Are the Fires of Hell Literal? Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Are the Fires of Hell Literal? Part 2. He will be reading out of Revelation 20: 7-10.

When God promotes you as a believer, Jesus has the authority to bring you through those beautiful gates and into the presence of God and reunited with your family and your friends. Can God’s people say amen? Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from the Open Door Church. This is the Hope Worth Having radio program.

Thank you for tuning in. We’re excited that you could be with us today. And we’re going to continue our topic on hell.

And the question is, are the fires of hell literal? We’re in Revelation chapter 20, verse 7 through 10. And let’s open our Bibles and let’s get into study this interesting topic. Those who have refused to believe in Christ even now are in a what we might refer to as a temporary hell.

We have taught you about the five different names for hell. The New Testament often refers to this temporary hell as Hades, sometimes even Gehenna. And it is a place in the Old Testament was called Sheol, and it was the abiding of the dead, the place of the dead.

And that is a place that they go as believers who have trusted in Christ for their salvation. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Can God’s people say amen? And so we are in the immediate presence of Jesus Christ, and we are enjoying all the blessings and rewards that God has for us.

But those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, they are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. What awaits for them is not only a hell that is separated from God, but a place that the Bible refers to as the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire, the eternal destination of the devil and all of his demons and those who reject Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Now, the question before us this morning, as we have been learning about hell in the Bible, is are the fires of hell literal? There are many, even within evangelical Christianity, who would say to you that when the Bible refers to hell, it’s all figurative, that it is not literal or it is not even real. Well, I want to share with you, first of all, the argument for a literal fire. Note again that Jesus said in Matthew 25, verse 41, Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

You understand that the devil rose up against Almighty God. You understand, we’ve already taught you that the Scriptures teach us that the devil was filled with pride in heaven and he was cast out and a third of the angels with him. These are his demonic forces that are crisscrossing this world, causing so much chaos in this world.

The devil’s desire, Jesus taught us, was to kill and to destroy. Never forget that it is the devil’s desire to destroy your family, to destroy your life, and to destroy your testimony, and to make a mess of this world. I think he’s doing a pretty good job.

I hate to say that. I hate to say that. The world is in chaos, the world is in confusion, but it is only setting the table for the Antichrist to come in with all the solutions and all the answers and claim to be the one who can bring peace.

But it’s a pseudo, it’s a false, it’s a fake peace. We know that. That’s why I tell you that Jesus taught us this.

He taught us what it would be like and what the circumstances and what the environment would be like before his return, which would be at the end of the tribulation. But Jesus describes this day of judgment in Matthew 25, and he describes those who are cast into this lake of fire as an everlasting fire. You remember that we taught you that the Bible describes hell also as Gehenna, and Gehenna was an actual burning place outside of Jerusalem.

It was in the valley of Gehenna, and it was adjacent, just south of Jerusalem, and it was a place where we might call it a burn pile. Now, every once in a while, I might drive around our county and different people will be burning trash, and the smoke gets everywhere, and I start hacking and coughing, and they mess me up for at least two weeks, amen? Trying to figure all that out. The church used to have a burn pile, and finally the fire department said, please stop.

Please stop burning all that trash. You say, where would all that trash come from? Well, if you have a Christian school of 500 students, there is a lot of trash. Don’t be upset, students, but I’m just saying there’s a lot of wear and tear.

There’s a lot of food. There’s a lot of eating. There’s a lot of paper plates.

There’s a lot of stuff that has to be thrown away, and it has to be gotten rid of, and sometimes we would burn some of that trash. I want you in your mind to understand that there was a place south of Jerusalem called Gehenna. As Jesus spoke about hell, he would reference this burn pile, this place where it was constantly burning.

It was such a massive place of burning. They not only put their trash there. The pagans would put their dead bodies in this burn pile, and it was just constantly burning and burning, and Jesus is referencing to us that he is teaching about hell, that it is a place of fire.

