“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:41-46 (NASB) The return of the Lord will usher in a judgment, which will divide people. The judgment will be based on moral character, and the character is revealed by charitable deeds or the lack of them. Outward evidence demonstrates inner righteousness and unrighteousness. Good works do not produce good character, good character produces good works. When Jesus warns against unbelief He is trying to save us from agonizing, eternal punishment. Eternal punishment takes place in hell, the place of punishment after death for all those who refuse to repent. In the Bible, three words are used in connection with eternal punishment. • Sheol (or the grave) is used in the Old Testament to mean the place of the dead, generally thought to be under the earth. Job 24:19: “Drought and heat consume the snow waters, So does Sheol those who have sinned.” • Hades is the Greek word for the underworld, the realm of the dead. It is the word used in the New Testament for Sheol. Matthew 16:18: “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” • Ghenna or hell, was named after the Valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem where children were sacrificed by fire to the pagan gods. 2 Chronicles 28:3: “Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel.” The latter is the place of eternal fire. Matthew 5:22: “ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” This the fire prepared for the devil, his angels and all those who do not believe in God. This is the final and eternal state of the wicked after the resurrection and the last judgment.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 00:30:13 +0000
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