Hell: Out of Date but Not Out of Business
Matthew 7:21-23; 25:41
Introduction
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I believe some of the most interesting and fascinating teachings of the Word of God are the truths about Heaven and Hell.
There are a lot of different thoughts about such places.
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According to Gallup research, 94% of U.S. adults believe in God or a universal spirit; 84% believe Jesus Christ is
God or the Son of God; and 53% believe in a literal hell.
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A Newsweek poll found that 94% of Americans believe in God; 77% believe in a heaven; 76% think they have a good
or excellent chance of getting there. 58% of those surveyed believe in hell.
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It’s been said that out of the 260 chapters in the NT 230 substantiate that there is a hell. That it is has been estimated
that every 84 seconds someone dies and goes to hell and out of the 24 times hell is mentioned in the NT 22 times it is
coming from Jesus Himself.
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John Calvin, the great forefather of the faith said, “I believe that all the verses on hell are only metaphors of something far
worse.” Charles Spurgeon once said, “If man could get a glimpse of hell, it would make him mentally insane.”
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If the scriptures on hell scare us then I believe that is the way God intended. I believe the scriptures on hell make us realize
what hell is really like, and out of that realization we come to Christ for salvation.
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Hell is not a place created by a God bent on getting even. It’s a place when one rejects the offer of God’s love then the only
alternative is to inherit the wrath of God, there is no in between.
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The Place of Hell-
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(2 Peter 2:4, Jude1:6, Matt. 16:18, Luke 16:23, Rev. 2:14)
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There are three Greek words in the New Testament that are translated by the English word “hell,” each refers to a
different place. Before we can understand about the place of hell, we must first understand when the Bible mentions
the word “hell” just exactly what place it is referring to.
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Hell= (Greek) Tartarus(2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6)
Pits of darkness, the prison house of the fallen angels until the judgment of God. This is the special holding place
where God has placed the fallen angels until judgment. See also (1 Cor. 6:3)
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Hell= (Greek) Hades(Luke 16:23; Matt. 16:18)
The Complete Word Study Dictionary says this is the place of darkness and departed spirits of the lost. It is the
temporary dwelling place of the wicked and unsaved dead until the resurrection and then all will stand before the
Great White Throne. Hades is the exclusive place for unbelievers.
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Hell= (Greek) Gehenna- (Rev. 20:14)
This is the final dwelling place of the wicked and unsaved dead. Here hell is described as “the lake of fire” and
“unquenchable fire.” All people in Hades after the Great White Throne judgment, along with the fallen angels, as
well as, Hades itself, will be thrown in Gehenna, the Lake of Fire.
The Purpose of Hell- (Matt. 25:41)
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A lot of people do not believe in hell simply because they cannot believe that God can send man to such an awful
and dreadful place. Others do not believe in hell because they do not believe in God or Satan.
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Regardless of what people believe has no bearing on whether or not God or Satan is real, as well as, hell. Just
because some have a difficult time in believing does not make everything else false.
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People need to understand that God is real and hell is real. God made hell not so that he could throw man into it,
but, that he could throw the devil and the fallen angels into it for rebelling against him.
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Hell was never intended for man but since man in his heart did not believe what Jesus Christ did for them on the
cross the only other alternative was to be placed in hell.
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In other words, God does not send man to hell, man sends himself when he chooses not to believe in Jesus Christ
for salvation.
The Pains of Hell- (Luke 16:23-25; 27; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 20:10)
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Torment, agony, punishment and fire are not the pains that make hell the place that it is. All that is terrifying, but
what makes hell, hell, is the fact of separation from the very presence of God for eternity.
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How long is eternity? If you could pick up every grain of sand on every seashore in the world one at a time, and fly
them to the moon, and pick up every particle of the moon and fly it to the earth, until the earth is where the moon is
and the moon is where the earth is, it would still only be a fraction of eternity.
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The pains of hell are described as eternal fire (Matt. 18:8), no rest (Rev. 14:11), everlasting punishment and
everlasting destruction and shut out from God’s presence (2 Thess. 1:9), and everlasting torment (Rev. 20:10).
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What makes hell painful is that it is eternal separation from God, eternal association with the Devil, eternal isolation
from people, eternal duration of time and eternal affliction of torment
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One of the horrors of hell will be a misspent life here on earth. “Son, remember” (Luke 16:16:25)
The People of Hell- (Rev. 21:8)
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There will be multitudes in hell, people from all walks of life, from every nation, tribe and tongue, every color of
skin, every social class and everybody in between.
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Hell is no respecter of persons. From out of all these types of people the Word of God breaks them down into eight
classifications. They are:
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The cowardly- These people are those who did not confess Christ due to their fear of man, because they
refused to acknowledge Jesus Christ publicly, then on the Day of the Lord he will deny them publicly.
(Read Matt. 10:32-33; Rom. 10:9)
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The unbelieving- “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:8). These are the ones who did not call on the name of the Lord for salvation, even
though they had ample time and opportunities they still chose not to repent and call on his name to save
them.
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The vile- These are the ones who have defiled themselves with the pollution and wickedness of the world,
they chose to ignore the cleansing of God’s Word and chose to live a lifestyle that is an abomination to the
Lord. (Please read Romans 1:24-28)
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The murderers- One of the Ten Commandments is not to murder. This commandment was given to
respect the life of the next person, but ever since Cain slain Abel there has been an ever increasing
disregard for human life.
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The sexually immoral- These are the ones who have taken lightly God’s commands against sexual
promiscuity and adultery and embraced it as a practicing way of life. These are the ones who engage in sex
without any response or thought of God and his judgment against it. God’s word says, “for God will
judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” (Heb. 13:5). There will be a pay day someday for the
sexually immoral.
