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🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Let's all find our seats. To find your seat, please grab a songbook. Turn to song number 409. Song number 409, The Fight Is On. Let's all stand together for this first song, if you are able. Song number 409. All together on that first verse. 🎵The fight is on, the trumpet sound is ringing out, the cry to arms is heard up far and near.🎵 🎵The Lord of hosts is marching on to victory, the triumph of the Christ will soon appear.🎵 🎵The fight is on, oh Christian soldiers, and face to face in stern array.🎵 🎵And colors streaming, the right and wrong engage today. The fight is on but be not weary, be strong and in His might hold fast.🎵 🎵If God be for us, His banner o'er us, we'll sing the victor's song at last.🎵 🎵The fight is on, a rousing soldier brave and true, Jehovah leads and victory will assure. Go buckle on, the armor God has given you and in His strength forever will endure.🎵 🎵The fight is on, oh Christian soldiers, and face to face in stern array. With armor gleaming and colors streaming, the right and wrong engage today.🎵 🎵The fight is on but be not weary, be strong and in His might hold fast. If God be for us, His banner o'er us, we'll sing the victor's song at last.🎵 🎵The fight is leading on to certain victory, the bow of promise spans the eastern sky. In every land shall honor be, the morn will break, the dawn of peace is nigh.🎵 🎵The fight is on, oh Christian soldier, and face to face in stern array. With armor gleaming and colors streaming, the right and wrong engage today.🎵 🎵The fight is on but be not weary, be strong and in His might hold fast. If God be for us, His banner o'er us, we'll sing the victor's song at last.🎵 Amen. Wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for giving us another day, Lord, and we can come here to your house in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we thank you, Lord, for all the blessings that you give us and we just ask that you please bless the service. Bless the singing, Lord, that will prepare our hearts for the message that pastors prepared for us. Please fill him also with your spirit, Lord, and give us your spirit in the congregation, Lord, that we may leave you changed. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. You may be seated. Turn in your song, which is song number 310. Song number 310, Footprints of Jesus, is our second song here this morning. All together on that first verse. Sweetly, Lord, have we heard thee calling, come, follow me. And we see where thy footprints falling lead us to thee. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway blow. We will follow the steps of Jesus wherever they go. Though they lead o'er the cold, dark mountains seeking his sheep. Or along by Siloam's fountains helping the weak. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway blow. We will follow the steps of Jesus wherever they go. If they lead through the temple holy. Or in homes of the poor and lowly serving the Lord. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus wherever they go. Then at last when on high he sees us our journey done. We will rest where the steps of Jesus end at his throne. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus wherever they go. Alright, great singing. Thank you for being here this morning. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song. Which will be 106 abide with me if you want to get that ready in your song books. If you did not get a bulletin go ahead and raise your hand and one of the ushers can get one for you. Important information on there. Of course our Sunday morning service is at 1030 Sunday evening at 5pm. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock. Currently going through the book of Matthew so hope to see you there during our midweek Bible study. Of course today is the October birthday breakfast and so whose birthday is in October? Alright, we got one here, one there, one there. Anybody else? My son right over here. Alright, got Josh here. Anybody else? Did I miss anybody? Alright, let's sing. I got you. I see you right there. I see that hand. Alright, let's sing happy birthday. Ready? Here we go. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday God bless you. Happy birthday to you. Alright, round of applause for those in October. Hope you enjoyed those donuts there. Of course you see the list of expecting mothers. Please continue to pray for them. And then the important reminders there at the bottom. The upcoming events. We have the ladies' prayer breakfast coming up this Saturday, October 7th. Meeting at the building at 10am. And Ms. Janelle Gonzalez will be heading that up. And so if you want to help with that or if you have any questions you can see her for more details. Friday, October 27th is the homeschool park day. And then a baby shower for Melissa Pave is going to be coming up on Sunday, October 29th. And then at the end of October is actually when our fall program begins. And so we're going to start that off with just a day to bring visitors. So instead of having a push to bring visitors throughout the fall program, we're just going to push for this day on the 29th to bring your visitors. And we'll have a first, second, and third prize winner for the person who brings the most. And we'll give you the schedule for the fall program in the coming weeks. But it all culminates to the banquet, the Thanksgiving banquet, towards the end of November. And so we're looking forward to a great fall program. And then also I do want to mention we're going to be having a missions trip in November. And so if you can do us a favor, if you can pray for us, pray that we see a lot of people saved and pray for traveling mercies. But also if you want to go but you can't, you want to participate but you can't, you can always give to that. There's always a lot of expenses for the missions program. And so if you want to give to that, you can put that on the offering envelope and then just designate it for missions. And we'll be sure to use that for our missions trip to Belize in November. As I mentioned, we're going to be going to San Ignacio and we're going to be having a preaching service there. But we're also going to go to a nearby city known as San Jose, which is closer to the border of Guatemala. And so that's where we're going to be doing the majority of the zoning is in San Jose. But the preaching service for the converts that have already been won will be in San Ignacio. And so that service will be on a Sunday and we'll see what the Lord does on that day. If we have a lot of people come and it's just a great turnout, it's really receptive, people want a church there, who knows? You know, maybe Brother Ulysses will end up moving out there for about a year and six months and we'll have a church there. But that's, I'm not announcing that though, okay, because this is how rumors get started. All right, Pastor Thompson announced, yeah, Pastor, we're going to start a church in Belize. And I'm like, no, we're not. No, we're not. We're going there. We're going to have a preaching service there. But, you know, no official church is going to be started there. We're just having a preaching service there. And then one last announcement is someone dropped some money in the fellowship hall. And so Brother Ulysses has that. If no one claims, it's like a couple bucks, if no one claims it, I'm just going to add it to Ulysses's salary. So, he would greatly appreciate it. No, I'm just kidding. Now, if you lost some money, you can go see him for those couple of bucks that he desperately needs. No, I'm just kidding. All right, no food to drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee. Please make sure you're not loitering in the four-year fellowship hall during the preaching service. And then, of course, quiet time is this afternoon from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. And please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. And that is it. Let's go ahead and sing our next song, song number 106, Abide With Me. Song number 106, Abide With Me, all together on that first verse. Abide with me, fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens, Lord, with me I'll bide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee. Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away. And decay in all around I see. Oh, thou who changest not, abide with me. I need thy presence every passing hour. What but thy grace can foil the tempter's power? Who, like thyself, my guidance they can be. Through cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me. Hold thou thy cross be for my closing eyes. Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee. In life, in death, oh, Lord, abide with me. Amen. Wonderful singing. At this time, the ushers will come forth to receive the offering. You can turn your Bibles to Hebrews chapter number six. Hebrews chapter six. You can turn your Bibles to Hebrews chapter number six. You can turn your Bibles to Hebrews chapter number six. You can turn your Bibles to Hebrews chapter number six. You can turn your Bibles to Hebrews chapter number six. Good morning. We're in Hebrews chapter six. And the Bible reads, Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of the laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this what we do if God permit, for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs, meat for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessings from God. But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned. But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of the hope unto the end, that ye be not slothful, but followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing God will bless thee, and multiplying God will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath of confirmation is to them an end of all strife, wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil, whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made in high priests forever after the order of Melchizedek. Let's pray. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your words you have left us, dear God, for the King James Bible. We thank you for this wonderful church you have given us. We thank you for giving us our pastor, dear Lord, and please bless him as he preaches your word unto us this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we're in Hebrews chapter number 6, and the title of my sermon this morning is The Principle of Hell. The Principle of Hell. Look at verse number 1 of Hebrews chapter 6. It says, Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on into perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Here we see in Hebrews chapter 6 that the Apostle Paul is highlighting five specific foundational doctrines, not the only doctrines, but pretty foundational when it comes to the Christian faith, here in verse number 1 and 2. And he talks about, of course, the repentance from dead works and faith toward God, referring to salvation. That's obviously a foundational doctrine that all Christians should know about, that in order to be saved you have to place your faith in Jesus Christ. You're repenting not of your sin, but of your dead works, and you're placing your faith in God, specifically, of course, Jesus Christ. And, of course, you see verse number 2, the doctrine of baptisms, he says they're laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and the last one that he talks about there is eternal judgment. And this is simply another way of describing hell. When he talks about eternal judgment, we obviously know that judgment is used in different contexts throughout the Bible, but when you attach that word eternal there, that's obviously referring to an eternal punishment, an eternal damnation, lake of fire, hell, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. And so this morning I want to talk about the subject of hell. I think it's important to teach the doctrine of hell frequently in our church so that we obviously have a good understanding of what the Bible says about it, but also we don't want to just become desensitized to the subject of hell. Christians need to make sure that we have it on the forefront of our minds throughout the week. Why? Because of the fact that we're soul winners, right? We obviously are not worried that we're going to go to hell because we're already saved, we've already believed on Jesus Christ. However, there's an entire world out there today that is going to die and go to hell. And we need to recognize the importance and the urgency of preaching the gospel so that people avoid this horrific place known as hell. So by way of introduction, let me first talk about, or let me just say this, let me dispel some of the myths about hell. Because of the fact that hell is obviously an unsavory subject, right? It's unsavory in the sense that it's a place where no one escapes, they're burning forever, it's eternal judgment, it's a really icky part of the Bible that people don't really like to talk about. And even churches today, a lot of liberal, non-denominant churches, and unfortunately even some Baptist churches are avoiding this particular subject of hell because it's very offensive to people. Especially if you have a Sunday morning crowd where there's a lot of visitors, people who are not saved, or people who are babes in Christ, the pastor, if he's not spirit-filled, he's going to avoid talking about these controversial subjects such as hell because of the fact that the reality of hell is unsavory, it is a terrible place, there's nothing good about it to the person who goes there. And so a lot of times, Christians and even unsaved people will try to soften the blow of hell by teaching some weird doctrines about it, kind of twisting what it means. Now what are some of the things that people will say about hell in order to avoid its reality? Well number one, and this isn't from Christians, this is obviously from just unsaved people, is that they'll say this, we are in hell right now. I mean how many times have you knocked on the door and you talk about hell and they're like I don't really believe in the literal hell, I think we're in hell right now. Now brother Adams is here somewhere, where are you at brother Adams? Right there. Now he lives technically in a place that's very likened unto hell, it's called Arizona in the summer, I'm just kidding, but even that is nothing compared to the literal hell. But you know a lot of people at the door will tell you, oh no we're in hell right now, this is hell because people are suffering, there's starvation, there's disease, there's sorrow, and obviously that's simply just a fumbled attempt to excuse the reality of hell, they're trying to escape the reality of hell. But the truth is this, the Bible specifically tells us even though earth and the world in which we live is wicked, it is vile, there's a lot of wicked things taking place here, this is nothing compared to what the literal hell is. And in fact when John the Baptist is preaching and he addresses the Pharisees, he tells them who hath warned you to flee from the wrath, listen to this, to come. Implying that there is judgment coming, there's wrath coming, there is a hell that awaits certain people. So people can say life is hell, and this is hell now, and all this suffering, but at the end of the day it pales in comparison to what actually awaits an unsafe person when they split hell wide open. And in fact every person who says that and goes to hell will realize actually this is a lot different than what I originally pictured to be. This is actually a lot worse, that soul winner was right, this is worse than what I had on earth. And the reality is that our worst day here as Christians is still an unsafe person's best day because of the fact that when they go to hell, that's forever, they burn forever, there's no rest day or night. And so we need to realize that the Bible, although earth and this world is wicked, and there's a lot of bad stuff taking place here, a lot of sufferings and disease, things of that nature, still nothing compared to the actual hell. And people can use it as a euphemism and say man life is hell right now, this place is just horrible as hell, but at the end of the day the actual hell is a lot worse. And the Bible specifically talks about a wrath to come. And Matthew chapter 5 when Jesus Christ is talking about hell, he talks about the danger of hell fire, implying that it has not yet arrived yet for the person who is still alive, they're still on this earth, that awaits them. And the Bible tells us that he that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life, he that believeth not the sun shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Referring to the fact that an unsafe person is essentially two steps right before hell. Two steps into just dying and going straight to hell, hell is essentially abiding over them in the sense that any moment they can just die and go straight to hell and it's all over for them. Now go with me if you went to Psalm 139, Psalm 139. And so we'll hear this at the door, people will say we're in hell right now, but it's a feeble attempt to excuse the reality of eternal damnation. And I'll often try to agree with them to a certain extent, I'll say yeah you know this world is pretty bad, there's a lot of suffering