Participants: Charles Byrd (Host), Andrea Endries, Levi Longoria, Stephen Fowler
Series Code: THL
Program Code: THL000017
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00:01 The teachings of Jesus caused
00:02 a lot of Thunder in the Holy Land. 00:04 And His teachings about hell were no exception. 00:07 Today, His teachings are still misunderstood. 00:11 But after this study, I believe we'll not only 00:14 understand our Savior's teachings on hell. 00:18 But we'll also understand better how to study the Bible. 01:15 Everyone comes to the Bible with a method of thinking, 01:18 a frame of reference, a way of processing information, 01:21 we call this a bias. 01:25 Here's my first bias. 01:27 I believe that God does not lie. 01:30 This bias was informed by a doctrine of Jesus Himself. 01:34 He said in John 10:35 that 01:37 "Scripture cannot be broken or loosed or annulled." 01:42 You see, God "is a man of His word" 01:46 and He means what He says. 01:48 "For I am the Lord, I change not," Malachi tells us. 01:53 And in both Numbers and Titus, 01:55 the Bible tells us, "God, cannot lie." 01:59 And since Jesus is God, 02:02 I don't believe that Jesus would lie or contradict Himself. 02:06 This was the same belief 02:08 the Apostle Paul wrote in Hebrews 13. 02:10 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, 02:15 and today and for ever." 02:18 This may sound oversimplify, but think about it. 02:21 Would god teach two different doctrines 02:23 so contradictory that to believe one is true, 02:27 you'd have to believe the other is false? 02:30 I don't believe so. 02:32 So when I come to the Bible 02:33 and find two contradictory statements, 02:36 I fall back on this bias, this truth. 02:40 God doesn't lie and He doesn't contradict Himself. 02:45 With that said, let me say that 02:46 the subject of hell is without question, 02:49 one of the most difficult and perplexing studies, 02:52 because there seems to be biblical support 02:55 for two radically different and opposing views. 02:58 Levi is standing by to help us dig into this hot topic. 03:03 Thanks, Charles. 03:05 And for the causal reader of the Bible, 03:07 the subject of hell does appear contradictory. 03:11 The two schools of thought 03:13 are one, the fires of hell eventually do go out, 03:16 the wicked are destroyed and become ashes. 03:19 And number two, hell burns on and on without end forever. 03:24 Now these two conclusions are clearly at odds, 03:27 both can't be true at the same time. 03:30 If you're burned up, destroyed, consumed 03:34 you can't live on and on in constant torment. 03:36 Since God cannot lie and since He doesn't contradict Himself, 03:40 we need to let the Bible interpret itself. 03:42 And to accomplish that goal 03:44 I use a simple yet positive method 03:46 that I learned from Pastor Gary Ford 03:48 in his book "The ABC's of Bible Study." 03:51 Now first I work on the big picture 03:54 and gather the different scriptures together. 03:56 When I do that, I get a list of verses 03:58 that do in fact appear to say two different things. 04:02 And you can get a copy of this list at www.qlp.tv. 04:08 When I lineup these verses I've notice that 12 of them 04:11 found to the category of hell eventually burns itself out, 04:15 well, 5 of them found to the category of hell 04:17 keeps burning forever and ever. 04:19 The last two in this list in that first blush 04:22 seem to have both conclusions in the same verse. 04:26 So I had to dig deeper to find the key 04:29 that unlocks this apparent contradiction. 04:32 Now you don't have to be a scholar or a theologian, 04:35 all you need is a will to find the truth. 04:38 So my next place to search 04:40 was in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. 04:42 It acts just like a dictionary, 04:44 you look up the word hell 04:45 and it tells you what the original word was 04:48 that are English word hell was translated from. 04:50 And suddenly I began to realize 04:53 where some of the confusion was coming from. 04:55 This one word hell in English 04:59 is translated from four different original words. 05:02 The first is a Hebrew word she'owl. 05:05 It's the only word in the Old Testament 05:07 that is translated hell. 05:09 And that's where I found my first problem. 05:11 In all but one verse the word has nothing to do 05:15 with the place of burning or torment. 05:18 The word in every case simply means a grave. 