Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000073
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00:01 Music...
00:19 Hello Friends, welcome to another 00:22 Wednesday night Bible Study here at A Sharper Focus. 00:24 Thank you for sitting down and taking the time to tune in, 00:27 we do appreciate all that you do for this Network, 00:30 we do appreciate your prayers 00:32 and surely your financial support. 00:35 Tonight's topic is a continuation of the truth 00:38 about the formation of the "Secret Rapture" 00:41 and then, we're going to go ahead and roll into a new topic 00:44 "The Truth About Hell" 00:46 what does the Bible say about hell? 00:48 And invite your friends and family members 00:51 to tune in and watch the program with you 00:53 and right after we have our opening prayer 00:55 and before our theme song, I will let you know 00:58 where you can get a copy of the lesson 01:00 but for the next hour, 01:02 we're going to pray for the Lord to bless us 01:04 as we study His Word 01:06 and we're going to invite the Spirit of God to be with us, 01:08 so, let's bow our heads together as we pray. 01:10 "Our gracious Father in heaven, 01:12 we thank You for Your goodness and for Your mercy 01:15 and for Your grace 01:16 and as we open the Word tonight, 01:18 we pray that You'll open our hearts and our minds 01:20 that we not only hear what is being said 01:23 but we hear what the Spirit of God is saying 01:26 to those who are tuning in. 01:28 If there's someone who is new to this truth, 01:30 we pray that Your Word will be a lamp to their feet 01:34 and a light to their path 01:36 and may You receive the honor and the glory for this message, 01:40 in Jesus' name I pray, amen. " 01:42 Audience: Amen. 01:44 Now, the website that you need to go to 01:45 to download a copy of the lesson... 01:47 we're finishing up Lesson number 23, 01:49 but go to this following website ASF.3abn. org 01:55 and click on: Study Guides, 01:57 then you can download the lessons there, 02:00 they are in a pdf format. 02:02 You can download them and follow along, 02:04 print and write on them, 02:05 or if you're high technical, you can use your computer 02:08 to just fill in the blanks. 02:09 Also, lesson number 24 which was one... 02:12 which is the lesson that we are going to start tonight: 02:15 "The Truth About Hell... " 02:16 what does the Bible teach about the topic of hell? 02:20 But before we do anything else, 02:21 we're going to have our theme song 02:23 and for those of us who... 02:24 those of you who have been tuning in from week to week, 02:27 we like to sing the song because it's true, 02:29 "There's victory in... in Jesus. " 02:31 Let's sing our theme song together. 02:33 Music... 02:41 I heard an old, old story, 02:45 How the Savior came from glory, 02:49 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:52 To save a wretch like me, 02:56 I heard about His groaning, 03:00 Of His precious blood's atoning 03:04 Then I repented of my sins; 03:08 And won the victory. 03:12 O victory in Jesus, 03:15 My, Savior, forever. 03:19 He sought me and bought me 03:23 With His redeeming blood; 03:27 He loved me ere I knew Him, 03:30 And all my love is due Him, 03:34 He plunged me to victory, 03:38 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:42 I heard about a mansion 03:46 He has built for me in glory. 03:49 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:53 Beyond the crystal sea; 03:57 About the angels singing, 04:01 And the old redemption story, 04:04 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:08 The song of victory. 04:11 Key Change... 04:12 O victory in Jesus, 04:16 My Savior, forever, 04:19 He sought me and bought me 04:23 With His redeeming blood; 04:27 He loved me ere I knew Him, 04:31 And all my love is due Him, 04:35 He plunged me to victory, 04:38 Beneath the cleansing flood... 04:42 He plunged me to victory 04:46 Beneath the cleansing flood. 04:51 Amen. 04:53 Audience: Amen. 04:54 Wonderful, wonderful... 04:56 He's plunged all of us to victory 04:58 beneath the cleansing flood. 05:00 Tonight, we are going to continue on the topic, 05:03 "The Formulation of the Secret Rapture. " 05:07 The Formulation of the Secret Rapture. 05:10 We only have a few questions remaining 05:12 in this topic 05:14 or the truth about the "Secret Rapture" 05:16 and a lot of times, people study the topic 05:19 but do not know where the "Secret Rapture" has come from. 05:22 Now, if you've been following us on our last week's study 05:25 we did not use a lot of Bible 05:28 but we did use the pages of history. 05:31 We walked down from the formulation 05:34 of the "Secret Rapture" back in the year... 05:37 oh, I think it was 1500s I talked about Francisco Ribera 05:41 who had begun to study the book of Revelation 05:45 and begin to develop the... 05:47 the theory that was called "Dispensationalism" 05:50 it was later called the "Secret Rapture" 05:52 "The Gap Theory" 05:54 a number of other things 05:55 it was called "Futurism" 05:57 we followed it from Francisco Ribera 06:00 and you may remember when we talked about that 06:02 we said that during this time... 06:04 during the Protestant Reformation 06:06 Francisco Ribero was commissioned by Rome 06:10 to create a theory that will take the eyes of those 06:13 during the Protestant Reformation 06:15 off of the power of Rome 06:18 and so they pointed people way down in the future 06:21 and today, many people are saying that 06:24 there's going to be a "Secret Rapture" 06:26 there's going to be an Antichrist 06:27 way down in the future, 06:29 well, we know that's not true, can you say, "Amen" to that? 06:30 Audience: Amen. 06:31 There is no such thing as a "Secret Rapture" 06:34 we are unfolding and uncovering the... 06:37 the lie about the "Secret Rapture. " 06:39 Now, the word "Lie" is a strong word. 06:42 I could use the word "untruth" I could use the word "fable" 06:46 but I'd rather... the word "Lie" 06:47 because so many people have fallen for this lie. 06:50 There are many sincere Christians 06:52 that are believing that somehow just before Jesus comes, 06:55 they're going to be snatched away 06:56 and then the tribulation is going to begin. 06:59 Well, if you follow the Bible, 07:01 let's just take this picture into consideration. 07:03 If the Bible says, "As it was in the days of Noah 07:06 so also will it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man" 07:08 consider this, "How was it in the days of Noah?" 07:12 Was anybody snatched away? 07:14 Was there a second chance after the flood 07:17 for those who didn't get on the boat the first time, yes or no? 07:20 There was no second chance. 07:21 Let's consider the land of Egypt. 07:23 When the people of God were about to be delivered 07:26 out of Egypt and the angel came through... 07:29 the destroying angel... the only... 07:31 only those who had the blood of God on their doorpost 07:34 and remained in the house were safe from the destroying angel 07:38 and the plagues fell. 07:40 Now, were the people of God in Egypt when the plagues fell, 07:43 yes or no? 07:44 Yes they were. 07:46 How were they safe? 07:48 By the blood of the Lamb, what do you say? 07:51 By the blood of the Lamb... 07:52 not by some secret chamber that they were hiding in... 07:56 they were, as the Bible says in Psalm 91, 07:59 "the secret places... 