Hell: The Tragic Option of Destiny

If there is one topic that causes both believers and non-believers to flinch,  it is the topic of Hell. This topic raises more questions than most other topics. This sermon looks at some common objections and gives an overview of this tragic option. 

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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you if there's one theological topic that is difficult for both Christians and non-Christians to understand and to come to terms with, it's the topic of today's lecture, and that is on the topic of hell Has anybody heard a full sermon on hell or done a full study on hell? Yep. Yep. Perfect. The thing is that most churches don't talk about hell. It's a very hard topic to talk about. There are so many more questions. Now, I've divided this sermon into five parts. In the first part, we will look at objections to the concept of hell, then we will look at arguments for the existence of hell. We will look at some descriptors, some pictures of hell. We will look at who the inhabitants of hell are, and finally, we will look at what is the actual punishment in hell. So first, let's look at objections to the concept of hell. And so I'm gonna list all the objections, and then hopefully, as the session goes along, at least some of these objections will be answered, okay? Why can't God simply annihilate the evildoers instead of eternal punishment? Why can't hell be a short-term punishment instead of an eternal one? Why doesn't God try to reform sinners rather than punishing them forever? Is eternal damnation an overkill for temporary sins? How can anyone be happy in heaven if a loved one is in hell? Why did God create people if he knew that they were bound for hell? If people are born as sinners, how can they be blamed? And of course, the big one, how can a loving God send people to hell? Bertrand Russell said that anyone who threatens people with eternal punishment is inhumane. John Lennon in his song Imagine, 1971, writes, "Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. No hell below us, above us, only sky. Imagine all the people living for today." Yes, it's nice to imagine certain things, that heaven is here, hell is here. But what is the reality? Whether we imagine it or not, what is the reality? Is there an actual hell? So what I'm gonna do now is look at some arguments for the existence of hell. I wanna give five arguments. The first one is an argument from scripture, and the rest of the arguments are not from scripture, it's from reason. So first, let's look at the evidence from scripture for the existence of hell. There are several words that are used in the scripture to refer to hell. In the Old Testament, it's Sheol, and in the New Testament, it's Hades. Sheol in the Old Testament generally refers to the dwelling place of a person after death. It's not specifically saying hell, but that's the word that's used. So when David says, "Oh, my son has gone down to Sheol," it just means a place after death. And Hades is used as a synonym for death and the grave, and there are multiple references. As far as the scriptural evidence says, there's plenty of references. Ten times in the New Testament the word Hades is used, but the key word for hell in the Greek is the word Gehenna. And this word is derived from the Hebrew, and it means Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. It's a valley along the southern slope of Jerusalem. This is a picture I took when I went to Israel last time. This is the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. This is a valley on the southern side. If you know the geography of Jerusalem, on the east side of Jerusalem is the Kidron Valley, and across from that is the Mount of Olives. On the south side of Jerusalem is the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. In John chapter eighteen, verse one, where it says, "After the upper room, Jesus went across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives." So he went across the east side, but this is on the south side, and this valley has a very poor history. The first things that we know about this valley is that pagan sacrifices were offered in this valley. In Old Testament times, it was a place used to sacrifice to foreign gods. Children were sacrificed in this valley right here. Four thousand years ago, children were sacrificed. Turn your Bibles to II Chronicles chapter twenty-eight, verse three. Both King Ahaz and King Manasseh sacrificed their sons in this valley, the Valley of Hinnom. So it has a very sordid beginning where pagan sacrifice on offer. Later, the city's garbage was dumped on this valley because it was a south side. They just brought the, their garbage over and dumped it, and they burnt the garbage. So first it was a site for pagan sacrifices, then became a garbage dump. And there was a fire in the garbage dump that was an ongoing fire. And so later, it became a place as a punishment for sinners because it was a site of a smoldering garbage dump. And so throughout the Old Testament, the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom became known as a place for death, corpses, and punishment, which is a fitting illustration of God punishing the wicked. Jesus had more to say about hell than he said about heaven. And that's why it's baffling when our churches don't talk about hell, because it is a real thing. Especially in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Now, for this particular story, some people think it's a parable, and some people say it's not a parable. And there are two reasons why we say it's not a parable One is that usually if there's a parable, a couple of verses ahead or a couple of verses later, it tells you the context of the parable. But for this passage, there is no context. It's just a story that is being told. So we think that it could be a real story that Jesus is