The Moment of Truth - Lesson 16

Is There Really a Hell?

Lesson 16

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Is There Really a Hell?

Once again, welcome to this study of the Word of God! Let us pray:

Our Father,

We thank You for all Your mercies towards us.

Today, we turn again to You, asking for enlightenment on another subject that has fueled many discussions: Hell. We know that Your Word can give us clear answers on this subject.

This is why we ask You to guide us in the truth, by Your Spirit. In Jesus Christ we pray.

Amen.

Lesson 16

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Psalm 73:12,16,17

Comments

Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. (...)

When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me - until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. The end of the ungodly...

Is it to burn forever in hell's fire? Or is it to be completely destroyed?

We will let the Bible answer these questions.

(We strongly advise you to study the previous two lessons ŤBody, Soul and Spiritť and ŤAfter Death...ť before beginning this one.)

Lesson 16

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Ezekiel 18:32

Comments

ŤFor I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,ť says the Lord God.

ŤTherefore turn and live!ť First point to establish clearly: God is love.

He takes no pleasure in seeing many people choose to reject His plan of salvation, and thus receive the last punishment.

He rather invites us to accept Jesus as our Savior.

1 Timothy 2:3,4

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Lesson 16

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Romans 2:4-6

Comments

Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that God's goodness leads you to repentance?

But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds. God is Love, but He is also Justice.

If we reject His plan of salvation in Jesus Christ, He will have no choice but letting us bear the consequences of our decision, and die in our sins.

Lesson 16

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Matthew 13:40-42

Comments

[Jesus said,]

ŤSo it will be at the end of this age.

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.ť In our previous lesson about death, we have learned that no one goes to heaven or to hell immediately after his death.

The dead are in a state of sleep, completely unconscious, waiting for the day of their resurrection.

So the punishment of the wicked will take place only at the end of times.

Lesson 16

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Matthew 13:49,50

Comments

So it will be at the end of the age.

The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. When will the punishment of the wicked take place?

The answer given by God's Word is straightforward: at the end of the world, on the day of judgment.

2 Peter 2:9

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.

Lesson 16

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Revelation 20:9; 21:1

Comments

[The nations] went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. (...)

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. The Bible says that the wicked will be punished on this earth, whose surface will be consumed by fire from heaven.

Thereafter, a new earth will become the dwelling of God's people.

Lesson 16

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2 Peter 3:7

Comments

But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Therefore, the wicked will be punished on earth, at the end of the world.

Having said this, what, then, will be the lot of the wicked? For a long time, it has been taught that the wicked would suffer forever in the fire of hell...

Does the Word of God agree with this teaching?

Lesson 16

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Romans 8:11

Comments

He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. First, let us note this essential point: man is a mortal being (please review the lesson ŤBody, Soul, and Spiritť for more details).

No man has immortality in himself.

Thus, we can already note an anomaly in the teaching of eternal sufferings: indeed, to suffer eternally, man would have to be immortal, and that is not the case.

Lesson 16

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1 Corinthians 15:53

Comments

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Therefore, to live forever, man must receive immortality which can only be given by God.

Now, the question we have to ask is: Will God also grant eternal life to the wicked, so that they may suffer forever in the fire of hell?

1 Timothy 6:15,16

(...) the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality.

Lesson 16

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Romans 2:6,7

Comments

[God] will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality. The Bible answers in a very clear way: eternal life is reserved for the righteous.

Only the people of God will receive immortality at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

As for the wicked, they will keep their mortal nature: thus, they won't live forever.

Many other verses of the Bible confirm this fact, as we will see...

Lesson 16

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Immortality will be given only to those who will be saved:

ŤFor the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.ť (ROMANS 6:23)

ŤOur Savior Jesus Christ (...) has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.ť (2 TIMOTHY 1:10)

ŤNo murderer has eternal life abiding in him.ť (1 JOHN 3:15)

ŤHe who does the will of God abides forever.ť (1 JOHN 2:17)

ŤHe who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.ť (REVELATION 2:11)

ŤGod has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.ť (1 JOHN 5:11,12)

Lesson 16

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Malachi 4:1,3

Comments

ŤFor behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly, will be stubble.

And the day which is coming shall burn them up,ť says the Lord of hosts, Ťthat will leave them neither root nor branch. (...)

You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this.ť Since the wicked won't have eternal life, they won't burn forever.

