What does the future hold?
00:00:01.36\00:00:02.70
Where can we find certainty
in a world of uncertainty?
00:00:02.73\00:00:05.93
The book of Revelation
provides hopeful answers
00:00:05.97\00:00:08.80
for today,
tomorrow, and forever.
00:00:08.84\00:00:11.57
Join Mark Finley, author
and world renowned speaker
00:00:11.61\00:00:15.08
on a journey
into the future with,
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Revelation's
Ancient Discoveries.
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Welcome back to
another episode in,
00:00:24.02\00:00:25.99
Revelation's
Ancient Discoveries.
00:00:26.02\00:00:28.32
One of the topics that baffles
more people than any other
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is the topic of hell.
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How can a loving
God burn people in hell
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for millions and
millions and trillions of years?
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In fact, Robert Ingersoll,
famed renowned atheist,
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said that one of the
reasons he was an atheist
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is because he could
never conceive of a God
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who would burn people in hell.
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And if that was the
God the Bible presented,
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then he certainly could
never believe in that God
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or never believe in the Bible.
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The book of Revelation really
clears up this subject of hell.
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It may seem a little confusing,
but as we open the Scripture
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today and as we study
the book of Revelation,
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you will see clearly
God's plan for the future.
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Let's pray.
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Father in heaven, thank
You so much for Your goodness,
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thank You for Your grace.
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Thank You that You
are a much better God
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than You're
often portrayed to be.
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Thank You for the
picture of the loving God
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that the book of
Revelation reveals.
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Help us to understand it
clearly in this presentation.
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In Christ's name, amen.
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My topic is,
Revelation's Lake of Fire.
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Have you ever visited hell?
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You say, "What are
you talking about?"
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Thousands of people
visit hell every single year.
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Now they don't stay
very long because it's so hot
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and it's such a desolate place.
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What am I talking about?
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There is a place called, Hell.
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It's on the Cayman Islands.
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Now the Cayman Islands
are incredibly beautiful.
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Sandy beaches, magnificent
turquoise water, sunny skies.
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But on the west
end of the Caymans
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there is a place called, Hell.
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It's a limestone foundation
that has interacted with the
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sea and the algae.
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And as you go to that
location it really looks like
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what some people
have imagined hell.
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How did it get its name?
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Well, we're not 100% sure.
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But many people, as they
visited that place, said,
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"My, this is what
hell must look like."
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There's actually a billboard
that welcomes you to Hell.
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And Hell has a
Post Office there.
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And there is a little
shop where you can buy curios.
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And there is somebody
dressed, can you believe it,
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like Satan that is there.
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And you can send a postcard
from Hell to your loved ones.
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You know, we kind of
smile about this location
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and joke about it a little
bit, but the subject of hell is
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really a serious subject.
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It troubles a lot of people.
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What is hell?
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Are there people
burning in hell now?
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Or what is this lake of
fire that the Bible talks about?
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Are there people
there in that lake of fire
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screaming and crying out because
they're being so tormented
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and in such pain?
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What does the Bible actually
teach about the subject of hell?
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Many people
misunderstand this subject,
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and so they picture
God as a wrathful tyrant,
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picture God as a
vindictive judge.
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Let's review what
we've been studying
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in the book of Revelation.
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Revelation 20:9 says
this, speaking about the
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end of the thousand
years, speaking about the
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end of the millennial period.
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Talking about
Satan and he marshals
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the legions of the lost.
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And they go up to the
city, and the Scripture says...
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Now as they do this, the
Bible says fire came down
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from God out of
heaven and devoured them.
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Well what are the sequence
of events that have led up
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until this particular point?
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You remember that
the Bible teaches that
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Christ will come again.
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Every eye will see Him.
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Every ear will hear it.
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The coming of Jesus is
the most glorious event
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in human history.
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Once Christ comes, that will
lead to a sequence of events.
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The earth will
be destroyed by the
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brightness of Christ's coming.
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This earth will be desolate.
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As this sequence of
events takes place at the end
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of the thousand years,
during the thousand years
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the one that is here is
the devil and his angels,
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but at the end of
the thousand years
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the holy city will descend.
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Now this picture is a very
important one to understand
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to understand hell.
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We're at the end
of the thousand years.
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The holy city
descends out of heaven.
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Satan and the legions
of the lost and all the
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wicked of the ages rush
up and try to take that city.
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As they do, the Bible
is very clear, it says...
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So here's the
first thing to notice.
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The fires of hell are
not some hot spot burning in
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the center of the earth.
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The fires of hell come
down from God out of heaven.
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The second thing to notice
is that they are devoured.
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They're consumed,
they're burned up.
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They don't burn
forever and ever and ever.
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But there is a
third thing to notice
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about these fires as well.
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And that is that the
fires of hell totally destroy
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in something
called, not the first death,
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but the second death.
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Let's look at it in Scripture.
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How many
resurrections are there?
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There are two.
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Remember John 5, the
Bible says, verses 28-29...
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"Blessed and holy is he that has
part in the first resurrection."
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It says, "Marvel not at
this: for the hour is coming
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which all that are in the
graves will hear His voice;
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those that have done good,
to the resurrection of life,
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those that have done evil, to
the resurrection of damnation."
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So two resurrections:
the resurrection of life,
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the resurrection of damnation.
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The first
resurrection when Christ comes
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is the resurrection of life.
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"...over such the
second death has no power."
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So notice that
expression, "the second death."
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What is the second death?
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All of us die a physical
death, if Christ does not come,
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as the result of the
sinful nature of this world
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and the sinful
nature of humanity.
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So we all die the first death.
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If we die that first
death but we're believers,
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we're committed to
Christ, we then will not
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experience the second death.
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So if you are born
twice, you die once.
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We are born physically,
but then through Christ
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we are born again.
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We only die once.
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If you are born
once, you die twice.
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If we are only born
physically in this life
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but not born again in
Jesus, we die the physical death
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but then we of
course die the second death.
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And the second
death is an eternal death.
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Now the Bible does not
say that we die, and then if
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we are unsaved we live
in hell forever and ever
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for millions and trillions
and trillions of years.
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We'll speak
about "forever" later.
00:08:07.18\00:08:08.72
But it talks
about this second death.
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And death is
the absence of life.
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So death is the absence of life.
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When we
experience the second death,
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or the wicked
experience the second death,
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they are
consumed and gone forever.
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The Bible is very clear.
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The devil and evil
angels and the unsaved
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rush up to that city, fire comes
down from God out of heaven
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and devours them.
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Now mark this point well.
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Where are the devil and the evil
angels and the wicked destroyed?
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On this earth.
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That's what the Bible says.
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The holy city comes
down, they rush up to take it,
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they are consumed on this earth.
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So if what some people
believed really were true,
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if that really were true,
then hell would be burning
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on the earth.
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Do you believe that
God knows everything,
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that He's omniscient?
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Is He?
00:09:19.19\00:09:20.52
Then in His mind
He would always have
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those being burned present.
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Do you believe
God is omnipresent?
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That means God is everywhere.
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If you believe that,
then you would believe
00:09:30.97\00:09:33.90
that if this wicked
are burning on the earth
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that God would in
some way be present there.
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Do you think sometimes we
are going to be flying over
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a part of the new earth
after God has created it
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and we kind of smell
smoke and we hear screams,
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and we say to God,
"What's that, God, what's that?"
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"Oh, that's a place I didn't
want to tell you anything about.
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That's hell, and it's
kind of burning here."
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You know, that is inconceivable.
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It's
inconceivable to the human mind
00:09:58.43\00:10:00.66
that a loving God
would torment people
00:10:00.90\00:10:03.83
for millions and millions
and millions of years in hell.
00:10:03.87\00:10:06.94
It's
incompatible with God's love,
00:10:07.20\00:10:10.11
and certainly
incompatible with God's justice.
00:10:10.14\00:10:13.64
It certainly is incompatible
to the rational mind
00:10:13.91\00:10:17.35
that there would be a
part of earth renewed,
00:10:17.38\00:10:20.72
because then the earth
certainly couldn't be made new.
