END-TIMES PROPHECIES: THE IMMINENT RETURN OF CHRIST (Pt. IX)

(Tuesday) 18 March 2014 ~ Daily Devotional of Pastor Wayne M. Bass

END-TIMES PROPHECIES: THE IMMINENT RETURN OF CHRIST (Pt. IX)

THE HOLY SPIRIT proclaims the urgent message that JESUS CHRIST will return real soon.  Two postings remain for our end-times series.  The final entry (tomorrow) highlights the eternal joys of Heaven and the God-given rewards for the righteous.  Today’s devotional describes the final judgment of unsaved individuals, along with the nature of (and reasons for) the eternal punishment of all who willfully reject Christ.

The underlying reason for today’s discourse is to offer a clear-cut response to a humanistic question that has satanic origins: ‘How could a loving God condemn anyone to hell?’ 

Firstly, it is important to note that ALL of humanity must be judged by GOD.  Since the sins of the saints were already adjudicated and absolved by the atoning grace of Calvary, (only) our Kingdom works and our motives will be judged in Heaven at the Bema, “the judgment seat of Christ.”  (I Corinthians 3:11-13 – II Corinthians 5:10 – Romans 14:10)  Later, sinners will be summoned to ‘The Great White Throne Judgment’ where their entire lives will be evaluated and judged. (Revelation 20:11-15)  In one way or another, ALL must account for the choices made in this life, as outlined by Jesus Christ:

Matthew 25:31-33 (NKJV)

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

Secondly, it is necessary to define “hell” so that we may gain a fuller understanding of its nature and its purpose.  The scriptures tell us that “God is love” and “God is light.” (I John 4:8 and I John 1:5)  To wit, in its most basic definition, hell is an eternal exile from Almighty God, who is “love” and “light.”  In other words, every occupant of hell will cease to sense the loving and enlightening presence of God.  As such, Jesus Christ described it as a place of “outer darkness” where “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12) 

Above all, we must be mindful of the fact that hell is mentioned frequently by Jesus Christ, so there can be no reasonable or rightful disputation of its existence or purpose.  According to Jesus, the man who maliciously insults his brother is “in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:22)  According to Jesus, the greatest sin of scribes and Pharisees was making their converts “twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15)  According to Jesus, “every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” (Matthew 3:10 – Luke 3:9)  According to Jesus, HE “will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.” (Luke 3:17)  Even when Christ commissioned his disciples to spread the gospel initially in teams of two, he admonished them, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)  Jesus referred to hell by the Jewish term, “Gehenna,” which brought to mind the Valley of Hinnom, that fiery and smelly garbage dump outside of Jerusalem.  Indeed, it was a sobering and graphic picture that Jesus sought to convey, for hell is an eternal sentence without any possibility of parole or any opportunity for appeal.

Even the parables of Jesus, His primary mode of teaching, emphasized the existence of hell: The Parable of the Tares and the Wheat (Matthew 13:24-30), The Parable of the Net (Matthew 13:47-50), The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:2-14), The Parable of the Faithful and Evil Servants (Matthew 24:42-51), and The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-3) all allude to hell.  Christ’s teachings on hell are also echoed by His apostles. (II Peter 2:1-9 –  II Thessalonians 1:7-9 – Revelation 20:9-15)  However, Jesus Christ Himself poses the most important question for all to seriously consider: “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)  Losing one’s soul does not imply a cessation of existence, but a denial of supernatural grace, the love and light of God by which we were created and for which we were intended. 

How, then, does one wind up in hell?  Is it due to the cruel actions of a heartless Creator, or is it a personal choice?  The answer is quite simple.  Hell was never prepared or intended for us.  Jesus will make this clear the moment He dispatches lost souls to eternal punishment: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41) In other words, one’s entry into hell is based solely on a personal choice, i.e. one’s tragic decision to reject the Son of God (during the short span of time called life) in exchange for the so-called “pleasures of sin” and the punishment of an eternity without God. (Hebrews 11:25)   Jesus reveals it as a crystal clear choice: “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)  In a word, if we wind up in hell, we have to go there over the Father’s gift of His Son, over the Son’s gift of His life, over the teaching of the gospel, over the entreating of the Holy Spirit, and over God’s purpose, destiny and design for us.  It is an awesome personal choice: to believe, or not to believe; to accept, or not to accept.  The choice is so clear, so easy, but it has eternal consequences.

John 3:18-20 (NKJV)

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

Nevertheless, why is hell necessary?  Indeed, hell is an extension of covenantal grace.  Consider this.  If God ever allowed those who reject Him (defiling themselves and others as well) to enter into Heaven, then it would be an absolute denial of promised Heavenly benefits to believers.  If God did that (as those who critique His judgments as merciless would have Him do), Heaven would not be Heaven for those who truly love and follow Him – because the unconverted would bring hellish ways and deeds into The New Jerusalem.  Think about it.  If one goes to hell, it is because he or she has hell in them.

There is another important consideration.  God’s attributes are perfect and eternal.  God’s love is perfect; so also is God’s justice; so also God’s wrath.  Our God cannot lie.  Neither can our God act in an unjust manner. (Numbers 23:19 – Deuteronomy 32:4 – Titus 1:2)  So here’s the thing: GOD has measured out perfect salvation to every man by meting out perfect justice to the perfect scapegoat for sin, His Son, Jesus Christ.  God’s intention was/is never to condemn anyone to hell.  The Word declares that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)  However, when we choose to reject God’s perfect remedy for our sins (the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ), we make the deliberate choice to make ourselves eligible for the perfect wrath of God.  It is our choice, not God’s.

Hell represents a permanent loss of the goodness and grace of God.  It is both the absence of God (which causes the soul to be forever miserable and unfulfilled) and the punishment of God (which causes the body to reside forever in a place of unimaginable torment).  Consider this.  The lost will actually SEE JESUS face-to-face, but then they will be deprived forever of His presence and His glory.  That fact alone will make hell much more hellish.  Don’t you dare go there!  Sisters and brothers, stay prayerfully attentive as our end-times series concludes on tomorrow…and be continually blessed!