Participants: Pr. Dwight Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP022809
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00:27 When He comes our glorious King
00:33 All His ransomed home to bring 00:41 Then anew this song we'll sing 00:47 Hallelujah, what a Savior 00:58 Hallelujah, hallelujah 01:06 Hallelujah, what a Savior 01:13 Hallelujah, hallelujah 01:20 Hallelujah, what a Savior 01:28 Hallelujah hallelujah 01:35 Hallelujah, what a Savior 01:42 Hallelujah, hallelujah 01:49 Hallelujah 01:53 What a Savior! 02:02 Just think of His goodness. Give thanks from your heart. 02:25 How deep the Father's love for us 02:30 How vast beyond all measure 02:36 That He should give His only Son 02:42 To make a wretch His treasure 02:48 How great the pain of searing loss 02:54 The Father turns His face away 03:00 As wounds which mar the Chosen One 03:06 Bring many sons to glory 03:22 Behold the man upon the cross 03:27 My sin upon His shoulders 03:32 Ashamed I hear my mocking voice 03:37 Call out among the scoffers 03:42 It was my sin that held Him there 03:47 Until it was accomplished 03:53 His dying breath has brought me life 03:58 I know that it is finished 04:05 Are you grateful for the cross today? 04:09 Listening to tha first, I will not boast. 04:13 I will not boast in anything 04:18 No gifts, no power, no wisdom 04:24 But I will boast in Jesus Christ 04:29 His death and resurrection 04:34 Why should I gain from His reward? 04:39 I cannot give an answer 04:44 But this I know with all my heart 04:49 His wounds have paid my ransom 04:52 Why should I gain. 04:54 Why should I gain from His reward? 04:59 I cannot give an answer 05:05 But this I know with all my heart 05:10 His wounds have paid my ransom 05:29 O Love divine 05:33 O Love divine 05:35 O Love divine, what has thou done 05:42 The immortal God 05:45 Hath died for me 05:50 The Father's coeternal Son 05:57 Bore all my sins upon the tree 06:04 The immortal God for me hath died 06:12 My Lord, my Love, is crucified 06:20 Is crucified for me and you 06:26 To bring us rebels back to God 06:34 Believe, believe the record true 06:41 Ye all are bought with Jesus' blood 06:48 Pardon for all flows from His side 06:55 My Lord, my Love 06:58 Is crucified 07:08 Behold him 07:11 All ye that pass by 07:17 The bleeding Prince of life and peace 07:24 Come, sinners 07:27 See your Savior die 07:33 And say Was ever grief like his 07:40 Come, feel with me his blood applied 07:48 My Lord, my Love 07:51 Is crucified 07:57 Come, feel with me 08:02 His blood applied 08:11 My Lord, my Love 08:14 Is crucified 08:34 O love divine, 08:35 it is because my Lord, my Love, was crucified. 08:43 That we need to understand what we are about to hear. 08:48 May the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ 08:50 be the great template through 08:51 which we can understand the truth about You. 08:56 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 09:03 The flamboyant Ted Turner, you probably heard of him, 09:07 he is the founder of CNN Cable News Network 09:09 and TBS Turner Broadcasting System, 09:12 the celebrated owner of the Atlanta Braves. 09:17 Ted Turner was once quoted saying these words. 09:21 I've got the clipping right here. 09:24 I don't want anybody to die for me. 09:27 I've had a few drinks and a few girlfriends 09:29 and if that's going to put me in hellthen so be it. 09:33 The clipping goes on. 09:34 The famous Ted Turner on 09:35 why Christ should not have bothered sacrificing his life. 09:39 Christianity, he added is, "A religion for losers." 09:48 Oh we love you too, Ted. 09:52 I mean, come on I've had a few beers, 09:53 I've had a few girlfriends so I go to hell so what? 09:57 Isn't that amazing? 09:59 How glibly we tossed the word hell around 10:03 in a rather earthy American vocabulary, 10:09 having no clue as to what hell might be. 10:17 We've come to the midpoint in these tiny little mini series 10:19 three parts long, the truth about hell. 10:22 We're now ready for the story of hell. 10:27 I want you to read that story for yourself before warned. 10:31 This is not a bedtime story. 10:33 It will not begin with the words once upon a time 10:36 because the story is still future. 10:40 Before it happens we must read the story. 10:47 So please open your Bible to the Bible's last book 10:49 the Apocalypse. 10:50 Revelation Chapter 20 the story of hell. 10:56 Revelation Chapter 20. 10:57 If you didn't bring a Bible, 10:58 oh, boy, grab that Bible in front of you, 11:00 the pew Bible here today you're gonna need it. 11:03 You're gonna track, you must track this story please. 11:06 Grab the pew Bible in front of you. 11:08 Turn to the Bible's last book that would be Revelation 20. 11:10 Any translation you brought fine it works. 11:14 Go to the Bible's last book. 11:16 I know some of you are thinking, come on Dwight, 11:17 why do we even have to talk about hell at all? 11:20 I'll tell you why, 11:22 because it is the one teaching of Christianity 11:25 that more than any other single claim 11:27 of Christianity has turned 11:29 more thinking men and women into atheist 11:32 the world over, that's why. 11:35 This teaching of God burning His children forever 11:39 and ever has swollen the ranks of the lost. 11:45 Why should I care? Because the character of God 11:48 is on the line, that's why. 11:51 Open your Bible with me please to the story of hell, 11:54 Revelation Chapter 20. 11:57 Let's pick it up in verse 4. 12:00 I'm in a Today's New International Version. 12:03 "I saw thrones on which were seated those 12:05 who had been given authority to judge. 12:08 And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded 12:11 because of their testimony about Jesus 12:13 and because of the word of God." 12:15 Those are martyrs obviously. 12:16 "They had not worshiped the beast or his image 12:19 and had not received his mark 12:21 on their foreheads or their hands. 12:23 They came to life and reigned 12:27 with Christ a thousand years." 