Phases of the Lord's Second Coming--Definite Convictions Series

            Planning a vacation with your grown-up siblings or extended family can be an interesting process. You quickly find out that even though you’re family, you probably disagree about all kinds of vacation details.

            Some people want to hit all of the tourist hotspots. The larger the crowds, the better, because crowds mean energy and liveliness. Other people want to get away from it all. They’d rather find a cabin out in Montana and spend a week with no Internet and no cell phone reception.

            Some people like to pinch every penny when they’re on vacation. It’s like a personal challenge for them to beat the system! They want to take all their own food, and they know that if everyone gets 2 ½ pieces of bread each day, they can stretch three loaves over the entire trip. Other people like to live it up when they’re on vacation. They want to see what it feels like to be Warren Buffet, so their credit card never leaves their hand.

            But despite these differences, you realize that at the end of the day, you’re still family. You can live with differences like this because they’re not the core of what really makes you a family, anyway.

            Today, as we continue through our church’s Statement of Faith, we come to an issue on which there is some disagreement within the Christian family. It’s disagreement we can live with—we don’t need to denounce other churches over this issue, but there is value to taking a clear position within our own church.

            All Christians believe that Jesus is going to return to this world someday because he said he would. There is disagreement, though, about how he will return and when he will return. The specific question is this – will the events that we call the Rapture and the Second Coming happen at the same time in one event, or will they happen at different times and thus be two separate events?

            Our church believes and teaches that the Rapture and the Second Coming will be two separate events. Thus, our Statement of Faith refers to phases (plural) of the Lord’s Second Coming. It says:

We believe in the Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13), the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial, bodily coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church; and in His subsequent return to Earth with His saints to establish His Millennial kingdom. (John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess 1:10; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 2 Thess 1:7-9; Rev 3:10; 19:11-16; Zech 14:4-11)

You see a long list of verses there, and I’d like to read just a few of them – two of the main passages on the Rapture, and one of the main passages on the Second Coming [READ John 14:1-3; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Rev 19:11-16].

Why Do We Believe That The Rapture and The Second Coming Will Be Separate Events?

            All of these passages describe Jesus returning to this earth. Why do we believe that they refer to two separate events instead of just one? I’ll focus today on just three reasons.

1. The stated purpose for Christ’s return is different in different passages

            In John 14, Jesus said that he was leaving to prepare a place for his disciples and that he would come back for them so they could all live in that place together. That is a rather different purpose from Revelation 19, which describes Jesus coming to strike down the nations and to tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God.

            Now, this point all by itself does not make a slam-dunk case for the idea of separate events. After all, one event can certainly serve several purposes. Think of a wedding, for example. A wedding serves as a time for celebration, an opportunity for spiritual dedication as a couple takes vows before the Lord, and it marks the beginning of a legal contract between a husband and wife that is acknowledged by the government. So one event can fulfill several purposes, but recognizing different purposes in different passages at least opens the door to the idea that there could be different phases to Christ’s return.

2. Christ’s return is said to be imminent, yet many events are described that must happen before Christ returns

            Passages like James 5:7-9 teach us that Christ’s return could take place at any moment [READ James 5:7-9]. This passage pictures Jesus as being ready to step into our world right now. And yet, the Book of Revelation describes seven years’ worth of events that must take place before Christ can return. How can both of these ideas be true?

            That question is a real conundrum for Christians who believe that the Rapture and Second Coming are one event. The tension is resolved, however, when we view these happenings as two separate events. In this point of view, the Rapture is imminent, with the Second Coming then taking place seven years later.

            So the Rapture could happen at any moment, wherein the Lord will descend into the skies to take us out of the world to live with him in heaven. Then, seven years later, Jesus will return to the world with all of us in tow in order to establish his kingdom of peace on this planet.

3. The Apostle Paul calls the transformation of living Christians a “mystery”

            1 Thessalonians 4 spoke of living Christians being caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord and thus being instantly transformed in that moment. In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul referred to that truth as a “mystery” [READ 1 Cor 15:51-52].

            Paul uses that word “mystery” a few times in his writings, and when he does, he uses it to refer to truths that had not previously been revealed to mankind. In other words, he’s saying, “I’m going to let you in on a secret,” or “I’m going to tell you something you’ve never heard before.”

            That’s significant for this discussion because Christ’s coming to defeat his enemies and establish his kingdom was clearly foretold in the Old Testament. What we read about in Revelation 19 had already been clearly predicted in passages like Zechariah 14.

            The point is that Paul could not have referred to the Second Coming as a mystery since it had already been revealed. So, when he talks about living believers being instantly transformed and meeting the Lord in the air, he must be referring to a different event than what had already been foretold in the Old Testament.

Monday Matters

            So what difference does it make for you in your daily life to know that there will be two phases to Christ’s return – the Rapture and then the Second Coming? It means that you can live with this confidence and assurance:

God has not destined you to taste his wrath.

            Why will Jesus rapture us out of this world seven years prior to his Second Coming? Because the period of time between those two events will be a time of anguish unlike anything this world has yet seen. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that it will be a time of great trouble and tribulation, and that if God did not limit that period to just a few years, no one at all would survive it.

            But God will take us out of the world prior to that time in order to spare us from it. God has a history of protecting his people in moments when he expresses his appropriate anger toward sin. He did it for Noah and his family when he flooded the earth; he did it for Lot when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; he did it for the children of Israel when the plagues ravaged Egypt but left them unscathed. Apparently, he is going to do it for us before he sends judgments upon the world for our rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

            So God has not destined you to taste his wrath. I think that truth should also influence the way that we interpret the normal sufferings of life that we face here in a fallen world. When we face hard, painful times, it is very common for us to wonder, “Is God angry at me? Is that why this is happening? Am I facing his anger for something?”

            This truth about the Rapture should remind us of the glorious deliverance and salvation that we have through Jesus Christ. We are saved from the wrath of God through him, so when we face the trials of life, we don’t need to jump to the conclusion that God is angry with us. Since you are God’s child, his fundamental outlook toward you is one of acceptance and love and mercy. The gaze that looks down on you from heaven is always tender and compassionate, never angry and stern.

            We are saved from the wrath of God, both now and in the future when God will express his wrath toward mankind in the Tribulation. And so we look forward with great anticipation to the moment when Jesus will come to take his children out of the world to be with him in the place that he is preparing. And we will rejoice greatly on the day when we come back from heaven with him to enjoy the kingdom of peace that he will establish in this world.

Keeping Christian Community Strong in the Last Days--1 Peter 4:7-11 (1 Peter Series)

            Whenever you come to the end of a major project or season of life, there is always a sense of relief. But leading up to the end, there can also be a lack of focus—and some downright sloppiness!—because you know the end is near. Just remember what it was like as a student to try to learn anything after Spring Break! Or if you’ve ever quit a job and had to give two weeks’ notice, I’m sure those final two weeks were not the most productive two weeks of your career! And at the end of any project, when you’re tired and worn-out, it becomes so easy to cut corners or just slap everything together because you know you’re so close to the end.

            In 1 Peter 4 today, we’re going to be reminded that we are living in the last days of this present phase of human history. That fact is both a great comfort and a great challenge. It is a great comfort because it reminds us that our suffering is not going to last forever! The general sufferings of life and the rejection that we might face because of our faith – it all has an expiration date, and we’re close to it; we’re in the home stretch, and it won’t be long now!

