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Almighty Father, thank you for this time to come and to hear your words being preached. Please bless the message. Please let it bring glory to you. Please open our hearts and our ears to your word. Help us keep distractions to a minimum. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Alright, well we're there in Luke chapter number 16. And I'd like you to look down at verse number 19. Luke chapter number 16 and verse number 19. The Bible says There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores. And designed to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and linked to sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. I'd like you to look down at verse number 23. And in hell he lived up his eyes being in torment. This morning we are ending our series. We've been in a series for the last several weeks on the subject of the afterlife. We've been talking about what happens after you die. And if you remember when we started this series three weeks ago, four weeks ago, we began with a sermon entitled Preparing for Death. And we talked about how to live your life so that when you come to the end, when you come to the day you die you can be ready to die and not live with regrets. Then we talked about our glorified bodies and the fact that one day God's going to resurrect believers. And we looked at all those passages and all those interesting things about the glorified body that God promises He's going to give you. Last week we had a very positive type sermon on the subject of heaven. We went through all the passages or many of the passages in Scripture that have to do with what heaven will be like. And we saw what eternity will be like for those that are saved. Today we end the series on a negative note and we talk about hell and where unbelievers go when they die. And you know, today in American churches hell is not a popular thing to be talked about or preached about. In fact there are famous preachers like Joel Osteen who says that he will never even use the word hell from behind the pulpit or the platform or wherever he preaches from. And that's a new thing where people don't want to talk about hell. They don't want to, it's a negative thing. It's a scary thing. But you know, the Bible talks more about hell than it does heaven. And Jesus preached more about hell than He did heaven. And you can't choose and cherry pick what parts of Scripture you want to focus in and not focus in. And God tells us and gives us details about a place called hell because He wants us to be aware that there is a place where people go who die without Christ. Now I thought it was perfect how the schedule worked out to be able to preach on the subject of hell today, October 30th, because tomorrow is the 31st. And tomorrow our world wants to celebrate this idea of fear and wants to celebrate the idea of being scared and all these things. But you know what? If there's one thing that we ought to be afraid of, it's hell. And if there's one thing the Bible describes for us that God wants to instill fear into us, it's on the subject of hell. So I think it, you know, our world wants to celebrate fear. Well, let's look at something to actually be afraid about. And I want to give you this morning just several points on the subject of hell as we study the horror of hell and what the Bible teaches about hell. And I want to give you a description of hell to begin with. What is hell like? Well, if you look down at verse number 23, we have this story here. And people will often try to just forget about this subject and they'll dismiss the story by saying, oh, this is just a parable Jesus gave and it's not a real story. But I want you to notice, usually in parables, the Lord Jesus Christ does not give you proper names. In a parable He'll say something like this, there was a certain man, there was a certain sower, there was, you know, He'll just talk in generalities. Here He tells us of a specific person by the name of Lazarus. And He tells us about another person who was a rich man. And He tells us that one died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And in verse 23 we're told of the other that in hell He lived up His eyes being in torment. And I want you to understand that I don't believe this was a parable. I believe this is real. And even if Luke 16 is a parable, we're going to look at a lot of passages this morning. We're going to look at a lot of scriptures. I want you to try to keep up, because I want you to notice how God describes hell. The first thing I want you to notice there is that it's described as a place of torment. Look at verse 23 again. And in hell He lived up His eyes being in torment and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And He cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and, notice what He says, and cool my tongue. Notice why, for I am tormented in this flame. See, the Bible describes hell as a place of torment and it's being tormented by fire. Keep your place there in Luke chapter 16 and go back to Mark chapter number 9. Just one book before you got the book of Mark. Mark chapter 9 and look down at verse number 43. Mark chapter 9 and verse 43. Even famous preachers like Billy Graham today. Well, Billy Graham made statements where he said, I don't think hell has literal fire in it. He said, I think that's just figurative speech. I don't think there's really a place where there's fire and people are tormented. That's what Billy Graham, one of the most famous preachers in America, that's what he said. And you know what, Billy Graham, I think the Lord Jesus Christ would disagree with you. Because when Jesus was preaching in Mark chapter 9 and verse 43, I want you to notice what Jesus said in His sermon, 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, notice what He says, to go into hell into the fire that shall never be quenched. See, Jesus described hell as a place where there's fire and it'll never be quenched. And He says, look, and He's saying, if your hand is what's keeping you from getting saved, if your hand is what's causing you to go to hell, He said, you'd be better off just cutting that thing off than to go into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched. Look at verse 44, where there worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter halt into life than having two feet to be cast into hell into the fire, notice the emphasis, that never shall be quenched. Look at verse 46, where there worm dieth not, and notice the emphasis, the fire is not quenched. Look at verse 47, and if thy 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 just want you to notice, when Jesus talked about hell, and when Jesus preached about hell, and when Jesus described hell, He described it as a place where there is fire that shall never be quenched. A place where you are tormented in flame. And you've got to take the Bible literally, you know, other than when God tells us He's given us symbolism, you've got to understand that hell is a place where people literally burn. They are tormented by flame. They are tormented by fire. That's what the Bible says. Now, keep your place there in Mark chapter 9, because we're going to leave it, and we're going to come back to it. But go with me to the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter number 14. Revelation chapter number 14. Revelation is the last book in the Bible, should be fairly easy to find. Revelation chapter 14. Now, last week we talked about heaven, but listen, you can't talk about heaven without talking about hell. And you can't believe in heaven without believing in hell. And you've got to understand that there are two sides to this thing of judgment, and yes, you can be saved, and you can be forgiven by grace and by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but those who reject that salvation, there is a place of judgment for them. Revelation 14. Look at verse 10. Notice what the Bible says. Revelation 14, verse 10. He shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation. And notice how it's described. He shall be tormented, notice, with fire. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. So I want you to notice, you say, how does God describe hell? Here's how He describes it. As a place where you are tormented by fire. You are tormented by flame. You are tormented by, you are tortured, and you are in agony because you are being burned alive. But that's not the only description we have. There's another description. Look down at verse 11. Revelation 14 and verse 11. And the smoke of the torment ascended up forever and ever. Notice what it says. And they have no rest. Do you see that? Day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Look down at, go to Revelation chapter 20. Look at verse 10. Revelation chapter 20, verse 10. I want you to notice another description for hell is not only being tortured by flame, but it's also that of having no rest day or night. The Bible describes heaven as rest. The Bible describes heaven as a place where we rest. That's why often they'll put on a tombstone rest in peace. Well that's a reference to someone going to heaven. But the Bible says that in hell there's no rest day or night. Revelation 20, look at verse 10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. Notice and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. There's no rest. There's no end. There's torment day and night. And did you know that, you know, not allowing someone to sleep or to rest is actually considered torture? I mean there are some countries and there are some places during, you know, military campaigns where they'll torture people and I'm not advocating that or saying that's right, but people will be tortured by literally just not being allowed to sleep. And the Bible tells us that the people that go to hell will be tormented day and night. There'll be no rest day and night. They'll be inflamed. They'll be being burned alive day and night forever and ever. So we see, how does the Bible describe hell? First of all, as a place of torment by flame. Secondly, as a place of no rest day or night. But there's another description. Let me give it to you. You're there in the book of Revelation. Go one book back into the book of Jude. Jude only has one chapter. Jude 1, look down at verse number 6. Jude 1 and verse 6. The Bible describes hell as a place delivered where someone is delivered into chains. Jude 1, 6. Notice what the Bible says. Jude 1, 6. And the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved, notice, in everlasting, I want you to notice, chains. You see that? In everlasting chains, under the darkness, under the judgment of the great day, even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, and set forth for example, suffering the vengeance of, notice, eternal fire. Do you see that? The description of fire. The description of chains. Go to 2 Peter chapter number 2. I know we're looking at a lot of verses, but I just want to lay this foundation. 2 Peter chapter 2. You're there in Jude. You're going to go backwards. You're going to go past 3, 2 and 1 John into the book of 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter number 2. Look at verse number 4. 2 Peter chapter number 2. And look at verse number 4. 2 Peter 2, 4. Notice what the Bible says. For if God spared not the angels that sin, but cast them down to hell and delivered them, notice, into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. I want you to know, you say, how does God describe hell? Here's how he describes it. I mean, think about this. He describes it as a place where you are chained up. He describes it as a place where you have no rest, day or night. And he describes it as a place where you are being tortured with flame and fire. And you know, people will get upset when a pastor like me will get up and preach on the subject of hell. And we don't talk this deep about hell on a regular basis, but they'll get mad and say, I don't think you should be talking about this. I don't think you should be preaching about this. I don't think this is appropriate. But yet it's funny because our world, you know, tomorrow you're going to let all your little kids dress up like all these ghouls and gremlins and all these fearful things. You're going to let them watch all these stupid movies where they get scared and they get afraid. But you come to the house of God and you read the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ preaching against hell and people get mad. And people get upset. And people say it's not appropriate. Listen to me, you will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. You better figure out which one you're going to. You better figure out which one you want to go to because God does not describe. I know what Billy Graham said. I know what Joe Lowstein said. I know what Rick Warren said. But the Bible doesn't change the fact that the Bible describes hell. And it gives us a very descriptive description of a place you don't want to go. Let me give you another description of hell. Go back to Mark chapter 9. I asked you to keep your place there. Mark 9, look at verse 44. I want you to notice the wording in Mark 9, 44. Mark 9, 44. Mark 9, 44, the Bible says this. Mark chapter 9 and verse 44. I want you to notice how this is worded. Where worm dieth not. Do you see that? Where their worm dieth not and the fires not quench. The Bible says that there is a worm. But it's interesting. He talks about a worm in hell. But you see the word there? T-H-E-I-R? That means it belongs to that person. You've got a worm in hell that belongs to you. Look down at verse 46. Where their worm dieth not. Do you see that? Say, what is that talking about? Go with me to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter number 14. Now, if you go to the Old Testament, you open the Bible right in the center, you'll more than likely find the book of Psalms. You've got Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Then you've got the book of Isaiah. The big book of Isaiah. It's the first of the major prophets. Isaiah chapter 14. Now, do me a favor. Keep your place there. Because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. We're going to look at a lot of passages in Isaiah. But I want you to notice what Isaiah 14.9 says. Talking about hell. Isaiah 14.9. You've got that big book of Isaiah. Isaiah 14.9. Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Isaiah. Isaiah 14 and verse 9. Notice what the Bible says. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming. It served up the debt for thee. Even all the chief ones of the earth, it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. And they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Notice verse 11. Thy pomp is brought down to the grave and the noise of thy vials. I want you to notice the last phrase of verse 11. The worm is spread under thee and the worms cover thee. Do you see that? Isaiah described hell as a place. I mean, get this picture. You're chained up. You've got worms under you. You've got worms covering you. Jesus said where their worm dieth not. You've got worms, you know, how does all that work? I'm not sure. And I don't plan to find out either. You know, I don't want to go to hell. But, you know, I know this. You put a body in the ground and it begins to have worms go through it. And the Bible describes the people in hell as being dead. And here's what I know. There's a worm. There's worms assigned to the people in hell. There's worms that are spread under them and worms that are covering them. I mean, some of you ladies just having worms covering your body, that would be bad enough. Then imagine being chained up. Then imagine being tormented and flamed. Then imagine not being allowed to rest, not being allowed to sleep. Day and night tormented. You say, why are you taking the time to describe? Because I want you to understand, as you and I sit here right now, there are millions and millions and millions of people. If you believe the Bible, there are millions and millions of people in place just like that. Call to hell? You know, what it comes down to is, do you believe the Bible? I mean, we want to believe all the nice parts and we like the Sermon on Heaven and we like the Sermon on the glorified body and we like all the nice parables and all the nice things. But do you believe... Look, it's the same God that wrote all those nice parts. Same God that wrote Psalm 23 gave us Luke 16. There's a place called hell. God describes it as a very bad place of torment and fire. God describes it as a very bad place of being chained up where you have worms under you and worms covering you. It's a place of torment. You say, well, that's a description of hell. Well, how long will that last for? Okay, well, let's talk about the duration of hell. You know, how long do you have to endure hell when you go there? I should have asked you to keep your place there and I apologize. Go back to Jude chapter 1. It's the only chapter in the book of Jude. It's the book right before the book of Revelation. It shouldn't be too hard to find. You've got Revelation and then you've got Jude. Jude 1. We talked about the description of hell. Let's talk about the duration of hell. Not only did we answer the question, what is hell like, but we should answer this question, how long will hell last? When someone goes to hell, how long are they there for? Jude 1 and verse 6, the Bible says, And the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in, I want you to notice this word, everlasting chains. Everlasting chains under darkness, under the judgment of the great God, even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of, notice this word, eternal fire. You say, how long does hell last for? For everlasting. How long does it last for? Eternally. Go to Revelation chapter 20, and I can show you a lot of verses on this subject that I don't want to, and honestly I don't want to, there's so many verses I have to cut out of this sermon, because there's so many passages that talk about hell, and I don't want to spend a long time talking about this subject, but I want you to look at enough Bible to get a good picture of what hell is like. Revelation chapter 20, and look at verse number 10, Revelation chapter 20 and verse 10, the Bible says this, And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night, notice, forever and ever. How long? Forever. How long and ever? Is it going to last? Look, when someone dies and goes to hell, after you die, no matter where you go, you're there for eternity. If you go to heaven, you're there for eternity, and if you go to hell, you're there for eternity. There are religions today that teach that hell doesn't last that long, or that hell is not forever. The Jehovah's Witnesses will teach that when you go to the lake of fire, you basically just burn up, and you're just there, you're not there very long. The seventh day of Venice will teach that you basically just burn up, and you're not there very long. But listen to me, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says you're there forever and ever. I remember one time, I was giving a gospel to one of the Jehovah's Witness elders, he lives just right down the street from my house, he's one of the main leaders, he speaks at the big Jehovah's Witness gathering in San Francisco every year, and I was giving him the gospel, and I showed him this verse where it says, you know, tormented day and night, forever and ever, and here's what he said to me, he said, when it says forever and ever, it doesn't mean forever and ever, it just means for like a long period of time. And I'm like, what do you mean? And he says to me, right there, that forever and ever, that actually means like about 20 years. I think to myself, like, look, I'd love to believe that. I'd love to believe that, you know, but here's the thing, I think if God meant 20 years, He would have said 20 years! I think He said it forever and ever! I think He said eternal! I think He said everlasting! Because that's what He wanted us to believe. And look, and you can sit there and say, well, that word doesn't mean this and that word doesn't mean that, but at the end of the day, you've got to decide, do you believe the Bible or not? Do you believe the word of God or not? Go to Matthew 25, look at verse 46, should be fairly easy to find. First book, you're going from the last book in the New Testament to the first book in the New Testament. Matthew 25, Matthew 25, you say, are you mad at these Jehovah's Witness? Are you mad at these Seventh Day Adventists? No, I feel bad for them. I want to give them the gospel. I want to get them saved. I want them to see the truth. You know, people are being led astray today, being told by preachers that hell is not a real place. But you know what it is if you believe the Bible. Matthew 25 and verse 46, notice what the Bible says, and the 25 verse 46, Matthew 25, 46, and these shall go away into everlasting punishment. How long will the punishment last? Everlastingly. How long will it last? Forever. Put the righteous into life eternal. How long does the eternal life last? Forever. When will heaven end? Never end. It will last forever. So I want you to understand, we got a description of hell. What's the description of hell? Flame, torment, chains, worms, no rest, day or night. What's the duration of hell? Everlasting. Eternally. It will never end. It will never stop. I'd like you to notice number three. Let's talk about the depths of hell. Where is hell at? Where is hell? Go back to the book of Isaiah if you get your place there. Isaiah chapter 5 and look down at verse number 14. Isaiah chapter 5 and verse number 14. Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 14. Where is hell? Because here's what you need to understand. Hell is a literal place. It's a physical place. It actually exists. And the Bible tells us where hell is. Isaiah 5 and verse 14 says this, Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself. I want you to remember that because we're going to talk about that again at the end of the sermon. Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself, and openeth her mouth without measure, and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp. Notice, it doesn't matter how rich, doesn't matter how famous, doesn't matter how much you had. He says their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth. Notice, I want you to notice what the Bible says. Shall descend into it. Whenever the Bible talks about hell, it talks about going down into hell. You descend into it. Look down at verse number 9. I'm sorry, Isaiah 14. Look at verse 9. You're there in Isaiah 5 just a few pages over. Isaiah 14 and verse 9. Notice what the Bible says. Hell from beneath. Do you see that? Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming. It's moving to me because it's enlarging itself. But I want you to notice, according to the Bible, where's hell? It's beneath. Hell from beneath is what the Bible says. Look down at verse 15. Isaiah 14 and verse 15. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell. Do you see that? It's always being brought down to hell. It's always going down into hell. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell. Notice, to the sides of the pit. What's a pit? It's a hole in the ground as you dig down into the ground. And he says, when you go to hell, you go down to hell. When you go to hell, you go down. He says it's from the ground. When you go to hell, you go down. He says it's from beneath. He says you go down into hell. Go to the book of Ezekiel chapter 31. You're there in Isaiah. You're going to go past Jeremiah, past Lamentations, into the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 31. Look at verse 17. Ezekiel 31 and verse 17. See, the Bible tells us that hell is underneath. And Jesus said that when he died, He said, as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, He said that he would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. In the center. That's what the term heart is referring to. It's referring to the center of the earth. The book of Acts tells us that Jesus went down to hell. It says that his body did not see corruption and that his soul was not left in hell. You say, where is hell? I'll tell you exactly where hell is. It's in the middle of the earth. It's right in the center of the earth. And our pagan stupid world with other evolution nonsense and other science, you know, falsely so-called, will tell you that if you cut the earth right, you know, right in the center, in the middle of the earth, you're going to find what they call the core. And what is it? A bunch of lava, a bunch of fire, a bunch of brimstone. Why? You say, what is that? It's hell. That's what the Bible teaches. And it's funny that thousands of years ago, Isaiah wrote, Hey, you dig down, you go down, you'll find fire, you'll find hell. Jesus talked about going in the center of the earth 2,000 plus years ago and said, I was going to go down to hell. And then we, you know, our science catches up and says, Hey, guess what happens when you go down into the center of the earth? You know what there is? Fire. You know what God calls that? Hell. Ezekiel 31, look at verse 17. Ezekiel 31, verse 17. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword. And they that were his arm that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. I want you to notice, it says that they went down into hell. Look down at verse number 18, same chapter, 31, 18. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet thou shalt be brought down with the trees of Eden unto, notice these words, the nether part. What's nether mean? Means below, means going down. Unto the nether part of the what? Earth. It's at the below ground parts of the earth. Thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitudes, saith the Lord God. Go to Ezekiel 32, look at verse 24. One chapter over, Ezekiel 32, verse 24. Ezekiel 32 and verse number 24, notice what the Bible says. Ezekiel 32 and verse 24, the Bible says, There is Elam, and all her multitude round about her, her grave, and all them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which cause their terror in the land of the living. Yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. You're there in Ezekiel, go to the book of Amos, Amos chapter number 9. You're there in Ezekiel, you're going to go past the book of Daniel, past the book of Hosea, past the book of Joel, into the book of Amos. Amos is one of those minor prophets. You've got Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Amos chapter number 9. Look at verse number 2, Amos chapter number 9 and verse number 2, notice what the Bible says. Amos chapter 9 and verse 2, the Bible says, I want you to notice, though they dig into hell, do you see that? God says you can dig into hell. You say, why? Because it's underground, because it's beneath, because it's in the heart of the earth, because it's in the nether parts of the earth. He says, though they dig into hell, then shall my hand take them. Though they climb up to the heavens, then shall I bring them down. Go to Deuteronomy chapter number 32, Deuteronomy chapter number 32. You've got Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 32, look at verse 22. Deuteronomy 32 and verse number 22, notice what the Bible says. Deuteronomy 32 and verse 22, Deuteronomy 32, 22. Deuteronomy 22, for a fire is kindled in mine anger and shall burn unto, notice, the lowest hell. You say, how do you get down to hell? You've got to go low. He says, it will burn down to the lowest hell and shall consume the earth with her increase, don't miss this, notice, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. God says, when you get down to the foundation of the mountains, when you get down to the biggest mountain and dig down to the bottom, to the foundation of that mountain, you know what you're going to find? Hell. He says, I'm going to set on fire the foundations of the mountains. He says, they're going to dig into hell. He says, though they go to the lowest hell. I'm just trying to explain something to you. The Bible describes hell as being in the middle of the earth, in the center of the earth. It's a physical place. People physically go there. It's a place that actually exists. Go to the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 15. If you can find the book of Psalms again, remember right in the center of your Bible, you've got Psalms. I know we're looking at a lot of verses this morning, but I just want you to get the idea of how much God talks about the subject of hell. If you open your Bible, just right in the center, you've got the book of Psalms. Right after Psalms, you've got the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 15. Look at verse number 24, Proverbs 15 and verse number 24. Now do me a favor, when you get to Proverbs, keep your place there. We're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. I know I've been telling you that a lot, but we already saw the passage in Mark, so you don't have to keep your place there. You should have your place in Isaiah and you should have your place in Proverbs. Proverbs 15, look at verse 24. Notice what the Bible says. Proverbs 15 and verse 24, the Bible says, The way of life is above to the wise that he may depart, notice, from hell beneath. You see that? Where's hell? Beneath. Where's hell? Below. Where's