We are in Luke chapter 16 and the name of the sermon is the Alphabet of Bible Doctrines — Hell, for the letter H. I have talked about hell quite a bit but I have never preached a full-length sermon on hell over the four years of this ministry, so that is what we are going to talk about here today. I am pretty confident everybody in this room believes in hell, but it is always good to be reminded, and this is a doctrinal style sermon so I do believe there are things that at least a lot of people are going to learn.

When we did the sweetheart banquet recently, one of the questions was what motivates you the most to serve God, and one of the options was the reality of hell. For me, when I am feeling lazy and I do not feel like going soul-winning, if I just think about hell for a few seconds — all right, I am going soul-winning. This is still a good motivation even if you are already aware of these things.

Point 1: Hell Is a Real Place

It says in verse 19: "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day." Now this rich person — the Bible does not say he committed huge sins. It does not say he was a murderer, it does not say he was a drunkard. It just says he had a lot of money. That does not make you sinful just because you have money. But he is a man who is unsaved.

Verse 20: "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores." So you have this rich person whose name the Bible does not tell us, and you have this poor person named Lazarus — obviously not the Lazarus that Jesus resurrected. The rich person does not believe the gospel, does not believe on Christ, whereas the poor person does believe.

Verse 22: "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom." A lot of people say this is like the good part of hell — Paradise — but it mentions Abraham, and when it says into Abraham's bosom it is saying right up against Abraham, in heaven. When people died in the Old Testament who were saved, they went to heaven. "The rich man also died, and was buried." When it says he is buried, that is a reference to the body. It mentions the burial before the fact that he is in hell, not because he gets buried and then goes to hell, but because this passage is focused on where the soul goes. It is quickly mentioning where the body goes first, and then going back to the main context. The first thing that happens to his body after he dies is they bury him. What about the first thing that happens to his soul?

"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." Some people say well, hell is just here on Earth, it is just a hard life. No — hell is going to be a lot worse than just not having a lot of money or having problems in life. A literal place of hell is a literal burning place in the centre of the earth.

"And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." A literal place of fire. Now people are going to say it is just a parable, just a story. Here is the reason we know it is not a parable but an actual event: it uses real names. Lazarus. Abraham. Show me when Jesus ever uses a real name in any parable. You are not going to find it. He will always say a certain householder — he is never going to give a real name. But he gives real names here because it is a real event that took place. And you might say, well, why does it not give us the rich man's name? Very simple — my sheep hear my voice and I know them. It does not mention his name because he is not saved. We do not know what his name is. But this is an event that took place.

Notice it says there was a certain rich man — past tense. It already took place. In fact it already took place before the resurrection. And the Bible says there is a great gulf fixed — meaning it cannot be changed, it does not move. This man already went to Abraham's bosom, which is in heaven. That gulf is fixed and permanent. Those that died in the past before the resurrection who were saved went to heaven. Those that were unsaved went to hell. That is what the Bible teaches.

Go to 2 Thessalonians 1. People are going to say hell is just separation from God. Here is a quote from Billy Graham: I think that hell is essentially separation from God forever, and that is the worst hell that I can think of. But I think people have a hard time believing God is going to allow people to burn in literal fire forever. I think the fire that is mentioned in the Bible is a burning thirst for God that can never be quenched.

Did you know Billy Graham did not believe in a literal hell? For those that have a problem with that, explain to me how you get saved if you do not believe you are being saved from anywhere. By the way, he always taught repentance of sins for salvation. He was always a compromising preacher — the Joel Osteen of his day. And he said I think it is just a burning thirst for God. Well, that is not what the Bible teaches.

2 Thessalonians 1:7–9: "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." They say, see — it is away from the presence of the Lord. My Bible does not say away from the presence of the Lord. It says from the presence of the Lord. What it is stating is as a result of the presence of the Lord — that is what it is saying. How do I know that? Because the Bible says when people go to hell they are tormented in the presence of the Holy Angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Not away from the presence of the Lord.