here, but I'll tell them, but have you eaten three meals today? You know it looks like you got AC in here, you know. I remember one time I was with brother Ulysses and we were out soul winning and we knocked on the door and I was giving the gospel to this guy and he had this view of you know we're in hell right now. And I said you know obviously this world is pretty bad but it's nothing in comparison to the hell of the Bible, the literal hell that exists and I said you know have you had three meals today? He's like no I haven't actually, I think he had like two or something. I'm like oh wow you know. Well you don't even get a drop of water in hell so think about that for a minute. But here's another myth that people will put forth to discredit or try to you know just kind of lower the consequences or the severity of hell and that is it's just a separation from God. Hell you know it's not actual fire and torment, you're not really weeping and wailing and gnashing your teeth, these are all just figurative statements that are made to describe how terrible it is to be separated from God. And they try to get really poetic with it right? These liberal pastors will often state things like this because they try to make themselves seem as though they love God so much that being separated from God is just like hell. But you know what? That poem sucks. And it's not biblical, it's not true. The Bible tells us here in Psalm 139 verse number 7, it says here, Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Now obviously David is a safe person, he is redeemed, he's not going to go to hell, he's already escaped the wrath to come. The statement that he's making here is to essentially describe the omnipresence of God. And he's basically saying that there's nowhere to hide from God, even if you were to go to heaven, of course he's there, that's where he abides. But even if you were to make your bed in the lowest parts of hell, God is there because of the fact that he's omnipresent. And go to Proverbs chapter 15 if you would, Job 26 and verse 6 says, Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering, the Bible says. It's not like God's just not looking at hell, he has nothing to do with it. No, he created it, and in fact we'll see later on that hell proceeds from the presence of God. You see, although the location of hell was created, technically, hell has always existed because hell is an expression of God's wrath that has always existed with God because that's part of God's attribute. And in fact the lake of fire, which is also described as hell, proceeds from the Lord. So even though there's a physical location that was created called hell, from eternities past, hell has always existed in the sense that God's judgment is eternal, God's wrath is eternal, and it proceeds forth from him. Look what it says in Proverbs 15 and verse 11, Hell and destruction are before the Lord, how much more than the hearts of the children of men. So it doesn't sound as though hell is a separation from God. Now you're separated from eternal life, you're separated from the gates of heaven, you're separated from the golden streets and the gates of pearls, you're separated from the saints and the redeemed for all of eternity, God is from God, no actually God is watching you burn for all of eternity, according to the Bible. Now that's an unsavory thought for a lot of people, but that's biblical truth there. He says hell and destruction are before the Lord, so for all of eternity people are burning in hell before the Lord, meaning in front of God. Go to Revelation chapter 14, Revelation chapter 14 and then we'll go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, Revelation chapter 14 and then 2 Thessalonians 1. So people will say this about hell, we're in hell right now, I'm just experiencing a lot of hell right now in my life. Yeah but you know what, that's nothing compared to the actual hell that you will experience one day in the center of the earth and then later on in the lake of fire if you don't get saved. Okay, secondly they'll say well hell is just, you know the terms that are used in the Bible are just figurative, they're just symbolic, really what it is is just a separation from hell because the worst thing that could ever happen to a person is just be separated from God for all of eternity. You know what, that's just a feeble attempt to make a poetic Hallmark card for you know some Christian store or something. Hell is not a separation from God, hell is a separation from eternal life, hell is a separation from heaven. It's a separation from all of your family who you know if they're saved they'll be in heaven but it's not a separation from God because you actually burned before him according to the Bible. Because that's the only way God's wrath will be satiated because of your sin, it's for you to burn forever unless you believe on Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Revelation 14 verse 9, Indignation is just another word for wrath. So the Lamb is referring to Jesus Christ, remember what John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God who should take away the sins of the world. The Bible is telling us here that when people, and of course this is referring to the end times, are suffering the wrath of God and his indignation, they're actually tormented with fire and the holy angels obviously get a front row seat to this according to the Bible, but it's also in the presence of the Lamb. It's specifically referring to and addressing those who take the mark of the beast. But you can apply this to just any unsafe person. Because people who take the mark of the beast in the end times are unsafe. And it's not like they get a specific punishment distributed to them aside from the punishment that every unsafe person gets in this world. He's just obviously in context referring to the end times. He says in verse 11, So why is the smoke of their torment ascending up forever and ever? Because the smoke of their torment is what satiates the wrath of God who's in heaven. Just as we're a sweet smelling savor unto the Lord, their punishment is a sweet smelling savor unto him as well. That's why the smoke has to ascend up forever and ever. Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 if you would, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. This is also referring to the end times, but can obviously be applied to anybody who goes to hell. It says in verse number 8, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. Now people have wrongly interpreted this to mean when it states from the presence of the Lord, like they're destroyed away from God's presence. And this is a verse that people will typically use to believe that hell is separation from God. They'll use this passage to teach, well hell is just you being destroyed from the presence of God, away from God, away from close proximity to the Lord. But this is referring to the source of the destruction. When it says from the presence of the Lord, it's referring to the fact that the destruction, the everlasting destruction, is coming from God unto those who obeyed not the truth of the gospel. He says in verse number 10, When he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe, because their testimony among you was believed in that day. Now how do we know that that's true though? Because people can say, well that's your interpretation, I think it's referring to a separation from God, because it says there from the presence of the Lord, that's how we speak in modern English today, if we say something is from us, we can obviously say that something is away from us. Well because of the fact that this is actual an event that we see highlighted in the book of Revelation in chapter 19. And in chapter 19, known as the Battle of Armageddon when Jesus Christ comes with all of his saints to destroy the Antichrist, the false prophet and his armies, we see that Jesus Christ, the source of the destruction upon the Antichrist and the false prophet, is coming from him. He comes and he destroys them with the sword of his mouth, and then of course he ends up taking the Antichrist and the false prophet and he casts them into the lake of fire both soul and body. And so when you grab that passage in conjunction with this passage that's referring to that event, you see that it's not away from them, you see the destruction is referring to the fact that it's the source, God is the source of that destruction. Now this is important because a lot of the new Bible versions will twist this in some form or fashion to describe being destroyed away from God. It actually kind of says that, it says away from the Lord. And so we see here that Hell is before