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The Doctrine of Hell - 2/22/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch · Meadows Baptist Church Podcast

0:02
Welcome to the podcast of Meadows
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Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North
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Carolina. We're so glad you joined us
0:10
today. If you enjoy today's message, be
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sure to subscribe, follow, and share
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with your friends. Now, let's join
0:17
Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from
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God.
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If you would turn with me to the book of
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Deuteronomy.
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Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 22.
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Deuteronomy chapter 32.
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And uh
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wanted to be honest with you this
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morning. I'm dealing with a doctrine uh
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today. We'll use this text as a a
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springboard here and it's what I'll be
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preaching on uh in the worship service
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today. And we'll read the verse here in
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just a minute. And I'll give you this
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doctrinal thought. And you pray for me.
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The Lord just laid this on my heart. And
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so I want to be obedient to him. Just
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felt like it's where he would have us be
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today. And u something that we have uh
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neglected to talk about in the church
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many times. Um preachers are afraid to
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preach about it. Um but it's just the
1:39
truth and uh something we need to know
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about. And you say, "Well, all of us
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here are saved this morning. It has
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nothing to do with us." Well, uh it does
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have something to do with you this
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morning. And those that you come in
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contact with will be headed to this
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place if they're lost. And uh I want to
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read verse 22. And we'll discuss the
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doctrine of hail this morning.
2:01
Deuteronomy chapter 32: 22.
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The Bible says here in the text, "For a
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fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall
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burn unto the lowest hell, and shall
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consume the earth with her increase, and
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set on fire the foundations of the
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mountains." Now, Father, I ask you this
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morning humbly as we've come before you
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that you would help us this morning as
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we've gathered to learn of your word.
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And God, I know it's not an exciting
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subject that we have to deal with this
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morning, but I know nonetheless that it
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is a Bible subject and it is eternal.
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It's an eternal subject. And so, God, I
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pray that you would help us to uh be
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obedient to the scriptures today and
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give us wisdom to receive the truth
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concerning this doctrine. And we'll give
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you thanks for what you do because we
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ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Now, this
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subject this morning I want to deal
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with. There's a reason why I want to
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deal with this. I'll be preaching on it
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uh during the worship service. But I
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think many times we have we people have
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been ignorant of the truths concerning
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uh hell, the place of it and the purpose
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of it. Um and uh just really these three
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things came to my mind. The place, the
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purpose and the power of it. Um but I I
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really think when we look at this verse,
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you say, "What does this verse have to
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do with it?" Well, it's mentioned in
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verse 22, but I'll say this, verse 22 is
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the first mention uh of the word hail in
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the scriptures. It's the first time that
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it's used in the scriptures. And I'll
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say this, its implications go back
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further than this. And I'll say more
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about that as we get into the text. But
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Deuteronomy 32, the Lord is speaking
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here in the text. He's he is
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dissatisfied
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with the children of Israel. He begins
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in verse number 15 expressing his
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discouragement with Israel. He is dealt
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in this chapter with their blessing. How
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that he has touched them in verse verses
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number really verse number one all the
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way down through verse number 14. How
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that he has touched Israel and blessed
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Jacob. But in verse 15 there's a turning
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of the of the I guess the demeanor of
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the Lord in the text. You notice he says
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in verse 15, "But Jeseran," that's
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Israel, wax fat and kicked. Thou art wax
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and fat. Thou art grown thick. Thou art
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covered with fatness. Then he forsook
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God, which made him and lightly esteemed
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the rock of his salvation. And the next
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text here, the next few verses are all
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dealing with God's displeasure with
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Israel. And so where we come to in verse
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22 is the wrath of God is revealed. In
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verse number 22, he says in verse 21,
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"They have moved me to jealousy with
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that which is not God. They have
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provoked me to anger with their
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vanities, and I will move them to
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jealousy with those which are not a
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people. I will provoke them to anger
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with a foolish nation." And then he says
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in verse 22, "For a fire is kindled in
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mine anger, and shall burn unto the
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lowest hail." So God is deeply
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dissatisfied
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with the children of Israel. Their sin
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is stinking in his nostrils and he will
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judge them. We know that captivity would
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inevitably come to them later on in the
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kingdoms but over and over again even
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the periods to follow here. Joshua,
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there was sin that were dealt with of
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course not as much under Joshua's
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leadership. But when the book of Judges
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rolls around, you see a repeat uh
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really, I guess you would say, a
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revolving there in the land of Israel.