And Billy Graham said the worst hell is separation from God. Do you really believe most people want to be in God's presence? The drunkard — does he want to be in the presence of God? The Bible says in John 3 that those whose deeds are evil hate the light. If hell is just separation from God, that is great news for them. That does not make any sense. I was just thinking, what about the burning? That seems pretty bad to me. If that is just a parable, which it is not, what is it a parable about? It sounds like it is telling you about hell being a burning place. If that is how you interpret your Bible — just spiritualising or symbolising everything — then the Bible could mean anything. It uses real names. We know it is not just a story but a literal event.

Go to Jude chapter 1. That rich person is still in hell right now and still did not get that drop of water. He is still in torment. The only thing that has changed is he is no longer having a conversation with Abraham and Lazarus. That was a one-time event where we see a conversation from heaven to hell — afar off — and truly that is a far off. But he is still in hell today.

Hell is a literal place. You say, well, why would he not just burn up? Because of the fact that it is not your body that goes to hell when you die — it is your soul. Now if your body got cast into a volcano you would die immediately. Scientists say the average temperature in the middle of the earth is estimated between 5,700 to 7,000 degrees Kelvin — subtract 273 and you get Celsius. We are talking over 5,000 degrees Celsius. One hundred degrees is boiling water. You cannot even comprehend it. And yet that is what the Bible teaches. Hell is a literal place of fire.

Jude 1:7: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Hell is a literal place of fire. There is no way you can look at the Bible and say it is just symbolic. When I was a new Christian I read a book by Lee Strobel — the case for faith, the case for Christ — and they are trying to convince atheists to believe in God, and it suggests that maybe hell is not really a burning place. Well, if that is how you go soul-winning then just quit. It is a burning place. Many theologians who say it is not a burning place are not saved, and many of those same theologians believe in hell now that they are dead and in hell. It is a literal burning place that lasts forever.

It is so obvious. The only reason people doubt this is because it is not popular. Sometimes going soul-winning somebody will say — are you saying my mum and dad are in hell right now? And of course you answer them in a respectful and loving way. But yeah, it is a tough truth to take. It does not change reality though. The Bible teaches that to be saved you believe on Christ and you must believe it is eternal life — that salvation is forever. I wish someone could just believe whatever they want and go to heaven. That is not reality though, and it does not change reality just because you try to think it into existence.

Point 2: It Is Right Away in Hell

There is no second chance. There is no break. There is no soul sleep. Soul sleep is this doctrine where basically you die and you are just dead and eventually God wakes you up one day. That is not what the Bible teaches. The body sleeps — not the soul. Your soul goes immediately.

Luke 16:22: "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried." That is the body — the body is sleeping. "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments." Wait a minute — what happened to soul sleep? No, it is body sleep, not soul sleep. And in hell he lifts up his eyes — immediately his soul is in hell. It mentions the burial first simply because the context is about the soul, so it is just noting that he died and was buried. But immediately the soul is in hell.

Go to Psalm 6. There are a lot of verses that cults will give you to try to teach soul sleep. If you go soul-winning to one of these cults they might bring up one of these verses, so let us look at some of their famous ones and see what the Bible actually says.

Psalm 6:5: "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" They just stop there and say, see — when you are dead there is no remembrance, you do not remember anything. Read the whole verse. Do not stop in the middle. What is the context of the death in Psalm 6:5? In the grave. Because you bury a body, not a soul. Once again, we agree — we believe in body sleep, not soul sleep. In the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Go to Ecclesiastes 9. Ecclesiastes 9:10: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." They say — ah, there is no wisdom, no knowledge in the grave. Yes, because your body is just dead. "For as the body without the spirit is dead." The spirit shall return to the Lord who gave it, and your soul is going to be in heaven or hell. The body is just in the ground whether you are saved or unsaved. It does not matter whether it was saved or not — you bury a body. We believe in body sleep. We do not believe in soul sleep.

Go to Daniel 12. Daniel 12:2: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." We are made out of the dust of the ground. Referring to being buried. Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth — once again, the context is on the body, not on the soul.

