Cyberspace Ministry
Our Mission: Revelation 14:6-12
The Moment of Truth - Lesson 16
Is
There Really a Hell?
Screen 1
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.
Screen 2
Psalm 73:12,16,17
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 «Body, Soul and Spirit» and «After Death...» before beginning this one.)
Screen 3
Ezekiel 18:32
«For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,» says the
Lord God.
«Therefore turn and live!»
---------------------
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.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
Screen 4
Romans 2:4-6
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.
Screen 5
Matthew 13:40-42
[Jesus said,]
«So 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.»
----------------------------------------------------
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.
Screen 6
Matthew 13:49,50
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.
---------------------
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.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
Screen 7
Revelation 20:9; 21:1
[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.
Screen 8
2 Peter 3:7
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?
Screen 9
Romans 8:11
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 «Body, Soul, and Spirit»
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.
Screen 10
1 Corinthians 15:53
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
---------------------
1 Timothy 6:15,16
(...) the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has 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?
Screen 11
Romans 2:6,7
[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...
Screen 12
Immortality will be given only to those who will be saved:
«For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.» (ROMANS 6:23)
«Our Savior Jesus Christ (...) has abolished death and brought life and immortality to
light through the gospel.» (2 TIMOTHY 1:10)
«No murderer has eternal life abiding in him.» (1 JOHN 3:15)
«He who does the will of God abides forever.» (1 JOHN 2:17)
«He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.» (REVELATION 2:11)
«God 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.» (1 JOHN 5:11,12)
Screen 13
Malachi 4:1,3
«For 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,» says the Lord of hosts, «that 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.»
----------------------------------------------------
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.
Screen 14
Obadiah verse 16
All the nations (...) shall be as though they had never been.
---------------------
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.
----------------------------------------------------
The Bible teaches that the wicked will be «destroyed»,
«devoured», «consumed», «as though they had never been», «ashes under the soles of
your feet», and many other words expressing a complete destruction at the end of times.
The wages of sin is death, not eternal torture in hell.
Screen 15
The Bible teaches that the wicked will be destroyed at the end of times:
«You 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.» (PSALM 9:5,6)
«[God] has brought on them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own
wickedness.» (PSALM 94:23)
«For there will be no prospect for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put
out.» (PROVERBS 24:20)
«[They] shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing.» (ISAIAH 41:12)
«Behold, 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.» (ISAIAH 13:9)
«They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.» (NAHUM 1:10)
Screen 16
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
Screen 17
Matthew 25:46
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 «everlasting punishment» means «everlasting
torment».
Yet, etymologically, «punished» means «cut off», «removed». 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.
Screen 18
Isaiah 11:4
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 «everlasting punishment» is therefore the everlasting death of the wicked, whom God «shall slay», without any possible return to life.
Screen 19
Hebrews 6:2
(...) of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
---------------------
Psalm 30:5
For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life.
----------------------------------------------------
Likewise, the eternal judgment should not be interpreted as an
eternal torment.
The Bible is clear: God's anger is «but for a moment».
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.
Screen 20
Luke 12:47,48
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.
Screen 21
Matthew 25:41
Then [the King] will also say to those on the left hand,
«Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his
angels.»
----------------------------------------------------
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...
Screen 22
Genesis 19:24,25
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.
---------------------
Jude verse 7
Sodom and Gomorrah (...) are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
----------------------------------------------------
The eternal fire destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet, this fire
went out long ago!
This was «set forth as an example», yes, but for whom?
Screen 23
2 Peter 2:6
[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.
---------------------
Proverbs 26:20
Where there is no wood, the fire goes out.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
Screen 24
Luke 16:19-24
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,
«Father Abraham, have mercy on me! (...) For I am tormented in this flame.»
----------------------------------------------------
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 «After Death...» for
more details about this.
Screen 25
Revelation 20:10
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 «eis aionas aionon» (literally, «unto ages of
ages»), and the Hebrew equivalent «al yolam» (generally translated as «for ever») 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 «forever and ever» which will show us
the real meaning of these words.
Screen 26
Isaiah 34:6,9,10
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.
---------------------
Jeremiah 49:13
Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.
----------------------------------------------------
So the expressions «its smoke shall ascend forever», «forever and ever», simply mean a complete destruction, the cities being «perpetual wastes».
Screen 27
1 Samuel 1:22,28
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.
---------------------
Exodus 21:6
His master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and [the servant] shall serve him forever.
----------------------------------------------------
Likewise, the expression «forever» does not mean «eternally»,
but rather «a lifetime».
Indeed, the slave could serve his master «forever», that is, all his life, but certainly
not eternally.
Screen 28
Psalm 83:17
Let them be confounded amd dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish.
----------------------------------------------------
Thus, the wicked will be dismayed «forever», that is to say for the time they have left to live, before perishing in a total destruction.
Screen 29
Matthew 25:41
Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
---------------------
Revelation 20:10
And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
Screen 30
Ezekiel 28:17-19
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 «Why Does Evil
Exist?», 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.
Screen 31
Just like the wicked, Satan will be destroyed at the end of times:
«In 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.» (ISAIAH 27:1)
[Note: The «fleeing serpent» in the previous verse is Satan: «The great dragon was cast
out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.»
(REVELATION 12:9)]
«Through death [Jesus] might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the
devil.» (HEBREWS 2:14)
«The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.» (ROMANS 16:20)
Screen 32
Revelation 20:14
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
---------------------
Isaiah 25:8
[The Lord] will swallow up death forever.
---------------------
1 Corinthians 15:26
The last enemy that will be destroyed is 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.
Screen 33
Revelation 21:4,5
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, «Behold, I make all things new.»
---------------------
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.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
Screen 34
Romans 3:7
For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
---------------------
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.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
Screen 35
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!