12:32 Verse 5, little parenthetical insertion here. 12:35 "O the rest of the dead did not come to life 12:39 until the thousand years were ended." 12:41 So the beginning of the thousand years 12:44 God's friends come to life 12:45 at the end of the thousand years those who are lost 12:48 come to life as we will see in just a moment. 12:51 Verse 5 goes on "This is the first resurrection." 12:53 Speaking of those who are sitting 12:55 on the thrones these martyrs. 12:56 They came up in the first resurrection. 12:57 Verse 6 "Blessed and holy are those 13:00 who have part in the first resurrection. 13:03 The second death has no power over them, 13:05 but they will be priests of God and of Christ 13:07 and will reign with him for a thousand years." 13:11 Even a cursory reading of this story of hell 13:16 will lead us to some logical conclusions 13:18 and I wish you would scribble those down right now. 13:20 Pull out of your worship bulletin 13:22 please today's study guide, brand new study guide, 13:25 reach into your worship bulletin. 13:27 If you don't find a worship bulletin 13:29 ushers would you please right now make sure that everybody 13:31 on the sanctuary level, everybody in the balcony, 13:34 everybody in overflow please make. 13:36 Choir I sure hope, yeah, 13:37 you've got your study guides, good. 13:39 Hold your hand up if you didn't get a study guide. 13:40 This is one, trust me, for sure you want this study guide. 13:45 By the way those of you who are watching on television, 13:47 we are delighted to have you. 13:49 You got to get into this journey with us. 13:51 Go to our website, you'll get the same study guide. 13:53 Let me put it on the screen for you, 13:54 our website www.pmchurch.tv. 14:00 Once you find that website go on to website 14:01 you're looking for little miniseries 14:03 entitled The Truth About Hell. 14:05 It's only three parts long. 14:07 We had a first past last week. 14:08 Oh boy, if you didn't get last week 14:10 you've got to download the podcast. 14:11 Title of last week's MonsterGod.com. 14:14 Don't miss last week's, set this up. 14:17 Today's teaching this is the one you're looking for 14:20 is entitled "The Smoke of Their Torments." 14:23 So when it say study guide right there beneath 14:25 Smoke of Their Torment, you click there 14:26 you'll have the study guide. 14:27 And by the way, don't miss the conclusion. 14:30 Next week "My Journey to Purgatory and Back" 14:37 that's next week. 14:38 We'll wrap up this little miniseries. 14:39 I hope-- I trust and pray that all three teachings 14:42 will be especially blessed to you. 14:45 All right, so this is "Smoke of Their Torment." 14:46 Here we go. 14:47 You got the study guide now, everybody have one? 14:49 Keep you hand up can't wait for you. 14:51 Let's go. 14:52 Number one, what are the logical conclusions 14:55 that we can draw from Revelation 20 the story of hell? 14:59 Jot it down, number one there are two resurrections. 15:02 Two resurrections. 15:05 If I can just put that verse back up there. 15:06 Let's put Revelation 20:6 back on the screen please. 15:10 "Blessed and holy are those who have a part in 15:11 the first resurrection." 15:14 How he's going next. 15:15 "The second death has no power over them, 15:17 but they will be priests of God 15:19 and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years." 15:23 Now look out ladies and gentlemen, 15:25 if they call a resurrection first you understand 15:28 it's to differentiate from at least a second, 15:30 at least a second. 15:32 Come to find out there are two. 15:34 And by the way the Apocalypse is not unique in teaching 15:36 two resurrections. 15:38 Take a look at this. Let's go to the Old Testament. 15:39 Let's go to the Book of Daniel, Daniel Chapter 12. 15:43 "Multitudes who sleep in the dust 15:45 of the earth will awake." 15:47 This is the Old Testament now. 15:48 "Some to everlasting life." 15:50 That would be the saved. 15:52 "Others to shame and everlasting contempt." 15:57 Two resurrections, 15:58 one for the saved, one for the lost. 16:01 Does Jesus agree with that 16:02 when the incarnate God was on earth? 16:05 Oh, boy, does He ever. 16:06 Look at this John 5:28 Jesus speaking. 16:10 "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming 16:13 when all who are in their graves will hear his voice." 16:16 The Son of Man's voice. 16:18 "And they will come out-- those who have done 16:20 what is good will rise to live." 16:22 That would be the saved. 16:23 "And those who have done 16:24 what is evil will rise to be condemned." 16:27 Or judge the Greek reads that would be the lost. 16:31 So even a cursory reading 16:33 we know there are two resurrections. 16:35 All right, jot down number two. 16:36 There are two deaths. 16:39 Number two, there are two deaths. 16:41 We will need to read verse 6 again. 16:44 As you did just a moment ago and you see right there 16:46 the second death has no power over them. 16:48 Look it, if there is a second death 16:51 then that means there is a first death. 16:52 Wouldn't that be illogical? 16:53 But of course there at least two deaths. 16:56 There are two deaths. 16:57 Now the first death the Bible describes, 16:59 in fact jot this down in your study guide. 17:00 "The first death is one from which you can be awakened." 17:04 Right in that word awakened. 17:06 And then notice this quotation 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. 17:10 "For the Lord himself." This is His second coming. 17:12 "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven 17:14 and the dead in Christ will rise." 17:17 That's first resurrection, all right. 17:21 About by the way, this is the resurrection 17:23 everybody is hoping and praying for. 17:25 Early yesterday morning I walk through Rose Hill Cemetery, 17:27 try to imagine all these graves just bursting open. 17:31 This is what we live for. 17:34 But there is a second resurrection. 17:35 Jot it down. 17:36 "The second death is one 17:40 from which you will never be awakened." 