Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: — | Date: September 15, 2019 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

Take your Bibles again, if you will, and turn to Matthew chapter 25. We’re continuing this part of the series on death and the afterlife, this part of the series now dealing with the eternal state of the lost, and that is the doctrine of hell. As I mentioned last time, my plan is to just survey the New Testament teaching on the doctrine of hell—the descriptions of it that we find. Last week we looked at Jesus’ teaching; tonight we look at the teaching of the Apostles. After that, we’ll look at the specific question of the eternality of hell, the doctrine of endless punishment, which is something that’s very commonly called into question today. And then after that, the plan is to deal one more time with eternal punishment, but examine it from the standpoint of the biblical rationale: Why is punishment never-ending?

But tonight, I hope to finish up just a quick survey of the New Testament descriptions of hell. Last time we surveyed Jesus’ teaching on hell, and I think one of the final passages we looked at was Matthew chapter 25, verses 31 and following. This is the parable of the final judgment. The sheep and the goats are separated, and they are judged according to, in this case, how they treated the people of Christ. And Jesus warns there—we find in the verse just before that, at the end of the parable of the talents—those who had not served the interest of the master in his absence, he says, “Cast that worthless servant into outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And then we saw in chapter 25, in the parable of the sheep and the goats judgment, verse 41: “He will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.'” And then verse 46: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

You may remember then last time, just by way of review, the various descriptions that we find of hell in the teaching of Jesus. He speaks of it as a place of outer darkness, a place of abandonment. He speaks of it as a place of destruction, destroying both body and soul in hell. The idea there is that of ruin and wrecking—eternal ruin. He speaks of it in terms of weeping and gnashing of teeth. He speaks of it in terms of torment. He speaks of it in terms of judgment, righteous judgment, sentence—the official decree of the judge sentencing them to punishment.

We find it described in such awful terms that he says that nothing, nothing in this life makes hell worth it. It would be better for you to tear out your eyes, to cut off your hand, and to go into life with just one hand or with just one eye, rather than to have both eyes and both hands and go into eternal fire. Jesus makes a great point to stress the torment of it, the agony of it, the severity of the punishment. He even uses metaphorical language like “cut him in pieces and put him in with the hypocrites” or here in verse 41, “put him in the eternal fire that is prepared for the devil and his angels.” That hell that was originally created for the devil himself—go have your part in that.

And so we read these awful descriptions of hell in the teaching of Jesus. And I made the point last time, and I want to stress it again, that most of the teaching that we find in the scriptures about hell is from Jesus himself. And I think that’s important in this regard because it is a doctrine that is so often denied. Today, what is “Christian,” quote-unquote, is that which is pleasant. And so it’s not “Christian” to talk about hell. And I suggested last time, it’s almost like Jesus said ahead of time, “I’ll handle this one myself,” so no one can question that this is the teaching of our Lord himself. Over and over again in graphic terms, in frightening terms, telling us of the awfulness of hell, the eternality of hell, the weeping of hell, the torments of hell, the fire of hell—all of these awful pictures of hell that he draws to sober us and, I think, to frighten us, and to see finally the value of Christ so that we go to him in faith to escape hell.

But we saw then in Jesus’ teaching that hell is a place of judgment. It’s a place after the resurrection, finally, body and soul thrown into hell. It is a place where punishment is inflicted, where the just payment of penalty is paid, and the wicked remain there for all eternity. Well, we won’t find anything different, I’ll tell you that now, when we get to the apostles, but we’ll see some of it expanded on a bit.

The Teaching Of The Apostles On Hell

Let’s go to Romans chapter two, the teaching of the apostles on hell. Romans chapter two. You might recall that I drew your attention to this passage some weeks ago dealing with the subject of judgment, that we have something of a summary of the biblical doctrine of divine judgment in verses 5 through 16. But here we’ll just focus on that aspect of judgment that is hell itself. So, beginning with verse 5:

“But because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil.”

Now there are several particulars here about hell that he mentions. First of all, it’s a place of wrath, “storing up wrath against the day of wrath.” I’ve mentioned it several times in this series where he speaks of this as each sin deposited in the bank to come back in wrath, fitted to exactly what is deserved by each person. And so we have here an affirmation of degrees of punishment—punishment fitted to each person. And he speaks of it as wrath. It’s not a place of rehabilitation. And the purpose of hell, first of all, is not to deter people from going there. That’s part of the purpose of the revelation of hell in the scriptures. But the purpose of hell is not to rehabilitate. The purpose of hell is to pay the penalty and to endure the wrath of God that is deserved.