            But this fact is also a challenge because it means that we may have very little time left before Jesus returns and we have to stand before him to explain how we did or did not serve him. In these last days, then, we can’t afford to be like that student who has “senior-itis;” we can’t afford to be like an employee who’s just going through the motions during his last two weeks. We have to be living faithful, obedient lives, and as Peter is going to remind us today, part of such a lifestyle is doing what we can to keep our Christian community strong.

            In 1 Peter 4:7-11, Peter is going to take us back to the basics, in a sense, to remind us how to keep our fellowship and our relationships running smoothly. He’s going to remind us about the necessity of three keys for strong Christian community.

Key #1—Praying

            In verse seven, Peter writes [READ v. 7]. Here, Peter is giving us another reason why we can’t be messing around with the kind of lifestyle that he described back in verse three – a lifestyle defined by sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. Not only are such things sinful in and of themselves, but they also distract us from the important ministry of praying.

            I hardly need to remind you about how vital prayer is in our lives. It is so important that the Apostle Paul commanded us in 1 Thessalonians 5 to “pray without ceasing.” But our prayers are going to be less effective if we’re not in control of our own urges and lusts, and if we’re not thinking clearly about our circumstances and what God has called us to do.

            When Peter says that we should be “sober-minded,” he doesn’t just mean sober rather than drunk. He means that we have to have the proper biblical perspective about our circumstances and God’s expectations for us in those circumstances. This whole letter is designed to give us the proper perspective for facing persecution and opposition for our faith, so this perspective will help us know what kind of things we should ask for in those situations.

            And of course, we have to be praying for each other during trying times and in these last days. The Christian life is a team sport, we might say. It’s a little bit less like wrestling and a little bit more like baseball, where everyone’s individual contributions contribute to the good of the team. So we have to be praying for each other, and a lack of self-control on my part or lack of clear-headed thinking on your part is only going to hinder that.

Key #2—Loving

            Here in verse 8, Peter writes [READ v. 8]. What Peter means here is that loving one another will allow us to overlook so many of the sins that we inadvertently commit against each other. How often do we act selfishly, or in a way that’s just a bit rude or inconsiderate? Well, probably more often than we realize! And so many of these sins we don’t commit intentionally, but due to the frailties of our human nature, we end up doing these things. It seems that Peter is saying that rather than being overly sensitive about all of these sins, our love for each other can allow us to overlook them rather than get bent out of shape about every little perceived slight from someone else.

            Think of it like the suspension on your car. As you travel down the road, the suspension on your car allows you to have a nice smooth ride because it absorbs hundreds of little bumps that you barely even recognize, because your suspension has done its job – it has carried you smoothly over all of those little rough spots.

            Love does a very similar thing in our relationships with each other. As we travel down the road of life together, love allows us to glide smoothly over so many little bumps that are caused by our thoughtless or inconsiderate sins. So we don’t have to call each other to repentance each time we forget to return a phone call promptly, or every time we forget to say hello to each other at church. We can allow so many things to be covered by love rather than become a major point of contention in our relationships.

            And let’s remember that when Peter writes “keep loving one another earnestly,” he’s not primarily saying “try to cultivate warm, fuzzy feelings toward each other.” Peter would be thinking much along the same lines as the Apostle Paul did when he described love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” If we will choose to act in those ways toward each other, we can allow the blanket of love to douse so many of the tiny sparks of sin that threaten to flare up among us.

Key #3—Serving

            In verses 9 through 11, Peter first mentions a general way in which we could all serve one another, and then he reminds us of the unique ways in which we have all been gifted by God to serve each other.

            First, the general method of serving is showing hospitality [READ v. 9]. Remember the general setting of this letter, because it explains why hospitality may have come to Peter’s mind at this point. This letter was sent to some believers who were facing some persecution for their faith. They were possibly in conflict with government officials and masters or employers; there was possible conflict in some of their homes or with extended family. Because of these conflicts, some of these believers may have been having a very hard time making ends meet.

            So what might be part of the solution for meeting those needs? Showing hospitality to one another; sharing some of what you have with your fellow believers; opening your home to those who are rejected by others to tell them, “You’ve got a friend in me, and I accept you.”

            Showing hospitality is a very tangible way to express love for other people, and it can be a powerful testimony in our world that has a lot of lonely people who may be dealing with the fallout from broken relationships. Our tendency today is to think of our homes much more like castles than community centers – they are places we go to isolate ourselves from other people. When people see someone adopting a different attitude toward their home or their possessions, it gets noticed!

            When I was a youth pastor, a family in my church once opened their home to the youth group to have a cookout. We enjoyed some good food together, and then we played some silly Frisbee game out in the street and just laughed and played and had a good time. The mother of this family told me later that her next-door neighbor had asked her what that was all about, and she just explained that it was our church’s youth group getting together. Her neighbor was shocked that you could get a group of modern teens together who would have fun just enjoying each other’s company and playing a silly Frisbee game!

            Now notice that Peter commands us to show hospitality “without grumbling.” It certainly does take some sacrifice to share your space and your time and your possessions, and we might be tempted to complain about that sacrifice. There is also some possibility for bitterness if you show hospitality to others but they never reciprocate. But we shouldn’t let the sacrifice required or any concerns about a return invitation keep us from showing hospitality to others. This is a very tangible way for us to serve one another.

            Peter then goes on to remind us about what we usually call our “spiritual gifts” [READ v. 10]. The whole subject of spiritual gifts brings up some interesting questions. One of those questions is, “What are they?” What are these things we call spiritual gifts? Are they natural abilities that we’re born with? Are they abilities that we didn’t have before we were born again, and then all of a sudden we did have them after we were saved?

            You may be surprised to learn that the Bible doesn’t totally answer that question for us. Some of the gifts mentioned in the Bible certainly come all of a sudden after salvation – like the gift of tongues in New Testament times. But what about the gift of administration that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 11? I’ve never known of someone suddenly developing amazing administrative skills right after they were saved!

            Another significant question is, “How do I know what my spiritual gift is?” Once again, you may be surprised to learn that the Bible really doesn’t spell that out for us. There’s no chapter in the Bible that contains a spiritual gifts test like you see online sometimes, and no chapter that lays out a procedure for determining what your spiritual gift is.

            Perhaps the best advice I’ve ever heard for determining your spiritual gift is to ask yourself, “How does my passion and talent intersect with human needs?” Or to put that another way, “How could I make the greatest difference with the greatest effectiveness and the greatest joy?” Some careful consideration of those questions can help you pinpoint how God has gifted you to contribute to a Christian community and meet the needs of others around you.

            Whenever the New Testament talks about spiritual gifts, the one fact it is certain to emphasize is that we all have one, and thus we all have something to contribute to the life of a Christian community like the church. None of us should let ourselves think, “I have nothing to contribute to the life of my church.” Maybe you’re not entirely certain about what your contribution should be, and sometimes churches aren’t great about helping people figure that out. But as surely as God’s word is true, you have something to contribute to the life of a church, and therefore you are needed and your contributions are important.

            Peter goes on in verse 11 to talk about spiritual gifts in just two broad categories – speaking and serving. For those who might preach or teach or in some way educate or encourage the body of Christ through words, Peter says this: “whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God.” Wow! Thanks Peter—no pressure there! This challenge reminds us that whenever we would presume to say, “This is a truth from God’s holy word,” we should approach that opportunity carefully and reverently. But also, when we are confident that we do have the truth of God accurately in our minds, we should communicate that with passion and zeal, knowing that we are not just passing along human opinions but the life-giving truth of God!

