ETERNAL PUNISHMENT for those who REJECTS God's LOVE and MERCY, Reality of Hell!

INTRODUCTION: The existence of hell is irrefutably taught in the Scriptures. The nature of hell is obvious from the repeated references to everlasting punishment.

I.       Hell is referred to as everlasting fire, eternal fire, furnace of fire, everlasting destruction

and pit of the abyss.

A.   In the New Testament three Greed words were translated hell.

1.     Hades: This word indicates the unseen state.

2.     Geenna: This word derived its meaning from the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom which was a

pit where refuse was dumped and executed criminals were cast.

3.     Tartarus: This word indicates the deepest abyss of hell.

B.   Hell is located in the lower parts of the earth; it is a burning pit, and its depth is fathom-

less, Ezekiel 32:18; Revelation 9:2.

C.   Hell was originally created for the devil and his angels.

1.     It is an inescapable fact in the Scriptures that hell is a retributive place of judgment for all Christ rejectors, Matthew 25:41.

2.     Hell is being enlarged because there are many Christ rejectors in the world, Isaiah

5:14; Luke 13:3.

D.   Hell is the place of everlasting destruction. In Greek the word “destruction” means loss
        or ruin; it has no reference to extinction, II Thessalonians 1:8,9. 

E.   Hell is a place of everlasting punishment, Matthew 25:46.

II.    All Christ rejectors go into hell alive. 

A.   The only part of man that dies is his body; his soul and spirit cannot die; Christ rejectors go into hell alive, Psalm 55:15. 

B.   The trinity of man is very evident throughout the Word of God, I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12. 

1.     The body is the physical part of man.

2.     The soul is the seat of desires, emotions and feelings.

3.     The spirit is the discerning or perceptive part of man.

4.     When a man dies, the only part of him that “knows not anything” is his body,

Ecclesiastes 9:5.

III. All Christ rejectors go into hell, fully conscious, Luke 16:22-31. 

A.   The rich man died, was buried, and was conscious, being in torment, verses 23-26. 

B.   The rich man was concerned about his family and did not want them to come to this
        place of torment, verses 27-31. 
 

C.   There are those who make the fatal error in believing that this account in Luke is a

parable. This cannot be true because the use of proper names (Abraham and Lazarus) is never found in parables. 

D.   Notice that Lazarus also died, and the angels carried him into Abraham’s bosom, verse 22.

1.     Lazarus occupied a place of blessedness and honor with Abraham in paradise.
2. The rich man had seen Abraham and Lazarus a great distance away, but between
        him and them there was a great gulf fixed so that no one could pass over, verse 26.

 3.     Paradise, the place where Abraham and Lazarus were, is the place to which Jesus

had reference when He told the thief on the cross, “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise,” Luke 23:43.

4.     After Christ’s resurrection, paradise was transferred to the third Heaven, which is

the abode of God, II Corinthians 12:2-4.

IV.  Christ rejectors who are in hell speak and mock Satan when he is cast into the pit at the
         beginning of the millennium to be bound there a thousand years, Isaiah14:9,10,15-17; Revelation 20:1-3. 

A.   After the thousand years is ended, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire which is the
        final abode of those in hell, Revelation 20:10,15.

B.   With reference to those in hell, the Scriptures declare the exclusion of hope of restora-
        tion or of extinction, the punishment being eternal.

C.   It is not God’s will that anyone go to hell. God has taken great care to provide us the
        necessary means to escape this horrible place, II Peter 3:9; I Peter 2:24; Acts 17:30;
        Romans 10:13.