A Topical Study of
Isaiah 66:22-24
And they all lived happily ever after. Thats the way we like our stories to end. And as we come to the last chapter of Isaiah, that is partially the case, for we read of a new heaven and a new earth where God will wipe away all of our tears, where everything will be right.
It would be wonderful if Isaiah had stopped right there. But theres one more verse. The final verse of Isaiah is not so wonderful, not quite as joyful, for in it he speaks not of the bliss of the thousand-year kingdom or the incredible glory of the new heaven and earth, but of fire and worms that will never die.
I love to talk about the mercy, love, and grace of God, the coming of Christ, and the glories of heaven. Hell is a topic not as pleasant to speak about, but one I must because Jesus gave more teachings on hell than He did on heaven. Why? He knew its reality. So God the Father inspired the prophet Isaiah to end his message not just with the hope of the coming kingdom and the glories of a new heaven, but with a warning about the reality of eternal damnation.
Hell. Many people dont believe in it. The rationalist says, I cant believe that a God who is supposed to be love would actually send people to hell. Intellectually, people have a hard time accepting it. In fact, they spend much of their time building a case to deny it. And yet the Lord states very clearly that it is a place to be reckoned with, that it is reality.
"If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Its better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. Its better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. Its better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out." Mark 9:4148
Every one of us is in one of two categories. There are those who say, Thy will be done, Lord and there are those who say, My will be done. With my foot, Ill walk where I want. With my hand, Ill touch what I want. With my eyes, Ill see things from my perspective. Ill do it my way. God wont send these people to hell. But if they are absolutely determined to do their own will, He will allow them to go there. That is why hell is not a contradiction to Gods love but rather a confirmation of it. Because God is love, He wont force man to do His will. He will let man have his waybut it will invariably, without exception, lead him to hell.
That is why Jesus said, I implore and beseech you to cut out your eye, cut off your hand, do whatever is necessary to get off the path that will lead to destruction, to hell itself both presently and eternally. If God means nothing to you and rightness has no appeal for you, if you want to walk and touch and see the way you want, Hell say, Your will be done. I wont force My way upon you. And you will begin the long, terrible descent into hell itself.
When the multitude rejected Him, Jesus wasnt angry. He didnt raise His fist and shout, To hell with you! He wept (Luke 19:41). Therefore, we know that its a brokenhearted, loving Father who say, If you absolutely insist that your will be done, I wont force you to receive My Son.
Who will be in hell? Satan and his angels, for whom it was created. According to Acts 1:20, Judas Iscariot will be there. Revelation 20:10 says that the antichristthe world leader that will be indwelt by Satan himselfwill be in hell as will the false prophet, his right-hand man. But there is another group of people who will be there, as well
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelation 21:8
Im not a murderer, you say. But Jesus said that if youve been angry with your brother without cause, youre guilty of murder (Matthew 5:21, 22). Im not a whoremonger, you protest. But Jesus said that if youve looked at a woman with lust in your heart, youve committed adultery (Matthew 5:28). And who of us would have the audacity to say weve never lied or stretched the truth?
"Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before Gods throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:1015
Hell is cast into the lake of fire. Death is cast into the lake of fire. What is this lake of fire? The word, gehenna, comes from Hinnoma physical location right outside the eastern wall of Jerusalem which has a very colorful but brutal past. It was in the valley of Hinnom that a wicked king named Ahaz constructed idols to Moloch upon which babies were sacrificed. In the days of Jesus, the valley of Hinnom was a garbage dump where all of the refuse of Jerusalem burned day and night. We read in Matthew 27 that, after Judas betrayed Jesus, he hung himself outside of the temple. We are then told in Acts 1 that his body fell down to an area of Hinnom known as the potters fieldan area where potters would throw the broken pieces of their pottery. In a.d. 70, when the Romans began to destroy Jerusalem, it was into the valley of Hinnom that they threw the bodies of the 600,000 Jews they slaughtered.
So when gehenna was used, people associated it with sizzling flesh, burning garbage, death, and slaughter. It was a terrible place. Yet people today are dumb enough to say, If I go to hell, thats okay with me. My buddies will be there and well play poker and watch videos. Not so. The Greek word used for fire is pur, the same word used in Matthew 17 to describe the fire into which the demonized boy threw himself. Were not talking about spiritualized fire. Its literal. But Jesus also said it is outer darkness. In other words, the fire will burn, but no light will come forth. How is this possible? Astronomists have told us that perhaps one-tenth of the universe has been consumed by black holes. Black holes form from an imploding star whose mass is so great, whose gravitational pull is so strong that they are like disposals in your sink. Things go in but are never seen again. Even light, as its sucked into these cosmic disposals, never comes out. Could it be that somehow these black holes relate to eternal damnation?
There will be no buddies, no poker, no videos. There will be worms and wailing and fire. Revelation goes on to describe hell in conjunction with a bottomless pit. If youre an unbeliever, enjoy life now because this is as good as youre ever going to have it. Everything from here on is downhill, a bottomless pit. On the other hand, if youre a believer, take hope. This is as bad as its ever going to be. The struggles with our flesh, the disappointments, the heartaches are real now. But were going to heaven where there will be no more tears or sorrow.
What does it mean that at the great white throne God will judge those who are resurrected and they will be cast into this lake of fire, into gehenna? Where are they right now? And what does it mean that hell itself is cast into this lake of fire?
People are not in the lake of fire right now. That will happen at the great white throne judgment. Once the Millennium is over, God will resurrect the unbelieving dead to stand before Him at the great white throne. Perhaps theyll say, Im a pretty good guy. You cant allow me to spend eternity in outer darkness. But as He opens the books of their lives, the thoughts no one knew they were thinking will be revealed. The reason behind all their good deeds will come to light. Sins they thought were long forgotten will be exposed. At that point, I believe no one will argue or even wait to hear God tell them to depart from Him, but will flee themselves, knowing of their sin and horrendous iniquity.
Where are these people presently? We find the answer in Luke 16
"Jesus said, There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich mans table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. The rich man shouted, Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames. But Abraham said to him, Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there." Luke 16:1926
Before Jesus died, when a person died, he went to one of two sides of hades. One side was called Abrahams bosom, or paradisea place that was pleasant, a place that was heavenly but not heaven. The other side was what we call hell. Ephesians 4:8, 9 tell us that when Jesus died, before He ascended, He first descended into the lower parts of the earth and led captivity captive. That is, He took the believers from paradise into heaven where they could now live because the price for their sin was paid. When a believer dies now, he goes straight to heaven, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). The unbelieving dead still go to the second compartment of hades or hell, the place of torment, to await the great white throne judgment before they will be sent to gehenna itself.
God never intended anyone to be in hell. And even when we chose to do our own will, He didnt give up on us. He sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to die on the Cross of Calvary. As Jesus was slaughtered on the Cross for my sin, He descended to the lower parts of the earth. He paid the price for my sin. He took the heat of hell for me and you.
Were all sinners, murderers, whoremongers, liarsthere is no exception for all have sinned, every one. But He who knew no sin took our sin upon Himself, died in our place, and went to hell for us. He paid the price completely and if we simply believe this, we will be saved eternally.
Courson, J. (2006). Jon Courson's application commentary : Volume two : Psalms-Malachi (470). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
