Part 4 of 4
Is Hell Real?
By Radio Pastor Perry F. Rockwood
4. Hell and the Lake of Fire
Three different words are to be found in the Bible all of which have been translated "Hell." A proper understanding of these words is very important for they are often used by false cults to destroy the true meaning of Hell. The three words are Tartarus, Hades, and Gehenna.
"Tartarus" is found only once in the New Testament. 2 Peter 2:4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." This word "hell" has reference only to the angels who sinned and to their place of confinement until they are brought before the Lord in judgment.
The word "hades" is found ten times in the New Testament. Matthew 11:23, 16:18; Luke 10:15, 16:23; Acts 2:27,31; Revelation 1:18, 6:8, 20:13,14. The most familiar passage is Luke 16:19-31 which we studied in our last message.
Hades is not the final resting place of those who reject Christ, but it is the place where the unsaved dead now go to await their judicial sentence. This final judgment will take place after the resurrection at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15).
We saw from Luke 16 that there is no such thing as "soul sleep." This is a false doctrine which teaches that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection of the body. Not at all! The rich man in hades was fully conscious. He had all his faculties and was tormented day and night. He was also tormented by the fact that his five brothers were unsaved and would also come into hades unless they repented and turned to the Lord.
The word "gehenna" is found twelve times in the Gospels as follows: Matthew 5:22,29,30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5 and James 3:6. Then, of course, it is found in Revelation 20:15.
Let us examine some of the passages where Jesus used the word "gehenna" in referring to the final hell of unbelievers:
Matthew 5:22: "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
Matthew 5:29: "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Matthew 10:28: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
The Bible clearly teaches that Gehenna, the final Hell, is a place of fire: "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15). Matthew 18:8 says: "to be cast into everlasting fire." Mark 9:43,48: "fire that never shall be quenched ... where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Revelation 21:8: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
There are some who tell us that the fires of Hell are not literal fires but are only symbolic of the punishment of Hell. Certainly there is no reason to believe that these fires are only symbols, but rather they are literal fires. However, let us suppose they are symbolic. Would that make the punishment any easier to bear? Not at all! The reality would be greater than the symbol and the punishment awful and terrible.
The Bible gives another picture of Hell in Matthew 8:12, 13:42,50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, and Luke 13:28. These verses speak of being "cast into other darkness" and of "weeping and gnashing of teeth."
ANNIHILATION
Now there are some who teach that the wicked dead are annihilated at death, never to be brought back into existence. Others teach that they are annihilated in Hell. The Jehovah's Witnesses say that the wicked are annihilated at death, then recreated to be given a second chance. But those who refuse this second chance for eternal life will be annihilated. They will cease to exist.
Those who believe in annihilation tell us such words as destroy, destruction, perish, and consume - mean annihilation. One of their favourite texts on this point is @ Thessalonians 1:9: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power."
Let us now study some of these words in the light of the Bible to see their true meaning.
FIRST, the words destroyed or destruction cannot be translated as annihilate or annihilation. Job 19:10: "He hath destroyed me on every side." Job could not have been annihilated and still live to tell about it.
Job 21:17: "How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them!" How could they be put out of existence many times?
Isaiah 34:2: "For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies: He hath utterly destroyed them." The nations are not yet out of existence.
Hebrews 2:14: "That through death He (Christ) might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." The devil is not out of existence yet.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 reads: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." Those who teach the annihilation theory say that no one could go out of the presence of an OMNIPRESENT GOD without being put out of existence. Our reply is that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord (Gen. 4:16) without being put out of existence.
Those who are banished from the presence of the Lord are banished from His presence in Heaven. The word destroy does not mean annihilate.
SECONDLY, the word perish never means annihilation. Yet false teachers use such verses as John 3:16 which says, "whosoever believeth in Him should not perish," to try to prove their theory that the wicked shall go out of existence for ever.
The Greek word for perish is apollumi and means "to render unfit for the intended use." In Matthew 9:17 the bottles into which the new wine is put are said to break: "the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish." This simply means that the bottles are rendered unfit for their intended use. They have not been put out of existence.
In Luke 15:17 we hear the prodigal son say, "I perish with hunger." He was certainly not annihilated.
In 2 Peter 3:6 we read: "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." But the world was not put out of existence.
FINALLY, the word consume does not mean annihilation. In 1 Samuel 27:1, David said: "I shall now perish (the literal Hebrew is, be consumed) by the hand of Saul." David certainly did not mean he would go out of existence at the hand of Saul.
Galatians 5:15: "Take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." Paul was not referring to them annihilating one another.
We can therefore see from the Bible that the words destroy, destruction, and perish, do not mean annihilation.
RESTORATION
There are some teachers who believe that after the wicked have been punished in the lake of fire, they will then be taken out and transferred to Heaven. The main verse they use for this theory is Acts 3:21: "Whom (speaking of Christ) the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began."
