Worse than hell

Revelation 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

For the past several days we have been exploring the terrible but true doctrine of hell in the Bible.  We have discovered the following about this place:

1. It is a place of unquenchable fire Mk 9:13; Ps 106:17-18

2. It is a place of everlasting fire Mt 18:18

3. It is a place of outer darkness Mt 25:47; Jude 11

4. It is a place that has gates or influence Mt 16:18; Ps 9:13; Is 38:10

5. It is a place were unbelievers are conscious Lk 16:25-28

6. It is a place of wailing & gnashing of teeth Mt 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Lk 13:28

7. Place of constant burning and stench Mt 5:22, 29-30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 33, Mk 9:43; Lk 12:5

These are most of the references we find in the New Testament regarding the current destination of unbelievers.  In the Old Testament the word translated "hell" or "grave" is the Hebrew "Sheol" which points primarily to the realm of the dead.  In the New Testament the Greek word "hades" is used and we see a more nuanced understanding - lending itself to the progressive nature of God's revelation of topics in the Bible.  The word "hades", in addition to referring to the realm of the unbelieving dead, also carries with it the idea of being a "holding place" until judgment day. 

The Holding Cell until judgment day
In most of the places of the Old Testament and New Testament, we come to understand that unbelievers go to a place that the scripture commonly translates as "Hell".  However there is another place that though often lumped in with the current holding place until judgment, is actually a worse place. 

Think of the difference between a county jail and a state penitentury.  The county or local jail is often used to hold offenders until the final details of their sentence is handed down by the judge.  Once the legal system has sentenced the offender, they are taken to a high security facility that will house them for years, decades or life.    County jail is no doubt a horrible place, however the "State Pen" is even worse.  

For the past several days we have been focusing only on the holding cell - Hell.  Both Jesus and scripture reveal a far worse reality - the Lake of Fire.

The Lake of Fire - Worse than hell
In Matthew 25:41 we get a hint of this far worse place, wherein Jesus speak of the final judgment having unbelievers going into a place of unquenchable fire.  In Matthew 25 we see Jesus presiding over the final judgment, separating the "Sheep and the Goats".  It is here that we really get the sense of the awful truth of an even worse place.

In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John describes the Lake of Fire as a separate reality.  In the opening verse we quoted today at the beginning of this blog, "death and hades" are cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14).

The Book of Revelation describes this Lake of fire in the following ways:

1. Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that worked miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

2. Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

3. Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

4. Revelation 20:15 And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

5.Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.



Why there are times the Bible makes Hell and the Lake of Fire sound the same
Jesus will sometimes use the same descriptions in his references to both the current holding place and final place of judgment for unbelievers.  One of those images is that of a stinking place where the fire burns and the worm dies not.  This intense imagery utilized a well-known trash dump outside the city limits of First century Jerusalem known as "Gehenna".  It was a constantly burning place where people would dump trash, dead bodies and sanitation waste.  Worms and maggots would crawl through the flame scorched, smoke intoxicating trash heaps, lending further to the real-life imagery.  In fact this place had been around for centuries and had been also the site of human sacrifices in the Old Testament times.  Jesus of course alludes to this in passages such as Mark 9:44.  Quite frankly these references by Jesus could be used to describe the current holding place and the future final place of the condemned, being that the former will be cast into the latter.  (Revelation 20:14)

The first mention of the Lake of Fire
The Lake of Fire imagery of course invokes the vision of Daniel in Daniel 7:9-11 “I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. 10“A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him;  Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;  The court sat, and the books were opened. 11“Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire."

This worst of all places reveals ever more the urgency and greatness of the Gospel
Whenever we look at the most well-known passage of John 3:16, we should see even more how marvelous of a passage it is.  Not only is the promise of "not perishing" referring to faith in Jesus Christ as providing immunity from the wrath of God suffered in the current holding place of Hell, but also from the worse place of judgment - the Lake of Fire. 

Let the reader think back over the past couple of days in which we have covered the fairness of hell and the problems that can arise if Christians deny the doctrine.  Those arguments apply even moreso to this biblical teaching on the lake of fire.  

