SUB-TOPIC: The Basic Doctrines Of Jesus Christ Bequeathed To His Church.
John 14:26; 1 John 2:27.
Having concluded the study on the first point of the 8th doctrinal teaching of Jesus Christ, we shall now embark on the second point, as outlined below:
- THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL PUNISHMENT OF LOST SOULS IN HELL FIRE AND THE LAKE OF FIRE.
Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 14:9-12; 20:13-15.
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels… And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Matthew 25:41, 46.
God’s Word, the Holy Bible, teaches that “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psalms 9:17.
This Word of God will be fulfilled in its entirety after the Great White Throne Judgment, as recorded in Revelation 20:11-15.
However, we must understand that there is a place where the dead who died in unrighteousness and sin are temporarily confined and held in terrible conditions of torment before the day of the Great White Throne Judgment of God finally comes. This place is commonly referred to as Hellfire. See Luke 16:19-31.
Isaiah 5:14-16:
“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.
And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness”.
Hellfire, being a temporary place of confinement and torment before the final judgment, is different from the Lake of Fire, which is the permanent place of punishment after God’s final judgment. Although neither of these places is God’s choice for anyone to end up in, nevertheless, unrepentant sinners will eventually end up there because of their disregard and disrespect for God’s warnings.
Proverbs 1:24-28 clearly warns:
“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me…”
Having said that Hellfire is a temporary place of confinement before the final judgment, there is a need to explain this point clearly so that we do not fall into the error of the false doctrine of purgatory, as taught in the Catholic religion.
The fact that Hellfire is temporary in the sense that it is a place of confinement before the final judgment does not mean that the fiery punishment there is temporary or that the unfortunate souls there will regain their freedom after some time. This is not the case at all, because Jesus Christ said it is a place “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:44.
Even though the Scripture above describes unending punishment, we must understand that during the Great White Throne Judgment of God, all the souls confined in Hell will be released to be finally judged.
Revelation 20:13 says:
“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
The fact that these souls will be released from Hellfire, a place of torment, offers no hope of relief to them because they will be delivered up from it only to be judged and, at last, thrown into another place of punishment called the Lake of Fire.
So, their transition from Hellfire to the Lake of Fire is only temporary; it is just like walking from one chamber of torment to another within a brief moment, which is not even long enough to afford the damned soul any rest.
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15.
We might just be wondering why there are Hellfire and the Lake of Fire if they are all the same places of torment. However, they are not the same at all.
Hell, as described in the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, is a place where the souls of sinners who died without repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ are held in torment before the day of the Great White Throne Judgment.
However, over the years since the times of the early Church, there have been reports of supernatural encounters and revelations in which Satan and his kingdom are portrayed as having access to this realm of darkness and tormenting the lost souls confined there. Some people who have testified to such experiences describe Satan as exercising authority over that realm and demons as being involved in the torment of its inhabitants.
Although I do believe some of these testimonies because of the overwhelming witness and conviction of the Holy Spirit, which accompanies them, yet it is important to acknowledge that the Holy Scriptures do not explicitly identify Satan or his demons as the administrators of the torment in Hell. Therefore, such accounts should be understood as divine revelations given by God as a warning to mankind, and should be examined in the light of what God’s written Word says about the matter, rather than be presented as direct statements of the Holy Scripture.
The Holy Scriptures, however, clearly establish that Satan and his angels have an appointed place of everlasting punishment. This is why the Lake of Fire comes into focus: it is the eternal place of punishment which, in Jesus Christ’s own words, is referred to in Matthew 25:41 as the “…everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
If Hell, as a temporary place of confinement for souls awaiting God’s final judgment, is such a terrible place of torment, as described by Jesus Christ in the account of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man, how much more should we fear the everlasting punishment awaiting the wicked in the Lake of Fire?
The Lake of Fire is the final destination of Satan, his angels, and all those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life. Its everlasting nature and the fact that it was prepared for the devil and his angels should make every unrepentant sinner take God’s warning seriously.
“Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Hebrews 10:29-31.
We must fear God and turn away from every sin in order to enjoy His full and free forgiveness through Jesus Christ, who is the only way to God and the hope of our salvation from eternal punishment in Hell and in the Lake of Fire.
God’s Holy Spirit, through His eternal Word, pleads with the sinner now in Isaiah 1:18:
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18.
May we take advantage of this opportunity of God’s offer of forgiveness and a new life in Christ before it is forever lost! Amen.
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:6-7.
If you are privileged to have followed this Bible study series from the beginning, or in part, but you have not truly repented and turned away from your sins, I strongly encourage you to make good use of this opportunity and do so right away.
You must know that there is a multitude of lost souls right now in Hellfire who can never have this opportunity which you now have at your disposal.
Repent of all your sins and ask Jesus Christ to come into your life. He will not reject you if your repentance is sincere.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9.
We shall now consider the third point under this 8th doctrinal teaching, which is:
- THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH. Revelation 21:1-7; 2 Peter 3:10-14.
The Holy Bible teaches that, at the end of this temporal and sinful world, God shall create new heavens and a new earth.
By the word “new,” it means that both this current planet Earth, the elemental heaven that is observable from Earth, and the second heaven, which is far beyond human sight, will all be destroyed in order for new ones to replace them.
This is what the Scriptures foretold when they said:
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10.
But, happily for us, the Holy Scriptures also assure us of God’s promise to make new heavens and a new earth.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
Revelation 21:1.
With the judgment and sentencing of Satan, all demons, and all unsaved sinners to the Lake of Fire, the stage becomes ready for God Almighty to reveal His new creation, which is the new heaven and the new earth that the Apostle John Zebedee saw and talked about in the Scripture above.
It is worthy of note that other Apostles and Prophets of God have also spoken in the name of the LORD, over many centuries, about this new creation of God, as is evident in the following Scriptures: Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13.
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13.
You will have noticed that the accounts of Prophet Isaiah and Apostle Peter differ slightly from that of Apostle John in that, whereas the latter talked about seeing a new heaven and a new earth, the former talked about God’s promises of new heavens and a new earth.
We may think that there is a discrepancy in those accounts, but there is no contradiction at all. My understanding is that what Apostle John “saw” was the observable heaven and earth, while both Prophet Isaiah and Apostle Peter talked about God’s promise to make a new earth and new heavens (both the observable and non-observable ones).
The observable heaven and earth are what we can now see as humans, just as Apostle John also could see their new versions from his limited human sight.
Indeed, we must know that there are other creations of God far beyond what the ordinary eyes can see, like the second heaven and the third heaven. However, according to my understanding of these Scriptures, the third heaven will need no renewing because it will not have been destroyed with the earth and the second heaven, seeing that it is the perfect, unpolluted, and holy habitation of Almighty God, as the scripture below supports:
“Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.” Psalms 93:5 (KJV).
Just as God’s dwelling place is holy, so also has He promised to make His new world a holy habitation for all His redeemed ones to dwell in.
“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
Revelation 21:5 (KJV).
What are some of the new things that God promises in His new heavens and new earth? We shall consider them below as follows:
- RIGHTEOUSNESS RESTORED.
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13.
The right order of God’s initial creation will be restored: there will be no more sin and its attendant consequences among the redeemed of mankind who will live in God’s new world.
- FREE HOUSING FOR ALL THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD.
John 14:1-3; Hebrews 11:13-16; Revelation 21:9-25.
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Revelation 21:2.
God has a housing programme for His redeemed children in the new world, which He is soon going to unveil. It will be a celestial city with many mansions, whose Builder and Architect is God Himself. See Hebrews 11:10.
- GOD AND HIS REDEEMED CHILDREN WILL LIVE TOGETHER AGAIN AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING.
John 17:24; Revelation 7:13-15; 2 Timothy 2:11-12.
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Revelation 21:3.
Once again, God will live with us as He did in the beginning, when He freely moved on Earth and had fellowship with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
But this great privilege is reserved only for those who have now totally devoted their lives to serving Him sacrificially, just as Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:11-12, thus:
“It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him…”
- THERE SHALL BE NO MORE HUNGER, SUFFERING, FEAR, OR PAIN OF WHATEVER KIND IN GOD’S NEW WORLD.
Revelation 7:16-17; 22:1-3; Isaiah 48:10; 65:25.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4.
The blessedness of living with God will finally liberate all His redeemed ones forever from any form of torment or fear which they experienced in their former lives on Earth. Their lives will henceforth be one of total peace and satisfaction, as only God Himself can make possible.
- GOD WILL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE AND WILL NO LONGER SEEM TO BE FAR AWAY FROM HIS CHILDREN.
1 John 3:2; Isaiah 65:24; Job 19:25-27.
“And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
Revelation 22:4-5.
In the new world that God will soon unveil, He will live together with all His redeemed children in the celestial city, which He has already made for them. They shall no longer have any want of His presence or have to linger to hear Him speak to them, just as Prophet Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 65:24, thus:
“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
These and many other exciting promises await the redeemed of the Lord at the end of their pilgrimage to Heaven; but it is only those who remain faithful to Jesus Christ to the end who will enter into the joy of their LORD in the new heavens and the new earth.
What should we do, therefore? God’s Word in Revelation 22:12-14 says:
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
Jesus Christ has also admonished us in Luke 13:23-30 to make concerted efforts to enter into His Kingdom because those who do not will certainly miss out!
May we do well to follow the admonition of Apostle John in
1 John 3:3, where he said:
“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
In rounding up this study series on the Basic Doctrines of The Christian Faith, I want to sincerely thank all my online followers who have taken the time to patiently read all the contents of the study.
I sincerely pray for you all that God Almighty, through His Son Jesus Christ, and by the power and ministry of His Holy Spirit, would grant you the grace to live according to His revealed truth in the Word.
May we all live by the Word of God so that we may be accounted worthy to enter God’s New Heavens and New Earth, in Jesus Christ’s Name.
AMEN.
THE END.