hell

Will a Loving God Burn Sinners Forever?

by Mark Finley

Discoveries In Prophecy lecture #17

Tonight, as we go to the word of God on this important subject, I invite you

to bow your heads with me.....

Father in heaven, tonight may we see Your love, Your justice and Your mercy

in a subject that has been often misunderstood and that has confused so many.

Clear up the confusion of our minds as we seek Christ again tonight.....in

Jesus' name, Amen.

My topic tonight is "Will a Loving God Burn Sinners Forever?" Have you ever

asked yourself the question, why would a loving God burn sinners in hell for

millions and millions of years? The subject of hell has confused men and

women and scores of young people down through the centuries. As they thought

about a certain stereotyped image of God and a certain stereotyped image of

hell --- a God who would burn and torment people in hell for millions and

millions of years --- many of these young people have turned from the Bible

and from Christianity. And many intellectuals have turned from

Christianity, too. Probably the subject of an eternally- burning hell has

turned more people to atheism and skepticism than any other. They reason

like this: If it's really true, that God would burn millions and millions of

people in hell for trillions of years, they have said, 'I don't want to serve

a God like that. He must not exist.'

Let's suppose it's a million years from now, and you and I are in heaven.

We're flying together through space to one segment of heaven, and I smell

something --- I smell smoke! And I say to you, 'What is that?' and you

reply, 'Oh, that's the smoke of hell. The heavenly breezes are just blowing

that way, and you got a little waft of hell.' And then I say, 'But, wait a

minute --- what are those screams?' And you say, 'Oh, that's where God keeps

people that He's burning.....that smell of flesh burning? Oh, God's had them

there for a million years, and He'll have them for ten million more and a

million more.' Is that the kind of God that you and I serve, who would not

put an end to suffering, but who would eternally cause people to suffer?

What's the real truth about hell? The medieval church was very confused

about the subject, as we see in their art --- pictures of people cast into

the flames and burning for millions of years. Would you agree with this

preacher of yesteryear named Samuel Hopkins? Dr. Hopkins was giving a

sermon on hell --- now can you imagine it? --- this is what Dr. Hopkins said:

"The smell of their torment shall ascend up forever in the sight of the

blessed before their eyes. This display of divine character and glory will

be in favor of the redeemed and most entertaining." Dr. Hopkins said as the

righteous in heaven look down at people screaming in hell, that will be part

of their entertainment! And then Dr. Hopkins goes on, "It will be their

highest pleasure to those that love God. Should the eternal torment and

fires be extinguished, it would in a great measure put an end to the

happiness and glory of the blessed."

Dr. Hopkins said if hell ever stopped burning, it would extinguish the joy in

the hearts of those in heaven! Ladies and gentlemen, I respectfully disagree

tonight with

Dr. Hopkins. The joy of heaven is not looking down and seeing people burning

in hell! --- the joy of heaven is being with Jesus. If you were the devil

(I shouldn't have said it that way, 'If you were the devil.....') but, you

know, if you WERE the devil, what is one of the things that you would want to

do? To paint a bizarre picture of God so nobody would want to serve Him.

The devil distorts who God really is. In fact, one

preacher said this: 'Hell is so hot, that if you put the hottest fire on

earth into it, the fire would immediately turn to ice.'

Ladies and gentlemen, the devil wants to distort the character of God! He

wants us to see God as vindictive and wrathful. Many preachers are confused

on the subject of hell. Many preachers have simply taken an unbiblical

doctrine from the Middle Ages and brought it into the Christian church. The

Bible says in 2Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not willing that any should perish but

that all should come to repentance." God takes no delight when men and women

are lost, when men and women turn their backs on Him. God takes no delight

in the destruction of the wicked or in eternally-burning hells for millions

and millions of years. The God we serve wants men and women to be saved.

The God we serve reaches out in mercy, compassion and love. There is no need

for you to be lost --- you can be saved and live with God forever.

