A Rogues Gallery (Revelation 21.8)
A Rogues Gallery
Text: Revelation 21:8
Place Preached - (Mississauga International Baptist Church)
Date Preached - (10/15/06)
Introduction:
Here we have a Who’s Who of Hell’s inhabitants. It is not the only such list in Scripture.
There are two other similar catalogues of infamy found in Paul’s writings.
LOOK UP & READ Galatians 5:19-21
LOOK UP & READ I Corinthians 6:9-11
The occupants of hell are listed as a contrast to the glories and inhabitants of eternal happiness.
The glory of saints is eternal! And the agony of sinners is eternal!!
In the realm of the Spiritual and the Eternal there are Highs and Lows. Polar extremes, not really any middle ground and certainly, as well as Biblically, no purgatory.
It’s black and white, heaven and hell, the saved and the lost.
Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
Who are The Recipients of Eternal Fire?
ILLUS: There are those who say “All my friends will be there”.
1. They will not be your friends in Hell. Friendship as a principle does not exist in hell. It is a concept that is foreign to perdition.
2. You will also have for chambermates the most incorrigible of sinners in Human History. The Nero’s, Hitlers, Stalins. The Jeffrey Dahmers, Clifford Olsons, and Willy Picktons. Etc. etc.
The abominable and perverted fiends of every generation will be your companions in torment.
1. Fearful
FEARFUL - cowardly, afraid, timid
Cowardly – Those who do not profess Christ for fear of man.
“It is not fear that is condemned. The highest courage is to be desperately afraid and in spite of that fear to do the right thing, and to hold fast to loyalty. What is condemned is the cowardice which denies Christ for safety’s sake.” - Strauss
Matthew 10:32-33 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
Fear can paralyze an individual. Fear can keep a person from many good things in life.
EXAMPLES – Friendship, Service, Success, Marriage. Thrill of the Vortex (Ride at Wonderland).
But the worst fear is that which keeps a person from receiving everlasting life through the Lord Jesus Christ!!
2. Unbelieving
UNBELIEVING - Denotes one who disbelieves the gospel of Christ, an unbeliever, infidel.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 16:8-9 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
3. Abominable
I was surprised to learn that the word “abomination” appears 176 times in the KJV!!
ABOMINABLE - to render foul, to cause to be abhorred. 2 abominable. 3 to turn one’s self away from on account of the stench.
Those polluted, stained and contaminated with the filthy evils of this world.
LOOK UP & READ Romans 1:18-32
LOOK UP & READ Genesis 19:1-14
4. Murderers
MURDERER - always of criminal [or at least intentional] homicide; used in a general sense.
There is a growing insensitivity in our day toward human life.
There have always been murderers, but we live in the day of the mass murderer, the serial killer, euthanasia and abortion on demand.
Now life begins at conception. 90 almost 100,000 aborted yearly in Canada.
Murder is a heinous sin because it destroys that which is made in the image of God.
5. Whoremongers
WHOREMONGERS - a man who prostitutes his body to another’s lust for hire. 2 a male prostitute. 3 a man who indulges in unlawful sexual intercourse, a fornicator.
Fornicators – reference to those who commit any sin of a sexual nature. Speaks of any sexual relations outside of marriage.
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
6. Sorcerers
SORCERERS - From pharmakon (a drug, i.e. spell-giving potion); 1 one who prepares or uses magical remedies. An enchanter with drugs.
Witchcraft, spiritism, magic, demonology and the occult are increasingly prevalent in today’s society.
LOOK UP & READ Deuteronomy 18:10-12
HARRY POTTER
The Harry Potter books, which have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide in more than 30 languages, glorify witchcraft. The hero namesake of the books is a young wizard, the son of a murdered wizard and witch. His adoptive parents, who are not witches, are depicted as foolish and cruel; but he escapes to attend the Hogwarts wizard's school, where he learns to cast spells, use chants and crystal balls, ride broomsticks, turn himself into an animal, and perform other occultic rituals. Textbooks at the wizard school have titles like "The Standard Book of Spells." The directors of the school are ghosts who died gruesome deaths. One is named Near Headless Nick; he was killed by being struck 45 times in the neck with a blunt axe. There is a "Sorcerer's Stone" that has the power to give immortality. The world of witchcraft is depicted as exciting and desirable. Witches are intelligent and caring; whereas as non-witches, called Muggles in the books, are dull and uncaring. Harry Potter and his wizard friends lie, steal, break rules, disobey authority figures, and take revenge. Harry Potter also makes and uses drug potions, including the psychedelic drug thujone, which has been banned in the United States since 1915. The wizards practice Hindu-type meditation "to clear the Inner Eye." There is swearing and violence. A three-headed dog mangles the leg of a professor; a mysterious figure drinks blood from a unicorn carcass; children are attacked and paralyzed; a dead cat is hung upside down by its tail. There are creatures called Dementors that "suck out people's souls." There are ghosts who haunt bathroom toilets. In the second volume, a monster speaks to Harry through the walls of a castle, saying, "Come . . . come to me. . .. Let me rip you. . . . Let me tear you. . . . Let me kill you." When Harry kills the monster, its eyes are punctured and "a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor." The fourth volume contains a torture scene and two deaths. The final battle scene "is bloody and frightening. Voldemort's servant must exhume the bones of the Dark lord's father, draw Harry's blood, and sacrifice his own hand in order to restore Voldemort's body." In the Harry Potter books, death is described as "going to bed after a very, very long day" and merely "the next great adventure."
There is no doubt that the Harry Potter books are influencing children. Phyllis Curott, a witch interviewed by ABCNews.com, observed that the books depict wizards and witches as "positive," "friendly" and "good"; therefore, the books "might change the way people feel about us." The headmaster at a school in Raleigh, North Carolina, noted: "The throngs that line up to meet Rowling [to autograph their books] are often teeming with children clad in wizard cloaks and sporting lightning-bolt scars tattooed--temporarily—to their foreheads" (John Murray, "The Trouble with Harry"). The Pagan Federation in England has had to appoint a youth officer just to handle the flood of inquiries from Harry Potter fans.
The female author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, claims that the books are mere harmless fantasy; but the Bible solemnly condemns every form of witchcraft. Occultism is not a game; it is very real and it is rebellion against Almighty God. To fill the minds of children with such things is a great evil. Like Star Wars, the Harry Potter books promote the unscriptural myth that there is both good and evil wizardry. The Bible mentions wizards 11 times, and in every case it is a strong warning.
We could go on and talk about many things that fall under this category – Ouija Board, Horoscopes etc.
7. Idolaters
IDOLATER - an image-(servant or) worshipper - whether “openly or secretly, consciously or unconsciously”.
Not only the worship of idols and false gods, but in a broader sense the giving of one’s heart to covetousness and selfishness.
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Ephesians 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Ephesians 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Proverbs 28:16 The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
Then just to be sure no one is missed…
8. All Liars
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Whether we speak it, deceive by silence, or act it out, it is a lie.
There are no degrees of lies. No such thing as a white lie!!
“An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.” - Mrs. Johnson Sr. Mother of Milton Johnson
Conclusion: (Review)
Here are some conclusions we can safely reach based on this passage.
1. Hell will not be a nice place.
The company is awful.
2. We really all deserve Hell.
3. There are no respectable sins.
4. The way to avoid Hell is not through our own righteousness.