00:10:20.75\00:10:22.98
It would be old with hell
on it and sin still existing.
00:10:23.02\00:10:27.02
God's plan is to
fully devour, fully consume,
00:10:27.36\00:10:30.99
do away with sin forever.
00:10:31.19\00:10:32.96
Because the Bible
says, Revelation 21:1...
00:10:32.99\00:10:36.50
Out of the ashes of this old
world, God creates a new world.
00:10:43.67\00:10:49.21
Out of the ashes
of this old world,
00:10:49.41\00:10:51.88
God makes this world over again.
00:10:51.91\00:10:54.48
The Bible says,
Revelation 21:4...
00:10:54.52\00:10:58.42
Every tear from our eyes
are going to be wiped away.
00:11:04.39\00:11:08.40
All of the crying
is going to be gone.
00:11:08.50\00:11:11.50
So no crying out
in agony from hell.
00:11:11.53\00:11:14.27
No tears of sorrow about
ones we think are burning there.
00:11:14.47\00:11:20.08
Rather, God
explains to us why He could
00:11:20.11\00:11:23.14
never bring them into heaven.
00:11:23.18\00:11:24.51
He explains to us very
clearly why they are lost
00:11:24.58\00:11:28.28
because of their own choices.
00:11:28.32\00:11:29.88
He explains that He's
done everything He could
00:11:29.92\00:11:32.95
to save them.
00:11:32.99\00:11:34.32
They are
devoured, consumed, and gone
00:11:34.36\00:11:36.62
by the fiery presence of God.
00:11:36.66\00:11:38.83
And then God wipes away any
painful memories from our mind.
00:11:39.39\00:11:42.83
Now notice this. The
former things are what?
00:11:46.53\00:11:48.50
Passed away.
00:11:48.54\00:11:49.87
So everything
that has to do with
00:11:50.01\00:11:52.37
sorrow and sin and suffering,
00:11:52.41\00:11:55.31
everything that has to do with
evil and wickedness is gone.
00:11:55.44\00:12:00.35
It's passed away
forever and ever and ever.
00:12:00.45\00:12:04.42
Certainly not.
00:12:21.87\00:12:23.20
And God wouldn't want
to torment His worst enemy
00:12:23.24\00:12:26.78
for trillions of years either.
00:12:26.88\00:12:28.91
God is a God of justice, a
God of love, and a God of mercy.
00:12:29.14\00:12:33.68
Now many evangelical Christians
are coming to this conclusion.
00:12:33.72\00:12:37.32
John Stott was one of the
foremost English evangelicals.
00:12:38.12\00:12:43.36
Preached in All Souls church
in London for many, many years.
00:12:43.56\00:12:48.53
And John Stott,
highly respected theologian,
00:12:48.86\00:12:52.20
evangelical theologian,
came to the conclusion
00:12:52.53\00:12:56.17
from his study of the
Bible, from his reason,
00:12:56.20\00:12:59.34
that a God of love would
not torment sinners in hell
00:12:59.51\00:13:03.68
for millions of years.
00:13:03.71\00:13:05.28
And Stott wrote about the total
annihilation of the wicked.
00:13:05.38\00:13:09.55
That they were
gone, consumed, burned up.
00:13:09.78\00:13:12.39
Edward Fudge was a lawyer.
00:13:12.72\00:13:15.22
And he studied Scripture.
00:13:15.96\00:13:18.79
He also was a theologian.
00:13:18.89\00:13:21.20
Went to Florida Bible
College and Abilene Christian.
00:13:21.40\00:13:26.67
And as this Bible scholar,
00:13:26.94\00:13:30.91
as this Bible scholar
with the mind of an attorney
00:13:31.01\00:13:34.81
began to research
the subject of hell,
00:13:35.38\00:13:38.25
he wrote the book,
The Fire That Consumes:
00:13:38.48\00:13:41.55
A Biblical and
Historical Study of the Doctrine
00:13:41.58\00:13:44.99
of Final Punishment.
00:13:45.02\00:13:46.35
It probably is one of
the most complete treaties
00:13:46.39\00:13:50.69
on the destruction of
the wicked ever published.
00:13:50.89\00:13:54.60
It has extensive
exhaustive research.
00:13:54.63\00:13:58.23
Looking at all the text in
the Bible, looking at history,
00:13:58.33\00:14:01.90
looking at the
background of the doctrine.
00:14:02.00\00:14:04.34
And Fudge came up
with the clear conclusion
00:14:04.37\00:14:08.38
that hell is not some hot
spot in the center of the earth,
00:14:08.98\00:14:12.68
but that hell has to
do with the fires of God
00:14:12.85\00:14:16.92
that completely consume
and annihilate the wicked.
00:14:17.09\00:14:21.26
It is unclear that in
the Bible, so totally unclear
00:14:31.87\00:14:38.14
that God would ever, ever burn
people for trillions of years.
00:14:38.17\00:14:41.71
But that leads us to
questions about hell.
00:14:41.74\00:14:44.21
For example, it leads us
to this particular question.
00:14:44.48\00:14:49.32
Well, let's look at
what Scripture says.
00:15:03.20\00:15:05.70
So in other words,
the day is not here.
00:15:15.18\00:15:17.05
Hell is not some hot spot
in the center of the earth.
00:15:17.08\00:15:19.15
The Scripture says...
00:15:26.35\00:15:28.12
"And the day which
is coming..." Future.
00:15:28.16\00:15:30.73
So the Bible teaches
that they'll be burned up.
00:15:33.23\00:15:37.03
They'll be consumed.
00:15:37.07\00:15:38.43
It says the day is coming,
not that the day is here.
00:15:38.47\00:15:42.80
2 Peter 3:7 adds...
00:15:44.17\00:15:47.38
Now catch this.
00:15:52.55\00:15:53.88
If they are reserved for
fire, they are not burning now.
00:15:56.12\00:16:01.26
Hell is not burning now.
00:16:01.29\00:16:02.62
Until when?
00:16:02.66\00:16:03.99
So put these two text together.
00:16:10.07\00:16:11.83
Malachi 4:1, the day is coming
that they'll be burned up.
00:16:11.87\00:16:14.97
Future.
00:16:15.00\00:16:16.34
2 Peter 3:7, those in
perdition, the wicked, the lost,
00:16:16.37\00:16:22.14
will be reserved
until the day of judgment.
00:16:22.18\00:16:27.02
The day of judgment, the day of
final destruction of the wicked.
00:16:27.05\00:16:31.05
The Bible is very
clear when it speaks about
00:16:31.09\00:16:34.02
how long hell lasts.
00:16:34.06\00:16:36.32
When somebody says,
"Doesn't the Bible use
00:16:36.86\00:16:38.69
the expression,
'everlasting fire,'
00:16:38.73\00:16:41.23
'eternal fire',
'forever and ever'?"
00:16:41.26\00:16:44.07
I'm very glad you asked that.
00:16:44.33\00:16:45.97
As I lecture all over the
world, I get those questions.
00:16:46.27\00:16:49.64
And if you read the
Bible superficially,
00:16:49.77\00:16:52.14
you may come to the
conclusion that hell
00:16:52.17\00:16:54.51
is a hot spot in
the center of the earth,
00:16:54.54\00:16:56.31
people are burned forever.
00:16:56.34\00:16:57.68
But when you look at
the context of each passage,
00:16:57.71\00:17:00.15
the depth of each
passage, when you shed yourself
00:17:00.18\00:17:03.22
from tradition, and look
at the Bible as it reads,
00:17:03.25\00:17:07.36
it becomes very, very clear.
00:17:07.39\00:17:09.56
Hebrews 12:29 says...
00:17:09.66\00:17:12.33
So wherever sin is
found, God is a consuming fire.
00:17:16.53\00:17:20.50
Let's suppose
that I have a clay pot.
00:17:20.54\00:17:23.77
And I take that clay pot
and I put it out in the sun,
00:17:24.27\00:17:26.91
and that clay pot is
soft, what's going to happen?
00:17:27.38\00:17:30.55
It's going to harden in the sun
and it's going to be preserved
00:17:30.85\00:17:34.65
as a hardened clay pot.