But why would God destroy sinners at all? Isn't God is so loving, so

compassionate and so good that He will not do away with sin and sinners?

Well, let's go back to creation to see what the Bible says, regarding the

final destruction of sin..... You know, when God created the world, He

created it perfectly. It was never in God's plan for Earth to be destroyed

ultimately because of sin, never in God's plan for any

human beings to be destroyed because of sin. In fact, the Bible says in

Isaiah 28:21, that when the wicked are finally destroyed (and they will be,

but not in the kind of unbiblical hell that so many preachers are talking

about) that it would be God's 'strange acts.' Why would it be a strange act?

--- Because God wants to save, He doesn't want to destroy, because God's love

reaches out to redeem, not to destroy. So it's strange for God in His love

to do away with sinners --- but how would that happen? What does the Bible

teach?

Let's again go to Genesis..... There in the book of Genesis, God created a

perfect world, where there was no sickness or suffering, nor heartache, no

sorrow or death. But when Adam and Eve sinned, they had to be separated from

God, and when they were separated from God, they were separated from the

Source of life. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is

death." Adam and Eve plunged this planet into rebellion --- ours was a

planet in rebellion, and sin contaminated our Earth. But Jesus, seeing the

contamination of sin, plunged into the arena of human affairs. Jesus came

and dwelt in human flesh. He lived the perfect life that Adam and Eve should

have lived, and He died the eternal death. When Jesus died on the cross, He

was separated from the Father. The condemnation of sin was upon Him, and

Jesus died the death that we should have died --- it was OUR death that Jesus

was dying on the cross!

The Bible says that, when this world was lost, Christ came to redeem it and

that one day Christ will establish new heavens and a new earth ---Eden again!

So the story of the Bible is from Eden lost to Eden restored, through Christ

on the cross to Eden remade on earth --- the new heavens and the new earth!

But if God would not deal with sin at all, sin would grow like a cancer.

When Adam and Eve sinned, the cancer of sin was passed to their posterity, to

their children and to their children's children. Sin is deadly. Sin is

malignant, and if God does not cut out the cancer of sin from the universe,

it will spread until it destroys Planet Earth totally and completely.

Therefore, God has arranged a plan from the first, to deal with the sin

problem through Christ. In Christ we're redeemed, we're saved, and in His

love we are eternally secure, as we accept Him. But if we reject God's love,

reject the cross and reject its redemption, when Christ comes, He will cut

the cancer of sin out of the universe. Sin is combustible material! In the

sight of the Holy God, sinners ignite and will be consumed.

The Bible teaches, not that hell lasts for millions and trillions of years

nor that hell

is a hot spot in the center of the earth where tonight people are burning ---

rather the Bible teaches that sin will be destroyed at the end of the age,

before God makes all things new. My mind could never understand a loving God

tormenting people, burning and screaming, for millions of years. But my mind

could understand a loving God making every provision for them to be saved and

then, by necessity, having to destroy sin and sinners at the end of time ---

because of the very fact that, if he didn't, the problems of war and greed

and lust and suffering would continue.

God will one day make this world new with no more sin, no more heartache, no

more suffering and no more sorrow! The Bible is plain, the Bible is clear.

In fact, Matthew 5:41 says.....(read it with me, please)..... "Depart from

Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his

angels." Who is hell predominantly for? For the devil and his angels ---

and those who act like devils, too, those who reject His love and renounce

His name. But you say, that says "everlasting fire." Just hold that, we'll

get to it --- but the point is this: Our God of love wants to redeem men and

wome, but those who do not desire His salvation ultimately will be destroyed

at the end of time, consumed in the fires of hell.