the Lord, you're burning before the presence of God, and the destruction is coming from him, he is the source of that destruction. Now turn with me if you would to Psalm chapter 6 if you would, Psalm chapter 6. Here's another myth that people will use or try to state that in order to discredit the biblical Hell, and they'll say that Hell is not real in the sense of there's fire and brimstone, you're just burning forever, you're tormented even though the Bible says it. What it is is that once you die you just kind of burn up and then you cease to exist. This is what's known as Annihilationism. That once you die you're just annihilated because in their feeble little temporal minds, they view Hell and Hell fire the way fire operates today. When you burn something up it just kind of consumes it and just burns away, and so in their mind they're like well that's how Hell is. Once a soul goes to Hell it just kind of burns up and then they just cease to exist. Now why do they say that? Well because they're trying to escape the reality that Hell is eternal. You're just there forever. And they can't seem to grasp the fact that God, who is a loving God, would burn a soul forever. But you know what? It's not our job to stand in judgment of what God does. If that's what He says He's going to do then that's what we have to believe. Now the people who are notorious for this teaching are the Seventh-day Adventists and the Jehovah's Witnesses. And here's the thing is that the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Seventh-day Adventists, they're always standing in judgment of the love of God. Always. They judge the love of God harshly. Now they may claim to proclaim the love of God and claim to believe in the love of God, but if you just listen to them closely they're actually standing and criticizing and judging the love of God. Say why? Because if you've ever spoken to one and you talk about the subject of Hell, they'll tell you this, I just don't know how a loving God can just burn someone forever. Right? Don't they say that? You know God is love and if He's love He would never do something like that. I just don't understand. Of course you don't understand. Because you don't know the love of God. And you can't have the love of God without the judgment of God. You see the reason why Hell is forever is because God's, part of God's attribute is eternality. He's also forever. And so it's not as though, because in their minds they think, they ascribe to this teaching that you just burn in an instant as soon as you go to Hell. But think about it, if that were true that would mean that basically your sins just kind of go away already. Your payment for sin is just in that moment, as soon as you go to Hell, you burn up, no more suffering. So they don't really have a biblical view of their sin. Because a biblical view of sin recognizes that our sin, we merit eternal punishment for our sin. We merit eternal suffering and destruction for our sin because the only thing that can make payment for our sin is the blood of Jesus Christ. And if we don't get saved, then we eternally suffer because of that. Whereas the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Seventh-day Adventists, they think they immediately burn, they must not think they're very bad. They must think to themselves, well you know, I only got a couple sins or something. They don't really understand the consequences and the wages of sin. And so no, people are not annihilated as soon as they die and go to Hell. They eternally suffer forever. We just read in Revelation 14 that the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. And it says that they have no rest day or night. So I have family members who have died and gone to Hell. People who have been there for 20 years, 30 years, 40 years. People who have died and gone to Hell, from the time that they died up until today, October 1, 2023, they've had no rest day nor night. And you're like, well, you know, that just sounds like, I just don't think of loving God. Then you don't understand the love of God then. And you don't understand the attributes of God and the judgment of God. You think it's just too much for God to judge a person like that. But you know what? God is the one in charge. He is the Lord. He is the judge of all the earth. We'll do right. Here's another myth that people will propose is that Hell is just a grave. So in other words, once you die, you just kind of go into the grave and that's what Hell is. And you'll often get this because of the translations in the Bible, the words that are used in the Bible, in the original language that describes, that kind of uses Hell interchangeably with grape. And there's two schools of thought when it comes to this. One will say that you just kind of cease to exist. You're just not really conscious anymore. You're just in the grave. And then another school of thought from fundamental Baptists, unfortunately, is that Hell is a place called Abraham's bosom. So fundamental Baptists, via the dispensational crowd, have created like a little apartment in Hell that's designated for believers, believe it or not. And I'll get into that in just a bit, but let's talk about Hell being just a grave. Psalm 6, verse number 5 says, For in death there is no remembrance of thee. In the grave, who shall give thee thanks? And these are some of the verses that people will use to try to prove that doctrine. But what is Psalm 6-5 really saying? It's saying that when you die, life is over. And so when you are in the grave, you're in your coffin in the grave, you can't give God thanks, you can't do anything, there's no remembrance of thee. Why? Because of the fact that your life is over. Everything that counts for eternity has now been complete in your personal life. You can't go beyond that. There's no work to be done after you're dead. If you're a saved person and you die, hey, your race is over. There's no going on after that. It's not like, alright, time to go do some more works and earn some more rewards. No, you can't do that anymore. So it's important to serve God now while you're alive, right? To give God thanks now, to do those things now. So they'll use a verse like this to say, you see what I mean? There's no conscience in the grave, you're just there. But here's the thing, folks, is that the Bible literally says in Matthew chapter 10, Fear not him which can kill the body but afterwards can do nothing, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. So if hell is just a grave, what's destruction doing there in the first place, right? Not only that, but the Bible says that God is the God, he's not the God of the dead but of the living. So how does that work if someone who is a Christian dies and you say he's in the grave which figures death, well he's not the God of the dead, he's the God of the living. Not only that, but Jesus Christ said that his soul was not left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption. Not only that, but the Bible says that hell is reserved for the wicked, that the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God. Well if everyone goes to the grave, then why is this verse saying that there's a specific reservation for the wicked and all nations that forget God? And so obviously hell is not just a grave, we know that once we die physically, our body goes into the grave, but our spirit separates and to be absent from the body, the Bible says, is to be present with the Lord. Like no, the soul stays in the body. Well no, because in Revelation chapter 6, when John is viewing the vision of heaven, he says, I see under the altar the souls of them who were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, does thou not judge and avenge our blood on them which dwell on the earth. Hey, what are you guys doing up there? You're not supposed to be under the altar wearing these robes, you're supposed to be in your bodies, guys, according to Jehovah's Witnesses. Well that's because what they believe is false. Because once your body dies, your spirit is separated from that, according to James chapter 2, and it goes to heaven. You say, how? Well according to Luke chapter 16, you're carried there by angels. Get a little, you know, a little heaven uber. To heaven. Okay, and so shall you ever be with the Lord, the Bible says. Now go with me if you would to, go to Matthew chapter 12 if you would. Matthew chapter number 12. And so the other school of thought regarding the grave is that Christians will say, well that was Abraham's bosom in the Old Testament. Okay, and it's just this weird dispensational teaching that because Jesus Christ came in the first century AD, essentially every saint who existed and