Worthy is the Lamb: Hell, Judgment and Eternal Condemnation

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been eight years ago when mega-church pastor Rob Bell ignited a theological firestorm over hell and eternal judgment. It ultimately cost him his church. Bell wrote a book entitled, Love Wins: A book about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived.” Here’s the gist of Bell’s thoughts: “Hell is what we create for ourselves when we reject God’s love. Hell is both a present reality for those who resist God and a future reality for those who die unready for God’s love. ... But hell is not forever. God will have his way. How can his good purposes fail? Every sinner will turn to God and realize he has already been reconciled to God, in this life or in the next. There will be no eternal conscious torment.”

In the end, Bell rejects the orthodox doctrine of hell, and judgement for universalism — the belief that everybody goes to heaven; God’s love wins out in the end, he says. It sounds oh so good, but it is oh so heretical. When Jesus told his disciples that hell was a horrible place of punishment for unrepentant sinners for all eternity, Bell essentially responds “Jesus didn’t really mean that.”

Last Sunday I told you that we needed to take some time to look specifically at the topic of hell, judgment, and eternal condemnation. The Book of Revelation repeatedly tells us that, in the Last Days, God will pour out His judgment and wrath on unrepentant sinners. The end for all those who oppose God is the Eternal Lake of Fire. Last week we saw that at the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus captures the Antichrist, and the False Prophet and the two were throne alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur (Rev. 19:20).

For many Christian theologians the doctrine of hell is seen, at the worst — as odious, and at the least — as embarrassing. Even Pope Francis around Easter of last year came out and denied the existence of a literal hell, that God doesn’t send people to hell, and that hell is a human invention. The official Vatican response was, “Well, he really didn’t mean that.”

The doctrine of hell is uncomfortable for most of us. Even some of the great Evangelical Bible scholars and theologians of our era are hard-pressed to understand hell. Some months before his death, R. C. Sproul was asked which biblical doctrine he struggled with most. He replied: “Hell.”

If we don’t accept the reality of hell, we won’t rightly understand the glory of the gospel.

I. JESUS TAUGHT THAT HELL IS AN ACTUAL PLACE

1. one of the fundamental questions people ask about eternity is, “Is hell real?”

a. in a word ... “Yes, hell is real”

2. even a quick read-through of the Gospels reveals that Jesus talks about hell and judgment more than any other person in the Scriptures

a. Jesus talks more about hell than he talks about heaven

b. Jesus describes the horrors of hell much more vividly than he describes the glories of heaven

3. the central truth that Jesus taught about hell is found in Matthew’s gospel:

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28, NIV84)

a. in Matthew, chapter 10 Jesus is getting ready to send the Apostles out into the cities and towns of Galilee to preach the gospel of the kingdom and to heal the sick and afflicted

1) before they go he gives them a series of instructions, and reminds them that not everyone will like their message

2) in Matthew 10:22 he bluntly tells them, “You will be hated by everyone because of me ... “

3) and because people will hate the gospel the disciples preach, they may find themselves arrested, they may be jailed, and they may be beaten

b. but God’s people are not to fear men — the worse they can do is kill the body

1) as unpleasant is the thought of being killed because of our devotion to the gospel, the harm they do is temporary

c. but God’s people are to fear the Father who can destroy both body and soul in hell

1) but Jesus quickly adds, “ ... even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

“So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven,” (Matthew 10:30-32, NIV)

4. Jesus reveals important things about hell and judgment that we need to tell others

A. HELL IS REAL AND MANY WILL GO THERE

1. the unrepentant sinner needs to be warned that this life is not all there is

a. there is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned

b. unfortunately, we live in an era when many professing Christians are ashamed of the doctrine of hell, and see it as a blemish on the faith that must be covered up with the cosmetic of diving love

c. the idea that there is a place of eternal torment awaiting people simply because they have not believed the right religious truths is absolutely repulsive to many

ILLUS. British Philosopher Bertrand Russell rejected Christianity, and Jesus Christ primarily because of the doctrine of hell. He wrote: “There is a very serious defect to my mind in Christ’s moral character, and that is that he believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment.”