            Then for those who would serve in various ways, Peter says this: “whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.” Now this does not mean that we should serve in a way that ignores our God-given need for rest, telling ourselves that it’s okay to stretch ourselves too thin because God will just keep us going. That is a rather foolish and presumptuous attitude. Rather, the idea is that as we serve, we keep in mind where our strength actually comes from – that we are being empowered by God to serve, so that we are actually doing His work, not just our own. We are actually his hands and feet in this world so to speak.

            And the purpose for this is to remember that it is God who deserves the praise and glory for every good thing we do. That’s why Peter closes this section with a beautiful doxology, or statement of worship: “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

            So the keys to keeping Christian community strong in these last days are praying, loving, and serving. If we will keep these keys in hand and make use of them as we should we will to be well prepared to withstand any opposition that may come our way and to have a good answer when we stand before our Lord at his return.

Clear Thinking and Clean Living in Light of God's Plan--1 Peter 1:13-16 (1 Peter Series)

            Last week, I was putting together a puzzle with Adrianna. It was a puzzle we had never done before, and we just had all of the pieces in a baggie – we didn’t have the box for the puzzle at all. As we were putting it together, I found myself wishing that we had the box so we could look at the picture on the front of it and see how this whole thing was supposed to look. As you all know, it’s very helpful to have that picture on the front of the box to show you what the puzzle is supposed to look like when you finish it.

            When it comes to God’s plan for us as his children, he has already given us the picture on the front of the box, so to speak. We don’t know about every twist and turn along the way, but we know what things are going to look like for us when God’s plan is all said and done. The culmination of God’s plan for us is going to be joyous and beautiful and glorious.

            So far in the book of 1 Peter, we’ve read about the apostle’s description of the plan of God for our salvation. He’s emphasized that the fulfillment of this plan is certain – that there is an inheritance being kept for us, and we are being guarded for it. He wrapped up this first section by telling us that this plan that God has for us makes us the envy of the very angels in heaven!

            Beginning with verse 13 of chapter 1, Peter is now going to instruct us about how we should live in light of this great plan of salvation that God has for us. It is not only a truth to sit and savor – it is also a truth to send us into action in some very particular ways. In our passage for today, will begin to see that:

Central Idea: Our knowledge of God’s plan for us should lead to clear thinking and clean living.

Follow with me as I read 1 Peter 1:13-16 [READ].

1. Pull your thoughts together and focus them on the grace that is coming to you (v. 13)

            You might be able to tell from the wording of verse 13 that Peter’s main point is this command for us to set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Remember that in the Bible, hope is not mere wishful thinking; it is a confident expectation and anticipation of something that you are looking forward to. In this case, Peter reminds us that we’re looking forward to the grace we will receive when Christ returns.

            This undoubtedly is a reference to the whole package of blessings that we will receive at that time. There will be the awesome experience of seeing Jesus with our own eyes – this one whom we have loved even though we’ve never seen him. We will enjoy being with him, and, as Peter mentioned in verse seven, we stand to receive praise and honor from him based upon our obedience to him today.

            Peter tells us that the anticipation and longing in our lives is to be set fully upon the return of Christ. That must be the moment that we are looking forward to more than any other – more than any plans that we’ve made for the future, even more than good things like having more kids or having grandkids or retiring. There must be nothing that we are looking forward to more than the return of Christ.

            Why is that? Because of this simple principle – what you desire to have the most tomorrow will determine what you prepare for today. Your desires for the future will impact the way you behave today.

            I remember speaking with a young lady once about the return of Christ. As our conversation went on, she said to me, “I can’t wait for Christ to return, but I hope I can get married first.” Think for just a moment about what that young lady was really communicating. I don’t believe she was trying to downplay the significance of Christ’s return, but what her statement really communicated was that she wanted to get married more than she wanted Christ to return. She could have said, “I can wait for Christ to return if it means I’ll get married in the meantime.”

            Now, I certainly understand the desire to get married. That desire hit me hard after I met Carmen, and I think the desire is even stronger for ladies! But what’s the danger in desiring marriage more than you desire the return of Christ? Well, you might be very tempted to resort to sinful ways of getting the attention of the opposite sex, or you might settle for the first person who shows interest even if that person doesn’t have the makings of a great spouse according to biblical standards.

            Anything that we might desire more than the return of Christ will bring along with it strong temptations to disobey Christ’s commands. And so, if we can set our hope fully on the return of Christ, we will find ourselves preparing for that moment more than any other, which in turn will lead us to live in the proper way.

            But how exactly do we see to it that our hope is set fully on the return of Christ? That’s what Peter tells us how to do in the first part of verse 13. He uses an interesting word picture in the first phrase of the verse. In Greek, it literally says “gird up (or pull together) the loins of your mind.” He’s referring to the way that the Jewish people would adjust their clothing when they needed to get down to work rather than leisure.

            The typical outer garment for a Jewish person was a long robe that stretched all the way down to the feet. When a person was getting ready to do something active, something that might require more freedom of movement, they would pull up the bottom of that robe and tuck it into their belt so it wouldn’t get in the way of their feet and trip them up. That action was similar to what we might do when we roll up our sleeves if we are about to do something dirty, or when a track athlete removes his or her warm-ups to get ready for an event. So we might say that the idea is that we need to pull our thoughts together so that none of them trip us up.

            This statement is a call for us to carefully assess the way that we think about every part of our lives. We don’t want to leave any loose ends in our thinking that might trip us up. So for example, perhaps a person might be thinking in a biblical way about how to start a family, but he’s not thinking biblically about how to grow his business, so consequently he gets tripped up – he starts to pursue some unethical and sinful ways to do business.

            Or perhaps a person thinks in a biblical way about how to work for his boss, but he’s not thinking biblically about something like retirement, so he becomes greedy and falls in love with money. So as we look toward the future, we don’t want to set our hope on Christ’s return in only three fourths of our lives or any other fraction. We want to pull together all the loose ends of our thinking so that none of them trip us up.

            Peter also tells us that part of setting our hope fully on Christ’s return is to be sober-minded. That statement emphasizes clear thinking – careful reflection on life that is not clouded by ignorance or any of the other hindrances that might characterize those who don’t know God’s message to mankind.

            We are not in that predicament, are we? We know God’s word, his message or revelation to mankind. We know his commands, and so we have a clear guide to know what is right and wrong. We know about his plan for the future, and so we have a clear view of where human history is headed and how we can be prepared for what’s to come.

We are not lost in some fog of uncertainty or ignorance. God has given us a clear model for how we should live, and that’s what Peter goes on to emphasize in verses 14 to 16.

2. Live by the pattern laid out by God, not your own passions (vv. 14-16)

            In verses 14 through 16, Peter points out that just as it is normal and appropriate for children to imitate their parents, we too, as children of God, should imitate our heavenly father [READ vv. 14-16].

            The word “conformed” in verse 14 gives us an interesting word picture, in my opinion. The Greek term is the root word for our English word “schematic.” A schematic is like a diagram or a blueprint; diagrams of electrical circuits in particular are often called “schematics.”

            I think that connection can offer us a helpful paraphrase of this statement: “Don’t follow the diagram or the blueprint drawn up by the passions of your former ignorance.” As we are building our lives we need to follow a different blueprint, a different pattern – and that pattern is God’s own holiness.

            The fundamental idea of holiness is the idea of uniqueness; something that is separated out by itself because it has a unique and special quality to it. God has a unique and special quality to him no matter how you think about him. He is unique in his power, his knowledge, his eternality, and his wisdom. He is certainly also unique in the way that he interacts with others, because he always treats others in ways that are right and proper.

