Hell Be Not Preached?

[Kokavkrystallos]

Hell is rarely preached on today. When it is, often it's just a mention in passing, something like, "And if you don't get saved, when you die, God will judge and you'll be in hell." And it's said softly, and nervously, as if the preacher fears to even say it, and is embarrassed by it. Very few times have I heard a sermon on hell, one that strikes the dread fear of God in a soul. The scripture says in Jude "some save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."
When was the last time you saw the gravity of your sin, and squirmed? Even professing believers in Christ must know the utter vileness of sin, and how the LORD must punish it, and those who choose to live in sin over the will of the Father. It is good if it frightens you. If you know the fire is hot, why will you reach out into the flame? Why will you walk in the blazing coals that crackle and burn, searing everything amongst them?
And despite all this, it should be your hatred of sin, rather than a fear of the punishment in hell that drives you to your knees before a Holy God. Fear Him who hath power to destroy both soul and body in hell, yea, fear Him: that is, God the Father, who desires to pull you from the terrible flame.
Here then are some quotes by various preachers of the past regarding Hell....

AW Pink, Eternal Punishment
A Truth Lost in These Days
The subject before us is one that needs stressing in these days. The great majority of our pulpits are silent upon it, and the fact that it has so little place in modern preaching is one of the signs of the times, one of the many evidences that the Apostasy must be near at hand.
The need of giving this solemn subject a prominent place in our witness is apparent, for it is our bounden duty to warn sinners of their fearful peril, and to bid them flee from the wrath to come (Mat 3:7). To remain silent is criminal; to substitute anything for it is to set before the wicked a false hope.

Jonathan Edwards - Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”—Psalm 7:11
They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell; and the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in Whose power they are, is not at present very angry with them—as He is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of His wrath.
The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared; the fire is made ready; the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whetted and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them.

CH Spurgeon, Turn or Burn
We must sometimes use the knife where we feel that mortification would ensue without it. We must frequently make sharp gashes into men’s consciences, in the hope that the Holy Spirit will bring them to life. We assert, then, that there is a necessity that God should whet His sword and punish men, if they will not turn. Earnest Baxter used to say, “Sinner, turn or burn; it is thine only alternative. Turn or burn!” And it is so. We think we can show you why men must turn or else they must burn.
a. First we cannot suppose the God of the Bible could suffer sin to be unpunished. Some may suppose it; they may dream their intellects into a state of intoxication, so as to suppose a God apart from justice; but no man whose reason is sound and whose mind is in a healthy condition can imagine a God without justice.
But to imagine that there shall be no punishment for sin, and that man can be saved without repentance, is to fly in the face of all the Scriptures.

WC Nichols, The Terrors of Hell
Every part of the body will feel the pain of that fire. Men with severe stomach pains can be in great agony from that alone, but this pain will be far greater. Death from cancer is sometimes said to cause extreme pain in the body, but the pain of hell will be far worse. If your body were afflicted with many different and painful diseases all at the same time, you still would not begin to approach the pain of the damned in hell.
Men’s consciences shall be in torment in hell as well. Conscience is the worm that will not die, which the Scriptures speak of (Mar 9:48; Isa 66:24). Dives is told to “remember…in thy lifetime.” Men will be tormented with extreme pain, but they will also be tormented by their own memories. They will remember hearing of hell and scoffing at it. They will remember being warned and told to repent, or told that accepting the blessings of heaven without submitting to Christ as Lord falls short of salvation—but they took no heed to those warnings.

Horatius Bonar, Practical Religion
There is a day coming when sinners shall be afraid, and when terrors shall overtake them as a flood. They are not afraid just now; they eat and drink and make merry, as if they had no eternity to prepare for, no danger to alarm them. But it shall soon be different. What is now far off shall then be near, and sinners shall realize too late the horrors of that wrath from which they refused to flee. In the agonies of despair, when the flames are kindling round them, they will burst forth in such bitter outcries as these, “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire, who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings” (Isa 33:14)? Oh, that shriek of agony! Oh, that awful outcry of surprise and despair! Careless sinner! That cry shall soon be yours; these words shall soon be the very language in which your wretched soul shall give vent to its hopeless anguish when it sees itself shut in within the flaming walls, and feels damnation sure! Oh, then, flee from the wrath to come! Make haste to escape from the devouring fire!