narrating and not a parable. The other reason why we think it's not a parable is that in no parable is there the name of a person mentioned. There's not one parable with the name of a person. This one has the name of a person, Lazarus, and so, we think it's not a parable. And that story is in Luke chapter 16. So there's plenty of scriptural evidence to show the existence of hell. A second argument for the existence of hell is that God's justice demands a hell. Now, there are plenty of verses about the purity and the holiness of God. In Habakkuk 1:13, it says, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing." So there are plenty of verses about the purity of God, and God cannot live with evil. In the last century, Hitler was responsible for 12 million deaths. Stalin was responsible for six million deaths. But more than either of them combined is Chairman Mao, who was responsible for the deaths of 45 million people. And we want them to pay for their actions But unfortunately, the wicked seem to prosper. So Psalm twe- 73:3 says, "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." We want a person like Hitler, or Stalin, or Mao to pay for what they did, but they died quickly and did not pay, and justice was not done. Is justice fully carried out in this life? The answer is no. In 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was convicted, but he wa- he was convicted of a lot of crimes before 2008 and so on, but in 2019, he took his own life without facing the full power of justice. So there was existing injustice That means if God is truly just, there cannot be existing injustice that is around. So in order to maintain the justice of God, there needs to be another place after death where justice is fully meted out If it's true that justice means an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and a life for a life If Mao killed 45 million people, how many lives can he pay for? If Mao was brought to justice and he was killed for his actions, how many lives would he pay for? He would pay for just one. There are forty-four plus nine million lives that are not being paid for, which means that there is injustice out there that is not being paid for. The justice of God demands that there be a hell, so any justice that is not completed can be completed after death. How many unpunished sins are necessary for hell to exist? Just one, isn't it? If there is even one unpunished sin, hell has to exist for that unpunished sin after death to be punished I'm gonna give you an illustration that is derived from the writings of Thomas Aquinas, but I got it directly out of John Phillips's book called Exploring Romans, and this one illustration will answer several of the questions that we referred to earlier. Imagine a Marine hits another Marine in the barracks, and this is an illustration I've said so many times in so many churches. If a Marine strikes a Marine, he may get three days detention. If he strikes a sergeant, he may get three weeks detention if he strikes a general, he may get three months detention. If he attempts to strike the visiting president, he may be executed on the spot. The offense is the same. It's one human striking another human, but the punishment varies based on the person against whom the offense is committed. As the rank of the person against whom the offense is committed increases, the punishment increases. You see, Ladies and gentlemen, the rank of God is infinite, and therefore, even one sin against an infinite God demands infinite punishment, and there is no way that infinite punishment can be satisfied on Earth. The only way for it to be satisfied is by a place outside Earth, beyond death, a place that's called hell. Third, the sovereignty of God demands a hell. Now, the idea of good and evil is a, it's a philosophical concept called philosophical dualism, where good and evil exist, but they are equal and opposite to each other. This is the stuff of movies. But evil and good cannot coexist forever. At some point, there needs to be a separation. Even in our lives today, if there is a crime that is evil, that person is separated from the society of good. That's called a prison, and evil is separated from the society of good. So there is a separation of good and evil, even in our society today. So for a person who gets life in prison, he is permanently separated from the society of good. If God is good, and he is in ultimate control, then good needs to fully overcome evil, and there needs to be a complete separation between good and evil. In First Corinthians chapter fifteen verse twenty-four, twenty-five, it says, "Then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." So All evil must ultimately be separated out from the society of good, and that permanently happens at death, in the afterlife with the existence of hell. A fourth evidence for the existence of hell is that God's redemptive plan indicates the presence of hell. In Genesis chapter 3, it talks about the, the fall of man, and for the rest of human history, it's talking about how God is trying to redeem man. And part of the redemptive plan of God includes the coming of Jesus to die for mankind. In Mark chapter 10 verse 45, it says, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The Bible is clear that without the cross, without the suffering of Jesus, redemption is not possible. If there is no hell, why would Jesus have to go through the excruciating sacrifice of the crucifixion? The redemptive plan of God includes the death of Jesus Christ, and that implies that there is a hell that Jesus is trying to save us from. Maybe that's why Jesus talked about hell more than he talked about heaven. And the fifth reason is that love demands a hell. Love demands a hell. We ask how can a loving God send people to hell?" the answer, which seems counterintuitive, is that love itself demands a hell God loves the world, John 3:16. But