Tough Questions

If God is a loving God why would he have such a severe punishment for those who don’t follow him?

Words used for “hell” in the Bible

First – Sheol – Means Grave or dark pit

Second – Gehenna – A place of torment, wailing and gnashing of teeth associated with burning fire

The word Jesus uses for hell – Gehenna

Physical meaning:

• Valley on the south side of Jerusalem Picture
• Old Testament the place where people offered sacrifices to the god Molech
• These sacrifices were babies or children tossed into the fire
• Josiah had these altars destroyed
• Since then it became a place for people to throw their trash
• Fires smolder and burn up the trash/
• I have been to Israel twice and they still have smoldering fires every time I have been there

Spiritual meaning – Lake of fire that burns for all eternity

Third – Hades – State in which all the dead exist

Fourth – Tartarus – a prisonlike condition into which the disobedient angels of Noah’s day were cast

2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment”

Four Views Of Hell

First View

 – Traditional/ Literal view

Revelations 20:10 “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

Luke 16:19-28 ¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰ At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”

Mark 9:42-48 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. ^[44] 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. ^[46]  47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
    and the fire is not quenched.’

Second view

– Purgatory

Another major view of hell is called purgatory

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”

The belief of purgatory is this:

• That nothing impure can enter heaven
• So all must be cleansed of their impurities
• And this only can happen through suffering and pain

Third View

 – Metaphorical

• That the Bible is not being literal on the what hell looks like

A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true

• They hold to the Old Testament use of hell being Sheol
• Sheol is a place where all souls go when they die
• It is a place where there is no light, nor emotion, and no memory

Psalms 88:12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

Psalms 143:3 The enemy pursues me,
    he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness
    like those long dead

Fourth view

– Annihilation

This view believes that a person will be thrown into the fiery pits of hell, but will burn up into nothing

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell

1 Peter 3:7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly

Philippians 1:28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Someone dies

• They make it before God to be judged
• Those whose names are written in the Lambs book of like will enter heaven

Revelations 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

• Those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life will be cast into fire

Matthew 25:41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels

Is this punishment eternal?

Revelations 14:9-11 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

• Why would God create mankind knowing so many would suffer so intensely?

God made a plan to defeat sin

This plan included giving people free will to choose

This plan included Jesus to come and pay the price for sin on the cross

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”