AW Pink,
What has been before us ought to make every professing Christian diligently examine himself. Weigh carefully the tremendously solemn issues that turn on whether or not you have really passed from death unto life. You cannot afford to be uncertain. There is far too much at stake. Remember that you are prejudiced in your own favor. Remember that you have a treacherous heart. Remember that the devil is the great deceiver of souls. Remember that “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Pro 14:12). Remember it is written that “many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” And then He will answer them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat 7:22-23).
There are many who now wear the guise of saints, who appear like saints; and their state, both in their own eyes and that of their neighbors, is satisfactory. And yet they have on only sheep’s clothing; at heart, they are wolves! But no disguise can deceive the Judge of all. His eyes are as a flame of fire: they search the hearts and try the reins of the children of men (Rev 1:14; Jer 17:10).

JC Ryle, Our Souls

But who is responsible for the loss of our souls? No one but ourselves. Our blood will be upon our own heads. The blame will lie at our own door. We shall have nothing to plead at the Last Day when we stand before the Great White Throne and the books are opened. When the King comes in to see His guests and says, “Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?” (Mat 22:12), we shall be speechless. We shall have no excuse to plead for the loss of our souls.
But where does the soul go when lost? There is only one solemn answer to that question. There is but one place to which it can go, and that is hell. There is no such thing as annihilation. The lost soul goes to that place where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched—where there is blackness and darkness, wretchedness and despair forever. It goes to hell—the only place for which it is [suited], since it is not [suited] for heaven. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psa 9:17).
We live in an age of great temptation. The devil is going about and is very busy. The night is far spent. The time is short. Do not lose your own soul.

 

[Ceallaigh]

Most evangelists focus on hell.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

Most evangelists focus on hell.

That's when I've heard it preached, when evangelists come through for revival meetings. It's rarely preached in a lot of churches. But I know, some do - just have to find them.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Hell is rarely preached on today. When it is, often it's just a mention in passing, something like, "And if you don't get saved, when you die, God will judge and you'll be in hell." And it's said softly, and nervously, as if the preacher fears to even say it, and is embarrassed by it. Very few times have I heard a sermon on hell, one that strikes the dread fear of God in a soul. The scripture says in Jude "some save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."
When was the last time you saw the gravity of your sin, and squirmed? Even professing believers in Christ must know the utter vileness of sin, and how the LORD must punish it, and those who choose to live in sin over the will of the Father. It is good if it frightens you. If you know the fire is hot, why will you reach out into the flame? Why will you walk in the blazing coals that crackle and burn, searing everything amongst them?
And despite all this, it should be your hatred of sin, rather than a fear of the punishment in hell that drives you to your knees before a Holy God. Fear Him who hath power to destroy both soul and body in hell, yea, fear Him: that is, God the Father, who desires to pull you from the terrible flame.
Here then are some quotes by various preachers of the past regarding Hell....

AW Pink, Eternal Punishment
A Truth Lost in These Days
The subject before us is one that needs stressing in these days. The great majority of our pulpits are silent upon it, and the fact that it has so little place in modern preaching is one of the signs of the times, one of the many evidences that the Apostasy must be near at hand.
The need of giving this solemn subject a prominent place in our witness is apparent, for it is our bounden duty to warn sinners of their fearful peril, and to bid them flee from the wrath to come (Mat 3:7). To remain silent is criminal; to substitute anything for it is to set before the wicked a false hope.

Jonathan Edwards - Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”—Psalm 7:11
They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell; and the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in Whose power they are, is not at present very angry with them—as He is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of His wrath.
The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared; the fire is made ready; the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whetted and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them.

CH Spurgeon, Turn or Burn
We must sometimes use the knife where we feel that mortification would ensue without it. We must frequently make sharp gashes into men’s consciences, in the hope that the Holy Spirit will bring them to life. We assert, then, that there is a necessity that God should whet His sword and punish men, if they will not turn. Earnest Baxter used to say, “Sinner, turn or burn; it is thine only alternative. Turn or burn!” And it is so. We think we can show you why men must turn or else they must burn.
a. First we cannot suppose the God of the Bible could suffer sin to be unpunished. Some may suppose it; they may dream their intellects into a state of intoxication, so as to suppose a God apart from justice; but no man whose reason is sound and whose mind is in a healthy condition can imagine a God without justice.
But to imagine that there shall be no punishment for sin, and that man can be saved without repentance, is to fly in the face of all the Scriptures.

WC Nichols, The Terrors of Hell
Every part of the body will feel the pain of that fire. Men with severe stomach pains can be in great agony from that alone, but this pain will be far greater. Death from cancer is sometimes said to cause extreme pain in the body, but the pain of hell will be far worse. If your body were afflicted with many different and painful diseases all at the same time, you still would not begin to approach the pain of the damned in hell.
Men’s consciences shall be in torment in hell as well. Conscience is the worm that will not die, which the Scriptures speak of (Mar 9:48; Isa 66:24). Dives is told to “remember…in thy lifetime.” Men will be tormented with extreme pain, but they will also be tormented by their own memories. They will remember hearing of hell and scoffing at it. They will remember being warned and told to repent, or told that accepting the blessings of heaven without submitting to Christ as Lord falls short of salvation—but they took no heed to those warnings.

