Once again, I cannot believe I never saw this before!

Today we turn our attention from heaven to hell and we'll begin by asking the question, does hell exist? 

In the course of preparing to answer this simple question, I found something in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus I had never seen before, even though I had read these verses dozens of times. Perhaps you have overlooked it as well.

Join me as we explore another example where Scripture meets the Sidewalk.

Blessings,

Fritz.

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105)

Transcript

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Good morning everyone and welcome to Fifteen Minutes with Fritz, where Scripture meets the sidewalk. We've just completed the first major section of our book The one hundred most asked questions about heaven, hell and the afterlife. And we've discovered many intriguing things about heaven. We learned about what heaven will look like. We learned about what we will look like. We found out what we'll be doing in heaven, and we found out where we will live in heaven. We learned that babies will be there and we learn that animals will be there. And I share the concept of the thinning of the veil, meaning that heaven is all around us and sometimes God thins this veil in the pages of Scripture to show us glimpses of heaven. Today we're going to shift our attention from heaven to hell. Let me read a couple of quotes from our book. The first one sets the stage for any discussion about hell. The Bible speaks of the reality of hell in the same terms as the reality of heaven. I believe for the most part that this statement is based on a couple of verses found near the end of the book of Revelation. The first part of the passage discusses the reality of hell. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found in their book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Now listen to the very next verse. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. The new Jerusalem is a reference to heaven, so these two passages move seamlessly from the reality of hell to the reality of heaven. The second quote from our book is actually a little disturbing. It is not unusual for people to believe in the reality of heaven while rejecting the reality of hell. In other words, people believe in heaven, but they're not so sure about hell. Why is that? I think it's because we embrace the concept of an eternal place of comfort, but we struggle with the idea of a place of judgment and suffering, especially if we believe that God is a loving God. As we will discover, however, this is wishful thinking on our part because it's not what the Bible teaches. Let's look at some statistics. sixty seven percent of Americans believe in heaven while only fifty five percent believe in hell. Worldwide those numbers are slightly different. fifty nine percent of the world's population believes in heaven while only fifty three percent believe there is a hell. The older you are, the more likely it is that you believe in heaven. Seventy five percent of people sixty five and older believe in heaven and sixty three percent believe in hell. Those numbers drop considerably if you are between the ages of eighteen and twenty nine. fifty percent believe in heaven and only forty percent believe in hell. More women believe in heaven, seventy two percent, while only sixty two percent of men do. And the numbers regarding hell are similar, sixty two percent of females believe in hell, and fifty nine percent of men do. It would be interesting to know where people get their so called facts when they answered this gallop poll about heaven and hell. Did they form opinions based on writings like Dante's Inferno where he suggested there are nine levels of hell? Or maybe they read Paradise Lost, where Satan escaped from hell and entered the Garden of Eden to tempt Adam and Eve? Or did they ask AI to provide a summary of heaven and hell, which is what I just did, and I found the response to be very interesting. AI says Heaven is a perfected version of earth. It includes pearly gates, golden streets, and endless bright white light. Saint Peter is standing at a podium with a literal book of life deciding who gets in based on their life's deeds. People are shown playing harps, sitting on clouds, or reuniting with deceased pets and family members, and they are healthy, young and wearing white robes. Hell is underground, characterized by red orange lighting, caves, lava and fire. Satan is the CEO or king of hell, actively enjoying and overseeing the torture of souls. Punishment fits the crime in hell. For example, a glutton is forced to eat forever. Hell is viewed as an office, with the torture being depicted by long lines, bad hold music, paperwork, and incompetent middle management. This is an interesting depiction of hell comparing it to things that frustrate us every day. Well, I think I'm going to put these in these descriptions in the category of AI may contain errors and open my Bible instead. Like we did on the topic of heaven, we're going to ask a series of questions on the topic of hell. Our first question is similar to our first question about heaven. Does hell exist? Now regardless of what forty five percent of Americans believe that there is no hell, let's find out what the only reliable source says about hell. Let's begin with a passage we used frequently in our discussions about heaven, the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Only this time, instead of focusing on Lazarus and heaven, we're going to focus on the rich man and hell. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. He answered, Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them they will repent. He said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. Let's summarize some of the key points in this passage regarding hell. First, hell is a place of suffering. We heard words like torment and agony. The rich man was thirsty and had nothing to drink. He spoke about being in fire. Not a pleasant place and he was certainly suffering. Second, hell is a place of consciousness. The rich man is conscious and awake. He remembers his family and he doesn't want them to join him in the place of suffering. So death for the rich man is not sleep, he is awake, he is alert, and he is aware of his surroundings. Third, hell is a place from which there is no escape. Abraham summarizes the reality of the situation. Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. So once you arrive in hell you remain there forever, no matter how badly you want to leave. Now we could stop here because we've answered today's question does hell exist? Yes, it does. But as I was reading this story I discovered one more thing I want to share, something I've never noticed before. During the back and forth discussion with Abraham, the rich man makes an interesting observation. He says If someone from the dead goes to them they will repent. Repent It's an interesting choice of words, isn't it? It was first used by John the Baptist when he was preaching in the desert. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. Jesus used the same word repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. And when he sent the disciples out two by two, they went out and preached that people should repent. Even the apostle Paul used this word during his missionary journeys. I preached that they should repent. Notice that this rich man didn't ask Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to tell them to live a better life, that they should share their wealth with poor beggars like Lazarus. No, he wanted his brothers to repent so that they wouldn't end up in the same place he was. It begs the question how did he know about repentance? Because our story never mentions mentions anything about repentance until this second to last verse. Did Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with sores, share the gospel with the rich man? Or did he join a crowd listening to John the Baptist? Maybe he had the privilege of listening to Jesus himself. We simply do not know. What we do know is that he understood that it would take what it would take to prevent people, any people, his brothers included, from joining him in hell. It's repentance, recognizing he was a sinner who needed forgiveness, a sinner who needed to confess his sinfulness before an almighty God, understanding he was helpless to save himself, that he needed a savior to take away his sin before a righteous God. As Peter told the crowd at Pentecost, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. The message is simple, yet the impact is eternal. There's one last point I'd like to make, and then we'll close. Our story reveals that hell is a place of suffering agony, pain, fire, thirst, torment. These are physical things and they are real. There is also a hopelessness of knowing that there is no escape, no hope of leaving a place of eternal suffering and crossing to the other side of the chasm to enjoy the blessings of heaven. This is also suffering. But there is one more form of suffering that surpasses everything else, in my opinion. Our story tells us that the rich man knew that repentance was the key to his final destiny. Repentance determined where he would spend eternity. But he made the conscious choice to walk his own path, to turn his back on God and go his own way, and the result was eternity in hell separated from God. The final form of suffering is that he knew he could have he could have avoided it all by repenting, and he would have to live with that knowledge for all eternity. Imagine how devastating that would be to carry the burden of that knowledge forever and ever. Which leads me to my final question. What is your situation? Have you ever heard the gospel but decided to stay your current course? Maybe you think that once you've done all you want to do in life that you'll repent then. Maybe you think that you'll have time to make that decision right before you die. I know that's what I used to think, that I would turn to God right before I died so that I would be sure to get my invitation to heaven. The apostle Paul tells us this is a dangerous path fraught with eternal consequences. We don't know when our last day will arrive, which is why he implores us now is the time of God's favor. Now is the day of salvation. That is my prayer for everyone listening today, that you would not put this off any longer, but recognize that God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The choice is yours. Please choose life. Let's pray. Father, thank you that heaven is within everyone's grasp, that the means of gaining entrance isn't based on how good we are or how hard we work, no. Believing in the finished work of Jesus on the cross is the only way we can face our own mortality with the certainty of heaven in view. I pray that anyone listening who has any doubts about this free gift, that they would reach out to their friends or family or pastors or even me to hear more about this wonderful gift that the Creator of the universe offers to everyone who believes. To you belong all the praise and honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the end of our podcast, but it's not the end of our story. Thank you for listening.