But when does hell occur? Is hell some hot spot in the center of the Earth

tonight? Is hell some place where people are being tormented tonight? Truth

is much clearer than fiction, and the Bible is very clear about when hell

occurs. You remember the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him about the end

time. So Jesus told a story about a sower that went out to sow. Jesus said

that the sower sowed good seed in

the field, but tares came up. The disciples asked, 'Well, where did the

tares come from?' The tares represented evil, wickedness, sin, rebellion ---

and Jesus told the disciples what would happen to that sin and wickedness and

rebellion. Matthew 13:40 says, "Therefore as the tares are gathered and

burned in the fire....." (now read the rest of it with me, please) ".....so

it will be at the end of this age." So when

would the wicked tares be burned? At the end of the age. So hell is not

some hot spot burning in the center of the earth.

The final and complete destruction of the wicked will take place at the end

of the age. At the end of time when Christ comes again, the earth and sin

and sinners would be consumed, and out of the ashes of the old world, God

would create a new world. The Bible says in 2Peter 2:9, "The Lord knows how

to deliver the godly out of

temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of

judgment." Now notice that the unjust are not being punished now according

to Peter. The unjust are not being punished now according to the Bible.

According to scripture, 'the unjust would be reserved unto the day of

judgment to be punished.' When a person dies, they sleep, resting until the

resurrection. And you remember the Bible teaches that there will be two

resurrections --- the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation.

The resurrection of damnation takes place second, and the Bible says that the

wicked receive their final reward at the end of the 'thousand years' (we've

studied about that earlier) when Christ comes to Earth the second time. The

Bible makes it plain --- the rewards are not given out at death --- but the

Bible says, in Matthew 14:27, "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of

His Father with His angels, then He will reward each according to his works."

The rewards (of the unjust) are given out when Christ comes the second time,

not at death.

At death, our destiny is sealed --- we're eternally saved or eternally lost.

We go into the grave, and we sleep until the resurrection (either the first

resurrection or the second resurrection.) The Bible says in 1Thessalonians

4:16,17: "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with

the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in

Christ will rise first....." (when everybody? First!) ".....Then we who

are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to

meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

The Bible teaches that, when Christ comes, the dead in Christ are

resurrected --- that's the first resurrection --- and there, as the dead in

Christ are resurrected at the Second Coming of Christ, along with those who

are alive we are caught up to meet Christ in the heavens, and we live and

reign with Him for a thousand years. And at the end of the thousand years,

the Holy City descends. (You remember, we studied this in our presentation

on the millennium.) Then the wicked are resurrected in the resurrection of

damnation. In John 5:28-29 the Bible says, "Do not marvel at this; for the

hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and

come forth --- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and

those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

Two resurrections --- the resurrection of life at the beginning of thousand

years, then the resurrection of the wicked at the end of the thousand years.

Revelation 20:5 tells us, "But the rest of the dead did not live again until

the thousand years were finished." After they are resurrected, the wicked

attack the city that's descending, and as they do, fire comes down from God

out of heaven and devours them. The wicked are destroyed at the end of the

age, at the end of the thousand years, and not before.

How complete is this destruction of the wicked? The Bible tells us in

Matthew 25:46, "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the

righteous into life eternal." You may say, "There it is, pastor --- that's

the text that confused me. It says, 'everlasting punishment.' Doesn't that

mean that God will go on punishing them through the ceaseless ages of

eternity? Does it mean they'll be punished for millions and trillions of

years?" The Bible says 'everlasting punishment,' not 'everlasting

punishing.' If it were 'everlasting punishing,' it would be a state of

punishment, but 'everlasting punishment' is one punishment that lasts

forever. The wicked are totally consumed. They are destroyed, and the

effects or results of that punishment are everlasting. The Bible doesn't say

'everlasting punishing' --- it's not a continual state of punishment --- but

it's 'everlasting punishment.' They're burned up, they're consumed, and God

never has to do it again. They are totally destroyed.

