IS THERE REALLY A HELL – PART I

I have decided to address the question, “Is There Really a Hell?”  Keep in mind that these are my thoughts and views based on my reading of the Bible.  Part II next Sunday.

The Bible continually warns of a place called hell. There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. And over 70 of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ!

In Luke 16:22-28, Jesus Christ gives a frightening picture of hell:

 HELL IS A PLACE OF FIRE

The man in Luke 16:24 cries: “. I am tormented in this FLAME.”

In Matthew 13:42, Jesus says: “And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting FIRE,. . .”

Revelation 20:15 says, ” And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE.”

THE BIBLE GIVES THE LOCATION OF HELL

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, some biblical scholars say that He descended into hell. In Acts 2, Peter is speaking, verse 31,” . . . seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in HELL“

And in Matthew 12:40, Jesus Christ says:

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the HEART OF THE EARTH.

The Bible is clear — Hell is inside the earth!

Ephesians 4:9, says of Jesus: “Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH.”

“So far as we can tell from Scripture, the present hell, is somewhere in the heart of the earth itself. It is also called ‘the pit’ (Isa. 14:9, 15: Ezek. 32:18-21) and ‘the abyss’ (Rev. 9:2).

In Numbers 16, the Bible gives the account of people falling into hell alive!

“And THE EARTH OPENED HER MOUTH, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive INTO THE PIT, and the EARTH CLOSED UPON THEM:” Numbers 16:32-33

In Mark 9:46, Jesus Christ says about hell: “Where THEIR WORM dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

Jesus said explicitly — THEIR worm — not a worm, or the worm — but THEIR worm. The Bible teaches that Christians will one day have a body like the Lord Jesus Christ. Could it be, as some Bible students teach — that men and women in hell take on the form of their father, Satan (John 8:44)? In Revelation 12:3, Satan is described as a red dragon. Could Jesus Christ be referring to the body lost men and women will have for eternity?

Scientists recently discovered cracks on the ocean floor where fire was leaking out. Do you know what they found around these fire-breathing vents in the crust? Eight-foot long worms, found no other place in the world! The book, The Deep Sea, by Joseph Wallace (p.39), reads, “Perhaps the strangest of ocean creatures recently discovered are Riftia, the giant tube WORMS. Measuring up to 8 feet in length, the worms are ONLY FOUND NEAR DEEP SEA VENTS.”

And Jesus Christ said, “Where THEIR WORM dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

Look at the context and time period of Isaiah 66:22-24:

Isaiah 66:22-24:
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

The “new heavens and new earth” of Isaiah 66:22 matches Revelation 21:1. This occurs AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement of Revelation 20:10-15! The references to “carcasses”; “their worm”; “their fire” (vs 24) — is AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement of the LOST people! The reference to “. the men that have transgressed. . .” are the LOST people AFTER the Great White Throne Judgment.

And at this point — they have received their NEW BODY! Notice what Isaiah says, the saved people shall “LOOK upon the CARCASES of the men that have transgressed.”It’s worth mentioning that a “carcass” is not always a “DEAD body”. For instance, two times the Bible specifically uses the term “dead carcass” (Deut. 14:8 and Ezek 6:5). If a carcass is ALWAYS a “dead” body, then why say “dead” carcass? And there’s NOTHING in the context of Isaiah to imply these “men that transgressed” are “dead”.

In fact, Isaiah clearly says, “their worm shall NOT DIE“. Even in our language, we refer to a living body as a “carcass”. For example, “Get your carcass [body] in here”. Why is that important? Because when the saved people in Isaiah 66:24 are “looking upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed” — And do you know what they are SEEING? “Their worm”! The “carcass” they are seeing is “their WORM that shall not die”. The end of Isaiah 66:24 is a frightening endorsement of this interpretation. What the saved people are viewing Isaiah says is , “. . . an abhorring unto all flesh“. And my friend, that is not JUST a normal flesh body they are looking at! It is something that will send chills screaming through your soul at the horror. And it will happen!

Even though the world tries to extinguish the cries and reality of hell — the truth of hell echoes throughout our world. We desperately pretend to cover our ears and ignore the “screams, the weeping, the wailing, the gnashing of teeth” but it is there. . . And we know it. We refuse to accept such a place exists. But it is there. And we know it. Nothing we can do, nothing we can say, can erase the horror of hell from our minds.

If any non-believer desires to join the family of Christians and avoid Hell, the following is a suggested prayer.  All you have to do is to say a prayer similar to the following and you will be saved (see Romans 10:9).  If you make this decision, email me at rotay@verizon.net and let me know.  If you like, I can give you some information on what to do next.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I am sorry that I have sinned against you. I believe that you are the Son of God, that you died for my sins that I would have eternal life.  I invite you now to come into my life as my Lord and Savior.  Amen.

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