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Series Code: RAD
Program Code: RAD170016A
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00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty? 00:05 The book of Revelation provides hopeful answers 00:08 for today, tomorrow, and forever. 00:11 Join Mark Finley, author and world renowned speaker 00:15 on a journey into the future with, 00:17 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. 00:24 Welcome back to another episode in, 00:26 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. 00:28 One of the topics that baffles more people than any other 00:32 is the topic of hell. 00:34 How can a loving God burn people in hell 00:36 for millions and millions and trillions of years? 00:39 In fact, Robert Ingersoll, famed renowned atheist, 00:44 said that one of the reasons he was an atheist 00:46 is because he could never conceive of a God 00:49 who would burn people in hell. 00:51 And if that was the God the Bible presented, 00:54 then he certainly could never believe in that God 00:57 or never believe in the Bible. 00:58 The book of Revelation really clears up this subject of hell. 01:02 It may seem a little confusing, but as we open the Scripture 01:05 today and as we study the book of Revelation, 01:09 you will see clearly God's plan for the future. 01:13 Let's pray. 01:14 Father in heaven, thank You so much for Your goodness, 01:18 thank You for Your grace. 01:19 Thank You that You are a much better God 01:22 than You're often portrayed to be. 01:25 Thank You for the picture of the loving God 01:27 that the book of Revelation reveals. 01:29 Help us to understand it clearly in this presentation. 01:33 In Christ's name, amen. 01:36 My topic is, Revelation's Lake of Fire. 01:41 Have you ever visited hell? 01:44 You say, "What are you talking about?" 01:46 Thousands of people visit hell every single year. 01:51 Now they don't stay very long because it's so hot 01:54 and it's such a desolate place. 01:57 What am I talking about? 01:59 There is a place called, Hell. 02:01 It's on the Cayman Islands. 02:02 Now the Cayman Islands are incredibly beautiful. 02:04 Sandy beaches, magnificent turquoise water, sunny skies. 02:10 But on the west end of the Caymans 02:12 there is a place called, Hell. 02:15 It's a limestone foundation that has interacted with the 02:19 sea and the algae. 02:20 And as you go to that location it really looks like 02:24 what some people have imagined hell. 02:27 How did it get its name? 02:29 Well, we're not 100% sure. 02:31 But many people, as they visited that place, said, 02:34 "My, this is what hell must look like." 02:38 There's actually a billboard that welcomes you to Hell. 02:43 And Hell has a Post Office there. 02:45 And there is a little shop where you can buy curios. 02:50 And there is somebody dressed, can you believe it, 02:54 like Satan that is there. 02:56 And you can send a postcard from Hell to your loved ones. 03:01 You know, we kind of smile about this location 03:05 and joke about it a little bit, but the subject of hell is 03:08 really a serious subject. 03:09 It troubles a lot of people. 03:16 What is hell? 03:17 Are there people burning in hell now? 03:19 Or what is this lake of fire that the Bible talks about? 03:24 Are there people there in that lake of fire 03:26 screaming and crying out because they're being so tormented 03:31 and in such pain? 03:33 What does the Bible actually teach about the subject of hell? 03:37 Many people misunderstand this subject, 03:39 and so they picture God as a wrathful tyrant, 03:43 picture God as a vindictive judge. 03:46 Let's review what we've been studying 03:49 in the book of Revelation. 03:51 Revelation 20:9 says this, speaking about the 03:55 end of the thousand years, speaking about the 03:57 end of the millennial period. 03:59 Talking about Satan and he marshals 04:02 the legions of the lost. 04:04 And they go up to the city, and the Scripture says... 04:14 Now as they do this, the Bible says fire came down 04:17 from God out of heaven and devoured them. 04:19 Well what are the sequence of events that have led up 04:24 until this particular point? 04:27 You remember that the Bible teaches that 04:29 Christ will come again. 04:31 Every eye will see Him. 04:33 Every ear will hear it. 04:35 The coming of Jesus is the most glorious event 04:39 in human history. 04:40 Once Christ comes, that will lead to a sequence of events. 04:45 The earth will be destroyed by the 04:47 brightness of Christ's coming. 04:49 This earth will be desolate. 04:52 As this sequence of events takes place at the end 04:56 of the thousand years, during the thousand years 04:58 the one that is here is the devil and his angels, 05:00 but at the end of the thousand years 05:03 the holy city will descend. 05:15 Now this picture is a very important one to understand 05:18 to understand hell. 05:19 We're at the end of the thousand years. 05:21 The holy city descends out of heaven. 05:24 Satan and the legions of the lost and all the 05:27 wicked of the ages rush up and try to take that city. 05:31 As they do, the Bible is very clear, it says... 05:41 So here's the first thing to notice. 05:43 The fires of hell are not some hot spot burning in 05:48 the center of the earth. 05:50 The fires of hell come down from God out of heaven. 05:53 The second thing to notice is that they are devoured. 