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They would uh they would sin and fall
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into iniquity and God would give them
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over uh to their apostasy and then they
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would be an enemy rise up against them
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and then they would cry out to God and
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God would send to deliver. And you see
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that seven times throughout the book of
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Judges. And then into the kings you find
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that out of that there is you know
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Saul's his his failure as a king. Uh God
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was displeased with him and judgment
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came upon the house of Saul and then
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David was a good king but even there
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were failures with him that brought
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about the ultimate failure in Solomon
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where he caused the children of Israel
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to blasphe God and because of that the
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kingdom was divided and then the would
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begin the downfall that would lead to
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captivity. And you say, "What does that
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have to do with the doctrine of hell?"
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Well, I thought about this in this text.
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And if you were to define what hell is,
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you notice it there in verse 22, this
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verse defines it very well. In the first
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phrase, he says, "For a fire is kindled
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in mine anger." Now, what's interesting
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about that is as you see this fire, it
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says it's kindled. It's started. Now, of
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course, he's talking uh primarily about
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his anger with Israel, but I'll say this
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concerning the doctrine of hell. If you
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were to define hell, what it is, it is
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the wrath of God. That is the burning
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that's in hell. What hell is is God's
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wrath poured out in a place where the
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unsaved dead abide. And you say, "Well,
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how do we see that in scriptures?" Well,
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uh, I I read this here just a little
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while ago. I thought this was
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interesting. Uh, the word hell comes up
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some 50 times, a little more than that
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in your King James Bible. And I I read
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this, thought it was interesting. The
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internet says that the King James
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version has the highest count of the
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word hell of all versions. I wouldn't
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say that's a a coincidence. Amen. All
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those other versions like to water that
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down. But but uh the King James version
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some 50 times that hell is mentioned in
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the word of God. While it's referred to
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over 150 times by different
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terminologies that are used, hell is a
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very real doctrine. And I'll say more
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about that in the worship hour this
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morning. But you say, where is hell
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pictured? I I would say that hell is
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pictured the best in Luke 16, which is
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where we'll be at this uh this morning
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in the worship hour. But in the Old
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Testament, if you were to picture hell,
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I I thought about a couple places where
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hell is pictured in the Old Testament.
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Number one text that comes to my mind is
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the book of Genesis chapter number 19.
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Uh we preached on that a few weeks ago
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about Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible says
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there that uh Sodom and Gomorra was
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sinful, exceeding sinful before the
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Lord. And so God called Lot out of
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there. Those angels had to drag him out
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unwillfully. They had to drag him out.
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And what does the Bible say? Let's turn
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there and look at that. Genesis 19. I
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encourage you to put these in your
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margin there, uh, by this little study
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of this verse. Genesis 19, verse number
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24.
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Well, we we're going to be flipping
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around quite a bit here this morning.
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Genesis 19 verse number 24.
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The Bible says in verse 24, "Then the
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Lord rained upon Sodom and upon
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Gomorrah, brimstone and fire," notice
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this, "from the Lord out of heaven."
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Now, whether or not that's the third
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heaven or that's just talking about the
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sky, I don't know. But I do know this,
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the fire came down.
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And basically what that entails is here
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in the text that this fire was sent from
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the Lord and it was a fire of judgment.
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Verse number 28. And he looked toward
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Sodom and Gomorra and toward all the
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land of the plain and beheld lo the
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smoke of the country went up as the
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smoke of a furnace. So verse 24 says the
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fire came down. Verse number 28 the
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Bible says the smoke went up. And so the
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imagery here is is that the judgment of
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God descended upon these people. And as
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it descended upon them, it also went
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from just where they were at on the
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surface of the earth, but it also took
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them to the heart of the earth. And I'll
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say more about that in just a minute.