08:01 he that dwelleth in the secret places of the Most High 08:04 shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 08:07 And I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: 08:11 my God in Him will I trust. " 08:13 The... the secret place that we all have 08:15 is the blood of the Lamb. 08:17 That's how we are covered during the time of tribulation 08:20 so, there's no such thing 08:22 and we went through the questions very methodically, 08:25 from Francisco Ribera 08:27 we went to Emanuel Lacunza or Manuel Lacunza, 08:31 Archbishop of Canterbury 08:33 who himself was the keeper of the manuscripts 08:36 that were written by Francisco Ribera 08:38 and we have come all the way down to the modern times, 08:41 and for those of you who have remembered or... 08:43 or have followed the topic, you may remember 08:46 that I talked about a particular person 08:48 that was one of the largest contributors 08:51 to the Study Notes in many of the Bibles 08:54 that are being sold today, does anybody remember his name? 08:56 Scofield... C. I. Scofield... 08:59 Cyrus I. Scofield 09:01 "The Scofield Study Bible" 09:04 The Scofield Study Bible is replete with notes 09:07 that lead you to believe in the "Dispensation... " 09:11 in the "Secret Rapture" 09:12 in "Futurism" 09:14 in the "Gap Theory" 09:15 that's how many Christians today have been duped by that 09:19 but then even after Cyrus I. Scofield, 09:21 another great contributor to the... 09:24 to the proliferation of the "Secret Rapture" 09:27 was a man by the name of... 09:29 think about it... Hal Lindsey... 09:33 "The Late Great Planet Earth. " 09:37 Repetitively he predicted dates that he believed 09:41 foretold the day that the church was going to be "snatched away" 09:46 that the "Secret Rapture" was going to occur 09:49 but did it occur? Yes or no? 09:50 It did not occur 09:52 and then he went on... '98... '99... 09:54 I mean, '88... '89... 90... 91... 92... 09:56 and the numbers just faded off into oblivion 09:59 because there is no "Secret Rapture" 10:01 and secondly, if it's the Second Coming, 10:03 no man knows the day nor the hour 10:06 so you can't predict that 10:08 and then we're going to go to the next two tonight... 10:10 we're going to go to the next two tonight 10:13 and so, just to go ahead and close this section out, 10:16 let's go to question number 14. 10:18 Question Number 14, it will appear on your screen 10:21 and then, it will also appear on our screen 10:25 and these are historical notes 10:28 and by the way, I mentioned... I gave you the website... 10:29 if you want the complete copy, 10:32 you can also go to that website and click on videos 10:35 and see the entire broadcast that's a week earlier. 10:38 Any broadcast you miss... 10:39 the very next week, you can sit down... 10:41 you can look at all the broadcasts from Number 1 10:44 all the way to Episode number 72 10:46 and in the beginning of each episode 10:48 they'll tell you what lesson coincides 10:51 with that particular episode 10:52 but let's look at Question number 14 tonight, here it is, 10:55 "Who made the greatest modern impact 10:58 teaching the Secret Rapture?" 11:00 Who made the greatest modern impact 11:04 teaching the "Secret Rapture?" 11:06 Now, let me lay the foundation, when I... 11:09 when I was living in California, 11:11 my wife and I were living in California in the North Bay. 11:14 Brother Hutchinson was there too, 11:16 I was the Pastor of his church, he was my Head Elder 11:20 and he's now here at... I was going to say, Fairfield... 11:24 he's now here in Thompsonville with us... 11:27 when this... when this series of books came out, 11:31 it was as though a brush firestorm had gripped the nation 11:37 and people... Christians that I felt were fairly intellectual 11:42 and... and clearly understanding the Bible, 11:45 stood on the sides of the freeways 11:47 and the sides of the main roadways with large signs 11:50 inviting people to come to their church 11:52 to watch this movie 11:54 and the movie was called, "Left Behind. " 11:57 So the greatest modern contributor... 12:01 here's the answer to the impact of the "Secret Rapture" 12:05 is a man and his Writer... 12:07 Tim LaHaye is the Theologian 12:09 and Jerry Jenkins is the Writer. 12:12 They dramatized the "Secret Rapture" 12:15 through books and movies 12:16 and still today a lot of people can go to video stores 12:20 or they go to YouTube 12:21 and what's amazing about this Series 12:25 it has sold over 50 million copies. 12:27 Tim LaHaye... the "Left Behind Series" 12:30 actually sold over 75 million copies... 12:34 that as of research a number of years ago. 12:37 it's continuing to be sold, I remember going to Walmart 12:40 at the time we were living in California, 12:42 I forgot which store it was but as we got to the store 12:44 not only did they have the large volumes 12:47 that were the kind of thick like the Harry Potter books, 12:50 but I went to a Christian bookstore 12:53 and they had a section there... this is amazing 12:55 it was entitled... where they sold books 12:57 it was called, "Christian Fiction" 13:00 is that an oxymoron? 13:02 Audience: Laughter. 13:04 When do Christians get into fiction? 13:06 I thought that we were called to tell the truth, amen... 13:08 Audience: Amen. 13:09 You shall know the truth 13:10 and the truth shall make you free. 13:12 We are not proponents of fiction, 13:14 but this entire... I was so perturbed by that... 13:16 my wife could remember that, 13:18 I was so perturbed by that, I went to the person 13:19 at the counter and I said, 13:21 "What does that sign say?" 13:22 I know what it said... but I was just trying to make a point, 13:25 "What does that sign say?" 13:26 He said, "Christian Fiction" 13:28 and I said, "When did Christians begin to sell fiction?" 13:34 And there you had all the... 13:38 I think it was 8 or 9 volumes of the "Left Behind" Series, 13:41 you remember the "Left Behind" one... Jerry... 13:44 Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins and then, "Tribulation Force" 13:46 and the movies 13:48 and not only did they have them in the large books 13:50 but they had them in small volumes... soft cover books... 13:52 the children edition... 13:53 they sold not only the movies and the books but the DVDs... 13:57 and they sold a series of lessons 13:59 but if anyone would take the time 14:01 to turn one of those books around 14:02 if you own one, do this right now... 14:04 I don't have any... 14:05 I keep fiction like this out of my house 14:07 but if you would turn the book around, 14:09 on the back in small letters, maybe about 4... 5... points... 14:12 you see this single word, "Fiction. " 14:15 What word did I just say? Fiction... 14:18 now... but people read the inside... 14:21 they never took the time to turn it around 14:23 so they absorbed... they swallowed this fiction 14:27 and the Ministers proliferated this, 14:29 taught this and people thought, 14:32 "Well, if it's coming from the pulpits of America... 14:34 if it's coming from the churches... 14:36 rostrum or from a church period... it must be true. " 14:38 Well, it's not true, 14:40 go with me to the book of 2nd Corinthians, 14:41 I want to show you something, the devil is artful... 14:43 he is clever... 14:45 and if I were trying to deceive somebody, 14:48 this is the... this is what I would do. 14:50 Go with me to 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, 14:53 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, 14:56 we're going to look together at verse 13 down to verse 15. 15:02 Now, I'm not the devil, 15:04 can you all say "Amen" to that, please, 15:06 but if I were dealing in deception, 15:08 I would choose a costume that would best fit the role 15:13 that I wanted to portray. 15:14 If I want to pretend to be a police officer, 15:17 I wouldn't... I wouldn't wear a football outfit. 15:19 If I want to pretend to be a cook, 15:22 I wouldn't wear a ballerina's outfit... 15:23 and the devil has found a way to hire men... 15:27 that looked the part of men of righteousness 15:31 but they are not... 15:32 and they are... 15:34 they are those that are peddling error. 