CHAPTER XI


THE PRESENT HELL


The doctrine of hell is not a very popular doctrine. The first argument advanced against hell, in most -cases, is that a God of love couldn't send anyone to hell, not even a wicked sinner. We hear that "God is too good He is too just to send men to hell." This is the difficulty in most people's minds. But dear reader, let it be understood by all that God sends no one to hell. People condemn themselves to it by rejecting Christ as their personal Saviour and neglecting God's plan of salvation.

One writer tells us that "Few educated people at the present day trouble their heads about everlasting damnation or fires of hell the old doctrine of hell is dying. It was something for the Medieval Ages."

It may be true that the attitude of the present day people toward the doctrine of hell has changed but the Word of God is Eternal, Unchangeable, Immutable, and our ideas, no matter how different, will not alter or change the truth one bit. Hell is a place as truly as heaven is a place. The only way we can silence the awful truth of hell, is by sealing the lips of the Son of God.

The Bible more frequently speaks of the wrath of God than it does of His love. Not because God's wrath is greater than His mercy, but because it is His purpose to warn men of the punishment for sin. The Bible speaks of the love of God twenty-eight times, but it speaks of His wrath and indignation sixty-one times. It is a remarkable fact that both Jesus and John, who more than anyone else in the New Testament represent the element of love in their lives and teaching, speak most of the punishment of the wicked.



THE PRESENT AND FUTURE HELL DISTINGUISHED

In our study in preceding chapters we have clearly distinguished between the present heaven (paradise) and the future heaven (New Jerusalem). Now let us distinguish between the PRESENT HELL and the HELL of the FUTURE.

Many people in their study of the Bible often confuse the present hell with the future hell. Even many authors of books on the subject of hell never distinguish the two, and thereby often misapply Scripture references. However, the Bible is very clear on this point. For a proper understanding of the scriptural teaching concerning hell, we must turn to the original Greek Testament.

It ha~been shown in chapter four, that the Greek words "hades," "tartarus" and "gehenna" have all bpen translated into English, in the King James Version by the one word "hell." For example:

(1) In Luke 16:22-23, Christ said, "The rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell" (HADES) etc.

The original word (Hades) is here translated hell.

(2) In Matthew 22:33 Christ said, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (Gehenna).

The original word (gehenna) is also translated hell.

(3) In II Peter 2:4 we read, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell" (tartarus).

Here the original word (tartarus), is also rendered hell.

The Greek words hades, gehenna, tartarus, are three different words, and are the names of three different places, and all are translated in the English King James version by the ONE WORD "HELL."

Now, then, from reading the English translation, the King James version, in which the three different words are translated "hell," it can be easily seen how impossible it is for the reader to know there are three different places. It appears to the reader that there is just one place called "hell," which, of course, is not according to the original Stripture. From reading Luke 16:22-23 and Matthew 23:33, in the English translation, how is the reader to know that Christ was referring to two different places? It is from this unfortunate translation that many people have been confused and have not clearly distinguished the present hell from the future hell.

Let -us distinguish between the present hell and the future hell by studying them in order. First



THE PRESENT ABODE OF THE WICKED

Just as there is a present paradise for the righteous to occupy until they receive their resurrection bodies, and a final heaven for them to occupy after they receive their resurrection bodies, so there is a present abode for 'the unrighteous to occupy until they receive their resurrection bodies, and a final hell for them to occupy after they receive their resurrection bodies.

The Bible clearly distinguishes between the present abode and the future abode of the departed spirits of the wicked dead. In Luke 16:19- 31, which has been referreg to before, Christ made it clear that the place of torment in HADES is the PRESENT abode of the unrighteous. The FINAL HELL is clearly distinguished from the PRESENT ABODE of the wicked (hades), for an altogether different word- is used. The word used by Christ for the FINAL HELL is "GEHENNA," not "hades." (We shall study "gehenna," the final hell, in the next chapter.)



TARTARUS

The Greek word "tartarus," also translated "hell" in the King James Version, is found only once. II Peter 2:4. It is not the abode of any departed human spirits it is the "prison" of "fallen angels."

"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartarus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." II Peter 2:4.

"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 6.

The place in which the "fallen angels" are confined is clearly dis- tinguished from the present abode of the wicked. The "hell" in which the "fallen angels" are confined is "tartarus," and the present hell, the abode of unrighteous human spirits, is "hades."

From our study of the abode of the departed spirits in chapter four, we learned that in Old Testament days, and in the days of the earthly ministry of Christ, the spirits of all the dead departed to a place which is known as "sheol" in the Hebrew, and "hades" in the Greek. We learned that at death all spirits departed to that place, regardless of moral distinction, righteous or unrighteous. We learned that this sheol or hades, the place of departed spirits, was divided into two sections one for the righteous, called Abraham's bosom or paradise, and one for the unrighteous, the place of torment, and that these two sections were separated by a great fixed gulf, so that no one could pass from one to the other. This is the description as Christ gave it.