05:57 They're consumed, they're burned up. 06:00 They don't burn forever and ever and ever. 06:02 But there is a third thing to notice 06:05 about these fires as well. 06:08 And that is that the fires of hell totally destroy 06:13 in something called, not the first death, 06:16 but the second death. 06:17 Let's look at it in Scripture. 06:26 How many resurrections are there? 06:27 There are two. 06:28 Remember John 5, the Bible says, verses 28-29... 06:33 "Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection." 06:37 It says, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming 06:41 which all that are in the graves will hear His voice; 06:45 those that have done good, to the resurrection of life, 06:48 those that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation." 06:51 So two resurrections: the resurrection of life, 06:53 the resurrection of damnation. 06:55 The first resurrection when Christ comes 06:57 is the resurrection of life. 06:59 "...over such the second death has no power." 07:02 So notice that expression, "the second death." 07:06 What is the second death? 07:09 All of us die a physical death, if Christ does not come, 07:13 as the result of the sinful nature of this world 07:18 and the sinful nature of humanity. 07:20 So we all die the first death. 07:23 If we die that first death but we're believers, 07:26 we're committed to Christ, we then will not 07:29 experience the second death. 07:32 So if you are born twice, you die once. 07:35 We are born physically, but then through Christ 07:39 we are born again. 07:40 We only die once. 07:41 If you are born once, you die twice. 07:45 If we are only born physically in this life 07:47 but not born again in Jesus, we die the physical death 07:51 but then we of course die the second death. 07:53 And the second death is an eternal death. 07:55 Now the Bible does not say that we die, and then if 08:01 we are unsaved we live in hell forever and ever 08:05 for millions and trillions and trillions of years. 08:07 We'll speak about "forever" later. 08:08 But it talks about this second death. 08:10 And death is the absence of life. 08:26 So death is the absence of life. 08:28 When we experience the second death, 08:31 or the wicked experience the second death, 08:33 they are consumed and gone forever. 08:37 The Bible is very clear. 08:39 The devil and evil angels and the unsaved 08:42 rush up to that city, fire comes down from God out of heaven 08:45 and devours them. 08:47 Now mark this point well. 08:49 Where are the devil and the evil angels and the wicked destroyed? 08:54 On this earth. 08:56 That's what the Bible says. 08:58 The holy city comes down, they rush up to take it, 09:01 they are consumed on this earth. 09:04 So if what some people believed really were true, 09:08 if that really were true, then hell would be burning 09:12 on the earth. 09:14 Do you believe that God knows everything, 09:17 that He's omniscient? 09:19 Is He? 09:20 Then in His mind He would always have 09:23 those being burned present. 09:26 Do you believe God is omnipresent? 09:28 That means God is everywhere. 09:30 If you believe that, then you would believe 09:33 that if this wicked are burning on the earth 09:36 that God would in some way be present there. 09:40 Do you think sometimes we are going to be flying over 09:43 a part of the new earth after God has created it 09:46 and we kind of smell smoke and we hear screams, 09:49 and we say to God, "What's that, God, what's that?" 09:52 "Oh, that's a place I didn't want to tell you anything about. 09:54 That's hell, and it's kind of burning here." 09:56 You know, that is inconceivable. 09:58 It's inconceivable to the human mind 10:00 that a loving God would torment people 10:03 for millions and millions and millions of years in hell. 10:07 It's incompatible with God's love, 10:10 and certainly incompatible with God's justice. 10:13 It certainly is incompatible to the rational mind 10:17 that there would be a part of earth renewed, 10:20 because then the earth certainly couldn't be made new. 10:23 It would be old with hell on it and sin still existing. 10:27 God's plan is to fully devour, fully consume, 10:31 do away with sin forever. 10:32 Because the Bible says, Revelation 21:1... 10:43 Out of the ashes of this old world, God creates a new world. 10:49 Out of the ashes of this old world, 10:51 God makes this world over again. 10:54 The Bible says, Revelation 21:4... 11:04 Every tear from our eyes are going to be wiped away. 11:08 All of the crying is going to be gone. 11:11 So no crying out in agony from hell. 11:14 No tears of sorrow about ones we think are burning there. 11:20 Rather, God explains to us why He could 11:23 never bring them into heaven. 11:24 He explains to us very clearly why they are lost 11:28 because of their own choices. 11:29 He explains that He's done everything He could 11:32 to save them. 11:34 They are devoured, consumed, and gone 11:36 by the fiery presence of God. 11:39 And then God wipes away any painful memories from our mind. 11:46 Now notice this. The former things are what? 11:48 Passed away. 11:50 So everything that has to do with 11:52 sorrow and sin and suffering, 11:55 everything that has to do with evil and wickedness is gone. 12:00 It's passed away forever and ever and ever. 12:21 Certainly not. 12:23 And God wouldn't want to torment His worst enemy 12:26 for trillions of years either. 12:29 God is a God of justice, a God of love, and a God of mercy. 12:33 Now many evangelical Christians are coming to this conclusion. 