Let's begin with our paragraph
right there at the top.
00:00:14.83\00:00:17.50
It says: The word
"gospel" means "good news",
00:00:17.53\00:00:20.83
or "good tidings", the whole
Bible is filled with good news.
00:00:20.86\00:00:25.79
Even the subject of hell
rightly understood is good news,
00:00:25.82\00:00:30.83
there have been, down
through the ages, significant
00:00:30.86\00:00:33.39
misunderstandings about the
subject of hell, in this lesson
00:00:33.42\00:00:35.85
we will seek to cut through
these misunderstandings and
00:00:35.88\00:00:39.25
preprogrammed pictures, in
order to arrive at Bible truth.
00:00:39.28\00:00:42.77
If we let the Bible speak we
will surely succeed, let's go
00:00:42.80\00:00:46.45
to the book of Revelation
20. And in order to properly
00:00:46.48\00:00:50.86
understand hell we're
going to have to look at hell
00:00:50.89\00:00:53.19
in its chronological context,
and that is how it relates
00:00:53.22\00:00:56.69
to the issue of the Millennium.
How many of you have heard
00:00:56.72\00:01:00.16
that term before "The
Millennium" in reference to
00:01:00.19\00:01:02.31
the Bible?
00:01:02.34\00:01:04.39
It's a very simple
word, it comes from 2 words:
00:01:04.42\00:01:06.90
"Mille", which is 1000,
and "annum", which is "years",
00:01:06.93\00:01:09.66
"one thousand years".
We're in Revelation 20:1.
00:01:09.69\00:01:13.01
John says "Then I saw an
angel coming down from heaven"
00:01:13.04\00:01:16.22
"having the keys to the
bottomless pit, and a great"
00:01:16.25\00:01:18.80
"chain in his hand, and he
laid a hold of the dragon",
00:01:18.83\00:01:21.74
who's the dragon?
Satan, "that serpent"
00:01:21.77\00:01:24.30
"of old, who is the Devil
and Satan, and bound him for"
00:01:24.33\00:01:27.10
"a thousand years. " Now,
the word "millennium" does
00:01:27.13\00:01:29.83
not actually occur in the Bible,
but it comes from this idea
00:01:29.86\00:01:32.34
of 1000 years,
"mille", 1000, "annum", years.
00:01:32.37\00:01:34.38
1000 years, so he
was bound for 1000 years.
00:01:34.41\00:01:36.35
Verse 3: "And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him"
00:01:36.38\00:01:40.07
"up". Aren't you
glad to know that
00:01:40.10\00:01:42.64
Satan's going to
be shut up some day?
00:01:42.67\00:01:45.14
[Audience] Amen.
"...shut him up and set a seal"
00:01:45.17\00:01:47.58
"on him so that he should
deceive the nations no more"
00:01:47.61\00:01:51.26
"until the thousand years
are finished. But after these"
00:01:51.29\00:01:54.89
"things he must be released
for a little while. " Verse 4:
00:01:54.92\00:01:58.43
"I saw thrones", John said,
"and they that sat on them"
00:01:58.46\00:02:01.94
"and judgment was
committed to them. "
00:02:01.97\00:02:04.33
"Then I saw the souls of
those who had been beheaded"
00:02:04.36\00:02:07.08
"for their witness to Jesus,
and for the Word of God. "
00:02:07.11\00:02:09.76
Serious business to follow the
Lord, "who had not worshiped"
00:02:09.79\00:02:12.30
"the beast, nor his image, and
who had not received the mark"
00:02:12.33\00:02:14.80
"in their foreheads or in
their hands, and they lived"
00:02:14.83\00:02:17.25
"and reigned with Christ
for one thousand years. "
00:02:17.28\00:02:19.63
Verse 5: "But the rest of
the dead lived not again until"
00:02:19.66\00:02:22.26
"the thousand years were
finished, this is the first"
00:02:22.29\00:02:25.33
"resurrection. " Verse 6:
"Blessed and holy is he who"
00:02:25.36\00:02:28.36
"has part in the first
resurrection, over such"
00:02:28.39\00:02:31.94
"the second death has no power,
and they shall be priests"
00:02:31.97\00:02:35.70
"of God and of Christ,
and shall reign with Him"
00:02:35.73\00:02:38.78
"for one thousand years. "
So you see that time several
00:02:38.81\00:02:41.84
times: one thousand years.
Now, you'll notice something,
00:02:41.87\00:02:45.58
the Bible speaks of the second
death, let me just be very
00:02:45.61\00:02:50.37
plain with you, right at
the outset, the second death
00:02:50.40\00:02:52.89
is hell, that's what hell
is, hell is the second death.
00:02:52.92\00:02:56.79
Think of that for just a moment,
if you have a second death,
00:02:56.82\00:02:59.08
what do you have by definition?
You have a first death.
00:02:59.11\00:03:01.72
And why does the Bible
make the point of saying
00:03:01.75\00:03:03.94
"this is the
first resurrection"?
00:03:03.97\00:03:06.37
Because there are, in
fact, 2 resurrections.
00:03:06.40\00:03:08.67
Look at your study guide there,
it says: The clear teaching
00:03:08.70\00:03:12.49
of Scripture is that there are
2 resurrections. Jesus Himself
00:03:12.52\00:03:16.28
affirmed this in John
5:28, we've already quoted that
00:03:16.31\00:03:18.79
verse for you in our last
presentation, when Jesus said
00:03:18.82\00:03:21.23
"Do not marvel at this, for
the hour is coming in the which"
00:03:21.26\00:03:23.86
"all who are in the
graves will hear His voice. "
00:03:23.89\00:03:27.47
"Some will come forth to
the resurrection of life, "
00:03:27.50\00:03:29.76
"and others to the
resurrection of condemnation. "
00:03:29.79\00:03:32.22
So there are 2 resurrections,
and we get that right
00:03:32.25\00:03:35.18
from Revelation 20 where
it says "this is the first"
00:03:35.21\00:03:38.10
"resurrection. "
So what we have here,
00:03:38.13\00:03:40.63
very simple, the Millennium
is a period of time, 1000 years,
00:03:40.66\00:03:44.67
that is bookended, that is
to say, on this end you have
00:03:44.70\00:03:47.25
a bookend, so to speak, and
on this end you have a bookend,
00:03:47.28\00:03:50.25
and those 2 bookends
are the resurrections.
00:03:50.28\00:03:53.37
The first resurrection
takes place at the beginning of
00:03:53.40\00:03:56.16
the Millennium, the second
resurrection takes place at
00:03:56.19\00:03:58.98
the end of the Millennium.
Now let's just cut right
00:03:59.01\00:04:01.73
to the chase, the first
resurrection is the resurrection
00:04:01.76\00:04:03.62
of the righteous, that's why
it says "Blessed and holy is he"
00:04:03.65\00:04:08.46
"who has part in the
first resurrection. "
00:04:08.49\00:04:10.83
The second resurrection
then, would be the resurrection
00:04:10.86\00:04:13.07
of the wicked. Now
think about this for just
00:04:13.10\00:04:16.70
a moment: when Jesus
returns there will be 4 groups
00:04:16.73\00:04:19.27
of people, you might have heard
me say before, there will be
00:04:19.30\00:04:21.74
2 groups, but I want to
make it a little more complex,
00:04:21.77\00:04:24.31
and a little more accurate.
In the past we've said there
00:04:24.34\00:04:26.85
are 2 groups of people,
the wheat and the tares,
00:04:26.88\00:04:29.55
but we're further going
to subdivide the wheat and
00:04:29.58\00:04:32.19
the tares into the living
and the dead, so there will be
00:04:32.22\00:04:34.58
4 groups of people.
You have the righteous
00:04:34.61\00:04:36.77
living and the righteous
dead, and the wicked living and
00:04:36.80\00:04:39.22
the wicked dead.
Every single person that
00:04:39.25\00:04:41.50
is living or has ever
lived, can fit into 1 of those 4
00:04:41.53\00:04:43.93
category: either the righteous
living or the righteous dead,
00:04:43.96\00:04:46.98
or the wicked
living or the wicked dead.
00:04:47.01\00:04:49.59
So far so good, so let's
look at the 5 evens that begin
00:04:49.62\00:04:52.56
the Millennium. We
know that the Millennium
00:04:52.59\00:04:55.32
takes place here at the
time of the first resurrection,
00:04:55.35\00:04:57.99
then there's that period of
1000 years where Satan is bound,
00:04:58.02\00:05:00.37
and then the second resurrection
comes at the end of the 1000
00:05:00.40\00:05:02.72
years, let's try
and put this together.
00:05:02.75\00:05:04.71
The second coming is the event,
the first event, that commences,
00:05:04.74\00:05:08.61
or begins, the
Millennium. What is it everyone?
00:05:08.64\00:05:11.28
The second coming of
Christ. There are many evidences
00:05:11.31\00:05:14.78
that we could give to
this, but let's just look at
00:05:14.81\00:05:16.27
1 Thessalonians
4:15-17: [text on screen]
00:05:16.30\00:05:20.08
So is someone going to
be alive when Jesus returns?
00:05:28.31\00:05:32.10
Just like Elijah, and
just like Enoch, they will go
00:05:32.13\00:05:34.15
to heaven without seeing death,
the theological term for that,
00:05:34.18\00:05:37.50
the technical term for that
is they will be "translated",
00:05:37.53\00:05:42.69
that is, they will be lifted
from here to there without
00:05:42.98\00:05:46.88
ever having to pass through
that experience of death.
00:05:46.91\00:05:48.94
So notice what it
says: [text on screen]
00:05:48.97\00:05:52.67
And someone tells me: "Tell
me please, what does the word"
00:05:58.32\00:06:01.12
" 'asleep' mean in
this context in the Bible. "
00:06:01.15\00:06:03.38
[Audience] Death.
That's exactly right.
00:06:03.41\00:06:05.49
Notice the next verse,
verse 16: [text on screen]
00:06:05.52\00:06:09.99
So that is to say that those
who had fallen asleep with their
00:06:15.88\00:06:18.77
faith in Jesus, they
will be resurrected first.
00:06:18.80\00:06:23.06
That's what we just
read. "Blessed and holy is he"
00:06:23.76\00:06:25.97
"who has part in the
first resurrection, on such"
00:06:26.00\00:06:28.18
"the second death has no power",
and that's exactly what Paul
00:06:28.21\00:06:30.76
says here. The dead
in Christ rise first,
00:06:30.79\00:06:34.03
not second, but first.
Notice verse 17 [text on screen]
00:06:34.06\00:06:39.06
So, when Jesus Christ
returns, the resurrection of
00:06:49.61\00:06:52.93
the righteous takes place.
So those are the first 2 events
00:06:52.96\00:06:57.94
that begin the Millennium,
all we're going to do is very
00:06:57.97\00:07:00.12
simple, we're going to
look at 5 events that begin
00:07:00.15\00:07:02.44
the Millennium, and then 5
events that end the Millennium,
00:07:02.47\00:07:04.77
and you'll be able to see that
basically you have this period
00:07:04.80\00:07:07.03
of 1000 years, here's the
5 events that commence the
00:07:07.06\00:07:10.09
Millennium, here's the 5
events that end the Millennium,
00:07:10.12\00:07:12.80
and in the meantime, the
Devil's on a 1000 year vacation
00:07:12.83\00:07:16.14
where he's shut up.
