Is Hell A Real Place
Notes
Transcript
SEPTEMBER 5, 2021
STUDY NOTES
“HELL” PART 1
BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES
IS HELL A REAL PLACE?
INTRODUCTION
Hell is a real place where real people will spend an eternity
There must be a Hell because there is a Heaven, and everyone is not going to go to Heaven
There must be a place for those to go who are not going to spend eternity in Heaven
There is no other place for people to go, the future eternal state is either Heaven or Hell
Immediately after death the soul will enter either Heaven or Hell
There is no intermediate state between Heaven or Hell, no Soul Sleep, no Purgatory
Soul sleep is the belief that the soul enters a state of unconsciousness following death
And there is no state of life for the soul until the time of the resurrection of the body
All-of the dead, good and evil alike, remain in the grave from death to the resurrection
The soul is then awakened to a conscious awareness in Heaven
And there will be no remembrance of the time passed in soul sleep
The sleeping soul will seem to have passed immediately from death to Heaven
There is no Biblical evidence for the intermediate state of Soul Sleep
Purgatory is the belief that those who are not yet spiritually perfect enter Purgatory at death
Purgatory is the intermediate state for the final purification of those who will go to Heaven
It is a state of temporary punishment for sins before entering Heaven
Those in Purgatory must achieve the necessary holiness in-order to enter the joy of Heaven
There is no Biblical evidence for the intermediate state of Purgatory
The Bible does teach that the Christian will enter-into the presence of God at the-moment of death
The Bible also teaches that those who are lost will immediately be separated from the presence of God
Entrance into Heaven or Hell is an eternal state, there is no future deliverance from Heaven or Hell
Those in Heaven will experience an eternal state of God’s blessings
Those in Hell will experience an eternal state of pain and punishment
There are liberal theologians who claim there is no real place known as Hell
People have many different views of Hell, especially concerning its time and punishment
Some believe Hell is not an eternal state, that the ungodly will be punished briefly and then pardoned
Or that when enough sinners have been punished, all will be pardoned and go to Heaven
Liberal scholars state that today’s educated society rejects the thought of an eternal blazing punishment
The truth is modern, educated man is still in the state of sin that Adam was in 6,000 years ago
American so-called education has advanced sin to a state of sophistication, a normal way of life
The things of God are still foolish to those who are lost, 1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned.
The natural man is spiritually lost, without Christ in their life, and without the Spirit of God within
The Christian has received the Spirit of God and can be taught the truths of God, 1Co 2:12 Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are
freely given to us of God.
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The saved must be reminded that their lost friends and loved ones are going to spend eternity in Hell
The lost must hear what Hell is going to be like and the saved must tell them the truth of Hell
THE TRUTH ABOUT HELL
Hell is the name of a real place where real people go, people who are spiritually lost will go to Hell
People who go to Hell will be tormented forever, Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Eternal life is in Heaven)
The terms “eternal” and “everlasting” are used to identify the state of the righteous in Heaven
The same words are used to identify the state of the lost, in both cases the meaning is “forever”
The punishment of Hell will be forever, the joy and blessings of Heaven will be forever
Hell is a place of sorrow and despair, Luk 13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye
shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves
thrust out.
Hell is a place of misery, Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth.
Hell is a place of torment, Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I
am tormented in this flame.
Hell is a torment of everlasting fire, Mat 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off,
and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands
or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. Mat 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it
from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into
hell fire. (Hell fire is an everlasting fire)
Hell is an unquenchable fire, Mar 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to
enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Mar 9:48
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
The eternal state of the lost will be the “Lake of Fire,” Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death. Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire. (We will study the Lake of Fire in another message)
Rev 21:8 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.
Are we to take the fire of Hell as symbolic language or a literal fire as we know it today?
There are many references in scripture using fire to describe divine judgment
When Jesus returns in the time known as the Day of the Lord there will be a fiery judgment, 2Th 1:8
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ:
Jesus is going to return to the earth one day with His mighty angels in a “flame of fire”
When Christ returns, His eyes will be as a “flame of fire,” Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and
on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
He will come “with fire,” Isa 66:15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like
a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
He will come “by fire,” Isa 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and
the slain of the LORD shall be many.
“Flaming fire” describes the “Divine Justice” of God
God’s wrath during the Day of the Lord is often described as “fire,” Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day
cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and
the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
branch.
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Sinners will not escape the fiery judgment of the Day of the Lord, Zep 1:18 Neither their silver nor their
gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured
by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
The Day of the Lord will be the complete destruction of those who will be judged
Worldly treasures will be worthless and of no value because they will all burn up, 2Pe 3:10 But the day of
the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
The day of God’s fiery judgment upon the ungodly is going to come someday, 2Pe 3:7 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.