hell? In the lower parts of the earth. In the nether parts of the earth. You can dig down into it. If you can get to the foundations of the mountains, you'll find out. That's what the Bible says. So we talked about the description of hell. And we talked about the duration of hell. And we talked about the depths of hell. Now let me just for a second, and I don't want to confuse you, but let me just explain to you a little bit of theology, just so you understand something. Keep your place there in Proverbs, because we're going to come back to it. But go to the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 20. Again, it should be fairly easy to find the last book in the Bible. Revelation chapter 20. There is a difference between what the Bible calls hell and what the Bible calls the lake of fire. They are two separate locations. And I want you to just understand, you know, the difference, just to answer any questions that someone might have. Hell, according to the Bible, is in the center of the earth. We just looked at a lot of verses about it being below, being beneath. And it's where your soul goes if you are an unbeliever before you are judged at what's called the great white throne judgment. See, when an unbeliever dies, no different than when a believer dies, their soul either goes to heaven or hell. Their body stays on this earth and is buried or is cremated or whatever they choose to do with it. Alright? The souls of unbelievers go to hell. The souls of believers go to heaven. Their bodies stay on this earth until what's known as the great white throne. Let's look at it real quickly. Revelation chapter 20. Look at verse number 11. Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 11. Now the great white throne is a judgment of unbelievers. Say people do not get judged at the great white throne. The judgment of believers is what's known as the judgment seat of Christ. I've preached sermons on that before. You can look that up on our website if you'd like. Revelation 20, 2011 says this, And I saw a great white throne, that's why we call it the great white throne judgment, to him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. Now I want you to notice, the day of the great white throne, the Bible tells us that, it says that the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. Now that's important to understand because here's what I was saying. There's nowhere else to go. On the day of the great white throne, everyone will be present at this judgment. Everyone who has ever lived, whether saved or unsaved, we will all be there. Now saved people will not be judged. We'll just be witnessing the event. Unbelievers will be judged at the great white throne. But you're not going to be off somewhere in your little condo in heaven. No. The Bible says the earth and the heavens fled away. Everyone will be at this judgment. You say, well what happens? Look at verse 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, rich and poor, powerful or not powerful. He said, I saw the dead. Now understand this, believers are never called dead. Jesus said, he that believeth in me shall never die. So when he's talking about the dead, he's not referring to believers. He says, and I saw the dead, small and great, stand. You see that word stand? That's referring to the resurrection. You say, do unbelievers get resurrected? Yeah, they get resurrected. Because resurrect just means that your body is brought back. You are erected back. And even the dead are resurrected. Notice verse 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead. This is talking about the bodies. There's a lot of dead bodies in the sea. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And notice, death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. What is that referring to? Hell delivered up the souls, death delivered up the bodies. You understand that? Just like you and I, one day, remember the glorified body? One day we're going to be resurrected and our bodies will be brought back. They will be resurrected and our souls will unite with our bodies in heaven with God at the rapture. One day there is a resurrection for unbelievers where hell will give up the souls and death will give up the bodies and they will stand, be resurrected before God. So what happens? Well, look at verse 12 again. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the book according to their what? Works. See, all these unbelievers, all these Catholics and Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and Lutherans and Islam and whatever religion you want to name who say we will go to heaven or we will go into eternity and it will be based on how we lived our lives. It's based on doing good things and repenting of your sins. God says, hey, if you want to be judged by your works, I'll judge you by your works. And notice at the great white throne, he says, okay, you think you're good enough to make it to heaven? Let's see. Notice verse 13, and as he gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged, every man according to their works. Here's the problem with being judged by your works is that the Bible says there is none that doeth good, no, not one. The Bible says that we all come short of the glory of God. See, no matter how good you are, you'll never be good enough. No matter how many works you've got, you'll never have enough to undo. But God says, hey, you want to be judged by your works, I'll judge you by your works. Learn his verse 14. And by the way, they want to be judged by their works. In Matthew 7, they're yelling and they're saying, did we not prophesy in thy name and in thy name cast out devils and in thy name do many wonderful works. And he says, depart from me. He says, I never knew you. He says, you are workers of iniquity. So they're being judged for their works. Notice verse 14, and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. Death is referring to their bodies. Hell is referring to their souls and death and hell. But I want you to notice, the hell that's in the center of the earth will be taken one day and will be cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever is not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. See, hell and the lake of fire are two different places right now. And one day after the judgment, after the great white throne, God's going to take hell, which is in the middle of the earth, which has all those souls of the unbelievers, and he's going to cast that into the lake of fire. He's going to throw it into the lake of fire. He's going to throw it into the lake of fire. You say, well, where is the lake of fire? I'm glad you asked. Go to Matthew 22. Look at verse 13. Let's look at it quickly. Matthew 22, verse 13. Matthew 22, verse 13. Notice what the Bible says. It should be fairly easy to find the first book in the New Testament. Matthew 22, verse 13. Notice what the Bible says. Then said the king unto the servant. I'm just going to show you one verse. I can show you multiple verses, but we don't have time. Then said the king to the servant, bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him, notice, into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So where is this guy being cast? This is a parable. It's a teaching about after the great white throne and they're being cast into outer darkness. See, the lake of fire is in outer darkness. It's just somewhere out in space. There's a place called the lake of fire. Right now, hell is in the center of the earth, but one day after the great white throne, God's going to remove all the souls out of hell. He's going to take all the dead bodies of unbelievers, going to unite them together. He's going to judge them based on their works and then he's going to throw all of them, soul, body, hell, everything into the lake of fire, which is in outer darkness. But let me say this. Sometimes people get really hung up on this thing of, well, you know, are you talking about hell? Are you talking about the lake of fire? They try to get all into it. Listen to me. They're basically the same place. They're both a place of fire and torment. And what's funny is that God refers to both places as hell. So what are you talking about? Go to Matthew 10. Look at verse 28. Matthew 10. Look at verse 28. Matthew 10 and verse 28. Just a few pages back. Matthew chapter 10, verse 28. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him, talking about God, rather fear Him which is able to destroy, notice, both soul and body. Now look, where does both soul and body go? Lake of fire. Because in hell, only your soul goes there. The bodies of unbelievers are buried. Not till after the great white throne when the bodies are resurrected are both cast into the lake of fire. But notice what God calls it at the end of verse 28, which is able to destroy both soul and body in what? Hell. He just calls it all hell. Why? Because it's all the same thing. Chains, worms, torment, no rest day or night. It's the same thing. It's just one is after the resurrection, both soul and body. Just like believers, if you died right now, your soul would go to heaven. You'd be up in heaven as a soul. The book of Revelation teaches us that. Until the day of the rapture, then you'd be united with your body and then you would be in heaven with your glorified body. So that's just what it's referring to. For those of you that are interested in that, I wanted to be able to answer that. So we've seen so far the description of hell. What is hell like? We've seen so far the duration of hell. How long will it last? We've seen so far the depths of hell. Where is hell at right now? It's in the center of the earth and no one's in the lake of fire yet. The beast and the false prophet are the first to go into the lake of fire. But let me give you one more point. Let's talk about the director of hell. Who's in charge in hell? Who's running the show in hell? Because, you know, today people will teach, you know, if they do believe in hell, they'll say, well, the devil is down in hell and he's got these horns and he's got this pitchfork, you know, and you're just a little too into Halloween, okay? You're like, the devil's down in hell and he's poking people and he's running the show and he's the one, you know, he's the one that's ruling in hell. But listen to me, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible does not say that hell is direct, that Satan is directing in hell. You know who's in charge? You know who's directing? You know who's dictating in hell? It's God. Matthew 10, are you there in verse 28? Look what it says. Fear not them which kill the body. He said, don't be afraid of man. All they can do is kill your body. And we had 600 protesters out here several months ago and some people were all afraid and scared. I was getting phone calls. We were saying, you brought our counsel to services. They're going to kill you. They're going to do this. They're going to do that. I think to myself, Jesus said, fear not them which kill the body. Look, the worst thing they can do is kill this body. No big deal. You can't scare me with heaven. I'm on my way to heaven. I've accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. I'm not afraid to die. He said, fear not them which kill the body. He said, here's what you should be afraid of but are not able to kill the soul. But rather, fear Him. Who's Him? God. Fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. See, you want to know who's destroying both soul and body in hell? It's Him. It's God. No, it's the devil. That's not what the Bible teaches. Okay, let's look at some passages. Go back to Proverbs. Proverbs 15. Did you keep your place there? Proverbs 15. Look at verse 11. Proverbs 15. Verse 11. Proverbs 15 and verse 11. Proverbs 15 and 11. Hell and destruction are before the devil. Is that what it says? No. Hell and destruction are before who? The Lord. You know who's witnessing? You know who's overseeing? You know who's watching the events in hell? It's the Lord. Hell and destruction are before the Lord. How much more than the hearts of the children are men? Go to Psalm 139. You're there in Proverbs 15. Just one book back. Psalm 139. Look at verse 7. This is a great passage about the omnipresence of God. The fact that God is everywhere at once. Psalm 139 and verse 7. Psalm 139 and verse 7 says this. Whether shall I go from Thy Spirit? If you look at the context, the Spirit there is referring to the Spirit of God. He's saying, how can I run away from God? Remember Jonah was trying to run away from God? He says, whether shall I go from Thy Spirit or whether shall I free from Thy presence? Notice what he says. If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. The Bible says that God's in hell. You say, you go to heaven, He's there. You go to hell. And today Billy Graham and his little friends want to tell you, hell is not a literal place. There's not real literal fire. There's not, you know, and they say, you know what hell is? It's being eternally separated from God. They say the real horror of hell is that you're separated from God. That's a lie. And listen to me. Would you rather be separated from God or tortured alive in fire? I mean, being separated from God is not that bad. You know what's bad? Being chained up, caught on fire, worms eating you alive. That sounds pretty bad. And today they say, no, no, there's no little fire. Fire is just, you know, that's just symbolic. The worms are symbolic. The chains are symbolic. It's all symbolic. What's the worst part of hell, Billy Graham? What's the worst part of hell, Joel Osteen? The fact that you're separated from God. It's funny, it's like they get everything wrong. I guess when you don't have the word of God and you got a corrupted Bible, that's just how it goes. They're like, God's not in hell. The Bible says God's in hell. Listen to me. The people in hell are going to wish they could be separated from God. The problem with hell is that God is the one there. Tormenting God is the one there. Directing God, it's in the presence of the Lord. It's His judgment on sin. And some of you need to deal with that. Some of you are like, well, I don't like that God. Well, you better figure it out because you don't get to choose. You don't get to make the God of your own imagination. There are two sides to hell. You say, well, to God. Isn't God loving? Yes, but He's also holy. There's a judgment of God. And He's given us a way of salvation. He's given us a way of forgiveness. He's given us a way to not have to go to hell. But you know what? Today people want to reject Jesus. They want to spit in His face. They want to say, no, it's evolution. No, it's my own works. No, it's anything but Christ. And God says, OK, well, you want to take your chances with that. That's fine. But you'll spend eternity in a place called hell. Because no one has to go to hell. You don't have to go to hell. But if you want to try to make it out of there by your works, then there's only one place you're going to end up. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Go to Revelation 14. Revelation 14, look at verse 10. Revelation 14, last book in the Bible. Revelation 14, look at verse 10. We got to move quickly. We're almost done. I'm going to finish this point and then I'll make an application and we'll be done. Revelation 14, verse 10. Revelation 14 and verse 10. Revelation 14 and verse 10. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture in the cup of His indignation, and He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the devil. Is that what it says? In the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Who's the Lamb? Jesus. John said, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. Referring to Jesus. Who's in charge in hell? It's Jesus. Who's in charge in hell? It's God. It's not Satan down there with a pitchfork. Listen to me. When Satan's never even been to hell and when he goes to hell, he will be tormented by Jesus. Along with everyone else that followed him. Along with everyone else that believed in his lies. Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians. You find the T-books. Find the T-books. They're all clustered together. You got 1 and 2 Thessalonians. 1 and 2 Timothy. Titus. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Look at verse number 9. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 9. 2 Thessalonians 1, 9. 2 Thessalonians 1, 9. Notice what the Bible says. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence, notice, of the Lord. All throughout the Bible you find it's God pouring out his wrath. It's God doing the punishment. It's God doing the judgment. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. So we saw this warning number 1. The description of hell. How is hell described? It's described as a place where you are in torments. It's described as a place where you are on fire. You are tormented by the flame. It's described as a place where you are chained up. It's described as a place where you are not allowed to rest day or night. It's described as a place where worms are eating you alive and their worm dieth not. What's the duration of hell? Forever. Forever. Never stops. Once you go there, there's no end. One of the depths of hell. It's in the middle of the earth. It's in the center of the earth. That's what the Bible tells us. Who's directing hell? God is. He's punishing it. You say, Pastor Jimenez, why would you preach a sermon like this? Here's what I want you to understand. No one has to go to hell. In fact, and it's not this. See, our society today, they'll say, good people go to heaven, bad people go to hell. That's a lie. There's no good people. Show me a good person. Who wants to stand up and say, I'm a good person? If we dig far enough, we'll find something bad you've done. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. That's what the Bible says. Good people go to heaven, bad people go to hell. No, no. There's none that doeth good, no, not one. You say, well, what's the difference? Who goes to heaven and who goes to hell? It's not good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Because listen to me, by your standards and by my standards, some good people are going to go to hell. And some bad people by your standards and my standards are going to go to heaven. So what makes the difference? Forgiven people go to heaven. Saved people go to heaven. Who are not saved by their own merit, who are not forgiven because of anything they've ever done, who are not given grace because of anything they did. And those who reject that gift, those who reject that forgiveness go to hell. Are you there in 2 Thessalonians? Look at chapter 1, look at verse 8. We read verse 9, look at verse 8. In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them, that who? Who are you going to take vengeance on? Them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me just break it down to you. The people who go to hell are the ones who did not obey the gospel, are the ones who did not know God. He says, depart from me, I never knew you, ye workers of iniquity. He said that to religious people. So what does it mean to obey the gospel? What's to obey the gospel? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. People who say, no, no, no, no, it can't be that easy. It can't just be faith. I've got to repent of my sins. I've got to get baptized. I've got to live a good life. I've got to quit fornicating. I've got to quit drinking. Look, all those things are good, but if you're trusting in those things to get to the heaven, guess what you're trusting in? Your works. If you're saying, well, yeah, I have salvation, but I can lose it based on something I do. Guess what you're trusting in? Your works. Guess what you're not obeying? The gospel. What's the gospel? Your sins can be forgiven. Not by something you've done, but by what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross. But you've got to accept that completely away from you and your works. You say, who goes to hell? Those who knew not God and those that obey not the gospel. That's it. Well, what if I'm a bad person and I obey the gospel? You go to heaven. What if I'm a good person and I just, you know, listen to me. I mean, I don't want to get into details, but I've got love. We have loved ones. I mean, people that have died and you cannot find, you cannot find a finer person than the people I'm thinking about right now. I mean, I've got people in my family and in my wife's family that you could not find a man. You could not find a lady who was more honest, who was more kind, who was more gentle, who was more, I mean, you cannot find a better person. I've never known a better person. But when they died, they weren't trusting in Jesus. And what's silly to me is people want to put their head in the sand and pretend like everyone who dies is saved. I know they were Islam and they died in Islam to the day of their death, but I just believe they're saved. You know what? You're just going to put blinders on, but you know what? You know what? There is a place called hell. There is a place where people go who don't believe, who don't obey the gospel. That's it. Not good people, bad people. It's, have you obeyed the gospel? Have you obeyed the gospel? Look down at 2 Thessalonians 1-8, inflaming fire, taking vengeance on them, that no, not God. So what if they don't know? That's not God's fault. Whose fault is it? He's given us a ministry of reconciliation. He's told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He's told us to make sure that no one dies without at least knowing. And you and I stand back and say, well, let somebody else do it. Let somebody else preach to them. See, I want to explain to you. You say, why would you preach to somebody like this? Because I want you to understand something. Go back to Luke 16 where we started. We're done. We're done right here. Luke 16. Look at verse 24. Let me tell you something interesting about hell. Luke 16 and verse 24. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in the water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. This little rich man that died asking Abraham, would you send Lazarus? Would you send that beggar? He said, I am in so much torment and so much flame. If I could just have him dip his finger in water, that would relieve some torment. Look at verse 25. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things, and likewise lives are as evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you, there is a great gold fixed. Now, I want you to understand, because people get all off on all sorts of weird things. You say, what is that about? I don't know what that's about. I don't understand that. I don't understand, and we'll figure that out. Here's what I do know. They're tormented in the presence of the holy angels, and they're tormented in the presence of the Lamb. So, obviously, there's some access into hell from heaven where people can see what's happening in hell. That's what we're seeing in this parable. Abraham's having a talk with someone in hell. Lazarus is talking to someone in hell. The man in hell is asking that someone would come and relieve him. And Abraham says, we can't. We can't do that. You say, why? Here's why. Verse 26. He says, between us and you, there's a great gold fixed so that they which would pass from hands to you cannot, neither can they pass to us, that would come from them. I want you to just look at the wording of that verse. Do you see the last phrase, neither can they pass to us? Who's speaking? Abraham. Abraham's saying, the people in hell, because of this great gold fixed, cannot come to us. That would come from them. See, they can't come. Now look, that statement makes sense to me. If I was in hell, and I could look up and see heaven, I'd be trying to get there. Abraham says, but there's a great gold. The people that are there cannot come here. That makes sense. Here's what doesn't make a lot of sense. Unless you think about it. Notice what he says. Look at verse 26. And beside all this, between us and you, there's a great gold fixed so that they which would, before he says, the people that want to come from hell to heaven can't come. Before he says that, he says this, that they which would pass, notice, from hens. You know what the word hens means? From this place. Where is he? In heaven. He said that they which would pass from hens to you cannot. Do you know that in heaven, there are people that if they could, they would go down to hell to rescue people and pull them out? Didn't he say what he just said? He said there's a great gold fixed. And he said you can't come here, but he said even more than that, we, we can't go. He says there are people that want to, there are people that would, there are people that would leave heaven in a heartbeat to go down and rescue and help people. But once you're in heaven and once you're in hell, it's too late. See you and I have an opportunity on this earth to be able to rescue people from hell. The Bible says that if some have compassion, making a difference and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire. Listen to me. I'm not trying to mock you. I'm not trying to belittle you. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. But if we took this mic around and we had you stand up and you gave us your reason why you can't go soul winning, why you can't preach the gospel and you gave us the best reason, you don't understand pastor. I got to work. You don't understand pastor. I'm kind of shy. You don't understand pastor. Saturdays when I do my gardening, you don't understand pastor. I'm just so busy. I'm just, listen to me. There's coming a day when all those excuses will be stupid. They'll be dumb. They'll sit there in heaven wishing you could go down to hell and rescue them. But yet you and I have that opportunity right now and week after week after week, we make excuses. Well, I'm just shy. Well, I'm just not prepared. Well, I'm just not ready. Well, I just can't. Well, I got, I'm too busy. So why would you preach a sermon like this? Because maybe you can get a vision to an unseen world after this life. That people die and go to hell. I'm busy too. I'm tired too. I'm shy too. I've got reasons why I wouldn't want to go too. But you know what in heaven? In heaven, we'll all wish we did more. In heaven, we'll all wish, we'll all wish we had a soul winning seminar we could watch and learn how to preach the gospel properly. We'll all wish we could go out of church that had a Thursday night soul winning meeting or a Saturday morning soul winning meeting or a Sunday afternoon soul winning meeting or out of church with some staff people in it that would go soul winning with you. Did you know that we have staff people in this church that go soul winning literally every day? And they'll go with you whenever you want. But you're too busy. But you're too important. But you're too shy or you're too fearful or you're too afraid or whatever your little excuse is. And I'm not trying to irritate you or upset you. I'm just telling you in heaven, that excuse will be dumb. And in heaven, all of us will wish that we could be a soul winner. But by then, it's too late. Why preach on hell? Because it's a real place. Because people literally die and go there. So what will you do about it? Notice what the Bible says there. Look down at Luke 16, look at verse 27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore. Notice what he says. This is a man in hell. You want to listen to a prayer from a man in hell? He says, he said, we can't come to you. You can't come to us. And he says, well, in that case, in that case, look at verse 27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house. For I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. You know that there's people in hell praying that you would go preach the gospel to their brother, that you would go preach the gospel to their sister, that you would go preach the gospel to their grandmother, their aunt, their neighbor, their friend. There are people in hell wishing and praying that you would go, that you would quit making excuses and go, that I would quit making excuses and go. So what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about it? It comes down to this. Do you believe in a place called hell? That's by our heads. Heavenly father, Lord, I know this is not a positive sermon. This is not a feel good sermon. This is not a sermon that will get a lot of compliments or be shared a lot on Facebook. But it's an important sermon. If we believe the Bible, then we have to believe in a place called hell. And Lord, I pray, Father, I pray you would burn a vision in our hearts that we would strive together as a church for the faith of the gospel, that we would decide that nothing else matters. And the most important thing is to get the gospel out to this community. And when we knock on these doors, we may not know those people, but that's somebody's brother. That's somebody's sister. They'll spend eternity somewhere. Lord, I pray you would raise an army of soul winners that would go out. Lord, help them to take soul winning seriously. Help them to go through the soul winning seminars. Help them to go through the training. Help them to be tactful and effective and to not waste their time out there arguing. But that we would go and reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ because that's the only thing that will keep them out of hell. Your precious name I pray, Amen.