Eternal Hell

Today I want to cover a subject that most people do not enjoy even thinking about, and for good reason. Eternal Hell. Hell's going to be an awful place. The word awful means ..."very bad or unpleasant, extremely shocking." Awful doesn't adequately describe what Hell is going to be like and you won't personally want to find out.

How many times have you heard the phrase ... "Go to Hell!" It's hard to accept, but the fact is, there is a place called Hell for those living today, who, for whatever reason never accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The whole of Matthew 25 is a red letter chapter ... meaning, Jesus spoke every word. In it, Jesus talks about the wise and foolish virgins, the unprofitable servant, the sheep and goat nations, and everlasting punishment in hell.

Matthew 25:31-34 ... "When the Son of man shall come in his glory ... before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world ..."

The sheep are those who follow the Shepherd ... Jesus.

Matthew 25:41 … "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels …"

God's list has only two columns ... saved and unsaved.

The unsaved, the goats on the left hand … are cursed ... those whose moral qualities and sinful lifestyle deserve everlasting punishment, who were never born again by the blood of Jesus. To "curse" is the opposite of to "bless." It implies a denial of all the blessings of heaven; the opposite being the curse of eternal suffering in ... everlasting fire.

The image of everlasting fire is used to express extreme suffering ... death by burning is one of the most horrible that can be conceived. It has been asked whether the wicked will be burned in literal fire, and the common impression has been that they will be. It is to be observed …

1.) that the main truth intended to be taught, refers not to the manner of suffering, but to the certainty and intensity of it.
2.) that the design, therefore, was to present an image of terrific suffering ... an image well represented by fire.
3.) that all the truth that Christ intended to convey appears to be expressed in the certainty, intensity, and eternity of future torment.
4.) that this image was well known to the Jews and therefore expressed the idea in a very strong manner.

Isaiah 66:24 ... "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

The fact that the wicked will be eternally punished, cursed of God, should bring an awe of terror and dread to every man, and lead him to strive most earnestly to secure his salvation in Christ Jesus.

Albert Barnes adds an interesting thought speaking of the wicked lost ... "As however, the body will be raised, it is not unreasonable to suppose that a mode of punishment will be adopted, suited to the body … perhaps bearing some analogy to suffering here, in its various forms of flames, and cold, and heat, and disease, and ungratified desire, and remorse … perhaps the concentration of all earthly woes, all that makes man miserable here, poured upon the naked body and spirit of the wicked in hell ... forever and ever."

Notice, Jesus said this place of torment was ... "prepared for the devil and his angels …" not man.

There is a marked difference between the way which the righteous will be addressed, compared to the wicked. Christ will say to the saved that the kingdom was prepared for them. To the lost He says that the fire was not prepared for them, but for another race of beings. But they inherit it anyway because they have the same character and unrepentant heart as the devil, and are therefore suited for the same punishment … but not because it was originally prepared for them.

The New Testament actually speaks of two places ... hell, which is being filled now, and the lake of fire ... the final eternal place of punishment after judgment.

The lake of fire was prepared for the devil and the angels that followed him in his rebellion, and whom he has employed as his messengers to do evil. Hell and the lake of fire are open to all people that Satan has deceived through unbelief.

Matthew 25:46 … "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

Many, hold to a doctrine called universal salvation which contends that God punishes only the sin, not the sinner. They believe because of God's love, all souls will ultimately be reconciled to God. Universal salvation is also opposed to the perception of everlasting torment in Hell.

But notice Christ teaches that those on his left hand depart, go away … not just their sins, but the sinners themselves into everlasting fire. Besides, sin … as an abstract thing … cannot be punished. Sin is nothing but an act, the act of a man; and sin, to be reached at all, must be reached by punishing the offender himself.

The original word translated here as punishment means ... infliction ... which denotes anguish, suffering and torment. It does not mean simply a state or condition, but absolute, positive suffering.

But some are of the opinion that the sufferings of the wicked will not be eternal or without end. The Greek word meaning "perpetual" ... never ending or changing ... is used to express the duration of the punishment in Hell, and this same word is also used to express the duration of eternal life in Heaven.

God is a Spirit. Man, made in His image is also a spirit being in a body of flesh. As God is eternal, our spirit is also eternal ... whether in Heaven or in Hell. We have been given a choice where to spend eternity.

Choose wisely.

Revelation 20:13-15 ... "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."



Comments welcome.