15:35 Look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 verse 13. 15:38 The Bible says, "For such are... " 15:41 what kinds of apostles? 15:43 "False apostles... " 15:44 what kind of workers? "Deceitful workers 15:48 transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. " 15:53 Now, pause for a second, so they looked the part... 15:56 that's part of the deception, they looked the part, 15:59 remember Little Red Riding Hood? 16:00 Okay, that's the pun... 16:02 that's the pun I'm trying to make, 16:03 and it says in verse 14, 16:04 "And no wonder" or, "no marvel... " 16:06 if you're reading the King James Version, 16:09 "for Satan himself transforms himself 16:12 into an angel of light. " 16:14 Verse 15, powerful... 16:16 therefore, it is no great thing if his... " what? 16:22 "ministers also transformed themselves 16:25 into ministers of righteousness 16:28 whose end will be according to their works. " 16:32 Pause... 16:34 Peddling darkness... 16:35 but look like light bearers. 16:37 When Satan came to Christ in the Garden of Eden... 16:40 I mean, in the Garden of Gethsemane, 16:42 he didn't come in Halloween outfit. 16:44 Pause... 16:46 he used to be an angel... 16:47 he still maintained some of his angelic properties 16:51 now deceptive... this angel of light came... 16:54 that's why the name Lucifer means the son of the morning, 16:58 the morning light... the morning star... 17:00 and there are ministers now-a-days... 17:02 and I would say this... and I don't have time 17:05 to cut corners here, 17:06 Tim LaHaye is a false prophet. 17:08 When you proliferate 1,000s of pages 17:13 that have nothing to do with the revealed Word of God, 17:16 it's a false prophet. 17:18 Can somebody say "Amen" to that? 17:19 Audience: Amen... amen. 17:21 If it's not in God's Word, don't swallow it, 17:24 read the back of the book, "Fiction. " 17:26 But let's go on and see the next person 17:29 and this is even more modern 17:30 than Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. 17:32 Question number 15, question number 15, 17:35 "Who made the last public push for the Secret Rapture?" 17:41 I think everybody knows that one, 17:42 don't go to the... don't go to the answer yet, 17:44 I want to say some foundation, 17:46 my wife and I were out in California 17:48 around the time of this prognosticated date... 17:50 around the time of this false prophecy, 17:53 people had literally lost their sense of reason. 17:57 There were those who had plunged millions of dollars 18:01 into this campaign to warn the world 18:03 that... that the church was going to be snatched away. 18:06 As we were driving toward the Bay Bridge 18:08 on our way to San Francisco leaving out of Oakland, 18:11 we saw this big bright-lighted billboards 18:14 flashing... "The end of the world... 18:15 the end of the world is near... " 18:17 "The end of the world is near... " 18:18 we saw it on vehicles, we saw it in the newspaper, 18:21 big article in "The Times" there, 18:23 in the "Oakland Tribune" 18:24 "San Francisco Chronicle" 18:26 we kept a copy of that at home 18:27 in one of our piles of chronicled events 18:31 and we were... we thought to ourselves, 18:34 "Okay, he said... " 18:35 but let me just go ahead and show it to you 18:38 because I don't want to... I don't want to... 18:41 I don't want to cut the cake before I show you the cake. 18:43 Here's the person who made the last public push 18:46 for the "Secret Rapture. " 18:47 A man by the name of... what's his name? 18:49 Harold Camping... 18:51 Harold Camping, Preacher and Radio Host. 18:54 He's been out for many, many years 18:56 predicted the date of the "Secret Rapture. " 18:58 Go to the next slide, here's what he did. 19:01 This was actually in San Francisco: 19:03 Judgment Day May 21, 2011 19:08 Do not be wise in thine own eyes 19:10 FamilyRadio. com. 19:12 We were out there... 19:14 We went to Family Radio... 19:16 we went to Family Radio the day after the prediction failed... 19:21 we knew the prediction was going to fail. 19:24 As a matter of fact, in a very light-hearted kind of way 19:26 I said, "If Harold Camping had simply asked for advice, 19:29 I would have said to Harold Camping, 19:31 'the world is not ending on May 21st 19:33 because my wife and I... our anniversary is May 22.'" 19:36 Audience: Laughter. 19:38 We were out there to celebrate with Fairfield church 19:40 at their homecoming and but somehow... some way 19:44 this prediction of the "Secret Rapture" failed 19:47 and he went into... literally... 19:49 he... he went... he became... 19:51 not recluse... that's a light word... 19:54 he went into hiding. 19:55 If he could have been a... a... a... 19:57 a bug and fly away, I think he would have done that. 19:59 Now, unfortunately, as of this broadcast, 20:02 he's deceased and lived the rest of his life in some shame 20:07 because millions of dollars were poured into that campaign. 20:11 We went to the website... we went to the place there 20:13 and I should have included the picture there 20:15 of... and I took a picture of the... 20:17 one of the trucks in the back of the building 20:19 that was driving around with this big old marquee... 20:21 "World's Ending" but the world did not end 20:24 and the business was closed on May 22... 20:26 the business was closed 20:28 and the radio station was just simply playing music 20:30 and I thought, "How shameful 20:32 that men that claim to be students of God's Word, 20:35 will go so far as to predict something 20:37 that's not in God's Word. 20:38 You see, here at 3ABN and it's always been my... 20:41 my M O... Modus Operandi that if it's not in God's Word, 20:45 I'm not going to talk about it 20:46 and if I'm going to talk about it... I've done my homework. 20:50 You got to be... you got to understand the devil 20:53 has been around for 1,000s of years... 20:55 he's at the apex of his last hurrah 20:58 and he's just looking for ways to deceive people 21:01 and no way is even more... no way is most effective... 21:06 let me just re-phrase that... 21:09 no way is as effective as using religion 21:12 which should have as its foundation... the Word of God. 21:17 Look at the next question, Number 16, 21:20 Number 16... 21:21 here it is, "What warning did Jesus make 21:26 concerning His Second Coming?" 21:28 We're going to go to Matthew chapter 24 verse 4... 21:31 Matthew chapter 24 verse 4, 21:35 we're going to look at that one first. 21:36 What warning did Jesus make concerning His Second Coming? 21:40 You know, Matthew chapter 24 is a chapter 21:43 that outlines events leading up to the Second Coming of Christ, 21:46 how amazing sometimes we miss the very first thing He said 21:49 to His disciples... here's what he said. 21:51 Let's read this one together, are you ready? Here we go, 21:53 "Take heed that... " what? 21:56 "no one deceives you. " 21:58 Pertaining to the Second Coming, 22:01 make sure that you're not deceived. 22:03 He goes on to say, 22:04 "False Christs and false prophets will arise. " 22:06 As a matter of fact, go to the very next verse, 22:09 so the answer... "What warning did Jesus make 22:11 concerning His Second Coming?" 22:12 "Take heed that no one deceives you. " 22:14 Be careful of deception... 22:16 deception will be rampant. 22:18 Now look at verse 27 of Matthew chapter 24, 22:22 here it is, "For as the lightning comes from the east 22:28 and flashes to the west, 22:30 so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. " 22:34 Visible... now we went through just before this 22:37 what the Bible says about the "Secret Rapture" 22:41 and we talked about the formulation 22:42 of the "Secret Rapture" 22:43 so all the texts about the fact that He's coming audibly... 