17:43 Now you may not have known these verses in Bible 17:45 but it is Jeremiah 51:57. 17:47 "They will sleep forever and not awake." 17:52 That would be death number two. 17:54 Oh, boy, if I have to die, 17:55 let me die just death number one please, 17:57 not death number two, no, no, no. 18:01 All right, number three, these are conclusions. 18:03 Number three, just even a cursory reading. 18:05 Number three, jot it down. 18:06 Hell is called the second death. 18:10 Last week we were at the foot of the cross. 18:12 Last week the paradigm shifted for us. 18:15 Don't miss last week's teaching. 18:16 MonsterGod.com. 18:18 But hell is called the second death. 18:19 You make an add up Dwight, nope. 18:21 Take a look at this verse. 18:23 That's--I want to begin reading actually in verse 11. 18:26 Will that be okay, verse 11? 18:28 "Then I saw a great white throne 18:30 and him who was seated on it." 18:31 That would be almighty God. 18:32 "And the earth and the heavens fled from his presence, 18:35 and there was no place for them verse 12. 18:37 "And I saw the dead, great and small, 18:40 standing before the throne, and books were opened. 18:43 And another book was opened, which is the book of life. 18:46 The dead were judged according to what they had done 18:48 as recorded in the books." 18:50 Now verse 13. "The sea gave up the dead 18:52 that were in it, and death and Hades." 18:54 Technical word for the grave, all right. 18:56 "Death and the grave gave up the dead that were in them, 18:59 and everyone was judged 19:01 according to what they had done." 19:03 Now I'm going to put verse 14 on the screen. 19:04 Here we go, verse 14. 19:06 "Then death and Hades the grave 19:08 were thrown into the lake of fire." 19:11 Now read this carefully. 19:12 "The lake of fire is the second death. 19:16 All whose names" verse 15, 19:18 "All whose names were not found 19:19 written in the book of life 19:20 were thrown into the lake of fire." 19:22 Ladies and gentlemen, hell results in a death 19:30 from which you will never be awaken. 19:32 Hell the lake of fire is the second death. 19:39 Number four, you draw this conclusion as well. 19:41 Hell, this one comes 19:42 as a surprise to most Christians. 19:44 Now hold on your pew. 19:45 You've never heard this before. 19:47 Hell takes place on earth. 19:54 Is it there, Dwight? Yeah, look at verse 9. 19:57 This is after the second resurrection 19:59 all the lost are raised on the planet. 20:01 And they, verse 9, the lost 20:04 "Marched across the breadth of the earth 20:06 and they surrounded the camp of God's people." 20:08 That would be the city of lost. 20:09 That's the New Jerusalem. 20:10 Apparently it's descendent to earth. 20:12 "But fire came down from heaven and devoured them" verse 10. 20:16 "And the devil, who deceived them, 20:18 was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, 20:20 where the beast and the false prophet" 20:21 two religious institutions in history "had been thrown. 20:25 They will be tormented 20:26 day and night for ever and ever." 20:29 Ladies and gentlemen, please note it clearly 20:31 the fire that comes down 20:32 which is the fire of hell happens on earth. 20:36 There is no place out in the universe 20:38 somewhere where it's called hell. 20:41 No, no, no, no hell is here, not yet but it's here. 20:49 Right here on planet earth. 20:51 All right, number five, jot this down as well. 20:53 You can just draw these just one reading 20:55 and you can draw these conclusion. 20:56 Number five, "Hell is terminated when God recreates 21:00 a new heaven and a new earth." 21:04 So this lake of fire consumes the entire planet, 21:07 the whole eco system, the atmosphere 21:09 everything just purified. 21:12 And finally the God on the great white throne 21:14 throws His hands up and He says let's start over. 21:18 And that's exactly what happens. 21:19 Hell is in the last verse of Revelation 20, 21:22 the lake of fire we read it just a moment ago. 21:24 Now go to the first verse of Revelation 21. 21:28 Then after the lake of fire 21:30 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth 21:34 for the first heaven and the first earth 21:36 had passed away, 21:37 and there was no longer any sea." 21:38 Drop down to verse 4. 21:40 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 21:43 And there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, 21:47 for the old order of things has passed away." 21:49 Verse 5 "He who was seated on the throne said, 21:52 'I am making everything new!' 21:54 Then he said, 'Write this down, 21:56 for these words are trustworthy and true.'" 21:59 Hell comes to an end when God recreates this earth. 22:04 You see that. 22:07 Do you know what that means? 22:09 Two final conclusions. No text now. 22:11 Just based on what we've read two conclusions. 22:13 Number six, jot it down. 22:14 Hell cannot be now, because it takes place 22:18 on earth in the future. 22:23 It can't be now. 22:26 It can't be now. And finally number seven. 22:29 Hell cannot be forever, 22:31 because it takes place on earth, 22:33 and is followed by God's new creation. 22:35 You can't have an eternal hell 22:37 when hell transpires on this planet 22:39 that God has promised to restore to its Edenic, 22:41 it's garden of Eden beauty one day. 22:43 It can't be. 22:46 They say hey, where are they, time out Dwight, not so fast, 22:49 wait a minute we just read this. 22:50 I'm only going verse 10. 22:52 It says and they would, and they suffered-- 22:54 they were tormented forever and ever. 22:56 You just skipped over that, boy. 22:59 I'm glad you brought that up. 23:01 And by the way you say hey, hey, hey, 23:03 what you gonna do with Jesus. 23:05 Jesus talks about everlasting fire. 23:06 Jesus talks about eternal fire, 23:08 what do you going to do with those? 23:10 Fair enough, let's take a look at them. 23:12 Let's do this. Let's take a look. 23:13 Let's go back to the gospel of Saint Mark. 23:17 Little tiny gospel there at the beginning 23:19 of the New Testament right after Matthew. 