12:38 John Stott was one of the foremost English evangelicals. 12:43 Preached in All Souls church in London for many, many years. 12:48 And John Stott, highly respected theologian, 12:52 evangelical theologian, came to the conclusion 12:56 from his study of the Bible, from his reason, 12:59 that a God of love would not torment sinners in hell 13:03 for millions of years. 13:05 And Stott wrote about the total annihilation of the wicked. 13:09 That they were gone, consumed, burned up. 13:12 Edward Fudge was a lawyer. 13:15 And he studied Scripture. 13:18 He also was a theologian. 13:21 Went to Florida Bible College and Abilene Christian. 13:26 And as this Bible scholar, 13:31 as this Bible scholar with the mind of an attorney 13:35 began to research the subject of hell, 13:38 he wrote the book, The Fire That Consumes: 13:41 A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine 13:45 of Final Punishment. 13:46 It probably is one of the most complete treaties 13:50 on the destruction of the wicked ever published. 13:54 It has extensive exhaustive research. 13:58 Looking at all the text in the Bible, looking at history, 14:02 looking at the background of the doctrine. 14:04 And Fudge came up with the clear conclusion 14:08 that hell is not some hot spot in the center of the earth, 14:12 but that hell has to do with the fires of God 14:17 that completely consume and annihilate the wicked. 14:31 It is unclear that in the Bible, so totally unclear 14:38 that God would ever, ever burn people for trillions of years. 14:41 But that leads us to questions about hell. 14:44 For example, it leads us to this particular question. 15:03 Well, let's look at what Scripture says. 15:15 So in other words, the day is not here. 15:17 Hell is not some hot spot in the center of the earth. 15:26 The Scripture says... 15:28 "And the day which is coming..." Future. 15:33 So the Bible teaches that they'll be burned up. 15:37 They'll be consumed. 15:38 It says the day is coming, not that the day is here. 15:44 2 Peter 3:7 adds... 15:52 Now catch this. 15:56 If they are reserved for fire, they are not burning now. 16:01 Hell is not burning now. 16:02 Until when? 16:10 So put these two text together. 16:11 Malachi 4:1, the day is coming that they'll be burned up. 16:15 Future. 16:16 2 Peter 3:7, those in perdition, the wicked, the lost, 16:22 will be reserved until the day of judgment. 16:27 The day of judgment, the day of final destruction of the wicked. 16:31 The Bible is very clear when it speaks about 16:34 how long hell lasts. 16:36 When somebody says, "Doesn't the Bible use 16:38 the expression, 'everlasting fire,' 16:41 'eternal fire', 'forever and ever'?" 16:44 I'm very glad you asked that. 16:46 As I lecture all over the world, I get those questions. 16:49 And if you read the Bible superficially, 16:52 you may come to the conclusion that hell 16:54 is a hot spot in the center of the earth, 16:56 people are burned forever. 16:57 But when you look at the context of each passage, 17:00 the depth of each passage, when you shed yourself 17:03 from tradition, and look at the Bible as it reads, 17:07 it becomes very, very clear. 17:09 Hebrews 12:29 says... 17:16 So wherever sin is found, God is a consuming fire. 17:20 Let's suppose that I have a clay pot. 17:24 And I take that clay pot and I put it out in the sun, 17:27 and that clay pot is soft, what's going to happen? 17:30 It's going to harden in the sun and it's going to be preserved 17:34 as a hardened clay pot. 17:36 What if I have a candle, a wax candle, 17:40 and I put that in the sun, what's going to happen? 17:42 It's going to melt. 17:44 So you have the same sun but a different reaction 17:47 with the pot and the candle. 17:50 You have the same God of love but a different reaction 17:54 with the saved and the lost. 17:55 When Christ comes, the saved are caught up 17:59 to meet Him in the sky. 18:01 They do not have combustible material in their body. 18:04 But as far as the wicked, the unsaved, 18:07 when they're resurrected at the end of the thousand years, 18:10 the fiery presence of God consumes them 18:15 because they have sin in their body, and sin is combustible. 18:18 That's why Malachi 4:3 goes on and says... 18:30 My mind can understand how God has tried to save people 18:34 down through the ages. 18:36 My mind can understand how a loving God has reached out 18:40 to men and women. 18:42 But that if they've rejected His love, turned their back 18:44 on His mercy, and spurned His grace, 18:47 that He cannot save them, that there's no way 18:49 He can bring them to heaven because they would 18:51 start the rebellion all over again. 18:53 But He does what a loving God must do. 18:57 In justice, He destroys sin. 18:59 He's given them the chance to live once. 19:02 They're consumed to ashes and they are gone. 19:05 Gone forever. 19:13 But rather, consumed and gone forever. 19:21 You know, the book of Isaiah calls this, God's strange act. 19:26 The book of Isaiah talks about the pain, the suffering, 19:30 in the heart of God when the wicked are destroyed. 19:34 And I can almost imagine God turning away with 19:37 tears in His eyes. 19:38 Because the same God that must destroy 19:42 the wicked has said this, 19:45 John 3:16, Jesus points out... 20:04 God does not want you, my friend, to perish. 20:08 God wants you to live forever. 20:10 He wants to give you life with a quality 20:13 that goes on and on and on. 20:26 The hallmark of heaven is unselfishness. 