Okay, so the resurrection of
00:07:16.17\00:07:19.88
the righteous takes
place as we have already said.
00:07:19.91\00:07:22.72
The next is the translation
of the living righteous.
00:07:22.75\00:07:25.65
Let's go back to those 4 groups
of people, the righteous living
00:07:25.68\00:07:28.68
and the righteous dead,
we've already dealt with those 2
00:07:28.71\00:07:30.64
groups of people. What
happens to the righteous
00:07:30.67\00:07:33.82
living when Jesus
returns? The Bible says they are
00:07:33.85\00:07:37.09
translated, or caught
up, with God into heaven.
00:07:37.12\00:07:40.65
They are translated.
What happens to the righteous
00:07:40.68\00:07:45.18
dead when Jesus
returns? Resurrected.
00:07:45.21\00:07:47.64
So we've already dealt
with 2 of our 4 groups.
00:07:47.67\00:07:50.94
4 groups of people:
the righteous living and
00:07:50.97\00:07:53.34
the righteous dead, the wicked
living and the wicked dead.
00:07:53.37\00:07:55.66
We've already dealt with 2
of them because those that had
00:07:55.69\00:07:58.20
fallen asleep in Christ are
raised from the dead, and those
00:07:58.23\00:08:00.78
who are alive and remain unto
the coming of the Lord are going
00:08:00.81\00:08:03.04
to be translated to
heaven without seeing death,
00:08:03.07\00:08:05.68
and "Oh Lord, when the saints
go marching in, I want to be in"
00:08:05.71\00:08:08.00
"that number". So
see, we're just working
00:08:08.03\00:08:10.68
our way through this
in a methodical manner.
00:08:10.71\00:08:13.74
[text on screen]
00:08:13.77\00:08:16.02
So now we continue, 1
Corinthians 15:51, this is
00:08:17.40\00:08:20.50
exactly what the apostle
Paul says: [text on screen]
00:08:20.53\00:08:25.24
"sleep" - what's the a reference
to? We will not all die.
00:08:27.12\00:08:30.63
[continues to read text]
00:08:30.66\00:08:32.80
Second time we've seen
that tonight, notice verse 52:
00:08:37.18\00:08:39.82
[text on screen]
00:08:39.85\00:08:41.90
So that takes place at the
last trump, he says we won't all
00:08:54.10\00:08:58.39
"sleep", but we
will all be changed.
00:08:58.42\00:09:01.59
So, second coming of Jesus:
the righteous are resurrected,
00:09:02.24\00:09:04.82
the translation of the living
righteous, the wicked living
00:09:04.85\00:09:08.13
are slain. That is
to say, the Bible says
00:09:08.16\00:09:11.13
that they are destroyed with
the brightness, or the glory,
00:09:11.16\00:09:14.24
of His coming. On
one occasion Moses was
00:09:14.27\00:09:16.33
on top of Mount Sinai and
he said to God: "God, I want"
00:09:16.36\00:09:19.44
"to see what You look
like", and God said "I'll show"
00:09:19.47\00:09:21.60
"you what I look like on 3
conditions, number 1: I'm going"
00:09:21.63\00:09:24.19
"to put you in the cleft of
the rock. Number 2: I'm going"
00:09:24.22\00:09:26.44
"to put My hand over you,
and number 3: you have to see"
00:09:26.47\00:09:28.88
"only My back parts because no
man can see My face and live. "
00:09:28.91\00:09:32.82
The idea is that if God just
decided to make an appearance
00:09:32.85\00:09:35.69
tonight in this room, in this
unmuted glory, everyone of us
00:09:35.72\00:09:40.51
would be immediately,
instantaneously vaporized
00:09:40.54\00:09:43.49
because of the amazing consuming
fire of the glory of God.
00:09:43.52\00:09:48.81
Very simple. So what
happens to the wicked,
00:09:49.59\00:09:51.85
those who are alive when Jesus
returns, they are slain either
00:09:51.88\00:09:54.79
by the cataclysm of the events
surrounding the second coming,
00:09:54.82\00:09:57.77
or by His
glory. Notice this from
00:09:57.80\00:10:00.02
1 Thessalonian 1:7,8, very
simple, easy to understand.
00:10:00.05\00:10:04.35
[text on screen]
00:10:04.38\00:10:06.43
According to this verse is it
important that we obey the Lord
00:10:24.44\00:10:27.29
Jesus Christ? Not
in order to be saved,
00:10:27.32\00:10:29.94
but because we have been
saved. Verse 9: [text on screen]
00:10:29.97\00:10:35.18
So those who are alive and
remaining of the wicked, when
00:10:39.66\00:10:42.94
Jesus returns in His resplendent
glory, they are destroyed
00:10:42.97\00:10:46.79
with the brightness of His
coming. I can quote you another
00:10:46.82\00:10:48.96
text, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, but
you can just write that down.
00:10:48.99\00:10:51.99
This is 1 Thessalonians 1:8,
but 2 Thessalonians 2:8 says
00:10:52.02\00:10:56.17
the same thing. So
we've dealt with 3 of
00:10:56.20\00:10:58.87
the 4 groups. In
fact, actually we've dealt
00:10:58.90\00:11:02.80
with all 4 if you
just think about it.
00:11:02.83\00:11:04.51
So what happens to the righteous
living when Jesus returns?
00:11:04.54\00:11:09.29
They're called up and
translated. What happens
00:11:09.32\00:11:12.07
to the righteous
dead when Jesus returns?
00:11:12.10\00:11:14.57
Resurrected. What
happens when to the wicked
00:11:14.60\00:11:16.98
living when Jesus returns?
Destroyed by the brightness
00:11:17.01\00:11:19.43
of His coming, and what
would happen to the wicked dead?
00:11:19.46\00:11:22.37
Nothing, they
would just stay there.
00:11:22.40\00:11:24.34
We'll come back
to that in a minute.
00:11:24.37\00:11:26.79
Incidentally, there's going
to be a second resurrection,
00:11:26.82\00:11:29.83
who do you think will come
up in the second resurrection?
00:11:29.86\00:11:32.12
Think about it, if the
righteous come up in the first
00:11:32.15\00:11:33.85
resurrection, who would come
up in the second resurrection?
00:11:33.88\00:11:36.15
The wicked, so there's no
point in anything happening to
00:11:36.18\00:11:38.45
the wicked dead at this point,
because they're going to stay
00:11:38.48\00:11:40.66
dead through the 1000 years,
and at the close of the 1000
00:11:40.69\00:11:42.92
years they'll be
raised from the dead.
00:11:42.95\00:11:45.63
In fact, let me just show
you that very quickly, go back
00:11:45.66\00:11:47.69
to Revelation 20, what
I'm trying to do here, instead
00:11:47.72\00:11:52.07
of keeping you in suspends
and then saying "Aha! Drama! ",
00:11:52.10\00:11:56.49
I'm just giving you the whole
picture right from the Bible
00:11:56.52\00:11:59.24
so you can see it
plain as the noonday sun.
00:11:59.27\00:12:01.60
Revelation 20:5, it says:
"But the rest of the dead",
00:12:01.63\00:12:06.52
that would be the wicked, "did
not live again until the 1000"
00:12:08.35\00:12:11.39
"years were finished. "
There it is, let's continue on.
00:12:11.42\00:12:14.77
So these are the 5 events
that commence the Millennium:
00:12:14.80\00:12:19.80
[text on screen]
00:12:20.26\00:12:22.44
So far so good,
this is very simple.
00:12:33.65\00:12:35.62
Notice that it says that
Satan is bound with a chain.
00:12:35.65\00:12:40.99
I'm reading in Revelation 20:1,2
"Then I saw an angel coming"
00:12:41.32\00:12:44.19
"down from heaven having a
key to the bottomless pit, and"
00:12:44.22\00:12:47.34
"a great chain in his hand, and
he laid hold on the dragon, "
00:12:47.37\00:12:50.83
"the serpent of old, who was
called the Devil, and Satan, "
00:12:50.86\00:12:53.52
"and he bound
him for 1000 years. "
00:12:53.55\00:12:55.85
We're going to ask a
very legitimate question here:
00:12:55.88\00:12:58.11
is Satan bound with a literal
chain? What are these chains
00:12:58.14\00:13:00.88
that bind Satan? Is it
realistic to expect that
00:13:00.91\00:13:04.16
a spiritual being would be
bound with a literal chain?
00:13:04.19\00:13:07.75
I think the answer is no.
What we discover, according
00:13:07.78\00:13:10.05
to the Bible is that
Satan is bound with a chain of
00:13:10.08\00:13:14.33
circumstances. In
the same way I might say
00:13:14.36\00:13:16.45
"Oh, I'd love to have lunch
with you, I'd love to be able"
00:13:16.48\00:13:18.82
"to come over, I'd love to
be able to do such and such, "
00:13:18.85\00:13:21.24
"but my hands are tied.
" Are my hands really tied?
00:13:21.27\00:13:24.63
No, what I'm saying is that
circumstances beyond my control
00:13:24.66\00:13:26.96
are making it difficult for
me to work you into my schedule,
00:13:26.99\00:13:29.94
or for you to work me
into your schedule, so I say
00:13:29.97\00:13:32.37
"Oh, my hands are tied",
but my hands aren't really tied.
00:13:32.40\00:13:34.74
So when it says that Satan is
bound, it means that He's bound
00:13:34.77\00:13:37.41
by a chain of circumstances.
Think about that first just
00:13:37.44\00:13:39.89
a moment. Satan's
job is to deceive and
00:13:39.92\00:13:43.38
to destroy human beings.
Oh, but wait a minute, where are
00:13:43.41\00:13:47.38
all the human
beings at this point?
00:13:47.41\00:13:49.91
Well let's go down our 4
groups of people, where are the
00:13:49.94\00:13:52.42
righteous living?
They've been caught up.
00:13:52.45\00:13:55.55
Where were the righteous
dead? They've been caught up.
00:13:55.58\00:13:59.09
How about the wicked
living? They've been slain.
00:13:59.12\00:14:02.51
And what about the
wicked dead? They remain dead.
00:14:02.54\00:14:04.59
So where is everyone?
They're gone at this point.
00:14:04.62\00:14:07.91
You're going to say
"where are they gone? "
00:14:07.94\00:14:10.50
We're going to talk about
that in just a moment, but if no
00:14:10.53\00:14:13.06
one's around for Satan
to deceive, and to destroy,
00:14:13.09\00:14:16.33
and to harass, then he
would be bound by a chain
00:14:16.36\00:14:18.58
of circumstances because
there's nothing he can do.
00:14:18.61\00:14:22.28
I mean, the idea of binding
Satan with a literal rope,
00:14:22.31\00:14:24.59
or a literal chain is not
exactly what the revelator
00:14:24.62\00:14:27.30
had in mind. Notice
Revelation 6:15 describing
00:14:27.33\00:14:30.79
the second coming, it
says: [text on screen]
00:14:30.82\00:14:34.84
This is a horrific scene
describing the second coming
00:14:41.99\00:14:44.46
of Jesus for those who have
not put their faith in the Lord.
00:14:44.49\00:14:47.30
[text on screen]
00:14:47.33\00:14:49.38
Notice it doesn't say
"the wrath of the lion".