22:46 the resurrection is going to take place... 22:48 "Our God shall come and shall not keep silent... 22:50 a fiery stream shall issue and come forth before Him... " 22:54 we went through all the Scriptures in the Bible 22:56 pertaining to the Second Coming of Christ 22:58 and we know that when Jesus comes, 23:00 it's going to be audible... it's going to be visible... 23:03 it's going to be earth shaking... 23:05 it's going to be cemetery shattering... 23:06 it's going to be a resurrection... 23:08 the dead in Christ are going to rise first, amen, 23:10 the islands and the mountains are going to disappear... 23:13 men are going to be running from the lamb 23:15 looking to the rocks and the mountains to hide, 23:17 it's going to be anything but secret. 23:19 Our God shall come and shall not keep silent 23:23 and why should He? 23:25 I mean, when the Super Bowl happens, it won't be silent, 23:27 am I right? 23:29 When the NBA Finals come, it's not going to be silent... 23:31 any major event is not silent. 23:34 Can you imagine going to a parade... 23:35 the Macy's Day Parade... 23:37 and there's not a single sound to be heard. 23:39 That's not an event but the coming of the Lord... 23:42 the greatest event of the ages... 23:43 why would the Lord sneak back and say, "Hey Yannick, let go... 23:47 yeah, shhhh... let's go. " 23:49 The only thing that's going to be secret about His soon return 23:53 is the date... 23:55 no man knows the day nor the hour... 23:57 can you say, "Amen" to that? 23:59 Audience: Amen. 24:00 So, be educated... if you miss the entire broadcast 24:03 you can go to that website, ASF.3abn. org 24:07 download the Lesson and then click on the videos tab 24:10 and look at the videos, Episodes 72, 71 and 70 24:15 and it will cover all the details 24:17 that are before these questions on this page 24:21 on Lesson number 23. 24:22 Now, we're going to transition to a new study... 24:26 a new study... 24:28 I'm excited about this, 24:29 you know, after we did the series on 24:32 "The Righteousness of Christ" 24:33 what I've started... and I think we started with... 24:36 I cannot remember the very first one... 24:39 I know what's in the Sabbath, 24:41 I think we started on "The Truth about Death" 24:43 that was the first one we did, "The Truth About Death" 24:45 then "The Truth About the Sabbath" 24:47 and then "The Second Coming" 24:49 then "The Secret Rapture" 24:50 now we're on "The Truth About Hell. " 24:53 What does the Bible teach about hell? 24:55 Now, this is a topic... can I spend a minute on this? 24:58 Here is what I'm saying, 25:00 so much has crept into the Christian Church 25:05 and I want to go back to the original scenario that I used. 25:07 Now, why do you think the Dark Ages 25:10 was called the Dark Ages? 25:11 What was turned off? Someone tell me. 25:13 The light... 25:15 if you turn the light off, it's dark... 25:18 but now get this, 25:20 don't do it... but if the lights went off here for five seconds, 25:25 that would be tragic... 25:26 you cannot have darkness for a television program 25:31 but if the light was turned off for 1,260 years, 25:35 you can come into this room and put anything in here 25:40 and take anything out 25:42 and after 1,260 years, I'd come back here 25:44 and when the lights are finally turned on 25:47 and think, "Now what's in here was originally here 25:49 1,260 years ago. 25:52 During the Dark Ages, Satan inserted into the Church 25:56 things that were not there originally 26:00 but after so long of darkness existing, 26:03 after the light began to dawn, 26:05 after 1798 and the American Bible Society 26:08 and the Second Coming was being preached around the world, 26:11 people began to hear about things 26:12 that they thought it was always there 26:14 such as, "The Secret Rapture" 26:17 the distorted view about hell... 26:20 all these things existed 26:22 and they came into the church during the Dark Ages. 26:25 We're going to also talk about some of the reasons why 26:28 this doctrine was taught. 26:30 why people thought... 26:31 why people were taught that there's an ever-burning hell 26:35 and how the church used that to their advantage 26:40 to build all the cathedrals during the Dark Ages 26:44 let me just give you some foundation 26:46 because you know, if we don't finish this, 26:47 we go to the next week, right? 26:49 These massive cathedrals in Europe 26:51 were built primarily out of money raised 26:55 on the heels of fear. 26:57 False evidence as appearing real. 26:59 Now, if somebody died... 27:01 let me just tell you for example, if somebody died 27:03 and they were not baptized, 27:05 the parents or the people were taught 27:07 that your mom is now in purgatory, 27:09 or your dad is in purgatory, 27:11 he's going to be there for 30 days... 27:14 if after 30 days, you don't pay me 27:17 to pray him out of purgatory, then he's going straight to hell 27:23 where he's going to wither and burn in the fires of hell 27:28 like a Rotisserie forever and ever and ever and ever... 27:33 and if it was a baby that was not baptized after birth, 27:38 it will go to "limbo" 27:40 and you got 30 days once again to pay me 27:46 because I'm the only one that can pray him out. 27:48 Well that money was raised 27:50 on the shoulders of people that were filled with fear 27:52 for what will happen to their loved ones 27:54 because of love for their loved ones 27:56 and in the Dark Ages... 27:58 there were a lot of other things that were connected to this, 28:00 you may want to do some study, 28:02 here's a phrase that can really show you 28:06 where some of this came from, 28:07 the phrase called, "Neo-Platonism" 28:10 say that with me, "Neo-Platonism" 28:14 let me just kind of give you an idea, 28:15 and by the way, after we talk about the truth about hell, 28:17 we're going to go ahead and tackle some of the... 28:20 some of the familiar misconceptions 28:22 like the rich man and Lazarus... 28:23 right, 28:25 about Lazarus being dead for four days... 28:28 we're going to talk about the thief on the cross... 28:31 we're going to talk about those people that say 28:33 that Christ went to hell 28:35 and preached to those who were in "spirit prison" 28:37 we're going to talk about all that... clear that all up 28:39 because there's so much darkness that is out there 28:42 being proliferated and already imbibed and believed, 28:44 but tonight, let's go ahead and lay the foundation 28:47 for the topic of hell. 28:48 I think the most important thing that we need to know 28:50 about the topic of hell, 28:52 is in this very first question, 28:53 here it is, here is the first question. 28:56 "What does the Bible teach about the character of God?" 29:03 Wonderful... wonderful passage in the Bible we find... 29:09 this should be at the beginning of every study 29:12 particularly this one because the teaching about hell 29:15 ignores this very... 29:18 this very property about God's character. 29:20 Here it is on the screen, 29:22 and since it's the first one in our new study, 29:24 we can all read this together with some enthusiasm, 29:26 are you ready? Here it is, together, 29:29 "He who does not love does not know God, 29:33 for God is love. " 29:36 Now, I want you to catch that... 29:38 it didn't say, "God is lovely" 29:40 or "God can be lovable at certain times" 29:42 or "God has a lovable attitude" 29:45 it says "God... " what? "is love... " 29:47 so you put the two together, 29:49 you cannot separate love from God, 29:50 you cannot separate God from love... God is love... 29:53 in other words, there is no love without God 29:55 and the doctrine of hell, write the answer down, 29:58 "What does the Bible teach about the character of God?" 29:59 God is love... 30:01 and the teaching about hell 30:03 takes out of the picture God's love. 30:07 I've heard people say, "How could a loving God 30:11 burn sinners forever?" 