Hell

[Jim]

Probably one of the most, if not the most denied topic about life, or eternal life for that matter, is the subject of Hell.

People just simply do not want to believe that there is a Hell. I am sure there will even be people who will respond here and try to argue with me, but they are entitled to be wrong. Not because I am so right, but Gods Word is true.

Anyhow, we need to let the lost understand that the idea of ?Hell? is very real.

I will unequivocally state that if you decide to accept Christ solely on the fact that you are afraid that your skin is about to be singed in Hell, you better think again. I pray that the idea of Hell will sober you into thinking and understanding the enormity of your guilt before Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are all guilty before the Lord:

Quote:Rom. 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

So, we keep hearing about salvation and eternal life in Heaven with Christ, but what about the lost, where do they go after they die?

Your physical body goes to the grave. This grave is nothing more than a place to keep the husk in which you resided here on earth. It has absolutely nothing to do with your soul, or anything to do with you at all after your death if you are lost.

So you say, where does it say that I am going to Hell if I die and I am lost? Let?s continue:

First of all, let?s look at where these spiritual locations were during the old testament:

Quote:Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

This of course, is the story of Lazarus the beggar.

What do we see the prince doing in hell(verse 23)? First, we see that he is ?in torments?. Obviously, hell is a place of flame. How do we know this? In verse 24 we read:

Quote:16:24 And 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.

So, if we were to shorten these verses down to some words, what do we see? We see that hell:

Quote:And in hell?

Quote:?in this flame

Hell obviously is a place where there is fire, and that fire torments the soul. You see folks, pain receptors do not only reside in the flesh, no matter what doctors tell you.

Moving along?.

Next we see something else interesting. We read that the prince actually ?sees? Lazarus in Abrahams bosom(Paradise). So if a person in hell can see another person in paradise, then they must be close together, yet cannot reach one another. How is this possible? It is my conviction that the prince is looking across a great void, or abyss. Bottomless pit perhaps?

Anyhow, understanding this, we see paradise on one side of this abyss, and hell on the other. But we will address paradise at a later point here. Going back to hell, we know that this prince is burning in hell desiring that Lazarus should bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue.

So what do we know about hell at this point? One, that it is not just ?the grave? as many modern translations want you to believe. Two, that it is a place of torment. And three, that is has fire, burning the souls of the lost.

Now we know what hell and paradise is. We also know that this was before Jesus? death, burial, and resurrection. See the book of Luke from where verses were read.

Moving along, and here is an interesting idea also. Where did Jesus go during the three days of His physical death?

Let us read:

Quote:Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Matt. 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Ephesians 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Rev. 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Was Jesus actually in Hell? No, He was not. What did Jesus say to the malefactor on the cross?

Quote:Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

In paradise? If Jesus died, what about heaven? Why didn?t He take this man to heaven? Because heaven had not opened at that point to the saved. The fulfillment of Christ was not complete at that point. Jesus told him that to day, that very day, not in the far future, not in the past, but that day.

So what was Jesus doing in the lower parts of the earth? (Matt. 12:40; Eph. 4:9) It is my conviction that He was there to remove the people out of paradise and bring them to heaven.

Hell is still there, and the lost are still going there. Is that the final location for the lost? No.

Not only will the lost in eternity be suffering in Hell, they have another place to go after the Great White Throne Judgment.

Quote:Rev. 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

We read in verse 13 that death, and hell deliver up the dead. They will stand before the throne and be judged. They will then go to their second death, the lake of fire(verse 14) and join the beast and the false prophet:

Quote:19:20 And 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 worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

In conclusion we know that Hell is real. It is a place of torment and fire. Not only will the lost go to Hell, but they will then be separated from earth and death completely unto the lake of fire.

Remember that death and hell also are thrown into the lake of fire.

Hell is real. The Lake of Fire is real. Heaven is real. There is no purgatory, and there is no limbo, and there is no other place in eternity for the lost but these places.

Where will you go?

I pray that if you are reading this and do not know Christ as your personal Saviour, that you will heed the urgings of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and repent of your sins and recognize that you are lost and on your way to this place called Hell. Jesus deserved the reward of His suffering on the cross for the sins of mankind.

If you need information on how to be saved, please go here:

http://www.fundamentalpreaching.com/foru...ut537.html

If you still have questions, please email or Private Message one of us.

Love in Christ,

Jim

[Bob Hutton]

I believe that some "Christians" teach that the lost are annihilated, but this is a serious error as it simply gives unsaved people a false sense of security. The Biblical teaching on eternal punishment is so crystal clear it should act as a spur to us to evangelise bearing in mind the watchman of Exekiel 33.

Kind regards to all.

Bob

[mnwickens]

It is interesting that Satan never goes to Hell. The popular teachings of the day show him as a pointed tailed figure with horns torturing people in Hell. However, he skips Hell, goes to the bottomless pit, attempts a rebellion but then is cast straight into the lake of fire.

It is a sad but true fact that a Christless person who dies will go to Hell. As some have called it, a prepared place for an unprepared people.

God never intended people for Hell, it is a place prepared for the Devil and his demons.

If you are reading this and do not know you eternal destiny, do as Jim says and follow God's plan of salvation.

