most frequently translated as "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Jesus Christ is the Blessed Hope, the one mediator between God and mankind; The only Way, Truth and Life; The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; the only name under heaven by which anyone can be saved; for God has appointed a day when He will judge the world in righteous by the man He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Jesus Himself said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."(KJV)
A day of judgement is coming to everyone. Every single human being who dwells on the earth will stand before the judgement seat of Christ. And there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. (Luke 12:2-3) Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb. 4:13) Without Jesus Christ as your go between before the Father at the judgement seat, the day of God's wrath poured out on the unbelieving, unrepentant, blasphemous, reprobate, it will be a day of terror without any excuses for their rebellion and disbelief.
As in the Old Testament Isaiah the prophet writes, " the Lord will come with fire, to render His anger with fury. His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh." (Isaiah 66:16-16)
Paul the Apostle felt for the lost of Israel and proclaimed "I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. (Romans 9:1-5)
And was also pained in his heart for the lost in Athens, where his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. saying to them "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And some did join him and believed. (Act 17)
The God of all creation is very patience, that is longsuffering towards you, very caring, very loving, very gracious and very merciful and doesn't wish that any should perish in the eternal destruction and punishment of Hell. But come to repentance. For judgement day, the Day of the Lord, is closer now than ever before. And whether you are here when He returns, or close your eyes in death and stand before Him. Remember, His Holiness is infinite and requires an infinite debt. Only Jesus Christ, the Word who was in the beginning with God and was God and was obedient to God the Father in all things, was capable of fulfilling the perfect requirement of redemption that is needed for your rescue from eternal condemnation that awaits all those who refuse to believe. Without Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, by grace through faith, you have only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Heb. 10:27).
The savior of the world, Jesus the Christ calls to you “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30 AMP)
We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says:
“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Cor. 6:1-2)
Admit your need to God....confess that you have disobeyed His commands....repent of your past transgressions....and tell Him you believe and are now ready to trust and obey.
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