Participants: Chris Holland
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201330
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00:11 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time.
00:15 God's book, The Bible 00:18 Still relevant in today's complex world 00:24 It Is Written 00:26 Sharing messages of hope around the world! 00:39 >>Chris: Today I would like for us to go on a little journey. A journey 00:42 to the southeastern corner of the Dead Sea in modern day Jordan. It is at this 00:48 site, that we find the approximate location of the ancient cities of 00:52 Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were at one time amazing cities. They 00:57 were wealthy and luxurious, but they were filled with immorality. 01:03 Scholars and archaeologists believe that ancient Sodom and 01:06 Gomorrah were part of a metropolis that consisted of five cities, each 01:10 having its own king. It was a population center that reflected great 01:15 wealth and sophistication. In addition, outside of the cities was very 01:20 fertile ground that provided excellent growing potential. Studies have 01:26 revealed that they grew an abundance of grains and plentiful orchards These 01:32 fields produced in abundance. These cities were commercial centers 01:39 and really didn't lack in anything. It led leisure and a city filled with 01:47 immoral pleasure seeking. Wine flowed freely and wickedness grew. The 01:54 people of these cities turned their back upon God. They were only 01:58 concerned with indulging in immoral pleasures. Soon these cities would 02:03 experience the judgment of God. 02:10 The famed archaeologist Dr. Nelson Gluek worked in the southeast of the Dead 02:15 see and he discovered a trade route from ancient Mesopotamia to Sodom and 02:20 Gomorrah. He also discovered that the Sodom and Gomorrah traded with 02:26 other cities only increasing their wealth and luxury. Archaeologists 02:33 have uncovered a site their along the southeastern banks of the 02:37 Dead sea which they believe to be the very site of Sodom and 02:42 Gomorrah, there isn't 100% assurance, but very good evidence that it is the 02:48 location. They uncovered a site with over 1.5 million graves, which indicates a 02:54 thriving population. But the population had become corrupt and being warned 03:01 of their pending doom, the Bible tells us what happened to these cities 03:04 in Genesis 19:24, 03:22 Amazingly as archaeologists have excavated the site the 03:25 have found signs of absolute destruction with a layer of ash anywhere 03:31 between 10 and 50 centimeters of thickness. This affirmationf the 03:37 destruction of the city of Abraham's time is aphenomenal corroboration 03:42 of God's holy Word. 03:46 Now, you'll remember that Sodom and Gomorrah were absolutely wicked cities. 03:50 In Genesis 18:20 it describes the cities as their sin being grave. But 04:00 in these cities lived a servant of God - Lot and his family. Lot was the 04:05 nephew of Abraham. An angel actually visited Lot and led his family out of 04:11 those wicked cities and on their way out, Lot's wife looked back. Her heart was 04:18 still in that wicked city. She still had attachments to the pleasures, wealth 04:23 and materialism. She couldn't leave her old self behind and enjoy the 04:30 new life that God had planned. God called Lot to escape for his life. 04:35 Today, Jesus makes the same appeal to you and me. That we lay down anything 04:41 that separates us from Jesus and escape to Him leave all our earthly 04:46 materialistic attachments behind and live a life devoted to Him Lot's wife 04:52 looked back and she was lost eternally. God calls us today to be a genuine 04:58 Christian and have a life transforming relationship with Him. We cannot 05:05 straddle the fence. We need to be all in for Jesus Fire fell on those 05:12 cities and in a passage we looked at before; notice the lesson of Sodom and 05:19 Gomorrah to us. In Jude 7, it says this, 05:49 Sodom and Gomorrah are an example of what will happen to the wicked. We 05:53 have been studying the question, Is Heaven for Real? Last week we asked, 05:59 well what about Hell, this program is part 7 of our series on heaven, but part 06:04 2 about hell. If you've missed any of our programs, you can visit 06:10 our website www.itiswrittencanada.ca or 06:14 www.youtube.com/IIWCanada to see past programs. Sodom and Gomorrah serve 06:25 as example of what the final destruction of the wicked will be. Not and 06:30 ever-burningongoing place of torture, but rather a permanent 06:37 destruction by fire that has everlasting results.Sodom and Gomorrah 06:43 were totally, completely, absolutely destroyed. They don't burn on, they were 06:51 turned to stble, to ash and that serves, as an example of what hell will 06:58 be. 07:01 These cities were immoral, they partied, practiced sexual relationships 07:07 outside the confines of marriage. They received plenty of warning, but God 07:12 finally said that their time was up. A day is coming soon, when the cup 07:17 of rebellion and sin will be full, here on this earth and God will say, 07:21 that is enough. He wants to save as many as possible and He is going 07:27 to intervene in this earth's history to assure that there will be a 07:30 faithful remnant - a faithful final generation that He will take home to 07:35 heaven. For those who don't want to be a part of the heavenly realm, in His 07:40 mercy, God removes them from existence by destruction with fire 07:45 after the millennium. Sodom and Gomorrah do not continue to burn today. 