Someone may ask, "What about when the Bible says 'eternal fire' (Jude 7) as

in Sodom and Gomorrah?" (You know, one night I was speaking about Sodom and

Gomorrah and somebody said, 'Are they twin sisters?' No, Sodom and Gomorrah

aren't twin sisters, they are actually two cities.) "As Sodom and Gomorrah,

and the cities around them.....having given themselves over to sexual

immorality......" --- these wicked cities, cities of rebellion, cities that

had turned their backs on God and given themselves over to sexual immorality

--- ".....and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example,

suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

So, Sodom and Gomorrah are an example of the destruction that occurs at the

end of time for those who are unsaved. And the Bible says that they were

burned with --- what kind of fire? Who can tell me what kind of fire it was?

What does it say? --- 'eternal fire.' Now, Sodom and Gomorrah were two

cities in the Old Testament, today lying in part underneath the Dead Sea. If

they were burning with an eternal fire, wouldn't they still be

burning?.....but they're not burning today, are they? So, an eternal fire

must not be one that is continually burning.

The fire came down from God out of heaven and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Angels hurried Lot and his family out of the city, but Lot's wife looked

back. Her heart was in Sodom. Her love was in the world --- she looked back

and immediately and instantly lost her life. Friend of mine, when you put

your life in Christ's hands, don't look back.....when God is taking you by

the hand.....and He's saved you and delivered you from so much.....when He's

taken you from alcohol.....when He's taken from you drugs.....when He's taken

you from immoral living.....when God has led you to truth as He has at these

meetings.....when you have felt the Spirit of God moving in your heart

here.....when you have sensed God tugging in your life here.....do not look

back! The Bible says in 2Peter 2:6, indeed, that fire came down from God out

of heaven and devoured Sodom and Gomorrah, "turning the cities of Sodom and

Gommorrah into ashes" --- what, everybody? Ashes --- but they were burned by

an 'eternal fire.'

An eternal fire is one that consumes completely. You know, the Bible says

that our God is a consuming fire (see 2Thessalonians 1:8,9 and 2:8.) God's

character is eternal, and the brightness of His flaming love consumes sin and

wickedness in an eternal fire. In the Bible, vengeance comes from the

eternal character of God who is an all-consuming fire in the presence of sin

--- and an eternal fire is one that eternally destroys sin, turning it to

ashes.

And so, in the presence of the fire of God, Sodom and Gomorrah were turned to

ashes. They were condemned to destruction, made an example to those who

would afterward live ungodly lives. You see, Sodom and Gomorrah, those

wicked cities, are an example to our society, a society that has turned its

back on God, a society that has renounced His love, a society that stands in

rebellion against Him. One day, the fire from heaven will fall on the

rejecters of God's mercies and those who have turned from His love, one day

this world will be consumed with the fire of God's presence as He purifies

the universe from sin. This eternal fire is one that turns sin to ashes, and

never again does destruction need to come. The Bible describes it in very

plain language.....an eternal fire, one that consumes, an unquenchable fire,

one that human hands cannot put out. God is going to get the job done.

Somebody said to me once, 'Mark, you don't believe in hell!' I said, 'Wait a

minute. First, I don't believe in the hell you believe in, because God is

not going to torment people for millions and millions of years, so we smell

their burning flesh! But the problem is this, the hell I believe in is

hotter than the hell you believe in.' They said, 'What do you mean?' I

said, 'The hell the Bible teaches about gets the job done. It burns up

sinners and sin, consumes them to ashes, then God makes a new world. But the

hell you believe in isn't hot enough, because it just torments people for

millions of years.' The Bible is very plain on this subject!

The Bible says in Malachi 4:1, "For behold, the day is coming....." (is it

here now? Friends, does the Bible say the day is here? Oh, I want to go by

the Bible --- what about you, friend? The day 'is coming'.....that's

future.....there is no hell in the center of the earth) ".....Burning like

an oven, And all the proud, yes, all that do wickedly will be stubble. And

the day which is coming shall burn them up,' Says the Lord of hosts, 'That

will leave them neither root nor branch.' " Will there be any trace of

wickedness found any more? NO trace of wickedness. Will there be any trace

of sin found? NO trace of sin.