05:21 The actual definition reads, 05:23 "The world of a dead as if a subterranean retreat, 05:26 including its accessories and inmates." 05:29 It's just another way of saying graves and those were in them. 05:32 If you were to go back through the Old Testament 05:34 and exchange the word hell for the word grave 05:38 like the New International Version did in most cases. 05:41 You'd have a much clear understanding of these verses. 05:50 The Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word shield is hades. 05:54 This Greek word is in the Bible 11 times 05:56 and once again only one time 05:57 is it associated with fire or torment 06:00 and that in the parable Jesus told in Luke 16:23. 06:03 Just like shield the word is used in the Bible 06:07 simply means a grave 06:08 or a dark and dismal place in the very depths of the earth. 06:11 So of the four words translated hell in the Bible, 06:15 two of them shield and hades mean grave. 06:18 If the King James Version had translated them that way, 06:20 it would have saved the whole lot of confusion. 06:22 This leaves us only two original words left to investigate. 06:26 The next is the Greek word tartarro. 06:28 Now this word is only used in the Bible one time. 06:31 So it makes translation harder up and down. 06:34 But as it is used in 2 Peter, 06:36 "It is a place where divine punishment is meted out, 06:39 it answers to Gehenna of the Jews." 06:42 Now Levi and I are on the Mount of Olives. 06:44 These graves are perhaps the most expensive in the world. 06:47 It is the desire of the Jews to have their graves here, 06:50 since they believe that those buried in New Jerusalem 06:52 will be the first to be resurrected by the Messiah. 06:55 Levi and I have shared with you that the word 06:57 shield and hades should have been translated grave not hell. 07:01 Because if we insist 07:02 that the word shield and hades mean hell 07:04 then all these Jews buried here 07:06 on the Mount of Olives are in hell right now. 07:10 Which brings us back 07:11 to the doctrines or teachings of Jesus. 07:13 John 5:28 says, "Marvel not at this, 07:18 for the hour is coming, 07:19 in which all that are in the graves 07:21 shall hear His voice. 07:22 And shall come forth, they that have done good, 07:25 unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, 07:28 unto the resurrection of damnation." 07:31 According to the teachings of Jesus, when you die, 07:33 you don't go right to heaven or hell, 07:36 you end up in the grave. 07:37 But there is an hour coming Jesus taught, 07:40 when every dead person will be resurrected. 07:42 Some will come up to the resurrection of life, 07:44 but those who have done evil 07:46 will come up to the resurrection of damnation. 07:48 And that is where the real hell comes in 07:50 and the last word that needs to explained. 07:52 And that word is Gehenna. 07:54 Gehenna is right over there just south east of Jerusalem. 07:58 Andrea is standing by to explain. 08:00 Thanks Stephen, I'm just south of the Dung Gate 08:03 here in Jerusalem. 08:05 It's called the Dung Gate, because this is a gate 08:07 where all the refuse was taken out of Jerusalem. 08:10 Probably all the refuse from the temple 08:12 and it services was taken out here, 08:15 also the refuse from the cheese-makers 08:17 that stunk quite badly. 08:20 In the old days they didn't have cars, 08:21 so the streets were shared with animals. 08:24 And all their dung would have to be taken somewhere. 08:27 So it too was dumped here in the Valley of Hinnom. 08:31 Now you can be sure that when they made this gate, 08:34 they didn't name it the Dung Gate. 08:36 It probably had a nice name like the Gate of the Springs 08:39 since there was a spring nearby or the Valley Gate, 08:42 since it went into the Valley of Hinnom. 08:44 You know, you know, 08:48 that it didn't start out as the poop gate. 08:51 But overtime because of what 08:52 it was most know for the name changed. 08:55 The same is true for hell. 08:57 And this valley is part of how the understanding 09:00 of hell changed over the years. 09:02 For the Valley of Hinnom was the city dump 09:04 and refuse was constantly being added and burned. 09:08 Hell is a place of burning, Hinnom was a place of burning. 09:13 And because Hinnom was always burning, 09:15 because the trash, the refuse was constantly burning, 09:19 overtime the concept of a nonstop burning hell 09:23 became an added layer of meaning. 