20:30 The hallmark of heaven is love. 20:33 And if God would bring selfish people into heaven, 20:37 why they'd probably start digging up the streets of gold 20:40 again, wouldn't they? 20:41 They would probably climb over the walls of heaven 20:44 and try to rob the New Jerusalem. 20:48 They would be creating anger and bitterness in heaven again. 20:52 So God cannot bring to heaven those who've rejected His love. 20:58 Because unselfish love cannot live with selfish hate. 21:04 As the result of that, God has given them 21:07 a chance to live once. 21:09 He's reached out in love to them. 21:11 He's convicted them by His Holy Spirit. 21:14 He's transformed their lives by tapping on their shoulders 21:19 and trying to lead them to Him. 21:21 He's done everything He can to bring transformation 21:24 to their lives. 21:26 He's touched them, He's moved on their hearts, 21:29 but they've rebelled, they've hardened their hearts. 21:32 And as the result of that, the only thing that a loving God 21:35 can do without jeopardizing the entire universe 21:39 and infecting it with the cancer of sin is to consume them 21:45 so they're gone forever. 21:46 They've lived once, and now they're gone. 21:49 Gone, gone forever. 21:50 But God wants you to live, my friend. 21:52 He wants you to have everlasting life. 21:55 The Bible is clear. 21:56 Psalm 37:20, it says... 22:13 So the Bible points out that they'll be destroyed, 22:16 that they'll perish, that they'll vanish away, 22:20 that they'll be consumed, that they indeed will be like ashes. 22:34 Somebody says, "I see these text about consumed, 22:39 vanishing, perishing, destroyed. 22:42 But I'm a little confused about, 'everlasting destruction', 22:45 'eternal fire'." 22:47 Let me give you some examples how the word, 22:49 "eternal," is used in the Bible. 22:51 It's used of Christ's act on the cross. 23:07 When did Christ obtain redemption for us? 23:11 On the cross. 23:13 Is eternal redemption Christ staying on the cross 23:18 forever and ever? 23:19 Not at all. 23:21 The effects of Calvary echo and re-echo down the ages. 23:26 They are eternal. 23:28 It's not that His act on the cross is eternal, 23:31 that He stays there with the nails through His hands forever. 23:34 It is rather that the effect of the cross is eternal. 23:39 In Hebrews 6:2 the Bible says... 23:52 What's eternal judgment? 23:53 Does God judge us throughout all eternity? 23:56 Is that what eternal judgment is? 23:59 Not at all. 24:08 So when the Bible talks about an eternal or everlasting fire, 24:12 it's not that the fire lasts forever. 24:15 When He talks about everlasting destruction, 24:17 it's not that the act of destruction lasts forever. 24:21 When He talks about everlasting punishment, 24:23 it's not that the punishment lasts forever. 24:25 It's that its effects lasts forever. 24:28 They never need to be repeated. 24:29 A good example of this is Job, there in verse 7. 24:34 Job, of course... Rather, Jude and verse 7. 24:37 Jude only has, of course, one chapter. 25:00 Did you notice that expression? 25:02 How were Sodom and Gomorrah burned? 25:06 What were they burned with? 25:08 They were burned with fire that came down God out of heaven. 25:11 Just as the wicked will be burned with fire 25:13 that comes down from God out of heaven. 25:15 But they were burned, according to the Bible, 25:18 with an eternal fire. 25:21 Are Sodom and Gomorrah, those two twin cities, 25:24 are they still burning? 25:26 You know, once I was lecturing on Sodom and Gomorrah, 25:28 and I said, "Does anybody know who Sodom and Gomorrah are?" 25:31 Somebody raised their hand and said, 25:33 "Oh yeah, they're two twin sisters." 25:35 I said, "Well not quite. They were two twin cities." 25:39 And they were wicked cities 25:40 living there in Old Testament times. 25:43 And they were consumed in the days of 25:46 Scripture; Lot, Abraham. 25:49 They were consumed with an eternal fire. 25:51 Are they still burning? No they're not. 25:53 In fact, their remains or ruins are along 25:55 or underneath the Dead Sea. 25:58 So what is an eternal fire? 26:00 It's one that its effects are forever. 26:08 Not that it's ever, ever continually burning. 26:11 In Matthew 25:45-46 Jesus says... 26:34 Somebody said, "There it is, Pastor Mark. 26:37 Everlasting punishment. 26:39 That's what's going to happen to them." 26:41 But notice what it does not say. 26:44 It does not say, "everlasting punishing." 26:53 Everlasting punishing would be a continual state of punishment 26:57 moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, 27:00 down through the ages. 27:02 But everlasting punishment is one punishment 27:05 that lasts forever. 27:07 They're burned up, they're consumed. 27:08 The act never need be done again. 27:11 In Philippians 3:18-19 the Bible makes it very plain what happens 27:17 to the enemies of the cross of Christ, 27:19 what happens to people that turn their back on Jesus. 27:28 That's whose final result is destruction. 27:31 Now it doesn't say that their end, their final result, 27:34 is this state of being burned 27:37 for millions and trillions of years. 27:39 Their end is destruction. 27:41 This word, "destruction," in fact... 27:46 Of course the New Testament was written in Greek. 27:57 So they are destroyed. 27:59 They're gone forever. 