The wicked will be consumed. They will be burned up --- the Bible says so

plainly in Malachi 4:3 that they will be turned to ashes: "And you shall

tread down the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet"

at the end of time. Bible text after Bible text tells us they will be turned

to ashes, such as Psalm 37:20: "But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies

of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they

shall vanish away." They're consumed, gone.

Obadiah 16 says, "And they shall be as though they had never been." What

sorrow, what heartache in the universe! God gave them opportunity to

live......He created them and gave them a mind to think and to reason. He

sent Jesus to die for them. He lovingly coerced them. He wooed them and

courted them like any lover, but they turned from Him. They were too busy

for His affections, too earthly and materialistic for the claims of His

love.....and they wandered from Him with rebellious hearts. But God wants a

clean universe, with no greed and no lust and no rebellion and no sin. He

wanted to save them, but they turned their backs on Him, and at the end,

they're consumed, they're burned up, they're gone.....Gone, gone, gone

forever. They're "as though they had never been."

Somebody said to me, 'Mark, you get kind of passionate in your meetings!'

When I stand up every night before people, it's life and death. This is no

fooling around. This is no game that we're talking about --- it's eternal

life or eternal death. And Jesus said, 'I want to save you. I don't want

you to be gone, your life snuffed out forever.' Well, tonight if you have

not accepted Jesus Christ, or if you're clinging to some sin, or if there is

rebellion in your heart, why not tell Him tonight --- 'Lord, I want to serve

You forever and ever.' He wants you to live forever.

Someone asked, What about 'forever and ever,' pastor? You know, I read that

hell was forever and ever, Pastor, I really did! There's a text in the

Bible. You know, I can read that the wicked are 'turned to ashes,' once,

twice, three times.....I can read 'the smoke goes up' and it's gone.....they

'vanish'.....they're 'as if they had never been'.....I can read text after

text, and so, Pastor, I read one over here that says that they're in hell

'forever.'

Well, let's read what you read, not what you think you read! Okay. Let's go

back to it.....'forever and ever.' What does the Bible teach? In Revelation

14:11 we read, "The smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever." The

question is not what you think 'forever and ever' means --- the question is

what the Bible means when it uses it.....that's the question! Now, to find

what the expression 'forever and ever' means, do you think we should go to

Webster's Dictionary? Or do you think we should go to the Bible? How many

of you think we should use Webster? Well, you were sleeping when I asked the

question! How many of you think we should use the Bible? Oh, all of you,

okay!

Let's go to the Bible to see, in Exodus 21:6, where it speaks of a servant-

master relationship. "He shall serve his lord forever." Does that mean that

we're going to have slaves in eternity? God forbid, not at all! There in

the Old Testament, Moses was talking about the servant who would serve him,

as long as he lived. When that servant died, he wasn't going to serve him.

So, 'forever' in that setting simply means 'as long as he lives.' Look at

1Samuel 1:22 --- the Bible says that Hannah, the mother of Samuel, took him

up to the temple to 'remain there forever.' Was Samuel going to be in that

earthly temple learning to be a priest forever? What does the Bible say in

1Samuel 1:28? --- "As long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord."

So the term 'forever' in the Bible simply means 'as long as one is able to

live in that situation.' A good example of that is Jonah 2:6 --- "I went

down to the bottoms of the mountains; The earth with her bars was about me

forever." Jonah says he was in the belly of the whale 'forever,' but then

the Bible says in Jonah 1:17 that Jonah was in the belly of the fish three

days and three nights. Could 'forever' be three days and three nights? Only

if you are confused --- it's clear in the Bible.

What the Bible means by 'forever' is this: The literal translation in the

original language of the Bible is 'until the end of the age.' In the Greek

language of the New Testament, it is (aon totu) 'until the end of the age.'

