| Sons To Glory Newsletter #6 |
Chanukkah
- December 11, 2009
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Is Hell Really that Hot?by Paul Jablonowski Happy Chanukah friends! Hanukah is not one of the seven major feasts that God gave to Moses, but it is one that Jesus celebrated as recorded in the gospel of John 10:22. It is also called the Feast of Dedication because it remembers the dedication of the foundation of the second temple from the prophet Haggai. Haggai 2:10-23 mentions today's date of the 24th day of the 9th Hebrew month THREE different times saying to, "Consider from this day forward... I will bless you!" So it is an important date to be honoring and watching, because I believe this day will have prophetic implications in the years to come as God builds the third temple of the Bride of Christ in the earth in our generation. In future newsletters on this date I hope to discuss these things, but this newsletter is about the subject of hell. Hell is not the most pleasant subject to discuss, but Jesus talked about hell quite often, and it needs to be addressed here now because there are many false doctrines that subtly try to turn the reality of hell into a fantasy land. This is nothing new among occult religions and other world religions, but when I see it happening among those who are teaching and preaching the true Gospel of the Kingdom, then there is a need to address it. The fancy name it is being given is "the reconciliation of all things," or "the reconciliation of all mankind," but it is just dressing up in high heels the age old doctrine of Universalism which teaches everyone will eventually be saved from hell. I wish it were true, but truth is truth regardless of who believes it, and Jesus spoke some hard truths. They did not kill Jesus because he preached a wishy washy "believe whatever you want and go to heaven" doctrine. They crucified Jesus because he claimed to be the Son of God, and only Jesus could get away with this claim and still be worshiped by billions of people 2,000 years later! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me." It would be easier to ignore all the multitudes of sayings that Jesus spoke on hell being eternal, but if Jesus truly is the Son of God, then He probably has some insight into the subject of hell that we should listen to. Jesus said, "do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28) When referring to the destiny of those who reject Him, Jesus said they would be: "cast into the everlasting fire," or "cast into hell fire" or "brought down to hell." In the gospels Jesus mentions "hell" 15 different times and alludes to it many more times as simply "fire," "furnace of fire," or "fire that shall never be quenched - where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." No matter how you interpret the Greek or Hebrew this is not a pleasant place! And according to Jesus, it is not a place you can escape by your own merits. Jesus talked about "a certain rich man" who died and went into the torments of hell where this man learned the truths about hell first hand (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus explained that there is no escape from hell when he said to the rich man, "between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there (in hell) pass to us (in paradise)." So once a person dies, there is no more space for repentance. Our decisions here on earth will determine the place we spend eternity. This reality is a basic doctrine of the Christian faith that the apostle Paul called "eternal judgment." Here is the full text from Hebrews 6:1-2:
I have read many writings from Christians whom I respect that are basically saying hell is not eternal and all men will escape its torment regardless of their beliefs or confessions in this life. If Satan can convince us that hell really isn't that hot, and that it is not eternal, then he can also convince us that sin is not so bad either. After all, if there is no real eternal judgment for our sins, then they might not be that sinful? This makes the cross of Christ pointless. However, the Scripture is clear that, "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:23). Thank God that He has provided a way out of hell! One of my favorite sayings of Jesus shows both the way of life and the way of death which are both eternal:
So, it is obvious that God does not want any to perish in hell, but He has given every person a free will to either choose life through Jesus or death through trusting in themselves or other men. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man! But we must each individually act on the free gift of life by confessing Jesus as the Son of God to another person. Romans 10:9 is very clear that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved from the punishment of eternal death for your sins. It is that simple. It is the free gift of God by grace through our faith and not from our works, so nobody can boast in their efforts. To the average Christian this should be nothing new, because our spiritual forefathers have preserved this elementary doctrine of the faith for two millennium. This needs to be written down now due to the many shades of false doctrines popping up that go to great lengths trying to explain away the plain text of scripture regarding hell and the eternal reality of the afterlife. It is unsanctified mercy and "sloppy agape" (agape in Greek means love) to lighten the penalty for sin and describe hell as anything other than eternal and beyond escaping apart from a saving confession of Jesus Christ. I wish it were different for the many who refuse the love of their creator, but again I don't make the rules. I just believe what Jesus plainly taught and lived during His life. Jesus said, "whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32) So a simple heartfelt confession of faith in Jesus rescues from hell! Jesus also offers forgiveness for anyone who has spoken against Him in ignorance, because there are many who preach a different Jesus other than the true love Jesus lived. If you are an earnest seeker for the truth, then the Holy Spirit will lead you to the true character of Jesus. Jesus said, "anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven." (Luke 12:10) Hanukkah is also called the Festival of Lights, and I pray this brief newsletter will shed some light on the many false ideas behind this universal reconciliation doctrine. Whether you read "death," "hell," "the grave" or any other Greek/Hebrew term for the punishment of sin in the afterlife, the conclusions are all similar. We can split hairs over the exact meanings of these terms, but the end results are still the same. The spirit of this matter Jesus has made very clear through His many sayings about eternal judgment. - "He who believes My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24) The fruit of this universal reconciliation doctrine is bad. It makes
Christians fat, complacent and lazy towards evangelism. If I really believed
punishment in hell was not eternal and all eventually would be saved,
then why would I ever spread the gospel? Why would I ever pray and intercede
for unbelievers? We are in a spiritual warfare whether we want to be or
not, and this doctrine is from the pit. I don't say this lightly, and
it is with a heavy heart that I'm writing this newsletter, but the consequences
of buying into this mentality could be the eternal destiny of those around
us! We have a responsibility to steward the great commission and plunder
hell! Jesus, the prophets, and the early church
apostles all taught an eternal judgment. For further study, here is just
a small sampling of the many scriptures on this topic... 1) Jesus: Luke
16:19-31; Matthew 25:31-46; Matthew 13:36-43,47-51; Matthew 23:13-15,29-35;
Mark 9:42-48; John 8:42-47 ... 2) The prophets: Isaiah
57:20-21; Isaiah 66:24; Psalm 69:28; Psalm 37:22,34,38; Psalm 140:8-10;
Ezekiel 31:14-18 ... 3) The early church apostles: John 3:16-21,36; Hebrews
6:1-8; 2Peter 2:4-17; Jude 12-13; Revelation 20:6-15; Revelation 21:7-8. You are invited to join the Sons to Glory E-mail list, where subscribers receive about three Newsletters per year. To subscribe please visit: www.sonstoglory.com/emaillist.htm |
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