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But you say, what does that have to do
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with the truth concerning hell? Well,
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the emphasis is on the burning.
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>> Hell's a place of fire.
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>> Verse 22, Deuteronomy 32, for a fire is
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kindled in mine anger and shall burn
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unto the lowest hell. So hell defined is
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the wrath of God that is that is burning
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in this this pl is a place where the
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wrath of God is burning. That's the
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defining of it. The depth of it there in
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verse 22 shall burn under the lowest
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hell. So that has to do with the heart
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of the earth. The lowest place would be
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the center of the world. And so the
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scripture clearly teaches that hell is
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in the heart of the earth. And so
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there's the definition of it and the
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depth of it. And then I want to take
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just a little bit of time here and deal
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with this subject. There is the
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destruction of it in verse 22. Notice
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what the Bible says. For fire is kindled
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in mine anger and shall burn unto the
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lowest hell and shall consume the earth
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with her increase and set on fire the
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foundations
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of the mountains. Now when you look at
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this in itself, of course number one,
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it's dealing with the judgment of
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Israel. Okay? And uh you'll discover
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that Lamentations 4 number 11 Jeremiah
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says that the judgment of Israel had
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come to pass that the Lord had consumed
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Zion. He had set Zion a flame and so
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there was judgment presently on the
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earth. And uh but there's also the te
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the implication here the text that deals
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with the destruction of hell itself. And
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you say, well, what is that? Well,
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you've got to think about what hell was
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created for.
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Hell was number one created because of
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sin.
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>> All right. And whose sin was it? Well,
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Satan's sin, was it?
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>> And so, hell was created because of sin.
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Hell was created for Satan.
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And it was obviously created by God the
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Father. Who's in control of that? Well,
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Jesus at Calvar's cross, he took the
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keys. Amen.
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>> So, on Calvar's cross, Jesus, the
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Savior, is the one who is in control.
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Now, isn't that an image in your mind
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that every person that escapes this life
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not trusting the Lord Jesus Christ has
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to go by the gatekeeper,
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>> right?
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And that's Jesus.
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>> They walk by the savior to walk into the
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boat of Satan himself. And what is that
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place? It's a place of destruction. Now
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we know uh from sin teaching Genesis 3
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the curse that was placed uh because of
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sin that ultimately describes the
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destruction that would transpire. But I
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want to remind you of this truth
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concerning hell. We looked at Sodom and
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Gomorrah. You understand man has tried
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to recreate hell.
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You say, "What do you mean by that?"
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Well, I would say number one, man has
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tried to recreate hell for judgment of
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those that they do not like or do not
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agree with. You say, "What is that?"
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that will you remember Daniel
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and those three Hebrew boys?
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>> The Bible says that Nebuchadnezzar made
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an image. And of course, Daniel's not
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there, but his three Hebrew brethren are
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there. And Nebuchadnezzar made an image.
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And what did he do? He commanded the
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whole world to bow to the image. And so
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what was the curse? Those that would not
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bow, what was going to happen to them?
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They was going to be thrown into the
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fiery furnace.
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And isn't it interesting that that fiery
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furnace, you look at what it what it
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teaches, what what's taught about that
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and the temperature and you know the
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seven times hotter, you know, people say
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over 2500 degrees of heat and you know,
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we could get into all of that this
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morning, but the truth is it was man
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trying to recreate hail is what it is.
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But what did they do? They threw them
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boys in there and who showed up?
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>> Jesus did.
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And so man's attempt to create hell, all
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it did was destroy those that throwed
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the men in.
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>> But I'll say this, because man could not
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create a hell hotter than God's hell,
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what man has to do is discredit God's
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hell.
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>> Listen to what Jude verse number seven
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says. And we just went over this. A lot
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of this is review, but I'm just giving
13:59
you the doctrine this morning. Jude
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verse number 7
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where I preach with a cough drop.