We should as Christians have a greater burden to see our loved ones, neighbors and co-workers won to saving faith in Christ.  As Christians, we should also be humbled and ever more thankful to the fact that God in His love and mercy decided to extend saving grace to us, to send His Son and to Sovereignly have His Spirit convict sinners such as us to freely believe on Jesus Christ.    May we go and tell others about Jesus Christ, so that they may believe and escape the wrath of God that is already on them, and that is coming. (John 3:36; 1 Thessalonians 1:10)


 
 

 

Why Hell is fair

Romans 9:14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!

We most recently looked at seven major problems that can arise when one denies the existence of hell.  Today we want to deal with an even more difficult issue: the fairness of hell. Jesus' account of the Rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 helps us to understand the difficult, but nonetheless true teaching about hell. Most of the blog today will be interacting with that text.

IS HELL TOO SEVERE OF A PUNISHMENT?

When we see the attitudes and words of this rich man in Luke 16, we can say with sadness that he got what he deserved. A brief study of that text yields to us three traits of not only that rich man but all of those who are currently suffering in Hell:

1. The rich man remained unrepentant. Luke 16:24
He wanted relief, he wanted comfort, however he was neither repentant nor did he confess any wrongdoing to God.

2. The rich man had re-occurring memories. Luke 16:25
Father Abraham reminds the rich man of how good he had it when he was on the earth.  The rich man furthermore still recalls his brothers' and father’s house.

3. The rich man still is rejecting God’s word. Luke 16:30
Just as he had done while on earth, he does all the more in Hell – namely reject God;s Word.  At Abraham’s statement about the Law and Prophets the Rich man screams out “No!”.  The rich man is still manufacturing his own version of salvation to prevent his brothers from coming to hell.    

We can say with sadness that the rich man is not repentant and that he is getting justice.  However many will ask: is it too much? is the punishment too severe? Consider the thoughts below:

 
1. Consider the Nature of the Offended
To deny the fairness of hell as punishment, as well as its eternal duration, is to not grasp the nature of the sinner's offense against God.  We have got to remember that all sin is ultimately an assault on God’s very character and reputation.   

Whenever an adult experiences a crime, society has set certain laws and punishment for the offender.  However have you ever noticed when a crime is committed against a child how society demands stricter punishment? Why?  Because the nature of the child is that of innocence, and the injustice is understood to be more offensive due to the nature of the child.  Think about God.  He is infinite and infinitely Holy. When we look at the concept of justice and punishment, the punishment of the offender always fits the nature of the offense committed against the offended.
 
 2. The nature of the offended party determines the nature of the punishment
If the offended party is a finite creature, then a finite punishment would be warranted. However, God is not finite, but infinite. To do violence to His reputation in any form is sin. Being that His reputation (His glory) is without limit, then any attack against Him is regarded an infinite attack. Humanity’s problem is two-fold – we minimize the enormity of sin and minimize the being and character of God. 

3. God is Just and Loving
Romans 9:22-23 reveals that it will take eternity to put on display the glory of God's justice and mercy. Heaven was created for the redeemed, since God through them will be displaying the glory of His mercy. Hell was created for the devil and his angels.  All of those who follow the enemy and die without Christ will end up there as well. Thus God will be displaying the glory of His justice for all eternity. So when we consider those three points above, we can only conclude that in light of the attack that sin is on God's infinite Holy character, Hell, sadly but truly, is not an unfair punishment.

IF THERE WAS NO HELL, WE WOULD NEVER KNOW IF GOD WAS A GOD OF JUSTICE When Christ suffered on the cross, He suffered God's wrath in the place of all who would ever believe on Him. He also suffered in the place of the rest of humanity to give them space and time for repentance - thus Christ's death in the historical sense was for all men.  In the eternal sense His death is to be applied to all who would ever believe. Thus God displayed His justice and grace in the cross. For those who die rejecting Christ, they will suffer in hell because they never took advantage of the grace poured out at the cross. (John 3:36) Thus as difficult as the doctrine of hell is, without it we could never say God is Just and fair. In order for God to be a good God, He has to be a Just and Loving God.

