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 Sermon > |
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Title |
Hell(20) - Hell (20) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Revelation 20:15, Revelation 20:1-3 |
Date |
2009-12-20 |
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Passage
Revelation 20:15
And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:1-3
[1] Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the Abyss and a great chain in his hand. [2] And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; [3] and he threw him into the Abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is the twentieth session of Hell sermon series.
I am going to finish this series on Hell with this session and the next session.
I believe you will attend the service with a happier mind since you won't have to hear about Hell any more.
Hell is truly a fearful place and we cannot help being afraid of it.
But at least you can distance yourself as far as possible from Hell.
It can be done by accomplishing kingdom of heaven in your hearts.
As you cast away sins of heart and live in the truth, the fear of the punishments for sin will go away.
You will no longer have fear of falling into Hell. So, you will have peace of mind.
Even though you may be in a very difficult situation physically, your heart will be Heaven itself.
Brothers and sisters, this Hell sermon series will end as we come to the end of the year.
As you wrap up this year, I urge you to cast away the sins that you haven't cast away yet.
If you think you have too many things left to cast off, then think about casting away major roots of sin.
If you pull out such sins first, you can cast away many other sins as well.
Our Lord took the cross for us in order that we would not fall into Hell.
So, when we try to cast off sins, He will definitely give us the grace and power to do it.
He will be delighted with us and He will strengthen us.
By relying on this Lord, I hope you will experience the works that make 'the impossible possible and possible things even better' as you cast away sins.
I hope you will look forward to the new year with a brighter heart and also have hope for the blessings that God will give to you in the new year.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will make a leap in faith with a renewed heart and go closer to New Jerusalem.
[Main]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, continuing from the last session, I will talk to you about the Hell of fire and brimstone.
When the Lord comes back in the air, the wedding banquet will be held in the air, and the Great Tribulation will begin on this earth for 7 years.
After this 7 years is over, then the Millennium Kingdom will come.
When the Millennium Kingdom is over, there will be the Great Final Judgment that will complete and finalize the process of human cultivation.
The Judgment of Punishment will begin first with the souls who are not saved and who have relatively heavier sins.
As if measuring on a scale, God will put each one's life on the judgment table and measure it with the word of God, the mirror of the truth.
He will give them either the lake of fire or lake of sulfur according to each of their evil deeds and words.
Those who are judged will be thrown into the lake of fire or the lake of sulfur together.
Those who were receiving the 1st and 2nd level punishments in the Lower Grave will fall into the lake of fire, and those receiving 3rd and 4th level punishments, into the lake of sulfur.
Next, those who are saved will receive the Judgment of Reward.
According to the measure of their faith, they will go into either Paradise; into the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd kingdoms of Heaven; or into New Jerusalem.
Also, they will receive rewards to the extent that they were faithful to God.
Soon after I opened this church, God showed me Hell.
The Hell I saw at that time was really vast. It was endless.
It was filled with some kind of mist or vapor that looked like the steam rising from hot springs.
I could faintly see the people in that midst.
Some of them were seen from the chest up, and for some others only their heads were seen.
According to each one's deeds, for some people only half of the body was in the lake of fire while for some others most of their whole body was in the lake.
The tortures in the Lower Grave are surely painful, but the pain in Hell is in different dimension from that of the Lower Grave.
When in Lower Grave, they could think why they went to such a place and try to think of how they could get away from the insects, animals, or the messengers of Hell.
But in the lake of fire or lake of sulfur in Hell, they don't even have a moment of rest to even think about such things.
They would just show spontaneous unconditional reflex to the pain by jerking and jumping around while shrieking and quenching their teeth. They cannot really think of anything.
In Mark 9:47-49, Jesus told us how fearful a place Hell really is.
It says, "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, [48] where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. [49] "For everyone will be salted with fire."
Salt is used to bring out the taste, but it is also used for purifying dirty things.
Just as we salt the dirty things, the flame will swallow the souls that are filthy with sins and burn their bodies.
The souls in the lake of fire will jump and twist being unable to bear with the pain.
On this earth, when people have fun doing some games, they may jump around.
In night clubs, many people come to dance, shaking their heads and bodies continuously.
But even though they have great fun, they will be too tired to go on, so they will stop and rest.
But in Hell, they don't jump and jerk about for the fun or joy of it, but because of pain. And furthermore, they cannot stop it.
They also scream so much even to the extent that their heads will ache.
Their eyeballs will turn blue, and the small veins in the eyes burst.
They trample on others in order to get out of the hot flames, but they can never get away from it.
The flames and endless lake of fire has the same temperature everywhere.