00:17:34.68\00:17:36.28
What if I have a
candle, a wax candle,
00:17:36.75\00:17:39.59
and I put that in the
sun, what's going to happen?
00:17:40.22\00:17:42.49
It's going to melt.
00:17:42.72\00:17:44.06
So you have the same
sun but a different reaction
00:17:44.09\00:17:47.66
with the pot and the candle.
00:17:47.70\00:17:49.60
You have the same God of
love but a different reaction
00:17:50.37\00:17:53.97
with the saved and the lost.
00:17:54.00\00:17:55.60
When Christ comes,
the saved are caught up
00:17:55.77\00:17:59.47
to meet Him in the sky.
00:17:59.51\00:18:00.98
They do not have combustible
material in their body.
00:18:01.01\00:18:04.65
But as far as the
wicked, the unsaved,
00:18:04.81\00:18:07.62
when they're resurrected at
the end of the thousand years,
00:18:07.65\00:18:10.65
the fiery presence
of God consumes them
00:18:10.89\00:18:15.09
because they have sin in their
body, and sin is combustible.
00:18:15.12\00:18:18.36
That's why Malachi
4:3 goes on and says...
00:18:18.49\00:18:21.70
My mind can understand how
God has tried to save people
00:18:30.67\00:18:34.74
down through the ages.
00:18:34.78\00:18:36.28
My mind can understand how
a loving God has reached out
00:18:36.51\00:18:40.02
to men and women.
00:18:40.72\00:18:42.05
But that if they've rejected
His love, turned their back
00:18:42.08\00:18:44.95
on His mercy, and
spurned His grace,
00:18:44.99\00:18:47.22
that He cannot save
them, that there's no way
00:18:47.39\00:18:49.86
He can bring them to
heaven because they would
00:18:49.89\00:18:51.39
start the
rebellion all over again.
00:18:51.43\00:18:53.16
But He does what a
loving God must do.
00:18:53.40\00:18:56.87
In justice, He destroys sin.
00:18:57.03\00:18:59.73
He's given them the
chance to live once.
00:18:59.77\00:19:02.14
They're consumed to
ashes and they are gone.
00:19:02.17\00:19:05.44
Gone forever.
00:19:05.47\00:19:06.81
But rather,
consumed and gone forever.
00:19:13.62\00:19:17.22
You know, the book of Isaiah
calls this, God's strange act.
00:19:21.96\00:19:26.56
The book of Isaiah talks
about the pain, the suffering,
00:19:26.66\00:19:30.70
in the heart of God when
the wicked are destroyed.
00:19:30.90\00:19:34.27
And I can almost
imagine God turning away with
00:19:34.37\00:19:37.44
tears in His eyes.
00:19:37.47\00:19:38.87
Because the same
God that must destroy
00:19:38.91\00:19:42.08
the wicked has said this,
00:19:42.11\00:19:44.35
John 3:16, Jesus points out...
00:19:45.01\00:19:48.18
God does not want
you, my friend, to perish.
00:20:04.20\00:20:08.17
God wants you to live forever.
00:20:08.27\00:20:10.71
He wants to give
you life with a quality
00:20:10.81\00:20:13.54
that goes on and on and on.
00:20:13.58\00:20:16.54
The hallmark of
heaven is unselfishness.
00:20:26.42\00:20:30.49
The hallmark of heaven is love.
00:20:30.59\00:20:32.89
And if God would bring
selfish people into heaven,
00:20:33.09\00:20:37.80
why they'd probably start
digging up the streets of gold
00:20:37.83\00:20:40.07
again, wouldn't they?
00:20:40.10\00:20:41.44
They would probably
climb over the walls of heaven
00:20:41.47\00:20:44.27
and try to rob
the New Jerusalem.
00:20:44.31\00:20:47.84
They would be creating anger
and bitterness in heaven again.
00:20:48.14\00:20:51.95
So God cannot bring to heaven
those who've rejected His love.
00:20:52.18\00:20:58.59
Because unselfish love
cannot live with selfish hate.
00:20:58.62\00:21:04.13
As the result of
that, God has given them
00:21:04.46\00:21:07.43
a chance to live once.
00:21:07.46\00:21:09.06
He's reached
out in love to them.
00:21:09.10\00:21:11.33
He's convicted
them by His Holy Spirit.
00:21:11.37\00:21:14.24
He's transformed their lives
by tapping on their shoulders
00:21:14.27\00:21:19.01
and trying to lead them to Him.
00:21:19.04\00:21:21.51
He's done everything He
can to bring transformation
00:21:21.64\00:21:24.81
to their lives.
00:21:24.85\00:21:26.18
He's touched them,
He's moved on their hearts,
00:21:26.21\00:21:29.38
but they've rebelled,
they've hardened their hearts.
00:21:29.42\00:21:32.55
And as the result of that,
the only thing that a loving God
00:21:32.59\00:21:35.39
can do without
jeopardizing the entire universe
00:21:35.42\00:21:39.53
and infecting it with the
cancer of sin is to consume them
00:21:39.56\00:21:45.03
so they're gone forever.
00:21:45.07\00:21:46.53
They've lived once,
and now they're gone.
00:21:46.57\00:21:49.20
Gone, gone forever.
00:21:49.24\00:21:50.57
But God wants you
to live, my friend.
00:21:50.61\00:21:52.37
He wants you to
have everlasting life.
00:21:52.41\00:21:55.11
The Bible is clear.
00:21:55.14\00:21:56.48
Psalm 37:20, it says...
00:21:56.51\00:21:59.15
So the Bible points out
that they'll be destroyed,
00:22:13.70\00:22:16.77
that they'll perish,
that they'll vanish away,
00:22:16.97\00:22:20.24
that they'll be consumed, that
they indeed will be like ashes.
00:22:20.27\00:22:25.07
Somebody says, "I see
these text about consumed,
00:22:34.42\00:22:39.45
vanishing, perishing, destroyed.
00:22:39.49\00:22:42.02
But I'm a little confused about,
'everlasting destruction',
00:22:42.12\00:22:45.46
'eternal fire'."
00:22:45.49\00:22:46.90
Let me give you some
examples how the word,
00:22:47.20\00:22:49.10
"eternal," is used in the Bible.
00:22:49.13\00:22:51.23
It's used of
Christ's act on the cross.
00:22:51.50\00:22:54.24
When did Christ
obtain redemption for us?
00:23:07.92\00:23:11.69
On the cross.
00:23:11.72\00:23:13.05
Is eternal redemption
Christ staying on the cross
00:23:13.29\00:23:18.09
forever and ever?
00:23:18.29\00:23:19.63
Not at all.
00:23:19.79\00:23:21.13
The effects of Calvary
echo and re-echo down the ages.
00:23:21.16\00:23:26.03
They are eternal.
00:23:26.07\00:23:27.87
It's not that His act
on the cross is eternal,
00:23:28.04\00:23:31.77
that He stays there with the
nails through His hands forever.
00:23:31.81\00:23:34.74
It is rather that the
effect of the cross is eternal.
00:23:34.94\00:23:38.98
In Hebrews 6:2 the Bible says...
00:23:39.55\00:23:42.68
What's eternal judgment?
00:23:52.19\00:23:53.60
Does God judge us
throughout all eternity?
00:23:53.80\00:23:56.36
Is that what
eternal judgment is?
00:23:56.60\00:23:59.43
Not at all.
00:23:59.47\00:24:00.80
So when the Bible talks about
an eternal or everlasting fire,
00:24:08.04\00:24:12.08
it's not that the
fire lasts forever.
00:24:12.25\00:24:15.32
When He talks about
everlasting destruction,
00:24:15.35\00:24:17.82
it's not that the act of
destruction lasts forever.
00:24:17.85\00:24:21.06
When He talks about
everlasting punishment,
00:24:21.16\00:24:23.46
it's not that the
punishment lasts forever.
00:24:23.49\00:24:25.56
It's that its
effects lasts forever.
00:24:25.59\00:24:28.06
They never need to be repeated.
00:24:28.10\00:24:29.70
A good example of this
is Job, there in verse 7.