00:14:56.29\00:14:58.79
Gentlemen, I dare say that
if you were walking through
00:14:58.82\00:15:01.43
the woods with you sweet friend,
perhaps your wife, or maybe
00:15:01.46\00:15:04.19
just a special friend, and a
lamb jumped out on the pathway,
00:15:04.22\00:15:07.31
and you say "Baaaaah! " and
ran cowering in the opposite
00:15:07.34\00:15:10.54
direction, I don't think that
things would ever be the same
00:15:10.57\00:15:13.16
between you and your
spouse again. [Audience laughs]
00:15:13.19\00:15:15.86
Notice it says here:
"from the wrath of the Lamb".
00:15:15.89\00:15:19.14
What's going on here?
They hadn't put their faith
00:15:19.17\00:15:21.55
in Jesus as the Messiah, so now,
when He returns, they're afraid
00:15:21.58\00:15:24.51
of Him. Absolutely amazing.
00:15:24.54\00:15:26.89
Verse 17: [text on screen]
00:15:26.92\00:15:29.56
The rocks are falling, it's a
great cataclysmic, catastrophic,
00:15:33.25\00:15:37.02
cacophonous event, the
rocks are falling everywhere.
00:15:37.05\00:15:40.17
The Bible says in Peter
that the rocks were melting with
00:15:40.20\00:15:42.32
fervent heat, there's a
great earthquake, and the people
00:15:42.35\00:15:45.18
are literally running to
the rocks saying "Hide us from"
00:15:45.21\00:15:47.46
"the face of Him who sits on
the throne, and from the wrath"
00:15:47.49\00:15:49.62
"of the Lamb. " Next
verse is Isaiah 24:19, 20:
00:15:49.65\00:15:54.01
[text on screen]
00:15:54.29\00:15:56.37
This is describing the second
coming, [continues to read]
00:16:02.96\00:16:07.69
So when Jesus returns, it is a
cataclysmic, catastrophic event.
00:16:26.24\00:16:31.91
This was described in many
different ways, in both the Old
00:16:32.28\00:16:35.33
and the New Testament, it
says a great earthquake, or as
00:16:35.36\00:16:37.62
a mighty thundering, it says
that every island and mountain
00:16:37.65\00:16:39.73
is disappearing, it's going to
be an absolutely amazing event.
00:16:39.76\00:16:44.24
Isaiah 24:22: [text on screen]
00:16:44.27\00:16:47.07
This is describing
the Millennium event,
00:16:55.78\00:16:58.21
Jesus Christ returns,
the earth is put into a state
00:16:58.24\00:17:00.54
of disrepair, it is
utterly shattered and destroyed.
00:17:00.57\00:17:03.14
The wicked go down into the
grave for 1000 years, but notice
00:17:03.17\00:17:07.39
it says "after many
days they will be punished. "
00:17:07.42\00:17:11.08
You're getting it. So
you should be able to fill
00:17:11.11\00:17:13.38
all of that in there, look at
your study guide at the bottom
00:17:13.41\00:17:17.84
of page 1, it says: The
Bible describes the earth
00:17:17.87\00:17:21.75
as being a bottomless pit.
This phrase comes from the Greek
00:17:21.78\00:17:28.78
word "abussos", let's
see if we can find that.
00:17:28.81\00:17:30.86
It's right here, this is
the word: [text on screen]
00:17:30.89\00:17:32.74
The Greek word, when it says
the earth is like a bottomless
00:17:32.77\00:17:35.77
pit, is that word right
there: "abussos", and what
00:17:35.80\00:17:38.89
English word does
that sound like? "Abyss".
00:17:38.92\00:17:41.68
That's what you'd write there.
00:17:41.71\00:17:44.48
This is very important:
Not coincidentally the word
00:17:44.64\00:17:47.05
"abussos" is used to translate
the condition of the earth
00:17:47.08\00:17:51.10
in Genesis 1:1, where it says
"the earth was without form"
00:17:51.13\00:17:55.21
"and void, and darkness
was upon the face of the deep".
00:17:55.24\00:17:58.11
In the Septuagint, now,
the Septuagint is the Greek
00:17:58.14\00:18:01.52
translation of the Old
Testament, so the Greeks, they
00:18:01.55\00:18:05.23
translated, in the days
of Jesus, they didn't always
00:18:05.26\00:18:07.40
read the Old Testament
in Hebrew, they took the Old
00:18:07.43\00:18:09.67
Testament, which is
originally written in Hebrew,
00:18:09.70\00:18:11.87
and they wrote it
in Greek, and when they
00:18:11.90\00:18:14.23
translated those verses
there in Genesis 1, it says
00:18:14.26\00:18:16.98
"the earth was without form
and void", they used that word
00:18:17.01\00:18:19.60
"abussos". The
idea is of a great abyss
00:18:19.63\00:18:23.15
without form, and void.
We've given you several texts
00:18:23.65\00:18:26.90
there at the bottom
that corroborate that.
00:18:26.93\00:18:28.85
Basically, John the revelator
saw this earth absolutely
00:18:28.88\00:18:32.58
thrashed and trashed after
the second coming of Jesus.
00:18:32.61\00:18:36.16
To him it looked like
a great bottomless pit.
00:18:36.19\00:18:39.68
Mountains had been laid to
waste, islands had disappeared,
00:18:39.71\00:18:42.90
there was no man,
total destruction reigned,
00:18:42.93\00:18:45.57
we've already seen the rocks and
the mountains are falling, etc.
00:18:45.60\00:18:49.69
This raises the question
we've actually already answered:
00:18:49.72\00:18:51.89
is there anyone alive on
earth during the Millennium?
00:18:51.92\00:18:54.44
What's the answer? No.
Now, you might say "Yes, "
00:18:54.47\00:18:56.86
"someone is alive",
but who would that be?
00:18:56.89\00:18:59.78
Satan and his
angels. Notice the top of the
00:18:59.81\00:19:01.77
second page of the study guide.
The earth is desolate following
00:19:01.80\00:19:05.09
the second coming, Satan and
the fallen angels are left alone
00:19:05.12\00:19:07.85
for 1000 years to contemplate
the willful result of their
00:19:07.88\00:19:11.61
rebellious experiment.
The righteous are in heaven,
00:19:11.64\00:19:15.74
but what are they doing there?
That's a good question, we're
00:19:15.77\00:19:18.26
going to see that in
just a moment, go back
00:19:18.29\00:19:20.63
to Revelation 20:4.
00:19:20.66\00:19:29.79
"And I saw thrones, and they
that sat on them, and judgment"
00:19:29.82\00:19:34.40
"was committed to them. Then
I saw the souls of them who had"
00:19:34.43\00:19:37.71
"been beheaded for their
witness to Jesus and for"
00:19:37.74\00:19:40.39
"the Word of God, that had
not worshiped the beast or his"
00:19:40.42\00:19:42.67
"image, and had not received his
mark on their foreheads or on"
00:19:42.70\00:19:45.05
"their hands, and they lived
and reigned with Christ for"
00:19:45.08\00:19:48.43
"one thousand years. "
Notice it says that judgment was
00:19:48.46\00:19:50.81
given to them, very interesting.
Look at this prophecy from
00:19:50.84\00:19:54.80
Jeremiah 4:23-24, Jeremiah
in vision says: [text on screen]
00:19:54.83\00:20:00.20
That sounds like
creation doesn't it?
00:20:03.29\00:20:05.42
The problem is he's not
talking about creation at all,
00:20:05.45\00:20:07.93
and you'll discover
that here in just a moment.
00:20:07.96\00:20:10.26
[continues to read]
00:20:10.29\00:20:11.98
So is this talking
about creation? Not at all,
00:20:32.19\00:20:34.78
this is talking about
destruction, but when Jeremiah
00:20:34.81\00:20:37.15
perceived it, when
Isaiah perceived it, when John
00:20:37.18\00:20:39.17
the revelator perceived
the earth after the destruction
00:20:39.20\00:20:41.59
that had commenced at the second
coming of Jesus, it looked
00:20:41.62\00:20:44.31
to them like the earth probably
looked in the beginning,
00:20:44.34\00:20:47.61
just a void, vacuous
mass. He says in verse 27:
00:20:47.64\00:20:52.86
[text on screen]
00:20:52.89\00:20:54.95
Something is going to happen
at the end of the 1000 years.
00:20:59.77\00:21:03.97
Jeremiah 25:33: [text on screen]
00:21:04.00\00:21:06.96
"lamented" - that means no one's
going to be crying for them,
00:21:10.50\00:21:12.88
no one's going to be crying
for them, [continues to read]
00:21:12.91\00:21:15.20
It's just a very ugly
picture, a terrible picture.
00:21:18.10\00:21:20.74
So there are the 5
events: [text on screen]
00:21:20.77\00:21:24.76
So far so good,
we're doing great.
00:21:30.35\00:21:31.97
So there's our 1000
years, here's the first part,
00:21:32.00\00:21:34.58
come all the way down and here's
the second part with the second
00:21:34.61\00:21:37.00
resurrection. We
did ask the question,
00:21:37.03\00:21:39.51
the righteous are in
heaven, but what are they doing?
00:21:39.54\00:21:41.89
Well, we've seen in
Revelation 20:4 that they are
00:21:41.92\00:21:44.16
looking at books. Let
me show you a very, very
00:21:44.19\00:21:48.47
interesting verse that many
New Testament Christians are not
00:21:48.88\00:21:51.15
even aware exists, it's
found in the little book
00:21:51.18\00:21:54.08
of 1 Corinthians, see if you can
find that in the New Testament,
00:21:54.11\00:21:56.91
1 Corinthians 6. So
you have: Matthew, Mark,
00:21:56.94\00:22:00.15
Luke, John, Acts, Romans,
and then 1 Corinthians 6.
00:22:00.18\00:22:04.11
Very unusual verse, an
interesting verse, Paul was
00:22:04.14\00:22:06.32
writing to the church at
Corinth, and they were suing
00:22:06.35\00:22:09.28
one another. Paul
writes a letter of rebuke
00:22:09.31\00:22:13.25
to them and he says
something very interesting in
00:22:14.03\00:22:16.47
1 Corinthians 6:1: "Dare any
of you, having a matter against"
00:22:16.50\00:22:21.16
"another, go to the law before
the unrighteous and not before"
00:22:21.19\00:22:25.06
"the saints? " Verse 2: "Do you
not know that the saints will"
00:22:25.09\00:22:29.61
"judge the world? "According
to Paul, are the saints going
00:22:29.64\00:22:34.04
to judge the world? If
you think that's amazing,
00:22:34.07\00:22:37.66
look at what he says next:
"And if the world is going"
00:22:37.69\00:22:40.34
"to be judged by you, are
you not unworthy to judge in"
00:22:40.37\00:22:42.79
"the smallest matters? " In
other words: "Hey, listen, "
00:22:42.82\00:22:45.35
"why are you taking one another
to court? You're going to judge"
00:22:45.38\00:22:47.67
"the whole world, stop messing
around with these trifling, "
00:22:47.70\00:22:50.43
"little, silly, matters. "
And look at verse 3, this is
00:22:50.46\00:22:52.79
absolutely out of this
world: "Do you not know that we"
00:22:52.82\00:22:56.64
"will judge angels? How much
more the things that pertain"
00:22:56.67\00:23:01.34
"to this life? " With
a raising of hands, how
00:23:01.37\00:23:04.30
many people knew that
we would be judging angels?
