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“Lesson 10 - Eternal Destiny and Darkness”
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Lesson 10 – Eternal Destiny and Darkness
Introduction:
At Harvard Divinity School, theologian Gordon Kaufman researched over four centuries of the decline in the concepts of heaven and hell. “What is left,” he said, “is intellectually empty baggage. It seems to me we’ve gone through irreversible changes. I don’t think there can be any future in heaven and hell.”?1 Kaufman’s statement is amazing. God’s word clearly and decisively teaches that one place or the other will be our destiny once this life is over!
Either heaven or hell awaits. Pause for a moment and think about the last time you have heard preaching on or studied a Bible class lesson about the ultimate destiny of the unbeliever. Do you remember? Has it been a long time? We just don’t talk about outer darkness very much anymore. Maybe it is because it is uncomfortable. We are afraid that negative messages turn off seekers. Long acceptable in the most liberal of churches, there is now a growing number of individuals in conservative churches that believe the biblical concept of eternal punishment is outdated and not suitable for today’s audiences. Whatever the reason, our general avoidance of this topic is leading to consequences that are starting to take their toll. Research finds:
- One survey of evangelical seminary students revealed that almost half (46%) felt that preaching about hell to unbelievers is in “poor taste.”?2
- 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell.?3
- Half of Americans (50%) believe that all people are eventually saved or accepted by God no matter what they do, while 40% disagreed.?4
What if things progress to where a large majority of Americans no longer believe in hell? Will the facts change? “If every person on earth voted that there is no hell, it would not lower its temperature one degree. If there is a hell, then there is one, and what men and women believe does not change it. Missionaries in some hot climates have been unable to convince natives that ice exists. They just can’t believe that water can become so hard that a man could walk on it. Does this change the fact that ice exists?”?5 It matters very little what we think about hell. It is a very real place. Heaven or hell will be our eternal destiny once this life is completed. Paul wrote, He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek, Romans 2.6-10.
Actions have consequences. There will be a day of reckoning for every unrepentent sin. The choices we make in our attitude and behaviors will determine our eternal destiny. Jesus sternly warned, For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done, Matthew 16.27. He also said, Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few, Matthew 7.13-14. Which road are you on?
Today’s Cultural Attitude Toward Hell is the Work of Darkness.
There is a great spiritual war going on. It takes place every day inside the battlefield of our mind. Darkness constantly works to diminish the harshness of its reality. This has always been the case - in the spiritual realm and the physical. In the years leading up to World War II, the Nazi party worked tirelessly to instill pride in Germany, restore a shattered economy, and build good will with public works projects. The propaganda campaign was cleverly designed to shroud the evil going on behind the scenes. Hitler and his comrades were so successful that some Germans refused to see the reality of the Nazi darkness until being forced by General Eisenhower to walk through the concentration camps and see the carnage for themselves.
It is no different in the spiritual realm. Satan constantly distracts us with the cares of this world and whispers that death happens to everyone else but us. Think of how effective the forces of darkness have been inside our own culture over the last sixty years. Millions fall prey to the lie every day. For some, the realization of eternity comes only after stepping into it after an untimely death. Once we cross over, there is no turning back. There are no second chances. We see this with the rich man mentioned in Luke 16:19-31. In torment in hades (the waiting place of the dead until judgment), the man was very conscious and in torment. His thoughts drifted to his family who were still alive. He in no way wanted them to experience what he was. For him, There was only eternity ahead, forever separated from God.
Darkness constantly tells us not to think about or talk about death. While certainly not pleasant to dwell upon, it’s coming is a fact for every person. Someday, we will all die. It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, Hebrews 9.27. Not only are we all subject to it, it can touch us at any time. It might come at old age. It could come at mid-life or after a long illness. It could come in the midst of our sleep, a car wreck, walking down the street, or while on vacation. Wealth and power can’t stop it. Moral goodness can’t hold it back. It could come during the teen years or in the midst of childhood. But it will come. It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. For the living know that they will die, Ecclesiastes 9.2, 5a. If darkness can succeed in getting us to ignore the fact of our death, the greater its opportunity to lead us away from heaven. We must spend this life preparing for our death. Solomon said, The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil, Ecclesiastes 12.13-14.
