This chapter begins with the names of Jesus’ first disciples. Then verse 5 tells us, “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded…” to preach the good news. After this, the Lord warns them of what to expect as they carried out their evangelistic responsibilities. Verse 16 – “Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves… “Ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them…” “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake…” But – “he that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” No young Christian – no new believer – should be lead to believe that the Christian life will be all joy and peace. Christ says just the opposite. “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword.”
In the midst of Jesus’ instructions and warning, He makes a profound, stand-alone statement. “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in HELL.” Of course, the disciples no longer had any fear of hell, because they had been given eternal life and a promise to be with their Saviour for eternity. But as far as their spiritual enemies were concerned, the murderer of the martyr should definitely fear the martyr’s God.
Last week we considered the subject of Heaven, and we began with the death of martyr Stephen. Acts 7 – “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him…” Stephen’s murderers refused to hear what he had to say about Heaven and Lord Jesus. There are still people who refuse to hear the truth about Heaven, so we addressed that issue last week. And for those same people, this morning, I’d like to flip to the opposite question. Let’s take a look at what the Lord Jesus said about Hell.
There are so many people using so many false ideas trying to hide from the reality of Hell. Like the Jews who covered their ears, so they didn’t have to hear Stephen talk about Heaven, people today fill their ears with garbage so they don’t have to hear about hell. This makes Christ’s perspective so important, because He is the expert on the subject.
Here is one quick example before I move on. I heard that in 1991, the magazine “U.S. News and World Report” had a front page article about Hell. I looked it up and could have bought a copy off Ebay for only $14.95 plus shipping, but I didn’t need it. On the cover was a Renaissance painting with several demonic creatures tormenting a distressed man. The article pointed out that through sheer population growth, more people believe in Hell today than ever before, but they believe in a different kind of Hell than their grandparents did. To illustrate that there was another picture depicting a cartoonish Devil with a big, political-type grin, looking over a sea of flames. On little islands in the fiery sea were happy people basking in the heat, tanning themselves, while cartoon-like demons served them liquid refreshments. Readers could tell that it was the devil presiding over this hellish resort spa, because he had cloven feet, a pointed tail, and goat-type horns. But he was also wearing the newest style of sunglasses, Bermuda shorts with an Hawaiian shirt hanging loosely over his pot-belly. His grin wasn’t diabolical. As I say – it was political.
Hell used to be a place of fiery torment, with weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. But the modern, politically-correct hell is benign, embarrassing and cartoonish. Hell may still a place to be avoided, but it is more like taking a Caribbean vacation and stupidly getting booked into a third-rate hotel with only one bathroom at the end of the hall. You don’t want to tell co-workers you ended up in a Hotel from Hell – even if it is still in the Caribbean.
I said a moment ago that Christ Jesus is the expert on this subject. The word “hell” is found in the Bible slightly more than four dozen times. But two dozen – about half – of those statements come from the lips of the Lord Jesus. For example, in Matthew 5 – in His sermon on the Mount – Jesus said, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment… but (I say unto you) whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” At times Christ simply described Hell, using terms which that magazine article didn’t emphasize. Such as in Luke 16 – “There was a certain rich man… who also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up this eyes, being in torments…” Then on the other hand, sometimes Jesus got downright mean about the subject of Hell and its subjects. “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.”
Perhaps I should apologize for not preaching on Hell more often. This is a subject which must be heard and understood at least to some degree, especially in this climate of cartoonish judgment. It is not enough to assume that it is a apart of our common faith.
Hell is a LITERAL place.
“Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Do you remember back in your school days, when you were learning about different parts of speech? I recall when a teacher of mine described what is and isn’t a “preposition.” She said, “Picture a tree and a squirrel.” All those words which describe the relationship of the squirrel to the tree are called “prepositions.” The squirrel is in the tree, or on the tree; it has a burrow under the tree, and it might run around or jump from one tree to another tree. In the case of this verse, the squirrel is IN hell – as literal a place as a tree.
A few minutes ago, we sang the hymn “Beulah Land.” “O Beulah land, sweet Beulah Land. As on thy highest mount I stand, I look away across the sea, where mansions are prepare for me, and view the shine glory shore; my heaven, my home for ever more.” There is another hymn called “Sweet Beulah Land.” “I’m kind of homesick for a country to which I’ve never been before; No sad good-byes will there be spoken for time won’t matter any more.” The first hymn speaks of being in Beulah Land, looking toward Heaven. And the second suggests that Beulah Land is Heaven. When we take our theology out of our hymnbooks rather from the Bible, we get into trouble.