was saved according to their standards, you know, in the Old Testament, when they died, they didn't go straight to heaven, they went to a place called Abraham's bosom, which is a second compartment of hell. And what they interpret the word hell to be in the Old Testament is not only eternal judgment, but there's instances where hell in the Old Testament is also referring to this place called Abraham's bosom. And the reason they refer to it as Abraham's bosom is because Luke 16 describes Lazarus, who dies, who's a believer, being carried into Abraham's bosom. And they're like, oh, Abraham's bosom, that's a compartment, second compartment of hell. And so their thought is that when the saints went to this place called Abraham's bosom, you know, it's just the second compartment of hell, it's just a great gold fix between Abraham's bosom and hell, the actual hell, and then when Jesus Christ died, he descended into hell and he basically didn't descend into the hell of destruction where there's fire, he descended into Abraham's bosom, he preached unto them, and then took them to heaven. I mean, just this weird narrative of Abraham's dispensational teaching. Now the reason they believe that is because of the fact that they'll claim that people in the Old Testament were not saved by faith in Christ. They claim that people were saved by faith, but also their works, and that's why they had to keep the sacrificial laws and all these things in order to be saved, and then they would go to this place called Abraham's bosom. But obviously, there's so much evidence in the Bible, in the Old Testament, to prove that believers went to heaven. Like Elijah being carried in chariots of fire into heaven. How about Enoch was translated that he should not see death, he went straight to heaven. Job chapter 1 talks about the sons of God presenting themselves before the Lord. This is obviously referring to believers because the Bible tells us, but as many as receive them, to them we give you power to become the sons of God, even unto them to believe on his name. Over and over again, we see believers being described as being in heaven. There's no second compartment of hell, because in their minds, literally today, there's hell, where there's fire, and then there's just this open vacancy, where these Old Testament saints were at one time, just kind of waiting for Jesus Christ to come and priest them a sermon and then redeem them actually to heaven. But it's nonsense, my friends. And here's the question that people have to ask these people who believe in Abraham's bosom. What was Abraham's bosom before Abraham? What was it named? What's it called? Was it Adam's bosom? I mean, whose bosom was it? You know? And why is, and then after, because when you read some of these Jewish encyclopedias, they actually say Adam was the original owner of that bosom. And of course he kind of screwed things up, so it was given over to Abraham thereafter. But obviously that's nonsense. He said, then why does Luke 16 say that Lazarus went into Abraham's bosom? Because a bosom is a chest, and what it's referring to is the fact that when he went to heaven, he's sitting with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If you remember the parable in the book of Matthew, it talks about the children of the kingdom referring to the Jews will be cast out into outer darkness, and then there's going to be people coming from the east and the west who are Gentiles who will be sitting with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It's referring to like at a dinner table. So if you remember when Jesus was having dinner with his disciples, John was in his what? Bosom. He was kind of just hanging out with them. You know, sometimes guys will hang out and they put their arm around one of their friends, they're in their bosom. It's just referring to the fact that they're rubbing shoulders with the greats of heaven. Because Lazarus was someone who was despised in this world by the rich man, but yet he gets a VIP seat with the father of faith, which is Abraham. So even though he was despised, he was rejected, he wasn't esteemed by the rich man, he is esteemed by Abraham. To the point where he gets to hang out with him. And so that's what that's referring to, it's not a second compartment of hell. Hell is hell. Now let's talk about the creation of the location of hell, because I mentioned that obviously that was actually created at one point. But hell, referring to God's judgment, has always existed because it proceeds from the Lord. Now there's this YouTube channel called The Bible Project. Apparently a lot of people know what I'm talking about. They have great animation, like the art is great, it's like first class, just the doctrine is crap though. The doctrine is just so New World order and anti-Christ and wicked, but the guy who is in charge of this particular project, he basically states that hell, according to what we believe hell to be, according to the Bible, is not real, there's no fire, there's no torment. Hell's within you, is what they'll say. But you know, when I remember the Bible says the kingdom of God is within you. But they'll say like, he says like hell's within you, and you know it's defeating the hell that's within us. That's what that is, and he says in the Old Testament, there's no description of the hell that people talk about today with fire and brimstone. And he says, if you look at the Genesis account, he says the Genesis account has no description of hell being created. So it's like you have the description of heaven being created, but you know what, he doesn't mention anything about hell being created. Because you know what the Bible says, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, not heavens. He says the heaven, referring to the place where God at this time abides, right? The third heaven, as the Bible would also call it. He said, well then why did God create heaven then? You know, what was the point of God creating heaven? Well, the reason he created heaven is he created with the foreknowledge that the redeemed would one day inhabit that place. You understand? Because obviously God has always existed, and he doesn't need heaven to exist. Heaven exists because of him. And so he created this place to be occupied by the redeemed, because he knew one day Adam and Eve would fall, and then they would need to be redeemed. And of course people would believe on the Messiah, and that they would go to this place called heaven. So this guy makes this argument and says, yeah if you look at everything, and he says that everything was good, well wouldn't it be good if hell was existing? But obviously this guy doesn't read the Bible, because the Bible literally says that hell is at the center of the earth. And if the Bible says that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, he created it with hell already encapsulated within that earth. It's not like he just added it later, okay? He said then why is it good? Because no one's in hell. I mean, that's why it's good, because there's no sin. But the location is there. And of course he created with the foreknowledge that people would also reject the Lord, and would one day go there, right? He said, well how do you know that hell is at the center of the earth? Look at Matthew 12 verse 38. It says here, Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we will see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. Jonas is the New Testament way of saying Jonah. He says, For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the well's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Now that's important because it's giving a call back to Jonah chapter 2. And in Jonah chapter 2, when Jonah's describing his trip to the well's belly, he also describes it as being in hell. Now Jonah was not in hell. He was in the well's belly, which was like hell, probably stunk like hell, right? Obviously not a pleasant experience for him, but Jonah speaking by the Spirit referred to it as hell because it was a prophetic statement made about Jesus Christ who would actually go to hell. So as Jonas was three days and three nights in the well's belly, Jesus Christ when he died would descend into the actual hell of flaming fire and brimstone for three days and three nights to pay for the sins of the world. It's a picture. So through Jonah's disobedience and his chastisement, he was able to create this beautiful picture of Jesus Christ and what he did for us, the fact that he descended into hell for three days and three nights. And of course we know according to Acts chapter 2, Psalm 15, that his soul was not left in hell, neither did his flesh seek corruption. So after the third