1) how’s that for chutzpah?

2) Russell essentially says, “Jesus was a pretty good person except for this one fatal flaw in his character — he chose to believe in hell, and therefore, Jesus is not as moral as I am!”

2. a philosophical objection to hell does not somehow make hell go away

ILLUS. In 1967, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears released their version of a song entitled, And When I Die. The song is about death, but also about living, reflecting on one’s limited time on Earth and the futility in wasting that time worrying about what comes next. The hard truth of life is that when we die, another will be born to replace us. The song echos the hopes of men like Bertrand Russell, and millions of other skeptics. The 5th stanza reads ...

My troubles are many, they're as deep as a well

I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell

Swear there ain't no heaven and pray there ain't no hell,

But I'll never know by living, only my dying will tell,

Only my dying will tell, yeah, only my dying will tell

And when I die and when I'm gone,

There'll be one child born and a world to carry on, to carry on

3. to wait until one dies to find out if hell is real is a sad mistake

a. Jesus taught us that hell is real and many will go there

B. HELL IS REAL BUT TEMPORARY

1. the New Testament contains three words that are usually translated as hell

a. one of them is Hades which Jesus used in Luke 16 to describe the temporary location of the unsaved dead as they await the final Great White Throne Judgment

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.” (Luke 16:19–23, ESV)

2. you say, “How do we know that hell is temporary?”

a. Revelation plainly tells us so

“And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:13–14, ESV)

3. just because hell is temporary doesn’t lesson it’s horribleness

a. Luke 16 is explicit ...

“and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’” (Luke 16:22–24, ESV)

4. Jesus taught us that hell is real but temporary

C. THE LAKE OF FIRE IS REAL AND ETERNAL

1. the primary word that is translated as hell in the New Testament is Gehenna, and is the word Jesus used thirteen times to describe the eternal location of the unsaved dead after they experience the Great White Throne Judgment

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15, ESV)

a. the hell Jesus describes in Luke 16 is only a foreshadow of the eternal torment of the lake of fire that awaits those whose name is not found in God’s book of lifeJesus Firmly Believed That Hell Is Just as Real a Location as Heaven

II. JESUS TAUGHT THAT HELL AS A PLACE OF HORRENDOUS SUFFERING

ILLUS. For many years my favorite print cartoonists was Gary Larson who penned The Far Side. His humor was weird and wacky to say the least. One of his favorite themes was hell. These cartoons often showed people making light of their time in hell, or of the Devil becoming frustrated with people who just weren’t taking hell seriously enough. I must admit, they amused me. But, in reality, hell is no laughing matter.

1. Jesus describes the horrors of hell in vivid detail

a. he says it is a place of

eternal torment (Luke 16:23)

unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43)

where the worm does not die (Mark 9:48)

where people will gnash their teeth in anguish and regret (Matt. 13:42)

from which there is no return, even to warn loved ones (Luke 16:19–31)

it is a place “outer darkness” (Matt. 25:30)

b. each description in themself is bad enough, taken together they describe a condition of intense suffering

ILLUS. Tim Kelley, a retired Presbyterian pastor, writes, “As a pastor, I have been asked any number of times what I think about hell. ‘Is it a real place, and is it as bad as the bible says?’ This is what I usually tell them. ‘The biblical imagery of hellfire is probably metaphorical.’ To which the person will breath a sigh of relief. But then I tell them that it’s metaphorical for something infinitely worse than fire,’ to which the frequently gasp.’”