09:26 But not a layer of meaning that is true 09:28 or even biblical as you will soon see. 09:31 Let's once again refer 09:33 to our special Bible study tool on hell. 09:35 The first 3 verses, I'd like us to look at are Mark 9:43-44, 09:40 Matthew 3:12 and a supporting verse in Isaiah 66:24. 09:46 Okay, here is the teaching of Jesus, 09:49 "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off, 09:52 it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, 09:55 than having two hands to go into hell, 09:58 into the fire that shall never be quenched. 10:01 Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched." 10:07 Notice Jesus didn't say the fire will not go out, 10:10 He says, you can't put it out. 10:13 And what doesn't die are not the people, 10:16 but the worms and the dirt that continue to feed on them. 10:20 The forerunner of Christ had that same concept. 10:23 He was talking about the Messiah that was soon to appear. 10:27 He uses wheat to illustrate the good people 10:29 who will be saved versus the chaff or the bad people 10:32 that will simply be burned up. 10:35 Look at the text carefully, 10:36 "The Messiah's fan is in his hand, 10:39 and he will thoroughly purge his floor 10:41 and gather his wheat into the garner 10:44 but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 10:48 Again it doesn't say that the fire will not go out, 10:51 it says that it cannot be put out. 10:55 This is the same teaching as Isaiah 66:24, 10:58 "And they shall go forth, 11:00 and look upon the carcases of men 11:02 that have transgressed against me, 11:05 for their worm shall not die, 11:07 neither shall their fire be quenched, 11:09 and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." 11:14 We normally think that the term unquenchable fire 11:16 means the fired never goes out. 11:19 However in the Bible and also today 11:21 we have fires that are unquenchable, 11:24 no matter how much water we throw at them. 11:26 But that doesn't mean they never go out, 11:29 it simply means you can't put them out. 11:33 Now I could just be saying this, 11:35 but this is what the Bible teaches 11:37 when you compare scripture with scripture, 11:39 rightly dividing the word of truth. 11:42 Let's look at Jeremiah's prophecy. 11:44 Jeremiah 17:27 says, "But if ye will not hearken unto me 11:50 and hallow the Sabbath day, 11:51 and not to bear a burden even entering in 11:54 at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, 11:57 then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, 12:00 and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, 12:03 and it shall not be quenched." Same word. 12:07 The fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy 12:09 is recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:19-21 12:14 were it plainly states "That all the palaces thereof 12:17 were burnt with fire, 12:19 to fulfill the Word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah." 12:22 Now remember this fire 12:24 that destroyed Jerusalem was unquenchable. 12:28 If unquenchable means that it never goes out. 12:31 The city of Jerusalem 12:32 would still have to be burning today, right now. 12:36 Okay, I'm looking up 12:38 out of the Valley of Hinnom towards Jerusalem. 12:40 Look up there with me. 12:44 Do you see any fire burning? 12:47 Levi and Stephen have a better view 12:49 from up over on the Mount of Olives. 12:51 Let's asks them if Jerusalem is still burning. 12:56 No, Andrea, 12:58 we can see the whole city and it's not burning. 13:03 The fires have gone out. 13:06 So the term unquenchable does not mean 13:08 never ending, just unstoppable. 13:10 When God kindle the fire at the gates of Jerusalem, 13:13 it was an unquenchable fire 13:14 and no one, but no one could put it out. Charles. 13:20 So the first insight we've gained is that 13:22 unquenchable does not mean never ending fire 13:25 that will not go out. 13:27 It simply means a fire that can't be put out. 13:31 But there are still some problem verses in our list. 13:34 Verses that seem abundantly clear, 13:37 because they use the words forever, eternal 13:41 and for ever and ever. What's more? 13:43 Are these verses contained 13:44 the words and teachings of Jesus? 13:47 These 3 texts are found in Matthew 18:8, 13:51 Matthew 25:46 and Revelation 20:10. 