day, he came back from hell. He essentially came out of the grave. And this is why the Bible says that Jesus Christ has the keys of death and of hell. And in fact the Bible says in Revelation chapter 1 that his feet were as brass as though it burned in a furnace. To a certain extent he basically did burn. His soul was given as an offering in a place called hell. Now people kind of freak out about that and they're just like, oh that's blasphemous. You know, it's so blasphemous to say something like that. And they'll always accredit this teaching to Pastor Anderson or the new IFB, but the reality is this is that there's old IFB pastors, even from my day, who taught this doctrine. I knew lay people who believed this doctrine. I've met many people who had no idea who the new IFB was, who believed in that doctrine because the Bible actually teaches it. It's only someone who's been influenced by dispensationalism will have a problem with that. And in fact when you go sowing at the door and you mention that Jesus Christ went to hell for three days and three nights, no one bats an eye at it unless there's some sort of dispensational ruckmanite type. Most people are like, yeah, makes sense. Because it does make sense. You say, well it just sounds wrong. Well then you need to bring your belief into alignment with God's Word then. Don't stand in judgment of the Bible, let the Bible stand in judgment of you. And if something rubs you the wrong way in the Word of God, it's not the Bible's fault. Don't shoot the messenger because I'm just telling you what the Bible says. You just need to renew your mind and bring your beliefs into alignment to what the Word of God says. You know what? These things may seem extreme to you in the beginning, but once you actually start studying you're like, actually that does make sense. You know there's a reason why the Old Testament sacrifices were burned. They picture Jesus Christ who was being burned also. He gave himself an offering. It's not hard to believe my friends. And the Bible says, what is it that he ascended but that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth. And the Bible describes the lower parts of the earth also in other places as being the lowest hell. And in fact David, when describing his salvation in the book of Psalms, he says that he was delivered from the lowest hell. Well David in the book of Psalms is often a picture of Jesus Christ because he was redeemed from the lowest hell. He was taken out of there and he came back to life. Now look at Matthew chapter 25. So we know that the location of hell, the current hell, is in the center of the earth. Although the judgment of God has always existed within the Lord because he's the source of that judgment. He created it when he created the earth on the first day. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And look, God doesn't need to give you an itemized list of everything that he made on that day. I mean he gave us enough in chapter 1. Does he need to describe like every type of thing that he made and what color everything was? No. Have some smarts. If he said he created the earth, there's something called the core of the earth, then now we know is hell. Oh, that means he created it during the creation period. He doesn't need to tell you, oh by the way, also hell, but I'll tell you about that later. And this guy is just like hell is within you because you're a child of hell. If anybody is teaching the word of God and claiming that hell doesn't exist, they're a false prophet. They're a wicked false prophet, they're two-fold more a child of hell, and they're evil. Why? Because hell, the doctrine of hell, listen to me, the doctrine of hell is the principle of the doctrine of Christ. Means it's essential, number one, to be saved. Can't be saved if you don't believe in hell. It's like, well, you know, I'll trust in Jesus Christ if I just don't believe in hell. Then what are you trusting him for? What's the point of getting saved if you don't believe in hell? It's like I talked to this pastor one time and I was confronting him about this soul winner who's leading people to the Lord in prayer even though they didn't believe in hell. And I was like, hey, this soul winner is like teaching this and they're saying you don't have to believe in hell. And he's like, well, you don't have to believe in hell to be saved. And I was like, then what are you being saved from? What's the point of salvation? They're like, well, we're being saved from our sin. Where is your sin taking you, though? This is important. You know, the principle, when it talks about the principle of the doctrine of Christ, it's referring to the fundamentals of the doctrine of Christ. And also, it's a doctrine that Jesus taught. Look at Matthew 25 verse 40, it says, The king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me, then shall ye say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Now, I don't believe that this is referring to the fact that God created hell for the devil and his angels. It's just prepared for the devil and his angels. Because hell was obviously already created, but then it became prepared afterwards for not just the devil and his angels, but also the damned, those who reject Jesus Christ. But notice it says he cursed into everlasting fire. And so hell is obviously so excruciating that it would even pain celestial beings such as angels who are greater in might and in power. Think about that. Turn with me if you would to go to Proverbs chapter 27, Proverbs chapter 27 if you would. We're going to go through a lot of scriptures this morning. Let me read to you from Deuteronomy 32 verse 22. It says, For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell. So according to the Bible, the flames of hell are kindled by God's anger. Okay, it's not like he's just lighting a fire there. His anger is actually kindling the fire of the lowest hell. It says, And shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. Essentially describing how he kindles hell. Psalm 86 verse 13 says, For great is thy mercy toward me, thou has delivered my soul from the lowest hell. Let's talk about the occupants of hell. Proverbs 27 verse 20 says this, Hell and destruction are never full, so the eyes of a man are never satisfied. Now I mentioned that the devil and his angels are going to be going there. But those who are not redeemed, those who have rejected Jesus Christ are going there as well. And in fact, there's going to be more people in hell than people who will be in heaven. Because broad is the way, right, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. More people will reject Christ, and reject the free gift of eternal life. More people will occupy hell than they will occupy heaven. Now the Bible talks about a great multitude in heaven, of every nation, tongue, kindred. But when you compare both numbers though, there's far more people in hell than there will be in heaven. And it says there that hell and destruction are never full. There's always vacancy, listen to this, there's always room for more. Think about that. Because he says hell and destruction are never full. It's not like, okay, we can't take anymore. The Bible actually says, listen to this, hell hath enlarged herself. So when hell begins to get full, according to the Bible, you know what it does, it just becomes bigger. And you think about, from a scientific perspective, when you heat something up, it expands. And the more souls that go into hell, the more it heats up, the more hell begins to expand. Making room for more. The Bible says that the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that forget God. Turn with me if you would to Isaiah chapter 14, Isaiah chapter 14, and then we'll go to Revelation 21. Isaiah chapter 14, I'll read to you from Isaiah chapter 5, you're in chapter 14. Isaiah 5 says this, Therefore hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure. And their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he that rejoiceth shall descend into it. Referring to the fact that the proud, the arrogant, those who rejoice in sin will be the ones who descend into hell. Look at Isaiah 14 and verse number 9. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming. It stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth. It hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. This is a terrifying passage, right? The fact that it says for the unsaved that hell is awaiting people. There's always room for one more. There's always room for more and it stirs up the dead, the Bible says, of those who are in it to meet people at their coming. Look at Revelation 21 and verse number 7. It says here in verse number 7, He that overcometh shall inherit all things. Now let me just explain that the person who overcomes is the person who believes on Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean someone who overcomes sin, overcomes their bad habits. Overcoming, according to the biblical definition, is someone who has been born again. Someone who has believed on Jesus Christ, that's what it's referring to. It says, He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. So it gives you a list of sins that people commit that will get you into hell. And you think to yourself, well you know, yeah I've lied but I've never done these other things or whatever. But here's the thing is that this is just giving a general list. Obviously you could add a lot more to this list. It's just basically saying that no one is exempt from this judgment unless of course you get saved. And it says that this lake of fire is referred to the second death. Implying that there is a first death which would be described as the current location of hell in the center of the earth. The second death is the lake of fire which we'll get into at this moment. Now turn with me if you would to Mark chapter 9. Mark chapter 9. I'm sorry, don't go there. You're in Revelation, go to chapter 19. Chapter 19. Let me just say this is that hell is eternal and it's filled with fire. The Bible says in Mark 9 verse 44 that the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. It says it three times over, it says where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. And what I believe this is referring to when it talks about the worm, I don't think it's actually referring to a literal worm. And some people take that interpretation, there's nothing wrong with that. I guess that still would be horrible, that the worms are consuming the people who are in hell. But I believe what the worm is actually signifying is the person. The physical body of the person. And when it talks about this, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, it's actually referring to the lake of fire. Because the difference between the lake of fire and hell, one of the differences should I say, is that in the lake of fire is where both soul and body are cast into. Because we often think about the resurrection of the just. Our resurrection is a physical resurrection where our bodies will come out of the grave, they'll come out of our coffins if we die before the second coming of Christ. Our bodies will rise and we'll get a regenerated body and so we'll be glorified. That is the resurrection. But the Bible also talks about the resurrection of the unjust. And this resurrection isn't unto life. It's a resurrection of the dead and this takes place in Revelation chapter 20 after the battle of Gog and Magog, it's what's known as the white throne judgment. And this is a horrifying resurrection because the sea gives up their dead, all of the unsaved come out of the graves and those who, the bodies of the unsaved and the souls of hell come out as well. And they're judged out of the things of the books and of course the book of life, but that damn soul is reunited with their physical bodies. So you have like these zombie like, you know, you have these corpses basically who are standing before the throne of God because they're not regenerated. He just brings them back to life. And so it's basically the antithesis to the resurrection of the just. Because the resurrection of the just is the soul that's reunited with his physical body, but we get an upgrade, 2.0. It's not like these iPhones, right? Where it's just like the difference between iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 is like, I don't know, the corner is rounded or something, I don't know. They give like this small little change or something like that and then your previous phone just starts messing up for some reason and it's just like, oh man. Because you're like, I'm content with my phone and then you're just like, what's wrong with this thing? That's not the upgrade that you get. You get a way higher upgrade when it comes to the resurrection. It's a body that's absent of sin, can't be tempted, can stand in the presence of God. It's very powerful. And it's flesh in the sense of like it's a physical body. And so it's not like we're like floating caspers in the millennial reign. It's just like you have the torso and then it's just like tattered at the bottom and everyone is just like see-through. That's not the resurrection. The resurrection is like a physical body that comes out. And I don't know if you get a six-pack, don't ask me. If you get a full set of hair or whatever or what kind of gains you get. For sure there's eternal gains though. And it's powered by the Spirit. So it's absent of blood because the blood is the life of the flesh but in the resurrection there's no need for blood because the Spirit is what gives power and life unto our resurrected bodies. So the resurrection of the damned is the antithesis to that. Because the souls of the damned are reunited with their physical flesh but it's not to receive a resurrected body, it's to be cast into hell. Into the lake of fire. So the person who is unsaved who died in 2023 goes to the current location of hell and will remain there until that white throne judgment. Which is a long long time from now. And that's not even doing justice of how long it is. It's super long. You say why? Because of the fact that it's actually a thousand years after the inauguration of the millennial reign going into right before the new heaven the new earth you have that white throne judgment and then they're reunited. And so you say then why does the bible, you know, why does it call it lake of fire and hell, you know, if they're both hell, why is that? Why not just, are they really the same? Isn't it something different? The only difference is that one's bigger than the other. And I've heard this illustration, I don't know if I came up with this illustration or I heard it from one of my pastor friends. But it's a really good illustration in my opinion and I think it communicates it well. When you throw trash into a trash bag, right, like at your house you get trash, you throw it into a trash bag, it's trash. You're throwing it into the trash. But then that trash bag goes into the dumpster. And we would say you're throwing away the trash still. So at your house you're throwing away the trash and it actually goes into the trash bin. But when you throw away the trash into the dumpster you're also throwing away into the trash. Now what is the difference? The difference is the dumpster is bigger than your trash can at home. But virtually nothing changes. You're just going in with a bunch of other trash bags into that dumpster. So the current hell is like that trash can, right? Collecting all that trash into the trash bag, going into the trash can. Well the lake of fire is the dumpster going into a lot larger hell. And so if we call the dumpster trash, it's correct. And if we call the trash bin at our house trash, it's correct. So if we call the current location hell, it's correct. If we call the future location hell, it's correct also because they're both hell. And the only difference is that now your trash bag is reunited with a bunch of other trash bags. But you're all trash. Does everyone understand what I'm saying? It was probably one of my pastor friends who came up with that. But I really like that illustration because I think it illustrates it pretty well. And so what we see there is that the current hell will be relocated to a place called the lake of fire. And here's the reason why it's called the lake of fire. Because hell is not the lake of fire, the current hell. It's not the lake of fire, it's just hell. The reason the lake of fire is referred to as a lake of fire is because the judgment, the white throne judgment, in Revelation chapter 21 is people standing before God. They're judged and then people are tossed into the lake. And according to Daniel, I believe it's chapter 9, it's referred to as a stream. A fiery stream that issues forth from the Lord. And a stream takes you into a lake. So once a person gets judged, they're just tossed into that stream of fire that proceeds from the Lord. And you're transported to this place called the lake of fire. Does that make sense to everyone? So it's just a matter of transportation is what it is. But hell and the lake of fire are both hell. Where did I have you turn? Did I have you turn anywhere? Revelation 19, let's read it. Verse number 20 says, And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and then they worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. So this is Revelation 19, the battle of