30:14 Well, tonight Friends... 30:17 I remember at a Revelation Seminar 30:19 when I was living in Vallejo 30:21 there was a gentleman sitting on the front row... 30:22 I'll never forget this... 30:24 and he came from night to night... 30:25 he was from a different Denomination, 30:27 he eventually gave his life to the Lord... 30:28 accepted the Advent message and was baptized... 30:30 but what he said still resonates in my mind to this very day, 30:35 here was the reason why he accepted the message, 30:37 he said, "When he was out in the world taking drugs, 30:39 his friend got killed in a drug deal 30:42 and based on what he always thought 30:44 or what he always believed... 30:46 he believed that his friend was in hell right now 30:48 being tormented 30:50 and he said the very thought of it, 30:52 drove him away from even thinking about God 30:56 but as he'd gotten older, he came to our Revelation Seminar 31:00 and the evening when we presented the topic on... 31:02 "What the Bible teaches about hell... " 31:03 he came up and he said, 31:05 "For the first time in x amount of years... " 31:08 I don't remember how many years... 31:09 "for the first time in x amount of years, 31:11 a burden has been lifted from my heart about my friend" 31:14 and he told us the story... 31:15 he said, "Thank you so much, up until tonight, 31:19 I had thought my friend was in the fires of hell 31:22 being tormented relentlessly by God. " 31:26 Pause... 31:28 But God is love... God is love... 31:32 Let's go to the second question 31:34 and see what this God of love is all about. 31:36 "What does God's love reveal about destruction?" 31:41 Pause... 31:43 more pause... 31:46 What does God's love reveal about destruction? 31:48 Question number 2 31:50 and let's go to 2nd Peter chapter 3 and verse 9 31:53 if you don't have your Bibles, 31:55 the answer will be on the screen. 31:56 2nd Peter chapter 3 and verse 9, 31:58 "What does a loving God have to say about destruction?" 32:02 And here it is... here it is, 32:05 so wonderful... 32:07 the Apostle Peter writes, 32:09 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise 32:13 as some count slackness, 32:16 but is... " what? 32:18 "longsuffering toward us... " and there's the point, 32:22 "not willing that... " what? 32:24 "any should perish 32:26 but that all should come to repentance. " 32:30 So, let me ask the question, does God want people to perish? 32:35 Yes or no? What does God want? 32:37 He wants men to repent. 32:39 Repentance... one of the first steps of salvation... 32:42 Peter preached on the day of Pentecost 32:44 and they said, "What must we do to be saved?" 32:47 And he says, "Repent and be baptized" 32:49 repentance... 32:51 God is not the kind of God that wants people to perish 32:55 and by-the-way, 32:56 if you want to understand "perish" 32:58 go to the supermarket, go to the fruit section... 33:01 and sometimes, you see the sign "perishable goods" 33:04 which means, if you buy an apple 33:06 and you put it in your cupboard 33:09 and don't eat it until next year this time, 33:12 you won't enjoy it. Why? 33:16 Because it has perishable properties. 33:19 Here's the point I want to make. 33:21 When sin entered the world, 33:25 everything had perishable properties. 33:29 The only thing that exists on this planet 33:33 that is imperishable or that is immortal is nothing 33:40 only God has immortality. 33:44 Trees die... 33:46 plants die... 33:48 am I telling the truth? 33:49 The most beautiful, expensive bunch of roses... die... 33:53 perishable... 33:54 when sin entered the world... 1st Corinthians 15 verse 22, 33:58 "As in Adam all die, 34:00 even so in Christ all shall be made alive. " 34:03 The Lord is not willing that any should perish 34:06 but that all should come to repentance. 34:08 So, write the answer down, 34:09 what does God's love reveal about destruction? 34:11 He doesn't want anyone to perish. 34:13 That is not God's plan 34:15 by-the-way, a point that needs to be made 34:17 and I'll share the Scripture with you in just a moment, 34:19 hell... by-the-way was not prepared for sinners. 34:22 Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. 34:25 When I read that text years ago, I thought to myself, 34:30 then why do people want to break in on the devil's party? 34:34 Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. 34:38 Hell was never prepared 34:40 for those that God created out of love. 34:42 Hell was not prepared for us but because of sin... 34:45 unfortunately, those who will be destroyed... 34:49 those who'll be lost is as of the sands of the sea, 34:51 the Bible says. 34:53 Sad, sad reality but that's what the Word God says. 34:56 God is not willing that any should perish 34:59 but that all should come to repentance. 35:02 Write that down for number two. 35:04 Now let's go to Number 3, 35:06 we're going to dive into some solid questions here, 35:08 but these are very important to lay the foundation... 35:10 to understand God's character about this whole ideology 35:13 about the God of love, He doesn't want us to perish. 35:16 Somehow God gets the bad rap, 35:18 sometimes God is... is touted as this guy 35:20 with a telescope and a check mark... 35:23 with a telescope and a big black marker. 35:25 "Ha, got them... " check... "ha, caught him... " check... 35:29 God sometimes is... is... is portrayed as this God 35:32 who just wants to... just wants to get you 35:35 and so many people have been turned off... 35:37 I'm... I'm trying to think of the young man's name 35:39 Robert Ingersoll... 35:40 Robert Ingersoll became an Atheist 35:43 because of his dad's teaching him 35:46 that God torments babies in hell 35:49 and Robert Ingersoll became a foremost Atheist. 35:51 Agnostic... but then Atheist... 35:53 because how could a God of love 35:55 ever do that to an innocent child. 35:57 Let's see what the Bible says. 35:59 Number 3, 36:01 What is the only alternative that God offers 36:05 in place of perishing?" 36:07 There's only one... there's only one other alternative. 36:10 What does God offer? 36:12 Let's go to a text that you may have seen before... 36:14 don't know if you have... 36:18 John 3:16... do you need to look it up? 36:20 Can't we just quote it? 36:22 And by-the-way, I use the King James Version 36:24 because I think that when each of us were born, 36:26 in the delivery room, 36:29 the doctor gave us a little piece of paper and said, 36:32 "Read this... " 36:33 because somehow this text is the most quoted text of all time. 36:37 Are you ready? "For God so loved the world, 36:41 that He gave His only begotten Son, 36:43 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 36:48 but have... " what? 36:49 "everlasting life. " 36:51 Now, let's pause on that. 36:52 Yes, we've heard that text before 36:53 but have you caught what it said? 36:55 If you believe in God, you don't perish... 36:59 you have what? Everlasting life... 37:03 so, look at the two now 37:04 as we go and build the foundation... 37:05 either you perish... or you have everlasting life. 37:08 Now, get this, "everlasting life" and "perish" 37:11 can't be the same thing, 37:12 my point is, those who received everlasting life, 37:16 are able to live... how long? Someone tell me. 37:19 Forever... 37:21 Those who perish cannot live long in the fires of hell. 37:27 You'll find out tonight why... 37:29 I know people... their wheels are turning... 