The word “Beulah” is found in only one verse in Isaiah – (62:4). Its etymological definition refers to the place of marital bliss – a land of perpetual honeymoon. Young’s Concordance describes it as: “A SYMBOLICAL name which the land of Israel is to bear in its future prosperity.” The “Beulah Land” of those hymns cannot be found in my “National Geographic World Atlas.” It doesn’t exist, and even half way through the Millennium, it may still not be found on any map. It is figurative; it is a symbolical place. But, unlike “Beulah Land,” Hell is not a figurative, symbolical place. Hell is as real a place as the Province of Ontario, even though you have never visited Ontario.
When was the last time that you read Dante’s “Inferno”? “The Inferno” is part of an epic poem in which one man used his imagination to describe Hell. And although admittedly poetical rather than Biblical, doctrinal or prophetical, it holds a lot of truth. Our great-great-grandparents, in the days prior to television, actually read stuff like religious poetry. Along with sermons from preachers like Whitefield, Edwards, Marshall and Stearns, the reality of a literal hell was firmly cemented into the minds of nominal Christians two hundred years ago. Two hundred years ago Hell was a chamber of horrors, and despite modern perceptions, it has not changed.
We read from Revelation 20 a few minutes ago. That was not an allegorical chapter, a poetical chapter, or a symbolical chapter. The events of that chapter shall occur exactly as they were described. Listen to verse 10 once again: “The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Notice that the Devil is not the owner and operator of Hell; he will be its foremost inmate. And notice that this is the language of a place, a location, a site – as real as the prison at San Quentin. Then there is verse 15: “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Perhaps you have never noticed, but very frequently, when the Bible talks about people going to hell, the word “cast” is used – Matthew 5:29, 8:12, 13:42, 13:50; 18:8; 22:13; 25:30, and more. What is so special about the verb “to cast”? Absolutely nothing. But it does suggest something which is real being literally thrown into some place equally real. Like throwing dirty laundry into a clothes hamper, or a trash bag into the bin. Hell is as real and literal a place as New York City, even though I’ve never been to either one.
Hell is the PROPERTY of Jehovah.
“Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Who does have the power to destroy both body and soul in hell? I don’t have that power. And as I just said, Satan is not the governor of Hell today or of the Lake of Fire tomorrow. “The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” 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.”
At the beginning of the Book of Revelation, we have a general introduction by its penman John. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” And then John described how Christ Jesus appeared to him. “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
Who is it that has the power to destroy both body and soul in Hell? As the Lord Jesus implies, there is only one being in all the universe who has that authority. And other scriptures tell us that it is the very person who is speaking – Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Hell is also a PERMANENT place.
There are more and more popular theologians teaching a temporary punishment for sins. It has been Roman Catholic dogma that after a few years, or centuries – after enough money and enough masses – sin can be burned out of a sinner’s soul, and he will eventually be made fit for Heaven. Today, plenty of Protestants, ceasing to protest that heresy, have actually assimilated it. They say that God is too kind and loving to eternally punish the wicked. Some say that the term “second DEATH” indicates that God will annihilate the really wicked, and that there will be no continued punishment or the worst of humanity. They quote our verse in Matthew 10 along with II Thessalonians 1:9 as proof of their theory: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The wicked “shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” These verses tell me something precisely the opposite to what the hell-deniers claim.
The word “destroy” is in our text. Its cousin “destruction” is found four times in the Bible, and it is translated no other way than “destroy.” According to any standard dictionary the word “destruction” has two primary meanings: The second is “the condition of having been destroyed.” And the first is “the act of destroying” – Destruction is the act of destroying something. Even when a demolition team destroys a building in a series of explosions, the destruction of that building takes a bit of time. When they say that the Parthenon in Athens is being slowly destroyed by air pollution, even though it may take another 1,000 years, it is in the process of destruction. And when II Thessalonians 1:9 speaks of “ETERNAL destruction” it is saying that the process of destruction has been ordained by God to take all of eternity.
The Bible declares that God is eternal, and so is everything else which He declares to be eternal. Eternal life can never come to an end, because it is as eternal as God Himself. And, sadly, so is the process of eternal destruction. Conversely, if the wicked are only temporarily punished, then it might be argued that the saved will only be temporarily blessed in Heaven. “Eternity” is just as the dictionary defines it; it is “eternal.” Heaven is never-ending, Hell is never-ending and God’s salvation is never-ending. Because the God, who is the source and cause of these things, is never-ending. Hell is a literal place and it is a permanent place.
It is also a sort of PRIVATE place.
In the second picture in that “U.S. News Magazine,” the denizens of hell, were partying with their friends. Perhaps you have heard foolish people say they want to spend eternity in hell, because that is where their friends will be. Sometimes in movies, just before the one bad guy kills the other bad guy, he says, “I’ll see you in Hell!” No he won’t.