2. most significantly, Jesus compares eternity in the Lake of Fire it to “Gehenna” (Matt. 10:28)

a. Gehenna means the Valley of Hinnom — it is a valley on the Southeast side of Jerusalem’s old city

1) it was a place where several of Judah’s kings practiced child sacrifice to Canaanite god Moloch

“Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done, 2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, 3 and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 28:1–3, ESV)

2) Ahaz' grandson Manasseh, did the same thing

3) it was a sin so reprehensible that God calls it an abomination — a behavior that is exceptionally loathsome

“They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.” (Jeremiah 32:35, ESV)

b. in Jesus’ day the Valley of Hinnom was the refuse dump for the City of Jerusalem, and burned 24-7

1) it was were all the city’s garbage was taken, including dead animals, and animal remains

2) it was also the place where the corpses of executed criminals were throne; where carrion-eating birds flocked and maggots abounded

3. it was a place utterly filthy, disgusting and repulsive to the nose and eyes, and Jesus used it as a vivid illustration of what the eternal lake of fire will be like

There’s No Denying That Jesus Knew, Believed, and Warned Against the Absolute Horribleness of Hell

III. JESUS TAUGHT THAT HELL IS A PLACE OF SUFFERING FOREVER

1. Jesus has to talk about hell — and we have to talk about it — because it is the fate that awaits all people who do not receive the Christ and call him Lord

2. unfortunately, a growing number of Christians are embracing the error of annihilationism

a. it is the belief that hell is not forever; that unbelievers will suffer for only a short period in hell, and when the devil, and death and hell are throne into the lake of fire they will be permanently destroyed, not eternally suffer

ILLUS. Even Evangelical giants of the faith like F.F. Bruce rejected the doctrine of an eternal hell for the error of annihilationism. Bruce wrote, “Any God that would do such a thing is not worthy of worship.” But J.I. Packer, another Evangelical giant, got it right in responding to the the annihilationists saying that, “The problem with annihilationism is that is assumes a superior morality to Jesus because he obviously preached that hell was eternal.”

b. theologians who embrace, and who erroneously teach annihilationism, believe that, regardless of how angry God is over sin, He would never subject His creatures to everlasting torment

1) certainly, a loving and merciful God would not mete out such a harsh sentence

c. this error takes the sting out of hell, and offers a false comfort to those who have not come to Christ, who might be tempted to say to themselves, “Well, it’s not like hell is forever.”

1) well ... yes it is

A. PERISH DOES NOT MEAN TO CEASE EXISTENCE

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV)

1. some annihilationist defenders will say, “See, right here in the most well-known bible verse in Christendom it implies that believers have eternal life, and unbelievers will simply perish or cease to exist.”

a. to perish can also simply refer to a situation where one is desperate

ILLUS. We use such language in our everyday experience; “What’s for dinner? I’m about to starve to death?” or “I need a drink or I’m gonna die!” Well, no. In neither one of those cases is the person really about to perish or die. They are, however, in a situation where they feel desperate.

1) when God says the lost will perish or be destroyed He is using language that says those who reject His goodness, and His grace, and His mercy, and His Christ until they end are going to find themselves in a place so bad that they will certainly wish they could perish

b. when we compare verses like John 3:16 to the totality of Scriptural teaching on hell and judgment it become clear that the lake of fire is forever, and ever

“ ... , “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”” (Revelation 14:9–11, ESV)

“and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10, ESV)

2. in Matthew 25:46, Jesus draws a link not only between the reality of heaven and hell, but also between the duration of heaven and hell

a. in Matthew 25 Jesus tells the parable of the separation of the sheep and the goats on judgment day

1) the sheep are those who know Christ, and the goats are those who don’t know Christ, and Jesus says of these two groups ...

“And these [the goats] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous [the sheep] into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46, ESV)

3. men were created to be eternal beings; eternity is real — the only question is “Where will you be spending it?”

4. Jesus Knew, Believed, and Warned Against the Absolute Horribleness of Hell Because He Knew It Was Eternal

IV. APPLICATION

1. as I come to an end let me deal with the major objection people have about hell

A. GOD IS TOO LOVING TO SEND PEOPLE TO HELL

1. don’t believe that for a moment!