We learned that since the resurrection and ascension of our Lord to the right hand of God, the righteous are no longer in the section they once occupied in Hades, but that they are now in Paradise in the third heaven in the presence of Christ. The change took place at the resurrection and ascension of Christ when He took with Him the spirits of the righteous from hades and ascended up on high, leading captivity captive. Since the resurrection and ascension of Christ the section for the righteous who die depart immediately into paradise, the third heaven, to be in the presence of Christ. (See chapter four.)

But the abode for the unrighteous dead has not been changed. All the unrighteous who die depart to hades into the place of torment, just as they did in Old Testament days and in the days of Christ's earthly ministry. The resurrection and ascension of Christ had no effect upon the abode of the unrighteous.

The proof that this place in hades, the present hell will be the abode of the unrighteous until they are resurrected, is found in Revelation 20:13, which speaks of the resurrection and judgment of the wicked.

"Death (the grave) and hell (hades) delivered up the dead that were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works."

Here we see that at the time of the resurrection and judgment of the wicked, hades is still the abode of the unrighteous, for they will be delivered up out of hades, not out of some other place. These two scriptures, Luke 16:19-31 and Revelation 20:13, show that Hades was the abode of the wicked dead in the time of Christ and that it still is at the 'time the wicked are to be raised and judged.

Hades, then, is the present abode of the wicked the present "hell," and all the unrighteous who die depart to hades. This will be their abode until they receive their resurrection bodies in which they will appear at the judgment for sentence to the final hell.



THE PRESENT HELL (HADES) IS DESCRIBED IN LUKE 16

Clearly notice whose teaching this is. It was our Lord Jesus Christ Himself Who related the account of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man DIED and was BURIED (Verse 22) and in HADES his spirit was alive and conscious he could see for he recognized Abraham and Lazarus afar off he could feel, thirst, talk and remember.

Being in torment, the rich man cried to Abraham, and said, "have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." (verses 23-24). When the rich man found that it was impossible for his request to be granted, he prayed that Abraham would send Lazarus to earth to warn his five brethren "lest they also should come INTO this PLACE of TORMENT."

The rich man's second request was not granted either. He was told that on earth they have Moses and the prophets (the writings of Moses and the prophets) to warn people to repent so as not to come to this place. He was told that if the people would not adhere to those writings (their Bible at that time) and repent, neither would they be persuaded to repent though one rose from the dead to warn them.

Notice, hades is a PLACE "this PLACE of torment." The word torment, or tormented, is used five times in the thirteen verses. He was tormented by flames, (verse 24).

A Scripture that is as strong and unmistakable in meaning as the above is fatal to doctrines which teach that the dead are unconscious and that there is no hell. Of course, Judge Rutherford, and all those who believe and teach that the dead are unconscious and that there is no hell, in order to try to explain away the truth of Hell, must have an explanation for a passage such as this.

Rutherford begins by telling us that this account of the rich man and Lazarus is only a parable and that it is not a true incident. Now, of course, he must have an interpretation for his so-called parable, so in one of his books he goes on for nine whole pages with the most fantastic and unheard of detailed explanations in attempting to make his so-called parable teach something other than the doctrine of hell.

According to Rutherford's interpretation, the rich man is supposed to represent the nation of Israel, and Lazarus represents all the other Gentile nations. "The drop of water in the parable pictures the small measure of truth that would help refresh the Israelites in their distress."

This, dear reader, is strictly a Rutherfordian type of exegesis. He surely holds the championship for exegetical jugglery. He can make "white" read "black," change a mountain into a mole hill or vice versa, if it suits his purposer His entire doctrinal dream is bolstered up by explanations that ridicule human reason.

There is no indication, whatsoever, that the account of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable. Our Lord is telling a true history of what happened to two men who once lived and died. The experience was a statement of fact. "There was a certain rich man," and "There was a certain beggar named Lazarus." Further evidence that this is not a parable is seen in the fact that the parables of our Lord begin with words such as these, "and he spake unto them a parable, saying."

Furthermore, parables do not give proper names such as Abraham and Lazarus. No parable mentions any person's name.

But let us suppose for a moment that this is a parable. We know a parable is an illustration that is purposed to make clear an obscure truth. Then to be true to its purpose, every detail of a parable must clearly and accurately portray the obscure truth. Every detail of a parable teaches truth! Therefore, even if this were a parable, the same doctrine is taught. In either case whether we regard the account as a parable or as veritable history, the doctrine is, that after death the unrighteous are punished in hell, and are alive and conscious, and are able to see, hear, talk, feel, remember, and recognize each



THE RESURRECTION OF THE WICKED

Just as the righteous will not remain in Paradise to spend eternity in a disembodied state, but will receive resurrection bodies to spend eternity in the final heaven, even so the unrighteous will not remain in the present Hades to spend eternity in a disembodied state, but will receive resurrection bodies to spend eternity in the final hell.