Four more big problems in denying Hell's reality

Mark 9:43 "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire"

Yesterday we consider three big problems that can arise if we deny the existence of Hell, namely we would have to deny: God’s Justice, God’s Love and the Cross.  I’ll admit the difficulty of writing of these particular blogs, since thinking on the subject of eternal punishment causes grief over the destiny of those who die without Christ.   With that said, the doctrine of hell and eternal judgment has the positive effect of making the Christian be more greatful for their salvation.  It is for that reason that we should warn loved ones and all people alike to escape the wrath of God and be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ.  In today’s blog we continue on discussing four more big problems that can arise from denying Hell’s reality. 

In other words, if we were to deny the reality of hell, what else would we have to deny?

1. To deny hell is to deny the need for missions
What is the primary burden of all missionary work? Be saved from the wrath of God, repent of your sins! In Matthew 3:7 John the Baptist states - "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Or how about 1 Thesslonians 1:10 "and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." (NIV)

The urgency of missions would be lost if we were to wholesale deny the existence of Hell. Look at other movements who have made such a decision. All mainline denominations who have went liberal in their theology - (meaning the denial of the supernatural, the miraculous and unseen aspects of the Christian faith - including the destiny of unbelievers) - are either doing very little or no missionary work. To not do missions is to disobey a fundamental command of the Lord Jesus Christ - the Great Comission of Matthew 28:18-20. To do that would be to deny what makes Christianity Christianity.

2. To deny Hell would be to deny the Bible's inerrancy
Jesus mentions Hell and its reality 17 times. As a biblical doctrine it is mentioned some 95 times. If Hell is not real, and is nothing more than a "state of mind" or "other people" or "me just having a bad day", then we would have to deny the Bible as being without error and without authority. Closely related to inerrancy is the Bible's infallibility - meaning its inability to lead anyone astray.  If the Bible is wrong on Hell, and if Hell is not a place, then the Bible is fallible - it is no better than any other religious book.  Jesus states in John 10:35 that the scripture cannot be broken - thus infallibility.  Proverbs 30:4-5 states that the Bible is pure - free from error.  You lose far more than you ever hope to gain if you deny the reality of hell. 

3. To Deny Hell would be to Deny the existence of Heaven
Heaven was created at the same time as earth. (Genesis 1:1). When Lucifer rebealled and led 1/3 of the angelic hosts astray, the Bible states that Hell was created originally for the Devil and his angels. (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 12:3-7).  From what we can discern, Lucifer's rebellion took place shortly after the creation week, meaning Hell was made separately.  This is a crucial point - since Genesis 1 states seven times that all that God made was "Good". 

Lucifer and some of the demonic hosts are roaming to and fro over the face of the earth, aggrevating and tormenting people. (1 Peter 5:8).  If Hell did not exist, what would become of the demonic realm and the future judgment of Satan?

The Bible indicates nowhere of Satan nor the demonic realm being restored or repenting. The current place called "Hell" is the holding place for unbelievers and some of the demonic realm who had rebelled. (2 Peter 2:4) Thus without hell and the even worse lake of fire spoken of in the book of Revelation, they would have to go somewhere.

Without a place to demonstrate the justice of God, in an ironic but true sense - the reality of Heaven would have to be denied. Think about it - Habakkuk 1:13 for example tells us that God cannot stand to look upon sin in His sight. Historically when Hell's existence has been denied, Christianity has become more centered on "this world" and less on "the world to come". The Eternal perspective that marks out true biblical Christianity is lost - reducing Christianity to another self-help philosophy to survive this life. The nineteenth century liberalism of Germany is a prime example of this fact.

4. To Deny Hell would be to Deny Human responsibility/free will
If all people, demons and Satan himself are going to be saved no matter what - then in reality our responsibility to repent and believe is nothing more than a mirage. In Rob Bell's book "Love Wins", he states that giving enough time - people will learn to love God, since His love for them will win them over. In attempting to assert the Sovereignty of God, Bells over plays his hand and ends up denying the biblical teaching of human responsibility.

In ways we may not fully comprehend, but nonetheless can know - the Bible asserts the compatibility and dual truths of Sovereignty and Human responsibility. If I deny Sovereignty - I have fallen into the ditch of proclaiming a message devoid of God's grace in the Gospel. If I deny human responsibility - I affirm fatalism, which teaches that man is but a chess piece on God's Chess board.

All who believe on Jesus Christ and go to heaven do so because of God's grace calling them and setting them free to choose Jesus. Whereas all of those who die and go to hell do so because of their freedom to reject. (Compare Acts 13:46-48).

Three big problems of denying hell's reality

Revelation 20:12-15 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

For the past couple of days we have been focusing on the doctrine of Hell, noting the man who went to hell (Korah, Numbers 16); the man suffering in hell (The Rich man, Luke 16) and the man who avoided it through faith in Jesus (The thief, Luke 23). The Bible clearly asserts its reality and awful nature.  In today's blog I want us to think about the consequences that denial of hell can have on core doctrines of the Christian faith. 

In other words, if we were to deny the reality of hell, what else would we have to deny?

1. To deny Hell is to deny the Justice of God.
The prophet Habakkuk says these words in Habakkuk 1:3-4 "Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me;  Strife exists and contention arises. 4Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted."  To deny the doctrine of final judgment or hell would mean denying final justice and judgment.

If there is no final way of judgment, then in the realm of this life, evil will truly prevail, and God's justice in the visible realm could never be upheld.  Without Hell, scriptures such as Psalm 89:14 would not be true: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You." Clearly if Justice is not fundamental to God's character, then there is no basis for objective morality nor truth. 

2. To deny Hell is to deny the love of God
This point may sound truly shocking, since many of those today who deny hell's existence claim that they are upholding the love of God.  Rob Bell, a one time evangelical pastor, shocked the world of Christianity earlier this year with his controversial book entitled "Love Wins".  In the book he proposes that in the end, God's love will triumph and all beings, even satan, will be saved.  That heresy, called "universalism", has been around since the second century of the church.  Ironically, when we deny the reality of hell and judgment, we also have to deny the love of God.

Consider the passage I quoted earlier, Psalm 89:14 - "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You."   The Bible clearly shows that because God is a Good and righteousness God, He is also fair.  Because He is a fair God, He knows what is proper to love.  Since He is a truthful God, He also knows what is proper not to love (i.e sin, injustice).  God's Wrath is not out of control anger as popularly believed.  Rather wrath is His holiness expressed negatively towards what is opposite of His goodness; whereas His love is His holiness expressed positively toward what He deems to be in allignment with His goodness.  If God loved everything, He would have to also love sin.  Hell, whether people like it or not, demonstrates the reality of God's justice.  Without Him being a Good and Just God, He could not also be the loving and fair God revealed in the Bible.

3. To deny Hell is to deny the need for the cross
Why did Jesus come to die?  To suffer the wrath of God and to save all those who would believe on Him from such wrath. (Romans 5:6-10).  On the cross, Jesus Christ bore the wrath of God, so that all who by grace through faith believe on Him would not have to.  Consider John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” 

If there were no such place as Hell, then we could simply conclude God was going to save everybody.  The meaning of the cross would radically change, since Christ's death would no longer be about fulfilling the demands of justice or prolonging the wrath of God.  John 3:16 would be emptied of it reality and truth.  The possibility of perishing would be nothing more than Divine saber rattling. 

Universalism, the belief that all creatures will be with God in eternity, including the unrepentant and the demonic realm, is an incoherent theology when it tries to proclaim the cross.  This is why all forms of universalism throughout church history have been deemed heretical.  This is why Universalism has never been considered true to the character and heart of of the Gospel.

I know that these truths are heavy - my own heart breaks at writing these blogs.  To think about all of those dying without Christ, and the reality of Hell, is no doubt difficult to imagine.  However to deny such truth leaves Christianity in far greater jeopardy than when we affirm it.  May we be spurred onto renewed urgency to share Christ with those who need Him. 

Meet the man who avoided hell

Luke 23:33  When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

The last guy you would expect to see going to Heaven
For the past two days we have looked closely at the doctrine of hell.  We have noted two men who went to hell and are still there: namely Korah from Numbers 16 and "The Rich Man" in Luke 16.  We noted that both of these men would had been regarded by many in their day as religious men or men of influence.  In both cases, they would had been the last guys you would expect to see in Hell. 