Let us notice, however, that the restoration is to be for all things "which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets." There is not one place in the Bible where it is taught that the wicked and Satan will be restored unto Heaven after their
punishment.
All who believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God know that there is no escaping the truth of the lake of fire for those who die in their sins. I do not know how it is possible for believers to say they believe in Hell, and yet do so little to rescue the perishing, and care for the dying."
It is because of the reality of the Lake of Fire that we broadcast the Gospel and send forth Christian literature. The time is short and whatever we are going to do to warn lost souls, we must do it now.
If you are not yet saved, I plead with you in Jesus' Name, to turn from your sins and receive Christ as your own personal Saviour. He is waiting to save all who will come to Him by faith.
http://www.tpgh.org/IHR.htm
Is Hell Real?
By Radio Pastor Perry F. Rockwood
4. Hell and the Lake of Fire
Three different words are to be found in the Bible all of which have been translated "Hell." A proper understanding of these words is very important for they are often used by false cults to destroy the true meaning of Hell. The three words are Tartarus, Hades, and Gehenna.
"Tartarus" is found only once in the New Testament. 2 Peter 2:4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." This word "hell" has reference only to the angels who sinned and to their place of confinement until they are brought before the Lord in judgment.
The word "hades" is found ten times in the New Testament. Matthew 11:23, 16:18; Luke 10:15, 16:23; Acts 2:27,31; Revelation 1:18, 6:8, 20:13,14. The most familiar passage is Luke 16:19-31 which we studied in our last message.
Hades is not the final resting place of those who reject Christ, but it is the place where the unsaved dead now go to await their judicial sentence. This final judgment will take place after the resurrection at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15).
We saw from Luke 16 that there is no such thing as "soul sleep." This is a false doctrine which teaches that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection of the body. Not at all! The rich man in hades was fully conscious. He had all his faculties and was tormented day and night. He was also tormented by the fact that his five brothers were unsaved and would also come into hades unless they repented and turned to the Lord.
The word "gehenna" is found twelve times in the Gospels as follows: Matthew 5:22,29,30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5 and James 3:6. Then, of course, it is found in Revelation 20:15.
Let us examine some of the passages where Jesus used the word "gehenna" in referring to the final hell of unbelievers:
Matthew 5:22: "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
Matthew 5:29: "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Matthew 10:28: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
The Bible clearly teaches that Gehenna, the final Hell, is a place of fire: "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15). Matthew 18:8 says: "to be cast into everlasting fire." Mark 9:43,48: "fire that never shall be quenched ... where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Revelation 21:8: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
There are some who tell us that the fires of Hell are not literal fires but are only symbolic of the punishment of Hell. Certainly there is no reason to believe that these fires are only symbols, but rather they are literal fires. However, let us suppose they are symbolic. Would that make the punishment any easier to bear? Not at all! The reality would be greater than the symbol and the punishment awful and terrible.
The Bible gives another picture of Hell in Matthew 8:12, 13:42,50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, and Luke 13:28. These verses speak of being "cast into other darkness" and of "weeping and gnashing of teeth."
ANNIHILATION
Now there are some who teach that the wicked dead are annihilated at death, never to be brought back into existence. Others teach that they are annihilated in Hell. The Jehovah's Witnesses say that the wicked are annihilated at death, then recreated to be given a second chance. But those who refuse this second chance for eternal life will be annihilated. They will cease to exist.
Those who believe in annihilation tell us such words as destroy, destruction, perish, and consume - mean annihilation. One of their favourite texts on this point is @ Thessalonians 1:9: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power."
Let us now study some of these words in the light of the Bible to see their true meaning.
FIRST, the words destroyed or destruction cannot be translated as annihilate or annihilation. Job 19:10: "He hath destroyed me on every side." Job could not have been annihilated and still live to tell about it.
Job 21:17: "How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them!" How could they be put out of existence many times?
Isaiah 34:2: "For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies: He hath utterly destroyed them." The nations are not yet out of existence.
Hebrews 2:14: "That through death He (Christ) might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." The devil is not out of existence yet.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 reads: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." Those who teach the annihilation theory say that no one could go out of the presence of an OMNIPRESENT GOD without being put out of existence. Our reply is that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord (Gen. 4:16) without being put out of existence.
Those who are banished from the presence of the Lord are banished from His presence in Heaven. The word destroy does not mean annihilate.
SECONDLY, the word perish never means annihilation. Yet false teachers use such verses as John 3:16 which says, "whosoever believeth in Him should not perish," to try to prove their theory that the wicked shall go out of existence for ever.
The Greek word for perish is apollumi and means "to render unfit for the intended use." In Matthew 9:17 the bottles into which the new wine is put are said to break: "the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish." This simply means that the bottles are rendered unfit for their intended use. They have not been put out of existence.
In Luke 15:17 we hear the prodigal son say, "I perish with hunger." He was certainly not annihilated.