So, Hannah lent her son to the Lord until his days were complete, as long as

he would live, until the end of the age. The servant was to serve his master

as long as he lived. And so, the wicked are consumed, they are burned up, as

long as they can live in that environment until the end of that age, and then

they are gone forever. The Bible teaches that the wicked burn in that flame

only until they are consumed or as long as they can live. Exactly!

'Forever and ever' is a biblical expression which means 'until the end of the

age' --- it doesn't necessarily mean an infinite, unending period of time.

In fact, do you remember, in the Old Testament the prophecy came that

Jerusalem would be destroyed. Jeremiah 17:27 says, "But if you will not heed

me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the

gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its

gates....." (notice that disobedience to God was a very serious thing. The

Jews had turned their backs on God, disobeyed Him, and violated His Sabbath)

".....and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be

quenched." The fire that would burn Jerusalem would be an

'unquenchable' fire. Is Jerusalem still burning with this same flame? Not

at all. Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus and the Roman armies in 70 AD. An

unquenchable fire is one that burns up completely until there is nothing more

to burn.

There the expression 'forever' means as long as it burns in that environment,

and the punishment will never need to be repeated. The Bible is extremely

plain, if we let the Bible explain itself. If we go to theologians to find

out what it teaches or some books to find out what it teaches, we can be

confused. Somebody asked, 'Can you actually have your soul destroyed in hell

as well as the body?' Well, let Jesus answer in Matthew 10:28: "Fear not

them that kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear

Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Can your soul as

well as your body be destroyed at the end of time when God consumes all sin

and burns it up forever? Can it, friend? The Bible says that God is able to

destroy soul and body in hell. In other words, sin is totally destroyed ---

there will be no vestige of sin left. In fact, the Bible says in Ezekiel

18:4, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." So, sin is consumed. A loving

God sweeps clean the universe.

Do you know that many theologians today, prominent theologians, are coming to

the conclusion that the idea of the immortal soul is a pagan doctrine? Did

you read that article just a few months ago in U.S. News and World Report

here in the United States? It was quoting a theologian by the name of Dr.

Hughes, who argued that "The traditional belief in the unending punishment is

linked to the erroneous belief in the innate immortality of the soul, a

belief," he says, "that is based more on Plato than on the Bible. The

immortality of which the Christian is assured is not inherent in himself or

in his soul, but is bestowed by God." In other words, Plato taught the

immortality of the soul.

Many pagan doctrines have crept into the church --- Sunday worship, baptismal

sprinkling of infants, the immortal soul, the idea of a hell that's

neverending. See, these things came in from pagan cultures, friend, and

that's why God is leading us back to the Bible. The Bible says in

Ecclesiastics 9:5, "The living know that they will die; But the dead know

nothing" --- if the dead do not know anything, they're not burning in hell,

screaming in the flames, are they? --- death is but a sleep, until the

glorious coming of Jesus.

Someone may ask, "Oh, Pastor, what about the parable of the rich man named

Lazarus? In that parable, isn't the rich man there in hell, and isn't

Lazarus up in heaven? Let me just refresh you on the story --- Jesus told a

parable, which was the fifth in a series of parables. It was a very common

Jewish story. In fact, it was a traditional parable, and Jesus knew it as a

common story. Here's the story: The rich man was sitting at his table,

eating very sumptuously and bedecked in his long flowing robes and jewels.

There's a beggar named Lazarus by his table, and the rich man throws crumbs

to Lazarus. But finally the rich man dies.

Some people today have the idea that when you die, you go down a tunnel ---

but in the parable told by Jesus, a dead person would either go, not to

heaven, but to Abraham's bosom.....or the other way, to a place of torment.