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My pages are stuck together.
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Jude verse number seven.
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And as even as Sodom and Gomorra and the
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cities about them in like manner giving
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themselves over to fornication and going
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after strange flesh are set forth for an
14:26
example. You do y'all remember this
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phrase? Suffering the vengeance of what?
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Eternal fire. So the fire that descended
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from heaven and the furnace that came up
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from the earth represents a eternal
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damnation
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of the sodomite people. Now what does
14:45
that express to us? Well, it expresses
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to us that as they burnt physically on
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the earth, they also went immediately to
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burning spiritually. There was no
14:55
disconnect in their suffering.
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And so hell was a place of burning. It's
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a place where the Bible says the worm
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dieth not and the fire is not quenched.
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David said this concerning hell. He said
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the wicked shall be turned into hell and
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all nations that forget God. And so hell
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is the place of punishment. Hell is a
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place of permanence for those that
15:15
reject the authority of Jesus Christ.
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Now you say, what does that have to do
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with the future? Now, we know hell is
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still burning and and we'll say more
15:26
about that in the preaching hour. I
15:28
don't want to get ahead of myself too
15:29
much, but when I think about hell, my
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mind immediately goes to the book of
15:34
Revelation. And I want to get back here
15:36
to Deuteronomy so I can show you
15:37
something here. People often ask, you
15:40
know, hell, what's what's the
15:41
difference? Hell, lake of fire, what's
15:43
the difference? You know, explain to me
15:46
where it where it trans where it
15:48
changes, what transpires in that change.
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I want to read this verse. I should have
15:53
put my bookmark here. Deuteronomy 32. I
15:57
think there's a good key to this. The
16:00
first mentioned principle is not always
16:02
100%, but I think sometimes it does help
16:05
us concerning these doctrines. Now
16:07
notice verse 22 again. He said, "A fire
16:10
is kindled in mine anger and shall burn
16:12
under the lowest hill and shall consume
16:14
the earth with her increase and set on
16:17
fire the foundations of the mountains."
16:19
So obviously this is talking about
16:21
judgment. We would all agree with that.
16:24
Primarily it's dealing with the judgment
16:26
of Israel. Applicationally it's dealing
16:29
with judgment as a whole. Now what do we
16:31
know about judgment? The first judgment
16:33
that you see in scripture uh as a
16:36
corporate judgment is what? It was
16:38
Noah's flood. And Noah's flood the Bible
16:41
says that he condemned the whole world.
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Noah and his family, his three sons and
16:44
their wives and their children. The
16:46
Bible says that eight souls were saved
16:48
by water according to uh the book of
16:51
Peter. And so really he didn't have any
16:52
children. It was Noah and his wife and
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his three sons and their wives. And so
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eight souls and all the rest of the
16:59
human race was was plunged to death in
17:03
that flood. Now I want to remind you
17:04
this, okay? I don't know if you've ever
17:07
thought about this, but do you realize
17:09
that every soul that drowned in that
17:11
flood, every one of them went to hell?
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So they went from a death of drowning to
17:17
a place of fire. But what did God
17:20
promise? You remember what he promised?
17:22
He he said, "I do set my bow in the
17:23
cloud." What what did that bow
17:25
represent? What represented the fact
17:27
that he didn't he would never flood the
17:28
earth again.
17:30
>> Why did he say that? He said, "Well,
17:31
man's thoughts, the imagination of his
17:33
heart is on the evil continually from
17:35
his youth." And so because of that, he
17:38
said, "I I'm not going to flood the
17:39
earth in judgment ever again." But we
17:42
know that this world's headed for
17:43
judgment.
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>> And I'll put this in your margin too
17:46
concerning the thought of hell. Second
17:48
Peter chapter 3.
17:51
Second Peter chapter number three
17:55
verse number seven. Now we'll go back to
17:57
Deuteronomy again.