            We can’t really imitate God in terms of his power, for example, because we simply don’t have the capacity to be Almighty. But we certainly can imitate him in the way that we treat others, and that idea is really what the Bible is getting at when it calls us to be holy. Compared to the way that unbelievers treat other people, we should treat other people in a way that is unique and different, with a higher and more noble and beautiful quality to it.

            We should treat other people the right way, but perhaps what truly makes us unique and different is that we can treat other people the right way for the right reasons and with the right kind of goals in mind. As Christians, we certainly don’t have a corner on the market when it comes to treating people the right way. Followers of other religions and even people who are irreligious can and do treat other people with kindness and fairness.

            But what sets us apart as Christians is that we can treat people the right way for the right kind of reasons and with the right kind of goals in mind. We can treat people the right way not just out of habit or to conform to tradition as Midwesterners or something like that, but as a true expression of the character that the Holy Spirit is carving out within us. We can treat other people the right way not from a motivation of what we might get from them, but simply because they’re people made in the image of God and because it’s honoring to God to act that way.

            We can treat other people the right way without trying to satisfy any misguided notion that doing so will earn us favor in the eyes of God. Above all, I would say that our worldview and spiritual resources as Christians empower us to be able to treat all kinds of people the right way in all kinds of circumstances. Do we always do that? Of course not, but we are empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

            Finally, please notice how Peter supports his call for us to imitate the holiness of God. First, he appeals to us as obedient children, which reminds us that it is simply normal and appropriate for us to imitate our father. But the real bottom line is seen in verse 16 – we have an express, written commandment from God to be holy because he is holy.

            Let us never forget that as Christians, the word of God is to be our final word for all matters of faith and practice – what we believe and how we conduct ourselves. The Bible is true and it is in fact a message from God to mankind, and though we can call God our father and Christ our brother without stretching the truth even a little bit, we must never forget that God is also our master. When we learn of his commands, we have one obligation – obey! We are not free to disobey his commands without the risk of facing his displeasure and discipline.

            And since his commands are recorded for us right here in the Bible, we also have no excuse for not knowing about them. As in our own courtrooms here in the United States, being ignorant of the law is no excuse for breaking the law. In the next section of 1 Peter, we will learn that it is in fact a fearful thing to live with the knowledge that even though we have God as our father, that fact does not exempt us from an evaluation of our lives when we meet him someday.

            It is so important for us, then, to learn God’s commands for us in the Bible so that we can obey. It is imperative for us to exalt the Bible in our own opinions so that we don’t treat its teachings as just one option among many for how we could live, but as the final word for how we should conduct ourselves in this world.

Re-interpreting Hell?--Hell Series

            Words can be slippery things, and its not always easy to get a grip on what someone may be trying to communicate. I’m sure we’ve all been shocked at times when people have totally misunderstood what we were trying to say. We were trying to communicate one thing, and somehow a totally different message came through!

Words have to be interpreted if we’re going to understand them correctly. That is true of spoken words and written words, which means this principle is true for the Bible as well. The Bible has to be interpreted if we’re going to understand it correctly, and during the last couple of centuries in particular, some people have argued that Christianity has misinterpreted what the Bible has to say about Hell. They would say that the traditional picture of Hell as being a place of everlasting punishment for those who reject God is actually based on a misunderstanding of the Bible.

Today, we’re going to take a look at two alternatives that have been offered in place of the traditional Christian understanding of Hell. Some of the words and ideas that you’ll hear about today may be new to you, but they are more popular than you might think. Last week, I mentioned a pastor named Rob Bell who wrote a book in 2011 that endorsed some of the ideas we’re about to discuss. His book became a best-seller, so if you haven’t heard about some of these ideas before, chances are that you will sooner rather than later. Sadly, however, I must say that these ideas do not give us an accurate interpretation of Scripture, and thus we must not embrace them.

So what are these alternative interpretations?

1. ANNIHILATIONISM

            Now that’s a big, fancy word that just stands for the belief that those who reject God will go into Hell for a period of time, but then they will cease to exist. They will not remain in Hell forever; they will be annihilated, which is where the big, fancy label for this idea comes from.

            So where has this idea come from? Well, those who hold this idea say that the biblical picture of Hell as a fiery place has been misunderstood. They say that since fire consumes and destroys things, it is illogical to think of something existing forever in a fiery place. They also point out that many Bible verses speak of “destruction” for those who reject God. For example, we can think of the well-known words from the Sermon on the Mount: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many (Matthew 7:13).” Or we can think of statements from John the Baptist like this one: “…he who is coming after me is mightier than I…His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:11-12).”

            We have also read about Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds over the last few weeks. Jesus said that the weeds represent “the sons of the evil one” and that they will be thrown into the fiery furnace” (Matthew 13:38-42). Now, we all know what happens when you throw weeds into a fire. If you look into the fire after just a few minutes, you won’t see the weeds there anymore. Because of observations like that, annihilationists say its illogical to think of a person living forever in a fiery place.

            Annihilationists also emphasize verses that talk about God’s final victory over all things, and they interpret those verses to mean that those who reject God must no longer exist when God achieves His final victory. For example, Philippians 2:10-11 says in the New American Standard, “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” They would read those verses and say, “Well, if every knee is going to bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, then that must mean that those who reject God will no longer exist at that point because people in Hell wouldn’t bow the knee to God or confess that Jesus is Lord.”

            Another example like this would be 1 Corinthians 15:28, which says, “When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.” Annihilationists would have the same response to this verse—“How can all things be subjected to God if there are people in Hell who have never accepted Him?” And so, they would say that such people must no longer exist at that point in time.

            Let’s think, now, about these two claims. First—the claim that the fire of Hell will put the people there out of existence. Though annihilationists would say the same thing about me, I think their claim misunderstands the imagery of fire. Fire doesn’t actually put anything out of existence; it simply breaks down the structure and order of things. If a house burns down, for example, the structure of the house is lost, but the atoms that make up the wood and the carpet and the drywall don’t cease to exist—they simply become smoke and ashes.

            Now someone might say, “Come on, Tim. People in Bible times didn’t know about atoms! They just knew that if you threw weeds in a fire, you had no more weeds!” Well, they may not have known about atoms, but they certainly knew about ashes, and they were also well aware of using fire to refine metals, so they certainly could have known that fire simply breaks down the structure of things.

            Most importantly, we have plain statements in Scripture—like Matthew 25:46—that those who reject God are sentenced to eternal punishment in the same way that those who accept God are given eternal life.

            Now what about those verses that describe God’s final victory? Can God really have “all things in subjection to Him” if there are people in Hell who don’t worship Him? Well, if we want to understand the details of God’s ultimate victory, we need to allow the Bible to tell us what those details are. Those details are most clearly expressed in precisely the place you would expect to find them—at the end of the Bible, in the final chapters of the book of Revelation.

            In chapters 19-21 of Revelation, we read about the devil being cast into the lake of fire, where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever, according to Revelation 20:10. We also read about those whose names are not written in the book of life meeting the same fate. These chapters also tell us about Christ’s future kingdom on Earth and our eternal home with God in the New Heaven and New Earth, so if we are going to allow the Bible to shape our understanding of God’s final victory, that means that His final victory includes an everlasting punishment for His enemies.

            I think the best understanding of God’s final victory is to say that it means there will no longer be any active rebellion against God in any corner of creation. All of His enemies will be subdued and sentenced to their final fate, with no opportunity to foster a rebellion ever again. God’s children, of course, will enjoy life in His presence under His reign, so everything will truly be in subjection to God.