Go to John 5. John 5:28: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." Every single one. Now, if you are a saved person you have nothing bad on your record. The Bible teaches that when it comes to somebody who is saved today — let us say the Rapture is in 50 years and you pass away before that — those that are dead in Christ shall arise and those that are alive shall meet the Lord in the air. You are going to get the glorified body. However after the Rapture there are going to be people that get saved who do not immediately die and get a glorified body. And every unsaved person is going to be coming back as well — to damnation. We will talk about that at the end of the sermon.

Point 3: It Is Restlessness Forever

Go to Mark 9. Mark 9:43: "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched." A very obvious application is the fact that it is better to go to heaven missing an arm than go to hell forever. The idea is: you could have a miserable life here on Earth, a horrible life, but it is still better to spend forever in heaven than to go into hell forever. "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." For Billy Graham — well, it is just a burning thirst for God — it seems pretty specific about the fire here. Not a burning thirst. Just burning in hell.

Verse 45: "And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." When God is repetitive he is trying to prove a point. Verse 47: "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." It is better to go to heaven missing an arm, a leg, and an eye than to go to hell for all eternity.

Go back to Luke 16. Luke 16:25: "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." This great gulf is fixed. It is permanent. Once you are in hell there is no getting out. There are people in heaven that would actually want to go to hell — to try to bring their loved ones out. But they cannot. Would it not be sad to have that burden for lost people after you are already dead, when it does not even matter at that point? You cannot go to hell to rescue your lost loved ones.

Whenever you preach on hell it is a very sensitive topic because in reality a lot of people in this room have lost loved ones that went to hell and they are there forever. When I got saved I had my grandmother on my dad's side and my grandfather on my mom's side die less than a year after I got saved — one was an atheist who did not believe in God, and the other was a so-called Christian who did not believe in eternal security. It does not change reality. I am not going to change my doctrine. As a saved person who understands the Bible and believes in soul-winning, we are going to take burdens with us our entire lives that other people are just not going to feel. And what do you do? Instead of putting a blanket over your head like a little kid and pretending it is not real, use that burden to motivate you to get people saved before it is too late. Make sure you do not have another relative die before they lose their chance. Being completely honest with you, I know of people I could have given the gospel to that I did not, and some of them I have lost complete touch with — I was waiting for a better moment, a better time, not wanting to offend. And now there is no opportunity. Use this as a motivation to get people saved while you have the chance, because this great gulf is fixed.

Go to Revelation 14. There is this modern teaching in Christianity where some say well, you can go to hell for a thousand years and get out. Where are you getting that? The Bible says it is fixed. It is not going to change. That great gulf is fixed and you cannot pass over to the other side. Revelation 14:10–11: "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night." That is where it is very clear — you are not separated from God in hell. You are in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.

I have heard people in cults say, yeah, you burn up immediately and there is just smoke forever from when you burned up. Well, let us keep reading: they have no rest day nor night. The person is still burning. They have no rest. One torture of hell is that you are exhausted and tired. Think of times in your life where you do not get a lot of sleep — you are in a bad mood, you are not yourself. I cannot imagine going days and days and years with no sleep, and yet they have no rest day nor night. What keeps them awake? They are on fire — but they are exhausted.

Some of the other tortures of hell: the Bible describes hell as outer darkness. Being in a dark place is terrifying. The Bible speaks about the bottomless pit — what does that mean? Bottomless means it never ends. Scientists say that if you were in the centre of the earth it would feel like weightlessness, that you are just forever falling with no firm ground — just this feeling of falling. Roller coasters are fun because those drops do not last forever. It is only five seconds and then your heart comes back into your chest. But if it is just forever and ever and ever it is no longer fun. In hell — the bottomless pit — that seems to be what the Bible indicates. And yet it is also a lake of fire and burning. It is hard for us to fully comprehend, but there are a lot of tortures of hell the Bible mentions.