But now we are going to meet a third man, the thief on the cross.  Of all people, surely this guy is going to be in hell.  Indeed when we look at Matthew and Mark's account, no mention is made of this criminal talking to Jesus. However Luke gives us this touching portrait of God's grace working that day in the life of a man that would have no chance of ever giving back.  Crucifixion was reserved for the most vile offenders.  Yet the thief gives us a portrait of a man who avoided hell. 

How did the thief avoid hell?  Korah was a man of influence and religious position, yet by his rebellion and non-repentance he went to hell.  The rich man, also a man of influence, and perhaps considered by some to have had some measure of righteousness based upon his wealth, also died and went to hell.  Yet this thief, who had neither, was afforded access into Heaven.  How?  Consider the thoughts below:

1. The thief believed God's Word Luke 24:38-39
What had they written on the board above Jesus' head? "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS".  By fulfilling prophetic scripture, Jesus Christ indeed was the crucified King.  The soldiers mocking and the other thief's taunts were in response to the words written.  The Jews had begged Pilate earlier to take it down, but Pilate told them in John 19:22 "what I have written, I have written".  The repentant thief had a quite different response.  In seeing and hearing those words, which undoubtedly were part of sacred scripture, the thief's attitude was changed from one of ridicule to repentance. 

2. The thief was repentant  Luke 23:40-41
The thief states in Luke 23:41 "And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."  Only God's Sovereign grace could show this thief the awfulness of his own sin and the awesomeness of Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 2:25-26)  This thief repented, ignored the crowd and the other thief, and chose to look to Jesus.

3. The thief had faith in Jesus. Luke 23:41-42
What did the thief come to believe about Jesus?  That he was first of all without sin (verse 41). Second, that He was the King (verse 42)  Then thirdly, that He had the capacity to save Him, since He wanted to be remembered by Jesus (verse 42). 

4. He was justified by faith, thus gaining entry Luke 23:43
The declaration of Jesus: Today you will be with me in paradise" would not had been stated to a man who was still remaining guilty in the sight of God.  By grace through faith and repentance this man was declared fit to have entryway into heaven or paradise!  He avoided Hell by believing on Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins. 

Hell is avoidable through Jesus Christ
As we close out today's blog, I would urge my readers to consider all that we have covered these last couple of days.  In considering Korah, the rich man and the thief, my final challenge would be: Please don't go to hell.  Why?  Because scripture uses each of these men to demonstrate the following ideas:

1. Hell is the awful destination - compare Korah in Numbers 16
2. Hell is the awful place - compare the rich man in Luke 16
3. Hell is avoidable - compare the thief beside Jesus in Luke 23

The importance of Jesus' teaching on Hell

Luke 16:19-23 19“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20“And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.

Yesterday we looked at Korah, the man who went to hell.  Today we will meet a second man, called "the rich man" who is described being in hell.  Before we come to his story, let us first consider the New Testament teaching on Hell.

Jesus' Teaching on Hell
According to Dr. John MacArthur, Jesus teaches more on the subject of hell than the prophets, apostles and evangelists of scripture put together. (Ashamed of the Gospel, page 64).  In my own study of Jesus' teachings on various subjects, it is surprising to see how often he mentions "Hell" in comparison to other topics:

1. Heaven = 34 times
2. Salvation = 21 times 
3. Hell = 17 times
4. Love = 17 times
5. Money = 12 times
6. Prediction of his crucifixion = around 10 times
7. Not judging people = 3 times

Further study reveals Jesus' description of hell, which matches the Old Testament understanding but with far more detail:

1. Unquenchable Fire   Mark 9:43 compare Num 16:25; Ps106:17,18
2. Everlasting Fire        Matthew 18:18
3. Outer Darkness        Matthew 25:46
4. Gates of Hell             Matthew 16:18 compare Ps 9:13; Is 38:10
5. Place of conscious existence. Luke 16:25-28

6. Place of wailing, weeping and gnashing of teeth. Mt 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28

7. Place of constant burning and stench. Matt 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; Matt 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5

The Rich man in hell
With the full background of Jesus' teaching on Hell, we now come to Luke 16, which represents the fullest treatment on the physical sights and sounds of "hades", "sheol" or as the KJV renders "hell".  What can we note about this rich man in hell?

