 If you're not a Christian and you die and go to hell, don't worry, because hell apparently is not that bad of a place. If you've noticed, there is this push to not only minimize sin, sin in the lives of maybe a believer, but even the sin in the life of a non-believer, sin in the world. There's a push to minimize sin, but also there is a push to minimize the effect of sin, the result of sin, the consequence of sin. Including the eternal effects of sin. In other words, there are people who believe that when you die, if you go to hell, that that's that. You will cease to be exist, maybe you're burned for a moment, and that's that. The term that's given for many is this term annihilationism, which means that you are just annihilated at that moment. Before I get to the ramifications of this view, let's just first see if the scriptures back it up. Let me say this, they don't. Hell is eternal. There are people who have a following, who espouse this, who frankly they are setting a dangerous presence in getting people to believe that hell is not what, obviously it's not what God has asked for us, but it's not as bad as we in Christianity make it out to be. And these are people that port to call themselves Christian. Now, the people that I'm going to talk about, I'm not saying that they are not believers. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is what they're espousing is not Christianity, is not what the Bible teaches. One such person is this man, I think his name is Lex from Unlearn the Lies, and he is teaching this belief that hell is not eternal. For the moment there is a punishment, and then after the punishment is meted out, then that's that. You cease to exist. In other words, he says that you are not living forever in hell. We've been taught that the wicked will be tortured in the lake of fire forever, but the Bible actually says the wicked will be destroyed in the fire. And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Both body and soul are destroyed in hell. So let's look at the passage that he's speaking of, and let's see if we can begin to see where he is making an error. In Matthew, chapter 10 verse 28, we see this word that's used here for the word destroy, which is the word apalesi, which is derived from the word apalumi. Now, his point is to destroy as though that's a one-time thing. The word here is to destroy, to ruin, to lose, to perish. What happens is sometimes we'll take a word and give it an English understanding of the word, and not so much even the English understanding, but our own understanding of this English word. As though, because we think if something is destroyed, that's final. It happens one time and that's it. But that's not the context, not the understanding that God is trying to communicate that a person is destroyed or ruined as though it's a one-time event. No, this is a continual event. Doesn't Yeshua say the fire is everlasting? Yes, he does. So let's look at that verse. And he will also say to those on the left hand, depart from me you cursed into the everlasting fire, prepare for the devil and his angels. So why does the Bible say the fire is everlasting? If the wicked are destroyed by it. What does it mean to say the fire is everlasting? Everlasting refers to permanence. The fire is everlasting because there is no coming back from it. Once you die the second death, you will never live again. There's no more hope. The punishment is final and lasts forever. In Matthew, verse 25 verse 41, let's read this. He says, 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. So these are people that are going into this eternal fire, prepared for the devil and angels. But look at this word that he's talking about. It is this eternal fire. It is, it is Ta-Pur, Ta-Ionian, which means this fire, that the word for poor is fire. Ionian is eternal. So it is an everlasting fire. And then let's drop down a little bit further into verse 26. He says, and to these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Again, this word eternal for and punishment. Colossian Ionian, which is describing what the punishment is. This punishment is forever. It is an everlasting, ongoing punishment into the ages. Forever. That's what this word Ionian is. And at this point in time, that's all you're there for. So his point to state that the body and soul are both destroyed in hell. No, they're being destroyed. They are being eternally punished forever with this eternal fire in hell. Because it begs the question, if the fire burns and kills you, destroys you once, well, why is the fire still burning? Now he addresses this and he makes a grave error in his assessment. We see the contrast between death and eternal life. The Bible teaches that the wicked are destroyed, they perish, they are consumed, and they will not receive everlasting life. To say that the wicked are tortured eternally in hell is to say that they have eternal life in hell. You can't say the wicked are destroyed if they're in a perpetual state of being tortured alive. You can't say the wages of sin is death if the sinners are alive in the fire. And so his explanation of that doesn't hold water because again, as we just looked at it, we're not talking about the result of the fire that's everlasting. The fire is described as everlasting and the punishment also is everlasting. They're both the fire's ongoing because the punishment is ongoing. The Bible even gives us an example of what this eternal fire looks like. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh are set forth as an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is given as an example of eternal fire. But those cities are not still burning with fire today. It's eternal fire because those cities were destroyed forever. This is what the Bible describes as eternal fire. The destruction of that fire is permanent. Well, does that make sense what he just states about Sodom and Gomorrah? Well, no. And we're going to look at a few verses to debunk this. So let's look at that passage and a few other passages. And so the writer of Jude, Jude says in verse 7, he speaks about it serves as an example of undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. This is where guys that help the understanding of the language but even English, I think carries this out but if a person wants to disagree well, you're going to have to disagree with this portion right here. It says that this example of undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Look what it says that this fire, I own this, this eternal fire. And it's again, calling this fire eternal. It says this is punishment. And so look at this word. Hapakusi, it is a present active participle meaning that this is ongoing. It is continual. When we have the word ING in English, someone who runs and we have the ING running that means they are currently continuously running the same here. This is their undergoing punishment in this eternal fire. Now speaking of Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus addresses this as well, which is if his point is true then what Jesus says right here doesn't really make very much sense. He's talking about how people are going to be punished in that day. And look what he says in verse 15. He says, truly I say to you it will be more bearable or tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. Speaking of those folks who are rejecting Jesus or the word going out from his disciples to them. He says it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah in that day. Well, if all everyone is going to get is burned up one time then it's going to be the same. But he's indicating that there's a difference meaning there has to be something that's ongoing to this in order for one to have it better or worse than the next person. If we're all just burnt up one time destroyed, annihilated and that's that then this passage makes no sense. Even when you think of the rich man and Lazarus look what Jesus says, how he says this. He says the rich man in chapter 16 verse 22 of Luke says the rich man also died and was buried. Look what he says. And in Hades being in torment he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus at his table and called out Father Abraham have mercy on me. He says sin Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water to cool my tongue for I am in anguish in this flame. So why would Jesus give us the picture of this person that's going to be in this anguish of this ongoing anguish in this flame if this is a one time event it doesn't hold water that it doesn't make any sense in comparison to what he's saying here as well. And then something real interesting that's kind of also odd tells you what this place hail or ultimately the lake of fire what it's going to be like. There's a noun given to describe this place. So let's take a look and see if you see my point. In Matthew 25 30 says and cast the worthless servant into outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now in the English it has the ing for the weeping and gnashing but when we look at it closely we're going to find that this isn't a verb this is a noun. The word clothmas is the word for weeping but look at the bottom left and corner guys this is a masculine singular noun this is a noun for weeping or crying in other words the reason why it's a noun and not a verb and why this makes even more importance is because this is what you do there is the weep or the cry. I know bad English but see if you can follow me there is here the weep and the cry and the gnash of teeth. This is this is picturing what this place is about. That's why the English carries it out as weeping and gnashing because that's the whole point of this place you go there to weep you go there to cry you go there to gnash your teeth it is unbearable there and that's all you're going to do which is identified by the person in the story of the rich man in Lazarus where he is in this eternal torment. Now incidentally this idea of eternal torment is not a new idea this is not a New Testament issue. This was also brought up in the Old Testament let's go specifically to Daniel 12 too and for many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Look at the word here the word is everlasting contempt and so by the way the word here is olam which means it's the same as Ionian which means this is an ongoing contempt or destruction. This happens over and there's no end to this as the writer of Daniel is saying. So now let's also find other passages I want this to be very clear this should even be an issue. I'll tell you why this is an issue in a second and I'll use another very prominent well-known person who's also making the point and I think this is very very dangerous but before I do let's look at some other passages for example Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2 chapter 1 verse 90 says about these people going to hell he says and they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord again eternal destruction and the word Ionian is there this is an ongoing thing. This is again this is the same word that's used for our life in the presence of the Lord it is eternal meaning there's no end to it and so if that's how we take eternal life meaning that there is no end to it that we continue to live this way with him then when the term destruction is there also then that means this destruction this destroying of it is also ongoing I understand that we can't fathom how you can be destroyed continuously I get that we would equate being burned in the fire as a one-time