00:24:29.80\00:24:34.57
Job, of course...
Rather, Jude and verse 7.
00:24:34.60\00:24:37.67
Jude only has, of
course, one chapter.
00:24:37.71\00:24:39.84
Did you notice that expression?
00:25:00.40\00:25:02.46
How were Sodom
and Gomorrah burned?
00:25:02.76\00:25:06.27
What were they burned with?
00:25:06.37\00:25:08.44
They were burned with fire that
came down God out of heaven.
00:25:08.47\00:25:10.91
Just as the wicked
will be burned with fire
00:25:11.27\00:25:13.91
that comes down
from God out of heaven.
00:25:13.94\00:25:15.51
But they were burned,
according to the Bible,
00:25:15.64\00:25:18.08
with an eternal fire.
00:25:18.11\00:25:20.55
Are Sodom and
Gomorrah, those two twin cities,
00:25:21.08\00:25:24.75
are they still burning?
00:25:24.95\00:25:26.29
You know, once I was
lecturing on Sodom and Gomorrah,
00:25:26.32\00:25:28.56
and I said, "Does anybody know
who Sodom and Gomorrah are?"
00:25:28.59\00:25:31.76
Somebody raised
their hand and said,
00:25:31.89\00:25:33.23
"Oh yeah, they're
two twin sisters."
00:25:33.26\00:25:35.40
I said, "Well not quite.
They were two twin cities."
00:25:35.43\00:25:39.23
And they were wicked cities
00:25:39.33\00:25:40.70
living there in
Old Testament times.
00:25:40.74\00:25:43.51
And they were
consumed in the days of
00:25:43.71\00:25:46.74
Scripture; Lot, Abraham.
00:25:46.84\00:25:49.08
They were consumed
with an eternal fire.
00:25:49.11\00:25:51.71
Are they still
burning? No they're not.
00:25:51.75\00:25:53.55
In fact, their
remains or ruins are along
00:25:53.72\00:25:55.88
or underneath the Dead Sea.
00:25:55.92\00:25:58.29
So what is an eternal fire?
00:25:58.39\00:26:00.06
It's one that its
effects are forever.
00:26:00.26\00:26:03.86
Not that it's ever,
ever continually burning.
00:26:08.70\00:26:11.50
In Matthew
25:45-46 Jesus says...
00:26:11.80\00:26:17.11
Somebody said,
"There it is, Pastor Mark.
00:26:34.39\00:26:36.79
Everlasting punishment.
00:26:37.03\00:26:39.59
That's what's
going to happen to them."
00:26:39.69\00:26:41.40
But notice what it does not say.
00:26:41.73\00:26:44.33
It does not say,
"everlasting punishing."
00:26:44.60\00:26:48.17
Everlasting punishing would be
a continual state of punishment
00:26:53.48\00:26:57.51
moment by moment,
hour by hour, day by day,
00:26:57.55\00:27:00.85
down through the ages.
00:27:00.88\00:27:02.22
But everlasting
punishment is one punishment
00:27:02.25\00:27:05.65
that lasts forever.
00:27:05.69\00:27:07.02
They're burned
up, they're consumed.
00:27:07.06\00:27:08.39
The act never
need be done again.
00:27:08.42\00:27:11.06
In Philippians 3:18-19 the Bible
makes it very plain what happens
00:27:11.33\00:27:17.43
to the enemies of
the cross of Christ,
00:27:17.47\00:27:19.87
what happens to people
that turn their back on Jesus.
00:27:19.90\00:27:22.40
That's whose final
result is destruction.
00:27:28.84\00:27:31.41
Now it doesn't say that
their end, their final result,
00:27:31.58\00:27:34.65
is this state of being burned
00:27:34.85\00:27:37.59
for millions and
trillions of years.
00:27:37.62\00:27:39.35
Their end is destruction.
00:27:39.39\00:27:40.76
This word,
"destruction," in fact...
00:27:41.12\00:27:44.29
Of course the New
Testament was written in Greek.
00:27:46.39\00:27:48.43
So they are destroyed.
00:27:57.24\00:27:58.97
They're gone forever.
00:27:59.01\00:28:00.34
My mind can
understand how a loving God
00:28:00.38\00:28:03.68
would have to destroy sin.
00:28:03.91\00:28:06.01
And those that cling to
sin, those that hold on to sin,
00:28:06.05\00:28:10.65
must be destroyed with that sin.
00:28:10.82\00:28:14.06
But my mind could never
understand how that loving God
00:28:14.39\00:28:18.06
would torment people
forever and ever and ever.
00:28:18.69\00:28:23.06
That would be
incompatible with both
00:28:23.30\00:28:26.30
God's love and God's justice.
00:28:26.33\00:28:29.70
The Bible says
in Matthew 7:13...
00:28:30.04\00:28:33.11
Again, the very
strong word, "destruction."
00:28:37.81\00:28:41.18
One that is totally destroyed,
one that is totally annihilated.
00:28:41.28\00:28:47.59
What is the fate of the wicked?
00:28:47.76\00:28:49.39
You can read it again and
again and again in the Bible.
00:28:50.03\00:28:54.40
Death is the absence of life.
00:28:56.67\00:28:58.43
Not live on forever.
00:29:05.71\00:29:07.38
Consumed, gone.
00:29:09.64\00:29:11.11
Not in a state pf pain,
suffering, agony for eternity.
00:29:20.06\00:29:24.69
The Bible is very plain.
00:29:35.64\00:29:37.67
The Bible is very clear
on the state of the wicked.
00:29:37.71\00:29:41.78
A loving God cries and weeps.
00:29:42.84\00:29:48.18
I think I hear God crying.
00:29:48.38\00:29:52.55
If you listen, you
may hear Him crying too.
00:29:53.25\00:29:57.03
Satan rebels
against God in heaven,
00:29:57.59\00:30:00.23
and God must cast Satan and
the evil angels out of heaven.
00:30:00.70\00:30:04.87
I think I hear God crying.
00:30:04.90\00:30:06.30
He creates Adam and
Eve on planet earth.
00:30:07.14\00:30:09.74
And Eve partakes of the tree
of knowledge of good and evil,
00:30:10.97\00:30:13.84
and Adam partakes of it.
00:30:13.88\00:30:15.34
And they must leave the
garden, and sin and sickness and
00:30:15.38\00:30:17.91
suffering come
into the human race.
00:30:17.95\00:30:19.41
I think I hear God crying.
00:30:19.45\00:30:21.42
He raises up Israel.
00:30:22.15\00:30:23.49
They turn away and
worship around the golden calf.
00:30:23.52\00:30:26.72
And I think I hear God crying.
00:30:27.19\00:30:28.96
God sends His Son.
00:30:30.26\00:30:32.16
And many reject Him.
00:30:33.06\00:30:34.76
And God weeps as
Jesus hangs on the cross.
00:30:35.10\00:30:38.03
And God sends His Holy
Spirit down through the ages
00:30:38.63\00:30:41.94
to men and women.
00:30:42.20\00:30:43.54
He sends angels to
bring light and truth.
00:30:43.94\00:30:46.47
And there's a battle
between good and evil,
00:30:46.84\00:30:48.68
and Christ and Satan.
00:30:48.71\00:30:50.18
In the last days of
earth's history God invites
00:30:51.01\00:30:53.28
men and women to come
to Him and worship Him.
00:30:53.31\00:30:55.52
But many turn away.
00:30:55.92\00:30:57.49
And in the final analysis,
the wicked are ultimately
00:30:58.29\00:31:02.72
completely destroyed.
00:31:02.76\00:31:04.49
And I think there must
be a tear in God's eye.
00:31:05.26\00:31:07.93
But He can do nothing else
but eradicate the world of sin.
00:31:08.63\00:31:14.54
Those that have clung to
evil and sided with Satan
00:31:21.91\00:31:25.75
will be destroyed.
00:31:25.78\00:31:27.12
Because the Bible
says in Matthew 10:28...
00:31:27.15\00:31:29.78
What is the soul? It's
the life of the individual.