And so, in the story, the beggar ends up in heaven, and the rich man ends up

in the place of torment. Does that prove an eternally burning hell? Now,

wait a minute! If you take that literally, friend, the beggar who is

supposedly in heaven talks to the man down in hell. Now, if you think

there's a problem taking this story as a parable, you have got a much greater

problem taking it literally! Do you actually believe, sir, that a person in

heaven is going to sit and watch people burning in hell and going to have

conversations with them? Do you really believe that, up there in heaven,

that beggar is looking down at and actually talking to people who are

screaming in the flames? See, if you take this literally, you must take the

whole thing literally.....so furthermore, you've got another problem, because

Abraham's bosom must be awfully big to take all those people that are going

up there!

If you take this literally, and you say it's not a parable, then you've got

problems --- but if it's a parable, then it's just a story that Jesus told to

illustrate a point. So then, what is Jesus' point? Jesus' point is very

plain. The Jews traditionally said that if you are rich, it's a sign of

God's pleasure and you're going up.....but if you're poor, a simple villager,

or you live in the ghetto, that's God's cursing you and so you're going down.

So, in the traditional story, the Pharisees saw the rich man sitting at the

table as themselves, and all the Pharisees thought, 'That's me, you know

that's me.....I'm the rich man,' and when the rich man dies he goes to

heaven, and the poor man goes to hell. But Jesus said, 'You know, the story

you always tell about the rich man going up and the poor man going down?

I'm reversing it.' Jesus said that the poor went up, the rich went down, and

everybody went , 'Hmmph! That wasn't the way it was supposed to happen, Lord

--- that's not what we believe!'

So the first thing Jesus did in the story was to show that riches are not

always a sign of God's favor and that poverty is not always a sign of God's

displeasure. Then after that, there's this little conversation, when the

rich man says, 'Hey, send somebody back to tell my brothers about hell,' and

Jesus comes with His second punch line, 'There's a great gulf fixed after

death, and there's no second chance.' You see, that's the point, and the

parable is a little nail to hang a picture on to explain the lessons. He

says, 'After death there is no second chance. There is a great gulf fixed,

and you had better make your decision now, brother. You had better make your

decision now, sister, because once you die, your future is sealed.' See,

Jesus is using a popular story, then comes to the major idea. The rich man

says, 'Lazarus, you go tell my brothers,' but Jesus said, 'If they don't

believe Moses and the prophets, they're not going to believe someone who rose

from the dead.'

And here's Jesus' whole point in the story: those who reject the scriptures

aren't going to be convinced by miracles. Was there a real person by the

name of Lazarus in the Bible? Yes. Did the real Lazarus die? Did Jesus

resurrect him from the dead? Did the Pharisees accept him? What did they

try to do? They tried to stone him! So, Jesus used a story to say, 'Look,

you're asking me to raise people from the dead, and I'll even raise Lazarus

in the future.' (The real Lazarus died, and he 'slept,' then was

resurrected.) But Jesus said, 'I'll raise Lazarus, but you will stone him!'

So, Jesus used a popular story to make some points, but you can't take that

story and twist it all out of shape. In fact, the ancient prophets believed

that hell was total destruction. You say, 'Well, Pastor, give me some

evidence,' so here it comes.....

The fire shall devour them (it doesn't say 'keep on' devouring

them).....Psalm 21:9.

Evil doers will be cut off.....Psalm 37:9.

The wicked will not be.....Psalm 37:10.

The wicked shall perish.....Psalm 37:20.

They shall consume away.....Psalm 37:20.

They shall be cut off.....Psalm 37:22.

The wicked shall be slain.....Psalm 62:3.

The wicked will he destroy.....Psalm 145:20.

The wicked are reserved to the day of judgment.....Job 21:30.

They will be burned them up......Malachi 4:1.

The wicked shall be as stubble.....Malachi 34:1.

It shall leave them neither root nor branch.....Malachi 4:1.

They shall be ashes under foot.....Malachi 4:3.

Turning Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, making them an example to the

ungodly..... 2Peter 2:6.

As fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them..... Revelation

20:9.

What does the Bible teach? God will do away with sin. God will destroy sin.

