Angels and Demons - The Reality of Hell
Pastor Robbie continues our Angels and Demons series by addressing the traditional view of Hell as a place of eternal conscious torment for Satan and all those living in rebellion to our Lord and Creator.
This past Sunday we concluded our Angels and Demons series by diving into what Scripture has to say about Hell! This was such a great series, full of information that many of us have never really sat down and addressed before surrounding the ‘spiritual realm’ around us. This upcoming Sunday Pastor Robbie will be addressing Self-Care as we see prescribed in Scripture. If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you and hope to be able to see you this upcoming Sunday!
As Pastor Robbie addressed last Sunday, Heaven is a very real place of perfect communion with God - we also believe that Hell is a very real place that is meant to righteously judge those who have not been forgiven of their sinfulness. He stated, “A recent survey done shows that only 55% of professing Christians believe that Hell is a real place, while 15% are undecided and 30% don’t believe in Hell.” showing that so many believers want to believe in a place of blessing, but want to avoid the idea of judgment for those who live in open rebellion against our Lord and Creator. There are a lot of misconceptions about Hell, and hopefully, we can really dive into what Hell is and is not, in addition to showing how and why our understanding of The Reality of Hell matters.
A common question, that we believe most people ask at some point in their spiritual journey is ‘Why Does Hell Exist’ and the answer to this question informs us on many different fronts theologically and practically. This question brings up God’s holiness and justice as both of them exist in resistance to the presence of rebellion and sinfulness in our world. Hell exists as a means of dealing with injustice against God, - the Lord, and the Creator of our world. Hell is not for ‘bad people’, Hell is for those who live in open rebellion to what God desires for His Image Bearers i.e. those who are NOT forgiven. God’s holiness and perfect justice must be satisfied, this is done through what is and will be eternal judgment for Satan and those who do not accept the saving knowledge of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
First and foremost, Hell was intended specifically for Satan and the angels/demons that fell from heaven with him. In Matthew 25:41, we read ‘Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels…’ The original intention of this place of torment was for Satan who originally rebelled against God, taking 1/3 of heaven’s angels with him; he would go on to influence the Fall of mankind in Genesis 3. Some have got this picture in their mind that Hell is a place where Satan rules and does whatever he wants, and by default unbelievers who stayed in their rebellion to God will just be enjoying themselves through their sinful pleasures. This is not the image that we see in Scripture, Hell is a place of fire and torment - a place that is meant to be eternal punishment for Satan himself.
Hell is also, now meant as a place of equal punishment and torment for those who live in rebellion to God - specifically, those who are not forgiven! 2 Thess. 1:8-9 reads, ‘He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.’ (NIV). In Luke 16:19-30 we see a story about an incredibly rich man who fails to live out the Gospel by ignoring the poor man at his doorstep and the rich man is sent to Hell, while Lazurus is sent to Heaven. In verse 24 we see that the man is in conscious agony wishing for Lazurus to just ‘dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’; here we see that He is suffering and in pain and in torment, which begs the question, what do we really know about Hell? We don’t know a lot, but if you are taking notes, we know immediately that Hell is a place of unspeakable suffering. It is a place of unspeakable suffering.
Ps. Robbie concluded with a ringing statement that we all should pay very close attention to and dwell on going forward, “Why do we talk about hell? Because what you believe about eternity affects how you live today, and if we don't understand the horrors of hell, we'll never truly appreciate the goodness and the grace of the price that God paid by sending his Son so that we could have eternal life.”
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Angels & Demons - The Reality of Hell: Pastor Robbie addressed the traditional view of Hell as a place of eternal conscious torment for Satan, and those who live in rebellion to God.
Main Scripture Passages: Matthew 25:41; 2 Thess. 1:8-9; Luke 16:19-30; Rev. 14:10-11.
Why Does Hell Exist? - Hell exists as a means of righteous judgment for all those who live in rebellion to what God has prescribed as Lord and Creator of our world.
Hell is a place of righteous, eternal judgment for Satan: Satan openly rebelled against God and led to the fall of mankind - Hell was originally intended to be a place of judgment for Him and his angels/demons.
Hell is a place of righteous, eternal judgment for Unbelievers: Given the Fall of mankind, as influenced by Satan, our rebellion (without forgiveness) must be judged as a means of God’s perfect justice.
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes.
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Join us next Sunday as Pastor Robbie will be starting a new series on Self-Care as prescribed by Scripture!
We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!