what is hell like?

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What is Hell Like?

Luke 16:19-31

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Luke 16:19-31

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine

linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 "And a poor man named

Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, …”

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Luke 16:19-31

“… 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's

table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the

angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. …”

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Luke 16:19-31

“… 23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far

away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "And he cried out and said, 'Father

Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of

his finger in water and …”

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Luke 16:19-31

“…cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' 25 "But Abraham

said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now

he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. …”

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Luke 16:19-31

“… 26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that

none may cross over from there to us.' …”

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Luke 16:19-31

“… 27 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that

they will not also come to this place of torment.' …”

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Luke 16:19-31

“… 29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear

them.' 30 "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them

from the dead, they will repent!' …”

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Luke 16:19-31

“… 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets,

they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

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Meaning of “Hell”

• From the Greek word "Gehenna"–Made up of two Hebrew words that

signify the "Valley of Hinnon"

–Idolatrous Israel devoted this valley to the worship of the idol Moloch• 2 Chronicles 28:3

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2 Chronicles 28:3

“Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his

sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of

Israel.”

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Hell is ______

• Hard to conceive "eternity"–Matthew 25:46

“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into

eternal life.”

Eternal

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Hell is Eternal

• Hard to conceive "eternity"–Romans 16:26

“but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according

to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the

nations, leading to obedience of faith;”

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Hell is Eternal

• Hard to conceive "eternity"–"eternal punishment" ..... "eternal life"

Matthew 25:46

–"Eternal God" (Romans 16:26) ..... "Eternal Spirit" (Hebrews 9:14)

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Hell is Eternal

• Hard to conceive "eternity"–Words "everlasting" and "eternal"

are both from the Greek word "AIONIOS."

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Hell is Eternal

• No argument can be made against the duration of hell that cannot also be made of heaven.–If hell lasts 1000 years, heaven lasts

1000 years.

–If hell is on earth, then heaven is on earth.

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Hell is Eternal

• "It's not fair to punish eternally one who disobeys God only for a few years."–Should God reward those who serve

Him only a few years?• Matthew 20:1-16

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Matthew 20:1-16

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the

morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 "When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day,

he sent them into his vineyard. …”

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Matthew 20:1-16

“… 3 "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard,

and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went. …”

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Matthew 20:1-16

“… 5 "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the

same thing. 6 "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others

standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle

all day long?' …”

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Matthew 20:1-16

“… 7 "They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' 8 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the

last group to the first.' …”

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Matthew 20:1-16

“… 9 "When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. 10 "When those hired first

came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also

received a denarius. …”

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Matthew 20:1-16

“… 11 "When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12 saying, 'These last men have worked only one

hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the

scorching heat of the day.' …”

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Matthew 20:1-16

“… 13 "But he answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no

wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 'Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man

the same as to you. …”

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Matthew 20:1-16

“… 15 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?' 16 "So the last shall be first, and the first

last.”

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Hell is Eternal

• "How long is eternity?"–We talk of “_________" eternity…

–Or "throughout" eternity.

spending

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Hell is a place of ________

• 2 Peter 2:4

Darkness

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2 Peter 2:4

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and

committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;”

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Jude 13

“wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been

reserved forever.”

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Matthew 25:30

“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will

be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

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Hell is a place of Darkness

• Not merely "darkness", but “_____ ________"–Farthest removed from God, the

source of light• 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

OuterDarkness

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2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

“and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in

flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God …”

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2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

“…and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction,

away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”

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Hell is a place of ____

• Descriptions of the fire in Hell:–A _______

• Matthew 13:42

Fire

furnace

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Matthew 13:42

“and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping

and gnashing of teeth.”

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Hell is a place of Fire

• Descriptions of the fire in Hell:–A furnace

–Everlasting• Matthew 25:41

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Matthew 25:41

“Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been

prepared for the devil and his angels;”

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Hell is a place of Fire

• Descriptions of the fire in Hell:–A furnace

–Everlasting

–____________• Mark 9:44

Unquenchable

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Mark 9:44

“where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

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Hell is a place of Fire

• Descriptions of the fire in Hell:–A furnace

–Everlasting

–Unquenchable

–Fire and brimstone• Revelation 20:10

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Revelation 20:10

“And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and

brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be

tormented day and night forever and ever.”

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Hell is a place of Fire

• Descriptions of the fire in Hell:–A furnace

–Everlasting

–Unquenchable

–Fire and brimstone

–Lake of fire - Revelation 20:15

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Revelation 20:15

“And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was

thrown into the lake of fire.”

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Hell is a place of Fire

• We must sound the "fire alarm"–If you were in a building that was

burning, would you not appreciate a warning?

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Hell is a place of Fire

• We must sound the "fire alarm"–What about those whom you know

are going to be condemned to an eternal fire, shouldn't we warn them and try to help them?

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Hell is a place of Fire

• Many try to prove the impossibility of Hell–"If it is a literal fire, how can there be

darkness?”

–“How can one be burned without being consumed?"

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Hell is a place of Fire

• Many try to prove the impossibility of Hell–I do know that the power of God is

unlimited

–I do not need to question it.

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Hell is a place of Fire

• Marshall Keeble once said:

"Build the hottest fire possible, remove the damned from hell and place them in the man-made fire and they would freeze to death."

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Hell is a place of ____

• Matthew 25:30

“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there

will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Pain

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Luke 16:23-24

“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and

Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip

the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'”

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Hell is a place of Pain

• “Weeping and gnashing of teeth”

• “I am __ _____ in this flame”–Agony/Torment means "acute pain;

anguish."

in agony

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Hell is a place of Pain

• “Weeping and gnashing of teeth”

• “I am in agony in this flame”–Pain so severe one thinks he cannot

endure it another minute• His mistake was not drinking of the "Water of Life" while it was available

• John 4:14

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John 4:14

“but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to

eternal life.”

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Hell is a place of Pain

• “Weeping and gnashing of teeth”

• “I am in agony in this flame”–Pain so severe he did not want his

brothers to come.• Luke 16:27-28

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Luke 16:27-28

“And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order

that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of

torment.'”

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Hell is a place of Pain

• No ___ nor _____ from the pain–Revelation 14:11

rest relief

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Revelation 14:11

“And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the

beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

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What should our _______ be?

• If we saw someone running into a burning house to save valuables -- we would do all in our power to stop him.–Men are running into the fires of hell

for reasons more foolish.

attitude

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What should our attitude be?

• If we saw someone running into a burning house to save valuables -- we would do all in our power to stop him.–Shouldn't we be trying to stop them

from reaching this place of everlasting punishment.

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What should our attitude be?

• To keep ourselves from going to hell we had best live as we know we should–2 Corinthian 5:10-11

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2 Corinthian 5:10-11

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the

body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Therefore,

knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and

I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.”

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