Eternal Condemnation
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Psalm 44:13–16 (ESV)
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbours, the derision and scorn of those around us. 14 You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. 15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face 16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
19 “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. 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.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
Introduction
Come now to consider the most terrifying doctrine taught in the Scriptures, the doctrine of eternal condemnation - Hell. Everyone likes to think of heaven but very few think of Hell but it is vital for us to understand what Hell means.
I want to ask a question - it is rhetorical, no verbal answer but think seriously about the answer.
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Who do you think most deserves to go Hell? Could be people you know, know of, have heard of, alive or dead.
Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Positive Assertions of Scripture
Endless Torment
Hopelessness
Contemporary Challenges
Hell is real
"Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst; he promises honour, and pays with disgrace; he promises pleasure, and pays with pain....he promises life, and pays with death. But God pays as He promises; all His payments are made in pure gold." -- Thomas Brooks
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1. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
1. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
a. Eternal Destiny
a. Eternal Destiny
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19 “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,
i. Heaven
i. Heaven
22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried,
ii. Hell
ii. Hell
23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
b. Eternal Torment
b. Eternal Torment
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Luke 16:24 (ESV)
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.’
c. Eternal Separation
c. Eternal Separation
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26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
The Language that refers to the eternal blessedness of the righteous is strictly parallel to that which refers to the eternal torment of the wicked. Samuel E Waldron 'The End Times Made Simple' Calvary Press Publishing
The condition of the dead and the communication between them is represented here in very literal, earthly terms, so that a vivid impression is created. It should be clear, nevertheless, that much of what is here conveyed cannot be interpreted literally. For example, we read about the lifting up of the eyes, of seeing people afar off, of a finger and of a tongue, even though we have been told that the rich man had been buried.
This does not take away the fact, however, that certain definite truths concerning the life hereafter are conveyed here, one of them being that the departed ones are not asleep but fully awake; another, that some are saved, others are suffering. Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (Vol. 11, p. 785). Baker Book House.
There are five things about hell which are mentioned in this passage.
1. Hell is far off from the abode of the righteous; Lazarus was seen far away (16:23).
2. It is a place of torment; four times the word ‘agony’ or ‘torment’ is used (see 16:23, 24, 25, 28).
3. There is a great gulf fixed between heaven and hell (16:26).
4. The sufferings of hell are great (16:24). The fire of hell is unquenchable; it devours for ever. Yet hell is elsewhere called the place where darkness dwells (see Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; Jude 6).
5. But perhaps the most awful thing about hell is that there will be no escape from it (16:26). No one can cross over from it. Albert Barnes says of hell, ‘It is a dark, obscure, and miserable place, far from heaven, where the wicked shall be punished for ever.’ Bentley, M. (1992). Saving a Fallen World: Luke Simply Explained (p. 231). Evangelical Press.
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2. Positive Assertions of Scripture
2. Positive Assertions of Scripture
Jesus speaking of the danger of falling to temptation
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8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.
Jesus speaking of the final judgement
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41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’
Matthew 25:45–46 (ESV)
45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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Paul on judgement
2 Thessalonians 1:6–9 (ESV)
6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
The beast and all his followers
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Revelation 14:9–11 (ESV)
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “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 sulphur 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 worshippers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
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3. Endless Torment
3. Endless Torment
Luke 3:16–17 (ESV)
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptise you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Mark 9:45–48 (ESV)
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
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4. Hopelessness
4. Hopelessness
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Matthew 13:41–42 (ESV)
41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Matthew 25:30 (ESV)
30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
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Matthew 12:31–32 (ESV)
31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
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5. Contemporary Challenges
5. Contemporary Challenges
a. Annilationism
a. Annilationism
Dictionary of Theological Terms Annihilation
ANNIHILATION
From the Latin nihil, “nothing,” the belief that
1. All men pass out of existence at death; or
2. While God confers the gift of immortality upon His redeemed people, He allows the rest of humanity to sink into nothingness (this is the theory of conditional immortality*); or
3. All men are created immortal, but reprobates are by the direct act of God, or through the natural effects of their sin, put out of existence.
These last two notions are usually regarded as one.
b. Universalism
b. Universalism
Dictionary of Theological Terms Universalism
The heresy of the ultimate salvation of every man. Some universalists have held that at death all are perfectly restored to God, while others have held that such restoration follows a period of future purgatorial punishment.
c. The Love of God
c. The Love of God
"Any doctrine of the love of God that casts doubt on eternal punishment is a false doctrine. It is a doctrine that emasculates God by underestimating his perfect justice and by minimising the radical evil of sin. We must not confuse firm insistence upon the doctrine of eternal punishment with sadistic delight in it. It was the one who could say of himself that he was gentle and humble (Mat 11:29) who in Scripture most frequently and insistently and vividly warned of the danger of eternal fire. Samuel E Waldron 'The End Times Made Simple' p224 Calvary Press Publishing
Conclusion
Who do you think most deserves to go Hell? Could be people you know, know of, have heard of, alive or dead.
Hebrews 12:25 (ESV)
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
O love that will not let me go
When he was 19 years old, everything looked golden for Glasgow-born George Matheson (1842-1906). A brilliant student, graduating with honours, he was engaged to be married to the love of his life.
But then he rapidly began to lose his sight. The doctors said there was no cure. Turning for comfort to his sweetheart, he was stunned when she fled. She couldn’t be the wife of a blind man, she said.
Matheson’s hymn of love
Twenty years later, on the eve of his sister’s wedding, the shock of rejection resurfaced. By now, Matheson, the “blind preacher,” was beginning to amass attention for his scholarly writing and inspiring sermons, but all the success in the world could not cure his broken heart. Alone in the parsonage that night, 40-year-old Matheson succumbed to “the most severe mental suffering.”
That’s when he composed the words of the hymn “O LOVE THAT WILL NOT LET ME GO.”
This hymn is a celebration of God’s extravagant love, with images of rainbows emerging from rain, joy arising from pain, blossoms springing from dry ground.
Matheson’s hymn celebrates a love that is faithful, not fickle, a love that will endure through the worst of life’s crises, a love in which our weary souls can rest from all the stress.
This is a song of faith sung from parched lips, a vision of healing from sightless eyes.