37:32 let me tell you something about truth, 37:33 truth is so clear that sometimes it confuses you 37:36 if you've been in darkness for so long. 37:38 Somebody will be hearing that 37:40 and I know I've been in situations for years... 37:42 I've sat down and talked with people 37:44 of different denominations 37:45 and when I'm saying that, 37:47 they can't wait till I finish my point 37:49 to say the very next statement and some people say, 37:52 "But... but people will burn forever in hell... 37:55 they have to... " 37:56 and I'm thinking... 37:58 I'm thinking, 38:01 "Why do Christians want sinners to burn in hell forever?" 38:06 I can't understand that. 38:08 There's some people who say, "They will burn in hell... " 38:11 and other people said, 38:13 "I get it, you guys don't believe in hell... " 38:15 well, let me make a point tonight before I go any further, 38:17 "We believe in hell... hotter than the hell you believe in 38:19 pause... 38:25 because in our hell, ain't nothing's going to survive. " 38:29 In the Bible's hell, ain't nothing's going to be leftover. 38:32 In the hell that you've been taught about, 38:35 it ain't hot enough to kill anybody. 38:37 They're going to be having parties... 38:39 sipping water back and forth... 38:40 when you think the rich man and Lazarus is an actual account 38:44 of something in hell, can you imagine... 38:45 now, get it, it's a little warm in here 38:47 but it's not by any means a summer day... 38:49 and there's no fire around me, praise God for that. 38:52 I'm a little thirsty right now, but do you think... 38:56 and we're going to get into this later on in the next study 38:58 just to kind of prep it, 38:59 do you think if I was thirsty 39:01 that you could dip your finger in water 39:04 while I'm in hell's fire and quench my thirst? 39:08 Audience: Laughter... 39:10 And do you think that there's going to be some kind... 39:13 "Hey, you're okay over there?" 39:17 "Naw, I'm not doing too well. " 39:19 "How can I help you?" 39:20 "Well, since you're righteous, do you have access to water?" 39:24 "Hold on... ah... I got it but I can't reach over there, 39:28 there's a great gulf fixed between the both of us 39:31 but if I could, I'll dip my finger in the water 39:33 and help you out... " 39:34 "I appreciate it, 39:35 kind of did some bad things to get myself in this fire 39:37 and I don't know how I'm going to get out of it. " 39:39 Audience: Laughter... 39:41 And then they teach... 39:42 I wish I had a big old "error mallet... " 39:45 I just hit "error" on the head 39:46 every time I got a chance to do it. 39:48 And then they teach... this is ridiculous... 39:50 but this is how... what happens is... 39:52 my dad used to teach me, 39:53 "When you lie, you got to keep on lying. " 39:55 Have you known that? 39:57 The first lie makes room for the second lie 40:00 and the second lie makes room for the third lie. 40:03 If you tell the first lie as a preacher, 40:05 you got to tell a lie to back that lie up 40:07 so here's the lie to back up that lie. 40:09 Not only are you going to burn in hell forever, 40:11 "So... what about the resurrection?" 40:14 "Oh, well, this is what's going to happen. " 40:15 This is what they say 40:17 and I actually read this in a book, 40:18 I don't want to tell you the Denomination 40:19 but they say, "When Jesus comes, 40:21 there's going to be a resurrection 40:23 and a brief pause... for those who are in the fires of hell. 40:27 They're going to get a break... they're going to be judged 40:31 and put right back in. " 40:32 Audience: Laughter. 40:34 I wish I weren't making that up, 40:37 I have that book at home... 40:39 I have a little orange book that I got from a Denomination... 40:42 from a pastor... who tried to take me to task on that. 40:46 So, let's put this theory into... into... into effect... 40:49 let's put it into action... 40:51 let's just say, "That's a possibility... " 40:55 which I know it's not but let's just think about it 40:57 in the context of what I just said, 40:58 so, that means that Cain who killed Abel 41:01 has been in the fires of hell... burning for... how long? 41:04 and he still ain't done yet... 41:07 and he's going to have a break.. that is if he's lost 41:11 at the Second Coming of Christ, he's going to be judged 41:14 and put back in there. 41:15 Doesn't make any sense. 41:17 Pause... 41:19 According to the... according to the text 41:21 that everyone has been given from birth 41:23 you either perish or you have everlasting life. 41:27 You don't have everlasting death 41:29 in the fires of hell. 41:31 You don't have everlasting punishment... 41:33 you're not going to be withering and rolling around on Rotisserie 41:36 and all those medieval drawings that were drawn 41:40 commissioned to scare people into submission, 41:43 to the powers of the church of Rome... 41:45 look at some of those medieval pictures... 41:48 looks like little imps and demons with forks 41:51 turning people over in the fires of hell 41:53 and people having no other reference... 41:55 no access to the Bible... 41:57 believed and swallowed that... abject fear... 41:59 and one preacher once said, 42:00 "How am I going to get people to accept Christ 42:03 if I don't teach hell fire?" 42:04 "Well, talk about the love of God" amen somebody. 42:07 Audience: Amen. 42:08 Can you imagine... 42:09 fire standing behind a groom on a wedding day, 42:12 "Will you love her or not?" 42:13 "Yes... anything... " 42:15 that's not how God is... 42:18 God is love... 42:19 "For God so loved the world... " 42:23 that's how they say it in California, 42:25 everything is "so" 42:26 "Oh... so nice... " 42:28 "Oh, God so loved the world... " 42:29 either you perish or you have everlasting life. 42:32 Now, let's go to Question number 4... 42:34 Question number 4, 42:36 "How does David the psalmist reveal the end of the wicked?" 42:42 How does he reveal that? 42:44 How does he reveal the end of the wicked? 42:47 How does he talk about it? 42:49 We're going to Psalm 1 and verse 6, 42:51 Psalm 1 and verse 6, 42:53 just the other night I was sharing this with my wife 42:56 not so much about this text in particular 42:58 but... that David the Psalmist 43:01 was talking about this first chapter of Psalms as comparison 43:06 between the righteous and the wicked. 43:08 What a wonderful comparison because if you're righteous, 43:11 you meditate on God's law day and night, 43:14 on God's law day and night 43:15 and everything you do will prosper 43:18 but he says... but he says in verse 6, 43:20 look at this... 43:22 "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, 43:27 but the way of the ungodly shall... " what? 43:31 "perish... " 43:32 there is the word again... "perish... " 43:34 I don't know how many times 43:38 I've had to replace my car battery 43:39 because I had my car outside of the house 43:42 in the cold weather and hot... in the cold weather and hot... 43:44 but I know, they need a lot of fixing.. and I left it out there 43:47 and even though the battery was new when I first bought it, 43:49 I took it back to the place I bought it... 43:51 they said, "Have you been driving this car?" 43:52 I said, "No... " 43:54 kind of... so much needs to be done with this 43:57 like an old car from way down in 1995... 43:59 and they said, "I know your battery... 44:01 you haven't used it very much, but it's... it's dead. " 44:04 Now, here's my point, 44:06 "Do I now put that battery in another car and it works?" 44:09 Yes or no... 44:11 If it's dead it's dead... 44:12 we have a big box of batteries behind the stage here at 3ABN. 44:16 Bad and good... 44:19 it is sad to think but it's true... 44:22 we have more bad batteries than good 44:24 but we don't put the bad batteries back 44:27 in the microphones 44:28 that's why we took them out because they're bad. 44:31 They're at the point where they are about to perish. 