Much space was given in Chapter Eight on the study of the resurrec- tions to show there will be two resurrections, one for the righteous at the second coming of Christ, and one for the rest of the dead the wicked, a thousand years later. (See chapter eight.) In addition to these references to the resurrection of the wicked given in Chapter Eight, the following one is important: Revelation 20:13 says, "'Death (the grave) and hell (Hades) delivered up the dead that were in them."

It is certain that the resurrection here referred to is the resurrection of the wicked, because the scripture says that "Hades delivered up the dead." We know that only the spirits of the wicked are confined in Hades not the righteous. The righteous are with Christ in the heavenlies. Furthermore, Revelation 20:5 says that after the first resur- rection (resurrection of the righteous) "the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Since the first resurrec- tion is the resurrection of the righteous, then the rest of the dead must necessarily be the wicked. The resurrection of the wicked will occur one thousand years after the resurrection of the righteous, that is, one thousand years after the second coming of Christ.

At this resurrection, according to Revelation 20:13 quoted above, the grave will deliver up the bodies, and HADES, the present Hell, will deliver up the spirits of the wicked. And thus the unrighteous will again be united with their bodies.

When we turn to our Bibles to learn what the resurrection bodies of the wicked will be like, instead of reading that they will be incorrupti- ble, immortal, glorious, powerful, and spiritual, like the bodies of the righteous, we Find the scripture is strangely silent on this subject. No statement concerning the resurrection bodies of the wicked can be found in scripture. However, we do know this, that the bodies of the wicked will not be like the believers' immortal glorified bodies. The wicked have eternal existence, but they will not have immortal bodies, because immortally is a gift bestowed upon a certain class only the righteous, at the first resurrection. God would not give the wonderful attribute's of a glorified body to those who are to spend eternity in Hell.

In speaking of the resurrection bodies, Paul said, "To every seed hisown body." I Corinthians 15:37,38. In connection with this reference can be cited the familiar scripture, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." We know that a man cannot sow tares and expect to reap wheat. We reap just exactly what we sow tares do not change to wheat and wheat does not change to tares. So when Paul says, "to every seed his own body," the spiritual application in connection with the resurrection can be easily seen. Those who die without the Christ- life cannot rise to a Christ-life resurrection. This shows that the dead will be resurrected the same-in-kind as they were buried. If they were buried without the Christ-life, they will be resurrected without it, and therefore, will not be eligible to receive immortal bodies.

After the unrighteous receive their resurrection bodies, instead of entering the final heaven to enjoy the countless ages of eternity with the Lord, we find that they will appear at -



THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

Peter speaks of "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (II Peter 3:7) and Revelation 20:13 says, "And death (grave) and hell (Hades) delivered up the dead that were in them; and THEY WERE JUDGED EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS" Verse ' II speaks of the Great White Throne, therefore we call it the Great White Throne Judgment. The wicked will stand before God the Father, and the books will be opened, and also "another book," which is the "book of life," in which will appear only the names of those who are saved. Philippians 4:3, Luke 10:20, Hebrews 12:23, Revelation 20:15, Revelation 21:27. The wicked will bejudged from the first books accord- ing to their works. Revelation 20:13. No doubt many of the unrighteous will be found to have been respectable citizens and perhaps even liberal givers to the church according to the record of their deeds in these first books, but regardless of this record, whether good or bad, we find that because their names were not found written in the other book the book of life they were "cast into the lake of Fire." "Whosoever was not found written in the 'book of life' was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15. Their names will not appear in the book of life because they rejected Christ as their Saviour and neglected God's plan of salvation. The supreme question in that day will be, "Is your name in the book of life?"

The wicked will bejudged not to see whether or not t~ey are entitled to eternal life, but to determine their degree of punishment. The record of works, as found in the first books, will no doubt determine this degree of punishment.

We read that after sinners have appeared at the Great White Throne Judgment, "Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire" (final hell), "and whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire." (final hell). Revelation 20:14-15. We are told that "the . . . unbelieving . . . shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." Revelation 21:8. The sentence to the lake of fire includes all the wicked we do not read that any escape. This is called the second death. Revelation 20:14, 21:8.

The second death, as we shall learn, does not mean unconsciousness, non-existence, annihilation, any more than the first death does. The second death may be that the wicked will lose their bodies a second time, and again become disembodied spirits to exist in the "Lake of Fire" forever. This view is in harmony with what has already been said,- namely that the BODIES of the wicked will not be immortal, but mortal, and therefore will be subject to death.

Judge Rutherford and others tell us that men will be given a "second chance", for salvation. The Bible teaches no such thing as a "second chance." If the ungodly are to have a "second chance" for salvation after death, who is to announce it? If such a thing were true, then God made a great mistake when He ordained that the Bible, and the preaching of the Gospel, and the striving of the Holy Spirit should lead men to Christ and salvation, for if there is a "second chance" then these are of no avail here in this life.

Now, let us see what the scripture reveals concerning the final hell, "the lake of fire" (or Gehenna) into which the wicked, after the iudgment. will be cast to spend eternity.