true love operates in freedom, isn't it? Love cannot be forced. If you watch the movie Bruce Almighty Jim Carrey plays this journalist, and he's complaining about all kinds of stuff. So one time God comes to him and says "Well, I'll let you be God for a little bit. The only thing you cannot do is that you cannot affect free will." And so his love interest, played by Jennifer Aniston He can do all kinds of stuff. He can move traffic out of the way. He can get the stories when they break. But the one thing he can't do is to force Jennifer Aniston to love him because the nature of love demands that love be voluntary You want your kids to love you, you want your spouse to love you, but not because they have to love you. It's because they want to love you. That is the nature of love. So God does not force people to love Him against their will. In Matthew chapter 23, verse 37, Jesus said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." And when somebody is not willing, God is not going to force them to love Him. That would go against free will. C.S. Lewis says this in The Screwtape Letters, "The irresistible and the indisputable are the two weapons which the very nature of his scheme forbids him to use. Merely to override a human will, will be for him useless. He cannot ravish, he can only woo." Every person is given the choice to decide whether to love God or not. Those who choose not to love God is given the freedom not to love God. Those who choose to be separate from God is given the freedom to be separate from Him, and God is not going to force it otherwise. That is not the nature of love. Hell is what permits separation from God for those who want to be separate from God C.S. Lewis in the same book says this, "There are only two kinds of people in the end, those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says at the end, 'Thy will be done.'" If there's anyone who wants to be separate from God, hell is that place I'm going to look at some pictures of hell. some descriptions of hell. Just like our human minds are not able to capture the glories of heaven, our human minds are not able to capture the tragedies of hell. But there are some pictures that are mentioned in the Bible that I very quickly want to go through First it's like a bottomless pit. The hell is like an abyss. And these are figurative terms, okay? The agony is real, but it need not be literal. Okay? So when it says it's a bottomless pit we don't know exactly what that means Revelation chapter 20 verse one says, "I saw an angel coming out of heaven, having the key to the abyss and holding in his hand a great chain." Hell is like a prison. Revelation chapter 20 verse seven says, "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison." Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter five, verses 25 to 26 Matthew 5:25-26 It says, "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who's taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly, I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." Going to hell is like paying off a debt in prison. There is salvation by grace and salvation by works. If you choose salvation by grace, you are choosing that Jesus paid the debt. If you choose salvation by works, you are choosing to pay the debt, and the debt is an infinite debt that you can never pay, and the only way you're gonna remotely come close to it is by being in hell, paying it off forever because the debt is infinite So g-going to hell is like being in a prison to infinitely pay off the debt. Hell is also a place of darkness. I'll just read a verse. There are multiple verses. 2 Peter 2:17 says, "These people are springs without water and mist driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them." It's like being left outside in the dark forever. There is sorrow. There is regret. There is evil Hell is also described as a place of an eternal fire, and this refers to that perpetually burning garbage dump in the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. Matthew 25:41 says, "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire.'" This is a real fire, though it need not be a physical fire You know how some of these sermons on hell to make it graphic, there's a physical fire and worms and coming out of the noses and, that kind of stuff. It need not be a physical thing. It may be just a figurative description, but that doesn't change the fact that the agony is real. And fifth picture of hell is the key phrase that describes hell, and that is that hell is being away from the presence of the Lord And that is called as a second death 2 Thessalonians 1:9 says, "They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might." Being away from the presence of the Lord is the true curse of hell Every other description comes out of this fact that you're away from the presence of God Fourth, let's look at the inhabitants of hell. Who are the inhabitants of hell? There are two groups of beings. The first one are rebellious angels. 2 Peter 2:4-9 says, "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell." The second group of beings are rebellious people. 