1. The rich man would had been unexpected in hell. 
In the Jewish culture, particularly the Pharisees to whom Jesus' was speaking, wealth was taken to be a sign that someone was right with God.  In fact, Luke 16:14 tells us that the Pharisees loved money, since it not only fit their desires but also was a big part of their theology of works righteousness.  To have a rich person in hell would had been offensive to the listener of Jesus' day.  We reading the text  may not be as surprised, since the Rich Man is described as living for himself and his pleasures, not evidencing any sign of ever having repented or believed on the Lord for His salvation.  Nonetheless, if we would had been listening to Jesus, knowing what we know of that culture, we would not had expected it as much.  Like Korah in Numbers 16, we could say the rich man would had been the last person we would had expected to end up in Hell.  It goes to show that only by grace through faith in Christ is a person saved from wrath, rather than one's social standing or supposed reputation among men.

2. The rich man was unrepentant. Luke 16:24
This rich man was in agony in the flames of hell.  He wanted comfort.  Just as he had lived his entire life in "joyous splendor everyday" (16:19), he was chiefly concerned about escaping the pain.  Contrary to what many may think, hell is not a place full of people regetting their rebellion against God.  In Revelation 16:9,11 and 21 we see God pouring out final wrath upon this earth, a "literal hell on earth" prior to Christ's return.  Unbelievers left on this planet actually curse God all the more, giving us insight into the fact that whatever the condition of unbelief in this life, it is only magnified in hell.

3. The rich man had re-occuring memories. Luke 16:25,28
Father Abraham reminds the rich man: "remember during your life".  The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to "his father's house, for he has five brothers".  The rich man's perpective on Lazarus as the "begger at his gate" had not changed.  In hell, the person refuses to change.  Ironically, the rich man is now the beggar and Lazarus is in comfort. (Luke 16:25)

4. The rich man rejects God's Word. Luke 16:30
As the rich man and Abraham continue to exchange words "across the gulf" fixed between them, the rich man begs Abraham to send warning to his brothers about the awfulness of hell.  Abraham states in Luke 16:29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ What does the rich man say? Luke 16:30 tells us -“But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’"   Notice how the rich man still believes his way to be better than God's Word. Furthermore, someone else needs to repent, however the rich man never expresses remorse over his unrepentance.  Sad indeed!

Why the doctrine of Hell is crucial for Christian consideration
As you read on into Luke 17, Jesus gives further warnings about being on our guard in our faithwalk and not stumbling.  In Luke 17:5 we read -  "The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
Hell is admittedly a disturbing doctrine, however for the Christian the doctrine of Hell is beneficial in the following ways:

1. It puts into sharp focus eternity and the need to trust in Christ.  It should raise the burden to get the gospel to as many people as possible. 

2. For the Christian, the doctrine of Hell has the positive benefit of helping us praise God for His grace and to rely ever more on such grace. 

3. I'm sure when the disciples heard this teaching they lost confidence in their own self-righteousness and leaned more on Christ their righteousness.  Only through Christ can I have confidence before the Just and Holy God. 

4. Only in Christ can I have the increased faith needed to overcome adversity and fear.  1 John 4:17 states - "By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world."

The man who went to hell

Numbers 16:1-3a "Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, 2and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3They assembled together against Moses and Aaron..."

Hell's description in the Old Testament
Numbers 16 stands out as one of the earliest mentions of Hell in the Bible.  In nearly 100 places God's Word mentions or refers to the reality and truth of this place.  In the Book of Numbers in particular we see references to the wrath of God's consuming fire in Numbers 11:1-3, as well as early references to the realm of the dead called "sheol" or "the grave" in Genesis 37:35.  However it is here in Numbers 16 that we see for the first time the bringing together of the basic elements that would define the Biblical definition of the place called "sheol" in the Hebrew Old Testament, "hades" in the New Testament Greek or "hell" as we see it translated most often.

