Impact Week Fifteen

Review

Last week we started talking about heaven. We covered three basic things.

1) Heaven is indescribable. Heaven as it is now does not exist on a physical plane, it’s something you can touch any more than you can touch someone’s spirit physically. Because of this, we can’t really begin to comprehend what God has in store for us, we just gets hints of what it looks like.

2) Heaven is God’s home, and we only get there through Jesus Christ. No matter what anyone tells you, Jesus is the only way to the Father. All other roads lead to eternal separation from God.

3) As Christians, to be absent from our physical body to is be present with God. Assuming you have accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord, the minute you die, you are with God.

Hell - Part II

I find the topic of hell to be particularly unnecessary and unfruitful for believers. But it does serve as a warning to us to keep our lives in check. We will always be in need of salvation until the day we see Christ face to face. Personally, I’d just assume avoid hell altogether. But for those who don’t, this is what they can expect.

1. The Lake of Fire is eternal separation from God.

2 Thessalonians 1:7b-9 “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power”

Matthew 22:11-13 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. 13"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Before you start thinking about flames and eternal death, the absolute worst thing you can imagine about hell is the fact that those who are condemned to it will never have the ability to see, hear, feel, or touch God for eternity. They are separated from God forever. Have you ever felt like you were apart from God? I know I have had some pretty dry times. I don’t think even our most desolate and despairing days can begin to compare with what that will be like for a lot of people. See God is always with us, that’s just what He has promised over and over again. In Joshua 1:5, God tells Joshua “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. Again in Matthew 28:20 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” To be apart from God is hell in and of itself.

2. The Lake of Fire was created for Satan and his angels.

Matthew 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

You and I were meant to be with God forever, not in hell. But those who choose to reject God and His plan of salvation will find themselves in hell the moment they breathe their last breath. It should be noted also that there is a difference between hell and the lake of fire. Hell (usually translated as Hades in the NIV and Hell in the KJV) exists now, the lake of fire is a place of future judgment, according to Revelation 20:13 “The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death." So after a physical death, people face a judgment before being thrown into the lake of fire, which is their second death. I’m not particularly sure what the difference between hell and the lake of fire is, but I do know that Satan and his angels will also be in the lake of fire to torment everyone condemned to it.

3. After a person dies, they face one of two judgments.

A. The Great White Throne

At some point, and don’t ask me when because I don’t know, the dead of hell will face the Great White Throne of judgment. This is for all those who have chosen not to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The moment you accepted Christ, your name was written; you will never have to face this judgment. There is nothing in heaven, nothing in hell that can separate you from the love of Christ. Praise God!

You can read everything about the great white throne in Revelation 20:11-15.

B. The Judgment Seat of Christ

Romans 14:10 “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.”

Again, I don’t know when we will be judged exactly, so don’t ask me. As believers, we do face a judgment of sorts. Your salvation is secure, and you will enter into eternal fellowship with Christ. But, what we do here on earth (both the good and the bad) will have an effect on your reward. I don’t know exactly how God will go about judging us, only He knows. I don’t know about you, but I have not lived a perfect life, and I never will be without sin. I imagine that will be one tough session before my God and King. The good news is, after it is over, we move on to an eternity spent with Him.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10 “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

1 Corinthians 3:10-14 “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.”

Aside from all of this, you should know that Satan roams the earth. He is not imprisoned in Hell, Hades or the Lake of Fire. Here are some of the clearest ways to be assured of this (although I don’t personally think it’s very reassuring).

1 Peter 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Job 1:7 “The LORD said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the LORD, ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.’”

That does not mean, however, that he is able to anything he wants. He cannot do anything that God does not allow. Satan must submit to God – he’s a defeated foe.

Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;”