23:20 Find the gospel of Mark 23:22 this would be page 681 in your pew Bible. 23:25 Find Mark Chapter 9. Take a look at this. 23:29 You are right, you are absolutely right. 23:32 Here are the words of Jesus Himself. 23:33 If you have a red letter Bible these words are bright red. 23:36 All right, Mark Chapter 9, 23:38 drop down to the end of the chapter to verse 47. 23:43 Mark 9:47 Jesus speaking 23:46 "And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. 23:51 It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God 23:53 with one eye than to have two eyes 23:55 and to be thrown into hell." 23:58 Verse 48 "Where 'their worm does not die, 24:02 and the fire is not quenched.'" 24:05 I told you Dwight, fire that cannot be quenched 24:08 goes forever and ever, amen. 24:12 Let me tell you something by the way 24:14 about that word for hell that you just read. 24:17 In the Greek it's Gehenna. 24:20 It's actually a transliteration of Hebrew 24:21 that means Valley of Hinnom 24:23 or the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom. 24:25 Gehenna was a 600 foot drop gorge 24:30 right beside the walls of Jerusalem, 24:31 south and west of Jerusalem 24:32 there is gorge drops down 600 feet 24:34 to a rocky defile at the bottom. 24:37 At the bottom of that gorge 24:38 King Manasseh, the wicked king, 24:40 you remember he used to burn his children to death 24:42 as sacrifice to the God of Molech. 24:43 You remember that? 24:44 That took place at the bottom of Gehenna. 24:46 Josephus, the Jewish historian tells us that 24:50 when Rome sacked the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD 24:53 that bodies were stacked 24:55 from the bottom of that gorge upwards. 24:58 And so Gehenna was a nickname for hell. 25:01 It was simply code language for horror, horror. 25:08 Jesus talks about Gehenna. 25:10 But listen, we need to probe 25:12 what Jesus is thinking here. 25:13 We need to look at Jesus' Bible. 25:15 And I remind you Jesus' Bible is not the New Testament, 25:17 there was no New Testament. 25:18 The only Bible Jesus had was the Old Testament 25:21 and as it turns out 25:22 Jesus has just quoted here at Mark 9 25:25 words of the ancient Prophet Isaiah. 25:27 So let's figure out what is going on here. 25:30 Go back to Isaiah. 25:31 Don't read this on the screen, it will be there. 25:33 But I want you to see it in your Bible. 25:35 Isaiah 66, the very last line of Isaiah. 25:40 Isaiah 66, take a look at this. 25:43 You're saying come on Dwight, I don't have to look up 25:44 all these verse and talk about hell. 25:46 My friend, the character of God is on the line. 25:52 You better get it straight what God's word teaches 25:57 about hell otherwise like atheists across this nation 26:02 you may kiss it off and walk away and say 26:05 I can't handle a God like that. 26:08 There can't be a God. Isaiah 66. 26:12 All right, let's just pick it up before we get in the last line. 26:15 Let's pick it up in verse 22. 26:16 Isaiah 66:22 "'As the new heavens 26:19 and the new earth that I will make endure 26:22 before me, declares the Lord, 26:24 ''so will your name and descendants endure. 26:27 '" Now He is talking about the new earth now. 26:28 "'From one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, 26:32 all people on the new earth 26:34 will come and bow down before me,' says the Lord." 26:36 Now here it comes, here it comes, verse 24. 26:39 "And they will go out" on the new earth, 26:42 "and look on the dead bodies 26:45 of those who rebelled against me, 26:46 their worm will not die, 26:49 nor will their fire be quenched, 26:52 and they will be loathsome to the whole human race." 26:58 What's going on here? 27:00 Scholars believe that Isaiah is recalling 27:03 a stunning moment of history, of Judas history 27:08 in his own lifetime. 27:10 And that was when the Assyrian forces came and besieged 27:12 the tiny little capital of Judah, the city of Jerusalem. 27:15 Hezekiah is absolutely panicked and he races to the temple 27:22 and he throws himself down before God and he says, 27:24 oh God of Israel, you have got to save us from the enemy. 27:29 There is no way out, we are destroyed. 27:33 That night mysteriously 27:37 the entire army of the Assyrians is killed. 27:44 Isaiah actually talks about it 27:45 and we'll put it up on the screen here 27:47 Isaiah Chapter 37, let's put it on the screen. 27:50 What happened that night? 27:51 "Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 27:55 a hundred and eighty-five thousand 27:58 in the Assyrian camp. 28:00 When the people got up the next morning, 28:02 there were all the dead bodies." 28:06 I mean, can you imagine 28:07 185,000 corpses around your little village or your city. 28:14 You would never forget that as long as you live. 28:19 Isn't that amazing 28:21 that using that historical incident as a metaphor, 28:26 Isaiah at the very end of his book 28:28 describes the saved in the new earth 28:31 looking out and saying oh, look at all those dead bodies. 28:37 Like I wish you write this down. 28:39 Jot it down, please note. 28:40 The bodies are already dead. Jot it down. 28:46 The bodies are already dead, the worms that would be 28:49 the maggots, fill in both. 28:52 Have you ever driven by a possum one day, 28:53 dead possum, poor possum? 28:55 Drive by three days later and the possum is gone 28:57 just a little skeleton. 28:58 What happened? The maggots got a hold of it. 28:59 It's called decomposition. 29:02 The bodies are already dead, 29:03 the worms/maggots of decomposition 29:06 are already at work and the refuse-burning fires 29:09 are already in progress. 29:11 Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a picture of pain, 29:15 it is a picture of permanence. 29:21 What did the Savior mean? 29:23 What did the Savior mean 29:24 when he quotes Isaiah to talk about hell? 29:27 Because both of them speak of this fire 29:30 that cannot be quenched, what's that mean? 29:32 Well, again we need to let the Bible interpret itself. 