00:31:35.06\00:31:38.63
So hell is so hot it burns up,
consumes, both soul and body.
00:31:43.03\00:31:51.04
One person said to me one time,
00:31:51.07\00:31:52.41
"Pastor, you don't
believe in hell, do you?"
00:31:52.74\00:31:54.68
I said, "Well, I actually
believe in a hell that's
00:31:54.98\00:31:57.61
hotter than the
hell you believe in."
00:31:57.65\00:31:58.98
They said, "What do you mean?"
00:31:59.01\00:32:00.35
I said, "Well, the hell you
believe in just torments people.
00:32:00.38\00:32:02.98
The hell that the Bible
teaches and that I believe in
00:32:03.28\00:32:05.35
is so hot it consumes
them, it burns them up."
00:32:05.39\00:32:07.66
As Jesus said, it destroys.
00:32:07.86\00:32:10.66
Destroys totally,
absolutely, completely.
00:32:10.69\00:32:13.46
Soul and body in hell.
00:32:13.96\00:32:16.16
They are consumed, they're
annihilated, they're burned up.
00:32:16.20\00:32:18.50
If a fire is unquenchable,
00:32:22.50\00:32:24.57
doesn't that mean
it goes on forever?
00:32:24.61\00:32:26.61
Now don't misunderstand this.
00:32:34.88\00:32:36.89
Jesus is not
saying, cut off your arm
00:32:37.39\00:32:40.82
if you've stolen something.
00:32:40.86\00:32:42.56
He is rather saying, if you
compare your arm to eternity,
00:32:42.72\00:32:47.90
eternity is much better.
00:32:47.93\00:32:49.43
So cut out of your life the
thing that you have been doing
00:32:49.46\00:32:54.60
that would cause
you to lose eternity.
00:32:54.64\00:32:56.71
It's a symbolic expression.
00:32:56.74\00:32:58.91
When you come to the next phrase
it's a symbolic expression.
00:32:59.24\00:33:02.94
Just like you're not going
to cut off your hand, it says...
00:33:02.98\00:33:06.25
In other words, what's it
talking about when it says,
00:33:15.69\00:33:17.63
the worm doesn't die?
00:33:17.66\00:33:19.23
It's a contrast picture.
00:33:19.43\00:33:21.23
The person does die.
00:33:21.26\00:33:23.03
The person is consumed.
00:33:23.06\00:33:25.03
The person is burned up.
00:33:25.07\00:33:27.10
But it's a contrast
picture that gives you.
00:33:27.14\00:33:30.67
At the end of the thousand
years the fire comes down,
00:33:30.71\00:33:33.78
the people are
destroyed totally.
00:33:34.31\00:33:37.11
And it says there, the
fire that is not quenched.
00:33:37.15\00:33:41.88
What is an unquenchable fire?
00:33:42.08\00:33:43.92
Have you ever seen a
headline in the newspaper
00:33:47.52\00:33:50.86
that says, "The
fire trucks came.
00:33:50.89\00:33:54.46
The fire was blazing.
00:33:54.56\00:33:56.40
It was an unquenchable fire.
00:33:56.43\00:33:58.57
Too hot for the
fire trucks to put out."
00:33:58.60\00:34:01.40
It burned up
everything it had to burn up.
00:34:01.54\00:34:05.44
Jeremiah 17:27
00:34:06.41\00:34:09.48
That's in the
gates of Jerusalem.
00:34:11.91\00:34:13.52
When Jerusalem was destroyed,
what kind of fire burned it up?
00:34:18.55\00:34:23.46
What does the Bible say?
00:34:23.86\00:34:25.19
Do you see it there in the text?
00:34:25.33\00:34:26.80
What kind of fire?
00:34:27.40\00:34:28.73
That's it. It was
an unquenchable fire.
00:34:28.76\00:34:31.70
Well is Jerusalem
still burning right now
00:34:31.80\00:34:34.30
from that unquenchable
fire where it was burned
00:34:34.44\00:34:37.21
back in the days of Scripture?
00:34:37.24\00:34:39.84
Certainly not.
00:34:40.14\00:34:41.48
An unquenchable fire is one
that no human hands can put out.
00:34:41.81\00:34:45.65
No fire engines can put it out.
00:34:45.95\00:34:47.75
No water buckets can put it out.
00:34:47.78\00:34:49.88
It's an unquenchable fire.
00:34:49.92\00:34:51.45
It burns itself out
when it consumes everything
00:34:51.62\00:34:55.92
there is to be burned.
00:34:55.96\00:34:58.36
So the
unquenchable fire at the end is
00:34:58.63\00:35:01.16
one that consumes totally.
00:35:01.20\00:35:03.03
And out of the
ashes of this old world
00:35:03.06\00:35:08.24
God makes a new world.
00:35:08.34\00:35:10.67
Jerusalem, the city of
Christ, is not burning now.
00:35:10.71\00:35:16.71
The unquenchable fire that was
burning when it was destroyed
00:35:16.81\00:35:22.08
in Old Testament
periods, that unquenchable fire
00:35:22.12\00:35:25.52
has long been gone and
a new city has been built.
00:35:25.55\00:35:28.86
Jesus, out of the
ashes of the old world,
00:35:28.96\00:35:31.79
will develop a
complete restoration.
00:35:31.83\00:35:35.23
This world will be restored
into its Edenic splendor.
00:35:35.33\00:35:40.00
Nothing to bring pain,
nothing to bring sorrow,
00:35:40.20\00:35:44.57
nothing to bring disappointment,
nothing to bring tears,
00:35:44.61\00:35:49.14
nothing to bring heartache.
00:35:49.24\00:35:51.41
This world will be
restored in its Edenic splendor.
00:35:51.45\00:35:55.28
Now somebody says...
00:35:55.32\00:35:56.65
"Pastor Mark, that is one
that really, really troubles me.
00:35:59.92\00:36:04.23
That's one that
really, really bothers me.
00:36:04.26\00:36:07.26
I don't see how... I
can see these other text.
00:36:07.30\00:36:10.33
But I can't understand this
one about forever and ever."
00:36:10.37\00:36:13.03
When you're studying the Bible
there's a couple of things to
00:36:14.20\00:36:17.17
keep really in mind.
00:36:17.21\00:36:18.54
One is that the
Scripture can't be broken.
00:36:18.57\00:36:20.94
So the Bible is not
going to contradict itself.
00:36:21.04\00:36:23.21
The Bible is not going
to say the wicked perish,
00:36:23.24\00:36:26.31
the wicked are consumed,
the wicked are turned to ashes,
00:36:26.35\00:36:29.95
fire comes down from God
out of heaven and devours them,
00:36:29.98\00:36:33.66
the Bible is not going
to give you all these text,
00:36:33.69\00:36:35.92
more than a hundred text, on
the annihilation of the wicked
00:36:35.96\00:36:38.69
and then throw in one
text and say, "Oh I'm going to
00:36:38.73\00:36:41.60
throw out these hundred
text and accept this one text."
00:36:41.63\00:36:44.90
Not at all.
00:36:44.93\00:36:46.27
So we need to look at this
expression, "forever and ever,"
00:36:46.30\00:36:48.80
and try to
discover what it means.
00:36:48.84\00:36:50.67
Revelation 14:10 says...
00:36:50.71\00:36:53.54
When does this event take place?
00:37:05.29\00:37:08.56
When is this
really the description of?
00:37:08.72\00:37:12.46
At the end of the thousand
years the wicked are destroyed.
00:37:16.50\00:37:20.84
The smoke rises up
until the end of that age.
00:37:20.87\00:37:27.28
In fact, in the Greek
language, the language of the
00:37:27.31\00:37:30.61
New Testament, the expression,
"forever and ever," is,
00:37:30.65\00:37:33.62
"aionas ton
aionon," which simply means,
00:37:33.65\00:37:35.58
until the end of the age.
00:37:35.62\00:37:37.05
So at the end of the earth
age God recreates a new heaven
00:37:37.29\00:37:44.69
and a new earth; Revelation 21.
00:37:44.73\00:37:48.16
And in that new
heaven and new earth
00:37:48.30\00:37:51.30
all of the suffering
and heartache are gone.
