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THE WORLD, THE
WORD & YOU! RADIO BROADCAST
I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about a real deadly and ominous, FIRE DOWN BELOW… …That hit film entitled FIRE DOWN BELOW, told a story of a lethal chemical time bomb of hazardous waste dumped in mine shafts in the hills of Appalachia, which began leaking and poisoning people. The story revealed the silence of many who lived in fear of exposing the truth that was killing them all. Citizens closed their eyes and shut their mouths to the awful truth, quietly sanctioned industrial poisoning of the lands surrounding their homes making it into a “valley of death.” Of course this was a fictional account based on true life situations of industrial poisoning that erupts beneath the surface of the earth and rising to destroy us from beneath. I was intrigued by the story as it ended in a massive fire that erupted down below in the mine shafts literally blowing up the countryside before it was all over. You see it caused me to think about another fire down below of greater consequence and is by no means a fictional story. After another pause for a musical refreshment, I want to tell you about it, for our silence concerning its existence, does us no good, and worse may be the cause of the worst suffering mankind can ever experience. Stay with us and I’ll tell you all about it… … Perhaps the most fearful thing we all dread to face is the deadly destructive power of fire! Indeed one match can burn down millions of acres of land and homes, and painfully kill and maim multitudes of people it leaps upon in its deadly path. Yet, most fires can be contained and avoided if one is careful to respect and treat it with caution. Yet in the Bible we are told that there is a fire that all mankind should respect and fear; a fire, that is worse than any earthly outbreak. Where and what is this fire? The answer is the fires of Hell to come. Now of all the doctrines in Christianity, Hell fire is probably the most difficult to defend, the most burdensome to believe and the first to be abandoned. Indeed, many people will just “sigh” and say, “That’s just an ancient scare tactic used by religion to cause people to surrender themselves to it for fear of suffering such fate without it.” Yes, in a sense that may be true, but fear is a good thing. Within in us all “fear” is usually an alarm bell that keeps us from danger and the harm of injury. Now in the Bible we are told of a fire to come that is burning down below. A fire that unlike any earthly fire, can’t be extinguished and worse, it never burns up that which it consumes. Let me tell you about it, not for a scare tactic but for reality so you can judge how to handle it, so let’s begin. In God’s Word, divine revelation gives us much less information about hell than about heaven. This is reasonable to expect, for at least two reasons. #1, hell is essentially the absence of heaven, and is called “the outer darkness.” Darkness is defined only negatively, as the absence of light. Light is not the absence of darkness. Evil is the absence of good, good is not the absence of evil. If you believe good and evil are each relative to the other, then you cannot believe in the God of the Bible, for this God is perfectly good and independent of all evil. #2 we as human beings were created by God and designed for heaven, not for hell. The travel agent tells you more about the “beach resort” you are supposed to go to than about “the swamp” by the side of the highway that you are not supposed to fall into. With that in mind we still need to be warned of any dangers along the way to that eternal home called heaven. As such the Bible warns us. Now in researching the word “Hell” in the Bible, we find that depending upon the translation you use, the number of times mentioned varies. For instance, in the King James Version “hell” is mentioned some 54 times. In the New International Version, it is mentioned some 14 times and in the New American Standard version, 13 times. Why this variance? The answer is Hell has various descriptions in the Bible and translators attempted to make it clear by just using the familiar word, “hell” to describe three places of the afterlife revealed in the Bible apart from heaven. Now the first term for hell is called “sheol” in the Hebrew Old Testament. This is the temporary holding place of the soul and spirit that has passed this life on earth, awaiting a final placement in eternity by God. “Sheol,” Scripture tells was divided into two areas. One was a place that was “heaven-like,” reserved for the saved and obedient ones who believed in the God of the Bible and followed His teachings for their lives. The other compartment was “hell-like,” for it was reserved for those who died rejecting God and His Word for their lives and living. Now in the New Testament the second word is “Hades.” This Greek word was the equivalent to “sheol” and represented the same place. Lastly, as to the word that describes “hell” in the afterlife is the phrase the “Lake of fire.” This is revealed for us only in the Book of Revelation. Listen to its description,
These verses are very revealing for they tell us “sheol,” or “Hades” that is the portion that hold the unsaved and unrighteous dead of all time, in the future will itself be cast into the forever HELL called the Lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15), a place that is literally burning fiercely. Moreover we are told that this Hell to come not only burns fiercely, but will never burn out!