In 2 Peter 3:6 we read: "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." But the world was not put out of existence.
FINALLY, the word consume does not mean annihilation. In 1 Samuel 27:1, David said: "I shall now perish (the literal Hebrew is, be consumed) by the hand of Saul." David certainly did not mean he would go out of existence at the hand of Saul.
Galatians 5:15: "Take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." Paul was not referring to them annihilating one another.
We can therefore see from the Bible that the words destroy, destruction, and perish, do not mean annihilation.
RESTORATION
There are some teachers who believe that after the wicked have been punished in the lake of fire, they will then be taken out and transferred to Heaven. The main verse they use for this theory is Acts 3:21: "Whom (speaking of Christ) the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began."
Let us notice, however, that the restoration is to be for all things "which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets." There is not one place in the Bible where it is taught that the wicked and Satan will be restored unto Heaven after their
punishment.
All who believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God know that there is no escaping the truth of the lake of fire for those who die in their sins. I do not know how it is possible for believers to say they believe in Hell, and yet do so little to rescue the perishing, and care for the dying."
It is because of the reality of the Lake of Fire that we broadcast the Gospel and send forth Christian literature. The time is short and whatever we are going to do to warn lost souls, we must do it now.
If you are not yet saved, I plead with you in Jesus' Name, to turn from your sins and receive Christ as your own personal Saviour. He is waiting to save all who will come to Him by faith.
http://www.tpgh.org/IHR.htm
O'Donnell questions separation of church, state
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware on Tuesday questioned whether the U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion.
The exchange came in a debate before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, as O'Donnell criticized Democratic nominee Chris Coons' position that teaching creationism in public school would violate the First Amendment by promoting religious doctrine.
Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that "religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools."
"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?" O'Donnell asked him.
When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, O'Donnell asked: "You're telling me that's in the First Amendment?"
Her comments, in a debate aired on radio station WDEL, generated a buzz in the audience.
"You actually audibly heard the crowd gasp," said Widener University political scientist Wesley Leckrone, adding that he thought it raised questions about O'Donnell's grasp of the Constitution.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-10-20-churchstate19_st_N.htm
Crystal Cathedral megachurch files for bankruptcy
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (AP) — Crystal Cathedral, the megachurch birthplace of the televangelist show Hour of Power, has filed for bankruptcy in Southern California after struggling to emerge from debt that exceeds $43 million.
In addition to a $36 million mortgage, the Orange County-based church owes $7.5 million to several hundred vendors for services ranging from advertising to the use of live animals in Easter and Christmas services.
The church had been negotiating a repayment plan with vendors, but several filed lawsuits seeking quicker payment, which prompted a coalition formed by creditors to fall apart, church officials said.
"Tough times never last, every storm comes to an end. Right now, people need to hear that message more than ever," Sheila Schuller Coleman, the Cathedral's senior pastor and daughter of the founder, told reporters Monday outside the worship hall.
"Everybody is hurting today. We are no exception," she said.
The church, founded in the mid-1950s by the Rev. Robert H. Schuller Sr., has already ordered major layoffs, cut the number of stations airing the Hour of Power and sold property to stay afloat. In addition, the 10,000-member church canceled this year's "Glory of Easter" pageant, which attracts thousands of visitors and is a regional holiday staple.
Vendors owed money by the church formed a committee in April and agreed to a moratorium to negotiate a repayment plan with the Crystal Cathedral.
Kristina Oliver, whose Hemet-based company provided live animals for the church's "Glory of Christmas" manger scene, said she doubts she will recover in full the $57,000 she is owed.
"The church never made any kind of advancement that they wanted to pay their debt, that they were willing to try to make it happen and every time we tried they told us, 'You can't tell us how to run our business,'" Oliver said.
"I'm upset because I have a 30-year relationship with them and you need to be up front, put all your cards on the table."
Crystal Cathedral was founded at a drive-in theater and attracted congregants with its sermons on the power of positive thinking. It features a soaring glass spire and is an architectural wonder and tourist destination.
The Hour of Power telecast, filmed in the cathedral's main sanctuary, at one point attracted 1.3 million viewers in 156 countries.
Church leaders said the telecast and Sunday services will continue while in bankruptcy.
Crystal Cathedral and other megachurches have suffered from the recession and reduced charitable giving.
The church saw revenue drop roughly 30% in 2009 and simply couldn't slash expenses quickly enough to avoid accruing the debt, said Jim Penner, a church pastor and executive producer of the "Hour of Power."
Penner said it became difficult to hold the vendors' committee together after several vendors filed lawsuits and obtained writs of attachment to try to collect their cash.
Now, the church is avoiding credit entirely and spends only the roughly $2 million it receives each month in donations and revenue, Penner said. The church still hopes to pay all of the vendors back in full, he said.
"What we're doing now is we're trying to walk what we preach, we're paying cash for things as we go," he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-10-20-crystal19_ST_N.htm
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