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Those who practice magic arts- These are the drug users, the spiritists, psychics, mediums, channelers.
Those who consult the dead or cast spells, those who interpret omens and engages in witchcraft. (Galatians
5:19-20; Deuteronomy 18:10-12)
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The idolators- These are the ones who have broken the first two of the Ten Commandments: having no
other gods before him and making a graven image (idol), and worshiping them. Today, there is still idol
worship going on where they are bowing before a man-made image, but there is a greater degree of idol
worship going on and we don’t even see it. It is the idol worship of sex, sports, success and self. An idol is
anything you love, respect, fear, or worship more than God. As one person once said, “The man conceived
the idol, but the idol deceived the man.” And he deceived him straight into the very flames of hell for
eternity.
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The liars- Satan is a liar and the father of all lies (John 8:44). A lie is the very native tongue of the devil
and all Satan can speak. When you lie you speak the language of the devil himself. You are more like the
devil when you lie and more like Christ when you speak the truth. A lie is a great sin in the sight of God.
For he says in his word, “there are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty
eyes, a lying tonguethe Lord detests lying lips” (Proverbs 6:16-19; 12:22).
All these classes of people will spend eternity in “the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
The Promise of Hell- (Rev. 20:15)
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There are some preachers today that say God is a God of love and how could a God of love throw someone into such
an awful place of torment?
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They are right in saying that God is a God of love, but what they fail to understand that God is also a holy God that
will not tolerate evil. Therefore, if God is a God of love, he is also a God of wrath because he is a holy God.
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There is a promise to the unbeliever of everlasting punishment in hell for rejecting Jesus Christ and the truth of God.
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God doesn’t send man there, but mans sends himself when he rejects the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
So the fault of mankind in hell lay not with God, but with man.
Conclusion
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Charles Spurgeon preached a message called “Heaven and Hell” in 1855 and as he was closing his message said, “The angel
binding you hand and foot, holds you one single moment over the mouth of the chasm. He bids you to look
down-down-down. There is no bottom: you hear coming up from the Abyss, sullen moans and hollow groans and shrieks of
tortured ghosts. You quiver, your bones melt like wax and your marrow quakes within you. Where is they might? And
where is thy boasting? You shriek and cry, you beg for mercy: but the angel with one tremendous grasp seizes you fast and
hurls you down with the cry, “Away, away!” And down you go to the pit that is bottomless, and you roll forever
downward-downward-downward never to find a resting place for the soul of your foot.”
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Hell may be out of date and an unpopular message today, but it is not out of business. Everyday people die without the Lord,
will you be one?
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And why? Jesus Christ died on the cross and took your hell upon Himself, to give you the chance for eternal life.
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Will the last words you ever hear from God be the words, “I never knew you, away from me, you evildoers?” And be cast
into outer darkness!
Hell: Out of Date but Not Out of Business
Matthew 7:21-23; 25:41
Introduction
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According to Gallup research, 94% of U.S. adults believe in God or a universal spirit; 84% believe Jesus Christ is God or the
Son of God; and 53% believe in a literal hell.
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A Newsweek poll found that 94% of Americans believe in God; 77% believe in a heaven; 76% think they have a good or
excellent chance of getting there. 58% of those surveyed believe in hell.
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The _______________ of Hell-
(Matt. 16:18)
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Hell= (Greek) _________________________-
(2Peter 2:4; Jude 6)
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Hell= (Greek) _________________________-
(Luke 16:23; Matt. 16:18)
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Hell= (Greek) _________________________-
(Rev. 20:14)
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The ______________ of Hell- (Matt. 25:41)
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The ______________ of Hell- (Luke 16:23-25; 27; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 20:10)
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How long is eternity?
The ______________ of Hell- (Rev. 21:8)
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The ___________________-
Matt. 10:32-33; Rom. 10:9
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The ___________________-
2 Thess. 1:8
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The ___________________-
Romans 1:24-28
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The ___________________-
1 John 3:15
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The ___________________-
Heb. 13:5
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Those who practice ___________________- Galatians 5:19-20, Deuteronomy 18:10-12
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The ___________________-
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The liars- ______________-
John 8:44, Proverbs 6:16-19; 12:22
The _____________ of Hell- (Rev. 20:15)
Conclusion
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Will the last words you ever hear from God be the words, “I never knew you, away from me, you evildoers?”
Hell: Out of Date but Not Out of Business
Matthew 7:21-23; 25:41
Introduction
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The _______________ of Hell-
(Matt. 16:18)
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Hell= (Greek) _________________________-
(2Peter 2:4; Jude 6)
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Hell= (Greek) _________________________-
(Luke 16:23; Matt. 16:18)
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Hell= (Greek) _________________________-
(Rev. 20:14)
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The ______________ of Hell- (Matt. 25:41)
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The ______________ of Hell- (Luke 16:23-25; 27; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 20:10)
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The ______________ of Hell- (Rev. 21:8)
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The ___________________-
Matt. 10:32-33; Rom. 10:9
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The ___________________-
2 Thess. 1:8
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The ___________________-
Romans 1:24-28
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The ___________________-
1 John 3:15
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The ___________________-
Heb. 13:5
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Those who practice ___________________- Galatians 5:19-20, Deuteronomy 18:10-12
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The ___________________-
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The liars- ______________-
The _____________ of Hell- (Rev. 20:15)
Conclusion
John 8:44, Proverbs 6:16-19; 12:22