Now note, the Lord Jesus was not trying to “scare” people, but He was trying to help them avoid the “swamp along the road” that leads to the “beach resort.” Hell is a terrible place, and Jesus spoke more plainly about Hell that any other subject. Now, what does the Bible teach about this place that waits all mankind who are sinners under the judgment of God? Let me list it for you. 1. HELL IS A PLACE OF CONSCIOUS SUFFERING & TORMENT - Yes, it is a place of suffering and torment because one does not lose consciousness with physical death. Those who enter “hell” we are told are alive and conscious. The Bible says,
Jesus once told a story of a man who went to Hell upon death. He said the following:
Notice consciousness amidst agony, and suffering is what Hell to come is all about for those who miss heaven and eternal life. But then, 2. HELL IS A PLACE OF LITERAL ETERNAL FIRE – Yes, although we do not want to hear about such things, Jesus said by comparison if something severe could be done to avoid the fires of Hell, such as cutting off one’s hand or plucking out one’s eye; well then, everyone should do so to avoid the awful fires of Hell to come. Now is there literally “fire” in hell? The answer is yes! God’s word says so. Now this fire is unlike earthly fire, for earthly fire consumes what it burns. But eternal fire we are told never consumes, it just torments the one who enters its horrible flame. From the Old Testament to the New we are told of there being fire in Hell.
Yes hell is a place of eternal burning, where the flames of hell burn forever and ever. But there is more. 3. HELL IS PLACE OF ALONENESS AND ABSOLUTE DARKNESS – Yes, two things we fear more than others is to be alone, completely alone never to hear or see another life. Moreover the blackness of darkness in the roar of silence is also fearful to behold. Well my friend that is also what hell is all about. Listen to God’s Word, Mat 8:12 (NIV) But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Friend, all who will enter Hell, will go there by their own choice of course, and all who enter, will enter totally alone in such darkness. Some years ago, I visited a lady friend who was seriously burned in an accident. When I got news of her tragedy I rushed to the hospital. She was being kept in a special burn unit, known as the ISOLATION WARD. No one could enter. As a pastor, I was allowed to see her. I had to dress in a special medical gown, put on rubber gloves and wear a surgical mask, for fear germs would contaminate the atmosphere where they kept serious burn victims. As I entered I could sense the aloneness such an environment had. In time, the nurses told me the most frightening thing patients experience there, is the pain of being shut up alone, isolated from everyone! That will be Hell my friend. Now why do I tell you all this? The answer is because the Bible warns, God Himself warned us, and most of all God demonstrated the awfulness of Hell’s reality and future date for us all, by becoming a man Himself to help us avoid going to this place. Yes, the fire down below burns already in a place called “Hades.” It exists outside the realm of our physical dimension but nonetheless, it is real. You see, God created Hell originally for the angels that sinned.
But when God’s highest creation, mankind sinned, that is Adam and Eve, the progenitors of the human race, they plunged entire humanity that sprung from them under the same judgment in eternity. The human race is destined for Hell and the fire down below unless God intervenes.
Yet, as awful as this is, and as horrible a fate it can be, God gives us the promise of the “beach resort,” and tells us how to avoid the “swamp along the way” that awaits the unsuspecting traveler. The story of the Bible is really a love story. It tells us that the sovereign omnipotent God who created all things, including you and me, wants us to spend eternity with Him in a place called Heaven. But because we are sinners under judgment, awaiting sentencing and the awful Hell fires to come, we cannot go there unless we are freed from our fate. Now the good news is, God designed a way to free all who wish it so. Yes, that’s the “good news,” is called the gospel of Jesus Christ. God has a plan to save us from our sins and the penalty of Hell to come. The plan we are told, is this. JESUS CHRIST, GOD HIMSELF CAME IN HUMAN FLESH, AND OFFERED UP HIS LIFE AS A PAYMENT FOR THE SIN OF ALL HUMANITY – Yes, Jesus Christ the infinite God/Man died on a cross giving His life in death as a substitute payment for your sin and mine. We know God the Father accepted Christ’s death on our behalf by raising Him from the dead. That old but marvelous verse of Scripture tells it all, John 3:16-17 (NIV) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Yes, God has done that and now offers to all sinners, hell-bound as we are, a free ticket to Heaven and eternal life, and the right to bypass our judgment and Hell to come. But until we come to recognize Jesus for who He is, and accept him into our lives and hearts with gratitude, we cannot receive God’s forgiveness. Listen to the Bible on this,
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