00:23:04.33\00:23:08.45
That's going to be new
information for a whole lot
00:23:08.48\00:23:11.06
of people. Does
Paul say that the saints
00:23:11.09\00:23:13.44
will judge the world?
Does Paul say that the saints
00:23:13.47\00:23:16.13
will judge angels? Absolutely!
So here's what's happening:
00:23:16.16\00:23:19.72
all the wicked: dead,
slain or remained in the grave;
00:23:19.75\00:23:24.26
the righteous are in
heaven because this earth is an
00:23:24.29\00:23:28.64
absolute desolate wilderness,
and they're in heaven judging.
00:23:28.67\00:23:33.94
You say: "What?
They're in heaven judging? "
00:23:33.97\00:23:36.82
That's exactly what the
Bible says, look at it again in
00:23:36.85\00:23:39.10
Revelation 20:4. John says:
"I saw thrones, and they that"
00:23:39.13\00:23:46.15
"sat upon them, and judgment
was committed to them. "
00:23:46.18\00:23:50.98
So here the
righteous are judging.
00:23:51.99\00:23:54.40
You say: "In what
sense are they judging? "
00:23:54.43\00:23:56.87
Very simple, I'll
give you the quick answer.
00:23:56.90\00:23:59.05
When you get to heaven there
are going to be 3 surprises,
00:23:59.08\00:24:01.77
number 1: that you're
there. [Audience laughs]
00:24:01.80\00:24:05.98
Number 2: people that you were
just sure were going to be there
00:24:06.67\00:24:11.42
aren't going to be there.
Beloved, it's not uncommon,
00:24:11.45\00:24:14.80
it's not something that you
don't know, even just recently
00:24:14.83\00:24:17.66
we had this very well
known, White House counseling
00:24:17.69\00:24:21.94
evangelist in Colorado named
Ted Haggard, and there's these
00:24:21.97\00:24:25.88
accusations against him,
and boom, it turns up that he's
00:24:25.91\00:24:28.54
probably using crystal meths,
and hiring male prostitutes.
00:24:28.57\00:24:31.63
Now, the jury's still out, but
those are the charges against
00:24:31.66\00:24:34.47
him, there's going to be
a lot of people that said:
00:24:34.50\00:24:36.78
"Oh yeah, he's bound for
heaven", and I'm not making
00:24:36.81\00:24:39.02
a judgment on Ted Haggard, what
I'm showing is that people may
00:24:39.05\00:24:41.62
be living the religious life,
but you don't know what's going
00:24:41.65\00:24:44.25
on behind the scenes. I
can fool you, but I can't fool
00:24:44.28\00:24:47.00
the Lord. But then
there's going to be
00:24:47.03\00:24:50.12
other people who you thought
were absolute jerks your whole
00:24:50.15\00:24:52.43
life, and you thought: "No
way! I'm so glad I'm going"
00:24:52.46\00:24:55.24
"to heaven, I'm not going
to have to be with that guy. "
00:24:55.27\00:24:57.84
And you're going to be walking
down the golden streets one day,
00:24:57.87\00:25:00.20
you're going to look across...
"No! Johnny Stanton made it"
00:25:00.23\00:25:04.97
"to heaven?! " [whistles]
"Johnny, what happened? "
00:25:05.00\00:25:09.48
He's going to tell you this
powerful story of how he was
00:25:09.65\00:25:12.15
converted and he's so sorry for
all those times he beat you up
00:25:12.18\00:25:14.61
on the playground, and
stole your lunch money, whatever
00:25:14.64\00:25:17.05
it was. [Audience laughs]
So there'll be 3 surprises
00:25:17.08\00:25:19.56
when you get to heaven, number
1: you're there; number 2:
00:25:19.59\00:25:21.88
people you thought should be
there aren't going to be there;
00:25:21.91\00:25:24.14
and people you thought would
never make it are going to be
00:25:24.17\00:25:26.91
there, and we're going
to have questions in heaven.
00:25:26.94\00:25:29.31
I have questions right now.
Someone asked just the other
00:25:29.34\00:25:32.03
night: "Well, what about
all the aborted babies? "
00:25:32.06\00:25:34.86
Hey, I don't know the answer
to that question, but God knows
00:25:34.89\00:25:37.27
the answer. Before
I became a Christian I
00:25:37.30\00:25:40.16
had a job for 3 years
taking care of people with
00:25:40.19\00:25:43.38
developmental disabilities,
Down Syndrome, Autism, and other
00:25:43.41\00:25:46.02
things, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,
and I had good friends,
00:25:46.05\00:25:48.87
but most of them had mental
capacities of 2-7 year olds,
00:25:48.90\00:25:51.10
and I was friends with these
people, and I always wondered
00:25:51.13\00:25:53.50
after I became a Christian
"how will God judge them? "
00:25:53.53\00:25:56.08
We're going to have questions.
So someone you just thought
00:25:56.11\00:25:59.21
for sure was going to be
in heaven, turns up not there.
00:25:59.24\00:26:01.42
You're going to say
"Well God, what gives? "
00:26:01.45\00:26:04.03
He's going to say, "Well, come
here and I'll show you what"
00:26:04.06\00:26:05.46
"gives, take a
look in the books. "
00:26:05.49\00:26:06.52
We'll be going over the books,
not to change any of God's
00:26:06.55\00:26:10.31
judgments, but to say
"Just is true are Your ways, "
00:26:10.34\00:26:14.70
"O King of
saints". We're going to say
00:26:14.73\00:26:17.30
"But God, we've always had this
question... ", and I know every
00:26:17.33\00:26:20.34
person in this room had
this question: "what about"
00:26:20.37\00:26:22.66
"the Devil, You knew the Devil
was going to fall, why did You"
00:26:22.69\00:26:25.09
"create the Devil... ",
of course, God didn't create
00:26:25.12\00:26:27.77
the Devil, He created Lucifer,
and Lucifer, by his own choice,
00:26:27.80\00:26:30.16
created the Devil, but
you know what I'm saying.
00:26:30.19\00:26:32.73
"Why did You
allow that to happen? "
00:26:32.76\00:26:35.28
There's not a person in
this room who hasn't asked that
00:26:35.31\00:26:37.71
question. So we say
"Hey God, what about"
00:26:37.74\00:26:40.03
"that one? " He's going
to say "Let me show you. "
00:26:40.06\00:26:42.58
Notice it said in 1
Corinthians 6 that we would
00:26:42.61\00:26:44.89
judge angels.
Lucifer was a fallen angel,
00:26:44.92\00:26:47.66
so we're going to be looking
at the decisions that God made,
00:26:47.69\00:26:50.10
and God's going to say "Hey
look, I didn't do everything"
00:26:50.13\00:26:52.63
"in a corner, I'm not trying
to hide these things from you. "
00:26:52.66\00:26:55.06
"Take a look at the decisions
and the judgments that I've"
00:26:55.09\00:26:57.38
"made, and you tell me if
you would have done anything"
00:26:57.41\00:27:00.11
"different. "
And the Bible says in
00:27:00.14\00:27:02.68
Revelation 15 at the end
of all this we will cry out:
00:27:02.71\00:27:04.99
"Just and true are Thy
ways, O King of saints".
00:27:05.02\00:27:07.40
But this tells us
something awesome about our God,
00:27:07.43\00:27:09.76
He is not going to administer
a terminal judgment until He is
00:27:09.79\00:27:12.48
totally satisfied that all of
the citizens of His kingdom are
00:27:12.51\00:27:14.96
satisfied that He has made just,
and true, and loving judgments,
00:27:14.99\00:27:19.95
because if that wasn't
the case sometime throughout
00:27:19.98\00:27:21.98
the ceaseless ages of eternity,
we might wonder why God did
00:27:22.01\00:27:25.38
this, or this, or this, or
this, and if we don't have good
00:27:25.41\00:27:28.39
answers, we may be tempted
to serve God out of fear.
00:27:28.42\00:27:33.23
But this is not a proper reason
to serve God, it's not a proper
00:27:34.12\00:27:36.98
motivator. God will
only accept the service
00:27:37.01\00:27:39.24
of love. So we
will be in heaven going
00:27:39.27\00:27:41.88
over the books and reviewing,
this is what's called a judicial
00:27:41.91\00:27:44.96
review. Any attorney can
tell you there's such a thing as
00:27:44.99\00:27:47.74
as judicial review, and that's
what's going to be happening
00:27:47.77\00:27:50.24
with the righteous in
heaven. Now, there are 5 events
00:27:50.27\00:27:52.72
that close the Millennium, and
you write in your study guide,
00:27:52.75\00:27:55.00
let's see how quickly
we can do this. 5 events.
00:27:55.03\00:27:57.58
So, at the end of the Millennium
the wicked are raised.
00:27:57.61\00:28:02.66
We already read that in
Revelation 20:5, I'll read it
00:28:02.83\00:28:05.72
for you again very quickly:
"The rest of the dead live not"
00:28:05.75\00:28:08.51
"again until the 1000
years were finished. "
00:28:08.54\00:28:11.21
So, here it comes, the end of
the Millennium, the wicked are
00:28:11.24\00:28:13.57
raised. Number 2:
Satan is set free.
00:28:13.60\00:28:16.51
Think about that,
that makes such good sense.
00:28:16.54\00:28:18.72
It's not as though Satan
is bound with a literal chain,
00:28:18.75\00:28:23.49
he was bound by a chain of
circumstances because there
00:28:23.52\00:28:26.47
was no one around to tempt.
But if all of the wicked are
00:28:26.50\00:28:29.93
suddenly raised to life,
is he not released from those
00:28:29.96\00:28:32.92
circumstances that
bound him? [Audience] Yes.
00:28:32.95\00:28:35.78
Because there would be
people to tempt and to harass.
00:28:35.81\00:28:40.18
Notice, number
3: [text on screen]
00:28:40.21\00:28:43.13
You picked that up in
21 Revelation, I'm reading
00:28:44.06\00:28:47.09
quickly: "Then I saw a
new heaven and a new earth",
00:28:47.12\00:28:49.88
verse 1, "for the first heaven
and the first earth were passed"
00:28:49.91\00:28:52.49
"away and there
was no more sea. "
00:28:52.52\00:28:54.91
"Then I, John, saw the Holy
City, New Jerusalem, coming"
00:28:54.94\00:28:57.35
"down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned"
00:28:57.38\00:29:00.16
"for her husband. " So
the New Jerusalem begins
00:29:00.19\00:29:02.57
to descend, all of the righteous
are in the New Jerusalem.
00:29:02.60\00:29:05.22
Powerful, the New Jerusalem
descending, John saw it as
00:29:05.25\00:29:07.85
a bridge prepared and
adorned for her husband.
00:29:07.88\00:29:10.94
So, the wicked are destroyed.
You say: "What? The wicked"
00:29:10.97\00:29:14.42
"are destroyed? I missed
that part", go to Revelation 20.
00:29:14.45\00:29:16.98
You've got to see this, this
is absolutely, fantasbulously,
00:29:17.01\00:29:19.64
Biblically powerful.