Even though they may try to find a somewhat cooler place, they can never do it.
It's the same even if they step on others. The hotness is the same.
As Jesus said, "where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched," the fire of Hell is never extinguished.
The temperature is the same even with the passage of time.
Until the Great Judgment, the punishments in the Lower Grave were given by the power, authority and control of Lucifer.
But the lake of fire and lake of sulfur after the Great Judgment is operated automatically by the dispensation of God.
The whole lake of fire has the same temperature by the power of God. There is not even a degree of difference.
Also, as said, "where their worm does not die," this fire only gives pains to the souls. It will never kill or extinguish the souls.
In the Lower Grave, when their body parts were cut or they were eaten by worms, soon their bodies recovered and restored.
Likewise, in Hell, the body that is burned up will be instantaneously restored.
This burning and recovering is continuous.
Let me give you an example to help you understand better.
Have you seen some animated films or other movies where they describe people who receive electric shock of high voltage?
At the moment they are shocked, we can see only the skeleton in dark silhouette, and after the electricity goes away, they come back to the original form.
It's similar with the X-ray pictures.
When an X-ray picture is taken, they have a dark silhouette, and only their bones are shown in brighter color.
We can see the inside of the human body.
Similarly, those who are in the lake of fire will be seen in their whole body, but in a moment, only their spirit can be seen when the body is burned up.
But very soon, the form of their body can be seen again.
In a blink of an eye, these two forms are seen repeatedly.
This way, the whole body will be burned up and disappear and recover again and again.
The pain of the whole body being burned up by the hot fire cannot be understood with physical knowledge.
It is very difficult to bear with the heat and pain of just having 1st degree burns.
But this pain of a 1st degree burn cannot be compared with the pain of 3rd degree burn.
In case of a 3rd degree burn, some people commit suicide because of unbearable pains. Can you imagine how excruciating the pain they have really is?
And in Hell, when the entire skin, all muscles and nerves, and all intestines and bones are burned up, can you imagine that pain?
We cannot express this pain just with the word 'hot'.
It is a comprehensive pain from which you can feel all the pains of being ripped apart, being cut and pierced by messengers of hell, and being eaten by worms and all other pains.
It's hot, and painful and sore, and due to the unbearable heat, they will only shriek out their evil.
Especially, when their whole body is burned, it will very quickly be recovered.
Then, they will be burned again and recover again, and this cycle will go on endlessly.
They will be so sick of the unending pain, and they cannot overcome or bear with any of it, but they cannot either faint or die.
They have to spend eternity suffering from such a pain, being unable to have a moment's rest.
Now some may wonder whether or not one can have a physical body in Hell so he can suffer from the punishments.
In the case of those who are saved, when the Lord comes back in the air, their bodies will change into resurrected bodies.
And after the Great Judgment, they will have the perfected heavenly bodies.
But those who fall into Hell will not have a resurrection because they do not have life.
Instead, they will have the body when they go into Hell after the Great Judgment so that they will feel the pain of punishments.
They will have the body that will last forever.
Until that time, in the Lower Grave, they received the punishments just in the form of a spirit without having any body.
Of course this pain is great, but because they are punished having the physical body in the hell of fire and sulfur, they will suffer from another dimension of excruciating pain.
Brothers and sisters, those who were receiving 1st and 2nd level punishments in the Lower Grave will go into the lake of fire.
Those whose sins are greater and were receiving 3rd or 4th level punishments will go into the lake of sulfur which is 7 times hotter than the lake of fire.
They are the ones who committed sins leading to death, whose consciences were seared as with hot iron, or they are those who stood against God being directly incited by the devil.
Now, what is the difference between the lake of fire and lake of sulfur?
The lake of fire has an overall reddish color while the lake of sulfur has rather yellowish sulfur color.
In many spots of the yellowish lake of sulfur, bubbles as big as a big pumpkin will come up.
In the lake of fire, some of them are only half way in the lake, but in the lake of sulfur we cannot find such a person.
Everyone will be completely in the lake of sulfur.
Since their whole body is dipped in the lake of sulfur that is 7 times hotter than the lake of fire, so how can anyone explain the pain of it?
Imagine that you take molten liquid steel from a furnish and make a living person drink it.
When that heat that melts down steel goes into the throat of a person, what do you think will happen to the internal organs?
Not only the esophagus, but heart, liver, and all other organs will melt down and the whole body will be burned up.
Somewhat similar pain to this pain goes on continually in the lake of sulfur.
In the lake of fire, they jump around and scream not being able to bear with the pain.