Now, in thinking about God’s final victory, some people have come to a very different conclusion about it, and we can call that conclusion…

2. UNIVERSALISM

            Universalism is the belief that all people will eventually be saved, either by accepting Christ in this life before they die or by accepting Him after they die. Most universalists, I believe, accept the idea that some people will go to Hell, but it is seen as a place of correction that will eventually lead all people to accept Christ. This interpretation is based on the idea that people will continue to have the opportunity to accept Christ after they die, and that God’s discipline will lead all people to do so, even if they continue to resist for a while.

            So how do universalists draw their belief from Scripture? First, they appeal to some verses which they interpret to say that people will have a “second chance” to accept Christ after death. We’ll look at one of those verses in just a moment.

Second, they point to clear statements in Scripture which declare that God desires all people to be saved, such as 1 Timothy 2:4, which says God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” So, if God desires that it will happen, then it must be that it will happen.

Third, they also point to the “final victory” passages and interpret them to say that all people will eventually be saved. “After all,” they would say, “if every knee is going to bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, then that must mean all people will be saved at that point.” As you can see, they reach a very different conclusion than annihilationists do from the same passages.

            What are we to make of these interpretations? First, let’s consider a verse which they claim would refer to a “second chance” to accept Christ. For the sake of time, I’m only going to mention the verse that has the best chance of supporting their claim, though I don’t believe it does. That verse is 1 Peter 4:6, which the English Standard Version translates like this: “For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.”

            At first glance, that may sound like it is referring to people hearing the gospel after they have died, but this is when the Bible study practice of comparing multiple translations becomes very helpful. Notice how another well-known translation—the NIV—translates the first phrase: “for this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead.” That translation emphasizes something very important—the tense of the first verb. It is in the past tense—“the gospel was preached.” Thus, the verse could be saying that these people heard the gospel in the past before they had died—and I think that’s exactly what the verse is saying.

            It is also very important to note that there is no mention of a “second chance” in the passage where it would most logically be found, which is the description of the final judgment of mankind in Revelation 20. Let’s read this important passage [READ Rev. 20:12-15; p. 672]. This passage says nothing about a second chance being offered at that moment, and it gives us no hint that a second chance will ever be offered again. Rather, it seems that the Bible sums up the reality very succinctly in Hebrews 9:27, which says, “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”

            Now what about God’s desire that all people would be saved? It is certainly true that God desires for all people to be saved, but it is also very clear from the record of Scripture that God does not enforce everything that He desires. Surely God desired that Adam and Eve would obey Him, but He did not enforce that. He created them with a will and allowed them to choose. Surely God desires that we would always obey Him, but He doesn’t enforce that, either. We have a will, too, and He allows us to make choices. If we were to say that God enforces everything He desires, then we would have to say that everything that happens is something that God desired to happen, including all acts of evil, and that conclusion does not line up with Scripture.

            Moreover, the Bible does not give us reason to think that all people would surely repent eventually once they realize that they are under the judgment of God. In fact, a chapter like Revelation 16 gives us the opposite impression Let’s read verses 8-11 [READ Rev. 16:8-11; 669]. Notice that these people clearly understood that God was behind these plagues, yet they did not repent. Even if we gave them an eternity to repent, there is no guarantee that they ever would.

            Finally, we should remember that the passages which speak of God’s final victory over all things do not require us to conclude that all people will eventually repent and accept Christ. The closing chapters of Scripture give us the real picture—God will have the victory over all who oppose Him, but not all people will gladly welcome that victory. Every man and woman will receive one of two fates, according to Matthew 25:46—either eternal punishment, or eternal life.

            “But God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).” You can know today that you have eternal life if you will understand your need for it and repent of your sins to God, and receive the gift of forgiveness that He offers to you through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You need not fear eternal punishment ever again, for Jesus said, “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (John 5:24).”

Objections Against the Doctrine of Hell--Hell Series

            I don’t know much about the details of a courtroom trial, but whenever I’ve seen one portrayed on TV, there always seems to be a dramatic moment when one lawyer stands up and says, “I OBJECT!!” They always say it with total disgust, too, as if their mom had just been insulted. I don’t know how accurate that is, but it does make for good TV.

            Well, as the doctrine of Hell has been tried in the court of public opinion over the years, many people have stood up to say, “I object!” Some of these objections have come from people who want to discredit Christianity, and some of them have come from people who embrace it but believe that the Church’s traditional understanding of Hell needs to be modified.

            Last week, I presented the traditional Christian understanding of Hell—that it is a place of punishment for those who have rejected God, and that those who wind up there will remain there forever. Today, we’ll start to discuss some objections that have been raised at various times against that idea. Then, in the next sermon, we’ll talk about two alternatives to the traditional view of Hell that have had the most influence within Christianity.

OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE DOCTRINE OF HELL

1. IT IS A GROSSLY UNFAIR PUNISHMENT FOR SIN

            I think we can all agree that at first glance, Hell really does look like an over-reaction. Is it really fair for people to suffer forever for the sins they’ve committed? Maybe we’d say “yes” for Hitler or Osama Bin Laden, but what about Bob down the street? Could Hell really be a fair punishment for people who just commit “plain old” sins? I think the answer is yes, and let me make a couple of observations to tell you why.

            a. Since we are guilty of sin, we are not in a trustworthy position to decide what a fair punishment for it should be

            Think of it like this—if we allowed a group of convicted thieves to determine the punishment for robbery, don’t you think they would be more lenient than people who had never committed robbery? Of course they would, because we all have a natural tendency to downplay the severity of our choices. Even after we admit we’ve done wrong, we still try to come up with excuses about why our behavior really wasn’t that bad.

            We’re really just like the group of convicted thieves! We want to minimize the severity of sin because we are guilty of it, and when we talk about a punishment for it, we know that we’re talking about a punishment that we deserve. So naturally, we want to make that punishment less and less severe.

            Since we have this bias from the fact that we’re guilty of sin, we should acknowledge that and follow the lead of someone who is not guilty of sin—God Himself! He is the true judge of mankind, and if He says that Hell is a fitting punishment for sin, we should take His word for it, because our own opinion about it is not reliable.

            b. The fair punishment for a crime is relative to the kind of being against whom the crime is committed

            We follow this principle in our own laws in this country. Let me explain what I mean. If I torture and kill a bug, that’s not a crime; I wouldn’t face any punishment for that. However, if I torture and kill an animal, that’s a crime because we place animals on a higher level than bugs. But even the punishment for that crime isn’t as severe as if I would torture and kill a human being, because—once again—we’ve moved up another level. A human being is on a higher level than an animal.

            So as we move up from one level to another, the punishment becomes more severe each time. That principle would lead us to this conclusion—since God is the greatest of all beings, a crime against Him would deserve the most severe of all punishments. I think this principle reminds us how serious it is to sin against God, since He is a much greater kind of being than we are. A sin against Him deserves a very serious punishment, indeed, and if He—as an unbiased voice—says that Hell is that punishment, we should take His word for it.

2. IT VIOLATES THE IDEA OF GOD’S LOVE

            This is perhaps the most common objection today to the concept of Hell, and we usually hear it raised in the form of a question: “How could a loving God send someone to Hell?” To the modern American mind, putting those two ideas together just does not compute.

            Perhaps the reality we should remember at this point is that God is not only a loving God. He certainly is that, but His character has a perfect balance between traits like love, justice, holiness, mercy, and grace. We can see this perfect balance in the way that He has responded to our sin. God punishes sin—which reveals His justice—yet He has also made a way for us to avoid that punishment—which reveals His love, mercy, and grace.