This conclusion is confirmed by the Bible which teaches that the final lot of the wicked will be total destruction.

Lesson 16

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Obadiah verse 16

Comments

All the nations (...) shall be as though they had never been. The Bible teaches that the wicked will be Ťdestroyedť, Ťdevouredť, Ťconsumedť, Ťas though they had never beenť, Ťashes under the soles of your feetť, and many other words expressing a complete destruction at the end of times.

The wages of sin is death, not eternal torture in hell.

Psalm 92:7

When the wicked spring up like grass, and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is that they may be destroyed forever.

Lesson 16

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The Bible teaches that the wicked will be destroyed at the end of times:

ŤYou have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever. O enemy, destructions are finished forever! And you have destroyed cities; even their memory has perished.ť (PSALM 9:5,6)

Ť[God] has brought on them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness.ť (PSALM 94:23)

ŤFor there will be no prospect for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.ť (PROVERBS 24:20)

Ť[They] shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing.ť (ISAIAH 41:12)

ŤBehold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it.ť (ISAIAH 13:9)

ŤThey shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.ť (NAHUM 1:10)

Lesson 16

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More verses teaching the final and complete destruction of the wicked:

Job 4:9       | Psalm 52:5    | Isaiah 1:27,28    | Romans 2:12
Job 20:7,8    | Psalm 68:2    | Isaiah 5:24      | 1 Corinthians 3:17
Psalm 1:4-6   | Psalm 73:19   | Isaiah 26:11,14 | Philippians 3:19
Psalm 21:9    | Psalm 73:27   | Isaiah 41:11    | 1 Timothy 6:9
Psalm 34:16   | Psalm 92:9    | Isaiah 51:6       | Hebrews 10:26,27
Psalm 37:1,2 | Psalm 104:35 | Isaiah 65:17      | 2 Peter 3:7,9
Psalm 37:10   | Psalm 112:10 | Matthew 10:28   | Revelation 11:18
Psalm 37:38   | Psalm 145:20 | Matthew 13:30,40 | Revelation 20:9

Lesson 16

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Matthew 25:46

Comments

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Now, let us see some verses often presented by those teaching that the wicked will be tormented throughout eternity in the fire of hell.

First of all they say that the expression Ťeverlasting punishmentť means Ťeverlasting tormentť.

Yet, etymologically, Ťpunishedť means Ťcut offť, Ťremovedť. The sinner will be definitively cut off from life.

The punishment will therefore be eternal in its effect, since the sinner will never live again.

Lesson 16

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Isaiah 11:4

Comments

But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. The Ťeverlasting punishmentť is therefore the everlasting death of the wicked, whom God Ťshall slayť, without any possible return to life.

Lesson 16

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Hebrews 6:2

Comments

(...) of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Likewise, the eternal judgment should not be interpreted as an eternal torment.

The Bible is clear: God's anger is Ťbut for a momentť.

Let us think about it: how could a God of love and justice inflict eternal sufferings on someone whose rebellion has lasted only a man's lifetime? The Bible clearly rejects this heresy.

Psalm 30:5

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life.

Lesson 16

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Luke 12:47,48

Comments

And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

But he who did not know, yet committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. The Word of God does not indicate how long will be the punishment of the wicked, before their final destruction.

However, it is clearly stated that they will be punished according to their deeds, the greatest sinners receiving a more severe punishment than the others.

Lesson 16

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Matthew 25:41

Comments

Then [the King] will also say to those on the left hand,

ŤDepart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.ť Another expression wrongly interpreted: the everlasting fire.

Yet, God's Word clearly explains the true meaning of this expression.

Let us see the next verses...

Lesson 16

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Genesis 19:24,25

Comments

Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.

So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. The eternal fire destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet, this fire went out long ago!

This was Ťset forth as an exampleť, yes, but for whom?

Jude verse 7

Sodom and Gomorrah (...) are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Lesson 16

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2 Peter 2:6

Comments

[God] turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly. The punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah shows the wicked's punishment at the end of time, that is, complete destruction.

The wicked will perish in a fire which will go out only after its work of complete destruction.

Proverbs 26:20

Where there is no wood, the fire goes out.

Lesson 16

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Luke 16:19-24

Comments

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate. (...)