It is a place where there is constant burning. Now, one might ask two questions relating to that, which I think are really good questions, and I appreciate that there is thinking going on, amen? It’s good to see people come into the church and not take their thinking cap off and to have some good questions, but we know, first of all, Jesus described hell as a place of outer darkness, and yet he describes it as a place where there is an eternal fire. We know that fire gives off light, and so how is this possible that fire could be literal, and yet it be a place of outer darkness? Well, friends, there is some kind of a unique fire that God is going to create that does not give off light.

The second question you might have about this being a burning fire is we know that fire consumes. It consumes, and yet Jesus described this place of eternal fire in hell as a place that does not consume. You remember Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom, which was one of the names that was often referred to.

The rich man was there in this burning place. Lazarus was Abraham’s bosom, and there the rich man looked up, and he wanted just a drop of water on the tip of his tongue because the fire, the flames that he was in, and so Jesus is helping us to understand that this unique fire is not going to be exactly like the fire that you and I see and that we use for cooking, or we might use to burn trash, or we might use it in some other fashion, but it is a unique fire that is everlasting, and definitely it is punishment, and definitely people can sense it. They can see it.

They can feel it, and it has an impact upon them because the Bible is so clear about that, that it’s definitely a place, though, that does not consume. Now again, someone might say, well, our bodies. You know, I taught last week about how one day as believers, that when we die, our soul and spirit is separated from our body, and we go into the presence of heaven, and then one day there’ll be a resurrection.

Your body is not immediately in heaven when you get there, but your soul and spirit is with Jesus Christ. Your body comes. Remember at the rapture, the Bible says, the dead in Christ shall rise, and your soul and spirit is reunited with this new body, this glorified body.

The Bible describes all this in 1st Corinthians, and it is a glorified body that is resurrected. So your soul and spirit is reunited, and now you’re in heaven with body, soul, and spirit. Now this was put out there, and of course, sometimes I read.

I know I shouldn’t, but I read the social media sometimes, what people saying, and people just saying, no, there is no resurrection of the dead. You know, in my mind, I don’t respond, but in my mind, I got to think, does anybody read the Bible anymore? Because the Bible not only teaches us that believers’ bodies will be resurrected, but the Bible teaches us that unbelievers’ bodies will be resurrected. So what is unique in this final stop for unbelievers in this lake of fire is that not only will their soul and spirit be there, but the Bible teaches us in John chapter 5 that the unbelievers’ body will be resurrected, and that they will be cast into the lake of fire, soul, spirit, and body into this lake of fire.

Jesus said in Matthew 13, verse 41 and 42, the Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now if you believe that the fire is symbolic or that it is something that is metaphorical in describing the punishment of those who reject Jesus Christ, I propose this question to you.

Do people use symbols because the reality is less or more than the symbol? I want you to think of like this. If I were to say that my wife is the diamond of my life, I’m not limiting her to a diamond’s value. I’m just saying that she’s even more than a diamond to me.

I’m trying to illustrate. So we use symbols, we use metaphors in our life, and if Jesus, if for any reason, if he were to somehow say, I’m gonna use the fire as a metaphor, do you think that he meant that that was just the limitation of that metaphor of the punishment? I think it’s even worse. I think Jesus was wanting us to know and understand that hell is even worse than what can be described in the human language.

The teaching of hell is meant to appall us. It is meant to fill us with godly fear. It is designed to shake us.

It is designed to persuade us that though heaven will be better than what we could ever dream, hell will be worse than what we could ever imagine. And so I am a strong believer that the fire in hell is literal. Now let’s understand the literal interpretation because I believe it is the most straightforward understanding of the scriptures.

There are many times people like to come to the Bible and rather than believing what it says, they want to explain it away. They want to explain away the horror of hell. They want to explain away the punishment of hell because in their mind they cannot conceive.

And I’m here to tell you I believe that it’s even worse than what Jesus said. That the human language limited him to how horrible hell is. Now the Bible describes hell as a place of fire.

I’ve already read you several verses but here’s another one Luke 16. Then he cried and said, Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. As we mentioned to you already, it is this flame of fire that is tormenting this rich man.