29:35 Let's find out what that means. 29:37 Notice how Isaiah uses the identical language 29:40 in his own book. 29:41 That would be the safest to see. 29:42 Hey, Isaiah, do you use the same language? 29:44 I want you to see this so 29:45 don't do it on the screen go back to Isaiah Chapter 34. 29:49 So just go back a few chapters from 66 back to 34. 29:55 Isaiah 34, notice and God is speaking about 29:59 Israel's pesky little neighbor Edom 30:02 that was forever gorilla attacking them. 30:07 They become enemies of Israel. 30:09 God speaking about Edom, 30:10 this would be Isaiah 34:8 30:13 Verse 8, "For the Lord has a day of vengeance, 30:17 a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause." 30:21 Speaking of Edom, verse 9. 30:22 "Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, 30:26 her dust into burning sulfur" 30:28 Now burning means fire. 30:30 "Her land will become blazing pitch!" 30:34 The whole land will be on fire. Verse 10. 30:36 "It will not be quenched day or night, 30:39 its smoke will rise forever and ever." 30:42 When John writes the apocalypse 30:45 and he describes the smoke of their torment is ascending 30:48 forever and ever day and night they had no rest. 30:51 He is taking it straight from here, 30:52 he is pulling that straight from here. 30:54 Now does that mean the fire in Edom is still burning, 30:56 because it's Jordon today the nation Jordon. 30:58 Is Jordon on fire? 31:01 Did God even mean for us to conclude that? 31:03 Look at verse 11. 31:05 "The desert owl and the screech owl will possess it, 31:10 the great owl and the raven will nest there." 31:14 Now left out the end of verse 10 31:16 which says the land would be desolate. 31:18 But the birds are coming back. 31:20 This is not a continuous fire 31:22 from which no life can enter. 31:24 No, no, once it's over the birds will come back. 31:28 You see, that's unquenchable the identical language. 31:32 The fire will not be quenched. 31:34 By the way 31:36 uses the identical Hebrew language 31:38 to describe the fire that God will do 31:40 set one day to the gates of Jerusalem. 31:42 Now I've been to Jerusalem I've seen those gates 31:45 and trust me they are not still burning. 31:47 But God said, I'll send an unquenchable fire 31:49 and burn your gates and He did 31:52 but it's not still burning today. 31:54 What's going on here? 31:59 Look at your study guide question. 32:01 Does unquenchable fire mean a fire that burns forever? 32:04 Answer. 32:05 No, it means a divine fire-judgment 32:08 that cannot be humanly quenched or reversed. 32:12 That's what it means. 32:13 Give you a moment to make sure you get that down. 32:15 It's a divine fire-judgment 32:17 that cannot humanly be stopped. 32:22 Also jot it down, will you the next one. 32:24 "Worms" therefore and "unquenchable fire" 32:28 are not a metaphor of pain but of permanence. 32:33 Fire is not burning in Eden. Jerusalem isn't on fire today. 32:41 You say yeah, but, Dwight, 32:43 didn't Jesus talk about everlasting fire, 32:45 I mean, eternal fire not just-- 32:47 didn't He actually use those words? 32:48 He sure did. 32:49 Let's take a look at two incidents 32:52 where Jesus spoke those words. 32:54 Here is Matthew's equivalent of what we just read in Mark. 32:56 It's a little different so 32:57 that's why we're going here in Matthew 18:8. 32:59 "If your hand or your foot," Jesus speaking, 33:01 "causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away." 33:03 Why? 33:04 "It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled 33:06 than to have two hands and two feet 33:08 and to be thrown into eternal fire." 33:11 Wow, not just saying hell now He is saying eternal fire. 33:13 "And if your eye causes you to stumble, 33:15 gouge it out and throw it away." 33:16 Why? 33:17 "It's better for you to enter life with one eye 33:19 than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the fire of hell." 33:21 So hell equals eternal fire, that's clear. 33:25 One more reference from the Lord Jesus, from the Savior. 33:28 This is the final parable He told before His execution. 33:30 Matthew 25, remember the sheep and the goats, 33:33 the king now is talking to the goats. 33:34 "Then he the king will say to those on his left" 33:36 that would be the goats, 33:37 "'Depart from me, you who are cursed, 33:40 into the eternal fire.'" 33:42 Please note for whom the fire has been prepared. 33:45 Prepared for whom? "For the devil and his angels." 33:50 Final line to the parable. Verse 46. 33:52 "Then they the lost will go away into eternal punishment, 33:56 but the righteous into eternal life." 34:01 So what do we going to do with the Savior's somber 34:04 I mean, you can't, you can't duck this one. 34:06 He is talking eternal fire. 34:10 Well, we got to look the Bible interpret itself again, 34:12 that's the only way you can study the Bible. 34:16 You remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, of course you do. 34:19 Remember when God came down 34:20 with the couple of ancient companions, 34:22 a strangers, Abraham took them in. 34:24 God said, I'm gonna destroy Sodom. 34:25 Abraham goes to the bluff 34:26 overlooking Sodom in the distance. 34:28 And he says God, and he gets him all, 34:29 you remember, gets him all the way down to 10. 34:31 Will you spare Sodom for 10 righteous people? 34:34 God says you got it, I'll spare for 10. 34:37 But when God goes and examines for himself, 34:41 He can't even five, five righteous, 34:45 just Lot, his wife and the two daughters. 34:48 And early in the next morning the angels have to manhandle, 34:51 have to physically drag them out 34:53 and as soon as they had dragged out, 34:55 the heavens explode and fire burning sulfur 35:00 falls on that impenitent city. 35:06 Abraham wakes up, he goes to the bluffer 35:10 he and God battered over Sodom 35:12 and in the distance his heart sinks 35:14 in the distance a plume of smoke that's all is left. 35:22 Let's take the story of Sodom. 