Horatius Bonar, Practical Religion
There is a day coming when sinners shall be afraid, and when terrors shall overtake them as a flood. They are not afraid just now; they eat and drink and make merry, as if they had no eternity to prepare for, no danger to alarm them. But it shall soon be different. What is now far off shall then be near, and sinners shall realize too late the horrors of that wrath from which they refused to flee. In the agonies of despair, when the flames are kindling round them, they will burst forth in such bitter outcries as these, “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire, who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings” (Isa 33:14)? Oh, that shriek of agony! Oh, that awful outcry of surprise and despair! Careless sinner! That cry shall soon be yours; these words shall soon be the very language in which your wretched soul shall give vent to its hopeless anguish when it sees itself shut in within the flaming walls, and feels damnation sure! Oh, then, flee from the wrath to come! Make haste to escape from the devouring fire!

AW Pink,
What has been before us ought to make every professing Christian diligently examine himself. Weigh carefully the tremendously solemn issues that turn on whether or not you have really passed from death unto life. You cannot afford to be uncertain. There is far too much at stake. Remember that you are prejudiced in your own favor. Remember that you have a treacherous heart. Remember that the devil is the great deceiver of souls. Remember that “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Pro 14:12). Remember it is written that “many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” And then He will answer them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat 7:22-23).
There are many who now wear the guise of saints, who appear like saints; and their state, both in their own eyes and that of their neighbors, is satisfactory. And yet they have on only sheep’s clothing; at heart, they are wolves! But no disguise can deceive the Judge of all. His eyes are as a flame of fire: they search the hearts and try the reins of the children of men (Rev 1:14; Jer 17:10).

JC Ryle, Our Souls

But who is responsible for the loss of our souls? No one but ourselves. Our blood will be upon our own heads. The blame will lie at our own door. We shall have nothing to plead at the Last Day when we stand before the Great White Throne and the books are opened. When the King comes in to see His guests and says, “Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?” (Mat 22:12), we shall be speechless. We shall have no excuse to plead for the loss of our souls.
But where does the soul go when lost? There is only one solemn answer to that question. There is but one place to which it can go, and that is hell. There is no such thing as annihilation. The lost soul goes to that place where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched—where there is blackness and darkness, wretchedness and despair forever. It goes to hell—the only place for which it is [suited], since it is not [suited] for heaven. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psa 9:17).
We live in an age of great temptation. The devil is going about and is very busy. The night is far spent. The time is short. Do not lose your own soul.

... from what I've heard in various Baptist churches over the past 40 years, Hell has been preached aplenty. And that's part of the problem. It gets focused upon way too much and it's often present in lieu of a focus upon the Hope that we should all be able to find in Jesus as an antidote to our unhappy lives and or mortality. But as it goes these days, playing upon fear is easier and more satisfying for those Christians who want to focus on politics rather than compassion for the rest of humanity ...

Also, it doesn't help that way too many Christians are over-confident about their ability to engage and understand their own Bibles. The kicker is that a number of those same Christians eventually give up the Christian faith, renouncing it, all the way keeping a hold of their former "evangelical" deficiencies. So now, we have an avalanche of ex-Christians who still maintain their evangelical fervor but use it to fight against their former Christian faith............................................. of which too much focus on "Hell" (sic) was a part.

Time to wise up!

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

... from what I've heard in various Baptist churches over the past 40 years, Hell has been preached aplenty. And that's part of the problem. It gets focused upon way too much and it's often present in lieu of a focus upon the Hope that we should all be able to find in Jesus as an antidote to our unhappy lives and or mortality. But as it goes these days, playing upon fear is easier and more satisfying for those Christians who want to focus on politics rather than compassion for the rest of humanity ...

Also, it doesn't help that way too many Christians are over-confident about their ability to engage and understand their own Bibles. The kicker is that a number of those same Christians eventually give up the Christian faith, renouncing it, all the way keeping a hold of their former "evangelical" deficiencies. So now, we have an avalanche of ex-Christians who still maintain their evangelical fervor but use it to fight against their former Christian faith............................................. of which too much focus on "Hell" (sic) was a part.

Time to wise up!

If so, then it sounds out of balance. Should be, "Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together..." (Luke 6:38)
Or Amos 8:5 "When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?"
Or Prov 11:1 "A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight."