Revelation 20:7, it says:
00:29:19.67\00:29:27.09
"Now when the thousand years
have expired Satan will be"
00:29:27.12\00:29:30.44
"released from his prison.
" Question: what releases him
00:29:30.47\00:29:33.79
from his prison? The
resurrection of the wicked,
00:29:33.82\00:29:38.12
so now there
are people to tempt.
00:29:38.15\00:29:40.23
So the Devil begins to marshal
them all together, and what
00:29:40.26\00:29:42.64
does he do? Verse 8:
"He goes out to deceive",
00:29:42.67\00:29:45.24
he's right back to his
old games, he didn't repent,
00:29:45.27\00:29:47.94
he had 1000 years to think
about his foolish and unwise
00:29:47.97\00:29:50.35
decisions, and the moment
he's given another opportunity,
00:29:50.38\00:29:53.55
he's right back to the same old,
same old: deceive, deception.
00:29:53.58\00:29:57.83
It says: "He goes out to deceive
the nations which were in"
00:29:57.86\00:30:00.16
"the 4 corners of the
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather"
00:30:00.19\00:30:02.76
"them together, who's number
is as the sand of the sea. "
00:30:02.79\00:30:05.26
Think of it, every single
wicked person who has ever lived
00:30:05.29\00:30:09.20
is alive at that moment.
Every one of them is alive
00:30:09.23\00:30:12.80
right then and there, every
person who hadn't put their
00:30:12.83\00:30:15.51
faith in Jesus Christ.
Verse 9: "They went up on"
00:30:15.54\00:30:18.24
"the breadth of the earth
and surrounded the camp of"
00:30:18.27\00:30:20.71
"the saints and the beloved
city, and fire came down"
00:30:20.74\00:30:23.37
"from God out of
heaven and devoured them. "
00:30:23.40\00:30:26.47
They're going to try
and take the city by force.
00:30:26.50\00:30:30.08
Satan deceives them, he says:
"Hey, we can take that city, "
00:30:30.11\00:30:32.95
"that's my city", who knows
what he says to try and persuade
00:30:32.98\00:30:36.28
them in the ludicrous, ill-fated
adventure; he says "we can take"
00:30:36.31\00:30:39.95
"the city", and when God
looks down and sees that none
00:30:39.98\00:30:43.36
of the wicked are repentant
- never forget this people,
00:30:43.39\00:30:47.98
never, never forget this:
if anyone in this room is lost,
00:30:48.01\00:30:52.59
it will not be because God
wouldn't accept you, but because
00:30:52.62\00:30:56.55
you chose not to accept God.
There's not going to be anybody
00:30:56.58\00:31:01.42
that God says "I didn't
like him, I didn't want her"
00:31:01.45\00:31:03.76
"up there. " No! If
anyone is lost in this room,
00:31:03.79\00:31:07.11
or out of this room, it'll
be because they said "I don't"
00:31:07.14\00:31:09.58
"want to have anything to do
with God", God is a gentleman,
00:31:09.61\00:31:12.24
He will not twist your arm
and make you do the right thing.
00:31:12.27\00:31:17.57
But like a rabid dog who
knows he's going to die anyway,
00:31:17.60\00:31:21.20
one last chance, one last
fix, and they begin to surround
00:31:21.23\00:31:25.72
the city to try and take
by force what they wouldn't
00:31:25.75\00:31:28.57
receive by grace.
00:31:28.60\00:31:30.13
The Bible says that fire comes
down from God out of heaven
00:31:34.14\00:31:36.48
and devours them. So
the wicked are destroyed,
00:31:36.51\00:31:42.48
all the wicked who have
ever lived try to take the city
00:31:42.51\00:31:45.06
by force. Verse
9: [text on screen]
00:31:45.09\00:31:47.94
What does the word "devour"
mean? It means "destroy",
00:31:53.79\00:31:56.84
and then the earth is made
new. You're in Revelation 20:14,
00:31:56.87\00:32:07.65
it says: "Then death and Hades
were cast into the lake of"
00:32:07.68\00:32:08.97
"of fire. This is
the second death. "
00:32:11.13\00:32:14.57
So if you have a second death,
what do you know you have.
00:32:15.34\00:32:18.06
[Audience] First death.
It's a mathematical [act],
00:32:18.09\00:32:20.79
theological truth, that is you
have a second death, you have a
00:32:20.82\00:32:23.40
first death, and then notice
verse 15: "Anyone not found"
00:32:23.43\00:32:25.98
"written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire",
00:32:26.01\00:32:28.62
what's the lake of fire?
It's that fire that descends
00:32:28.65\00:32:31.18
from God out of heaven and
devours them, then the very
00:32:31.21\00:32:33.45
next thing that you see,
Revelation 20:1, John sees that
00:32:33.48\00:32:37.17
holy city, that wonderful city,
the New Jerusalem descending
00:32:37.20\00:32:39.40
from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her
00:32:39.43\00:32:42.08
husband, right down on
the planet earth, and then God
00:32:42.11\00:32:44.47
makes a new earth. You
say "Whoa, wait a minute! "
00:32:44.50\00:32:49.10
"God makes a new
earth? " Absolutely.
00:32:49.41\00:32:51.54
"Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth. "
00:32:51.57\00:32:56.81
Absolutely powerful, and I could
give...Lord have mercy, we could
00:32:57.78\00:33:00.56
go on, and on, and on, "the
meek shall inherit the earth".
00:33:00.59\00:33:03.04
There will be people who
have put their trust in Jesus,
00:33:03.07\00:33:05.77
there will be no pain, no
death, no sorrow, no disease,
00:33:05.80\00:33:09.36
the Bible says the
former things have passed away.
00:33:09.39\00:33:11.93
No war, no terrorism, no
9/11, no conspiracy theories,
00:33:11.96\00:33:15.98
no garbage, no
trash. I'm tempted to say no
00:33:16.01\00:33:20.15
republicans, and no
democrats either, hallelujah!
00:33:20.27\00:33:23.32
[Audience
laughs] Only Christians.
00:33:23.35\00:33:25.85
"The meek shall
inherit the earth. "
00:33:25.88\00:33:28.36
Praise God in heaven,
I'm tired of this old place.
00:33:28.39\00:33:31.80
Everybody that's alive will be
either inside that city, that's
00:33:31.83\00:33:35.33
the righteous, or outside
of the city, that's the wicked.
00:33:35.36\00:33:38.24
I'm looking at your
study guide: inside or outside.
00:33:38.27\00:33:42.90
At the close of the Millennium,
following the resurrection of
00:33:42.93\00:33:45.65
the wicked everyone who has
ever lived will be alive all
00:33:45.68\00:33:48.12
at the same time.
What a sight that will be.
00:33:48.15\00:33:52.17
All of the righteous inside
the city, the New Jerusalem,
00:33:52.25\00:33:54.64
all of the wicked will
be outside the city, the New
00:33:54.67\00:33:57.32
Jerusalem, the Bible says that
the walls of the New Jerusalem
00:33:57.35\00:33:59.78
are clear.
Revelation 21:18, clear gold.
00:33:59.81\00:34:03.24
The righteous and the wicked
will be able to see one another,
00:34:03.27\00:34:05.49
the wicked make an effort
to overtake the city by force,
00:34:05.52\00:34:08.52
it is at this time that
the fires of the vengeance of
00:34:08.55\00:34:10.72
the judgment of God descend
upon them, and devour them.
00:34:10.75\00:34:14.68
Now hear, I'm going to tell
you something that's absolutely
00:34:14.71\00:34:16.32
amazing from a Biblical
perspective, that fire that
00:34:16.35\00:34:19.64
devours them, that
brings about the second death,
00:34:19.67\00:34:22.37
that fire is hell.
00:34:22.40\00:34:26.20
That's hell! Let me
just make this as plain
00:34:26.23\00:34:29.46
as can be: hell is
not burning right now.
00:34:29.49\00:34:33.32
I don't know what you believed
before, but I'm going to tell
00:34:33.92\00:34:36.57
you Biblically: hell
is not burning right now,
00:34:36.60\00:34:39.36
purgatory is not burning
right now, there's not one
00:34:39.39\00:34:41.81
scintilla, one iota of Bible
evidence that says anything
00:34:41.84\00:34:44.68
about a purgatory,
that's a tradition.
00:34:44.71\00:34:47.92
Also, this idea that hell
is right now, and people are
00:34:47.95\00:34:50.30
down in the hot place
getting poked by the Devil,
00:34:50.33\00:34:52.81
and he's turning them
over in skewers throughout
00:34:52.84\00:34:54.59
the
ceaseless... Give me a break!
00:34:54.62\00:34:57.03
this is the most ridiculous
thing, you won't find anything
00:34:57.06\00:34:59.54
in the Bible about that.
This fire that descends at
00:34:59.57\00:35:02.19
the close of the Millennium,
that devours the rebellious,
00:35:02.22\00:35:04.52
this is hellfire.
Now, let's move to the next
00:35:04.55\00:35:07.50
part of our
study, this idea of hell.
00:35:07.53\00:35:10.36
Jesus said: [text on screen]
00:35:10.39\00:35:12.90
That's a good question. If
we're going to call ourselves
00:35:14.49\00:35:17.65
Christians then we
should be obeying Jesus and not
00:35:17.68\00:35:20.29
anyone else. I love
Jesus' question, He's
00:35:20.32\00:35:23.64
able to cut right to the
heart of the matter, He says:
00:35:23.67\00:35:26.10
"Hey, why are you calling Me
Lord, and don't do the things"
00:35:26.13\00:35:28.57
"I say? " It's
easy to put a little
00:35:28.60\00:35:30.83
sticker on the back of
your Honda Accord, it's quite
00:35:30.86\00:35:33.43
a different thing to
obey the Lord of glory.
00:35:33.46\00:35:35.88
He says: "Hey, whoa, you call
yourself a Christian, why do"
00:35:35.91\00:35:38.36
"you call Me Lord and
don't do what I ask you? "
00:35:38.39\00:35:41.12
The Lord Jesus gives us
His plain, explicit commands,
00:35:41.15\00:35:44.25
the 10 commandments, and
we could talk about the simple
00:35:44.28\00:35:46.43
things that God has made clear,
and He says: "Hey, if you're"
00:35:46.46\00:35:49.39
"going to call Me 'Lord',
why don't you do what I say, "
00:35:49.42\00:35:52.98
"or what I
command? " Very simple.
00:35:53.01\00:35:55.27
The word "hell"
occurs 54 times in the Bible.
00:35:55.30\00:35:57.34
I'm going to see if you
can keep up with me, it's right
00:35:57.37\00:35:58.92
there in your study guide.
The word "hell" occurs 54 times
00:35:58.95\00:36:03.58
in the King James
version of the Bible.
00:36:03.61\00:36:05.92
[text on screen]
00:36:05.95\00:36:08.00
The reason that I'm
bringing that out is this:
00:36:14.50\00:36:16.86
if I say "hell", and I say "What
picture comes to your mind? "
00:36:16.89\00:36:19.54
I can almost guarantee flames
come to your mind, lava comes
00:36:19.57\00:36:22.54
to your mind, fire and
brimstone comes to your mind,
00:36:22.57\00:36:25.16
that is not what would have
come to the mind of a Hebrew.