Seven times in the Bible… Perhaps I should say, seven times from the lips of the loving Lord Jesus, we hear a reference to “outer darkness” when speaking about Hell. In Matthew 8:12, for example, the Saviour told us, “They shall be cast into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” In the context the Lord tells the story of a banquet hall where there are a number of happy, well-fed people enjoying the fellowship of the Son of God. But there are some interlopers in the crowd; people without invitations; people who would like to eat the meal the Host has prepared – and then afterwards slit His throat if at all possible. These are not wearing the wedding garments; they don’t have the gilded invitations. Rather their pictures are on the post office bulletin board… These people are rounded up and thrown out of the banquet into the cold blackness of the unlit night.
Hell will be a place of separation. I believe the Bible when it says that “every good thing and every perfect thing cometh from above, from the Father of LIGHTS, in whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning.” When the wicked are cast into utter darkness, away from the Father of lights, they will never again experience anything good or perfect, except judgment. They shall be eternally separated from God. That is essentially the meaning of the terms “Second Death” and “Eternal Death.” As I have told you before – on several occasions I have taken tours into the heart of the earth. I’ve been in gold mines, silver mines and in natural caverns in various parts of the country. On several occasions, the tour operator has turned out the lights, to show us the depths to which blackness can reach. In those circumstances, even with a couple dozen other people nearby, I was alone. I knew that my family was standing beside me, but until I heard the voice of one of them, my mind told me that I was absolutely alone. The OUTER darkness of hell will be UTTER darkness as well. The fire of Hell doesn’t mean that the place will be illuminated.
It is true that there will be billions of people in that utter darkness. And it is true that I don’t know how big the sea of fire and brimstone will be. But there will be no enjoying the fellowship of your neighbor, because in the midst of that darkness….
Hell will be a PUNISHING and PAINFUL place.
“Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” None of us here today has ever died, so death is not something that we personally understand. I have been in the presence of a few as they have left this earthly life, but their passage has all been relatively peaceful through the “marvels of modern chemistry.” On the other hand, I have read many, many accounts of the most terrible deaths – natural, semi-natural and man-caused. There may be a thousand absolutely terrible ways to die – painful, excruciating ways to die. How about being flayed alive – having your skin pealed off your body while you watch – and feel. How about being slowly eaten by bugs, bite after painful bite? How about slowly roasting over an open fire?
In this verse, the Lord Jesus gives us permission to imagine the very worst possible means of death. And then He says that death is nothing compared to the destruction of body and soul in hell. “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
A few moments ago, I described a situation of total darkness. Perhaps you too have been in one of those caves or mines. Take yourself back there and imagine it once more. Now add another ingredient: moaning, teeth-grinding, screaming, sobbing and the sounds of absolute terror. Spending 15 seconds in total darkness with 24 other terror-struck people will seem like 15 minutes. If those 24 others were screaming in genuine pain, your own torment would increase a thousand fold.
II Thessalonians 1:9 says, “The Wicked shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord.” The word “punish” reminds us of the purpose of Hell. Why does Matthew 8:12 speak about gnashing of teeth in this place of outer darkness? Because the residents of Hell will be in so much pain that they will be grinding their teeth in agony. Why does Matthew 10:28 say that we should fear the God who casts into Hell more than the murderer who can slowly flay you until all your blood drains from your body? Because the pain of hell is beyond the pain of any variety of death. Why does Matthew 13:41 speak about Hell as a furnace of fire? Because that is one of its characteristics. Why does Matthew 18:8 say that it’s better to cut off one’s hand than to enter Hell? Because there is no loss or pain on earth than can begin to compare to what is in store for the Hell-bound sinner. Why did the rich man of Luke 16 plead for a drop of water to cool his tongue? Because his punishment was so great that a single drop would have greatly eased his torment.
People say, “I refuse to worship a God who could be so cruel as to judge any man in this way.” I respond by saying that the judgment of hell cannot compare to the judgment that the Son of God endured on the cross to keep sinners from that Hell.
And how can we refuse to worship a God who has done so much to save worthless sinners like us from Hell? As I study God’s account of the final judgment of the wicked, I don’t hear anyone muttering their defense. I don’t think that the people in Hell will quarrel with God over their fate. When they see that their Judge is the Saviour of others…. When they remember that they were warned of the sinfulness of their sin… When they remember that they felt convicted of actual crimes against God… When they realize that they, too, heard the invitations of the gospel, and they turning just laughed… They won’t have a response, or reply, or retaliation against the God who finally condemned them to Hell.
The Bible asks this specific question: “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? The avenue of escape from the eternal fire of Hell runs along at the foot of Jesus’ cross. He paid Hell’s penalty. He paid it all, all to Him we owe. Please, I beg of you – admit and turn from your sin before God. And then put your trust on the Lord Jesus Christ who bore the effects of Hell on behalf of the believer.