God's revelation of scripture is progressive and unfolding.  We learn that in Genesis, the patriarchs used the word "sheol" to describe the realm of the Dead where they believed they would go.  The Patriarchs of Genesis were given the revelation of the resurrection and existence of the after-life. (Genesis 37:35; Hebrews 11:19) 

Its not until we come to Numbers that we understand the word to be used more specifically to refer to the destination of the wicked like Korah in Numbers 16. In both Numbers 16 and Deuteronomy 32:22, Isaiah 14:9 and Ezekiel 31:15 we understand that "sheol" or "Hades" as it is called in the New Testament is located somehow within the earth and is a place of continual fire.  According to Wilmington in "The Complete Book of Bible lists", hell is described by Isaiah 5:14 and Habakkuk 2:5 as a gaping, craving monster.  No doubt, Hell is an awful destination and place which finds even further description in the New Testament.  

The Man who went to Hell - Korah
As we go back to Numbers 16 we run across a man by the name of Korah who had organized a rebellion against Moses and Aaron.  From the testimony of scripture we can term Korah as the portrait of the man who went to hell.  Note his traits:






1. He was a religious leader  
Now Korah was no slouch when measured by the standards of men.  He was the great grandson of the patriarch Levi and first cousin to Moses according to the geneaology of Exodus 6:18-21.  Korah was listed among the first listing of the leaders and elders of Israel in Exodus 6:24.  He was of the priestly tribe and among those who served in the Tabernacle.  Korah's pedigree and prominence would had made his mutiny against Moses and Aaron an unexpected episode in the life of the nation.  Station in life and religious zeal does not make one right with God - as we shall see.

2. He was a rebel
Korah's true nature was going to be revealed as Numbers 16 unfolds the events of the attempted coup against Moses and God in Numbers 16:3.

3. He was repeatedly warned
I count no less than five times of Korah being warned by Moses that he has crossed the line with God.  In Numbers 16:5 he tells Korah that "God will show who is his, and who is holy".  In Numbers 16:7 we Moses' second statement, telling Korah and his band that "You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!"  The third indicator or warning to Korah comes in 16:11, where Moses questions Korah as to why he is rising up against Aaron.  This tells us that Korah had rejected the sacrificial system set up by God, since to reject the high priest is to reject the provision of blood sacrifice. 

The fourth event that should had warned Korah that he had gone too far was when Moses and Aaron both, in the hearing of the whole congregation, beg God not to destroy the people in Numbers 16:22.  Despite that compassionate plea, Korah and his band hung onto their "rights", rather than repenting.  The final warning event is found in Numbers 16:26-29, where the word of the Lord comes, telling everyone to step away from the "tents of wickedness" lest "the people be swept away in all their sin".  Korah had five chances to turn from His sin and confess his wrong doing, but he, along with his 250 cohorts "stood at their tents", holding their ground so to speak.

4. He rejected God's Word.
Korah's rebellion was characterized by his rejection of God's word through God's man.  He wanted what he wanted, when he wanted and how he wanted - the epitomy of a man centered on gratification of the self-life.  He along with his followers called evil good and good evil, by even referring to Egypt as the "land flowing with milk and Honey". (Numbers 16:13)  Despite the warnings and despite the space for repentance given by God, Korah would not recant nor retract.  Thus the sad consequence of hell would follow. 

5. Unrepentance unto death led to hell
Numbers 16:33 states - "33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly."  The earth literally opened up underneath Korah and all of those who had followed them.  The Bible states they literally fell alive into "sheol" or "hell". 

Jude 11a-13 tells of men like Korah and their current estate following death - ...."and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever."

Hell is a true reality that only Christ can save you from
Sadly Korah is right now alive, suffering in torment for His rejection of God's Word and refusal to repent.  He, like the false teachers of Jude's day, demonstrated they had never taken in Christ by grace through faith.  Hell is a place that is both dark and full of flames.  Contrary to what many may think, flames and darkness match the conditions of a major fire.  I've witnessed a massive fire in my time and know this to be true.  The fact that Korah had lived 1400 years prior to Jude, and was still described as being in Hell, tells us that in hell, the soul is very conscious and very much intact - awaiting judgment. 

Romans 5:8-9 states -  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him."