1 Thessalonians 1:8 says, "He will punish those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." Matthew 25:41 says, "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" Who was hell prepared for? For the devil and his angels. It was not prepared for humans. It was prepared for the devil and his angels But if there is any human that chooses to not love God, chooses to be separate from God, there is a place for them too Fifth and finally, let's look at the punishment in hell. What is the actual punishment in hell? Nobody accidentally ends up in hell. I remember when I was a kid and missions people used to come and talk in our church, and to encourage us to do evangelism, they would say, "Man, if you don't do evangelism, that person is gonna go to hell." God will never send a person accidentally to hell The work of evangelism is dependent on God. I mean, not, Not on me. No. It's completely on God. I'm gonna describe three words that describe the punishment in hell, and the first one is that it is eternal. The punishment in hell is eternal. Heaven is described as eternal. I'm gonna show you a verse that says heaven is eternal, and in the same verse, it talks about hell as well. Matthew 25:46 says, "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." So if there is eternal life, and the same word for eternal is used for hell, then there is eternal punishment. So if there is a heaven, then there is a hell. If heaven is eternal, then hell is eternal A second word to describe the, the punishment in hell is that it is conscious. So the punishment in hell is eternal and conscious. People are conscious after they die. This is what Paul says in Philippians 1:21-23. 2-23 says, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far." There is consciousness in hell. Luke chapter 16 verse 23, "In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side." We wish that there is annihilation. But that would not satisfy the justice of God. So there's consciousness in hell. Turn your Bibles to Revelation 19:20. I'm gonna read two verses, and I want you to look at the tense that is written there. Revelation 19:20 and the other verse is in Revelation chapter 20. But let me read this verse first. The beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone." Okay. Now, there are two beings mentioned here. Can anybody tell me who those two beings are? The false prophet and the beast. Okay, so the beast is actually the Antichrist. So when you study the rest of the earlier passages, it's the Antichrist. Now, there's one more person that is involved. Can you can anybody tell me who's the other person that should be there? Satan. Satan. All right. So that is the unholy trinity. Satan, who's a dragon, the, beast who is the Antichrist, and the false prophet. All this is there in the earlier chapters of the Book of Revelation. Now, here, the beast and the false prophet were cast into hell. Now, in the chapter that follows right after this is the thousand-year period. So the Antichrist and the false prophet are cast into hell. Satan is cast into a bottomless pit, into the abyss. Then we have the thousand-year period. And after the thousand-year period, look what it says. In Revelation chapter twenty, verse ten It says, The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire." So he was taken out of the abyss, he was judged, and now he's cast into hell. Look what it says, "Where the beast and the false prophet are also." This is a thousand years later It's a thousand years later, and it's talking about the beast and the false prophet in the present tense. They haven't died. They are fully conscious The third word to describe the the punishment in hell is that it is suffering. So it is Eternal conscious suffering. I'm gonna very quickly tell you three or four things about the suffering that's there. It's a place of torment. We talked about the figurative language. We said it's a place of darkness, bottomless pit, it's a prison, eternal fire, away from the presence of God. And look what the rich man says in Luke 20:16, 22-24. "So he called him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.'" It is called a second death. Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, 'The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.' Being in hell is a death without dying. You would wish for death. You would rather that you died than go through hell It's a place of regret. Luke chapter 16:27-28, "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'" It's so fascinating to see this response. He's got an evangelistic response, isn't it? In Christopher Nolan's 2010 movie Inception, Saito, played by Ken Watanabe, asks Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, "Don't you want to take a leap of faith or become an old man filled with regret, waiting to die alone?" Filled with regret There are levels in hell. Jesus speaks of degrees of punishment. Matthew chapter 5 verse 22 says, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister Raca is answerable to the court. And anyone who says you fool will be in danger of the fire of hell." Just as there are degrees of rewards in heaven, the Bible seems to show that there are degrees of punishments in hell. Yes, all of them are away from the presence of God, and it is agony, but there are degrees of punishment. That counters one of the arguments that is given by the atheistic side, where they say "Well, what's the point of being good here? If one sin takes you to hell, what's the difference between you and the person that killed 10,000 people?" The difference is there, there could be degrees of punishment in hell And finally, there is no escape There is no possibility of getting out of hell Luke sixteen twenty-six says, "Between us and you there is a great chasm that has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us." In the 1977 Eagle Song, Hotel California, they sing these words, "Last thing I remember, I was running for the door. I had to find the passage back to the place I was before. 'Relax,' said the night man. 'We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.'" There is no crossing over. In the play No Exit, atheist Jean-Paul Sartre tells a story of three people who find themselves in hell, Joseph Garcin, Inès Serrano, and Estelle Rigelot. And as the story unfolds, among other things, you find out that they could have left hell, but they chose to stay there, and the doors of hell were locked from the inside I'm not saying that's scripture. But if a person has chosen to be away from God, then they have chosen hell Hell is consistent with the use of free will, and those who reject Christ choose willingly to separate from Him