13:56 "Better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed to, 14:00 Jesus said, rather than having two hands 14:02 or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire." 14:07 Our next verse reads, "And these shall go away 14:11 into everlasting punishment, 14:13 but the righteous into life eternal." 14:17 And finally Revelation says, "The devil that deceived them 14:21 was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, 14:24 where the beast and the false prophet are, 14:27 and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." 14:33 The obvious question here is 14:35 "Doesn't forever or everlasting mean forever without end?" 14:39 The short answer is not always. 14:42 Again we must let the Bible interpret itself. 14:45 And for that we turned to two other verses in our list. 14:50 The first is found in Jude, 14:52 while it uses the word eternal 14:54 instead of forever or everlasting. 14:56 It comes from the same original root word in the Greek, Ion. 15:02 Jude says, "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, 15:05 and the cities about them in like manner, 15:07 giving themselves over to fornication, 15:09 and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, 15:14 suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." 15:18 The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is found in Genesis 18 and 19. 15:23 These cities practice sodomy, homosexuality, rape, bestiality, 15:28 violence and many other wicked practices. 15:31 So God Himself destroyed them in an act of judgment 15:35 but the Bible records that the fire 15:37 that destroyed them was eternal fire. 15:42 Jesus disciple Peter talks about the same event in 2 Peter 2:6, 15:48 "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes 15:52 condemned them with an overthrow, 15:54 making them an ensample unto those 15:56 that after should live ungodly." 16:00 Now the Bible here is talking about the same event 16:03 but one verse says they were destroyed with eternal fire, 16:07 while the other says, they were reduced to ashes. 16:11 So is the fire eternal as an unending fire. 16:15 Well, this was easy for me to check out. 16:18 I drove from the northern end of the Dead Sea 16:21 all the way to the southern end. 16:23 I've driven up and down the entire Jordan Valley, 16:26 the biblical location of Sodom and Gomorrah. 16:29 And one thing is clear there is no fire burning. 16:34 So this eternal fire has gone out. 16:38 Does that mean the Bible writers didn't mean what they said? 16:42 Not at all. 16:43 You see, they used the words eternal or forever 16:46 in exactly the same way we use them today. 16:51 We can use it with the meaning of time without end. 16:55 But we also use the word to mean a certain amount of time. 16:58 For example it took me forever to get my passport. 17:02 Well, how long is that forever? 17:05 Perhaps just a few days or weeks or months 17:09 but not time without end. 17:11 After all, I got my passport. 17:14 We can also use the word forever to mean continually, 17:17 like she was forever pushing her hair out of her eyes. 17:21 Of course, the day she gets her haircut that habit will stop. 17:25 Now one more problem text remains 17:28 and that concerns the devil. 17:30 Revelation 20:10 says, 17:32 "He will be tormented for ever and ever." 17:35 So does hell for Satan continue on and on without end? 17:41 To answer that question we need to embrace 17:43 one more Bible study principle. 17:45 But first let's review the two that we've learned so far. 17:49 We talked about the assumption that 17:51 God does not lie or contradict Himself. 17:54 And we talked about getting the big picture, 17:56 gathering all the verses on a topic 17:58 and looking them over to see where the big picture leads. 18:01 And finally we have to look at the context. 18:04 A text without a context is a pretext. 18:08 So how do you know what someone is talking about 18:11 if you have no context or reference point 18:13 in the conversation? 18:15 So we check out the literary context, 18:17 we examine the historical context. 18:20 And of course, we look at the verses around the text 18:23 to see who's talking to whom, etcetera. 18:25 Now a careful investigation reveals that the term forever 18:29 is used 56 times in the Bible in connection with things 18:32 that have already ended, 18:34 just like the fires of Sodom and Gomorrah 18:36 or Jerusalem, that's context. 