Dispelling myths about hell

Thanks to Hollywood and books and the internet, many of us have preconceived, inaccurate ideas about hell. Today, we're going to examine some of these myths and compare them with the truth of God's Word.

Join us as we continue to explore The 100 Most Asked Questions About Heaven, Hell, and the Afterlife.

"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. When I was growing up there were several things I was told as being factual. If I cracked my knuckles, they would swell up and I would get arthritis. If I didn't wear a hat, I would lose forty to fifty percent of my body heat through my head. If there was ever a nuclear attack, hiding under my desk at school would protect me. These are some of the myths from the nineteen fifties and sixties that have since been studied and proven to be not quite true. But in one sense we're actually no smarter today because we still accept some myths as truth. For example, the daily ten thousand step health guideline has no basis in science. It was actually a marketing campaign by a Japanese company who released a device that counted steps. They considered ten thousand to be a catchy, easy to remember number. Drinking eight glasses of water a day does not automatically improve your health. It only means you'll go to the bathroom more often. And I was disappointed to learn that the five second rule has been debunked. Bacteria transfers instantaneously, so eating something I've dropped on the floor is never a good idea no matter how quickly I pick it up. So why am I bringing up this topic of myths? Because some of us have the tendency to believe things we are taught, especially as kids. When someone we respect, like a teacher or our parents, tells us something, we often believe them without question. But even as adults, we sometimes take for granted that things we hear about or things we read about on the internet are true without doing some fact checking. The same holds true in the spiritual realm. We have preconceived notions about spiritual things that we should investigate before accepting them as truth. That's what we're going to do today. Our book The one hundred most asked questions about heaven, hell and the afterlife is going to take us down the path of dispelling common myths about hell. So sit back and listen as we fact check several myths about hell against the pages of scripture. Myth number one The Devil's Headquarters are in hell. There have been movies and television shows that depict Satan as the ruler over hell. He is the king of that kingdom who is making the rules and overseeing punishment of sinners. He is directing the activities of his demons from the deaths of hell, working to overcome good with evil and rule the world. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, he's not even in hell right now. He has been given freedom to roam the earth by an all powerful, omniscient God. How do we know that? Well remember the story of Job from the Old Testament? He was the target of Satan's schemes to get him to curse God, even though he was blameless and upright, he feared God and shunned evil. At the very beginning of Job's story, God questioned Satan about what he had been up to, and he replied I've been roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it. So from this we can conclude that hell is not his headquarters from which he sends his demons out to do his bidding. He is actually free to move about the earth. And if you think it's just an old Testament thing, listen to the warning from the apostle Peter. Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. So the devil isn't in hell, dishing out orders, trying to defeat God's purposes. He has been granted freedom by God to prowl around like a roaring lion, and we need to be on the lookout. So if the devil isn't in hell right now, who is? Well, actually no one. Now before you raise your hand and remind me about the story of the rich man in Lazarus, we need to make some important distinctions. In that story we are told that when Lazarus died he was immediately transported to Abraham's side, a place of comfort. And as we unfolded the facts about heaven we discovered that Jesus is still preparing our final destination, which is heaven itself. In the meantime, however, believers who have passed from life to death are resting comfortably in the arms of Jesus, awaiting their resurrection bodies and their mansions in heaven. A similar situation exists for unbelievers. When the rich man died he was immediately transferred to a place of suffering while he awaited his final destination called the lake of fire or hell. So everyone who has completed their earthly journey is in a temporary holding place while Jesus finishes preparing heaven for the believers and hell for the unbelievers. That's why I say that hell is currently empty. Okay, so when will it be occupied? I'm sure you've heard the story about the Battle of Armageddon, a future conflict where the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the kings of the earth gather together to make war against Jesus Christ and his army. In the nineteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, we read about what happens at the end of that epic conflict. The Antichrist was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. So the first residence in hell will be the Antichrist and the false prophet, and they will arrive immediately after they are defeated at the Battle of Armageddon. That begs the question when will Satan join them? Well that won't happen for another one thousand years. You see, after Jesus defeats the armies at the Battle of Armageddon, listen to what happens to the devil. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. So after his failed attempt to overthrow Christ and rule the world, Satan will no longer be allowed to freely roam the earth. No, he will be locked up in a maximum security prison called the Abyss, where he will be confined for one thousand years while Jesus rules the world. He will languish there until God releases him. And notice the first thing he does. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released. Notice he will not escape. Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. So Satan didn't learn anything from his lengthy imprisonment because he immediately goes out and raises another army, bigger than the last one, in one final attempt to overthrow God. This army is massive like the sand on the seashore, and he uses it to surround the city where Jesus is ruling from. It's not looking promising for the good guys. Never fear, however, because the outcome of the battle is swift and decisive. Fire came down from heaven and devoured Satan's army, and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the Antichrist and the false prophet had been thrown. So the devil will be joining his underlings, the Antichrist and the false prophet in the lake of fire, and they will suffer together forever and ever. I want to look at one final statement John makes in chapter twenty. The passage that leaves no doubt what Satan will be doing in hell for all eternity. Listen to verse ten. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. He won't be ruling. He won't be a king issuing orders and overseeing its occupants. He won't be directing the activity of his demons. He won't be free to roam the earth. He will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. To quote our book, cartoonish images of prancing devils brandishing pitchforks while merrily dancing around a ring of fire are nonsensical. Rather than partying with his legions of demons, Satan will languish in hell. So myth number one is busted. The devil's headquarters are not in hell, and he won't be ruling anything. He will be suffering along with everyone else doomed to spend eternity separated from God. Now I think it's important to close any discussion about hell with a message of hope. No one is destined to face an eternity of torment and suffering unless they choose to do so. Why? Because our loving God offers a get out of jail free card. Even though all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, he provides a pathway to heaven that is available to everyone. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us, the apostle Paul tells us. Jesus endured the penalty we deserve because of all our shortcomings before a righteous God, and by sacrificing Himself He gave us the right to become children of God. It is my prayer that each one of you listening today will open your hearts to this free gift and choose life. And if you have any questions about how to be sure you will spend eternity in heaven and avoid the suffering of hell, I encourage you to reach out to me, to your pastor, to other believers, and learn how you can receive Jesus into your heart and life and follow him in obedience as your Lord and Savior. Let's pray. Lord God Almighty, thank you for the unmistakable clarity of your word. This book is not a collection of stories, it is a living book unlike any other book ever written. We can embrace it. We can depend on it. We can accept it as truth because the words are your words, not the musings of mere man. Thank you for sending your one and only Son to bear the burden of our sin, to accept the punishment we deserve, to provide a pathway that leads to you. Thank you for demonstrating your boundless love to us in the beauty of the cross. For Jesus' glory we pray. Amen. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is the end of our podcast, but it's not the end of our story. Thank you for listening.