So it is a question of justice—justice being meted out on the sinner. He says in verse six, “He will render to each one according to his works.” And so the punishment that is given in hell is carefully measured to exactly what is deserved for each person. He speaks of it later here in this passage as “wrath and fury and tribulation and distress.” Wrath and fury and tribulation and distress—awful kinds of terminology. So again, the purpose of hell is not rehabilitation. The purpose is punishment. That justice demands that those who have violated God’s law be punished accordingly. It is a question of judgment, and in fact, a question of righteousness.

In fact, in verse 5, he calls it that: “God’s righteous judgment.” It is an important thing to the biblical writers. It is important to God that judgment be rendered in a way that is just, that is righteous. That’s the purpose of the books; that’s the purpose of the record of the bad that has been done. Rendering according to works and each sin put in the bank and so on is to measure exactly so that the punishment that is meted out is exactly what is deserved. And so he says it’s “according to works.” Punishment fitted to the crimes committed. So again, we have just an awful description of what hell is like. It is a place where God finally exerts his just revenge against the sinner who has rebelled against him.

2 Thessalonians next. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. In this passage, Paul is writing to encourage the believers at Thessalonica who are undergoing some degree of opposition and persecution because of their faith in Christ. He speaks of that in verses three and following. And the long and short of this passage is to say that in that day when Christ returns, those who trouble you will in turn be troubled themselves, and they will be troubled by God himself at the return of Christ. But notice then how he describes that in verses 7 through 9:

“…to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed.”

I love, by the way, that expression in verse 10. It just deserves for us to reflect on it for a long time, I think, even in our private devotions. What will that be like when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints? And then this expression: “to be marveled at among all who have believed.” Isn’t that just a great suggestive thought, that we see him and we marvel at who he is as we see him in his glory?

But all of that is in contrast here to what will happen to those who have opposed his people and those who have rebelled against him and violated his law. Again, we have the fire imagery: “in flaming fire.” He says he will come, and then it says he’ll be “inflicting vengeance.” Vengeance for us sounds like such a bad thing, but vengeance—in fact, even the terminology here in the original—connotes the kind of thing where God is coming back in a wrath that is deserved. It’s just punishment. It’s justice being meted out; the deserved punishment is being given, the vengeance of God coming. It’s just a haunting term: God coming in vengeance. “Vengeance is mine and I will repay,” God says, and in that day finally it will come.

And then he says, verse 9, “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord.” A complex statement here: “suffer the punishment of eternal destruction.” In fact, the term translated here “suffer” is normally translated something like “pay” or “to repay.” The idea is they’re paying now for their crimes. They suffer the punishment, the penalty, the just due of sins. They’re paying that with destruction, and that destruction is eternal. Eternally being wrecked and ruined and destroyed from the power of God himself. And then it says, “away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his might.” That is again the idea of abandonment, exclusion from the joys of the kingdom, exclusion from the blessed presence of God. No longer is God being patient with them in their sin, but now that is over, and he’s inflicting wrath and coming in vengeance against sinners.

Look over at Jude, chapter one. Jude, verse 7. Pastor Boyd took us through Jude not long ago, so you’ll remember the context here, where he’s speaking of those who have become apostate; they have turned away from the truth, and they have expressed that both morally and theologically. But here he describes their end. He says, speaking of the angels who fell, verses six and following, but here verse seven: “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”

Verse 13: “Wild waves of the sea, casting up foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.” So again, we have here the idea of fire, eternal fire, the idea of punishment being meted out, and then it has the expression of “gloom and darkness.” Again, the idea of abandonment, aloneness. Sometimes we’ll hear someone say, “Well, if I’m gonna go to hell, at least all my friends will be there.” I’m not sure if, on the one hand, those in hell might be aware of others who are there screaming in torment and in pain along with them, or if words like this, “gloomy darkness,” might suggest just aloneness, solitary confinement, suffering alone. I’m not sure how to come up on that, but in either case, you have this idea of rejection, banishment forever, and punishment from the Lord God himself.