00:37:51.57\00:37:54.30
So when you read
Revelation 20 where it says
00:37:54.44\00:37:59.11
the smoke rises
up forever and ever,
00:37:59.14\00:38:00.61
and Revelation 19,
it's introducing the idea
00:38:00.64\00:38:04.41
that this world, the age
of this world, will be over
00:38:04.45\00:38:08.45
and sin and
wickedness will be over,
00:38:08.68\00:38:10.99
and God will create a new world.
00:38:11.02\00:38:12.39
The expression,
"forever," doesn't mean endless
00:38:12.42\00:38:17.83
existence necessarily.
00:38:17.86\00:38:19.89
Let me give you a
couple of examples of that.
00:38:25.90\00:38:28.14
It's talking about a slave.
00:38:33.98\00:38:35.58
"Awl;" that's a
sharp instrument.
00:38:43.12\00:38:44.55
So when the slave would
serve the master forever,
00:38:47.39\00:38:50.96
how long would that be?
00:38:51.66\00:38:53.03
Would it be
through eternity? No.
00:38:53.23\00:38:54.70
As long as he lived.
Until the end of his earth age.
00:38:54.73\00:38:58.90
You find that again in the
book of Samuel, 1 Samuel 1:22.
00:38:59.30\00:39:05.04
It talks about Samuel
being taken by his mother
00:39:05.57\00:39:08.68
to the temple.
00:39:08.71\00:39:10.05
Samuel in the temple forever?
00:39:15.92\00:39:18.39
Is he still there now?
00:39:18.42\00:39:19.75
But notice what
the next phrase says.
00:39:19.95\00:39:22.12
So one phrase
talks about forever.
00:39:28.93\00:39:32.20
The next phrase talks
about as long as he lives.
00:39:32.40\00:39:37.04
So this expression, "forever,"
when it talks about the wicked,
00:39:37.07\00:39:42.94
the wicked are in the
flames until the end of the age.
00:39:42.98\00:39:46.72
They're in the flames
until they're totally consumed.
00:39:46.75\00:39:49.72
They're in the flames in
the context of the statement
00:39:49.75\00:39:54.32
in Exodus 21 about
the slave, that he would
00:39:54.36\00:39:57.06
serve his master forever.
00:39:57.09\00:39:58.56
In the context of 1
Samuel where Samuel would
00:39:58.59\00:40:02.40
be up before the
Lord, the length there
00:40:02.60\00:40:04.83
by his mother
forever; as long as he lives.
00:40:04.87\00:40:08.27
So the wicked are consumed
with sin as long as they're able
00:40:08.30\00:40:13.88
to live in those flames.
00:40:13.91\00:40:16.58
They're totally consumed,
they're burned up to ashes.
00:40:16.61\00:40:19.48
To the end of that age.
00:40:19.51\00:40:21.78
Now somebody often
asks, what about the parable
00:40:21.98\00:40:25.85
of the rich man and Lazarus?
00:40:25.89\00:40:28.26
And I want to spend some
time on this particular parable
00:40:28.29\00:40:31.63
because it's one of
the most confusing parables
00:40:31.66\00:40:34.30
that many people
will see in the Bible.
00:40:34.33\00:40:36.83
First, you either have to
say this story of the rich man
00:40:37.83\00:40:42.54
and Lazarus is a literal
story or it is a parable.
00:40:42.57\00:40:49.21
If it's a parable, it's
designed to teach us lessons.
00:40:49.41\00:40:53.48
In Luke 15, you
have three parables.
00:40:53.88\00:40:58.19
You have first the
parable of the lost boy.
00:40:58.39\00:41:01.69
Or the lost sheep.
00:41:01.72\00:41:03.43
Then you have the
parable of the lost coin.
00:41:03.46\00:41:05.83
Then you have the
parable of the lost boy.
00:41:05.86\00:41:07.83
So you have three
parables in Luke 15.
00:41:08.10\00:41:10.27
Then in Luke 16, you
begin a series of parables
00:41:10.73\00:41:14.77
that are called, the
certain man parables.
00:41:14.80\00:41:18.74
And you have two
parables in Luke chapter 16.
00:41:18.77\00:41:22.68
The parable of the
rich man and Lazarus
00:41:22.94\00:41:25.08
is the fifth parable in a row.
00:41:25.11\00:41:28.02
So that helps us to understand
that indeed it's a parable.
00:41:28.12\00:41:32.82
Now let's relive that parable.
00:41:33.25\00:41:36.29
And Jesus
begins to tell a story.
00:41:36.56\00:41:39.23
And He tells it
something like this,
00:41:39.26\00:41:41.20
and I will
modernize it in my own words.
00:41:41.23\00:41:44.10
He says, "Once upon a
time there was a rich man.
00:41:44.33\00:41:49.24
And there was a
very, very poor beggar.
00:41:49.60\00:41:52.47
And the beggar's
name was Lazarus.
00:41:53.27\00:41:56.64
And he would just get crumbs
from the rich man's table.
00:41:56.68\00:42:00.22
And they both died.
00:42:00.62\00:42:03.15
The rich man went to..."
00:42:03.72\00:42:06.76
And all the Jews
were there, they were...
00:42:06.86\00:42:08.42
The Pharisees were there,
they were elbowing themselves.
00:42:08.89\00:42:11.09
They're smiling, "We
know where the rich man went.
00:42:11.13\00:42:13.43
He went up to heaven.
00:42:13.46\00:42:14.80
And we know where
that poor man went.
00:42:14.83\00:42:16.83
He went down to torment.
00:42:16.87\00:42:18.23
We know that.
00:42:18.27\00:42:19.60
We know that because riches
are a sign of God's favor.
00:42:19.63\00:42:22.74
Look how great we are."
00:42:22.77\00:42:24.21
And Jesus then reverses it.
00:42:24.67\00:42:27.18
He says, "Once upon a
time there was a rich man
00:42:27.21\00:42:31.91
and a poor beggar.
00:42:31.95\00:42:33.28
And the rich man
ended up in torment.
00:42:34.25\00:42:36.72
And the poor beggar
ended up in eternity."
00:42:36.92\00:42:39.25
Wow! Jesus reverses it.
00:42:39.52\00:42:42.82
Now the story was a very popular
one in the days of Jesus.
00:42:43.73\00:42:49.36
Because, you see,
in the days of Jesus
00:42:50.00\00:42:51.90
the Jews had this
story, this understanding,
00:42:52.20\00:42:55.94
they had this illustration
that when a person died
00:42:56.30\00:42:59.81
he went down
through this long tunnel.
00:43:00.08\00:43:02.81
And at the end of the
tunnel, if he was righteous
00:43:02.98\00:43:05.01
he went to Abraham's bosom.
00:43:05.05\00:43:06.92
If he wasn't, he went
to a place of torment.
00:43:06.95\00:43:09.18
And all the rich, all
the aristocratic Jews,
00:43:09.38\00:43:13.22
they would go through that
tunnel and they would go to
00:43:13.25\00:43:15.66
Abraham's bosom.
00:43:15.69\00:43:17.03
And all the poor, they would
go to the place of torment.
00:43:17.06\00:43:20.70
This was a popular
story. So what did Jesus do?
00:43:21.43\00:43:23.80
He took a popular story
to illustrate some truths.
00:43:23.83\00:43:26.74
Now let's suppose
this story is literal,
00:43:27.07\00:43:29.94
as some people
want to think it is.
00:43:29.97\00:43:31.67
If it is, and you
go to Abraham's bosom,
00:43:31.71\00:43:34.34
Abraham must have a
very, very large bosom.
00:43:34.38\00:43:40.12
But there's
something else about it.
00:43:40.32\00:43:41.88
If this story is true...
00:43:42.88\00:43:44.62
Because Lazarus is talking
down there to that rich man.
00:43:50.33\00:43:55.40
And so, I mean, do
you really believe that
00:43:55.50\00:43:58.63
people in hell and people in
heaven can have conversations?
00:43:58.67\00:44:02.64
Do you actually
believe that people in heaven
00:44:03.04\00:44:05.81
can see people in hell?