The judgment will be upon those that know not God and that obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ
Their judgment is described, 2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
Everlasting destruction is the opposite of everlasting life in the presence of the Lord
The destruction is not an annihilation of being, it is not a ceasing of existence
The word does not describe a loss of being but a loss of “well-being”
Their destruction will be the loss of all that they have valued in life
All that they have committed their earthly life too will be gone forever, an utter and hopeless ruin
It is the loss of all that is good and worthwhile, the end of all good that is from God
Those who are lost never experience the God given purpose of life upon the earth
They refuse to live the life that God intended for man to live upon earth
Now they will be separated from the future life that God has for those who are saved
They will experience eternal separation from the glory of God and the blessings of God
Fire is a frequent term used in scripture to identify with the judgment of God
There is an accepted law of language that says a figure of speech is less intense than the reality
If fire is not to be taken literally then we have no earthly term to describe the judgment of Hell
If the word fire is a symbol, then the reality of Hell is worse than what the symbols suggest
Then those in Hell would rather be in a literal lake of fire than whatever lake of fire is a symbol of
Then Jesus used the most awful symbols known to man to tell us about Hell
Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30
His disciples asked Jesus to explain the parable (Matthew 13:36)
Jesus explained the figurative language of the parable in Matthew 13:37-43
He explained every figurative word in the parable except the word fire
He said that the children of the wicked will be burned in the fire (vss. 38 & 40)
In the parable of the net, Jesus said there will be a separation of the wicked and just
The judgment of the wicked will be the furnace of the fire, Mat 13:50 And shall cast them into the
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Scripture is telling us that no earthly experience can fully describe the eternal judgment of Hell
No human experience in this world will come close to comparing to the eternal experience of Hell
Whether fire is to be taken literally, figuratively, or as a symbol, the message is the same
Hell is an eternal state of torment, don’t go to Hell when you die
SATAN DOES NOT WANT YOU TO BELIEVE IN HELL
Satan is seeking to destroy the truth of “Hell”
Every day the word “Hell” is used in the daily conversation of a multitude of people
You may even use the word “Hell” in your daily conversation
People use the word “Hell” in a habitual manner to express themselves in all kinds of ways
But few people ever use the word Hell in its true meaning, in the true sense of the word
Few people even know or think of the true meaning of the word, even among Christians
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There is a simple explanation to those facts, Satan seeks to destroy the true meaning of “Hell”
Hell is used in so many-different ways today that people rarely ever think of the truth of it
Very few ever give serious thought to the truth about Hell, you can hear the word hell used to:
Express sadness, madness, or gladness, to show excitement or discouragement
Express a moment of confusion, it is also used to express a time of assurance
It is commonly used in-reference to havoc or a violent act, violence is not why people go to Hell
It is used in-reference to tragedy, such as a terrible accident, or storm related destruction
People identify Hell with a painful experience, poverty, an uncurable disease, a dangerous time
The same people will use Hell to describe something exciting, enjoyable, or a good experience
People use the word “Hell” in a habitual manner and to express themselves in all kinds of ways
That is nothing other than Satan using people to destroy the true meaning of “Hell”
Satan wants you to use the word Hell:
As many times, as you will in your daily conversation
In as many-different ways as you can possibly use the word
In a meaningless way to make it a meaningless word
With multifold meaning so that it has no meaning
Satan does not want “Hell” to mean anything to anyone
Satan is seeking to destroy the truth of “Hell”
God is depending upon those who are saved to tell the truth of Hell.
WHY DO PEOPLE GO TO HELL?
People go to Hell because they “die in their sins, Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in
your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
People go to Hell because they do not believe in Jesus, Joh 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.
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see
life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
People go to Hell because they do not repent, Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish.
People go to Hell because their names are not written in the book of life, Rev 20:15 And whosoever was
not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
CONCLUSION
Hell is not a place to joke about, it is not the playground of the devil for you and your friends
Often people have said, “I want to go to Hell because that is where my friends are”
Those in Hell do not want anyone else to come to Hell, especially their family or friends
We find a rich man in Hell who is concerned about his family, Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee
therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren;
that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Evidently the torment of Hell increases with the addition of every person who enters Hell
No curse of Hell should ever be desired toward anyone
No Christian should ever say to anyone, “go to Hell”
We all have family and friends who are not saved, and they are on their way to Hell
Christians must tell all sinners how to go to Heaven, we must obey the “Great Commission” today
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
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If Heaven is your “Home,” tell others about your “Home,” invite them to come “Home” with you
Listen to the song
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