thing because all we have to relate with that whole thought process is if we see something burned up in the fire once it's through burning that's it but I do recall seeing fire before where it can consume something but not destroy it totally just like this consuming fire of God in the burning bush obviously is different but we do have examples where the fire of God can rain and something not be destroyed although that's not the whole point with Moses and the burning bush but again we're talking about God we're talking about what he can do now the issue is going to be why would he do such a thing and we'll get to that in a second but the fact of the matter is we should not equate what we think fire earthly physical fire in this realm will do compared to the burning of fire in this spiritual world this is going to be forever another place that we see this is also what John says to us in Revelation 14 speaking about these people who are going to face this this wrath of God he says in verse 10 he will also drink the wine of God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger look what he says and he will be tormented with fire and suffer in the presence of the holy angels in the presence of the lamb says and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day or night these are these worshipers of the beast and of its images now it's not just them only obviously the people who weren't even born at that time who are going to hell or in this case like a fire the same thing but notice he says that this smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and if you notice this is the same word that's used in the Greek it says ice I own us which is same word as I own none here you see I own on again ice I own us I own on meaning forever and forever and forever so it should be clear that this is an ongoing process one of the other people that have kind of prominently also backed up this point it's a false point that that that hell isn't so bad is Tim Mackey of the Bible Project now again I'm not saying that either one of these people are believers that's not what I'm saying but their belief in hell is faulty is one particular misunderstanding or one particular distortion about Jesus that I have found to be extremely common in the other place the bad place will be will be held and heaven if you kind of fish this out of people and in the popular cultural imagination is you know these are both like maybe disembodied non-physical places this has to do with clouds and harps and singing in the presence of God and this has to do with like some subterranean torture chamber or something like that right we're got a sadistically hurting people I mean you guys with me this is what people think that followers of Jesus believe the vast majority of people in the West think that this is what you believe and some of you in the room might be thinking that is what I believe in the beginning God made heavens and what does it not say it doesn't say in the beginning God made heaven and earth and hell God didn't make whatever hell is God didn't make it and so Tim's point is that we might we may have conjured up or given hell something we may have conjured up or ascribe something to hell that the Bible never intended to know it's not that we're making God out to be some angry God but he is a God who does have wrath and will exact that wrath on people who have who do not come to him hell isn't just something about like the end of the game hell is a reality that is present now it's a reality that humans unleash on each other and on God's good world to ruin and destroy relationships and to destroy people and so listen to his point again I say this I'll continue to say this if hell ain't so bad then heaven ain't that good now I obviously believe that heaven is a place worth going but the issue is this and this is the danger this is why this is the problem there are people who will take their lives here on earth because they just want to get over and done with and I would tell those people listen there's something to deal with after this life this isn't it there's more to come where you'll be forever is the point and so leaving this for a place far worse is not where you want to go but if you give the idea that dying and then bam that's it you're through no more existing well that's a that's a bad picture to paint and it gives the idea that God has no rapid God is not a just God that he does not exact punishment on the wicked that's not true again if we all cease to exist well then that's not so bad is it it's like going and getting the shot it's just over and done with real quick no problem piece of cake again that's not the picture that the Bible is painting for us and it's the same thing that the devil has done to minimize sin then in turn also minimize hell the punishment of hell is to say go ahead and live how you want to live here because it's all we know all we know is this earth right now and so if I can get any sort of gratification I don't care about God I'll take care of me and I'll deal with the punishment later especially if the punishment ain't so bad well I promise you guys if that's the way you think then you are literally literally guys playing with fire albeit spiritual fire but it's a worse fire than you could imagine but the opposite is true you will have eternal life living in the presence of the Lord and so reject that the possibility of hell to come by simply placing faith in Christ but do not let anyone trick you which is a trick that I believe comes straight from the enemy that hell isn't that bad and so if it's not that bad well then living my best life here on that earth on this earth is probably the best thing I can do don't fall into that trap it's clear that hell is full of eternal torment amen