00:44:05.84\00:44:07.58
I mean, that would be really...
00:44:07.68\00:44:09.08
If you take this as literal,
if you think there's problems
00:44:09.11\00:44:11.51
in taking it as a parable,
there's much greater problems
00:44:11.55\00:44:14.62
in taking it as literal.
00:44:14.65\00:44:16.35
Because that means that
souls, so-called souls...
00:44:16.45\00:44:20.06
We've already pointed
out in this series that
00:44:20.09\00:44:22.02
death is but a sleep
until the resurrection.
00:44:22.06\00:44:23.86
But if you take this as
literal, it actually means that
00:44:23.89\00:44:26.56
souls down there in so-called
hell, contrary to the Bible,
00:44:26.59\00:44:31.50
they have eyes,
they have fingers,
00:44:31.53\00:44:34.34
that you can see them,
that you can talk to them.
00:44:34.54\00:44:37.24
Because the
description is, "Oh, come and
00:44:37.27\00:44:40.38
put some water on
my tongue, because I'm
00:44:40.68\00:44:42.14
burning in this hot place."
00:44:42.18\00:44:43.65
So that really
becomes nonsensical at all.
00:44:43.68\00:44:47.78
Souls would have to have
fingers and eyes and tongues.
00:44:47.88\00:44:50.45
And if they do, why do
you have a resurrection
00:44:50.49\00:44:52.85
at the end of a body?
00:44:52.89\00:44:54.22
It doesn't make sense.
00:44:54.26\00:44:55.59
So what are we
talking about here?
00:44:55.62\00:44:58.03
We're not talking
about conversations
00:44:58.36\00:45:00.10
between heaven and hell.
00:45:00.13\00:45:01.46
We're not talking about people
in heaven seeing people in hell.
00:45:01.93\00:45:04.40
That would destroy heaven.
00:45:04.43\00:45:05.77
I mean, if you could
look down there and see people
00:45:05.80\00:45:08.30
you interacted with in life,
if you could look down there
00:45:08.34\00:45:10.94
and see people that were
your relatives, your family,
00:45:10.97\00:45:14.24
your friends, a husband
not saved, a wife not saved,
00:45:14.28\00:45:16.91
I mean, heaven would
be terribly tormented.
00:45:16.95\00:45:19.98
You would be tormented in heaven
because you would see those
00:45:20.02\00:45:22.95
people crying out
in agony and screaming.
00:45:22.98\00:45:25.32
Jesus' way and His
explanation of this parable
00:45:26.15\00:45:30.53
is much, much clearer.
00:45:30.79\00:45:32.39
See, Jesus used a popular story
to share three eternal truths.
00:45:32.59\00:45:38.97
Eternal truth number one:
00:45:39.00\00:45:40.87
riches are not a
sign of divine favor.
00:45:41.44\00:45:45.47
And poverty is not a
sign of divine condemnation.
00:45:45.57\00:45:51.48
When you look at this
story, Jesus is saying
00:45:51.91\00:45:56.52
that there are many who are
poor who are faithful to God,
00:45:56.55\00:46:00.02
many who are poor
that are committed to God.
00:46:00.06\00:46:02.39
And if you get
riches by ill gain,
00:46:02.42\00:46:05.09
riches by selfishness and greed,
00:46:05.13\00:46:07.43
that is not a
blessing of God at all.
00:46:07.46\00:46:10.03
The second lesson in this story.
00:46:11.10\00:46:13.54
You remember Lazarus
and this rich man are
00:46:13.74\00:46:18.11
having this discussion.
00:46:18.14\00:46:19.71
And as they are, the
rich man says, "Send somebody,
00:46:19.74\00:46:23.38
send somebody down
here, down to earth,
00:46:23.41\00:46:30.95
to tell my brother so he
won't come to this place."
00:46:30.99\00:46:33.99
And what does the Scripture say?
00:46:34.19\00:46:36.46
There's a great gulf fixed.
00:46:36.49\00:46:39.23
What's the second great lesson?
00:46:39.26\00:46:40.70
The second great lesson
is there's no second chance.
00:46:40.80\00:46:43.26
The second great lesson is,
make your decision for eternity
00:46:43.30\00:46:47.64
when you're in this life.
00:46:47.67\00:46:49.00
First lesson, riches are not a
sign of God's favor necessarily.
00:46:49.04\00:46:52.91
They could be.
00:46:53.91\00:46:55.24
But if they're gotten
with ill gain, they're not.
00:46:55.28\00:46:56.95
Poverty is not a
sign of God's displeasure.
00:46:57.48\00:46:59.91
Many people are
in circumstances.
00:46:59.95\00:47:01.88
Second lesson is this.
00:47:02.22\00:47:04.75
There's a great gulf fixed.
00:47:04.95\00:47:06.29
Make your decision
now for all eternity.
00:47:06.32\00:47:09.26
Third lesson, was there
ever a man named Lazarus?
00:47:09.29\00:47:15.13
Was there ever a
real man named Lazarus?
00:47:16.06\00:47:18.30
Did Jesus raise a real man
named Lazarus from the dead?
00:47:19.17\00:47:26.01
Did He?
00:47:26.04\00:47:27.38
And if He did,
what about that man?
00:47:27.84\00:47:34.08
Did everybody accept him?
00:47:34.32\00:47:35.92
They didn't.
00:47:36.42\00:47:37.75
What did they do?
00:47:37.79\00:47:39.12
They tried to do what?
00:47:39.15\00:47:41.29
Kill him.
00:47:41.32\00:47:42.66
So what is the third lesson?
00:47:42.69\00:47:44.43
The third lesson is this.
00:47:44.46\00:47:46.09
Miracles are not a sign of
God's divine favor necessarily.
00:47:48.23\00:47:54.20
If you reject the clear
teachings of the Word of God,
00:47:54.64\00:47:58.61
if you reject the
clear teachings of Scripture,
00:47:58.97\00:48:01.98
if you do that, miracles
themselves are not a sign
00:48:02.18\00:48:07.72
that God is at work.
00:48:08.08\00:48:09.42
Can God work miracles? Yes.
00:48:09.45\00:48:11.15
Does God work miracles? Yes.
00:48:11.19\00:48:13.12
But merely because
a miracle is worked
00:48:13.22\00:48:16.42
does not mean in any way,
shape, or form that it's of God.
00:48:16.46\00:48:21.13
Because can the
devil work miracles?
00:48:21.16\00:48:22.93
Can the devil make
people sick and then heal them?
00:48:22.96\00:48:24.93
That's what Revelation says.
00:48:24.97\00:48:26.47
So three great lessons.
00:48:26.50\00:48:27.84
First, riches are
not necessarily a sign
00:48:27.87\00:48:30.27
of God's favor, poverty is
not a sign of His displeasure.
00:48:30.31\00:48:33.64
Secondly, there's
a great gulf fixed
00:48:33.68\00:48:36.85
between this life and eternity.
00:48:36.88\00:48:39.15
Make your
decision for Christ now.
00:48:39.18\00:48:41.32
Thirdly, don't place
your faith in miracles
00:48:41.35\00:48:44.82
because the devil
can counterfeit them.
00:48:44.85\00:48:46.92
The parable of the
rich man and Lazarus
00:48:47.06\00:48:49.36
is not a literal
description of hell.
00:48:49.39\00:48:51.79
God is using, Jesus is using
a story, a story to illustrate
00:48:51.83\00:48:56.90
divine truths in a
parabolic sequence.
00:48:57.10\00:48:59.77
And every detail of the
parables is not necessarily
00:48:59.80\00:49:03.24
to be applied exactly.
00:49:03.81\00:49:05.51
People talking between
heaven and hell: preposterous.
00:49:05.87\00:49:08.98
People in heaven seeing
people in hell: preposterous.
00:49:09.01\00:49:12.38
The Bible says
in Matthew 13:50...
00:49:12.41\00:49:16.05
In other words, they would
be there suffering for a time
00:49:20.16\00:49:25.09
until they're totally
consumed and burned up.