00:36:25.19\00:36:28.20
The word "hell" is from the
word "sheol", which simply means
00:36:28.23\00:36:30.83
"grave", it had no connotation
of burning whatsoever;
00:36:30.86\00:36:35.60
and that's every use of
hell in the Old Testament.
00:36:37.55\00:36:40.44
Every use in of hell
the Old Testament, 31 times,
00:36:40.47\00:36:42.71
it's the word "sheol",
which simply means "grave".
00:36:42.74\00:36:46.61
[text on screen]
00:36:46.64\00:36:48.79
You want to write those
down, and only 1 of those words
00:36:53.11\00:36:55.84
has anything to do with burning,
and that's that word "gehenna".
00:36:55.87\00:37:00.74
"Hades" is just exactly
like the Old Testament word,
00:37:00.77\00:37:04.24
"sheol", it means "grave",
or "place of the departed".
00:37:04.27\00:37:08.56
So we're going to ask several
questions here about hell.
00:37:08.59\00:37:11.31
We're going to ask:
When does hell take place?
00:37:11.34\00:37:13.48
Where does hell take place?
Which we've actually already
00:37:13.51\00:37:16.19
answered; and how
long? So we're right there
00:37:16.22\00:37:19.88
at the top of your study guide,
page 3, praise the Lord Jesus,
00:37:19.91\00:37:22.21
we're making good time.
Here we go: when is hell?
00:37:22.24\00:37:26.81
Well, first of all,
hell is not right now.
00:37:26.86\00:37:30.80
Hell takes place at
the end of the Millennium.
00:37:31.26\00:37:34.47
When is hell? Hell
takes place after the 1000
00:37:34.50\00:37:36.31
years. Question
2: where is hell?
00:37:36.34\00:37:39.38
Hell takes place
right here on planet earth.
00:37:40.21\00:37:42.75
Hell is not some place
underneath the ground if you dig
00:37:42.78\00:37:45.00
down far enough through
the various layers of sediment
00:37:45.03\00:37:48.48
you're going to find a hot
place down there with several
00:37:48.51\00:37:50.55
barbecue pits. No, hell
takes place right here on planet
00:37:50.58\00:37:54.29
earth. When the fires
that descend from God devour
00:37:54.32\00:37:58.42
the wicked and actually
is recreated anew, the earth
00:37:58.45\00:38:02.75
made new. So that answers the
question of when, that answers
00:38:02.78\00:38:06.38
the question of where, now
look at this one: what about
00:38:06.41\00:38:09.03
the question of how
long? The question "how long? "
00:38:09.06\00:38:11.43
is an easily answered question.
Buckle your safety belts
00:38:11.46\00:38:19.08
by the way, do you have
safety belts on your seats?
00:38:19.11\00:38:21.78
You might want to buckle
them. As we've already learned,
00:38:21.81\00:38:24.18
human beings are
not naturally immortal.
00:38:24.21\00:38:27.81
Immortality is a gift
from God that comes as a result
00:38:32.05\00:38:38.43
of accepting Jesus
Christ as your personal Saviour.
00:38:38.46\00:38:41.32
Let's all say it together:
"For God so loved the world"
00:38:41.35\00:38:45.66
"that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth"
00:38:45.69\00:38:49.69
"in Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. "
00:38:49.72\00:38:53.54
So if you believe, what
do you get? Everlasting life.
00:38:53.57\00:38:56.57
But if you don't believe,
what do you get? Perishing.
00:38:56.60\00:38:59.45
Notice it doesn't say "For
God so loved the world that He"
00:38:59.48\00:39:01.88
"gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him"
00:39:01.91\00:39:04.36
"should have everlasting life
in the eternal fires of hell, "
00:39:04.39\00:39:07.01
"but have
everlasting life in heaven. "
00:39:07.04\00:39:09.49
Is that what the verse
says? No, the verse says whoever
00:39:09.52\00:39:11.87
believes in Him won't
perish, but have the opposite
00:39:11.90\00:39:16.47
of perishing, which
is everlasting life.
00:39:16.50\00:39:18.98
This gets absolutely incredible.
You need to hone in on these
00:39:19.01\00:39:21.71
underlined sections: It
is absolutely critical to
00:39:21.74\00:39:24.05
understand this simple point:
if man is not immortal, then
00:39:24.08\00:39:29.49
there is no need for hell to
burn throughout the ceaseless
00:39:29.52\00:39:32.17
eternal ages. To put it another
way, the foundational reason
00:39:32.20\00:39:36.58
that hell has been assumed to
be eternal is that man has been
00:39:36.61\00:39:38.98
assumed to be immortal,
and thus indestructible.
00:39:39.01\00:39:43.72
It is essential that this
be understood, if man is not
00:39:43.75\00:39:45.96
immortal, then there is no need
to insist that hell is eternal.
00:39:45.99\00:39:49.32
Think of it this way,
here it is: the fires of hell,
00:39:49.35\00:39:54.21
right here, just
pretend on this stage.
00:39:54.53\00:39:57.28
And we're going to say that this
clicker is a man, and this man
00:39:57.31\00:39:59.76
is naturally immortal,
that's the Pagan belief.
00:39:59.79\00:40:04.05
There's the fire flaming,
infernal barbecue pit of hell.
00:40:05.36\00:40:08.27
So if we put man in there, and
man is immortal, how long before
00:40:08.30\00:40:12.77
he's destroyed?
Could he ever be destroyed?
00:40:12.80\00:40:16.07
So then, by definition, how
long does this have to burn?
00:40:16.10\00:40:19.10
Throughout the
ceaseless eternal ages.
00:40:19.13\00:40:21.75
But wait a minute! What
if our assumption is wrong?
00:40:21.78\00:40:24.15
What if man is not
naturally immortal?
00:40:24.18\00:40:26.41
What if, as the Bible
says, "the soul that sinneth, "
00:40:26.44\00:40:28.73
"it shall die"? What
if "the wages of sin"
00:40:28.76\00:40:31.77
"is death"? What if
"God so loved the world"
00:40:31.80\00:40:34.12
"that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth"
00:40:34.15\00:40:37.01
"in Him should not
perish"? What if that's true?
00:40:37.04\00:40:39.32
Then you put this guy in there,
and how long does he burn?
00:40:39.35\00:40:42.16
Until he's burned up.
00:40:42.19\00:40:45.14
It's going to get
even clearer though.
00:40:47.42\00:40:51.30
I love the
Bible! [Audience] Amen.
00:40:51.33\00:40:53.71
This is hell right
here: [text on screen]
00:40:53.74\00:40:57.53
What does it mean to
devour? It means it's gone.
00:41:01.79\00:41:06.31
I used to have a dog, and
that dog would eat pancakes,
00:41:06.34\00:41:09.45
his name was "Banner". In
the morning my mom would make
00:41:09.48\00:41:12.85
pancakes, she'd always make way
too many pancakes, never could
00:41:12.88\00:41:15.28
figure that out, but she's make
like 3 times too many pancakes,
00:41:15.31\00:41:17.98
and then we'd get them
all slathered up in butter
00:41:18.01\00:41:20.41
and syrup, and us kids couldn't
finish them, and she'd put them
00:41:20.44\00:41:22.91
over in the corner, and
banner, our Siberian Husky,
00:41:22.94\00:41:25.35
would come in and those things
would be devoured in about
00:41:25.38\00:41:28.65
20 seconds flat, he'd lick
the plate, he'd like the floor,
00:41:28.68\00:41:31.13
he'd lick the bottom side of
the plate, you could have sent
00:41:31.16\00:41:33.77
a search team in there,
a forensics team in there,
00:41:33.80\00:41:36.36
a CSI team in there, you
couldn't have found 1 little
00:41:36.39\00:41:39.38
remaining bit of
pancake, or syrup, or butter.
00:41:39.41\00:41:42.90
Those things were
devoured. Are we all together?
00:41:42.93\00:41:46.58
It's what the word means,
it means devoured, it's gone,
00:41:46.61\00:41:49.31
it means "game over".
Verse 15: [text on screen]
00:41:49.34\00:41:53.73
Where they writhe throughout
the ceaseless eternal ages
00:41:54.91\00:41:57.43
because God put them for
what they did in 70 years?!
00:41:57.46\00:42:01.71
Ohhh! Come on beloved!
What kind of God is that?
00:42:01.74\00:42:05.47
That's like sentencing
someone to the electrical chair
00:42:05.50\00:42:09.59
for what? They jaywalked.
No, the punishment has to fit
00:42:09.62\00:42:16.72
the crime. So
let's think about this:
00:42:16.75\00:42:19.09
God's going punish you for
millions upon billions, upon
00:42:19.12\00:42:22.60
trillions, upon quadrillions
of years for a mistake that you
00:42:22.63\00:42:26.69
made over the 40-70
year course of your life?
00:42:26.72\00:42:30.82
Come on! The Devil
has had a heyday with
00:42:31.57\00:42:34.97
this one. I mean,
any intelligent person,
00:42:35.00\00:42:38.26
in my humble belief, any
intelligent person can look
00:42:38.29\00:42:40.62
at that and can say
"That is not logical".
00:42:40.65\00:42:44.56
Before I became a Christian
I thought "You've got to be"
00:42:45.99\00:42:48.02
"kidding, your God of love is
a God of hatred and vengeance"
00:42:48.05\00:42:52.80
"to punish someone throughout
the ceaseless eternal ages for"
00:42:52.83\00:42:54.93
"what they've done in 60
or 70 years", I was a heathen
00:42:54.96\00:42:58.60
and I knew that
that was unreasonable.
00:42:58.63\00:43:01.43
And then I came to the Bible,
and instead of taking what
00:43:01.46\00:43:04.33
somebody had taught me,
what a church had taught me,
00:43:04.36\00:43:06.86
what somebody had told me, I
said "Well, let's just see what"
00:43:06.89\00:43:09.14
"the Bible says", and do
you know what I discovered?
00:43:09.17\00:43:11.61
The Bible doesn't teach that
ridiculous doctrine, the Devil
00:43:11.64\00:43:14.14
made it up. You say "Well what
does the Bible teach then? "
00:43:14.17\00:43:16.66
Well, let's see what it
says. First of all it says:
00:43:16.69\00:43:18.73
"I saw a new
heaven and a new earth".
00:43:18.76\00:43:21.10
So if a new heaven and a
new earth is going to be made,
00:43:21.13\00:43:23.75
and hell takes place on planet
earth do you know what you
00:43:23.78\00:43:26.05
know for sure?
Hell can't burn forever.
00:43:26.08\00:43:29.33
How could it?
Does that make sense?
00:43:29.36\00:43:32.61
Powerful. It's
going to get even better
00:43:34.60\00:43:37.35
though. Look at this,
we're right there in the middle
00:43:37.38\00:43:39.93
of your study guide:
Remember that it is the Greeks,
00:43:39.96\00:43:42.03
Babylonians, Egyptians and
others who believe this idea
00:43:42.06\00:43:44.76
of the immortality of the soul.
It is not a Biblical concept,
00:43:44.79\00:43:48.23
it is called, as we've already
discussed, anthropological
00:43:48.26\00:43:50.55
dualism - that's a lot of
syllables, it basically means
00:43:50.58\00:43:53.27
that man is 2 fold, he has a
temporal body that goes away,
00:43:53.30\00:43:56.68
and he has an eternal soul, but
the Bible never teaches that man
00:43:56.71\00:43:59.79
has an eternal soul.
