DEATH OF DEATH AND HELL'S DESTRUCTION

Revelation 20:11-15 "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the Heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  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 it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

     The subject of death and the final judgment has always held a deep and fearful debate among mortal men.  It is a subject that has been and will continue to be discussed by mortal man till the veil of death is lifted from our eyes.  Then we all may see the truth of the ages, not now known to us, beyond a reasonable shadow of doubt.  This author has spent many hours in examination and contemplation of the various opinions and religions of men, considering their various thoughts on the eternal state of those that have fallen victim to death's lethal grip.

    It is only in the pages of the Holy Bible that we find  the truth to the great mystery of death, and man's final state revealed in complete consistency to our present reality.  The Bible teaches us that death is not a final act, but a departing of the soul from the body to live forever in eternal salvation or damnation.  In the first book of the Bible we find a clear passage of scripture, showing the soul departing from the body.  "And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni" Genesis 35:18  When death is looked at in a Biblical context it should always be considered a separation.  Death is not found to be an ending or annihilation but a separation of the soul departing the body to live forever in a spiritual state.   Further Biblical proof of the truth of eternal existence of the soul is found also in the book of Ecclesiastes 12:7 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it," and in many other Bible passages such as 1 Cor 15:50-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 and 1 John 3:2-3.

    We find this is consistent with our present state of knowledge in the scientific field.  Several years ago, French scientists studying people at the moment of death discovered that at the very moment of death the body looses about one quarter of a pound.  This weight loss which is not body fluids or defecation cannot be accounted for in any physical sense;  at present, there is only a spiritual explanation to the sudden loss of weight.

    Further, we find that Gen 2:7  states that God formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed in man the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  Both statements are in complete harmony with our past and present knowledge of natural sciences.  For it is a fact known to all that the human body is made up of the natural elements found in the Earth as taught in the Word of God

     In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus reveals a more complete picture of life after death with the story of Lazarus and the rich man.  The careful reader will observe that both men first die [separation of the body and soul], then are found as living souls without a body in a spiritual life after the physical death of the body.  In that state they are able to see, hear, feel, remember, pray thirst, etc.  What they cannot do, according to the Holy Bible, is change the eternal state in which they are now found.  According to God's word, man's destiny is set by his acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in this life according to the clear doctrines of the Word of God. 1 Cor 15:1-9

    Since Jesus said "broad is the way to eternal damnation and narrow is the way that leads to eternal life," prudence can only recommend and hope that those concerned about the life to come, read the scriptures and make their calling and election sure.  2 Peter 1:1-10  There is little doubt that many people proclaiming Christianity today, are not truly Christians in the Biblical sense.  True salvation requires a spiritual birth as set forth in the Word of God. 1 Peter 1:23, John 3:3.  One major tenet of the new birth is a literal belief in the Bible being the Word of God and therefore infallible in its teaching of this life and the life to come.  "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thessalonians 2:13  From a careful study of God's word we learn that eternal life requires a physical birth and then a Spiritual birth.  Likewise eternal damnation requires first a physical death then a physical death. Revelation 20:14.

    Many today foolishly take the Bible teachings on these subjects very lightly.  Yet the Word of God give the most profound urgency to its reader, admonishing him to place its precepts before all other considerations of life. Matt 6:33-34.  The Lord Jesus spoke more on the doctrine of hell than any other subject in his earthly ministry, warning of it's reality and terrors.  "and if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.   and if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:43-48

     As a Christian minister, I have, since the day of my conversion to God's Son, a complete trust in his word and have always believed my Lord and Savior's testimony concerning the doctrine of Hell.  Does not rational thought suggest to us that those who profess to be Christians, possessing faith and trust in Jesus Christ, are very inconsistent and irrational in their faith when on one hand they proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, God, Messiah etc; while on the other hand call him a liar because they find one central doctrine of the Christian faith unpalatable to their taste?!

    Truly the doctrine of hell is not a doctrine that any good Christian would like or wish upon another soul.  Yet, like the death penalty, the doctrine of hell, when considered in light of God's word are found to be just and righteous in the face of unrepentant men.  Why?  Because many men have no regard for the rights of other men and will continually abuse their fellow citizens unless a resounding "NO" comes to them in an overpowering manner.

    As the death penalty is truly an appalling necessity to deter and stop the evil of some men against their fellow man, so Hell is an eternal retribution against the unrepentant heart of evil men!

    I could continue with many strong arguments for the doctrine of hell, both legally and scripturally, to substantiate and justify its existence in God's Holy Word; it is my desire at this time to consider the Biblical teaching of Hell's eternal damnation in hopes of compelling many unrepentant souls to consider a new direction in their lives, with God and not against God

      In Psalm 22:6  we find a prophetic utterance of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross, specifically verse six where it is written "But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people."  Here we find the start of a strange doctrine in the Bible overlooked by many students of scriptures.  That doctrine is that the Bible teaches that man is in some way compared to a worm.  Read also Job 17:14, "I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister."  Then again in Job 25:6, "How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm."  I have brought your attention to these passages to consider that Darwin and the evolutionists were not the first to postulate that man at sometime was or will be a worm.  The word of God had already clearly taught this precept many thousands of years before evolutionists.

    The only difference is that evolutionists teach we are ascending from a worm-like creature called an amoeba; but the Word of God implies that the final damnation of unrepentant men is for their soul to degenerate into a worm-like state state in a lake of fire.  "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth: it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

    "All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we?  Art thou become like unto us?  Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the WORM is spread under thee, and the WORMS cover thee." Isaiah 14:9-12  Notice that the place being discussed is Hell (verse 9) and not the grave!  Perhaps many have erred greatly in teachings that Jesus was talking about a literal garbage dump, Gehena, in Mark 9:43-48, because the worms here never die.  After all, what else could Hell be but an eternal garbage dump of human souls that could not be used by a Holy God!!