            Think of the cross of Jesus as being like a set of scales that perfectly balance God’s justice and His love. God’s justice demands that sin be punished. That’s why Jesus had to die if we were to be forgiven; God couldn’t just pretend to look the other way while we scampered into Heaven. The price for sin had to be paid, but God’s love moved Him to pay the price Himself so that we could receive a pardon.

            The moral of the story is this—we cannot focus solely on God’s love in a discussion about something like Hell. The fact that we are tempted to reveals an imbalance within us. Think about it—how many people would get outraged over the idea that God’s holiness might be violated? Hardly anyone, and that’s because we have an imbalance within us that comes from our sin nature. Again, we want to minimize the severity of our sin and the reality of God’s justice because we are guilty.

3. IT VIOLATES THE CONCEPT OF THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD

            Some people have argued that Christianity’s traditional understanding of Hell portrays God as being a horrific child abuser. The reasoning goes something like this: “I could never enforce a punishment like Hell on one of my children, and God is even more merciful than I am, so surely God could not send one of His children to Hell.”

            I think this objection often comes from a sincere motivation to protect the character of God, but it overlooks one vital fact—according to the Bible, people who have not accepted Christ by faith do not have a father/child relationship with God. Only those who are born again can claim that kind of relationship with God. As John 1:11-12 says, [READ John 1:11-12; p. 576]. To whom did Jesus give the right to become children of God? Only to those who received Him by believing in His name.

            Those who do not accept Christ are considered to be children of Satan. We read this last week when we discussed the parable of the wheat and the tares (or weeds). When Jesus explained this parable in Matthew 13:38, he said, “the weeds are the sons of the evil one.” And in John 8, when Jesus was speaking to some people who had rejected Him, He said, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires (8:44).”

            Now don’t think of unbelieving people as being willing followers of Satan, because they’re not—they are deceived, just as you and I were before God opened our eyes. But from God’s point of view, those who do not accept Christ are not part of His family. They are part of Satan’s family, and thus they are in danger of facing the same fate as Satan.

4. IT VIOLATES THE IDEA THAT GOD’S DISCIPLINE IS MEANT FOR CORRECTION

            Some have said that the idea of everlasting punishment in Hell is a misunderstanding of the purpose behind God’s punishment or discipline. They would not deny that some people will go to Hell, but their time there will not be everlasting. They will be reformed by God’s discipline and will eventually accept Christ.

            It is true that some passages in the Bible describe God’s discipline as being designed to correct and reform those who receive it. Hebrews 12 is probably the classic passage on this subject, but that passage also makes it clear that this corrective discipline is directed toward those who are children of God, and as we just learned, not everyone has a parent/child relationship with God.

            I think the Bible definitely teaches that God does carry out punishments that are final and that do not leave a possibility for correction afterward. That’s why God is waiting so patiently today before He wraps up His plan for this world. If God intends to give people in Hell a second chance to accept Him, why is He waiting to wrap up His plan for this world? By conservative estimates, scores of Christians are killed every day around the world because of their faith. Why does God allow this to continue? Why does God allow His people to continue to suffer? Why doesn’t He just wrap up His plan today and then give people in Hell their second chance? I think its because there will not be a second chance, and so God is patiently waiting today, to give people more and more time to repent before it is too late.

5. CERTAIN PEOPLE IN CHURCH HISTORY HAVE DEFENDED DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ABOUT HELL; THEREFORE, IT IS LEGITIMATE TO HOLD TO A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAN THE TRADITIONAL ONE

            It is true that different people in church history have held to different perspectives about Hell than the traditional one. The most famous person to do so in the early church was a man named Origen, who was an influential teacher in Egypt during the early 200’s AD. More recently, a pastor in Michigan named Rob Bell wrote a book in 2011 entitled Love Wins, in which he defended a different perspective than the traditional Christian perspective on Hell.

            Those who agree with these teachers often try to say that there has never been universal agreement among Christians about Hell. I suppose that’s true if “universal” means “every person who has ever called themselves a Christian!” But there can be no doubt that the vast majority of people in every era who have worn the label “Christian” have believed in the traditional understanding of Hell—that it is a place of everlasting suffering for those who reject God.

            But the most important question is not, “What have people taught in the name of Christianity?” All kinds of ideas have been taught in the name of Christianity that we would never want to believe! For example, some people in the early days of Christianity called themselves Christians, but taught that Jesus wasn’t even a real human being—He was like a ghost who only looked like a real human being. We certainly don’t want to believe something like that!

            The most important question, of course, is, “What does the Bible teach?”  THAT is where we must take our stand, and I think we got a good snapshot of the Bible’s teaching on Hell last week. Next week, we will consider some different interpretations that have been suggested for some of the verses we have read, and I believe we will see that Christianity’s traditional understanding of Hell has become traditional because it is the correct interpretation of Scripture.

            For today, I hope you can see the importance of thinking clearly and deeply about what you believe. The spirit of our times calls for our feelings to govern our faith, and clear, deep thinking like what we’ve just done today is often pushed to the side. But there is a reason that the Bible repeatedly commands us to have discernment, which is the ability to make clear and accurate distinctions in your mind. Romans 12:2 simply states that this is the way to be transformed spiritually—“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

            Have you ever wondered if there’s a simple standard that could tell you whether you’re mature as a Christian? Not perfect, of course, but “grown-up”—no longer a baby in Christ? Well in fact, there is, and we find it in Heb. 5:14—“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

            To grow in Christ, we must put out some mental energy. That doesn’t mean you need to have a shelf full of books. The best plan is to make sure you read one book and think about it—the word of God! God’s Word teaches us how to distinguish between right and wrong, true and false, and we must let it train our minds.

Follow your heart? No. Exercise your mind instead.

How Does the Bible Describe Hell?--Hell Series

             Among all the teachings of Christianity, perhaps none is more universally disliked than the teaching that those people who do not accept Jesus as their Savior will receive the penalty of everlasting suffering in Hell. This doctrine is disliked by people who don’t embrace it AND people who do! No one should enjoy the thought that this fate awaits those who do not accept Christ, because I don’t think God enjoys it either.

            Nevertheless, my emotional reaction to a doctrine should not be the criterion by which I decide whether or not a doctrine is true. That decision should only be made by assessing the teaching of the Bible. So today, we’re going to take a look at how the Bible describes Hell. Then, over the next two weeks, we’ll discuss some questions and objections that have been raised about the traditional interpretation of these passages.

            Now I should point out that just as with our series on Heaven, it seems that there is a temporary place where unbelieving people go today after they die that is not yet their final, eternal state. You may remember that I made a distinction between the Heaven where Jesus lives today and the New Heaven and New Earth. It seems that the Bible makes the same distinction about Hell, but the descriptions of the temporary Hell and the eternal Hell are so similar that for this series I’m going to discuss them together.

HOW DOES THE BIBLE DESCRIBE HELL?

            If you were to look up the word “hell” in the Bible, you might be surprised to learn that the person who had more to say about Hell than anyone else was the Lord Jesus himself! I’m sure this is why the doctrine of Hell has had such staying power in Christianity even though it is universally disliked. We cannot escape the fact that Jesus spoke frequently about Hell and used it as a dire warning to encourage people to confess their sins and embrace God. Much of what we’ll look at this morning, then, comes directly from Jesus.