What it does teach is that God
00:43:59.82\00:44:02.50
will give you the gift
of immortality if you accept
00:44:02.53\00:44:04.86
the Lord Jesus Christ
as your personal Saviour.
00:44:04.89\00:44:07.38
I've given you a few texts,
I could have literally given
00:44:07.41\00:44:09.58
you ten times the number of
texts that are on this sheet
00:44:09.61\00:44:12.19
right here. Let's
see what the Bible says
00:44:12.22\00:44:14.43
about the wicked.
According to the Bible the fate
00:44:14.46\00:44:17.15
of the wicked is as
follows: they will die.
00:44:17.18\00:44:20.21
So right there, Romans 6:23:
"The wages of sin is death",
00:44:20.24\00:44:23.54
"the soul that
sinneth, it shall die".
00:44:23.57\00:44:25.83
Jesus said in Matthew 10:28,
I'm quoting it there for you:,
00:44:25.86\00:44:28.42
he said "Do not fear those who
are able to destroy the body, "
00:44:28.45\00:44:32.02
"but rather fear those who
can destroy both, body and soul"
00:44:32.05\00:44:36.18
"in hell. " According to the
Bible the wicked will perish.
00:44:36.21\00:44:41.18
We already said that
in John 3:16, they will be
00:44:41.21\00:44:43.58
burnt up. Let's look at that
one, Malachi 4, last book of
00:44:43.61\00:44:46.27
Old Testament, see if
you can beat me there.
00:44:46.30\00:44:48.84
You're already there,
good for you. Malachi 4.
00:44:48.87\00:44:53.47
Last book of the Old Testament,
just before the book of Matthew,
00:44:53.50\00:44:56.23
so if you can find Matthew,
just go one book back and you've
00:44:56.26\00:44:58.85
got it. If you get to Zechariah
00:44:58.88\00:45:01.22
you've gone a little
bit too far. Malachi 4,
00:45:01.25\00:45:03.98
it says: "For behold, the day
is coming", so the day wasn't
00:45:04.01\00:45:07.31
in Malachi's day, the day is
coming, "burning like an oven; "
00:45:07.34\00:45:11.68
"and all the proud, yes, all who
do wickedly will be stubble, "
00:45:11.71\00:45:14.86
"the day that is coming
that will burn them up, says"
00:45:14.89\00:45:19.78
"the Lord of hosts, it
will leave them neither root, "
00:45:21.02\00:45:23.54
"nor branch. " They're gone.
00:45:23.57\00:45:26.06
Look at verse 3: "You shall
trample the wicked, for they"
00:45:26.09\00:45:28.81
"shall be ashes under the soles
of your feet on the day that"
00:45:28.84\00:45:33.54
"I will do this,
says the Lord of hosts. "
00:45:33.57\00:45:35.56
They are burned to ashes, they
don't burn, and burn, and burn,
00:45:35.59\00:45:40.38
they burn till they
burn up. Absolutely powerful.
00:45:40.41\00:45:45.21
Now look at this, "they
will be devoured by the flames",
00:45:45.24\00:45:47.62
we already read that in
Revelation 20:9, the fires come
00:45:47.65\00:45:50.04
down and devour them,
"they will be utterly consumed",
00:45:50.07\00:45:52.65
Psalm 37:20, Isaiah 47:14;
"they will be turned to ashes",
00:45:52.68\00:45:56.71
Malachi 4:3, we saw that.
"They will die the second"
00:45:56.74\00:45:59.02
"death". Oh, well that
makes sense now, doesn't it?
00:45:59.05\00:46:03.73
So the second death
would be the second death.
00:46:04.48\00:46:08.42
That makes sense? The second
death would be the second death.
00:46:08.45\00:46:12.93
Notice it doesn't say the
second death is the second life.
00:46:12.96\00:46:16.85
Those people that don't
put their faith in Jesus do not
00:46:16.88\00:46:19.22
get to live throughout
the ceaseless eternal ages.
00:46:19.25\00:46:21.36
Think about it, what's the
Devil's favorite thing to do?
00:46:21.39\00:46:24.63
To deceive, and to harass,
and to make your life miserable.
00:46:24.66\00:46:27.96
So the picture that we have
of hell is: here's the Devil,
00:46:27.99\00:46:30.29
and he's got his little
barbecue prod, and here's people
00:46:30.32\00:46:33.59
just writhing in the hot
brimstone lava, and the Devil,
00:46:33.62\00:46:36.66
throughout the ceaseless eternal
ages is on God's divine payroll
00:46:36.69\00:46:40.06
to poke you and I
down into the lava.
00:46:40.09\00:46:43.16
Is that realistic? No,
it's not only unrealistic,
00:46:43.19\00:46:46.10
it's an absolute caricature
of the character of God.
00:46:46.13\00:46:49.94
You can't find that anywhere
in Scripture, is God going
00:46:49.97\00:46:51.99
to keep the Devil on the divine
payroll to do the very thing
00:46:52.02\00:46:53.83
he loves to do, throughout
the ceaseless eternal ages?
00:46:53.86\00:46:56.38
No, the Bible says that the
Devil is going to be destroyed.
00:46:56.41\00:47:01.83
Look at this: they will
die the second death, they will
00:47:01.86\00:47:04.17
suffer destruction, we already
read that, 2 Thessalonians 1:9,
00:47:04.20\00:47:06.79
I think I've got
Philippians 3:19, I'll come back
00:47:06.82\00:47:09.35
to it if I do. "They
will be as though they"
00:47:09.38\00:47:11.72
"had not been. " Obadiah
1:16. And Satan himself will be
00:47:11.75\00:47:14.27
totally destroyed.
That old rascal ain't going
00:47:14.30\00:47:18.48
to stick around forever.
He's not only going to take
00:47:18.51\00:47:20.71
a vacation, he's going to take
one great big, long vacation.
00:47:20.74\00:47:25.31
Back page: What about
everlasting fire? The Bible does
00:47:25.34\00:47:28.56
speak about eternal fire
in Jude 7, but this is a fire
00:47:28.59\00:47:32.32
that has eternal consequences;
it does not burn for eternity,
00:47:32.35\00:47:37.21
in fact, in the context, it
speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah
00:47:37.24\00:47:40.61
as examples of this
eternal fire. We might rightly
00:47:40.64\00:47:43.72
ask the question: is Sodom
and Gomorrah burning right now?
00:47:43.75\00:47:47.34
No, absolutely not.
You can write that down,
00:47:47.37\00:47:49.68
Jude 1:7: [text on screen]
00:47:49.71\00:47:52.19
But are Sodom and
Gomorrah still burning today?
00:48:04.43\00:48:07.01
No, so an eternal fire is a fire
that has eternal consequences.
00:48:07.04\00:48:10.74
It's not a fire that has to
burn throughout the ceaseless
00:48:10.77\00:48:12.65
eternal ages. The
only reason we believe that
00:48:12.68\00:48:15.31
is that we were told is
that we were naturally immortal,
00:48:15.34\00:48:17.30
but if we're not naturally
immortal, then that does not
00:48:17.33\00:48:19.86
have to mean at all.
In fact, it's clear in
00:48:19.89\00:48:22.57
the context. Here's 2
Peter 2:6: [text on screen]
00:48:22.60\00:48:27.17
We just read that in Malachi,
didn't we?...that the wicked
00:48:27.61\00:48:29.90
will be turned to
ashes. [continues to read]
00:48:29.93\00:48:32.52
Now, is anyone unclear
as to what happened to Sodom
00:48:36.54\00:48:39.06
and Gomorrah? The Bible says
that God destroyed them with
00:48:39.09\00:48:41.74
fire and brimstone. He
did not allow them to be
00:48:41.77\00:48:46.13
tortured for centuries,
and centuries, and eons,
00:48:46.21\00:48:49.09
and millennia, they were
destroyed, and Jude says,
00:48:49.12\00:48:52.31
and Peter says that's
an example of eternal fire.
00:48:52.34\00:48:56.03
Not fire that burns throughout
the ceaseless eternal ages,
00:48:56.06\00:48:58.66
but fire that has
eternal consequences.
00:48:58.69\00:49:03.84
Let's go on. Someone
says "eternal punishment"
00:49:03.87\00:49:07.05
- look at that on your study
guide, the Bible also speaks
00:49:07.08\00:49:09.82
of eternal punishment in
Matthew 25:46, this simply means
00:49:09.85\00:49:14.44
punishment that has eternal
consequences, that's why it's
00:49:14.47\00:49:18.66
called the second death,
there's no resurrection from
00:49:18.69\00:49:21.21
the second death.
Notice the phrase is: "eternal"
00:49:21.24\00:49:24.14
"punishment", not
"eternal punishing", is there
00:49:24.17\00:49:26.58
a difference? Huge difference!
00:49:26.61\00:49:29.31
You won't find the phrase
"eternal punishing" anywhere
00:49:29.71\00:49:32.09
in your Bible,
punishing is a verb.
00:49:32.12\00:49:34.45
"The eternal punishing",
no, it's "eternal punishment",
00:49:34.48\00:49:37.83
that is punishment that
has eternal ramifications.
00:49:37.86\00:49:42.31
The difference is enormous.
The only reason that someone
00:49:42.66\00:49:45.44
would insist that this phrase
means eternal conscious torment
00:49:45.47\00:49:48.11
is if they already believed
in the non-Biblical teaching
00:49:48.14\00:49:50.97
that man is naturally immortal.
This teaching, however, as we've
00:49:51.00\00:49:54.52
seen, is not Biblical.
Someone says "Well, the Bible"
00:49:54.55\00:49:57.00
"says it's going
to happen forever. "
00:49:57.03\00:49:59.82
Good question, I
like Bible students.
00:49:59.85\00:50:02.14
By the way, the people
that don't ask questions make me
00:50:02.17\00:50:04.65
more nervous than
the people that do.
00:50:04.68\00:50:07.05
You got questions?
Praise the Lord Jesus!
00:50:07.08\00:50:09.39
I like questions, makes me
more nervous when you don't have
00:50:09.42\00:50:11.83
questions, it means
you're just taking what I say.
00:50:11.86\00:50:14.22
But don't take what I
say, take what the Bible says.
00:50:14.25\00:50:16.89
Now look at this, and by
the way, I'm passionate about
00:50:16.92\00:50:19.41
this because I believe that
this is what the Bible teaches,
00:50:19.44\00:50:22.08
but I'm always willing,
don't come up to me and say:
00:50:22.11\00:50:24.51
"Well, you know, the Spirit
told me that what you were"
00:50:24.54\00:50:26.75
"preaching wasn't
true", don't tell me that.