28:00 My mind can understand how a loving God 28:03 would have to destroy sin. 28:06 And those that cling to sin, those that hold on to sin, 28:10 must be destroyed with that sin. 28:14 But my mind could never understand how that loving God 28:18 would torment people forever and ever and ever. 28:23 That would be incompatible with both 28:26 God's love and God's justice. 28:30 The Bible says in Matthew 7:13... 28:37 Again, the very strong word, "destruction." 28:41 One that is totally destroyed, one that is totally annihilated. 28:47 What is the fate of the wicked? 28:50 You can read it again and again and again in the Bible. 28:56 Death is the absence of life. 29:05 Not live on forever. 29:09 Consumed, gone. 29:20 Not in a state pf pain, suffering, agony for eternity. 29:35 The Bible is very plain. 29:37 The Bible is very clear on the state of the wicked. 29:42 A loving God cries and weeps. 29:48 I think I hear God crying. 29:53 If you listen, you may hear Him crying too. 29:57 Satan rebels against God in heaven, 30:00 and God must cast Satan and the evil angels out of heaven. 30:04 I think I hear God crying. 30:07 He creates Adam and Eve on planet earth. 30:10 And Eve partakes of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, 30:13 and Adam partakes of it. 30:15 And they must leave the garden, and sin and sickness and 30:17 suffering come into the human race. 30:19 I think I hear God crying. 30:22 He raises up Israel. 30:23 They turn away and worship around the golden calf. 30:27 And I think I hear God crying. 30:30 God sends His Son. 30:33 And many reject Him. 30:35 And God weeps as Jesus hangs on the cross. 30:38 And God sends His Holy Spirit down through the ages 30:42 to men and women. 30:43 He sends angels to bring light and truth. 30:46 And there's a battle between good and evil, 30:48 and Christ and Satan. 30:51 In the last days of earth's history God invites 30:53 men and women to come to Him and worship Him. 30:55 But many turn away. 30:58 And in the final analysis, the wicked are ultimately 31:02 completely destroyed. 31:05 And I think there must be a tear in God's eye. 31:08 But He can do nothing else but eradicate the world of sin. 31:21 Those that have clung to evil and sided with Satan 31:25 will be destroyed. 31:27 Because the Bible says in Matthew 10:28... 31:35 What is the soul? It's the life of the individual. 31:43 So hell is so hot it burns up, consumes, both soul and body. 31:51 One person said to me one time, 31:52 "Pastor, you don't believe in hell, do you?" 31:54 I said, "Well, I actually believe in a hell that's 31:57 hotter than the hell you believe in." 31:59 They said, "What do you mean?" 32:00 I said, "Well, the hell you believe in just torments people. 32:03 The hell that the Bible teaches and that I believe in 32:05 is so hot it consumes them, it burns them up." 32:07 As Jesus said, it destroys. 32:10 Destroys totally, absolutely, completely. 32:13 Soul and body in hell. 32:16 They are consumed, they're annihilated, they're burned up. 32:22 If a fire is unquenchable, 32:24 doesn't that mean it goes on forever? 32:34 Now don't misunderstand this. 32:37 Jesus is not saying, cut off your arm 32:40 if you've stolen something. 32:42 He is rather saying, if you compare your arm to eternity, 32:47 eternity is much better. 32:49 So cut out of your life the thing that you have been doing 32:54 that would cause you to lose eternity. 32:56 It's a symbolic expression. 32:59 When you come to the next phrase it's a symbolic expression. 33:02 Just like you're not going to cut off your hand, it says... 33:15 In other words, what's it talking about when it says, 33:17 the worm doesn't die? 33:19 It's a contrast picture. 33:21 The person does die. 33:23 The person is consumed. 33:25 The person is burned up. 33:27 But it's a contrast picture that gives you. 33:30 At the end of the thousand years the fire comes down, 33:34 the people are destroyed totally. 33:37 And it says there, the fire that is not quenched. 33:42 What is an unquenchable fire? 33:47 Have you ever seen a headline in the newspaper 33:50 that says, "The fire trucks came. 33:54 The fire was blazing. 33:56 It was an unquenchable fire. 33:58 Too hot for the fire trucks to put out." 34:01 It burned up everything it had to burn up. 34:06 Jeremiah 17:27 34:11 That's in the gates of Jerusalem. 34:18 When Jerusalem was destroyed, what kind of fire burned it up? 34:23 What does the Bible say? 34:25 Do you see it there in the text? 34:27 What kind of fire? 34:28 That's it. It was an unquenchable fire. 34:31 Well is Jerusalem still burning right now 34:34 from that unquenchable fire where it was burned 34:37 back in the days of Scripture? 34:40 Certainly not. 34:41 An unquenchable fire is one that no human hands can put out. 34:45 No fire engines can put it out. 34:47 No water buckets can put it out. 34:49 It's an unquenchable fire. 34:51 It burns itself out when it consumes everything 34:55 there is to be burned. 34:58 So the unquenchable fire at the end is 35:01 one that consumes totally. 35:03 And out of the ashes of this old world 35:08 God makes a new world. 35:10 Jerusalem, the city of Christ, is not burning now. 35:16 The unquenchable fire that was burning when it was destroyed 35:22 in Old Testament periods, that unquenchable fire 35:25 has long been gone and a new city has been built. 35:28 Jesus, out of the ashes of the old world, 35:31 will develop a complete restoration. 35:35 This world will be restored into its Edenic splendor. 