1. It is described as a place of fire

            Specifically, the Bible gives us three images to describe Hell. First, Jesus described it by pointing to the area outside of Jerusalem where the city’s trash was burned up. In Matthew 5:21-22 for example, Jesus says [READ Matt. 5:21-22; p. 525]. The words “hell of fire” translate the word gehenna, which was a reference to the Valley of Hinnom just outside the city of Jerusalem.

            Way back in the days of King Ahaz, the king made that valley a place for the worship of idols. The king even offered some of his own children as burnt offerings to the idols! But when the godly King Josiah came to power, he put an end to idol worship in that place and decided to turn the Valley of Hinnom into a place of uncleanness and dishonor, so he turned it into the city dump for the city of Jerusalem. Fires were continually burning there, and the people used the area to dispose of everything from household trash to the bodies of dead animals and criminals.

            So the first picture we receive of Hell is that of a place of dishonor where fire is perpetually burning. The second picture is that of an oven. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a parable about a man who had an enemy, and one night, his enemy came and planted weeds in his wheat field. When harvest time came, the harvesters gathered up the weeds and burned them, and in Matthew 13:38, Jesus offers this explanation for his parable [READ Matt. 13:38-42; p. 531].

            The “fiery furnace” is a reference to something that we more commonly call a kiln or an oven, something that would be used to heat glass or pottery, or that would be used at home to bake bread. So once again, Jesus pictures Hell as a place of fire.

            The third picture is that of a lake of fire. That is how Hell is described in the book of Revelation. For example, Revelation 20:10 says that the Devil will be thrown into a “lake of fire,” and v. 15 talks about the final judgment of mankind and says, “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

            Now, that’s an odd phrase because a lake obviously holds water, which does not burn. But the picture seems to be one of liquid fire—probably something like lava. To be in something like that means that you would be surrounded by it and engulfed in it.

These three pictures combine to give us a fearful image of Hell. With this image, its no surprise that…

2. It is described as a place of agony and torment

            We’ve probably all heard people say things like, “I’d just as soon go to Hell because all of my friends will be there and we’ll have a big party!” Well, the Bible gives us no reason to think that there will be any joy in Hell. Instead, it uses words like “agony,” “anguish,” and “torment” to describe what people there are experiencing.

            We can think first of all of the rich man in Jesus’ parable in Luke 16—why don’t you turn there with me? I’ll start reading from the beginning of the parable in 16:19 [READ Luke 16:19-24; p. 569]. If you know the rest of the parable, you’ll remember that the rich man did not want his brothers to join him in that place. He obviously had no thought that they could all throw a big party together. Instead, he knew that they would be in anguish, just as he was.

            Let’s also read a passage from Revelation 14. This passage talks about a person who is simply called “the beast.” If you remember the story from my sermon last week, this is the person whom I called Therion; he is a world leader who will come to power in the end times. Notice what this passage says about those who worship him [READ Rev. 14:9-11; p. 669].

            There is a very bleak and hopeless tone in this description. One factor that often helps us cope with suffering today is the assurance that it won’t last forever, but for these people it says, “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.”

In this description we begin to see that Hell…

3. It is described as being everlasting (without end)

            This is probably the most controversial point today about the Bible’s description of Hell, but I think its one that is well-established by the Biblical evidence. I don’t say that with any degree of pleasure or satisfaction; I say it only because I think it is true.

            We’ve already seen that Rev. 14 describes some people who will endure punishment in Hell forever and ever. Let’s consider a few other verses. In Mark 9:43, Jesus says, “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” That will be an important verse to remember in the coming weeks as we discuss that claim that has been made by some people that those who go to Hell are actually burned up by fire and quickly cease to exist. But if that’s true, it would seem that the fire of Hell would one day be quenched when it had nothing left to burn, but this verse says it is an “unquenchable” fire.

            In the book of Revelation again, Rev. 20:10 states that the final fate of the Devil will be to be “thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

            Finally, let’s consider a very significant verse in Matthew 25. In this chapter, Jesus is describing a judgment that will occur when He returns to set up His kingdom in this world. In this judgment, He separates the wicked from the righteous, and in Matthew 25:46, He says, “and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Notice that the same word—the word “eternal”—is used to describe the duration of punishment for the wicked and the duration of life for the righteous. So if eternal life is everlasting or unending for the righteous, then punishment for the wicked must also be everlasting or unending, because the same word is used in the same sentence to describe both. This observation will be important to remember in the coming weeks as we consider various claims that the punishment of Hell is not unending, but this verse describes two settled, final states in which people will find themselves—either a final state of punishment or a final state of life.

4. It is said to be ruled by God, not Satan

            It is very common for people to think that Satan is the ruler of Hell, and that people who go there are given to him to be tortured by him and his demons. A few years ago, I heard the testimony of a man who claimed that God allowed him to visit Hell in order to see it and warn people about it. I immediately began to doubt his story when he claimed that he saw people in Hell being tortured by demons, because the Bible does not give us that idea at all.

            Rather than being in charge of Hell, Satan and his demons will receive punishment in Hell. Let me again read Revelation 20:10, which states that the Devil will be “thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” This is Satan’s fate! He will not spend eternity inflicting punishment on others; rather, he will endure punishment as his judgment from God.

            Earlier, we also read from Matthew 25, and v. 41 of that chapter states that Hell was created with the Devil in mind. In that verse, the Lord Jesus says to the wicked whom He has judged, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Those angels are the same beings who are elsewhere called “demons.”

            This verse points out the greatest tragedy of all for men and women who end up in Hell—it was not created for us! We as humans did not—and do not—have to end up there. But through our sin, we have joined Satan’s rebellion against God, and thus we are in danger of receiving the same fate. As Revelation 20:15 warns us, if anyone’s name is not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

            So how do we come to have our name written in that book? Simply by accepting the pardon that God offers to us through the Lord Jesus Christ—the gift of eternal life. Through our sins, we have all broken God’s laws, and we deserved punishment from Him, but because God loves us, He sent His own Son to receive our punishment as our substitute, and He did just that in His death on the cross. Then, God raised Him from the grave to declare to all men that the punishment had been served—the price had been paid—and now we can receive a pardon from God if we will renounce our rebellion against Him and accept the Lord Jesus by faith as our Savior.

            Hell is not meant for you, my friends, and you can escape its danger today by accepting Christ as your Savior.

Life in the Present Heaven--Heaven Series

            People sometimes say the strangest things at funerals. Most of the time we don’t know what to say, but we want to make conversation, so we blurt out just about anything. For example, if the deceased person was a baseball fan, we might say something like, “Well, I guess the Lord needed a new third baseman for the big game coming up against the angels.” Or if its raining at the graveside service, we might say, “It looks like ol’ Billy Bob is crying right along with us from Heaven.”

            By and large, these statements are pretty innocent, and we probably don’t even believe most of the stuff like this that we say, but if something gets repeated enough times, eventually people start to think its true—we hear a claim 10 or 15 times and we assume that someone else has checked it out and verified it, so we believe it.

            I think some of our beliefs about the present Heaven have been formed this way. After all, how many of us have actually sat down and compared our beliefs about Heaven to what the Bible says? As I mentioned several weeks ago, even in my seminary training, we didn’t spend much time talking about Heaven, so this series represents the first time that I have given focused attention to the subject of Heaven.

            I say this to prepare you for what we will discuss today, because your idea of Heaven may be significantly challenged as we look at a scene from the book of Revelation. Please turn with me to Revelation 6:9-11. In this passage, we are reading about the opening of a scroll that was brought before the Lord in Heaven. This scroll has seven seals on it, and as each seal is opened, various events happen either in Heaven or on Earth. When the fifth seal is opened, we read this [READ Rev. 6:9-11].