00:50:26.78\00:50:29.29
Don't tell me "It just
doesn't feel right in my soul",
00:50:29.32\00:50:31.65
don't tell me that beloved,
because if I have to trust your
00:50:31.68\00:50:33.98
indigestion, or what the
Bible says, I'm going to trust
00:50:34.01\00:50:36.44
the Bible. [Audience laughs]
00:50:36.47\00:50:38.78
I've had person after person
after person come to these
00:50:38.81\00:50:41.09
meetings and say "Well you know,
it just doesn't feel right",
00:50:41.12\00:50:43.51
and I look at them in the
eye and say "Listen sister",
00:50:43.54\00:50:45.94
"I love you, brother, but you
are forcing me to make a very"
00:50:45.97\00:50:48.15
"easy decision here. I have
to trust some feeling that's"
00:50:48.18\00:50:50.48
"taking place in your guts,
or I have to trust what God"
00:50:50.51\00:50:53.14
"says in His Word, and I'm
always going to take what God"
00:50:53.17\00:50:55.55
"says in His Word", and
you too? [Audience] Amen.
00:50:55.58\00:50:57.98
I mean, how many nights would
you have stayed if I had stood
00:50:58.01\00:51:00.23
up and said "You know, I just
got this feeling in my stomach"
00:51:00.26\00:51:02.81
"that this is what this prophecy
means...", would you have kept
00:51:02.84\00:51:05.23
coming? You say "Oh yeah,
we went down to this meeting, "
00:51:05.26\00:51:07.74
"and this fellow
told us how he felt. "
00:51:07.77\00:51:10.19
No, you're coming because the
Bible's being preached and you
00:51:10.22\00:51:12.67
say "Hey, that makes sense. "
So look at this, someone says:
00:51:12.70\00:51:15.10
"Well how about the word
'forever'? " [text on screen]
00:51:15.13\00:51:18.58
Look at your study guide.
This might seem like an unusual
00:51:18.61\00:51:21.07
question "How long is forever?
" The Bible doesn't use the word
00:51:21.10\00:51:23.71
"forever" in the context of
a final punishment, but several
00:51:23.74\00:51:26.60
things must be considered
before arriving at unwarranted
00:51:26.63\00:51:29.86
conclusions. Number 1: the word
"forever" means "as long as"
00:51:29.89\00:51:32.09
"the things shall last. "
Number 2: forever in the New
00:51:32.12\00:51:34.68
Testament can be translated
"an age", or "until the end of"
00:51:34.71\00:51:37.27
"the age". Number 3: the word
"forever" is used in the Bible
00:51:37.30\00:51:40.19
to refer to things that lasted
for a finite period of time.
00:51:40.22\00:51:43.10
For example, Jonah was in
the belly of the fish "forever",
00:51:43.13\00:51:46.64
but how many days was
Jonah in the belly of the fish?
00:51:46.67\00:51:48.78
[Audience] 3 days.
But the Bible says he was
00:51:48.81\00:51:51.49
in there forever. 1
Samuel 1 says that Samuel
00:51:51.52\00:51:54.10
was given to the Lord forever,
but then it says in verse 28
00:51:54.13\00:51:56.69
he was given until he
died. In Exodus 21:6 it says
00:51:56.72\00:52:02.38
that if someone becomes a slave
you have to become an earring
00:52:02.41\00:52:04.87
through his ear, or awl
through his ear, and that's
00:52:04.90\00:52:07.39
a sign that he's a slave
forever, but it goes on to say
00:52:07.42\00:52:09.64
that after 7 years he's
released. Beloved, the word
00:52:09.67\00:52:12.21
"forever" modifies the
thing that it's talking about,
00:52:12.24\00:52:15.37
so if we say "God lives
forever", of course, the nature
00:52:15.40\00:52:18.53
of God defined forever
as throughout the ceaseless
00:52:18.56\00:52:21.48
eternal ages, but if it says
that the smoke of their torment
00:52:21.51\00:52:24.60
ascends forever, it would only
mean throughout the ceaseless
00:52:24.63\00:52:27.53
eternal ages if that thing was,
by nature, immortal, but if it's
00:52:27.56\00:52:30.95
not, by nature, immortal it
means it would burn and burn
00:52:30.98\00:52:34.12
until there was nothing
more to burn. Very simple.
00:52:34.15\00:52:38.63
By the way, if you're writhing
in the flames of hell and being
00:52:38.66\00:52:41.11
burned up, it's going
to feel like...guess what?
00:52:41.14\00:52:43.82
Forever! Jesus
endured hell, and this
00:52:43.85\00:52:46.31
is probably the
single most powerful thing.
00:52:46.34\00:52:49.57
Here we go...alright...yeah,
I better read that real quick.
00:52:49.60\00:52:54.82
John Stott
said: [text on screen]
00:52:54.85\00:52:57.89
He's not a member of my
church, he's just a conservative
00:53:11.37\00:53:13.73
theologian saying "Hey look,
we've got to look at the Bible".
00:53:13.76\00:53:16.63
[continues to read text]
00:53:16.66\00:53:18.80
Where did they get that
idea from? They didn't get it
00:53:43.97\00:53:46.11
from the Bible, they
got it from the Greeks.
00:53:46.14\00:53:47.80
So the first death is the
death that we die as a natural
00:53:47.83\00:53:50.64
result of living in a sinful
world. All kinds of people
00:53:50.67\00:53:54.16
die the first death, but there's
a resurrection from the first
00:53:54.19\00:53:56.85
death, and I want to be
in the first resurrection.
00:53:56.88\00:54:00.24
[text on screen]
00:54:00.27\00:54:02.32
There is no resurrection
from the second death.
00:54:05.23\00:54:09.03
So here we go, Jesus said
in Matthew 10:28, we already
00:54:09.06\00:54:11.32
quoted this: [text on screen]
00:54:11.35\00:54:14.02
So Jesus stumbles into
the garden of Gethsemane in
00:54:20.08\00:54:22.97
Matthew 26, and as He falls
down to His face, what does
00:54:23.00\00:54:25.41
He say? [text on screen]
00:54:25.44\00:54:27.71
Let me rephrase that:
Jesus stumbles into the garden
00:54:32.49\00:54:34.69
of Gethsemane, the sin of the
world is being laid upon Him,
00:54:34.72\00:54:37.55
and He says "My soul is
exceedingly sorrowful to"
00:54:37.58\00:54:40.53
"the point of death", in
other words, "My soul is dying".
00:54:40.56\00:54:45.47
Beloved, if your soul is dying
you are going through hell.
00:54:45.50\00:54:50.80
That's what we just read there
in Matthew 10:28, look at it
00:54:50.87\00:54:53.69
again: "Do not fear those who
kill the body, but cannot kill"
00:54:53.72\00:54:56.56
"the soul, rather fear Him
who is able to destroy both"
00:54:56.59\00:54:58.90
"the soul and the body in
hell", so if Jesus' soul was
00:54:58.93\00:55:03.17
dying, if He was saying "Oh,
something is happening inside"
00:55:03.20\00:55:05.57
"of Me, the weight of the
world feels like it's upon Me, "
00:55:05.60\00:55:08.13
"the sin of the world is rending
Me from My Father', He's going
00:55:08.16\00:55:11.15
through the experience of
hell. Look at the bottom of your
00:55:11.18\00:55:15.96
study guide, praise
the Lord Jesus, we made it.
00:55:15.99\00:55:18.20
Jesus says, He stumbled
into the garden of Gethsemane,
00:55:18.23\00:55:20.35
His soul was exceedingly
sorrowful, even unto death.
00:55:20.38\00:55:23.30
Compare this with Matthew 10:28
- which we've already done,
00:55:23.33\00:55:25.69
Jesus endured this horrific
experience, the second death,
00:55:25.72\00:55:28.03
for you on the the cross.
Here's the good news about
00:55:28.06\00:55:31.21
hell beloved, Jesus would rather
go to hell for you, than live
00:55:31.24\00:55:35.75
in heaven without you.
Jesus would rather go to hell
00:55:35.78\00:55:42.39
for you, than live
in heaven without you.
00:55:42.42\00:55:44.30
Here's the good news about
hell: no one is burning right
00:55:44.33\00:55:46.58
now, I hope that's good news
to that person who had a loved
00:55:46.61\00:55:50.17
one, or a son, or a daughter,
or a friend who died and they
00:55:50.20\00:55:53.32
didn't know how
their case was with God.
00:55:53.35\00:55:55.40
No one is burning right
now. If you want to believe
00:55:55.43\00:55:59.89
the Bible, if you want
to believe your traditions
00:55:59.92\00:56:02.36
and your ideas of all this Greek
mythology, you can believe it,
00:56:02.39\00:56:05.19
but if you want to believe
what the Bible says, no one
00:56:05.22\00:56:07.34
is burning right now.
Number 2: [text on screen]
00:56:07.37\00:56:11.76
If you want to believe that, if
that's the picture of God that
00:56:13.53\00:56:15.74
you want to create in your
mind, fine, you are welcome to
00:56:15.77\00:56:18.53
do that, but that's
not the Biblical picture.
00:56:18.56\00:56:21.23
Don't confuse the God of the
Bible with the God of that would
00:56:21.26\00:56:23.53
burn people throughout the
ceaseless eternal ages for what
00:56:23.56\00:56:25.88
they did in 50-70 years.
My Bible says God is love.
00:56:25.91\00:56:29.79
[text on screen]
00:56:29.82\00:56:31.77
That's good news
isn't it? [Audience] Amen.
00:56:35.47\00:56:39.49
Number 5: Jesus would
rather go to hell for your than
00:56:40.09\00:56:42.73
live in heaven without you. 2
questions as we close tonight,
00:56:42.76\00:56:45.24
number 1: is this
clear? [Audience] Yes.
00:56:45.27\00:56:47.87
Beloved, the Bible says
that God is love, and I hope
00:56:47.90\00:56:50.48
that I've done my very
best to convene you tonight this
00:56:50.51\00:56:53.13
great, great, grand
Biblical truth of hell and of
00:56:53.16\00:56:55.33
the Millennium, it is
not something that makes God
00:56:55.36\00:56:58.18
out to be the greatest terrorist
in the universe, God is
00:56:58.21\00:57:02.17
the greatest compassionate
being of love in the universe.
00:57:02.20\00:57:06.79
Yes, He is just; yes, He is
gracious; yes, He is mighty,
00:57:06.82\00:57:10.62
but His punishments and
His judgments will always be
00:57:10.65\00:57:13.45
consistent with the crime
and the infraction, that is what
00:57:13.48\00:57:17.13
the Bible teaches. As
we close tonight I want to
00:57:17.16\00:57:20.97
ask you 2 questions.
Number 1: was tonight's
00:57:21.00\00:57:23.60
presentation
clear? [Audience] Yes.
00:57:23.63\00:57:26.23
That's all I want to know.
Here's the second question:
00:57:26.26\00:57:28.66
are you willing, I don't care
if it's tonight's subject or any
00:57:28.69\00:57:30.93
subject, are you willing...
I mean this with every bit
00:57:30.96\00:57:33.38
of sincerity, and authenticity,
and transparency that I can
00:57:33.41\00:57:35.94
muster, are you willing to
take any belief that you have,
00:57:35.97\00:57:40.10
any belief that you have,
and surrender it if it's not
00:57:40.13\00:57:43.63
consistent with what the
Bible teaches? [Audience] Yes!
00:57:43.66\00:57:46.16
That's all I want to
know. Beloved, you do that,
00:57:46.19\00:57:49.44
I'll do that, and by the
grace of God, we will arrive at
00:57:49.47\00:57:52.25
Biblical truth by
studying His Word.
00:57:52.28\00:57:55.56