GREAT BIBLE WORDS
HELL
Mark 9:47
Mark 9:47
Introduction:
Recently some religious leaders have declared that Hell is not a literal place, but rather the sufferings that one goes through on this earth. These folks do not believe the Bible as the Word of God. We will see in this study that they have made Jesus Christ to be a liar by denying the doctrine of Hell as taught in the Bible.
There are two words translated hell in the Bible:
Hades (sheol in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament) and Gehenna. Hades and Sheol are the place of the dead implying a place of punishment. Gehenna is literally translated “Hell fire” and is rightly translated “Hell.”
I. THE FACT OF HELL
A. Hell is the most reasonable thing in the world.
1. Some people object to the doctrine of Hell as taught in the New Testament.
2. It is an absolute necessity.
a. No one objects to the fact that our government needs jails and prisons to control lawbreakers.
b. However, man will object to God having a place for His lawbreakers and those who reject His Son, Jesus Christ.
B. Hell is not only reasonable, but it is Scriptural.
1. The New Testament plainly teaches the doctrine of the punishment of the wicked in Hell, Revelation 20:14, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
2. The primary reason we believe the doctrine of Hell is because the Scripture teaches it.
3. The word “gehenna” is found in the New Testament 12 times and 11 of those times it came from the lips of Jesus Himself:
a. Matthew 5:22, “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
b. Matthew 5:29, “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”
c. Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
d. Matthew 18:9, “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”
e. Matthew 23:15, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
f. Matthew 23:33, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?”
g. Mark 9:43, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:”
h. Mark 9:47, “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:”
i. Luke 12:5, “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”
j. James 3:6, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”
II. THE NATURE OF HELL
A. Hell is everlasting punishment, Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
B. Hell is the expression of the wrath of God, Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;”
1. Hell is everlasting fire, Matthew 25:41, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
2. Hell is eternal separation from God, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”
3. It is outer darkness, Matthew 8:12, “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
4. It is the second death, Revelation 20:14, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
CONCLUSION
The duration of Hell is an awful thing to contemplate. It is eternal, everlasting, without end. Many think that “war is hell,” or that “the only hell is the hell we experience here on earth.” There is nothing on earth that can be compared to the Hell of the Bible. It is a terrible thing and there is no need to go there for Jesus has paid the price for our sins on the Cross of Calvary. Faith in Jesus Christ as Savior resolves the problem.