[chineseconservative]

What happened to people who never were able to hear the gospel (i.e. mentally disabled, aborted, lived in a nation where missionaries could not reach them)? What happened people before Jesus was born?
Here are my best answers: God would know how they would have reacted had they received the whole truth. Before Jesus was born Jews trusted God that he would bring a savior and sacrificied animals to seal the conventant. According to 1 John 4:12, John 1:18 God the Father has never been seen by man that means that it was Jesus who wrestled with Jacob, was with Daniel in the fire, and in fact this is what Jesus said about Moses John 5:46 Moses wrote about him. Okay that is my best answer what is your response also how can we explain why God acts so differently than he did in the Old Testament.

[George]

The reason for God seeming to act differently now than He did in the old Testament (although He truly does not) is because of the New Covenant. It is found in the Bible.

(Heb 8:8) For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

(Heb 8:13) In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

(Heb 12:24) And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
(Emphasis mine)

A lot of what you have asked is presented in the book of Hebrews. I recommend a study of it. God does not "act differently" toward His people. Things are administered differently because: (Rom 6:14) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

In Christ,
George

[Jerry80871852]

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Romans 1:20 (KJV)

No one in hell will have an excuse, it will be their fault.

Several years back I was talking to a man who is just about 5 years older than I whose sister was in my class, I'm presently 62. For some reason most generally I will find some way to bring God or Jesus into a conversation if it last very long. I did this day. This man told me, there is no hell, there is no heaven, there is no God, years ago religion was a wonderful thing. People needed it, they needed churches, and it made a way for them to come together once a week to visit one another and find out how everyone was doing, but no one needs it any longer.

Now that we have telephones, cars, TV's, movie houses, we can go to the large town 50 miles away and eat supper, go to a movie, stop by the grocery store, them be back home before bedtime, church and God is just not needed any more, but a few people like you hang onto it. He is right, there are only a few people who will enter the strait narrow gate,who hangs on to Jesus, trusting Him as their Savior.

Sad to say, most people will be much like him in a way, and they will find their selves to have gone thru the wide board gate and have an eternity in the everlasting fire to think about their rejection of the Lamb of God.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Matt 7:13-14 (KJV)

Several years prior to that in my truck driving days, setting in a small cafe with a truck driving friend, I spoke of Christ to him. He said, "Jerry, that road out there, if a dog walks out into it, a truck hits it and kill him, and its left there it turns to dust, the same thing is true for both you and I." He happened to be anther Jerry. I told him, when your on your death bed, please call me, I want to be there with you, as you die I want to know if you still have so much confidence in this theory you've given me.

About 10 years later, a fellow pastor told me, Jerry had a heart attack, nearly died, had surgery, had his wife call him for he lived right down the road from them to visit him in the hospital. The 1st Sunday after he got out of the hospital he attended church, walked the aisle and accepted Jesus as Savior. According to this pastor friend he now attended church very regular.

Even thought many seem to have very hard hearts towards God, some may be quite harsh towards us, we sure don't need to give up speaking to others about our Jesus. There is a few of those who seem not to have ears to hear about Christ, if we can only put the thought in their mind, that little thought just might sprout one day.

[Upholder]

"...the dead know not any thing..."
Oh, how the cults love to duck and weave, to wrest and misquote, and to dispute and deny!
With great eagerness they seize on verses such as this excerpt from Ecclesiastes 9:5, and use these words out of context in an attempt to overturn and explain away everything the Scripture says about Hell.
Of course, this verse is not in conflict with the reality of Divine judgment by eternal fire. It's simply referring to the obvious fact that the body of a deceaced person is dead, lifeless, and no longer able to interact with the world in which it once lived.
The body perishes, but the soul lingers on. And for so many souls, the prospects are bleak:

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night...(Revelation 14:11a)

"No rest", That isn't soul sleep.

People ask, "How can a God of love send people to Hell?"
Rather, the question should be: "Why does a God of justice spare anyone from the consequences of their sin?"

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

But there is hope. Free, abundant, all-sufficient, and complete.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew:11:28)

The Lord Jesus Christ; our only hope for eternal rest!

[Bro Nobody]

Chinese conservative you stated akin to “What happened to people who never were able to hear the gospel?” I struggled with this in my early Christian walk. Till an African preacher/pastor some 30 years ago shed light on it through his testimony and made clear what the Bible said.
As a young boy who had never seen a white man he watch and marveled at the witch doctors in his village. But even as a young boy of 13 he could see though their trickery. He had a yearning to know the truth. For 3 years he began to rise early and go into the jungle climb to the top of a tree and cry out to God to help him to know the truth. He went into details of what was shown him of His creator and how. He understood creation, he understood mans spirit was a gift from God different than the animals, he understood sin and his wickedness separated him from God. He even cried out to God to cleanse him…. When he turned 17 a missionary passed through and shared the gospel and led him to Christ. All the way through he repeated…yes I know this, this is the God to whom I have been praying and seeking and he sent you to me. The Missionary marveled at his understanding. The young boy later went to the USA to study and returned and started a Baptist church in his village…
All this to say that there will be none that have excuses before the LORD, for the LORD will have worked in the heart of all men and drawn all unto Himself. It is the unrepentant sinner who rejects God, His Spirit and by default Christ’s mercy and Grace, thus condemning himself. By the time one rejects the Bible or preaching they have long since rejected the spirit of God working…
As for those that are incapable to understand, they fall under the mercy and Grace of our LORD. He is sovereign and righteous in His dealings with man….