18:05
Now listen to what Peter says concerning
18:07
this. Now, of course, he's dealing with
18:10
the end days. Verse, he he's talking
18:12
about the last days. Verse number three.
18:16
And then he says verse number five and
18:18
six, he deals with the judgment of the
18:21
flood,
18:23
talking about people that are casting
18:25
doubt on the end of the world, the fact
18:28
that there will not be judgment in the
18:30
end of the world. And he says verse 5,
18:32
"For this they willingly are ignorant of
18:35
that by the word of God the heavens were
18:36
of old and the earth standing out of the
18:38
water and in the water whereby the world
18:40
that then was being overflowed with
18:42
water perished." Of course that is
18:45
dealing with Noah's flood. Now notice
18:47
verse seven. But the heavens and earth
18:50
which are now so presently at this
18:52
moment by the same word are kept in
18:55
store. What's the last phrase of that
18:57
verse? reserved unto fire against the
19:01
day of judgment and predition of what?
19:06
Ungodly men. And so that tells us there
19:08
in this text, verse 10 reveals it as
19:11
well that judgment is imminent on the
19:14
human race.
19:16
It's still imminent. Now you say,
19:18
preacher, well, I thought Jesus took the
19:20
our condemnation on Calvar's cross. He
19:22
did for all sinners. But you understand
19:24
that all sinners who reject that
19:27
pavement are still presently under
19:29
condemnation. That's
19:30
>> right.
19:31
>> Verse 10. But the day of the Lord,
19:34
that's the judgment day, will come as a
19:36
thief in the night, in the which the
19:38
heaven shall pass away with a great
19:40
noise. And what's that next phrase? And
19:42
the elements shall melt with fervent
19:44
heat. The earth also and the works that
19:47
are therein shall be burned up.
19:52
Now let's read Deuteronomy 32 again.
19:58
2 Peter 3 deals with the end of the
20:01
world. And Deuteronomy 32, the first
20:04
mention of hell says that his anger
20:06
shall burn into the lowest hill shall
20:08
consume the earth with her increase and
20:10
set on fire the foundations
20:13
of the mountains. Now what is that?
20:14
That's the earth,
20:15
>> right?
20:17
That's entirely the the elements are
20:20
reserved to melt with fervent heat.
20:24
Verse seven, it's reserved unto fire
20:26
against the day of judgment and
20:29
predition of ungodly men. Now, what is
20:31
that? Well, I want to remind you that in
20:32
the center of this earth at this present
20:34
time, there's a burning fire.
20:38
>> That is the wrath of God. I want you to
20:40
think about that. Concealed by the crust
20:43
of the earth. I'll tell you what it's
20:44
concealed by. It's concealed by the
20:46
power of God.
20:47
>> Amen.
20:48
>> By him all things consist. They're held
20:50
together. You realize the moment he says
20:52
he lets go, all of this is going to
20:55
dissolve.
20:57
>> Now, notice this. All right? And you
20:58
say, "What does that have to do with
21:00
hell in the lake of fire?" Notice
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Revelation 20.
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Revelation 20 verse number 10.
21:12
Actually, let's look verse 19 verse 20.
21:14
Chapter 19 20 first
21:18
the Bible says and the beast was taken
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and with him the false prophet that
21:22
wrought miracles that's the uh the uh
21:25
second and third person of the unholy
21:27
trinity
21:29
that wrought miracles before him with
21:31
which he deceived them that had received
21:32
the mark of the beast and them that
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worshiped his image. These both were
21:36
cast alive into a lake of fire burning
21:39
with brimstone.
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Chapter number 20
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verse number 10. And the devil that
21:46
deceived them was cast in the lake of
21:48
fire and brimstone where the beast and
21:50
false prophet are and shall be tormented
21:53
day and night forever. Chapter 20 and
21:57
verse number 13. And the sea gave up the
22:00
dead which were in it, and death and
22:02
hell delivered up the dead which were in
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them. And they were judged every man
22:07
according to their works. Notice verse
22:09
14. and death and hell were cast into
22:12
the lake of fire. What's your Bible say?