ILLUS. Clark Pinnock, was a Christian theologian, apologist and author. He was a solid, conservative, Evangelical bible scholar until he wasn’t. Pinnock objected to the doctrine of hell, writing, “How can Christians possibly project a deity of such cruelty and vindictiveness who inflicts everlasting torture upon his creatures, however sinful they may have been?” Pinnock concludes that a God who would do such a thing is “ ... more nearly like Satan than like God.”

a. Pinnock’s presupposition is flawed

2. 1st, The objection assumes God’s vengeance is like our vengeance — it’s not

“Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’” (Ezekiel 33:11, NIV)

a. our vengeance seeks payback and retribution, God’s vengeance pursues peace and restoration

b. our vengeance is vindictive, God’s vengeance is vindicating

c. our vengeance is about revenge, God’s vengeance is about righteousness

d. the Prophet Isaiah gives us an idea what divine vengeance looks like

“to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” (Isaiah 61:2–4, NIV)

1) words associated with human vengeance include revenge, retribution, and punishment, but words associated with divine vengeance include rebuild, restore, and renew

2) hell is the destination of the unsaved, but God is not gleeful about it

3. 2nd, The objection assumes that God is just as tolerant of sin as we are — He’s not

a. in western culture we think it is a virtue, not a vice, to be nonjudgmental and accepting of other people’s flaws

1) what the culture doesn’t realize is that our willingness to tolerate evil is due not to our righteousness, but to our unrighteousness

2) our ability to dismiss sin in others as well as in ourselves is evidence of our unholiness, not our holiness

b. Israel’s great sin was that they assumed that God was pretty much like a man

“These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.” (Psalm 50:21, NIV84)

1) but God is not like us

2) there are many differences between God and us, but at the top of the list is God’s inability to tolerate evil

a) sin is evil committed against God

c. we catch a glimpse of what God thinks about sin at the crucifixion of His own Son

1) when the Christ became sin for us, the Father turned away from the Son in disgust, causing Christ to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

d. if God cannot tolerate the sin borne by His own Son, how likely is He to tolerate sin in our lives?

4. 3rd, The Objection assumes that we really aren’t that bad — but we are

a. most Americans believe that hell is for really, really bad people — like Osama bin Laden, Ted Bundy, and Adolf Hitler

b. most Americans tend to view themselves as flawed, but certainly not as sinners deserving of eternal judgment

1) but when it comes to our sin our capacity for self-denial is virtually unlimited

ILLUS. Sex abuse scandal. Elderly Baptist pastor in prison for sexually molesting a ten-year-old girl. He thought it was “unfair” that “one minor event” would land him in prison compared to the enormous amount of “good” he’d done as a pastor, including leading over 400 to faith in Christ.

c. no matter how evil a man may actually be, he never thinks he is all that evil, and is thoroughly convinced that there are always others much worse than him

d. the truth is that we have all missed the mark

1) true, some have missed by a wider margin than others, but the Apostle Paul is clear ...

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, NIV84)

2) contrary to popular belief, hell is not a place where God sends those who have been especially bad

3) it is the default destination of every single person born since Adam

e. only a spiritual intervention by God can change that

So we’re left with two options: Stay in our state of rebellious sinfulness, and suffer God’s eternal wrath, or submit to the Savior and accept his gift of redemption.

In 1922 Calvin Coolidge was serving as the Vice-President of the United States. One of his duties was presiding over the Senate. One day two senators got into an angry shouting match on the floor of the Senate. One Senator got so mad that he cursed at his opponent, telling him he could go “straight to hell.” This broke the Senate’s rules of decorum, so the offended Senator complained to Coolidge. Coolidge, known for his quiet, and unassuming demeanor, looked up from the book he was reading and sardonically replied, “I’ve looked thorough the rule book. You don’t have to go.” That’s the final truth about hell I want to leave with you this morning; you don’t have to go.

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