So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said,

ŤFather Abraham, have mercy on me! (...) For I am tormented in this flame.ť The parable of Lazarus and the evil rich man is also presented to prove that the wicked go to hell immediately after their death.

However, we have already seen that a parable must not always be interpreted literally; otherwise, we should also believe that trees speak, according to the parable in JUDGES 9:8-15.

Please review the lesson ŤAfter Death...ť for more details about this.

Lesson 16

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Revelation 20:10

Comments

And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.

And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The Greek words Ťeis aionas aiononť (literally, Ťunto ages of agesť), and the Hebrew equivalent Ťal yolamť (generally translated as Ťfor everť) do not mean that the wicked will suffer eternally, just as the eternal fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah is no longer burning today.

Now, let's see other verses using the expression Ťforever and everť which will show us the real meaning of these words.

Lesson 16

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Isaiah 34:6,9,10

Comments

For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. (...) Its land shall become burning pitch.

It shall not be quenched night or day; its smoke shall ascend forever.

From generation to generation it shall lie waste; no one shall pass through it forever and ever. So the expressions Ťits smoke shall ascend foreverť, Ťforever and everť, simply mean a complete destruction, the cities being Ťperpetual wastesť.

Jeremiah 49:13

Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.

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1 Samuel 1:22,28

Comments

I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever. (...)

As long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord. Likewise, the expression Ťforeverť does not mean Ťeternallyť, but rather Ťa lifetimeť.

Indeed, the slave could serve his master Ťforeverť, that is, all his life, but certainly not eternally.

Exodus 21:6

His master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and [the servant] shall serve him forever.

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Psalm 83:17

Comments

Let them be confounded amd dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish. Thus, the wicked will be dismayed Ťforeverť, that is to say for the time they have left to live, before perishing in a total destruction.

Lesson 16

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Matthew 25:41

Comments

Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Will Satan be destroyed too?

Some people teach that, since Satan is an angel, God won't be able to destroy him.

Yet, the Bible teaches us exactly the contrary. Satan will be destroyed at the end of times.

Let us see some verses from the Scriptures confirming this point.

Revelation 20:10

And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.

Lesson 16

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Ezekiel 28:17-19

Comments

Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. (...)

Therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.

All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever. In our lesson ŤWhy Does Evil Exist?ť, we have seen this prophecy of Ezekiel showing how Satan came to rebel against God.

The same prophecy also announces the near destruction of Satan.

Lesson 16

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Just like the wicked, Satan will be destroyed at the end of times:

ŤIn that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; and He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.ť (ISAIAH 27:1)

[Note: The Ťfleeing serpentť in the previous verse is Satan: ŤThe great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.ť (REVELATION 12:9)]

ŤThrough death [Jesus] might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.ť (HEBREWS 2:14)

ŤThe God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.ť (ROMANS 16:20)

Lesson 16

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Revelation 20:14

Comments

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.

This is the second death. The lake of fire is the second death, not eternal torment in hell.

And after the annihilation of all evil, death itself will be destroyed.

Isaiah 25:8

[The Lord] will swallow up death forever.

1 Corinthians 15:26

The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

Lesson 16

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Revelation 21:4,5

Comments

There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

Then He who sat on the throne said, ŤBehold, I make all things new.ť The happiness of God's people will not be disturbed by the wicked's cries of suffering, for they will have been destroyed, just like the former things.

Nahum 1:9

What do you conspire against the Lord? He will make an utter end of it.

Affliction will not rise up a second time.

Lesson 16

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Romans 3:7

Comments

For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? Let's conclude our lesson with this point.

Some may believe that the doctrine of eternal suffering, true or not, will frighten the sinner and bring him to repentance.

However God disapproves of such a thought. He wants us to follow Him out of love, not out of fear.

1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Lesson 16

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Let us pray together:

O Lord,

We thank You for having shown us that You are not a cruel God planning eternal sufferings for the wicked.

On the contrary, You are a God of love, respecting everyone's choice to follow You or not, destroying the wicked at the end of time because You know that they would not be happy living in a World from which all evil is banished.

We also thank You for this wonderful hope You give us, by announcing that You will soon establish Your everlasting kingdom, and then make all things new.

In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray.

Amen.

The test of Lesson 16 is waiting for you!

Is There Really a Hell?

The test of Lesson 16 is waiting for you!

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Copyright Š2002 Cyberspace Ministry