44:33 David the Psalmist made it very, very clear, 44:37 "The way of the ungodly shall do... " what? 44:40 Perish... 44:42 but what does he mean by that? 44:43 what does he mean by that? 44:44 Let's go to the next question. 44:46 Question number 5, 44:47 "In what manner does the Bible reveal 44:50 that the wicked will perish?" 44:52 In what manner? 44:53 "I'm going to... I'm going to perish... " 44:54 but how? How am I going to perish? 44:56 How will I perish? 44:58 Wow! Psalm 37 and verse 20. 45:03 Psalm 37 and verse 20. 45:07 Let's look at this, 45:09 okay, here's what the Bible says. 45:12 David the Psalmist... 45:13 "But the wicked shall... " what's the next word? 45:16 "Perish... " 45:17 "and the enemies of the LORD shall... 45:19 enemies of the Lord... like the splendor of the meadows, 45:24 shall vanish... " how? 45:26 "into smoke... 45:28 they shall... " what? 45:30 "vanish away. " 45:31 Pause... 45:33 When I was in New York City... 45:34 and we... we were not too long out in California, 45:37 and we moved up in the mountains to an old church... 45:40 all the church members... 45:42 one of them asked me one day, "Do you have enough kindling?" 45:46 And me being a city boy, 45:48 I didn't want to act... look ignorant, 45:49 I thought kindling was a country word for kinfolk... 45:52 didn't know what kindling was... never heard the word... 45:56 you don't talk about "kindling" in the city, 45:58 has no applications like that... 46:00 "I... I think I do... " 46:02 I went to the store one day in town in Weaverville, 46:06 if you're watching from Weaverville, hello. 46:08 And I saw on the bottom of the shelf, 46:11 all these little pieces of thin wood 46:13 banded around with string 46:15 and the word on the package, "Kindling" 46:18 and I thought, "That's kindling? 46:21 So, it's not a country word for kinfolk... " 46:24 and they said, 46:26 "Well, do you know how to start a fire?" 46:27 Well, the only way I knew how to start a fire was... 46:29 sure I know how to start a fire... 46:32 put some... put some newspaper in there, 46:33 ball it up... put a whole lot of paper in there... ball it up 46:37 and get my butane fluid and squirt it in there 46:40 and throw a match in there... 46:41 that's how I started a fire, 46:43 don't do that... 46:44 it was a horrible explosion. 46:46 Thankfully it was not too big a fire 46:50 because it went... wfoooooo 46:52 like gasoline would and it burned out really quick 46:55 so one church member came over 46:57 and taught me how to build a fire. 46:59 "Put your kindling here... and then the other piece 47:03 and don't... look out for Pitch Pine 47:04 and look out for Douglas Fir... " 47:06 and I came to find... and today, I can smell a piece of wood 47:10 and kind of remember what tree it's connected to 47:12 but back then, I had no idea 47:13 and I tell you what though 47:15 when I put a fire together at night, 47:17 my wife can tell you... 47:18 that fire burned all night long 47:22 but I tell you this, 47:23 whatever log I put in there at 11 o'clock at night, 47:26 it wasn't in there in the morning. 47:29 Into smoke... it vanished away. 47:31 Into smoke... it did what? 47:33 Vanished away. 47:35 Lot of people think that somehow... 47:37 there's something about us 47:40 that can be exposed to the devastating fires of God 47:44 and still survive. 47:46 I don't know of anybody on earth that survived a fire 47:49 unless they got out of it. 47:51 As a matter of fact, if you want to test this theory 47:53 I don't suggest you do, 47:55 as a matter of fact, let me make a point here 47:56 like they do at the disclaimers, 47:57 "Don't try this at home... " 47:59 but if you decide... if you want to test how... 48:02 how... how eternal you are 48:04 and how indestructible you are, 48:05 light the stove and put your finger there, 48:08 I guarantee you, give yourself a few seconds, 48:10 you'll realize that you are very mortal. 48:12 Amen, somebody... 48:13 Audience: Amen. 48:15 Nothing mortal about... nothing immortal about us 48:17 until we put on immortality at the Second Coming, 48:20 we studied that already, 48:21 we will put on immortality 48:23 but there's nothing about us immortal 48:25 so how will we endure the fires of hell? 48:27 We would not... that's why David the Psalmist says, 48:29 "Into smoke they... " not "it... " 48:32 but "they shall vanish away. " 48:35 "What happened to all the firewood we had?" 48:38 "It's gone... " 48:39 "Well, how did it go?" 48:40 "Didn't you see the smoke going through the chimney?" 48:42 Into smoke it vanished away. 48:43 That's what the Bible says 48:45 so put that down on Question number 5, 48:48 "In what manner does the Bible reveal the wicked will perish?" 48:50 They'll vanish away into smoke. 48:52 Smoke... they'll go up in smoke... 48:54 people have said that, 48:55 "Man! all my money went up in smoke. " 48:57 "My house went up in smoke. " 48:58 In this case, anybody put into the Lake of Fire 49:03 will go up in smoke, amen. 49:06 Now, what I like about studying this topic is, 49:09 it doesn't apply to me, come on somebody say, "Amen. " 49:11 Audience: Amen. 49:12 I'm not in that category 49:14 and I'm determined by God's grace to stay out of it. 49:16 Here is the next question... 49:18 here is the next question, Question number 7... 49:21 Question number 7... 49:23 sorry, Question number 6, sorry... 49:25 "Will the wicked continue to exist after their destruction?" 49:33 will they continue to exist after their destruction? 49:36 Now, those of you who are theologically sound, 49:38 you know the answer is "No" 49:40 but it's not that simple. 49:41 I don't want your answer, 49:42 I want the Bible's answer, is that all right? 49:44 Psalm 37 and verse 10 is where you'll find the answer. 49:47 "Will the wicked continue to exist after their destruction?" 49:50 Now, that seems really weird to ask that question 49:53 but here is the reason I ask that question 49:55 because somehow in the minds of some people 49:57 they think that they will. 49:58 I mean, get this, where is he? 50:01 I've never gone to a funeral, by the way, 50:02 where the preacher said, "He's in hell now. " 50:04 Have you noticed that? 50:05 If they don't believe in the resurrection, 50:08 they always say, "He's in heaven he's looking down" 50:10 but nobody has ever said, "He's in hell, looking up. " 50:12 Audience: Laughter. 50:14 No one ever said that 50:15 but 50:19 the point I was going to make has just vanished away. 50:22 Audience: Laughter. 50:24 Let's read the text and it will come back. 50:26 Here it is... 50:27 Psalm 37 verse 10, "For yet a little while 50:33 and the wicked shall be... " come on, say it together, 50:36 "no more... " 50:38 "indeed, you will look carefully for his place... " 50:43 what's going to happen? 50:44 "but it shall be... " what? 50:46 "no more. " 50:48 "Where did Hitler live before?" 50:50 "I don't know. " 50:52 "Is Hitler still there?" 50:53 "Ah ah... he gone... " Amen. 50:57 Any sinner that has not accepted Christ 50:59 will fall under the category of "perish. " 51:02 John 3:16... 51:03 they will not fall into the category of "everlasting life. " 51:06 You don't have everlasting... there are no immortal sinners. 51:09 You got to catch that, 51:10 that's one of the reasons why as soon as Adam and Eve sinned... 51:13 my wife and I are on the same page... 51:15 we read the Study together, as soon as Adam and Eve sinned, 51:19 the Lord sent an Angel to bar the way to the Tree of Life 51:22 lest they partake of it and eat and live forever. 51:25 He made sure that there will be no such thing 51:28 as an immortal sinner, amen. 51:30 Audience: Amen. 51:31 Can you imagine the devil being around forever? 