And then one more book, let’s look over at Revelation chapter 14. Revelation chapter 14. Here he’s speaking, looking ahead to the time when—filling in the big picture here—time when Christ comes, he brings in his eternal kingdom, he’s destroying his enemies, and we have him describing their end beginning in verse 9:

“Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or in his hand, he also will drink of the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.'”

Notice again the kinds of descriptions that he’s given. It is the wrath of God, but it’s not just the wrath of God; it’s the “wrath of God poured full strength.” Then he uses this metaphor of the “cup of wrath.” It’s like God has this cup of judgment, this cup of wrath, and he’s pouring it out on them. And he says it’s not “mixed wine.” It’s full strength. It’s the hard stuff. And he pours this out and they endure the wrath of God poured full strength in the cup of his anger. And he speaks of it then as “torment.” And here he speaks of it as “fire and sulfur” in the presence of his angels, in the presence of the Lamb. And then notice the detail regarding the extent or the duration of the punishment: “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night.” So again, hell is a place of wrath. Hell is a place of vengeance, punishment, and that without mercy, and never ending.

One more passage, Revelation chapter 20. In chapter 19, we have the return of Christ being described. When we come to the middle part of chapter 20, we have described, beginning at verse 11, the final judgment at the white throne of God. In verse 10, we are told that “the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever.”

Now, one note there. Remember, I started with Matthew chapter 25 and verse 41, where Jesus warns that those who are judged—those of the goats—those who had mistreated the people of Christ in the final judgment, are sent into hell “prepared for the devil and his angels.” Well, this is that hell prepared for the devil and his angels, and we have it described here as a place of a “lake of fire and sulfur.” The beast and false prophet have already been thrown there; we read of that at the end of chapter 19 of Revelation, and it says “they will be tormented day and night forever.”

And then down to verse 14: “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Again, we have this fire imagery used over and over again. Perhaps it’s literal. It could well be. I don’t know the answer to that. It well could be. It’s emphasized several times over. The idea of condemnation, the idea of perdition, the idea of judgment and wrath and destruction and torment and pain. And he describes it as the “second death.”

Well, here then is a survey of the New Testament description of hell. It’s a place of banishment, a place of restlessness where there’s no rest. It’s a hopeless place, a place of pain, a place of retribution, a place of torment, and a place of rejection.

Five Summary Categories

Now let me give you just five, quickly, five summary categories, then, of the New Testament description of hell.

Number one, Hell is punishment. We’ve said that here several times through Jesus’ teaching, through the teaching of the apostles: hell is punishment. The purpose is not to rehabilitate; the purpose is to punish. And so we have it spoken of with the language of punishment in Matthew chapter 25. Romans chapter 2, he tells us it’s “storing up wrath for the day of wrath” when God’s righteous judgment will be meted out according to works. He speaks of it as “wrath and fury.” It is a place of punishment. No good will come out of it except the satisfying of God’s justice against sin. It’s a place of punishment. Paul speaks of that in 2 Thessalonians 1 as well when he speaks of the “righteous judgment of God.”

This is a necessary outworking of divine justice. It would be wrong—it would be wrong—if Hitler were to get off free. And I think we would all see that. What we see in the New Testament is, in God’s view, every sinner has his own just reward that must be brought against him, and it would be wrong for God to overlook it. The same justice of God that requires righteousness of his creatures requires the punishment of unrighteousness in his creatures. It is the righteous judgment of God.

You also find then, under this category of punishment, the language of “repaying” and “paying.” Paying what is due. Repaying what has been taken. Repaying with affliction. And you also find the language of “vengeance.” That God has been waiting, and he’s been waiting, and he’s been waiting. Sin has been insulting him, and it’s been against him, and it’s been against him, and finally the accounts must be called in, and the punishment comes. Jude speaks of it: “undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” Revelation 14 spoke of it: “wrath poured out full strength into the cup of his anger.” This is a place of punishment.

And again in Revelation 20 and some of the others, you have the imagery of the books being brought out and repaying for the works that have been done—judged according to what was written in the books and what they had done, each one judged and sentenced according to the works that were done. Punishment is the idea. And so you have here then the language of retribution, language of judgment, sentence, repayment, vengeance, wrath, fury, according to works. All of that is to stress this idea of hell as a place of the punishment of the wicked, where God’s justice demands that the accounts be called in. A horrible idea: being punished by God.