35:25 Jude 7, put it on the screen for you. 35:29 By the way, I want you to go to your Bible underline it, 35:31 look at all these text in your Bible. 35:32 Say all that maybe, maybe the pastor slipped 35:34 a little something on us. 35:36 Okay, check it out. 35:37 You go home this afternoon, mark it up in your Bible. 35:39 Let's put Jude 7 on the screen. 35:41 "In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah 35:44 and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to 35:47 sexual immorality and perversion." 35:49 And what happened? 35:50 "They serve as an example of those 35:52 who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." 35:56 You want an example of what hell would be? 35:58 They serve-- just go to Sodom and Gomorrah. 36:01 Are Sodom and Gomorrah still burning today? 36:05 They are not. 36:06 Archaeologists have found the site, 36:08 they have found actual ash in that desert sand, 36:12 there is no burning trust me today. 36:16 In fact, God says let them, let them, 36:18 you can do this Dwight, just using Bible, 36:20 you don't have to give that archeological reports. 36:23 Watch this Second Peter 2:6. 36:27 "If he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 36:29 by burning them" to what? 36:31 "By burning them to ashes." That's what eternal fire does. 36:37 It just shew, gone ashes. 36:41 And He made them an example, He made them an example. 36:46 Jot it down, will you please? 36:48 "Sodom and Gomorrah suffered the punishment of eternal fire, 36:52 burning them to ashes." 36:55 Hey, wait a minute, Dwight, then what does eternal mean 36:58 when it's attached to fire? 37:00 Watch this, jot it down. 37:02 "Eternal fire is a momentary fire 37:06 whose source is the Eternal, capital E, 37:09 whose source is the Eternal 37:11 and whose results are eternal. 37:17 It is a graphic, keep writing, it is a graphic depiction 37:20 of the permanence of the results, 37:22 not the pain of the event. 37:29 In fact it is no accident that the Bible uses 37:31 burning sulfur and ascending smoke of their torment imagery 37:34 from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah." 37:36 John weaves it straight into the apocalypse 37:38 "To describe the 'day and night' forever and ever destruction." 37:43 It's a metaphor for the destruction of hell. 37:50 And by the way that is precisely 37:53 how the Bible portrays hells destruction to the wicked. 37:56 Hold on now, I need you to see this. 37:59 Get your pen. 38:01 We won't even bother to look this up. 38:02 Let me put it on the screen for you Psalm 37. 38:04 Every time there is a word in yellow 38:06 would you scribble it down after the-- 38:07 you have the reference there you can study this later. 38:10 But every time there is a word in yellow, 38:11 by the way, the word in yellow will depict permanent, 38:14 permanent, permanent, permanent, all right. 38:18 "Do not fret because of those 38:21 who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong," 38:24 what, "for like the grass they will soon wither." 38:28 That means just gone. 38:30 "They will soon wither, like green plants 38:31 they will soon die away." 38:34 Just gone. 38:35 Watch again, let's go to verse 10. 38:37 "A little while, and the wicked will be no more." 38:40 Jot it down. 38:41 No more, it will go somewhere in the universe 38:42 and keep living forever and ever. 38:44 They will be no more. 38:45 Though you look for them, they will not be found 38:48 anywhere, anywhere, anywhere. 38:51 Let's go to verse 20 "But the wicked will perish, 38:53 though the Lord's enemies are like the flowers of the field," 38:56 notice this, "they will be consumed." 38:58 There is another yellow word permanence. 39:00 "They will be consumed, they will go up in smoke." 39:05 It is general when the smoke goes up it's over, 39:08 that's all that wispily ascends into heaven. 39:12 It's over. 39:14 One more is there, yeah, verse 38 39:16 "But all sinners will be destroyed, 39:19 there will be no future." 39:21 It's over second death, gone. 39:26 By the way, the very last book of the Old Testament 39:29 makes the identical point, let's put it up here. 39:31 Malachi 4:1 "Surely the day is coming, 39:35 God is speaking, it will burn like a furnace. 39:38 All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble." 39:42 I tell you what, when you stubble, 39:43 that's it, that's it just gone. 39:46 "And that day that is coming will set them on fire, 39:49 says the Lord Almighty." 39:50 Keep going. Watch this. 39:52 "Not a root or a branch will be left." 39:57 Satan the root, his branches, 40:00 his followers all gone, all gone. 40:03 Drop down to verse 3 now. 40:05 "Then you will trample on the wicked." 40:07 could this be clearer. 40:09 "They will be ashes under your feet." 40:13 They are not going on and living somewhere else, it's over. 40:16 "They are ashes under your feet 40:19 on the day when I act, says the Lord Almighty." 40:27 What's the point? 40:29 The point is, looks awfully permanent to me. 40:32 I know it today, you all come, you know what, Dwight, 40:34 okay, so God goes ahead and just blots out the wicked. 40:39 But I'll bet you the devil burns forever and ever. 40:42 Amen. 40:43 You want to see about the devils. 40:44 Put it on the screen, Ezekiel Chapter 28 40:46 God is speaking directly to Satan here. 40:47 "By your many sins." This is verse 18. 40:50 "By your many sins and dishonest trade 40:52 you have desecrated your sanctuaries." 40:54 Keep going. 40:55 "So I made a fire come out from you, 40:58 and it consumed you, and I reduce you" Satan 41:03 "to ashes on the ground 41:05 in the sight of all who were watching. 41:07 And all the nations who knew you are appalled at you, 41:10 you have come to a horrible end and will be no more." 41:16 Ladies and gentlemen, anyway you cut it. 41:20 Jot it down. 41:21 "The Bible describes the destruction of the wicked 41:24 both human and angelic as total annihilation." 41:30 Make sure you get the right number of 'N's' 41:33 total annihilation. 41:38 Come on, you remember the story of hell 41:40 that we read just a moment ago. 41:42 Where is hell? It's here. 41:45 They can't keep burning forever and ever 41:47 'cause God says when the fires done, 41:49 I'm creating a brand new Garden of Eden, 41:54 a new earth and new heavens. 41:56 Can't be here. 42:00 "Hence the words" jot this down 42:02 "forever/eternal/everlasting must describe the permanence 42:07 of judgment rather than the progression of judgment." 42:12 It's not talking about how long it takes for God to do it, 42:14 it's talking about the results will be permanent. 42:18 Keep writing. 42:19 The Bible says "The wages of sin 42:20 is eternal death, not eternal dying." 42:24 Jesus when He said, 42:25 "They will go to their punishment." 42:26 He did not say they will go to their eternal punishing, 42:30 it's an eternal punishment. 42:31 The results are forever. 42:34 My friend Samuele Bacchiocchi, 42:36 he died just a couple of months ago. 42:40 His book just came out, he gave me copy. 42:42 In his book Popular Believes 42:46 Sam quotes William Temple the Archbishop of Canterbury 42:49 back during the early 40s. 42:50 It's in your study guide, put it on the screen. 42:52 "If men had not imported the Greek and unbiblical notion 42:55 of the natural indestructibility of the individual soul, 42:58 and then read the New Testament 42:59 with that already in their minds, 43:02 they would have drawn from the New Testament a belief, 43:04 not in everlasting torment, but in annihilation. 43:08 It is the fire that is called aeonian" 43:11 that's the Greek word for everlasting, 43:12 "it is the fire that is everlasting 43:14 not the life cast into it." 43:19 Oh, my friends if only we had remembered 43:22 how Jesus instructed us to address God. 43:25 When Jesus taught us how to pray, 43:27 did He say we have to pray this way, 43:28 our judge, who art in heaven, huh? 43:33 Our king, who art in heaven. 43:35 Would that be fine, what's wrong with it. 43:37 Our Lord, who art in heaven. 43:41 He didn't even say our God, who art in heaven. 43:44 Are you kidding when Jesus said, hey, you want to pray, 43:46 you want to address the almighty on the throne of the universe 43:49 here's what I want you to pray, our Father. 43:53 Call Him Father which art in heaven. 43:58 And just a few breaths later in the same sermon on the mount, 44:01 Jesus said look at "If you who are evil." 44:04 Matthew 7:11 "If you, who are evil, 44:07 know how to give good gifts to your children." 44:09 Jot this down. How much more. 44:11 "How much more will your Father in heaven 44:16 give good gifts to those who ask him?" 44:21 Hey, here's a question for you. 44:22 Do fathers and mothers punish their children? 44:26 Yes or no. 44:27 Yeah, I had imaginary scars on my posterior 44:31 to prove that in fact they indeed do. 44:35 I said, imaginary, the pain is still real. 44:40 I still suffer. 44:43 Of course, of course parents discipline their children. 44:46 I have two wonderful children. 44:47 Let's say Kirk and Kristy are very young 44:49 and before leaving the home I said to Kirk and Kristy, 44:52 now look at, mom has just baked 44:56 this plateful of lovely chocolate chip cookies 44:59 but I'm putting saran wrap over the top of it 45:02 and I don't want you to touch it until I get home tonight 45:04 and then we will all have a chocolate chip cookie 45:06 a piece tonight, is that understood. 45:08 Yes, daddy, yes daddy, yes daddy. 45:10 I go and come home in the evening and guess what, 45:12 two chocolate chip cookies are missing. 45:15 I called the children in, I grill them hard, 45:18 and I draw confessions from both their guilty hearts. 45:21 Each ate the chocolate chip cookie. 45:24 Now I want to teach a lesson to them. 45:26 Of course, I'm going to spank them. 45:27 Here's my question to you, 45:29 how long should I spank them, one hour? 45:34 You got a problem with that? 45:36 No wonder you turned out the way you did. 45:40 One hour, no. How about two hours? 45:44 How about five hours? 45:45 How about if I spank them all night long 45:47 just to make sure they never do this again? 45:50 Nope, nope, nope, nope, you know what, 45:51 if I spank my children for five hours 45:53 you'd have me turned in so fast 45:54 for child abuse should make your heads swim. 45:57 Isn't that right? 45:59 You are not supposed to punish your children 46:01 just because you are madder than hell at them. 46:04 Oops sorry. 46:10 Part of my language. 46:12 But that is precisely what people believe hell is, 46:14 God is so mad at my kids, 46:16 didn't choose me I'm gonna punish you forever and ever 46:20 and ever and ever and ever. 46:26 Ladies and gentlemen, 46:30 are there rebellious children in this life? 46:33 Yeah, yep, yep, yep, of course. 46:36 And it maybe that one day your child 46:38 will leave your home and runaway 46:40 and never come back again God forbid. 46:45 But children are free to go their way, are they not? 46:50 In order for parental love to be genuine love, 46:53 the parent must not only give the child the right to say yes, 46:56 you must give your child the right to say no. 47:00 And if one day your child stands in the distance 47:03 with his hearty arms fold it tight 47:06 in defiance against you, 47:08 I will never come to your home again. 47:12 What are you gonna do then? 47:14 What will you do then? 47:18 Is there a parent here who would choose to douse 47:23 that rebellious child with some sort of flammable liquid 47:27 and then ignite the liquid 47:30 and then every 24 hours through intravenous injection 47:33 keep that boy alive so that the pain will go on 47:38 and on and on and on. 47:41 Not just the day, not just a year, 47:43 not just a lifetime, it will go on forever and ever. 47:47 Now will you ever disobey me again? 