Hell fire

ABRAHAM knew that his nephew was making a big mistake when Lot chose to move his family to Sodom.

The cities of the lower Jordan valley were beautiful and lush, but they were also very corrupt. “The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13).

The name of that city has also given name to a sin we cannot mention in decent company. Some say competitions were held to see who could come up with a new and outrageous level of debauchery. Somewhat reminds me of Big Brother, were one group of contestants tries to outdo the previous one at how low they can sink.

Finally, God decided to destroy these sinful cities for their abominations, but first He sent two angels to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family.

Before entering Sodom, these angels took on the appearance of two wayfaring men. Lot saw the two handsome strangers when they first entered the gates, and knowing that the streets of that wicked city were far from safe at night, he urged them to find refuge in his home. But wicked men were watching, and that evening they gathered about Lot’s door and insisted that he bring out his guests so they might abuse them.

Lot tried in vain to reason with the perverse mob gathered at his door. Their demonic obsession only intensified, and soon the crowd began to threaten Lot as well! At this point, the angels could no longer conceal their true identity. They pulled Lot inside the house to safety and struck the maddened mob at the door with blindness.

Early the next morning, the angels told Lot and his family, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you … Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed” (Genesis 19:17). “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24).

Only Lot and his two unmarried daughters were spared, for his wife looked back to Sodom with longing and was turned into a pillar of salt. God’s Word tells us that in the last days, world conditions will resemble that of Sodom, and so will the punishment!

Today, people are as confused about hell as ever. On a cold day, they say it’s as cold as hell, on a hot one, it’s as hot as hell! Sometimes it’s ‘hell no’ or ‘hell yes’! Whatever hell is, wherever it is, and whenever it is, it will destroy both soul and body (Matthew 10:28) … “But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Many believe that the soul never dies, but twice God says, “The soul that sins, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20). So according to Scripture, the wicked will be destroyed in hellfire — both soul and body.

Jesus says, the time is coming when there will be a great separation in the human race. “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:34, 41).

The devil is not the superintendent of hell. Remember the old pictures where the devil is depicted as a red creature with horns and carrying a three-pronged fork as if he is in charge of hell? No! He is in fact the burner-in-chief, along with his angels and all those who reject Jesus and accept the leadership of the great apostate.

God has done all He can to save every human being from destruction. He gave His Son to die an atoning death on the Cross of Calvary to save men from eternal destruction. Hence the rhetorical question in Hebrews 2:3 “how can you escape if you neglect so great salvation?” In other words, there is no escape.

Hell fire is described as “everlasting, eternal, forever” because it effects an eternal punishment, an eternal destruction. Compare with Jude 7 “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.”

But we know the twin cities are not burning today. “Everlasting, eternal, forever” means it cannot be put out until it has completed its work. However, when it has burned everything up, it goes out. “The earth with its bars closed behind me forever” (Jonah 2:6). Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for just three days and three nights, yet he said “forever.” it might have felt like forever!

Look where hell will be and where the fire will come from: “They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone … And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:9,10).

Fire will come down from Heaven after the second resurrection. “But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). This obviously means that no one is in hell now. It is only fair that no-one should be punished until his case has been decided in the judgment. People are rewarded or punished at the second coming, and not before (Revelation 22:12).

Let me illustrate how we were created and what happens when we die this way: Let’s say I want to build a box, and so you give me some boards and nails, and with a hammer I pound them into a wooden box. Where did that box come from? Obviously it didn’t exist before I shaped the boards and nails together. So a formula for making boxes could be: boards + nails = box.

Now let’s say I want to take that box apart — so I remove the nails and the boards. Now, where did that box go to? Up into the corner of the room? Is there a land of boxes where disassembled boxes fly to when they’re taken apart? Of course not, the box simply ceased to exist.

So it is with the human soul: Gen 2:7 declares that dust of the ground + breath of life = soul. (And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being).

Take the dust and the breath apart (which is what happens at death) and where does the soul go? Nowhere. It simply ceases to exist.

Which is exactly what Solomon is describing in Ecclesiastes 12:7: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.”

So where are the wicked dead since they are not in hell? “..for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28, 29).

Praise God for His mercies! Isn’t it comforting that our ungodly dead relatives are not burning in hell now? Also our God-fearing dead are not in heaven either? Both classes of people are in their graves! This thrills my heart so much.

My gentle mother passed away on May 9, 2006. She was such a prayerful lady and an active member of the Lutheran Church until her death and I expect to see her in heaven someday if I overcome. She is buried in a cemetery just outside Bulawayo. She is not in heaven yet.

I can imagine how horrible heaven would be for her if she were to look down and see us, her seven children and many grand children, battling with immigration issues, illnesses, unemployment, narrowly escaping accidents on roads, scattered around the world and sometimes having to go without food because of gross failures in our country’s leadership! She would be crying to Jesus every day and heaven would really be hell for her.

After sin and sinners have been destroyed (in hell fire), “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation  21:4). “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17).

Wow!! Don’t you want to be in the new heaven and new earth after hell fire has done its work of purification?