It is not consuming him but it is tormenting him. Hell is described as a place of fire and darkness. We see this again in the book of Jude and we see it again in Matthew chapter 8. So my question is simply this, why not take the Bible at face value? Why not let the Bible simply speak for itself? What is the testimony of the Bible? I know that there are people with many letters after their names and before their names and maybe underneath and maybe on top of their names and they’ll come out and tell you.

I mean I just read an article by a scholar who claimed that hell, A, was not real and the fires were just metaphorical. But I’m here to tell you that this is what the Bible says. Now you have to make a decision.

Revelation 20 verse 15 says whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. I read that verse and I believe it and I believe that God meant what he said and that he says what he means. Now I know that Jesus used illustrations and I know that he used symbolism to get his point across.

You remember that Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 5 that if your hand offends you, cut it off. He said that if your eye offends you, pluck it out. I do not think that Jesus was saying that you and I need to literally cut our hands off or even pluck out our eyes, but what he is saying is that whatever is causing you to sin, whatever is leading you down the path that you are sinning against God, get it out of your life.

Perhaps even a person, get them out of your life. And for some of you, it might be that you need to take that cell phone and you need to cast it as far as the east is from the west. Amen? I didn’t get a lot of amens.

Whatever it is, the devil knows our weaknesses. He knows what temptations are most effective upon us and there are times that you and I need to be alert to that. If there are things that are hindering us from following Christ obediently and honoring him in our life, we need to get those out and I think that Jesus was speaking in that way.

I think he was explaining in that way. Jesus said, I am a door. He didn’t mean he was a literal door.

He was saying, I am the entryway to heaven. I am the way to heaven. Jesus said that he was the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to the Father but through him.

And so we understand when he describes that symbolism and he uses it often, but when it comes to hell and understanding the context of his teaching, I do not see any effort on Jesus’s part to use the fires as something as being symbolic or metaphorical. The other reason that I believe in a literal fire is not only that I believe what the Bible says and I believe it is the most straightforward in what God is teaching us, is that a figurative interpretation of the fire undermines biblical authority. Again, I’m just pounding you with one verse after another and you have to make this decision.

Is the Bible right or the Bible wrong? Is the Bible true or the Bible false? Revelation 21 8, but for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. I don’t think there’s any figurative interpretation of this. I think this is literal and I think for me to deny this is to deny the Bible, is to deny what the Word of God says.

In effect, we are setting ourselves above Scripture and we are putting ourselves in a position and saying that we have the right to judge Scripture. That we have the right and the authority to decide what the Bible says and I think that’s a huge mistake in our life and it will lead down to a path of us becoming liberal in our thinking and application of the Word of God. Again, the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 33 14, the sinners in Zion are afraid.

Trembling has ceased the godless. Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with the everlasting burning? Jude 1 7, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulge in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serves as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. So again, Jude says, hey, Sodom and Gomorrah is a example to us.

Here’s my question, if you don’t believe in the literal fire, do you believe that God literally destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? Do you believe that he destroyed them in the fire? That he judged them for their immorality? It’s important for us to realize that we can’t say, well, in this part of the Bible, it was literal, but this part is not. We have to take the Bible at face value and we have to say this is what the Bible says and that God literally meant that he would punish unbelievers with eternal fire. Now, what I think is the most important part of my message to you this morning, I know it’s a lot to digest and I know there’s many different ways that you might have questions and we’re glad to work on those with you, but we only have so much time and I know you don’t want to stay all day listening to me teach on hell, amen? Here’s what I want to leave you with, how can I avoid hell? I believe hell is real and I believe the fire is real.

I believe that the torment, punishment is real and it certainly is a place that we want to avoid. The Bible is very clear on how a person can avoid going hell after death. God promises that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, trusting him alone as their Savior will be saved.