But in the lake of sulfur, they cannot make even the slightest mourning sound.
They are so greatly compressed by the pain that they cannot even think or move a finger in the lake of sulfur.
We cannot describe the feeling of being in the lake of sulfur with any of the words like, 'hot', 'pain', 'fearful', 'miserable', or 'shuddering'.
Why don't you put yourself in the shoes of these souls?
Not just for tens or hundreds of thousands, or just billions of years, but you have to suffer for eternity.
I hope none of you who hear this message on the appalling reality of Hell will be put into such a position.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, until now, I explained about the Lower Grave, and Hell, which is the lake of fire and lake of sulfur.
Now, for the last part, let me explain about the Abyss.
Abyss means 'bottomless pit'.
It is the deepest part of Hell.
The Abyss is not a place for human beings, unlike the Lower Grave, or the lake of fire or sulfur.
It is a place for the evil spirits.
In today's reading passage, it says an angel came down, captured the evil spirits, threw them into the Abyss, and shut it and sealed it for a thousand years.
This will take place at the moment the 7-Year Tribulation is over.
During the 7-Year Tribulation, the evil spirits will have the complete control on this earth.
That is why there will be so many disasters including World War 3, various diseases, and natural disasters.
When the tribulation of the 7 years is over, God will bind the Lucifer and the evil spirits in the Abyss.
After that, the Lord will come down to this earth.
From this moment it is the Millennium Kingdom where the Lord reigns on this earth like a king along with the saved believers.
Not only those believers who are saved, namely the men of spirit, but also those who survive the 7-Year Tribulation will live in the Millennium Kingdom.
During this time, all the enemy devil and Satan that give people death and pain will be bound in the Abyss, so it will be so peaceful and comfortable as if living in the Garden of Eden.
But the evil spirits being bound in Abyss will not complete things just yet.
Revelation 20:3 says, "...after these things he must be released for a short time." Revelation 20:7 says, "When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,"
Then, they will come out to this earth and deceive the men of flesh.
During the Millennium Kingdom, the men of spirit will teach the men of flesh about these things that will take place.
They will teach them so many times that they must not let Satan deceive them.
But when it actually takes place in reality, most of the men of flesh will be deceived by Satan and try to attack the city where men of spirit live.
They will be deceived easily because they are not born of the Holy Spirit. They couldn't cast away evil from heart through human cultivation.
Seeing this incident, the saved believers will deeply realize how Adam and Eve could have eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, and why God has to cultivate human beings.
They will thoroughly understand the providence of human cultivation, realizing that only those true children who experience the love of God and cast away evil through the human cultivation will not betray God but share true love with Him forever.
The men of flesh will try to attack the believers following the works of the evil spirits, but God at this moment will destroy all the men of flesh who were deceived by fire.
Revelation 20:9 says, "And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them."
After this incident, the Great White Throne Judgment will take place and the evil spirits will be bound in the Abyss again.
This time, they will not be released forever.
Then, is the Abyss empty now? No, it is not.
Most of the angels and the cherubim that fell in the rebellion of Lucifer are confined in it now.
But, what kind of pain is inflicted in the Abyss?
I will explain to you about this in detail in the next session.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, those who are not saved will regret or somewhat try to repent while suffering in the Lower Grave.
They lament saying, "I should have believed in God. I should have lived by His word."
Even though they know they have no way out, they may even cry out to God hoping for a chance, because the pain is too great to bear.
They cry to God to forgive them and save them by having mercy on them.
One of the reasons why God made this Lower Grave and let them suffer there until they are thrown into Hell is that He wants them to think of their past lives there.
Of course, even though they realize their fault and regret, there is no more chance of salvation.
But what is the reason why God lets them look back on their lives?
It's because He doesn't want them to go into the eternal punishment of fire and sulfur without understanding the reason why they are punished.
God wants them to at least realize their sins, for they were created in the image of God.
Of course, even though they repent in a wretched and lowly form in the Lower Grave, most of their repentance is not truthful repentance.
If they realize that it is useless to plead with God, they give out evil again.
Once they are put in the lake of fire or lake of sulfur, they don't even have the leisure to feel such feelings.
They just exist as waste, left in endless pain and unbearable torment.
As you look back on this past year, or on your life, is there anything you might regret?
Then, you should be thankful. It means you still have a chance.
I hope you will realize that it is such a precious thing that you can realize your faults and you have a chance to realize your sins and repent.
2 Corinthians 6:2 says, "for He says, "At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the day of salvation"
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will seize this opportunity, this life itself, and gain eternal life and the beautiful kingdom of heaven. |
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