Armageddon. And I mentioned that the white throne judgment takes place a thousand years after the millennial reign, right? But there's actually only two occupants in that lake of fire for those thousand years. It's the beast and the false prophet. So they get it all to themselves. But they're basically kind of an example of what's going to happen to everyone because they're cast alive into the lake of fire. It's not like he separates their soul from their body. He just grabs them completely and just tosses them in there. Like well I don't get it. How is it that the fire doesn't just consume them? Well you know there's a fire that was lit in Exodus, the book of Exodus, the burning fiery bush. You know Moses said that he was shocked that basically that the bush was burning and it wasn't consumed. So it's obviously a supernatural fire that God can just keep burning without consuming, I'm sure it's still painful, but it doesn't consume that which is burning up. Revelation 20, look at Revelation 20 verse 14 it says death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So if you're not saved, meaning you're not written in the book of life, the Bible says you're going to be thrown in this place. So the only way to avoid hell is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Only! Not adding anything to it, not adding him to Buddha and Hinduism and all these other false religions and good works and repenting of your sin. Exclusively by believing on Jesus Christ can you avoid the wrath to come. Go to Jude if you would, the book of Jude. And so we see a couple things here regarding hell and I hope that made sense with the lake of fire and hell and how that's taking place. Let me say this lastly is that hell is God's vengeance enacted. Hell wasn't just added to the Bible to make it more theatrical or dramatic. Hell is literally God's vengeance enacted. And let me just say this is that God is very happy with hell because it satiates his wrath. See God is a righteous God, he's a just God. Justice meaning that criminals are to be brought to justice. That they are to pay for their crimes. He doesn't want to turn a blind eye to anybody and he doesn't. There's no one in this world who has ever committed any type of crime that will not suffer for that crime in this lifetime or in the life to come. Because God is a God of justice and here's the thing it's just like well I've never committed like a capital crime. Yeah but any transgression against the laws of God is a crime worthy of eternal punishment in hell. And so hell the reason it's important to preach and talk about hell is because we need to realize that it's showing that God is a vengeful God. He wants revenge. Understand? And all of us to a certain extent have felt that desire at one point or another. Don't tell me you haven't. Or maybe you were wrong in some form or fashion and you wanted vengeance. Well that's an attribute of God. An attribute of God that God wants to enact vengeance upon the wicked for their blasphemies, their rejection of Jesus Christ. So they have one of two choices. Kiddos, kiddos, kiddos. Shhhh. Alright. It's alright. Kids just got to learn. Amen. It's alright. So if the kids start playing around it's okay. You just got to let them know. You just got to tell them hey we're in church. I got to do it to my kids all the time. And so what we see here is that vengeance is enacted because of the fact that someone has to pay for the crime. You understand? Now you have one of two choices or the world has one of two choices. You can allow God to pay for the bill or you can pay for it. God already paid for it through the death of his son. He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. So the wrath of God, he like satiated the wrath of God through his death. So if you believe on Jesus Christ you don't have to suffer the vengeance of God upon your life for all of eternity. You can literally enjoy eternal life forever. Become his son, eternal bliss. It's a wonderful thing. Or you can be stubborn, you can be wicked and say I'll just pay it myself. And you know what? God doesn't want you to pay for it but he is not going to enforce himself upon anybody. And so if that's what you want then you can suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude 7 says, Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, where homos are by the way, 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 eternal fire. What was Sodom and Gomorrah about? It was about God enacting vengeance upon a bunch of criminals. But it's the same vengeance that will be enacted upon everyone in this world who rejects Jesus Christ. And so it's important for us to realize that we esteem hell and recognize it to be not something that's bad, we don't want people to go there, but it's God's just punishment for this world. And we should never stand in judgment of God and say how can we say that about people and God is love. No, we should rejoice in the fact that God is a God of justice. Because there's so many innocent people in this world who had suffered at the hands of the wicked in this world and were never punished this side of eternity, but God will punish them. See hell, it's like you can run, but you can't hide. And you hear about these like serial killers that committed these crimes and just never caught, you know, the Zodiac killer or whatever, and all these murderers, these mass murderers, and some people that were just never caught, not just in the United States, others throughout the world. Jack the Ripper or whatever, it's like, oh, they were never brought to justice. Well, they will be brought to justice. If they have not yet died, they will be brought to justice. And if they die, they're in that trash bin right now. They're already in the trash can. But when you throw something in the trash and it goes deep into the trash, you can never take it back out. It just kind of stays there. Right? And so hell is God's vengeance enacted. We love eternal life, we love heaven, but you know we should love hell as well because it is God's justice for the wicked of this world. Okay, now let me say this by closing is that therefore knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade man though. So knowing about hell and knowing how how horrific it is for someone to die and lift up their eyes in hell. Folks, there's people that died today that will die today will lift up their eyes in hell and have no idea what's happening. Right? And just be like, they're just burning, they're weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth and after a while they're just going to realize, I'm in hell right now. Today that will happen. Today it has already happened and today it will continue to happen. It's going to happen for years and decades to come until these events come to a conclusion. And so with that knowledge we have to realize people need the gospel, people need to hear about salvation and Jesus Christ and how easy that gift is. We need to persuade people. Not be a car salesman, you understand, but persuade people nonetheless. We're not trying to trick them into salvation, we genuinely want them to be saved. Okay? And so let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the doctrine of hell, the principles of hell, Lord. Help us as you're praying that that doctrine would soften our hearts and give us a sense of urgency to tell others about the gospel. And maybe we've shied away from giving the gospel to a family member, a friend, a coworker on a lunch break, Lord. I pray that a sermon like this would embolden us to do so because hell is real. And I pray, Lord, that you'd help us and may this doctrine be ingrained in us and we think upon it and persuade men because of it, Lord. We love you, we thank you, pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Please turn your songbooks to song number 145. Song number 145, It Is Well With My Soul. And on the chorus, as always, the first It Is Well will be sung by the ladies and the second by the men. Song number 145, all together nice and strong on that first verse. When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. Though says and should buffet, cold trials should come, Let this blessed assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul. It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul. My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought, My sin not in part, but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul. It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul. And, Lord, haste the day when my pain shall be sigh'd, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The drums shall resound, And the Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.