Go to Revelation 19. In my human flesh I am just being honest with you — I wish hell was not a real place. Now obviously I am wrong and God is right. It is fair, it is correct, it is righteous. But when I was a little kid I always believed in heaven and hell and God. What I thought was that those who go to hell are really, really, really bad people — and it seemed just to me because very few people go there. And yet the Bible says all liars — and in my human flesh it seems too harsh. I get it. A lot of us feel that. When somebody dies and goes to hell it is not like I am rejoicing saying God is just. No — I would be sad that they died and went to hell. I do not want them to go to hell.

When I think about the earthquake in Turkey — the vast majority if not all of those killed are Muslims that reject Jesus Christ, and I do not want them to die and go to hell. But God's judgment is just. I am not questioning God's judgment. I am just saying in my human wisdom it is hard to take — so many ordinary people. Because then you realise: narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. When I first got saved I understood well, only one third of the world is Christian, you have to believe in Jesus, it is narrow. But then as time goes by you start realising it is really narrow. I do not know what percentage of the world is saved. It is certainly under five percent. I think it is under one percent worldwide. But it does not change reality. This is what the Bible teaches. It is a burning place forever. And if that does not motivate you to serve God, I do not know what will.

When I first got saved I was just scared of hell. As the Bible says in Jude, some save with compassion and others with fear — and I was afraid of hell. I said I do not want people to burn in hell forever. Noah was moved with fear and he built that ark because of fear. If hell does not motivate you to serve God, just stop and think about hell for a couple of minutes and it is like — all right, I am going soul-winning. I did not have enough compassion but I am going to save with fear. I do not want people to die and go to hell for all eternity.

Revelation 19:20: "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." The beast is a reference to the Antichrist and the false prophet is kind of like his chief helper during the end times. They are the first two people who are cast into the Lake of Fire. Before this event, people are thrown into hell. These two people are thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 20:1: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled." So chronologically, the beast and the false prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire, and then there are these thousand years where Satan is chained up — the millennial reign of Christ.

Verses 4–5: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Drop down to verse 10: "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are." Is that what it says — where the beast and the false prophet were? No — where the beast and the false prophet are. If you have not burned up over a thousand years, you are certainly not going to burn up. "And shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Not only were they there for a thousand years — they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Restlessness forever. That is what the Bible is teaching.

Point 4: There Is a Relocation of Hell to the Lake of Fire

Point number four — and this is probably something that may be a bit new to some people — there is going to be a relocation of hell to the Lake of Fire. Now the Bible describes hell as being a lake of fire, and it describes the Lake of Fire after this as being hell, so you can still use them interchangeably when you go soul-winning. You can tell someone if you die you go to the Lake of Fire, you go to hell, because hell is a place of fire — it is a lake of fire. A volcano would prove that to us.

But what is going to take place is that people who die now unsaved go to hell, and eventually they get relocated to the Lake of Fire. As I said before the thousand years there is the Judgment Seat of Christ, and the determination of which judgment you go to is based on what you believe, not based on what you do. The Judgment Seat of Christ is for saved people — not a judgment to determine heaven or hell, that has already been determined based on what you believe. What rewards am I getting? That is what is being determined. The Great White Throne Judgment is for unbelievers, after the Thousand Years. Then they are going to get their punishments.

It is like somebody commits murder and they have a court sentencing. They go into court and it is already known they are guilty — now it is going to be determined, what is the punishment? That is what is going to take place at the Great White Throne. Now everybody at the Great White Throne is going to be bowing on their knees saying give me another chance, forgive me. Too late. You already committed the crime.

Revelation 20:11: "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." At the judgment it is going to be based on works and actions, but the determination of which judgment you are at is based on belief.

Verse 13: "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. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Hell is going to be relocated to the Lake of Fire. And unsaved people at the Great White Throne — their bodies are going to come back. That is what is being referenced in John 5, in Daniel, in the Bible generally — the hour is coming that all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.

Go back to Mark 9. Hell is a literal place in the centre of the earth. A lot of people wonder where the Lake of Fire is. I cannot give you a dogmatic answer because I do not believe there is a dogmatic one mentioned. What I will say is the best guess I have heard is the sun. I think it is a good possibility. Of course I do not think we can know that for sure unless I am missing something in the Bible.