07:50 But the Bible describes it as eternal fire that consumed them. The Bible 07:56 describes eternal fire as a permanent result. They never burned again. The 08:02 destruction was complete and the effects were eternal. That is an 08:08 eternal fire. An eternal fire is not one that eternally burns, but one 08:14 that burns up completely to ashes so that it no longer exists." It is 08:21 burned eternally. It never has to be re-burned because it is gone. 2 08:25 Peter 2:6 tell us that Sodom and Gomorrah were turned to ash. That is an 08:31 example of what hell will be. Not a place, but an event in which this earth 08:36 is cleansed completely from sin, which includes the devil, his angels and 08:41 sinner, everything turned completely to ash. Then the earth is prepared to 08:47 be made new. Friends, that is the consistent picture we get from the teachings 08:53 of Jesus and the Bible writers. Death, utter destruction, is the 08:59 ultimate fate of the wicked. 09:05 Some believe and teach that Satan and sinners will be tormented "forever 09:09 and ever:" The basis for such a belief is not the Bible. It is rooted in 09:15 ancient Egyptian religion, passed on to the Greeks and entered the church 09:20 through Roman paganism. But some will point to a text such as Revelation 09:25 20:10, 09:41 This phrase forever and ever, actually in the Greek can literally mean 09:45 "until the end of the age." Friends think about what an ever-burning hell 09:51 would require. Have you ever been burned - it is very painful. But being 09:58 thrown into a fire would lead to death. An ever-burning fire would 10:04 require God to regenerate life in an individual over and over again so they 10:11 could suffer. This does not fit in character of God. The wicked are 10:18 consumed completely. Satan and his angels are utterly destroyed and the effects 10:23 are eternal. Forever in the Bible often denotes a limited time, such as, as 10:30 long as one lives. Exodus 21:6 says this, 10:58 This is speaking of a servant or a slave. Now are there a bunch of 11:05 Hebrew slaves walking around this earth who are serving their master 11:10 forever. No, this means for a lifetime. As long as the slave lived, he would 11:21 serve. Jonah said these words describing his being swallowed by the whale, in 11:28 Jonah 2:6, 11:47 Friends is Jonah still sitting in the belly of the whale? It was a 11:52 limited time. He was in the belly of the whale for allotted time. Hannah 11:58 dedicated Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:22 to serve the Lord in the temple and 12:06 remain their forever. Is Samuel still there? No. In fact 1 Samuel 1:28 makes 12:18 it clear, 12:32 As long as he lives - this is forever. Friends, these vivid and graphic images 12:39 of eternal fire and smoke rising forever are metaphors that emphasize 12:45 the tragedy of losing the lost. The Bible calls the destruction of the wicked 12:50 in Isaiah 28:21, 13:07 It calls it God's unusual act. The ESV states it this way, 13:25 The King James Version says, 13:35 The destruction of the wicked is called unusual, strange, and alien. God is 13:42 a creator not a destroyer. He wants to create a new heart in you friend. We 13:47 don't need to worry about hell because we have the opportunity to serve Him 13:51 and follow Him and be with Him. We can serve Him out of love and not fear. Even 13:57 those who choose not to follow Him will not be punished for an eternity 14:02 for one lifetime of mistakes and choices. God in his mercy will simply 14:07 destroy them from existence in an instance. 14:14 Even Jesus used imagery to show us that we don't want to be a part of such an 14:19 event. In a parable in Matthew 13:50 Jesus said these words, 14:37 In Matthew 22 Jesus describes heaven as a great wedding banquet. 14:42 There is a wonderful celebration. But someone has come unprepared, not 14:46 wearing a wedding garment, an allusion to being covered in the 14:50 righteousness of Christ. And in this guest's great presumption he is cast 14:56 away and in Matthew 22:13 it says, 15:12 Another picture arises using the same phrase in Matthew 25:30. The parable 15:19 of the ten talents and the lazy servant who didn't work for the master has 15:25 this said to him, 15:36 Why such pain? Because in each case the individuals are on the outside. They 15:42 realize what they have missed-cut off from the wonderful reward. They 15:47 have missed out on the magnificentreward of eternal life. Matthew 15:55 25:21 tells of that gift, 16:15 The joy of our Lord is to be in heaven with each of us for eternity. Missing 16:22 out on eternal life will be the greatest tragedy ever in history. That is 16:28 the agony of hell. Does God need to arbitrarily torture the wicked in 16:33 order to punish them adequately? Absolutely not! The pain, the real 16:40 pain comes from the realization of what they've missed, what 16:44 they've thrown away. 16:49 Friends there is no comparison, nothing in this life will compare 16:54 with the bliss and peace of heaven. They realize that they've thrown it all 17:00 away for a few moments of pleasure - it wasn't worth it at all. No wonder there 17:08 is weeping and gnashing of teeth. We can't miss out friend. The Bible clearly 17:16 points out that hell is not a place, but an event on this earth that ends 17:22 sin forever. It ends it