00:49:25.13\00:49:28.43
You remember when Jesus
hung on Calvary's cross.
00:49:28.96\00:49:32.20
He bore all of the
pain, all of the suffering.
00:49:33.10\00:49:37.64
He bore, in a
sense, hell for us.
00:49:37.84\00:49:41.94
Because what is hell?
00:49:41.98\00:49:43.31
What's going on when there's
weeping and gnashing of teeth?
00:49:43.35\00:49:46.55
What is that all about?
00:49:46.58\00:49:48.05
It is about this sense
that the wicked sense that they
00:49:48.42\00:49:53.02
are going to be
separated from God forever.
00:49:53.05\00:49:56.02
They sense that they could have
lived, but they're gone forever.
00:49:56.19\00:49:59.43
They sense that they
could have been one with Christ
00:49:59.46\00:50:02.70
and lived with
Him for all eternity,
00:50:02.73\00:50:04.93
but they are lost,
lost, lost forever.
00:50:04.97\00:50:08.37
And they have that
conscious awareness.
00:50:08.47\00:50:11.14
You see, Christ
on the cross said...
00:50:11.17\00:50:13.91
In other words, sin is
so bad, sin is so horrible,
00:50:17.21\00:50:21.28
sin is so terrible, that it
even tore the Son of God's heart
00:50:21.32\00:50:26.92
from the Father.
00:50:26.96\00:50:28.39
All Jesus could see was
that sin and its condemnation.
00:50:28.42\00:50:33.56
But He bore hell for us.
00:50:34.23\00:50:36.16
Hebrews chapter 2 says He
tasted death for every man.
00:50:36.36\00:50:39.30
Galatians 3:13 says
Christ hung on the tree.
00:50:39.40\00:50:43.94
"Cursed is everyone
that hangs upon the tree."
00:50:43.97\00:50:46.37
2 Corinthians 5:21
says, "He who knew no sin
00:50:46.41\00:50:49.74
became sin for us."
00:50:49.78\00:50:51.38
He bore the pain,
the suffering of hell
00:50:51.41\00:50:53.88
so you would not
have to go through hell.
00:50:53.92\00:50:57.19
Ezekiel 18:23 says...
00:50:57.95\00:50:59.75
Jesus says to you,
"I have no pleasure
00:51:09.53\00:51:11.73
in consuming the wicked.
00:51:11.77\00:51:13.10
Turn, turn, turn
from your ways and live."
00:51:13.13\00:51:17.11
Jesus says, "I'm
reaching out to you."
00:51:20.64\00:51:22.71
Jesus says, "I want to save you.
00:51:22.74\00:51:24.68
I love you more than
you ever can recognize.
00:51:24.71\00:51:27.18
I bore all the
pain, the suffering,
00:51:27.38\00:51:29.55
the condemnation
of hell for you."
00:51:29.58\00:51:31.65
Jesus says, "Come,
come. Come just as you are."
00:51:32.02\00:51:37.66
Come right now.
00:51:38.23\00:51:39.56
You need not be lost.
00:51:40.33\00:51:42.30
You need not be
consumed in the last fires.
00:51:43.16\00:51:47.24
You need not perish,
you need not be destroyed.
00:51:47.57\00:51:51.47
Jesus says, "Come."
00:51:51.84\00:51:53.34
Make your decision
right now as Tim sings.
00:51:53.78\00:51:58.91
Come just as you are,
00:52:07.09\00:52:12.19
hear the Spirit call.
00:52:13.66\00:52:19.20
Come just as you are,
00:52:20.00\00:52:25.71
come and see, come receive;
00:52:26.21\00:52:31.41
come and live forever.
00:52:32.05\00:52:38.32
Come just as you are,
00:52:39.05\00:52:45.43
hear the Spirit call.
00:52:45.63\00:52:51.97
Come just as you are,
00:52:52.17\00:52:58.11
come and see, come receive;
00:52:58.61\00:53:04.25
come and live forever.
00:53:04.45\00:53:09.82
Life everlasting
00:53:10.45\00:53:15.32
and strength for today.
00:53:16.32\00:53:22.66
Taste the living water
00:53:23.16\00:53:28.10
and never thirst again.
00:53:29.27\00:53:34.84
Oh, won't you come and see,
00:53:34.88\00:53:38.35
come receive;
00:53:39.15\00:53:41.35
come and live forever.
00:53:42.08\00:53:46.99
You'll find life everlasting,
00:53:47.02\00:53:53.90
and you'll find
strength for today.
00:53:54.10\00:54:01.10
Just taste this living water
00:54:01.34\00:54:07.88
and you'll never thirst again.
00:54:08.14\00:54:14.32
Jesus says come just as you are.
00:54:15.12\00:54:22.59
Don't you hear the Spirit call?
00:54:23.12\00:54:28.16
Come just as you are.
00:54:29.73\00:54:36.00
Come and see Christ my King.
00:54:36.20\00:54:42.28
Come and live forever more.
00:54:42.64\00:54:52.59
Come just as you are.
00:54:53.96\00:54:55.92
There is no other way to come.
00:54:56.69\00:54:59.89
The journey
begins where you are.
00:55:00.96\00:55:03.73
In your home, watching
this broadcast with friends,
00:55:04.40\00:55:10.21
the journey begins
right where you are.
00:55:11.11\00:55:14.48
And Christ is reaching
out to you at this moment.
00:55:15.04\00:55:19.08
In John 6:37, He
says, "Him that cometh to Me
00:55:19.58\00:55:26.29
I will in no wise cast out."
00:55:26.79\00:55:29.86
We can come to Him
with all of our sinfulness,
00:55:30.43\00:55:34.60
we can come with
all of our weakness,
00:55:34.70\00:55:37.33
we can come with
all of our folly,
00:55:37.90\00:55:40.27
we can come with
all of our humanity,
00:55:41.14\00:55:44.44
and simply lay all
of that at Jesus' feet
00:55:45.07\00:55:48.04
and say, "Jesus, take me.
00:55:48.58\00:55:50.38
Save me, for I
cannot save myself.
00:55:51.01\00:55:54.68
Deliver me from my sinful habits
because I cannot deliver myself.
00:55:55.48\00:56:00.66
Redeem me from this world
because I cannot redeem myself."
00:56:01.22\00:56:07.43
Come, come just as you are.
00:56:07.96\00:56:11.80
Receive His grace.
00:56:12.43\00:56:14.24
He will pardon you.
00:56:14.40\00:56:16.14
You need not be lost.
00:56:16.44\00:56:18.54
You can be saved, saved forever.
00:56:18.87\00:56:22.24
You see, in the final analysis
00:56:22.71\00:56:24.25
there are only
one of two choices.
00:56:24.28\00:56:25.98
We live forever with
Christ in this amazing new world
00:56:26.85\00:56:32.65
where every talent is developed,
where our minds are expanded.
00:56:32.85\00:56:38.96
Or we enter into that
grave to be resurrected
00:56:39.56\00:56:43.13
in the second resurrection,
to be consumed and gone forever.
00:56:43.16\00:56:47.97
Jesus wants you to live.
00:56:48.27\00:56:50.31
He wants you to live
a meaningful life now.
00:56:51.17\00:56:54.94
And He wants you to live
with Him for all eternity.
00:56:55.84\00:56:58.41
So come just as
you are as we pray.
00:56:58.45\00:57:02.05
Father in heaven, we bow
our heads just this moment
00:57:02.08\00:57:05.29
wherever we are.
00:57:05.32\00:57:06.65
We sense Your Spirit
tugging at our hearts.
00:57:06.69\00:57:09.12
We hear Your voice
speaking to our inmost being,
00:57:09.16\00:57:12.39
and we come.
00:57:12.69\00:57:14.03
We come, we come just as we are
00:57:14.06\00:57:17.37
to receive the
gift of eternal life
00:57:17.40\00:57:19.50
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
00:57:19.53\00:57:21.60
Amen.
00:57:21.64\00:57:22.97
Thank you for joining us for,
00:57:23.47\00:57:25.51
Revelation's
Ancient Discoveries.
00:57:25.54\00:57:29.54