Who Will Receive Eternal Torment? Revelation 14:6-12 Introduction A

Living Hope Church 19 October 2003

Who Will Receive Eternal Torment? Revelation 14:6-12

Introduction

A. We have undertaken a study of Final Things here at Living Hope over the past several months. I have had three specific goals in mind.

1. I aim to prepare you to stand before God.

2. I aim to help you think and feel more about heaven and hell.

3. I aim to whet your appetite to share the good news of the gospel with unbelievers who do not yet know and love Jesus Christ.

B. The topics we have covered to date are 1) death 2) judgment 3) heaven and 4) hell.

C. In this message I want to attempt to answer a very important question. Who Will Receive Eternal Torment?

1. Jesus Christ says more about hell than anyone else. In another major text on hell Jesus says this:

Matthew 25:45-46 ESV Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to the least of these, you did not do it to me. [46] And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

2. Eternal punishment for one, eternal life for another. What could be more important than knowing your eternal destination?

I. The text is probably the most revealing description of hell in the Bible. It consists of three angels and a closing exhortation.

A. Angel number one (verses 6-7) proclaims an eternal gospel to every nation and tribe and language and people.

1. We remind ourselves that Revelation is a picture of Jesus Christ. So, we have here a single symbolic history. The gospel is preached to all!

2. The message of the gospel is fear God, give him glory, and worship him.

3. In short, it is a call to preach the gospel to everyone for repentance.

1 Thessalonians 9b-10 ESV ... how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, [10] and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers from the wrath to come.

A. Angel number two (verse 8) announces that Babylon is fallen.

1. Babylon stands for the world with all of its seductions and charms and desires that entice us away from God (Babylon = idols).

Living Hope Church 19 October 2003

1 John 2:15-17 ESV Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. [17] And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

2. Mentioned specifically is sexual immorality where so many fall.

Ex: Read the Josh Harris book Not Even A Hint (lust) and the Randy Alcorn book The Purity Principle because this is war (internet porn).

C. Angel number three (verses 9-11) says that whoever worships the beast (Satan is the dragon, the beast is the world) will receive God’s wrath poured full strength.

1. The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest.

2. Notice also that your picture of heaven in verse 10 is blown to smithereens because this eternal torment is in view of holy angels and the Lamb (Christ).

Ex: How can this be? We will love holiness and justice in the blazing, white- hot purity of God.

II. Now the question is this. Who is the “anyone” that worships the beast?

A. Who are the persons that love the world and will receive the full wrath of God?

B. The Bible is clear that hell was created for Satan and fallen angels. Yet, those who worship Satan will join him in eternal torment. They include:

Galatians 5:19-21 ESV Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10] nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. [11] And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Revelation 21:8 ESV But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

1. The clear point of these texts is that sinners receive justice from God rather than mercy because they didn’t love God but they loved this world.

2. They did not choose to believe the gospel (the work of Jesus Christ) and they attempt to gain heaven via their own works.

Living Hope Church 19 October 2003

III. Very well, but what about those who never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith alone?

A. We move now to a particular area of theology. When we consider any doctrine there are only three things that matter. These always matter.

1. Who does the Bible say God is?

· We answer God is Creator, sovereign, holy, loving and merciful.

2. Who does the Bible say man is?

· We answer man has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. A fallen rebel who hates God and loves himself.

3. How does the Bible say the chasm between God and man is bridged?

· We answer Jesus Christ has bridged the chasm completely.

Ex: 99 steps, 1 for you or grab the life jacket?

B. Any doctrine must be evaluated in light of who God is, who man is, and the gospel.

The proper subject of theology is man the guilty and ruined sinner and God the justifier and savior of sinful men. Whatever is sought or debated beyond this subject in theology is error and poison. Martin Luther quoted in Who Will Be Saved? p 210

1. Because ... we desire to maintain the simplicity of devotion to Christ. We cling to the simplicity of the gospel as that which is of first importance!

2. Secondary matters exist, but we never leave the gospel behind.

C. So what about a person who lives in the Fiji Islands 1000 years before Christ is even born? This dude never heard the gospel. Is he doomed to hell?

1. I think most of us would acknowledge that in our view it would be unfair to send someone who never heard the gospel to eternal torment. Be careful.

I am in complete support of the idea that God gives all people a chance. I am in support of the idea that God can use the truth found in another religion as a stepping-stone to bring a genuine God-fearer or truth-seeker closer to him. I am not dogmatic about this. The only thing I am squarely against is the idea that God sits around and does nothing and lets people who never hear the gospel die and burn in hell. a180net/neverhear.html

D. Theologians have developed 4 options to answer this question. I give them to you so you are equipped as you share the gospel with others.

1. Restrictivism: God doesn’t provide salvation to those who fail to hear of Jesus and come to faith before they die (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 John 5:11-12). John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, R.C. Sproul.

2. Universal opportunity before death: All people are given opportunity to be saved

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by God’s sending the gospel (even by angels or dreams) or at the moment of death or by middle knowledge (Dan 2, Acts 8, 2 Pet 3:8-9). James Arminius, Norman Geisler.

3. Inclusivism: The unevangelized may be saved if they respond in faith to God based on the revelation they have (John 12:32, Acts 10:43, 1 Tim 4:10). John Wesley, C.S. Lewis.

4. Postmortem evangelism: The unevangelized receive an opportunity to believe in Jesus after death (John 3:18, 1 Pet 3:18-4:6). George MacDonald.

IV. As you can see, significant differences exist. They cannot all be correct. They effect the way we live. What then is the correct view? Use the interpretive grid.

A. Remember the options. Either all will be saved (universalism), none will be saved (no one!), or some will be saved (most).

1. Who God is determines how He will act. God is just and merciful. You will receive justice or mercy. God is not limited, but no church has emerged.

2. Who man is determines how he will act. Man is described as having gone astray, no one is good, enemies of God with no desire for God.

3. Jesus bridges the chasm by receiving the wrath of God the Father on the cross. All who believe on that work, trusting in it, are saved.

B. It is pure grace that we live in a time and place where we heard the gospel.

A. What is the application of this doctrine of eternal torment? I want to press upon us the obvious. This doctrine, if true, should effect our lives significantly. 4 points.

1. One, preach the gospel to your children when they are young.

Ex: One survey showed that 81% of believers are saved before they are 20 years old. Who here was saved at 21 or later?

2. Two, pray for the expansion of the gospel. The Bible gives no room for a view that it is better if the gospel isn’t preached to folks.

3. Three, develop a love for Christ that flows out from you to those around you who are lost and perishing.

Ex: What could be more indicting, and I speculate here, of a co-worker or neighbor asking on that day ... why didn’t you say something?

4. Four, what is your desire and commitment to see the gospel go to the very ends of the earth? The gospel has been entrusted to us.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ESV And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. [4] In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image

Living Hope Church 19 October 2003

of God... 2 Cor 5:10-11 ESV For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. [11] Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others... 2 Cor 5:17-21 ESV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. [18] All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; [19] that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. [20] Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. [21] For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

· Sovereign Grace in Ethiopia, India, Mexico, and not flagging in days to come beyond, because of your giving and the giving of others.

The church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve him by faithfully doing his will in the earth. This involves a commitment to see the gospel preached and churches planted in all the world for a testimony. The ultimate mission of the church is the making of disciples through the preaching of the gospel. Sovereign Grace Statement of Faith 2001

A. May God in His grace give us that commitment to live at war, not peace.

Pray

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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Ken Mellinger Website: http://livinghopechurchpa.com