There's A Sad Day Coming
There is indeed a sad day coming. A time of great sorrow, lamentation, when our creator will reject as worthless, those not worthy of eternal salvation. The bible is very clear not all men will be saved. Jesus states, "not every one
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 7:21-23-
It is evident that simply calling upon Jesus as Lord or engaging in religious works, regardless of how wonderful we think them to
be, will not result in our salvation. Inspired writers from Matthew to Revelation strive to warn us by such words, be not deceived, take heed, let no man spoil you, beware of false prophets, examine, prove, or as Jesus said, "He that doeth the will of
my Father in Heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven."
The millions who have failed to receive this admonition and find themselves rejected will find this a sad day, a time of the beginning of such sorrow, grief,
pain that their minds have never imagined.
The bible establishes that which happens to man, beginning at the point of death, is determined by the life that he lived. The body is buried, the spirit goes into that
realm of the waiting place of spirits, who await the judgment that is to come. Ecc. 12:7, Heb. 9:27, Lk. 16:19-21
There seems to be much confusion in the minds of many as to these events. Perhaps much of the
confusion could be cleared up with a proper understanding of the word Hell as is used in the King James Translation.
TARTARUS
In 2 Peter 2:4, Peter speaks of angels who
sinned and God cast them down to Hell or Tartarus. This is the only time this word is used in New Testament. It appears this place is neither Sheol nor Hades nor Gehenna. But the place those angels whose special sin is referred to in this passage are
confined, to be reserved, unto judgment, with chains of darkness.
SHEOL
This word is an Old Testament word for Hell. This word is used in two senses: First, it refers to the
grave, the final resting place of the bodies of all men. It is translated grave in Gen. 37:35; 42:38. Second, it also describes the realm of the dead, the place of conscious existence after death of both the righteous and the wicked. Psa. 16:10; Psa
9:17; This word corresponds to Hades which is translated Hell in the New Testament.
HADES
Thayer defines Hades as the Netherworld, the common receptacle of disembodied
spirits. Arndt and Gingrich defines Hades as the under world as the place of the dead. We learn from such passages as Lk. 16:19-31 that Hades is the intermediate state where departed spirits go to await the resurrection and the judgment. Hades is
composed of two realms: Abraham's bosom and place of torment for the wicked. Lk. 16:23, 25, 28. Both men continued to have a conscious existence beyond the grave, although neither could cross into the other realm (Lk. 16:26). We learn at the judgment
Hades will be emptied out and eliminated. John writes in Rev. 20.12-14, "And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell wer
e cast into the lake of fire." Jesus speaks of
this lake of fire as the place prepared for the devil and his angels and those on his left hand at the judgment. Matt. 25:41. "Jesus said it is better to enter into life maimed, or halt or with one eye than to be cast into hell's fire, where the worm
dieth not and the fire is not quenched." Mk. 9:43-48. The term hell in this passage is from Greek word Gehenna.
GEHENNA
This word is a transliteration from the Hebrew
"Valley of Hinnom." The name is derived from the Hebrew Gehinnom, which refers to a ravine which at one time, was the place the Israelites, who had turned to idolatry, sacrificed their children to the idol Molech. Jer. 32:35. After King Josiah
destroyed this place of idolatry, it became a place of abomination.
2 Kgs. 23:10-14. This valley became a place of refuge. Dead bodies of animals and of unburied criminals who had been executed were cast into it. It became a garbage
dump where fires were constantly burning.
In time, this place became a symbol of filth and rottenness, pain, anguish. It stood as a figure of the place or state of everlasting punishment. None can avoid Hades but
Jesus urged His disciples to avoid the fires of Gehenna at all costs. (Mk. 9:43-47). The wicked, after the eternal judgment, will be cast into the Gehenna of fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matt. 25:41. Jesus speaks of this place as ever
lasting punishment. Matt. 25:46. Peter teaches, "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust to the day of judgment to be punished"' 2 Pet.
2:9
WORDS
Inspired writers use vivid words of speech in an effort to cause men to see and understand the nature of this punishment. They use such terms as: "everlasting,"
eternity, forever, forever and forever, Matt. 25:46, Rev. 20:10, Jude 7 to impress upon our minds the mending nature of this punishment. They used vivid figures of speech to impress upon our minds the terrible conditions of pain, discomfort, torment,
anguish, suffering that will be inflicted upon the wicked and impenitent mankind beginning at the close of this age. Rom. 2:8-9. Jesus speaks of "everlasting fire." Matt. 25:41, "Lake of fire" Rev. 20:14, "Furnace of fire" Matt.
13:42.
EVERLASTING FIRE
Hell is a lake of fire, a furnace of fire, a place prepared to hold the wicked in misery forever. If fire is a metaphor it is a likeness or
similarity set forth as reality. Jesus describes this place where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matt. 13:42.
WAILING AND GNASHING
Vine explains wailing as
to mourn, lament, bewail, weep. The term gnashing of teeth emphasizes the intensity of the pain and anguish that causes the wailing. Jesus further describes Hell as a place where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Mk.
8:48
WORM DIETH NOT
A worm is a destructive means of working decay upon dead bodies. Here it is used figuratively to express that the means of loathsomeness of the penalty
as punishment of the wicked will never cease. Jesus further describes this place as "outer darkness." Matt. 8:12
OUTER DARKNESS
Outer darkness establishes these shall be
outside the limits of the lighted kingdom of heaven. In the outer darkness, we are shut out and separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his powers. 2 Thess. 1:9
RECIPIENTS OF
CONDEMNATION
The bible is very clear as to who will be the recipients of this condemnation by God. Space will not allow naming them one by one, but Rev. 21:8 states, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers and whore mongers, and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Rev. 20:15 states, "and whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Paul states the gospel of Jesus Christ is God's power to save. Rom. 1:16. Those who refuse the saving power of the gospel will be lost. Jesus said: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned. Mk. 16:15-16
Many try to eliminate or lessen the punishment of hell in various
ways.
ANNIHILATION
The Jehovah's Witnesses teach an annihilation of wicked at death. The righteous dead will be raised, but the wicked dead will cease to exist. This doctrine runs contrary to what Jesus taught in John
5:28-29. "Marvel not at this: for 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 Apostle Paul taught in Acts 24:15 "That there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."
DENY THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL
Adventist
deny the immortality of the soul saying God only has immortality. 1 Tim. 6:16. They fail to take into consideration that God bestows immortality on all human souls. James states the body is dead without the spirit (James 2:2511, but he never says the
spirit without the body is dead. In Eccl. 12:7 we learn "the body goes back to the ground from which it came. (Gen. 2:7) But the spirit goes back to God who gave it."
GOD IS TOO KIND--HIS LOVE IS TOO
GREAT
The bible clearly pictures God as a God of kindness and of love. All that man has is evidence of God's love and kindness. Acts 17:24-28; Rom. 2:4. But God is just and His justice is as severe as His
goodness is good. Rorn. 11;22
THERE IS INDEED A SAD DAY COMING
Some day you'll stand at the bar on high, Some day your record you'll see; Some day you'll answer the question
of life, what will your answer be? Sadly you'll stand, if you're unprepared, trembling, you'll fall on your knee; facing the sentence of life or of death, what will that sentence be? Now is the time to prepare, my friend, make your soul spotless and
free; washed in the blood of the crucified one, He will your answer be. What will it be? What will it be? Where will you be in eternity? What will it be, 0 what will it be? What will your answer be? Tillie S.
Teddlie
Paul Rockwell
October, 1997 Volume 3 Issue 4
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