51:33 Can you imagine Hitler being around forever? 51:35 And the antediluvian giants... 51:37 Lord have mercy if sin were ever allowed to reign forever, 51:41 there'll be no hope for any of us 51:42 but to God be the glory, 51:44 Jesus prevailed over the grave, what do you say? 51:46 Audience: Amen. 51:48 But you look around for their place... not what... 51:50 you won't glance, you'll carefully look, 51:52 "Weren't they around here somewhere? 51:54 I thought it was... what block he's...?" 51:56 He ain't there anymore because in the new earth, 51:59 only the meek will inherit the earth, 52:01 what do you say? 52:02 There'll be no sinners in the New Earth, 52:04 there ain't going to be any barbed-wire fences 52:05 in my neighborhood, 52:06 I don't have to lock my door to my golden mansion, 52:09 come on say "Amen" somebody. 52:10 Audience: Amen. 52:12 I don't want to... "Man, this is a really nice neighborhood 52:14 that Jesus built for me, 52:15 any drug dealers around here?" Ah ah... 52:18 Nothing will enter in that to defile it, Revelation chapter 22 52:22 nothing's going in there 52:23 because it is not going to survive the fires of hell. 52:26 So, let's put the answer down, 52:27 "Will the wicked continue to exist after their destruction?" 52:31 What's the answer? No more... 52:32 you won't find them... you won't find their place. 52:35 You won't find them 52:37 and you won't find where they lived. 52:39 As a matter of fact, I remember that thought... 52:41 it was a sad story about a few months ago, 52:43 maybe even a year ago, 52:44 remember they found the three young girls 52:46 that had been missing for about ten years... remember that? 52:49 Now, get this... this is... this is powerful... 52:53 are you ready? 52:55 The guy that killed them... where is he? 52:57 You will look for his place and it will be no more... 53:01 not only is he no more but even his place is no more. 53:05 That's what the Bible is saying. 53:06 God doesn't even want the trace of sin to exist. 53:11 He's getting rid of the place and the perpetrator, amen. 53:14 Root and branch... 53:16 That's how God is 53:18 because we want to live in peace, what do you say? 53:21 I don't want to get to heaven worrying about, 53:23 "Oh no, did you hear who made it up here?" 53:25 "Who?" 53:28 "Isn't that that guy with that bad temper?" 53:30 "He's up here... three blocks over... " 53:33 Audience: Laughter. 53:35 That's not going to happen. 53:37 It sounds kind of hilarious but the Lord... 53:40 we make... see... 53:42 we are making decisions now for eternal life 53:44 and secondly, God is not going to have 53:47 some hole in the new earth where people are going, 53:50 ah... ah... ah... ah... 53:53 and you go and look over and say, 53:54 "Yeah, there he is, still in the fires of hell, 53:57 he shouldn't have done that... here's some water. " 54:00 Because I asked somebody once, 54:02 this sounds cynical but I want to make a point here, 54:04 I asked somebody once, 54:06 "Okay, if you believe that hell is going to burn forever, 54:08 where is it going to burn?" 54:09 And they say, "Down there... " 54:11 "You mean, down there? 54:13 Down there is up there for the people 54:14 on the other side of the planet. " 54:16 Where is it going to burn? 54:17 Oh, I look for a new heaven and a new earth 54:23 in which righteousness dwells. 54:26 The former things shall not be remembered nor come into mind, 54:31 affliction shall not rise up a second time 54:35 man! what a night... amen somebody... 54:37 Audience: Amen. 54:38 We're not going to worry about this in the new earth 54:40 destruction is sure... 54:42 but you don't have to be destroyed 54:43 if you don't know the Lord... 54:44 you don't have to be in this bad scene, 54:46 you can accept the Lord and have eternal life, 54:48 everlasting life... 54:50 that's who Jesus is... 54:51 let's go to the next one, 54:52 I think we'll make a few more before the night is done. 54:54 Number 7... number 7... 54:57 "What does the Bible... what does the... 55:00 what does the Bible describe 55:02 as the means of destroying the wicked?" 55:04 What does the Bible describe as the means 55:07 of destroying the wicked? 55:08 Let's see what it says, all right, 55:11 well, I'll tell you... 55:14 you know what I like about this topic? 55:15 Some people say... 55:16 I remember I was in the Virgin Islands 55:18 and I talked to... in St. Thomas visiting there, 55:20 and I talked to a guy there and he said, 55:22 "You know, whenever you guys talk about hell, 55:24 you always... you always avoid these verses... " 55:26 I said, "We don't avoid any verses in the Bible. " 55:29 "Yeah, I don't hear it very much... " 55:31 I said, "Because you may be not be listening clearly 55:33 but we don't avoid any verses in the Bible" 55:34 and these are the verses he said that we avoid, 55:37 I don't avoid anything, so what's the answer, 55:39 "What does the Bible describe 55:40 as the means of destroying the wicked?" 55:41 Here it is, Revelation chapter 14 verse 10. 55:43 I'm going to leave you with a cliffhanger this week 55:45 so you can come back next week. 55:46 The Bible says, "He himself shall also drink of the wine 55:51 of the wrath of God, 55:53 which is poured out... " how strong? 55:55 "full strength into the cup of His indignation. 55:59 He shall be tormented... " with what? 56:03 "fire" and what else? 56:05 "brimstone in the presence of the holy angels 56:09 and in the presence of the Lamb. " 56:10 Amen... 56:12 Fire and brimstone... 56:15 you don't know what that is? 56:16 Go to Hawaii and get a helicopter ride 56:18 over the top of a volcano, 56:19 make sure it's a good altitude. 56:20 Fire and brimstone... 56:22 as the waters came up from the earth 56:24 and destroyed those who were here... in the flood 56:26 and the waters came down... 56:27 fire will come up and fire will come down. 56:31 Read 1st Peter... we'll talk about that next week. 56:33 The same earth that was destroyed by water 56:36 fire is now... is now held in reserve for fire 56:40 and by-the-way, just to encourage you, 56:43 it's not burning tonight, hallelujah. 56:45 Audience: Amen. 56:46 Nobody downstairs burning. 56:47 It says... Question number 8... very quickly... 56:51 "How does the Bible describe the intensity of their torment?" 56:56 This is the cliffhanger... you have to come back... 56:57 very quickly now... 56:59 "and the smoke of their torment ascended forever and ever 57:02 and they have no rest day or night 57:04 who worship the beast and his image 57:06 and whoever receives the mark of his name. " 57:09 Now, next week you're going to see that text, 57:12 but get this, "the smoke of their torment 57:15 will ascend up forever and ever 57:17 and they'll have no rest day or night. " 57:19 What does the Bible mean about forever and ever? 57:24 What does the Bible mean about their torment? 57:25 What does it mean that they have no rest day or night 57:28 when they are plunged into the fires of God's destruction, 57:32 you'll find out 57:34 but keep this in mind as you wait for next week 57:36 there is no such thing as an eternal sinner 57:39 hallelujah, somebody... 57:40 Audience: Amen. 57:42 The wages of sin is death 57:44 but the gift of God is eternal life 57:47 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 57:48 Only the righteous will receive eternal life... 57:51 not the wicked... 57:52 and here's the point, you cannot burn forever 57:54 unless you live forever. 57:55 If it doesn't make sense, Friends, 57:57 keep studying God's Word 57:59 for one day, it will come into a sharper focus. 58:02 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-07-23