22:15
This is the second death. So what does
22:19
this reveal? Well, hell is a holding
22:22
place.
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Now, it's nonetheless a place of fire.
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It's a place of judgment. It's a place
22:28
where the wrath of God is revealed. No.
22:30
And you say, "Well, what does that have
22:31
to do with the lake of fire?" Well, the
22:33
lake of fire is permanent.
22:36
Hell is a holding place. Verse 14 of
22:39
chapter 20 of Revelation reveals to us
22:41
that the second death is the moment that
22:44
hell and all its inhabitants are cast
22:46
into the lake of fire. Verse 10, the
22:49
devil goes before us. And before the
22:51
devil goes, the beast and the false
22:54
prophet go. But at the end of all after
22:57
the great white throne judgment in verse
22:59
number 11, all of those that are judged
23:01
verse in verse number 12 that at that
23:04
judgment bar, the great white throne
23:06
that they are rejected by the Lord Jesus
23:09
Christ, they will be cast into the lake
23:12
of fire. Verse 15, whosoever was not
23:14
found written in the book of life was
23:16
cast into the lake of fire. Now you say,
23:20
what does that have to do with the
23:21
doctrine of hell? Number one, it's a
23:23
holding place.
23:24
>> Right?
23:25
>> Number two, the devil's not there.
23:28
>> Right?
23:31
>> Now, I know we say a lot of times, I
23:33
even say it sometimes, he can go back to
23:35
hell where he belongs. But the truth is,
23:37
he's not there.
23:39
>> His abode is the lake of fire, but he's
23:42
not there yet. The lake of fire
23:45
represents the eternal state of the
23:48
unsaved dead. Now I mentioned this on
23:51
the other day that there are those that
23:53
believe in the doctrine of annihilation
23:56
and annihilation simply says this that
23:59
those that go to hell after a certain
24:01
amount of time um God's judgment will be
24:04
satisfied after you know so many million
24:07
billion years however long it is and
24:09
eventually they'll just burn up and be
24:11
forgotten. They'll cease to exist.
24:14
That's the farthest thing from the
24:16
truth. Right.
24:17
>> Jude verse number 7 proves that that it
24:19
is an eternal fire. Sodom and Gomorrah
24:22
suffered the vengeance. Of course, it is
24:24
the wrath of God. Remember that. The
24:26
vengeance of eternal fire. And so when
24:30
we think about hell, number one, it's a
24:32
holding place. Number two, the devil is
24:34
not there. Number three, every soul. All
24:36
right, you say, "What what does that
24:38
have to where does it go in the Old
24:40
Testament?" Well, the first person that
24:42
ever went there was Cain.
24:45
Cain in his death, Abel was the first
24:48
person to ever go to the presence of
24:50
God. And the imagery, you think about
24:53
that, the Bible says that Cain slew his
24:56
brother and Abel, the Bible says, to be
24:58
absent from the body is to be present
24:59
with the Lord. And because Abel's
25:01
sacrifice was pleasing to the Lord, what
25:04
do we know about him? He was in heaven
25:06
with the Lord. He was in the presence of
25:07
God. So Abel as he went to the father,
25:10
Cain was the first one to go to hell.
25:14
And then after that, you see all of
25:16
Cain's children.
25:18
They probably most of them, if not all
25:20
of them, died and went to hell.
25:22
>> You look at the flood, and I said this a
25:25
minute ago, I'll say it again. Pretty
25:26
much, I mean, everybody that died
25:28
outside of the boat went to hell.
25:32
You look on through the scriptures, you
25:34
look at men like Dayan and Abram, they
25:37
offered up that strange fire to the
25:39
Lord, and the Lord killed them. I mean
25:41
there's there's instance after instance
25:43
that we could talk about. You say,
25:44
"What's the emphasis of that?" Well,
25:46
when you come to the Old Testament, hell
25:48
is the heart of the earth. It's split.