all completely and permanently. This is the 17:30 merciful act of a loving God who must bring all things to a close. Some 17:39 will say, but wait. Doesn't the Bible say that Jesus preached to the 17:44 spirits in prison? That text is in 1 Peter 3:19 and here is what it says, 18:02 The easiest way to understand this text is to read the surrounding 18:06 information. So let's go back a verse and read a few beyond. Verses18-22, 19:10 First, verse 18 makes it clear that Jesus was made alive by the Spirit - so 19:18 Jesus is not dead in this passage. So then who are these spirits in prison 19:24 and when did Jesus preach to them? Verse 20 makes it clear, those from the days 19:30 of Noah. We did a whole series on Noah - you'll remember the earth was 19:36 filled with wickedness and violence. Christ, through the prophets spoke to 19:42 those, in the days of Noah, who were possessed by evil spirits with 19:50 violence and immorality and tried to release them from their bondage of sin. 19:56 He provided every opportunity for them to repent and break that 20:02 bondage. There was no visiting an eternal burning center of the 20:07 earth - Jesus through the prophets, spoke to the people in Noah's day. Now 20:16 others will say wait wait, what about the rich man and Lazarus. This passage 20:22 is found Luke 16:19-31, 22:28 The first important point about this passage is that it is a parable. It is in 22:36 a string of parables that Jesus is using to teach about the kingdom of God. 22:42 Often parables are symbolic or metaphorical in nature to illustrate a 22:47 point. Each point of the parable can't be taken literally. If we were to 22:52 do so, then we would literally go to Abraham's bosom for heaven - how big 23:00 would it have to be - this is of course to just an illustration. What a 23:05 terrible place heaven would be if we had continual contact with 23:11 those who were lost? In this parable Jesus used a common story among the 23:19 Jews that described dying as passing through a dark valley and finding 23:25 salvation in fleeing to the bosom of Abraham. They also commonly thought that 23:32 the rich were the blessed of God and surely going to heaven. So Jesus used this 23:38 parable to turn things on end. He then used the parable to teach three 23:43 distinct points: one, any wealth gained by greed or through dishonesty or in 23:51 disregarding the poor are not signs of having God's favor, number two that 23:57 there is no second chance after death. Once your life has been lived and 24:05 then you die, there is no second chance or chance is now, while we live. Third, 24:12 Jesus had given sign upon sign, including raising someone from the dead but 24:25 the religious leaders rejected Him. However, had they studied their 24:32 scriptures, the Old Testament they would have known that Jesus was the 24:36 promised Messiah, but their refusal to study the Word would not allow them 24:42 to ever accept Jesus even with all the signs in the world. 24:50 Friends, we don't need to be like the Pharisees or Sadducees. We can accept 24:55 Jesus and the miracle of his love. Heaven is for real and He wants to take 25:00 you there. Jesus suffered on the cross the full consequences of the second 25:04 death. He faced uncertainty and faced the full wage of sin. He did 25:10 that so we didn't have to and we could live forever with Him. He is preparing 25:18 a place now and will prepare a new earth for those that love Him and 25:23 want to be with Him. Friends, we don't have to worry about hell fire, it 25:28 wasn't prepared for any human being - only for the devil and his angels. Sin 25:33 will be destroyed there. All we need to do is let go of our sin and cling to 25:40 Jesus. All we must do is place our faith in Christ as Savior and entrust our 25:48 lives into His hands. Won't you make your choice today? Heavenly Father, 25:56 today, we come to you and we release our sin, we give our sin to you, and 26:04 we cling to Jesus. Secure us in our relationship with Him. Help us to know 26:10 Him and have the comfort of His peace, of his joy, and prepare us, that we 26:19 would be ready to meet Him when He comes again in glory, we pray in Jesus' 26:24 name, amen. 26:33 It Is Written Canada is please to present internationally acclaimed 26:36 Christian recording trio "Selah" in 3 amazing concerts. 26:42 September 6 in Toronto, Ontario; September 20 in Surrey British Columbia 26:46 and October 11 in Red Deer, Alberta. 26:50 For more information and to purchase tickets log on to ItIsWrittenCanada.ca 26:54 Or call 905-404-6510. 27:01 Friends, today's program was the seventh in an eight-part series that 27:05 answers the question, "Is heaven for real?" We have found that heaven is for 27:11 real, and Jesus is doing everything He can to take us there. I would like to 27:18 offer you the eight-part series in a DVD set. Here's the information you 27:25 need to receive that DVD set. 28:02 Friend, thank you for watching today. Heaven is a real place, and Jesus 28:07 right now is preparing and securing your place there. Will you answer his call 28:14 to be there with Him? These programs are designed to prepare us so 28:20 we are ready to meet Jesus when He comes again. I invite you to watch the 28:24 program next week. Until then, remember, it is written, "Man shall not 28:31 live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of 28:34 God." 28:38 $$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-09-16