18:39 So every time we see the word eternal, 18:42 everlasting or forever, 18:44 we can't immediately assume that it means time without end. 18:48 But the context does make it clear 18:50 that sometimes you must read it literally. 18:53 Now let's go back and look at our final verse 18:55 that points toward a never ending hell. 18:58 Revelation 20:10, 19:00 "And the devil that deceived them 19:01 was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, 19:03 where the beast and the false prophet are, 19:06 and shall be tormented day and night 19:08 for ever and ever." 19:10 So is the devil thrown into hell and tormented for ever? 19:14 Well, that's what the text says. 19:16 But the broader context of Sodom and Gomorrah from Jude 7, 19:20 should make us wonder. 19:22 I'm standing at one of the sites suggested as Gomorrah 19:25 and unlike the dirt and rock to the north and south of here, 19:29 it does look ash like but it's not still burning. 19:33 Next, let's look at the context right in Revelation 20:9, 19:38 it says that Satan leads the host of wicked people 19:41 to attack the city of God 19:43 and notice what happens to Satan and those who followed him. 19:47 "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, 19:50 and compassed the camp of the saints about, 19:53 and the beloved city, 19:54 and fire came down from God out of heaven, 19:58 and devoured them." 19:59 The word devoured comes from a Greek word 20:02 that means to eat up, devour or to utterly consume. 20:07 The word is used 15 times in the Bible 20:09 and not once does it ever have another meaning, 20:12 it's never used in any other way than eating up, 20:15 devouring or consuming so that what was there is now gone. 20:21 With this context in mind, 20:22 let's look at the prophetic message 20:23 about Satan in Ezekiel 28. 20:26 "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries 20:29 by the multitude of thine iniquities, 20:32 by the iniquity of thy traffick, 20:34 therefore I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, 20:38 it shall devour thee, 20:39 and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth 20:43 in the sight of all them that behold thee." 20:47 The context of verse 18 as verse 19, it says, 20:51 "And never shalt thou be any more." 20:54 In fact, three times in the Book of Ezekiel, 20:56 God predicts that Satan will come to an end and be no more. 21:01 Now we've looked at the seven verses 21:03 that raise questions as to whether hell burns for ever. 21:08 But our list had 14 verses that seem to indicate 21:11 that the furnace of hell eventually go out. 21:15 Steven standing by to take a look at those 21:17 exciting and comforting verses with us. 21:20 We should start with the teachings of Jesus. 21:23 In His most famous verse He said, 21:24 "For God so loved the world, 21:26 that he gave his only begotten Son, 21:28 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 21:30 but have everlasting life." 21:32 The wicked don't live for ever in pain. 21:35 This verse says they perish. 21:37 Only the believer gets everlasting life. 21:39 Psalms 37:20 says, "The wicked perish, 21:43 as the fat of the lambs, they shall consume, 21:46 into smoke they shall consume away." 21:49 Is bad enough that the wicked have to die and never live again 21:52 never experience the bliss of heaven. 21:55 But God's character of love has been besmirched by this lie 21:57 that has been force it upon His good name. 22:01 God said through His prophet Ezekiel, 22:03 "Behold, all souls are mine, as the soul of the father, 22:07 also the soul of the son is mine, 22:10 the soul that sinneth, it shall die." 22:13 Paul agreed with this prophecy when he wrote, 22:16 "The wages of sin is death, 22:18 but the gift of God is eternal life 22:19 through Jesus Christ our Lord." 22:23 We earn death and deserve it 22:24 if we choose to continue living selfish and hurtful lives. 22:28 The only residents of heaven will be those 22:30 who've embraced God's kingdom of love 22:32 and live lives that are actuated by the principle of love. 22:35 The principle of giving what is needed most. 22:39 Hell is a real fire that will burn up the wicked 22:40 at the end of time, at the last day. 22:43 Just like this white powder 22:44 what is possibly the remnants of Gomorrah. 