The character of God is under attack!
These 5 lies about Hell have caused many to reject God and lose eternal life.
Make sure you are not deceived!
Hi this is Dustin with Hope Through Prophecy, where we help you to better understand Bible
Prophecy and be prepared for the soon return of Jesus!
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This video will debunk several false teachings about hell that have deceived the majority
of Christians, and tarnished the Character of God.
We will cover key questions about Hell - Will the wicked burn in hell forever?
Is hell burning right now?
Where is hell located?
What does God think about hell?
Is the devil in charge of hell?
First, we must remember that God is love.
He takes no pleasure in hell, or the destruction of the wicked:
…As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that
the wicked turn from his way and live…
Now, let us uncover the truth about Hell!
A common belief is that hell is somewhere in the center of the earth.
But what does the Bible say about the location of hell fire?
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about,
and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Here we can see that hellfire will rain down from the sky, and onto this surface of the
earth!
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.
This fire will destroy the wicked, and will even melt the elements of this planet!
What about stories of people visiting hell, or hearing wails and screaming when a machine
dug deep into the earth’s crust?
Friends, we must make a decision – will we follow the stories and teachings of men,
or will we follow the Bible, the Holy word of God?
No matter how convincing it may be, if a story does not align with the Bible, it’s not
true.
We know that the devil has the power to work miracles, and is ready to show signs and wonders
to deceive the world.
In fact, the Hebrew word for hell - “sheol”, and the Greek word for hell - “Hades”
are both translated “the grave” – this is the most common meaning for the word hell
in the Bible.
When someone dies, they go to the grave. And this brings us to our next lie about Hell.
The popular belief is that hell is burning right now.
Let’s see if the Bible supports this: That the wicked is reserved to the day of
destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
Notice that the wicked are reserved, or kept, unto the future day of judgment – they are
not burning in hell right now.
This verse also says they will be brought forth on that day of wrath.
Brought forth from where?
From the grave! …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.
The wicked are in the grave right now - not burning in hell.
Those who have chosen to reject God’s mercy and love will be resurrected from the grave
to face the final judgment of hell fire.
The Bible makes it crystal clear that this will take place at the end of the world.
…so shall it be in the end of this world.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all
things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire…
As you can see, hell is not burning right now.
It will take place at the end of the world.
Some sincere Christians believe that the story of the rich man and Lazarus is proof that
hell is burning right now, and that people go there as soon as they die.
In this story, a beggar named Lazarus is taken to a place called Abraham’s bosom after
he dies.
A rich man, who mistreated Lazarus, is taken to a place of torment.
We can be certain that this story is a parable, and not to be taken literally.
There are at least 6 reasons why we can be sure about this.
1.
Abraham’s bosom is not a literal place, it is figurative.
2.
Those in Heaven and those in hell cannot communicate with each other.
3.
In this parable, the rich man was in hell with an actual body (eyes, tongue, etc.) right
after death.
We know that the body goes back to the ground at death.
4.
The righteous receive their reward at the 2nd coming of Jesus, not when they die.
5.
The wicked remain in the grave when they die, and are not cast into hell at the end of the
world.
6.
God would not contradict the rest of the Bible, which says the dead know nothing, and are
not in Heaven.
Parables are figurative stories that are meant to teach a lesson.
Jesus shared this parable, using imagery that would get the attention of his audience, to
stress that we must believe and obey the Bible during our short time on this earth – we
will not have a second chance after death.
Maybe you still have questions on this – and that’s ok.
Let’s see what the rest of the Bible says about hell!
The belief that God will torture sinners in
hell for all of eternity is perhaps the single biggest lie in all of Christianity.
This teaching has caused many to reject God and want nothing to do with the Christian
faith.
But friends, this belief is not true – God will not burn sinners in hell for the rest
of eternity.
Speaking of the wicked, the Bible says: Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire
shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not
be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Notice the Bible says the wicked will be as stubble.
For those of you who know farming, stubble what is left over AFTER a field has been burned.
We also read that there will be no coals or fire remaining after the wicked are destroyed.
To make this point even clearer, the Bible states:
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all
that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith
the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Notice how the Bible says the wicked be burnt up.