Darkness says that it is OK to temporarily put off the spiritual in exchange for a few years of fun. How many of our young people get trapped in the thinking that says they can deal with salvation some point later in time? Satan says go out and get the best of what life has to offer, you deserve it. Darkness promises that there will be plenty of time for living for God later. For some, later never comes. Pick up today’s obituary section in your local paper. It is very likely that you can easily find a listing of someone who has recently died, unexpectedly, long before they ever imagined they would. Accidents happen. Evil abounds. Disease strikes. In a moment it can all change and the opportunity is eternally lost. Once a person makes a decision to put God off, it becomes easier at later points in the progression of life. Young married couples and college kids immerse themselves in a career and soon find their spiritual commitment derailed. I’ll come back to the Lord when we have children. I’m just too busy trying to get ahead right now. Then mid-life comes, then old age, and darkness still whispers, wait. Every day of life moves us closer to a great precipice. Are you ready to cross over? There is a great day coming! Don’t let darkness convince you that your life is anything but uncertain. Don’t let it dull your senses to the stinging reality of death.
Darkness has been particularly effective in lulling American Christians to sleep with an entertainment driven culture. Professional sports, college sports, high school, and youth league sports have become the new religion in America. Our country exalts its entertainment figures into icons and allows them to parade their immoral behavior in movies, music, and on television. Flags are lowered at half staff when celebrities who destroyed their life with illegal drugs die.?6 Millions are infatuated with finding fifteen minutes of fame on reality television. Sports and entertainment rule. It seems as if we live to be distracted from the realities that are all around and certain to come. “When we need to be dreaming, for the glory of Christ, about how to spend our lives alleviating ignorance, sickness, misery, and lostness, we are becoming more and more addicted to amusement.”?7 As a nation, Americans seem to be amusing themselves all the way to eternal damnation.
Darkness tricks us into watering down passages that warn us about the severity of God’s wrath. There is a very real teaching in Romans 11.22: Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. Here we learn about the goodness and the severity of God. We need to see both sides of the nature of God. See also Hebrews 10.26-31. Here the Hebrew writer speaks of:
- Fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries, 10.27.
- Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, 10.30b.
- It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, 10.31.
Many inside our culture would rather pretend that these verses do not exist. To them, God is more of a teddy bear than a righteous judge. Many would much rather view Him through the eyes of a soft and tender friend and ignore the fact that He will righteously punish the wicked with His fury and vengeance. We must not focus on one side of God to the exclusion of the other. We must be impressed with the fact that a loving and compassionate Father will still throw a rebellious sinner into hell! While He is love, 1 John 4.8, He will never tolerate unrighteousness, 2 Thessalonians 1.8-9.
Darkness is now working through influential religious leaders who teach their followers that hell is not eternal. In 2011, evangelical leader Rob Bell published the controversial book, Love Wins, and sold millions on his annihilation theory. Bell is not the first to change his belief on the eternalness of outer darkness. The idea of a non-eternal hell has been popular in the more liberal religious circles for the last century and a half. Now, the belief is finding itself more and more within churches of Christ. In early 2012, Ed Fudge will be releasing a movie on how his thoughts of this subject evolved.?8 In 2003, Nevada Publications posthumously released Homer Hailey’s book, God’s Judgments and Punishments, which promotes the annihilationist viewpoint. Over the next few decades, we should expect this doctrine to move more into the mainstream thinking of many New Testament Christians.
Some might be quick to dismiss the argument over eternal torture in hell as just another preacher squabble. We might be inclined to think, what does it really matter? I don’t want to experience eternal death period, whether it ends with the destruction of my soul or in unending, eternal torment. This is an important subject. It must not be ignored. The difference between believing in the doctrine of eternal suffering in hell and simply ceasing to exist could not be greater. What punishment is there in annihilation? Think of the countless people who have committed acts of genocide and evil who, rather than suffer through punishment and humiliation, seek their own death as an escape. When Saddam Hussein was captured in 2004, American and Iraqi soldiers constantly guarded him, making it impossible for him to cheat justice by committing suicide. Every knee will bow, Philippians 2.10, and every person will face God and give an account of himself to God, Romans 14.12. Those who stand condemned will not be able to escape the wrath of God in the fires of hell. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand, Revelation 6.15-17.”
What the Bible says about Outer Darkness.
When we examine the preaching of Jesus, we understand His first emphasis on God’s goodness and love. But Jesus was never embarrassed to warn of the reality and awfulness of hell. In eleven different scripture references, Jesus related this reality. In fact, most of what we know about hell and outer darkness comes from Jesus. He taught about it more than all other Biblical authors put together. If our Savior thought the matter was of such vital importance, we owe it to ourselves to come to a better understanding of God’s divine justice.
The awfulness of hell cannot be overstated. Jesus and His Apostles described it in this way:
- A place of eternal fire, Matthew 25.41, 46. Revelation 20.10 speaks of how the devil and his angels will be tormented forever, day and night. This is not annihilation, but sheer darkness filled with conscious, suffering beings.
- A place where an unquenchable fire exists, Matthew 13.42, 50; Mark 9.43-48. If souls will be burned up into a state of unconsciousness, why the need for an unquenchable fire? Perhaps one of the most terrifying passages in the entire Bible is found in Revelation 14.11: And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” If the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, they must be suffering throughout all eternity. A powerful contrast is seen in 14.13: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” The word rest in 14.11 and 14.13 is significant. Those who die in the Lord have rest from their labors. But, the beast worshippers have no rest day or night. Nowhere in Scripture do we find a promise of rest for the lost. Those who go to hell will experience continual, unceasing, and conscious torment.
- A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, Matthew 8.12; 13.42, 50; 22.13; 24.51; 25.30; Luke 13.28. These expressions are used to describe the mental anguish of utter sorrow and regret. In several of these passages, hell is presented as a furnace of fire that produces “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” There is no mention anywhere of instantaneous extinction. Imagine experiencing eternity and constantly living with the consequences of the bad choices made while in this life. Part of the torture associated with outer darkness is the continual remembrance and regret of one’s rejection of God.
- A place of outer darkness, Matthew 8.12; 22.13; 2 Peter 2.17; Jude 3. By using the term outer darkness, Jesus intended to communicate the complete and eternal separation from God. Extraction from this darkness will never happen. Those who wind up there will be in the ultimate hopeless situation. In Matthew 7.21-23; 25.41; and Luke 13.27 the word depart is used. Those who spend eternity in hell will continually experience the eternal pain of rejection, loneliness, and void of the blessings of God. There is no more terrifying statement one could hear than the one that Jesus will say to the condemned. Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, Matthew 25.41. Nothing is more important in this life than living in such a way to avoid such a condemnation. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul, Matthew 16.26.
Conclusion
Hell was never intended for man. God wishes that all persons be saved. Peter said, The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance, 2 Peter 3.9. While hell was designed for Satan and his angels, all who serve Satan will spend eternity there. All who reject God and live for themselves will be there, 1 Corinthians 6.9-11. All who refuse to obey the gospel will be there, 2 Thessalonians 1.7-9.
The good news is that no one has to go there. By the grace of God, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, we can escape the fires of hell and enjoy eternity in heaven. Don’t let darkness convince you that there is no future in heaven and hell. One or the other is our future and God wants us to spend eternity with Him!
Questions for Discussion
1. Why do we not like to talk about death or eternal punishment?
2. What are some ways Satan may be seeking to distract you from the reality of eternity?
3. Why is it so important to spend this life preparing for our death? See Ecclesiastes 12.13-14.
4. How can sports and entertainment lull us into spiritual sleep?
5. What does Romans 11.22 say about the nature of God?
6. Which side of God does popular culture focus on? Why?
7. Is the doctrinal disagreement over eternal punishment in hell an important issue? Why?
8. As you read the biblical description of hell, what scares you most?
9. Do the condemned have any promise of receiving rest from their punishment? Why or why not?
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1 Morgan, R. “Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories.”
2 Webster, A (2005). “If I Don’t Preach on Hell, Pt. 1). Glad Tidings of Good Things. Jacksonville Church of Christ, Jacksonville, AL: p. 2.
3 Keller, T. (2003) “The Importance of Hell.” Redeemer.com. Retrieved 02/16/2012 from http://www.redeemer.com/news_and_events/articles/the_importance_of_hell.html
4 Barna, G. (2011). “Top Trends of 2011: Changing Role of Christianity. The Barna Group. Retrieved 02/16/2012 from http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/543-top-trends-of-2011-changing-role-of-christianity?q=hell
5 Webster.
6 On February 18, 2012, the state of New Jersey ordered all flags in the state to be set at half mast in honor of singer Whitney Houston, who died on February 12, 2012.
7 Piper, J. (1998). “The Final Divide: Eternal Life or Eternal Death, Part 1.” Desiring God. Retrieved 02/17/2012 from http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/the-final-divide-eternal-life-or-eternal-wrath-part-1
8 View the trailer for “Hell and Mr. Fudge” at http://www.hellandmrfudge.com/
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