22:47 But this is not God's desire for you and me. 22:50 Listen to His heart in these prophetic words from Ezekiel, 22:53 "As I live, saith the Lord God, 22:55 I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, 22:58 turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, 23:00 for why will ye die?" 23:03 This list we've been working off is not an exhaustive list 23:06 but it is representative of the whole of scripture. 23:09 But if there is one, just one passage 23:11 that has been most misconstrued about death and hell. 23:14 It is the story Jesus told 23:15 of the rich man, Lazarus in Luke 16. 23:19 So here's the parable of these two men, 23:21 one was rich man who Jesus didn't even bothered to name, 23:25 the second was a poor beggar named Lazarus 23:28 who sat in front of the rich man's house begging 23:31 while the dogs licked his sores. 23:33 Now in the Jewish culture in Christ day 23:37 and probably somewhat still today, 23:39 they believed rich people were blessed of God and poor, 23:42 sick beggars were cursed of God. 23:45 So if God didn't even care about the beggars. 23:48 Those who are blessed were certainly free 23:50 from any obligation to extent a kindness or concern. 23:55 So imagine the shock when Jesus said, 23:57 "Both men died and the rich man went to hell 24:00 while the poor man was carried by angels 24:02 to the bosom of Abraham." 24:05 Now in this parable heaven and hell are so close, 24:08 they can see and talk to each other. 24:11 So the rich man asked Father Abraham 24:13 to send Lazarus to bring him the comfort 24:15 of a drop of water to cool his tongue. 24:19 Abraham said, "That was not going to happen." 24:21 So the rich man asked that 24:23 Lazarus be sent to the brothers to warn them. 24:27 Abraham said, "They had already 24:28 received their warning in the writings of Moses." 24:32 But if someone came from the dead said the rich man, 24:35 they would repent. 24:37 And here is where I believe 24:39 the punch line of the story comes in. 24:41 "And Abraham said unto him, 24:44 if they hear not Moses and the prophets, 24:47 neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." 24:53 This story is a parable much the way 24:55 Aesop's fable of the grasshopper and the ant is a parable. 24:59 Parables don't have to be true to make a point. 25:02 Today we tell stories about dying 25:04 and standing before Saint Peter to gain admittance to heaven. 25:08 There's nothing biblical about Peter watching out of the gate 25:11 to pass judgment on those who have died. 25:15 But the stories make a point 25:17 just like this one of the rich man and Lazarus. 25:21 The historical context of the time was that 25:23 all rich people are blessed of God and go to heaven. 25:27 Poor people are cursed of God 25:29 so they all go to a place of torment. 25:33 Jesus turned these misconceptions upside down 25:36 by sending Lazarus to paradise 25:38 and the rich man to the bad place. 25:41 Now if we insist on taking this parable 25:44 as a true teaching about hell, 25:46 then we have to take the whole parable literal. 25:50 That would mean when you die, 25:52 you don't go to heaven according to verse 22, 25:54 you go to live on Abraham's hairy chest. 25:58 Imagine all the saved people on Abraham's chest. 26:02 We'd all be like fleas there, moving the hair, morning. 26:08 According to verse 24, 26:10 you'd also have heaven and hell so close together, 26:13 you could talk back and forth. 26:15 That makes heaven sound real appealing. 26:19 And finally the rich man says 26:20 that if someone comes back from the dead 26:23 then the living will repent 26:25 and change their lives for the better. 26:27 Okay, here comes the point of Jesus parable, 26:31 the truth which sets us free. 26:33 Pay attention now. 26:34 Luke 16:31, "And he said unto him, 26:38 if they hear not Moses and the prophets, 26:42 neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." 26:47 This point is true because in John 11, 26:51 a real man named Lazarus was raised from the dead 26:54 and they still didn't choose to believe in Jesus. 26:58 So here's Jesus' teaching. 27:01 Hell is a real place. 27:04 And God doesn't want anyone to go there. 27:08 So He sent His Son to save us we need not perish. 27:12 And if we choose not to be saved, 27:15 we'll end up in a fire that will consume us, 27:19 reducing us to ashes. 27:21 While those who love and serve Jesus will avoid hell 27:26 or the second death. 27:29 Now it's up to us to choose, 27:32 choose Jesus and the truth of His word. |
Revised 2014-12-17