Mark 9:44: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." I have heard a lot of people preach on Mark 9 and wonder what the worm is. Verse 46: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Verse 48: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

Go to Isaiah 66 to close up. What is said about Isaiah is that it is called the mini Bible — a book with 66 chapters. There are 66 books in the Bible, and if you take chapter 1 of Isaiah there are a lot of correlations with Genesis, chapter 40 is like the first book of the New Testament with the prophecy of John the Baptist, and we are now in Isaiah 66 which correlates to Revelation. Isaiah 66:24: "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." Mark 9 is quoting from this verse. Their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched. The worm is the carcass — the worm is the body.

What the Bible teaches is that all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and every unsaved person's body is going to be resurrected and they are going to stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. Their body is going to be reunited to their soul. For a saved person we call it the glorified body at the Rapture. I am not sure what to call this for the unsaved — I call it the unglorified body. But they are going to be given a body that is going to last through the pain and the torture and the burning. So it is not just their soul that is going to be in the Lake of Fire — they are going to be reunited with their body for all eternity.

If you look at Isaiah 66:24 and compare it to Mark 9 and Revelation 20 and 21, it is definitely what the Bible teaches — their bodies and their souls are going to be reunited, which also answers why everyone is going to be resurrected. It is not just every saved person. It says to the resurrection of damnation as well. They are going to get a body that is reunited with their soul for all eternity in the Lake of Fire.

Conclusion

Let me just say a couple of things to wrap this up. When I go soul-winning I try to keep things as simple as possible. Do not take parts of this sermon and try to over-complicate things. What I always tell people is there are two types of death — the first death, physical, and the second death, which is spiritual. I do not think that is inaccurate. After the first death you are either going to go to heaven or hell. The reason I think it is best to say something like that is that if you try to explain how hell is going to be relocated to the Lake of Fire they are going to be like, what are you talking about? That is confusing. We do not have to go super in depth on all of these concepts when we are giving the gospel. Keep it as simple as is necessary. The parts about soul sleep though — those are pretty valuable for soul-winning if you are talking to an Inc member, a Jehovah's Witness, or a Seventh-day Adventist. They all believe some strange things about hell.

One question people might wonder is why are there more natural disasters today than there used to be. I used to think that was just propaganda from the media, but when I thought about it I realised it actually makes biblical sense. What the Bible teaches is that hell hath enlarged herself. That means hell is getting closer to the surface. And if hell is getting closer to the surface, what are we going to see? More volcanoes, more earthquakes, more tsunamis — more natural disasters. And that means God's wrath is getting closer to the surface, which also makes sense because we are more sinful today. It all pictures together perfectly. As we get to the end times there are going to be earthquakes in diverse places, and part of it is simply because hell is getting closer to the surface as more people are entering hell and it is expanding, and it correlates with God's wrath against a wicked and sinful world.

I was doing a Bible study with my kids recently, showing them footage from Turkey of just buildings being disintegrated, and I was teaching them that this is God's wrath. Hell is getting close to the surface because we are a sinful world and a lot of people are going to hell. That is why we need to go soul-winning. The reality of hell is the biggest motivation for me to serve God. I do not enjoy seeing people dying but I watch videos like that from time to time because to me it motivates me. I think in our flesh sometimes we try to detach ourselves from the concept of hell because we do not want to think about it. But sometimes when I am in a big crowd I stop and think about hell, and I am like — man, most of these people are going to go to hell forever.

As a Christian takeaway — maybe you knew everything I talked about. But one thing we can always be reminded about is the reality of hell. Why? As a motivation to preach the gospel while you have a chance, because there is coming a day when there is no longer a chance to preach the gospel — when you are up in heaven.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see what the Bible says about hell. Help us not to just wish this away or pretend like it does not exist, but to use this as a motivation to reach people with the gospel. I ask you to help us as a church, as individuals, as families, to love you, to serve you, and to zealously preach the gospel before it is too late. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.