Christian Life Church

THIS PRESENT TIME #36 12.31.23
What Will Hell Be Like?


Luke 16:19-31 NIV “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 25“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”


Setting the Scene for An Uncomfortable Truth

1. Everything we know and teach about Hell is based on Scripture.


2. There are two eternal destinies: Eternal Living v. Eternal Punishing.


3. Jesus spoke of Hell over 30 times - more than He spoke about Heaven.


4. The picture of Hell is less than the reality.

• It is a place of such horror that it should be avoided at all costs.

• Matthew 18:7-9 NIV Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things mustcome, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut itoff and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet andbe thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is betterfor you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

• Mark 14:21 But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not beenborn.”


5. The Scriptural teaching about Hell is a doctrine that is difficult for Christians to embrace.

• We must realize that Hell was conceived by God.

• There are those who merely seek vengeance on others.

• There are those who teach “Annihilationism.”

• There are those who teach “Universalism” or “Inclusion.”

• Others minimize Hell by reducing it to “Hell on Earth.”

• At all costs avoid Hell. Determine - “Heaven above all!”

Remember - The greatest price, the fullest price has been paid by Jesus on the Cross.


6. The names used for Hell:
• Hades - The Grave; a place of departed spirits; “The Lake of Fire” seen as a place with two compartments(Paradise and Hell).

• Gehenna (The Valley of Hinnom / Tophet/ Fire/ a state or place of misery - used twelve times in the NewTestament).

• Tartarus - A place of restraint. A prison / “Caves of gloomy darkness.” (2 Peter 2:14 - For if God did not spareangels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment…

• Outer Darkness - a place of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.


I. Hell is a real place.

A. Jesus called Heaven a “place.” (John 14)


B. Hell is a place prepared for the devil and his angels.


C. Revelation 21:2


D. Not a state of mind


E. Not earthly conditions, which all have some degree of hope. Hell is a place of utter despair - place void ofhope (“Abandon all hope ye who enter here.”).
II. Hell has a purpose.

A. Hell shows how terrible sin is, and how much God hates it.


B. In the Old Testament, sin could only be forgiven by the shedding of blood and/or fire. This was aforeshadowing of the New Testament as well (Hebrews 9:22 and 1 Peter 1:18).



III. Hell is populated by real people.

A. They will pray, and they will not demand from God, they will cry out for mercy – “Father Abraham, help me!”


B. They will have their senses - “…for I am tormented in this flame!”


C. They will have memories - He knew his family, and he was told to “remember...”


D. They will understand the justness of their damnation - “then at least warn my family to not come here!” - “everyknee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”



Christian Life Lessons

1. This is a warning
• Hell may be the first message of the New Testament. (Matthew 3:7 - “Who has warned you to flee from thewrath to come?”)


2. We have the role of an Ambassador, not a judge.
• I don’t like this message.

• I may be tempted at times to think my judgment is better than God’s, or that I am in some way more just ormore caring.

• I HOPE SOME OF MY CONCLUSIONS ARE WRONG.

• But my job is to deliver the message, not re-write the law.


3. Mankind can be convinced of Hell and be saved from it only by the work of God’s Holy Spirit.
• “They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen. If they do not believe them, they will not be convincedthough one is raised from the dead.”

• This speaks volume about the power and sufficiency of God’s Word, and why we ought to “double-down.”

• “The Bible is the only proof we have that hell exists, but if we will listen, it is the only proof we need.” -R.T. Kendall