25:50
There's hell and there's paradise. We
25:51
deal with that in the New Testament, the
25:53
book of Luke, chapter number 16. But
25:55
Jesus reveals that hell is a place not
25:58
just for the unrighteous, but for the
26:00
religious who do not obey God. And what
26:04
is he preaching to them? Luke chapter
26:06
16. Let's turn there and look at that.
26:10
Jesus says more about hell than he does
26:12
about heaven. I know you've heard that
26:14
before.
26:16
Luke chapter number 16.
26:20
Chapter 16, he's dealing with these
26:22
Pharisees. He he says in verse number 15
26:26
of Luke 16, he said unto them, "Ye are
26:29
they which justify yourselves before
26:31
men, but God knoweth your hearts." And
26:33
so those that go to hell, number one,
26:35
it's an internal matter. Right?
26:38
>> Look what he says. God knoweth your
26:40
hearts. For that which is highly
26:41
esteemed among men is abomination
26:44
in the sight of God. Now what did the
26:47
Jews highly esteem?
26:49
Wealth.
26:51
They preached a prosperity gospel
26:55
that if you do good, God will give you
26:59
all that you want. And the people who
27:01
did the best for the Lord had the most
27:03
money. That's the way the Pharisees
27:05
viewed righteousness. And listen to what
27:08
he says in verse number 16. The law and
27:11
the prophets were until John. Since that
27:13
time the kingdom of God is preached, and
27:15
every man presseth into it, there is a
27:18
resistance to the kingdom preaching that
27:21
Jesus did. But he said in verse 17, "It
27:23
is easier for heaven and earth to pass
27:25
than one tit of the law to fail." So the
27:28
very thing that they were rejecting
27:29
would be the very thing that would
27:31
condemn them to go to this place because
27:33
look what he says. He says heaven and
27:35
earth he said it would be easier for
27:37
heaven and earth to pass than one tit of
27:40
the law to fail. What did he say forever
27:41
lord thy word is settled in heaven. So
27:43
the law is the standard and the law is
27:46
that thing Paul said that condemns men.
27:48
He said when the law came sin revived
27:51
and what I died that's what he said.
27:53
What was that death? It was a it was a a
27:56
spiritual death. The law came. He said,
27:58
"It was my school master that might
28:00
bring me to God." You know what that
28:01
school master is? What shows us that
28:04
we're heading to hell in the flesh?
28:07
What does You say, "Preacher, what does
28:09
that have to do?" Well, notice the text,
28:10
verse 19. What's What is the first
28:13
phrase of verse 19 of Luke 16?
28:16
There was a certain rich man.
28:20
Jesus just put a black eye in the face
28:23
of every Jew because the very thing that
28:26
they thought equated holiness was the
28:29
very thing that this rich man was noted
28:31
for
28:32
>> and it's what sent him to hell.
28:35
Now what did Jesus tell his disciples?
28:37
That rich young ruler came to him and he
28:39
said, "Master, what must I do, you know,
28:41
to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus
28:43
tells him, you know, "Have you kept the
28:46
law?" And what'd he He said, "I've kept
28:47
all of the commandments from my youth up
28:49
blameless." Said, "I've done it all."
28:51
You know what Jesus told? He said, "Go
28:53
and sell all that you have." He said,
28:55
"Then you'll have treasure in heaven."
28:57
What happened? That young man went away
28:58
sorrowful because he had many
29:00
possessions. And his disciples asked
29:02
him, you know, Jesus said this to him.
29:04
He said, "How hardly shall they that
29:06
have riches enter into the kingdom of
29:08
God?" And the disciples said, "Who then
29:10
can be saved, Lord?"
29:12
>> And he said, "But he said, with men it's
29:14
impossible. with God or all things are
29:16
possible.
29:17
>> But you know what? Riches have doomed
29:19
more men and women to hell in this
29:21
country than any other sin.
29:24
>> And you say, "What is that?" Well, the
29:27
reason I brought that up is this is
29:29
because hell is the uh the crowning sin
29:31
of hell is is pride.