God will make the universe clean again. You know, friend, I think about that

mad cow disease in England.....a terrible situation, an incurable brain-

destroying affliction with some transmission to human beings and some human

deaths. You know, the European common market was not buying Britain's meat,

so the British government said, 'Okay. Here is what we have to do.....gather

those cows and slaughter five million in the next few years!' The cost: $700

million. Now, why does the British government have to destroy these cows?

Because the disease goes from cow to cow.....if you do not destroy some of

the cows, the disease will spread to the whole herd anyway, and the disease

will affect people.

The disease will put Europe at risk. Do you think the government wants to

destroy those cows? $700 million! Do you think the government wants to

destroy five million animals? Not at all, but if they don't, the entire

country of England is possibly at risk. We don't know a great deal about mad

cow disease.....we're learning, but the reason they're destroying them is

that they don't want the risk. I'm told that farmers go out and look at

their herds, and some of these farmers weep because they must slaughter and

incinerate their herds.

God looks at the universe, and in Ezekiel 18:32 says, "I take no pleasure in

the death of anyone." And a weeping God looks at men and women who have

rebelled against Him, who have turned their backs on Him, and says in Isaiah

55:7, "Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord, And he will have mercy on him; And to our God,

For he will abundantly

pardon."

One day the Holy City will descend from heaven. And one day, at the end of

the thousand years, Satan and the wicked will rush upon that city. And as

the city descends, the fire of God will come down and consume the wicked.

And with tears in His eyes, with agony in His voice, Jesus will say, "I

wanted to love you. I wanted to embrace you. I wanted you to live with Me

for all eternity. I had such beautiful plans for you. We could walk streets

of gold together. We could wander through fields of waving grain together.

We could pick fruit from the Tree of Life together. We could fellowship with

angels, with every thought of the mind expanded, every talent of the heart

enhanced and everything to bring joy and gladness so the full potential of

human beings will be realized. And God says, 'You threw it away. You threw

it away.....' With His heart broken, I think I hear God crying. Then the

end comes, and God must do what only God can do --- put an end to sin, an end

to suffering, an end to sorrow, an end to heartache. And a brokenhearted God

says to the whole universe, 'Could I have done anything more to save them?'

And every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, 'He is Lord!' And

even the wicked will say, 'Lord, You couldn't have done anything else to save

me. I'm lost because of me, not because of You.'

Tonight, don't throw it away.....don't turn your back on Him. Tonight, as

Walter comes to sing, "O, Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end."

Why not just bow your head now in the quietness and say, 'Jesus, I'm yours.

Jesus, I give my life to You. Jesus, I want to live for You, forever and

ever.' One day, the universe will be clean. One beat of gladness and joy

will fill the planet, with happy beings embracing in love. God has wonderful

plans for you. God has magnificent plans for you, that you can't imagine!

God has dreams for you that you've not even thought about.

God has a future for you beyond your wildest dreams. Don't throw it away!

As Walter sings, why not right now in the quietness, bow your head and say,

'Jesus, I'm going to serve You forever. Father, You are our Master and our

Friend. Your dreams for us are beyond what we can imagine. Your love for us

is too strong to let us go. One day, Father, at the end of the millennium,

the universe will be clean. Sin will be destroyed. Sinners will be gone,

and consumed into smoke, they will vanish away. But, Lord, we want to live

with You. We want to be in the future that You have for us. And so tonight,

Lord, the best we know how, we give our lives to You. The best we know how,

we give ourselves to You. We fall at Your feet and thank You for Your love.

Save us in Your kingdom! In Christ's name, Amen.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

These transcripts of Mark Finley's Discoveries In Prophecy - 2000 And

Beyond, are being made available for your personal reading by IT IS

WRITTEN. These texts have come from the closed captioning system,

and are not edited or approved for any publication or distribution.

Pastor Finley urges you to use the attractive color sermon reprints that are

available. Contact HART Research Center, (800) 487-4278 for more info.

1st proof by Rose Bowen or Edsel Adap. Final Proof by Susan Astleford.

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