The second category that we find in all these—this survey of the descriptions of hell. Number one, it’s punishment. Number two, Hell is destruction and death. Destruction and death. We find that language again throughout, both in Jesus’ teaching and in the apostles’. The gate is wide, the way is easy, that leads to “destruction.” The idea is that of a wrecking and a ruin when God comes to destroy or wreck you, and it says that forever. And in Matthew chapter 10, “destroy both body and soul in hell.” 2 Thessalonians 1, they “suffer the punishment of eternal destruction.” It is a destruction that goes on, a destroying—a work of destruction that continues and continues forever. So you have the language of destruction, ruin, and even the idea of fire brings us into this category as well. It’s a place of ruin and destruction.

Number three—it’s a place of punishment, it’s a place of destruction and death—number three, Hell is banishment. And here we have that language of “outer darkness.” The language of “departing from me.” Matthew chapter 7, “I’ll declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” Or Matthew chapter 8, “They will be thrown into outer darkness.” Matthew chapter 22, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into outer darkness.” Again in Matthew 25, “Depart from me.” And then in Revelation chapter 22, we read “Outside.” Speaking of the city, the eternal city, this New Jerusalem that’s been come down out of heaven from God: “Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” So the idea of banishment—away from the joys of the kingdom, away from the safeties of the kingdom, away from God himself and all of his providential mercy that you have experienced throughout your life. All of that, you’re banished from it, away from God.

Hell, then, is punishment. Hell is destruction and death. Hell is banishment from the presence of God. And then number four, Hell is a place of suffering. I suppose that’s the most obvious reflection on these verses that we’ve seen. It’s a place of suffering. And again, many of the passages that we’ve already seen in this summary at the end play into this as well. The idea of darkness as a place of suffering. The idea of banishment as an aspect of the suffering. The gloom of outer darkness. The idea of fire—”thrown into hell of fire,” “cut in pieces and thrown into the fire.” That kind of language that is used. Jesus, a couple of times, uses the expression, “where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” This idea of continual suffering. There, Jesus referring back to Isaiah chapter 66. And again, the other language regarding suffering that we find: torment, torturing, weeping, gnashing of teeth.

And all of this is given to us in the New Testament to warn us of the awfulness of hell. Those who reject Christ, those who have sinned and die without Christ, go to this place of punishment that they deserve, and the punishment will be an awful kind of suffering. We have an expression in our language when we are hurt, and people will say, “That hurt like hell.” And what we find in the New Testament very clearly is nothing hurts like hell. This is a category all its own, reserved for a place where God meets out his wrath against all the ungodly.

Well then, hell is a place of punishment. Hell is destruction and death. Hell is banishment. Hell is suffering. And then finally, Hell is eternal. This is “where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” And we’ll pick that up next time in more detail.

According to Jesus and the apostles then, hell is a place of agonizing punishment, a place of dreadful abandonment, where God meets out his wrath that is justly due against all of those who have opposed him. As I say, one of the objections to the doctrine of hell today is that it’s just not pleasant. And if it’s not pleasant, it’s just not “Christian.” We have this vague, fuzzy idea of what is Christian. But if anything in the Bible is clear at all, it is this warning of hell, both from Jesus and his apostles. And those who have sinned against God deserve, and those who have not received Christ and bowed before Him will find themselves in hell being punished by God justly for their sins.

And that, of course, is the value of Jesus Christ. That is the essence of the cross. Jesus died in the place of sinners, taking the just wrath of God in place of sinners so that we may go free. The destiny of those who die without him is an awful one. Some of you young people here who have not yet come to Christ, you need to hear this. You need to hear this. Don’t think that this is just something for your parents or you can get along with it until whenever. Life is an uncertain thing. To die without Christ, not having bowed before him and come to him in faith—eternity is long and the punishment of God’s wrath is severe.

Next time then we’ll pick up the question of the unending nature of punishment in hell. Let’s stand and be dismissed in prayer. Pastor Boyd, would you pray for us, please? Lord God, as those who deserve your wrath, your eternal punishment, how happy we are to be contented that Jesus poured your wrath and our wrath.