35:40 Nothing to bring pain, nothing to bring sorrow, 35:44 nothing to bring disappointment, nothing to bring tears, 35:49 nothing to bring heartache. 35:51 This world will be restored in its Edenic splendor. 35:55 Now somebody says... 35:59 "Pastor Mark, that is one that really, really troubles me. 36:04 That's one that really, really bothers me. 36:07 I don't see how... I can see these other text. 36:10 But I can't understand this one about forever and ever." 36:14 When you're studying the Bible there's a couple of things to 36:17 keep really in mind. 36:18 One is that the Scripture can't be broken. 36:21 So the Bible is not going to contradict itself. 36:23 The Bible is not going to say the wicked perish, 36:26 the wicked are consumed, the wicked are turned to ashes, 36:29 fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them, 36:33 the Bible is not going to give you all these text, 36:35 more than a hundred text, on the annihilation of the wicked 36:38 and then throw in one text and say, "Oh I'm going to 36:41 throw out these hundred text and accept this one text." 36:44 Not at all. 36:46 So we need to look at this expression, "forever and ever," 36:48 and try to discover what it means. 36:50 Revelation 14:10 says... 37:05 When does this event take place? 37:08 When is this really the description of? 37:16 At the end of the thousand years the wicked are destroyed. 37:20 The smoke rises up until the end of that age. 37:27 In fact, in the Greek language, the language of the 37:30 New Testament, the expression, "forever and ever," is, 37:33 "aionas ton aionon," which simply means, 37:35 until the end of the age. 37:37 So at the end of the earth age God recreates a new heaven 37:44 and a new earth; Revelation 21. 37:48 And in that new heaven and new earth 37:51 all of the suffering and heartache are gone. 37:54 So when you read Revelation 20 where it says 37:59 the smoke rises up forever and ever, 38:00 and Revelation 19, it's introducing the idea 38:04 that this world, the age of this world, will be over 38:08 and sin and wickedness will be over, 38:11 and God will create a new world. 38:12 The expression, "forever," doesn't mean endless 38:17 existence necessarily. 38:25 Let me give you a couple of examples of that. 38:33 It's talking about a slave. 38:43 "Awl;" that's a sharp instrument. 38:47 So when the slave would serve the master forever, 38:51 how long would that be? 38:53 Would it be through eternity? No. 38:54 As long as he lived. Until the end of his earth age. 38:59 You find that again in the book of Samuel, 1 Samuel 1:22. 39:05 It talks about Samuel being taken by his mother 39:08 to the temple. 39:15 Samuel in the temple forever? 39:18 Is he still there now? 39:19 But notice what the next phrase says. 39:28 So one phrase talks about forever. 39:32 The next phrase talks about as long as he lives. 39:37 So this expression, "forever," when it talks about the wicked, 39:42 the wicked are in the flames until the end of the age. 39:46 They're in the flames until they're totally consumed. 39:49 They're in the flames in the context of the statement 39:54 in Exodus 21 about the slave, that he would 39:57 serve his master forever. 39:58 In the context of 1 Samuel where Samuel would 40:02 be up before the Lord, the length there 40:04 by his mother forever; as long as he lives. 40:08 So the wicked are consumed with sin as long as they're able 40:13 to live in those flames. 40:16 They're totally consumed, they're burned up to ashes. 40:19 To the end of that age. 40:21 Now somebody often asks, what about the parable 40:25 of the rich man and Lazarus? 40:28 And I want to spend some time on this particular parable 40:31 because it's one of the most confusing parables 40:34 that many people will see in the Bible. 40:37 First, you either have to say this story of the rich man 40:42 and Lazarus is a literal story or it is a parable. 40:49 If it's a parable, it's designed to teach us lessons. 40:53 In Luke 15, you have three parables. 40:58 You have first the parable of the lost boy. 41:01 Or the lost sheep. 41:03 Then you have the parable of the lost coin. 41:05 Then you have the parable of the lost boy. 41:08 So you have three parables in Luke 15. 41:10 Then in Luke 16, you begin a series of parables 41:14 that are called, the certain man parables. 41:18 And you have two parables in Luke chapter 16. 41:22 The parable of the rich man and Lazarus 41:25 is the fifth parable in a row. 41:28 So that helps us to understand that indeed it's a parable. 41:33 Now let's relive that parable. 41:36 And Jesus begins to tell a story. 41:39 And He tells it something like this, 41:41 and I will modernize it in my own words. 41:44 He says, "Once upon a time there was a rich man. 41:49 And there was a very, very poor beggar. 41:53 And the beggar's name was Lazarus. 41:56 And he would just get crumbs from the rich man's table. 42:00 And they both died. 42:03 The rich man went to..." 42:06 And all the Jews were there, they were... 42:08 The Pharisees were there, they were elbowing themselves. 42:11 They're smiling, "We know where the rich man went. 42:13 He went up to heaven. 42:14 And we know where that poor man went. 42:16 He went down to torment. 42:18 We know that. 42:19 We know that because riches are a sign of God's favor. 42:22 Look how great we are." 42:24 And Jesus then reverses it. 42:27 He says, "Once upon a time there was a rich man 42:31 and a poor beggar. 42:34 And the rich man ended up in torment. 42:36 And the poor beggar ended up in eternity." 42:39 Wow! Jesus reverses it. 42:43 Now the story was a very popular one in the days of Jesus. 42:50 Because, you see, in the days of Jesus 42:52 the Jews had this story, this understanding, 42:56 they had this illustration that when a person died 43:00 he went down through this long tunnel. 43:02 And at the end of the tunnel, if he was righteous 43:05 he went to Abraham's bosom. 43:06 If he wasn't, he went to a place of torment. 43:09 And all the rich, all the aristocratic Jews, 43:13 they would go through that tunnel and they would go to 43:15 Abraham's bosom. 43:17 And all the poor, they would go to the place of torment. 43:21 This was a popular story. So what did Jesus do? 43:23 He took a popular story to illustrate some truths. 43:27 Now let's suppose this story is literal, 43:29 as some people want to think it is. 43:31 If it is, and you go to Abraham's bosom, 43:34 Abraham must have a very, very large bosom. 43:40 But there's something else about it. 43:42 If this story is true... 43:50 Because Lazarus is talking down there to that rich man. 43:55 And so, I mean, do you really believe that 43:58 people in hell and people in heaven can have conversations? 44:03 Do you actually believe that people in heaven 44:05 can see people in hell? 44:07 I mean, that would be really... 44:09 If you take this as literal, if you think there's problems 44:11 in taking it as a parable, there's much greater problems 44:14 in taking it as literal. 44:16 Because that means that souls, so-called souls... 44:20 We've already pointed out in this series that 44:22 death is but a sleep until the resurrection. 44:23 But if you take this as literal, it actually means that 44:26 souls down there in so-called hell, contrary to the Bible, 44:31 they have eyes, they have fingers, 44:34 that you can see them, that you can talk to them. 44:37 Because the description is, "Oh, come and 44:40 put some water on my tongue, because I'm 44:42 burning in this hot place." 44:43 So that really becomes nonsensical at all. 44:47 Souls would have to have fingers and eyes and tongues. 44:50 And if they do, why do you have a resurrection 44:52 at the end of a body? 44:54 It doesn't make sense. 44:55 So what are we talking about here? 44:58 We're not talking about conversations 45:00 between heaven and hell. 45:01 We're not talking about people in heaven seeing people in hell. 45:04 That would destroy heaven. 45:05 I mean, if you could look down there and see people 45:08 you interacted with in life, if you could look down there 45:10 and see people that were your relatives, your family, 45:14 your friends, a husband not saved, a wife not saved, 45:16 I mean, heaven would be terribly tormented. 45:20 You would be tormented in heaven because you would see those 45:22 people crying out in agony and screaming. 45:26 Jesus' way and His explanation of this parable 45:30 is much, much clearer. 45:32 See, Jesus used a popular story to share three eternal truths. 45:39 Eternal truth number one: 45:41 riches are not a sign of divine favor. 45:45 And poverty is not a sign of divine condemnation. 45:51 When you look at this story, Jesus is saying 45:56 that there are many who are poor who are faithful to God, 46:00 many who are poor that are committed to God. 46:02 And if you get riches by ill gain, 46:05 riches by selfishness and greed, 46:07 that is not a blessing of God at all. 46:11 The second lesson in this story. 46:13 You remember Lazarus and this rich man are 46:18 having this discussion. 46:19 And as they are, the rich man says, "Send somebody, 46:23 send somebody down here, down to earth, 46:30 to tell my brother so he won't come to this place." 46:34 And what does the Scripture say? 46:36 There's a great gulf fixed. 46:39 What's the second great lesson? 46:40 The second great lesson is there's no second chance. 46:43 The second great lesson is, make your decision for eternity 46:47 when you're in this life. 46:49 First lesson, riches are not a sign of God's favor necessarily. 46:53 They could be. 46:55 But if they're gotten with ill gain, they're not. 46:57 Poverty is not a sign of God's displeasure. 46:59 Many people are in circumstances. 47:02 Second lesson is this. 47:04 There's a great gulf fixed. 47:06 Make your decision now for all eternity. 47:09 Third lesson, was there ever a man named Lazarus? 47:16 Was there ever a real man named Lazarus? 47:19 Did Jesus raise a real man named Lazarus from the dead? 47:26 Did He? 47:27 And if He did, what about that man? 47:34 Did everybody accept him? 47:36 They didn't. 47:37 What did they do? 47:39 They tried to do what? 47:41 Kill him. 47:42 So what is the third lesson? 47:44 The third lesson is this. 47:48 Miracles are not a sign of God's divine favor necessarily. 47:54 If you reject the clear teachings of the Word of God, 47:58 if you reject the clear teachings of Scripture, 48:02 if you do that, miracles themselves are not a sign 48:08 that God is at work. 48:09 Can God work miracles? Yes. 48:11 Does God work miracles? Yes. 48:13 But merely because a miracle is worked 48:16 does not mean in any way, shape, or form that it's of God. 48:21 Because can the devil work miracles? 48:22 Can the devil make people sick and then heal them? 48:24 That's what Revelation says. 48:26 So three great lessons. 48:27 First, riches are not necessarily a sign 48:30 of God's favor, poverty is not a sign of His displeasure. 48:33 Secondly, there's a great gulf fixed 48:36 between this life and eternity. 48:39 Make your decision for Christ now. 48:41 Thirdly, don't place your faith in miracles 48:44 because the devil can counterfeit them. 48:47 The parable of the rich man and Lazarus 48:49 is not a literal description of hell. 48:51 God is using, Jesus is using a story, a story to illustrate 48:57 divine truths in a parabolic sequence. 48:59 And every detail of the parables is not necessarily 49:03 to be applied exactly. 49:05 People talking between heaven and hell: preposterous. 49:09 People in heaven seeing people in hell: preposterous. 49:12 The Bible says in Matthew 13:50... 49:20 In other words, they would be there suffering for a time 49:25 until they're totally consumed and burned up. 49:28 You remember when Jesus hung on Calvary's cross. 49:33 He bore all of the pain, all of the suffering. 49:37 He bore, in a sense, hell for us. 49:41 Because what is hell? 49:43 What's going on when there's weeping and gnashing of teeth? 49:46 What is that all about? 49:48 It is about this sense that the wicked sense that they 49:53 are going to be separated from God forever. 49:56 They sense that they could have lived, but they're gone forever. 49:59 They sense that they could have been one with Christ 50:02 and lived with Him for all eternity, 50:04 but they are lost, lost, lost forever. 50:08 And they have that conscious awareness. 50:11 You see, Christ on the cross said... 50:17 In other words, sin is so bad, sin is so horrible, 50:21 sin is so terrible, that it even tore the Son of God's heart 50:26 from the Father. 50:28 All Jesus could see was that sin and its condemnation. 50:34 But He bore hell for us. 50:36 Hebrews chapter 2 says He tasted death for every man. 50:39 Galatians 3:13 says Christ hung on the tree. 50:43 "Cursed is everyone that hangs upon the tree." 50:46 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "He who knew no sin 50:49 became sin for us." 50:51 He bore the pain, the suffering of hell 50:53 so you would not have to go through hell. 50:57 Ezekiel 18:23 says... 51:09 Jesus says to you, "I have no pleasure 51:11 in consuming the wicked. 51:13 Turn, turn, turn from your ways and live." 51:20 Jesus says, "I'm reaching out to you." 51:22 Jesus says, "I want to save you. 51:24 I love you more than you ever can recognize. 51:27 I bore all the pain, the suffering, 51:29 the condemnation of hell for you." 51:32 Jesus says, "Come, come. Come just as you are." 51:38 Come right now. 51:40 You need not be lost. 51:43 You need not be consumed in the last fires. 51:47 You need not perish, you need not be destroyed. 51:51 Jesus says, "Come." 51:53 Make your decision right now as Tim sings. 52:07 Come just as you are, 52:13 hear the Spirit call. 52:20 Come just as you are, 52:26 come and see, come receive; 52:32 come and live forever. 52:39 Come just as you are, 52:45 hear the Spirit call. 52:52 Come just as you are, 52:58 come and see, come receive; 53:04 come and live forever. 53:10 Life everlasting 53:16 and strength for today. 53:23 Taste the living water 53:29 and never thirst again. 53:34 Oh, won't you come and see, 53:39 come receive; 53:42 come and live forever. 53:47 You'll find life everlasting, 53:54 and you'll find strength for today. 54:01 Just taste this living water 54:08 and you'll never thirst again. 54:15 Jesus says come just as you are. 54:23 Don't you hear the Spirit call? 54:29 Come just as you are. 54:36 Come and see Christ my King. 54:42 Come and live forever more. 54:53 Come just as you are. 54:56 There is no other way to come. 55:00 The journey begins where you are. 55:04 In your home, watching this broadcast with friends, 55:11 the journey begins right where you are. 55:15 And Christ is reaching out to you at this moment. 55:19 In John 6:37, He says, "Him that cometh to Me 55:26 I will in no wise cast out." 55:30 We can come to Him with all of our sinfulness, 55:34 we can come with all of our weakness, 55:37 we can come with all of our folly, 55:41 we can come with all of our humanity, 55:45 and simply lay all of that at Jesus' feet 55:48 and say, "Jesus, take me. 55:51 Save me, for I cannot save myself. 55:55 Deliver me from my sinful habits because I cannot deliver myself. 56:01 Redeem me from this world because I cannot redeem myself." 56:07 Come, come just as you are. 56:12 Receive His grace. 56:14 He will pardon you. 56:16 You need not be lost. 56:18 You can be saved, saved forever. 56:22 You see, in the final analysis 56:24 there are only one of two choices. 56:26 We live forever with Christ in this amazing new world 56:32 where every talent is developed, where our minds are expanded. 56:39 Or we enter into that grave to be resurrected 56:43 in the second resurrection, to be consumed and gone forever. 56:48 Jesus wants you to live. 56:51 He wants you to live a meaningful life now. 56:55 And He wants you to live with Him for all eternity. 56:58 So come just as you are as we pray. 57:02 Father in heaven, we bow our heads just this moment 57:05 wherever we are. 57:06 We sense Your Spirit tugging at our hearts. 57:09 We hear Your voice speaking to our inmost being, 57:12 and we come. 57:14 We come, we come just as we are 57:17 to receive the gift of eternal life 57:19 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 57:21 Amen. 57:23 Thank you for joining us for, 57:25 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. |
Revised 2018-04-18