That great classic verse, John 3 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting what church? Life. The other day I was driving a bus helping a friend out and this little boy, he’s probably second or third grade, but he was a mess and you know when these kids they become a mess they have meltdowns sometimes. Maybe they didn’t get their Count Chocula that morning, I don’t know, but he was causing a lot of problems so I made him sit in the front row, the front seat I should say, and he’s dialoguing with me while I’m driving trying to pick up these kids and he’s talking to me and he’s just telling me he doesn’t understand why he’s got to sit up here and he just doesn’t think that’s fair and I’m just like, buddy, if you don’t obey this is your punishment.

And so somehow, of course he calls me Pastor Mike, Pastor Mike, we went to church, my family and I went to church. I said, well that’s good. He said, I learned a Bible verse at church.

I said, tell me what it is. He said, I can’t remember where it is but for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Is there not a better verse to teach a young child that they can avoid hell, they can escape hell by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s not only good for children but it’s good for every one of us. And that is that we are called to believe on Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ possesses all authority over hell.

Revelation 118, Jesus said, I am he that lives and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of hell and of death.

And here’s what he means, I have the authority. Jesus has the authority to determine who goes to hell and who goes to heaven. Jesus has the authority.

And my friends when you come to Jesus Christ in sincerity and you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, he has the authority to bring you into the presence of God upon your death here. When God promotes you as a believer, Jesus has the authority to bring you through those beautiful gates and into the presence of God and reunited with your family and your friends. Can God’s people say amen? Yes.

He has that authority. So what is the purpose? Why does the Bible teach about hell? I think first of all, he teaches us about hell to guide us to turn to God’s grace, to lead us to that moment where we are ready to receive Jesus Christ. Hell is God’s warning and it is a most merciful act that God is giving to us.

If you and I were realizing that a bridge was out on a particular road and you saw someone heading down that road, you would say the bridge is out, don’t go there, turn around. That would be the most merciful thing that you could do. If you were to drive by and see a house on fire, you would want to do everything you could to get inside and let those people know that their house is on fire.

It is the most merciful thing that you could do. The most merciful thing that God could do is to tell you that there is a place called hell. It is a place of eternal, everlasting fire and it is a place that people go to that deny or reject Jesus Christ.

It is out of great mercy that God sent not only his son to provide the way for us to have our sins forgiven, but to provide a way for us to avoid that eternal punishment of hell. People say, well, don’t teach on hell, Mike, you might scare them. Where might we scare them to? Because my question is this, if the fear of God, the terror of the Lord shakes you to the point that you would humble yourself to God and you would repent of your sins and give your life fully to Jesus Christ, wouldn’t that be wonderful? Don’t be afraid to teach on hell to your children, to your grandchildren, to your friends and your neighbors.

Don’t be afraid to do that. But always remember what Ezekiel the prophet wrote on behalf of our Lord when he said, say to them, as I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked would turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel? Friends, God is saying to every sinner today that even though we deserve to go to hell, God is declaring that if we would put our trust in Jesus Christ as our savior, that he will deliver us from hell and we can avoid hell and by simply trusting in Christ, we can live in heaven with Jesus Christ forever.

So I have this question, are you relying fully upon Jesus Christ for your salvation? So the answer is yes. The fires of hell are literal and it is something that we need to remember. I know that there is a lot of intellectuals and liberals who are going to deny that the fires in hell are literal because they want to soften hell or they don’t even believe in hell.

But my friends, we are here to proclaim the truth. We will not bend to the culture or bow down. We will continue to proclaim God’s Word, the full counsel.

Not just the positive, but also the negative. Not just heaven, but also hell. And so we have been studying about hell and most importantly, I want to make sure that you do not neglect so great a salvation.

That the only way to escape hell and the wrath of God and the punishment of sin is to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And I pray that these words and this message and God’s truth will awaken your heart and bring you to full repentance. That God would grant you faith and repentance and that you would believe in your heart that Christ died for your sins, rose again the third day, ascended into heaven, and is at the right hand of the Father.

I want to thank you for standing with our radio program. I want to thank you for your support. I want to thank you for those who send me kind notes and those who help keep us on the air.

And we just want you to know we have not forgotten you and we appreciate all that you do. And know this, that we are committed to the Word of God and proclaiming it to the ends of the earth. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.