WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN –
LIFE ON THE NEW EARTH
“Going to Hell?”
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Many
professing Christians today do not believe in a literal hell.
·
Many believe
that since God is a loving God as taught in the Bible, there is no way He could
possibly send people to hell.
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However the
doctrine of eternal punishment in hell for the wicked is clearly taught in the
scriptures.
·
The Bible
employs several images to depict the future state of the unrighteous.
Matthew 24:21 says:
21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from
the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
Matthew
12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown
outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth."
Revelation 14:10-11 says:
10he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which
has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented
with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever.
There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or
for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
Revelation 9:1-2 says:
1The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star
that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the
shaft of the Abyss. 2When he opened the Abyss, smoke
rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were
darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
Romans 2:5 says:
5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant
heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath,
when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Revelation 21:8 says:
8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the
murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters
and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is
the second death."
·
The basic
characteristic of hell is that it is the ________________________(absence) of God.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 says:
9They will be punished with everlasting destruction
and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.
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God will live
with his children “followers of Christ” on the New Earth forever.
·
Those who do
not ___________________(submit) to the Lordship of Jesus Christ will live in
____________________(Hell) with the ____________________(Devil) forever.
·
Whereas those
who love Jesus will live with their ____________________(Lord) on the New Earth
forever, so too those who do not love Jesus will live with their Lord, the
Devil in Hell forever.
·
Who is your
Lord? - Is it the Lord _________________(Jesus) Christ or is it the _________________(Devil).
Do not be _______________________(deceived), it is ____________(one) or the
________________(other).
·
JESUS SAID:”IF
YOU ARE NOT ______________(FOR) ME YOU ARE _______________________(AGAINST) ME.
·
Jesus said
that ____________(allot) of _______________________(professing) Christians will
end up in Hell ______________________(separated) from God forever.
Matthew 7:21-23 says:
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is
in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly,
'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
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Hell is an
experience of intense anguish because it involves both intense ____________________(physical)
suffering and __________________(mental) anguish forever.
·
Physical
suffering because of the ___________________(flames) and
_________________(heat).
·
Mental
suffering because of the __________________(rejection) and __________________(loneliness)
the person experiences when they see God’s face for a moment, but then are
_____________(cut) off from him forever.
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Mental
suffering in that their ________________(moral) condition they died with is
also ______________________(permanent) without any _________________(hope) of
____________________(improvement).
·
Sometimes it
is hard enough to live with ourselves for a few minutes, let alone in an
unredeemed state for all eternity without any hope of sanctification.
·
Not to
mention that everybody else in Hell will be ________________(proud)
________________(sinners) without any hope for improvement.
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A sense of ________________________(hopelessness)
will come to a person when they realize that they will be _____________________(forever)
_________________(sinful) and ____________________(separated) from God in Hell.
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There is no
concept of ______________________(purgatory) in the Bible – it is a man made
doctrine that has no credibility to it because it is __________________________(contrary)
to what the Bible teaches.
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The Bible
teaches that there are no _________________ ___________________(second chances)
after a person dies – their eternal ___________________________(destination)
has already been ______________________(decided) before they die.
·
The second
chances that God gives a person is on this earth ___________________(before)
they die.
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If there was
an opportunity for belief in Christ after the judgment – it would be clearly
stated in the Bible and it is not.
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In fact, the
Bible teaches the exact opposite.
Matthew 25:41 says:
41"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.
Luke 16:19-31 (pg. 741)
says:
19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple
and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his
gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and
longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and
licked his sores.
22"The
time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.
The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[a] where he was in torment, he looked up and
saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he
called to 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.'
25"But
Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good
things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you
are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you
a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you
cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
27"He
answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they
will not also come to this place of torment.'
29"Abraham
replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30"
'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they
will repent.'
31"He
said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be
convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
·
Even though
Luke 16:19-31 relates to the intermediate state and not the final state, the
Bible is clear that there is ____________________(permanent) separation of the
two destinies.
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Clearly, the
Bible teaches that once a person goes to Hell, they will never get out.
Isaiah 66:24 says:
24 "And they will go out and look upon the dead
bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will
their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
Mark 9:43-48 says:
43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is
better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where
the fire never goes out.[a] 45And if your foot
causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than
to have two feet and be thrown into hell.[b] 47And if your eye
causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the
" 'their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched.'[c]
Isaiah 33:14 says:
14 The sinners in
trembling grips the godless:
"Who of us can dwell with the
consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting
burning?"
Jeremiah 17:4 says:
4 Through your own fault you will lose
the inheritance I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies
in a land you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
and it will burn forever."
Matthew 25:41 says:
41"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.
Daniel 12:2 says:
2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will
awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 says:
9They will be punished with everlasting destruction
and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
Revelation
11And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and
ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his
image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
Revelation
10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the
lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.
They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
QUESTION: How could such a loving God
send people to such a horrible place forever?
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Some people
have a problem with Hell because it is described as eternal fire, eternal
punishment and eternal torment.
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What kind of
God is it who is not satisfied by a finite punishment, but makes human being
that he created suffer forever and ever?
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This seems to
go beyond the demands of justice; it appears to involve a tremendous degree of
vindictiveness on the part of God.
·
The
punishment seems to be to be out of proportion to the sin.
·
The fact that
we are confused to how a loving God can send a person to hell indicates that we
do not understand the seriousness of sin.
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All sin is an
______________________(offense) against God and the
____________________(penalty) is Hell.
Romans
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God,
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God does not __________________(send)
people to hell - Going to hell is a person’s ______________________(choice),
not God’s.
Matthew 7:13-28 says:
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the
gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through
it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that
leads to life, and only a few find it.
15"Watch
out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they
are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will
recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that
does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus,
by their fruit you will recognize them.
21"Not
everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many
will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and
in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then
I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
24"Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain
came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house;
yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put
them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
28When Jesus
had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their
teachers of the law.
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Jesus says
that many ______________________(professing)
Christians will end up in Hell because they did not really
________________(know) him.
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____________________(Knowing) Jesus and having a ________________________(relationship)
with him is the perquisite for living with him in Heaven forever on the New
Earth.
HOW TO BETTER KNOW GOD:
1. Read the Bible
2. Pray
3. Surrender control of your life to God by obeying Him.
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Jesus
encourages all of mankind to enter through the _______________(narrow gate) –
which is ___________________(faith) in Christ.
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God created
man to have _________________________(fellowship) with
Him _______________________(forever).
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God’s _________________(will) is that all should come to faith in Christ and that
none should __________________(perish) in Hell.
2 Peter 3:8-12 says:
8But do not
forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand
years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is
not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10But the
day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar;
the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will
be laid bare.[a]
11Since
everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look
forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of
the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
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God
____________________(loves) us to much to override our
________________(freedom) to choose Christ.
John
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one
and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.
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A person is
saved from Hell by placing their ______________________(faith) in the Lord
Jesus Christ and submitting to His _______________________(Lordship).
Romans 9:9 - 13 says:
9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is
Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you
believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are
saved. 11As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts
in him will never be put to shame."[a] 12For there is no
difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly
blesses all who call on him, 13for, "Everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."[b]
·
Our gratitude
from being saved from Hell should lead the Christian to __________________(obedient)
living in Christ.
John 14:15-21 says:
15"If
you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will
ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and
will be[c] in you. 18I will not
leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long,
the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you
also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am
in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever
has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me
will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to
him."