If there was any doubts remaining on this issue, the followings verse makes it crystal
clear: And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they
shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the
Lord of hosts.
The Bible teaches that the wicked will be ashes.
If you know anything about a fire, the ashes are what remains AFTER the fire has burned
– ashes cannot be burned any further.
We see from these verse that God is a god of love and justice.
Yes, the wicked must eventually be destroyed to preserve the happiness of the universe,
but God will only do this after giving them numerous opportunities to choose life.
And even in his destruction of the wicked, God is merciful.
He will not burn them for endless ages.
There are a few verses about hellfire that sometimes confuse people.
The Bible refers to hell having “unquenchable fire”.
This simply means that there is nothing that can put the fire out.
In Jeremiah 17:27, it was prophesied that Jerusalem with be burned with unquenchable
fire.
Nothing could quench or stop this fire, but after destroying the city, this fire eventually
went out.
It will be the same with hellfire.
Another challenging verse Matthew 25:41, which mentions “everlasting fire” for the wicked.
Will this fire ever go out?
Yes - we have already seen in the Bible that it will.
A similar verse is Jude 1:7, which speaks of
Sodom and Gomorrha..suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
We know that Sodom and Gomorrha are no longer burning today.
Just like the fire that burned these cities, hellfire will go out after it has completed
its work.
It will be the results of hellfire that will be everlasting, not the burning itself.
Similarly, Matthew 25:46 speaks of the wicked receiving “everlasting punishment”.
Notice that the PUNISHMENT will be everlasting, not the PUNISHING.
This punishment will have a definite end - death, and this death will be everlasting – there will be no coming back from it.
In some cases, the Bible uses the Greek word “Gehenna” for hell, which means a place of burning.
This Greek word refers to the Valley of Hinnom,
where dead animals and garbage were disposed of and burned. However, this fire at Hinnom would eventually go out.
Some are confused when the Bible describes the wicked being tormented “FOREVER”.
This word “forever” is used 56 times in the Bible describing events that have a definite
end.
“Forever” means 3 days and nights in Jonah 2:6.
“Forever” means 10 generations in Deuteronomy 23:3, and it means until the end of a man’s
life in Exodus 21:6.
As you can see, the term “forever”, often refers to a definite amount of time, and not
for all eternity.
And we have already seen from the Bible that hellfire will go out when it has completed it's work.
If the wicked burned forever in hell, then they too would have eternal life,
but the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death,
and only those who believeth in him (Jesus) should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Cartoons and comic strips will often portray
the devil as a horned creature with a pitchfork, managing and directing the activities of hell.
Is this really how it is?
Not at all.
In fact, the Bible tells us that the devil will actually be cast into hell
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where
the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Just like the wicked, the devil will be brought to ashes, and be completely destroyed:
…therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and
I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee…never
shalt thou be any more.
We can look forward to the day when sin, death, and suffering will be no more!
The devil has concocted a lie that has poisoned the mind of millions.
He suggests that God is a vengeful God who takes pleasure in the destruction of the wicked.
Friend, nothing could be further from the truth.
God sent his own son to die so that you and I will not perish, but have eternal life with
Him.
He tells us As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure
in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn
ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 33:11 In fact, the Bible tells us that hell was
originally created for the devil and his angels – not for human beings!
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.
So, what are God’s plans for this world after hell fire burns out?
The Bible shares this thrilling promise: For, behold, I create new heavens and a new
earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
This world will be recreated!
And the past life of sin, death, and pain will not even be remembered!
The Bible gives us more inspiring details about this new world:
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.
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.
Friends, God wants you to be with Him in new earth.
In fact, Jesus is inviting you today: In my Father's house are many mansions: if
it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
Will you accept His invitation friend?
Time is running out for planet earth.
We have a heaven to win, and a hell to lose.
The greatest pain of hell will be missing out on eternity.
I want you to be there friend.
I want to talk about our journey to the Heavenly city, and how God gave us the victory.
If you are grateful for God’s plan to destroy sin, and prepare a place for you in His Kingdom,
just write in the comment section below "Lord, you are merciful and righteous."
Let us stay faithful friends, so that we can meet some day!
Remember, this video is a part of series of videos in a playlist called Hope Through Prophecy.
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Remember friends, keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith!