Sinners burning in never-ending hell – is it true? Or is it one of Satan’s smart lies? What is hell? When is hell? Where is hell? How long will hell last? Satan likes to depict God as eternally burning sinners in hell. Will a God of love torture people like that? God has been portrayed crueler than even Hitler. Even though Hitler tortured people and experimented with them, finally he allowed them to die. Will God keep these deathless souls alive for the purpose of seeing them writhe and scream throughout eternity? Do you think God will behave like a sadist? Some even think that Satan, with pitchfork in hand, is in charge of this eternally burning hell, as if Satan is collaborating with God. Just think about a doctrine that would consign every lost soul to an immediate, never-ending hell at the time of death. Suppose a man died 5000 years ago with an un-repented sin. He is burning in hell for the last 5000 years. Hitler who has killed millions of people is burning in the hell for only the last 60 years or so. How could that be just? Would God deal in such a manner? Another strange teaching portrays ethereal souls immediately leaving the body at death, going to either heaven, hell or purgatory. Christ always taught in the gospels that the wicked will be thrown into the hell fire with physical body having hands, feet and eyes. They will not go into it in some ethereal state as a formless spirit or soul. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell ... (Mark 9:43). First of all, the lost do not go to any place of punishment as soon as they die, but are reserved in the grave for the Day of Judgment. Jesus taught this clearly in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:37-42). He said the tares represented the wicked people, and that they would be cast into the fire at the end of the world. It was in the harvest that the separation would take place and The harvest is the end of the world. Peter also says the same thing. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished. (2 Peter 2:9). If judgment occurs when Jesus returns, how is it possible for someone to be punished before that? Justice demands that a person be brought into judgment before being punished. Jesus talks about two different resurrections – of the good and the wicked in John 5:28, 29.This proves that from the time of death until they are resurrected, they are not receiving any reward or punishment. See Daniel 12:2 also. In Revelation 22:12, Jesus again reminds us that every man-every person-will receive his just reward only when HE returns to this earth. In Rev. 21:8, John talks about hell, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” This proves that they will not be cast into the lake of fire (hell) until after the resurrection takes place. These people die the second death in the fire, but they cannot suffer a second death until they get a second life. Jesus said, All that are in the graves shall come forth. (John 5:28, 29) This second death is the final, eternal death from which there will be no resurrection. The point to be noted here is that, the time of this hell-fire punishment is at the end of the world. It does not take place at the time of the first death as so many have been led to believe. Location of the hell is on this earth only. Bible clearly says that this fire devours the wicked right here on the breadth of the earth.(Rev.20:9-10) Many Bible writers who speaks on the subject of hell add new insights. Peter says, But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:7) Same themes are discussed by Isaiah 34:8, 9 and David in Psalm 11:6. The final question: How long will the wicked continue to live and suffer in that hell fire, when earth will be turned into a lake of fire? No one can answer that question precisely because the Bible says they will be punished according to their works. There will be degrees of punishment. Some will suffer longer than others. But one this is sure. The wicked wont live in that fire for eternity. This hell fire happening in this world is not endless, because it is the final home for the righteous. Blessed are the meek: For they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5) Peter after describing all this inferno on earth says, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13) The wicked cannot continue to live in this planet because the entire planet has been specifically promised to Abrahams spiritual seed (Romans 4:13). After being purged of all the curse of sin, it will be recreated to its first state, before the entrance of sin - a perfect home for a perfect people. Wicked were never promised eternal life (as burning in hell eternally), instead “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). They are promised death - eternal death. Only the righteous are promised life - eternal life (John 3:16). There is only one way to get eternal life. That is through faith in Jesus. As John describes, And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:11, 12) Then you may ask why the Bible talks about unquenchable fire that burns the wicked? No one will be able to put out the fire of hell - the great fire of God and escape from it. Isaiah says, Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame… (Isaiah 47:14) Once it has finished its work it will go out. Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would burn with a fire that could not be quenched (Jeremiah 17:27), but it was burned down to ashes (2 Chronicles 36:19-21). What about expressions like eternal and everlasting used in the Bible to describe hell? Many make the mistake of applying modern definitions to those biblical words without reference to their ancient contextual usage. Eternal fire does not mean a fire that will never go out. Jude 7 says “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha…suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” It is quite obvious that Sodom is not still burning today. 2 Peter 2:6 says “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes ….making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.” That eternal fire which brought Sodom to ashes is an example of what will finally happen to the wicked. The same kind of fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha will also burn the wicked in the lake of fire. This is an eternal fire with everlasting consequence. It will also burn the wicked to ashes. Malachi 4:1, 3 says “…it shall leave them neither root nor branch…”). This eternal fire which burns up eternally, even consumes the Satan, the root. Jesus in Matt.25:46 use the phrase “everlasting punishment”, which is same as “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Here Christ is simply saying that the death would be everlasting, which will never end and there will be no more resurrection. Paul uses the same idea in 2 Thess. 1:8, 9. What about Jesus in Mark 9:45, 46 saying, “Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched”? In this instance Jesus used the word Gehenna for the word hell. Gehenna was an actual place of burning just outside the walls of Jerusalem. Christs listeners could actually see the smoke coming up from the Valley of Gehenna, where dead bodies and garbage were constantly being burned. If anything fell outside the destructive flames, it was quickly consumed by maggots or worms. Jesus used the Gehenna fire as an example of the complete destruction in hell-fire. What about John using the phrase “for ever and ever” in Rev. 14:11? Comparison of verses in both Old and New Testaments reveal that the words forever are used 57 times in the Bible in reference to something that has already come to an end. In other words, forever does not always mean without end. (Exodus 21, 1 Samuel 1:22 and Jonah 2:6) After the unsaved are punished according to their sins, they will be wiped out of existence, both body and soul. Jesus states it very simply, And fear not them which kill the body ... but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28.) Many honest people have been turned away from God because of their revulsion at this misrepresentation of His character by Satan. They cant love someone who would arbitrarily keep evil people in endless torment with no purpose in view like a sadist. Our God is a God of love, who will clean the universe. All the effects of sin will be banished forever. There will be no sin, no sinners and no devil to tempt. HE will … wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:4) Let us focus our attention on the positive. Let us look forward to heaven, and live a life worthy of heaven and to be called children of God. Only faith in Jesus and a life according to that faith can get us through. May God bless us all! Welcome to this page for more messages https://facebook/SomeTruthsThatYouShouldNotMiss
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:02:14 +0000
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