29:34
What's going to send Lucifer to the lake
29:36
of fire and what has sent every soul
29:38
there has to do with that pride. And
29:40
that pride comes out of riches. The love
29:42
of money is the root of all evil. And so
29:46
the doctrine of hail this morning, you
29:48
think about it's it's a holding place
29:51
till the lake of fire comes about. It's
29:53
not the abode of the devil. He does not
29:55
live there presently.
29:57
But it is a place where every soul that
29:59
rejected the commandments of God from
30:01
the Old Testament to the new even until
30:04
now is dwelling.
30:07
And uh I'll give you this. It won't cost
30:09
you anything.
30:12
But the Bible teaches us that in the New
30:14
Testament, hell hath enlarged herself.
30:17
Jesus when he died on Calvar's cross,
30:19
hell has two parts. We know that
30:20
according to Luke 16. There's the part
30:23
Abraham's bosom where the saved dead,
30:26
David, the patriarchs, Abraham and all
30:29
of them dwelt, the children of God by
30:31
faith. They dwelt there. When Jesus
30:33
died, he led captivity captive. He took
30:35
those men. He took him, that one that
30:38
was on the cross beside of him. He said,
30:40
"Today shalt thou be with me where?"
30:43
>> In paradise. And so he went to the heart
30:46
of the earth where the patriarchs were.
30:49
And the Bible says that he took them to
30:50
heaven with him. And so when hell
30:52
enlarged herself, what that was is is
30:55
after Jesus took out all the people that
30:58
were saved that concealed from the Old
31:00
Testament, hell is now taken up the
31:02
entire heart of the earth. You say,
31:05
"What is that?" Well, here's what I
31:06
believe. Peter tells us that the
31:08
elements are going to melt with fervent
31:09
heat. One day, I believe hell's going to
31:11
overtake the earth,
31:12
>> right?
31:13
>> And I think complete and total
31:15
destruction is going to transpire the
31:18
entire earth and it's going to be a
31:20
burning from within.
31:23
I'll say more about that in the
31:24
preaching hour today, but short summary
31:27
of the doctrine of hell. A lot more to
31:29
it than that. messages. Millions of
31:32
messages have been preached, but that's
31:34
a short summary of it. So, let's get
31:36
ready for the worship hour. Father,
31:38
thank you for this day, for this time.
31:40
And uh Lord, I pray you'd help us to
31:44
realize, Lord, I know we feel God in our
31:47
heart that it does not apply to us. But
31:48
Lord, the truth is it applies to us
31:50
greatly because many of our family and
31:52
even friends, Lord, probably are headed
31:54
there. And God, would you give us
31:57
urgency,
31:58
Lord, seeing how dark,
32:02
Lord, how eternal it is, God, the fact
32:04
that there's no escape, Lord, give us
32:07
urgency,
32:08
Lord, I think about those people we went
32:10
and visited yesterday. God, I pray,
32:13
Lord, that you would help us, Father, to
32:15
be the witness that we're called to be.
32:17
Never to give up, Lord, but to make sure
32:20
we're doing everything that you ask us
32:22
to do. not to omit anything, but God to
32:25
be completely obedient to you. Cleanse
32:28
us of sin and self. I pray you'll bless
32:30
the worship service today. Bless the
32:32
singing, the choir, the specials, and I
32:35
pray you'll help the preaching this
32:37
morning. We need you more than anything
32:39
else. Lord, I love you. Thank you for
32:41
loving us. Save the center today. We
32:44
give you thanks for it. We ask it in
32:46
Jesus name. Amen.
32:48
>> Thank you for joining our service today.
32:51
We'd love it if you join us in person
32:53
the next time you are able at Meadows
32:55
Baptist Church. Our physical address is
32:58
2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North
33:02
Carolina. Our service times are Sunday
33:05
school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning
33:07
worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening
33:10
worship at 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday
33:12
evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more
33:15
information, visit us at
33:17
meadowsbaptisturch.com.
33:19
Thanks again for tuning in.