            We’re going to examine this passage today to see what these people in Heaven are experiencing. It could be the case that our loved ones are experiencing similar things, and thus that we will experience similar things in the present Heaven. There is a question that remains about whether this passage is typical of the experience for all people in Heaven. I’m going to cautiously assume that it is, so I’ll be speaking from that perspective this morning.

Let’s discuss some observations we can make about this passage…

1. THEY REMEMBER DETAILS FROM THEIR LIVES ON EARTH

            These people remember certain things that happened to them in this life. But notice that the detail they remember is an unpleasant one—they remember that they were murdered for their faith. This is a very challenging observation because we commonly assume that in Heaven, we will not remember anything unpleasant that happened to us in this life, but these verses could suggest otherwise.

            It is very important to remember, however, that these martyrs were comforted immediately after they asked their question. Notice also what chapter 7 has to say about some believers who will die during the time of the Tribulation [READ 7:15-17]. These verses clearly paint of picture of rest, peace, and comfort. So its certainly not necessary for us to think of Heaven as a place where unhappiness could linger, but we may need to adjust our assumption that we will not remember anything unpleasant.

            If that is true, I think its important to note that it will not be true forever. After John sees his first glimpse of the New Heaven and New Earth in Revelation 21:1, he is clearly told in v. 4 that there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain. Thus, there will absolutely be a time when we will never, ever experience grief ever again. But for those who are in Heaven today, even though there is incredible comfort, they probably still have a sense that all things have not yet been made right, and that even they have greater things to look forward to.

2. THEY KNOW DETAILS ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING ON EARTH.

            Specifically, these martyrs know that their murderers have not yet faced vengeance from God. A question comes up at this point that we simply may not be able to answer, and it is this—how did they know this detail? Could they see for themselves what was happening on Earth, or did God give them some information about it? Or here’s a third option—perhaps they could simply observe God’s activity, and from that they could piece together information about the situation on Earth.

            I’m afraid I don’t have a definite answer for this question. I am inclined to think it’s a very real possibility that our loved ones in Heaven know details about what’s going on in our lives. I am very hesitant, however, to embrace the idea that our loved ones are always watching over us like something of a guardian angel. I cannot encourage you to embrace that idea, but what about the thought of asking God to pass along a message to our loved ones? I see no reason why that would be a bad thing. After all, it is simply a request, and God can answer it however He chooses.

3. THEY HAVE THE FREEDOM TO ASK GOD A QUESTION

            This kind of communication shows us that these people have access to God. They can speak to Him and are free to ask Him a question. This observation is a great reminder of the gracious God whom we serve. He desires a relationship with us and makes Himself accessible to us.

            Notice, however, that the martyrs did not receive the exact answer that they may have been looking for. This is also an important reminder that God is not accountable to us. He does not have to answer to us for His actions or His plans, so while we are free to ask Him questions—and may have an even greater freedom to do so in Heaven—we should always remember who’s in charge.

            We often assume that in Heaven, we will get a complete explanation for everything that God allowed in our lives—especially the painful experiences. Just keep in mind that God does not owe us an explanation of these things. I think because He is gracious, He will tell us many things—and we will apparently have the freedom to ask—but just remember that God is not accountable to us; we are accountable to Him.

The fact that these martyrs asked a question reveals another detail…

4. THEY DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT GOD’S ACTIVITIES

            To put this another way, there will be a process of learning in Heaven. It seems common for people to assume that once we enter Heaven, we will immediately have all the knowledge that we will ever have. Sometimes I’ve heard people respond to questions they can’t answer by saying, “Ask me again 3 seconds after I die; then I’ll be able to tell you,” but it doesn’t seem correct to think that knowledge will be downloaded into our mind after we die.

            These martyrs asked a question, which clearly tells us that they did not know everything. There was still information that they could learn, so it seems that we will have the need and the opportunity to learn in Heaven. To a nerd like me, that sounds fantastic! Imagine the thrill of interacting with God and learning new things from Him! Imagine meeting the other people who will be there and learning about their lives and swapping stories about what God did in your life. When I say “learning,” don’t think of a stuffy classroom and tests; think about catching up at a reunion.

5. THEY SEEM TO EXPERIENCE A PASSING OF TIME

            In their question, these martyrs say, “how long before you will judge and avenge our blood?” They clearly understand that time has passed since their deaths, and to them it feels like they’ve been waiting a long time for justice. Notice also that in God’s reply, He tells them to “rest a little longer,” which is also a word that expresses time.

            We discussed this idea a few weeks ago as well. I am quite convinced that we will experience a passing of time in Heaven, but remember that it will be time without end. We’ll never feel like we’re running out of time or that we’re pressed for time or that we don’t have enough time. We will live with one moment coming after another, but every new moment will not represent the loss of opportunities, just another opportunity from a never-ending supply of them.

6. THEY SEEM TO HAVE SOME KIND OF PHYSICAL BODY

            I’m not entirely sure about this observation, but it is a possible conclusion you could draw from the fact that these martyrs are given white robes—a piece of clothing. What’s the use of clothing if you don’t have a body? This gift leads me to think that they do have some kind of physical body. Now, surely it is true that these robes have a symbolic meaning, but just because something is symbolic does not mean it can’t be a real object. Take my wedding ring, for instance. It is symbolic of my wife’s love for me and the vow that she made on our wedding day, but its still a real, physical object.

            Now you may be thinking, “Wait a minute, Tim. In v. 9, John writes, ‘I saw the under the altar the souls of those who had been slain.’” It sounds as though John saw souls without bodies—and that may be exactly what he is saying. But depending on the context, this Greek word can refer to just the soul or the entire person. So John may be saying, “I saw the lives of those who had been slain.”

            This truly is a debatable question—whether or not we receive some kind of temporary body when we go to Heaven. As I mentioned last week, I’m inclined to think that the present Heaven is a physical place, so I’m also inclined to think that we will have a temporary physical body. It would only be temporary, however, because God is going to resurrect the body that lies in the grave. I don’t know if this is a vital question, but its certainly a legitimate question and an interesting one.

7. THEY SEEM TO HAVE A GREATER UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF GOD’S CHARACTER.

            In particular, I think these people have a greater understanding of the fact that God is justified to punish those who oppose Him. I think we struggle a bit in this life with the idea of God punishing people because it seems to go against His love, but these people in Heaven have no problem with the idea. They seem almost shocked that God has not yet carried out vengeance.

            Notice how they address the Lord—“O Sovereign Lord, holy and true.” They’re saying, “God, we know you’re sovereign, so you have all the power you need to act. We know you’re holy, so you can’t tolerate sin. We know you’re true, so you will keep your promise to carry out justice. So how can it be that you haven’t done it yet? Notice also, in v. 11, that God knows that more of His children will die for their faith before He puts an end to it. He knows this, so how can he delay?

            I think this passage reminds us again about the extreme patience and mercy of our God. As 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness.” In other words, it may appear to us that God is dragging His feet, but the verse goes on to say that He “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God offers time to repent even to those who persecute His children. We may wish He didn’t, but be careful what you wish for! If God did not allow people time to repent, I would be lost, and so would you! If God were not patient, no one would be saved, but what a testimony to God’s mercy that He allows people time to repent.

My friends, if you have never repented of your sins—if you have never acknowledge them for what they are, rebellion against God—then do not throw away God’s mercy and patience. Acknowledge your sinfulness to God today and accept by faith the payment that Jesus has made for your sins through His death and resurrection, and you, too, will be saved.