47:52 Oh my, my Lord, 47:57 what have we done 48:01 to the truth about God? 48:04 You tell me, you tell me. 48:10 Our Father, who art in heaven 48:15 how would be your name. 48:19 What have we done to him? 48:21 It is no wonder that thanking man and woman 48:25 in the west have rejected the child burning God, 48:30 that Christianity has espoused and it walked away 48:35 and it said, I will never, 48:37 I will never believe in God 48:42 if that is who He is. 48:47 In the name of Calvary's God, 48:50 how wonder heaven could we believe 48:53 that He will torment His children 48:56 forever and ever. 49:01 It is no wonder today 49:02 that a growing host of Christian scholars 49:04 are turning their backs on the teaching of their childhood 49:08 and are rejecting the notion 49:11 that God burns sinners forever and ever. 49:13 Some luminary, some bright lights such as 49:16 call the greatest preacher in the English language 49:19 in the 20th century 49:20 Anglican preacher John R.W. Stott. 49:23 The theologian and writer Oscar Cullmann. 49:26 The lawyer and theologian Edward Fudge among others, 49:31 the Canadian theologian Clark Pinnock. 49:35 In fact, let me put Pinnock's words, 49:37 we'll end with this. 49:38 Let me put it on the screen for you, 49:39 it's there in your study guide. 49:40 "There is a powerful moral revulsion 49:44 against the traditional doctrine of the nature of hell. 49:47 Everlasting torture is intolerable 49:50 from a moral point of view because it pictures God 49:53 acting like a bloodthirsty monster 49:56 who maintains an everlasting Auschwitz 49:59 for His enemies He whom He does not even allow to die." 50:03 Him that let them die, not God. 50:07 "How can one love a God like that?" Pinnock asked. 50:10 "I suppose one might be afraid of Him, 50:13 but could we love and respect Him? 50:16 Would we want to strive to be like Him in this mercilessness? 50:21 Surely the idea of everlasting, conscious torment 50:25 raises the problem of evil to impossible heights." 50:32 Wow, our Father, which art in heaven. 50:51 You say, Dwight, 50:53 you're telling me there is no suffering in hell, 50:56 I didn't say that. 50:58 We'll look at what hell would be like 51:01 in the final piece next week. 51:04 Our Father, which art in heaven, 51:08 hallowed be Your name. 51:14 A young preacher was in love, they were engaged to be married. 51:19 He was counting down the days when tragedy struck. 51:24 Mysteriously he was smitten with blindness. 51:29 Eyes that cannot now see, get a heart 51:32 that goes on loving that girl 51:35 until a twin tragedy struck. 51:40 And that day when she stepped into his darkness, 51:44 clear her throat and announce that she had searched her heart 51:47 and she could not find it within herself to marry a blind man. 51:52 As her footfall echoed 51:55 for the last time out of his life. 52:00 George Mattheson in his agony wept 52:07 until the few hours later he groped and found a pen 52:12 and scribble down the words 52:16 "O Love that wilt not let me go, 52:23 I rest my weary soul in thee, 52:31 I give thee back the life I owe, 52:35 That in thine ocean depths its flow, 52:38 May richer, fuller be." 52:43 Our Father,who art in heaven 52:48 is about a love that will not let go. 52:54 Sing with we-- will you please only the first stanza. 52:59 Hymn 76 it's in your pew rack right now. 53:02 Sing the words of George Mattheson, 53:06 crushed over a love that had let him go, 53:10 he writes of another love 53:13 that he celebrate that love 53:14 as we stand together and sing hymn 76. 53:56 O Love that wilt not let me go 54:03 I rest my weary soul in Thee 54:10 I give Thee back the life I owe 54:18 That in Thine ocean depths its flow 54:25 May richer, 54:28 Fuller be 54:37 I wanna sing that again. 54:38 We'll sing it even more quietly this time. 54:40 O Love that wilt not let me go 54:49 I rest my weary soul in Thee 54:59 I give Thee back the life I owe 55:09 That in Thine ocean depths its flow 55:16 May richer, 55:20 Fuller be 55:37 Dear Father, 55:41 we have been so wrong about You. 55:48 It is no wonder 55:51 Your children have run away from home 55:56 but it's not too late. 55:59 The good news of this love that will not let us go. 56:07 It can be told, we can share with those we love. 56:14 Jesus said, you know the truth 56:17 and the truth will set you free. 56:20 Oh, Father, may Your love set all of us free 56:26 while there is still time, 56:32 in the name of Jesus who died 56:37 to tell us the truth about You. 56:43 Amen. 56:47 Did you know that there is one place in cyberspace 56:49 you can go to with a multitude of resources 56:52 that you can share with your friends, it's our website. 56:55 Let me tell you about the website 56:56 but first let me give you the address 56:57 www.pmchurch.tv. 57:01 You go to that website, 57:02 number one, you're gonna find my weekly pastor's blog 57:05 that wrestles with current events and news 57:07 and topics that are relevant to our lives today. 57:09 You can signup also at that website. 57:11 Number two, you can receive our podcast, no charge to you. 57:15 You can go to that website, you can download our video, 57:17 download the audio of every teaching 57:19 that we share here in the Pioneer Church. 57:21 Go to that website, the study guides are all there 57:24 ready for you to simply print off. 57:27 That website multiple resources. 57:30 The address once again www.pmchurch.tv 57:34 All the online media it's free. 57:36 It's free for you, it's free for your friends, 57:38 free for their family and neighbors. 57:40 If you want something you can pass along the website. 57:43 You're saying but wait a minute, 57:44 I'd like something little more tangible. 57:46 You can get that at the website as well. 57:47 Order a DVD and we'll send that to you for a small fee. 57:52 Please use the website, use it, take advantage of it, 57:56 share it, pass it along. 57:57 This is the end time generation now more than ever 58:00 we must communicate the good news in cyberspace 58:03 and all the space around us. 58:05 God bless as you do. I'll see you here next time. |
Revised 2014-12-17