As Paul said "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." (Acts 20:27)

I agree, politics has taken over in a lot of churches and ministries. I quit listening to a lot of that, especially on radio. However, in my experience I have seen too many over emphasize "compassion" - preaching love without wrath, love without judgment, love without holiness. It's a love that lets people feel they can do whatever they want, and they're being "loved" strait into hell, which isn't any kind of love at all, except perhaps a distorted type of worldly love.
Such is the fornicator that says "But we love each other, so God sees us as married." The fornicator will NOT inherit the kingdom of God, according to the scriptures: so what to do is preach that the love of God calls you out from such sinful behaviors, that the love of God gave His only begotten Son Jesus to die in your place, when you were deserving of death, which is the wages of sin.

Awhile back I heard one preacher say he wondered why so many Christians were politicizing the border crisis. He felt it was a blessing, because he could go down there and demonstrate the love of God by helping the people who came over with little or nothing, and at the same time telling them of the gospel. He considered it a ready made mission field rather than a cursed thing.

 

[Ceallaigh]

That's when I've heard it preached, when evangelists come through for revival meetings. It's rarely preached in a lot of churches. But I know, some do - just have to find them.

It's hard to say what gets preached in each church in town on a weekly basis throughout the year. You quoted some well known preachers from way back, and there are still well known current preachers like John MacArthur, Paul Washer, John Piper etc who preach it and write about it.

Something to consider I think is, the greatest preacher of all time, Paul the Apostle, didn't say much about it.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

It's hard to say what gets preached in each church in town on a weekly basis throughout the year. You quoted some well known preachers from way back, and there are still well known current preachers like John MacArthur, Paul Washer, John Piper etc who preach it and write about it.

Something to consider I think is, the greatest preacher of all time, Paul the Apostle, didn't say much about it.

I bear witness more with the ancient preachers from the 1500s - 1800s. They got in depth and their word was very convicting, as well as bringing out the deep things of God in the Spirit.
I've read some of the more contemporary ones too: seen a little of Paul Washer & John Piper. Not so much John MacArther. I've read a bunch of Lee Roy Shelton, who went on to the LORD in 2003.

It is strange Paul doesn't use the words Hades or Gehenna, but he does very clearly reveal the fate of the damned. Here's a few examples:

2 Thess. 1:7-9,
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power"

Philippians 1:28
"And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition"

Romans 1:18 & 32,
" For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

2 thess. 2:12
"That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness"

Titus 3:10-11,
"A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself."

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

I've said elsewhere on the forum when I read Jonathan Edwards, it was speaking to me the way I was converted. When he speaks of how one should seek the Lord for salvation, 'tis what I did


"Help From Jonathan Edwards
The following things have been gleaned by studying the sermons of Jonathan Edwards and from reading and re-reading his Narrative of the Surprising Work of God.
1) The doctrine of hell is the best doctrine we can use to awaken sinners and to maintain their fears and convictions while they seek.
2) Man's sin and depravity and the law of God should be preached for conviction of sins. Joseph Alleine wrote in An Alarm to the Unconverted: "The heart is never soundly broken till thoroughly convinced of the heinousness of its original and deep-rooted depravity."15 The sinner needs to repeatedly hear that their heart is rotten and of the necessity of God changing their heart.
3) It is critical that they understand God's sovereignty in the bestowal of mercy and His just right to refuse the giving of mercy to anyone. "God has a liberty to bestow His grace upon whom He will. Mercy is God's own, and He will make choice who shall be the subjects of it. God is master of His own gifts, will bestow them on one, and deny them to others. It is just for God to deny sinners saving mercy, but if he pleases to have mercy upon some, none may prescribe who they shall be; but He may choose one, and refuse another." 16
4) God's absolute justice in the damnation of men and in their own damnation needs to be stressed. For this we have used Guidance for the Seeker and Edwards' sermon https://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Justice.html The Justice of God in the damnation of Sinners
5) They should be told that they are both unable and unwilling to believe rightly and this necessitates them seeking God for a changed heart and his saving mercy.
6) Seeking with diligence."
- William C. Nichols

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

This here I totally believe, and often run up against a proverbial brick wall when dealing with today's form of Christianity:

"These awakenings when they have first seized on persons, have had two effects; one was, that they have brought them immediately to quit their sinful practices; and the looser sort have been brought to forsake and dread their former vices and extravagances. When once the Spirit of God began to be so wonderfully poured out in a general way through the town, people had soon done with their old quarrels, backbitings, and intermeddling with other men's matters. The tavern was soon left empty, and persons kept very much at home; none went abroad unless on necessary business, or on some religious account, and every day seemed in many respects like a Sabbath-day. The other effect was, that it put them on earnest application to the means of salvation, reading, prayer, meditation, the ordinances of God's house, and private conference; their cry was, What shall we do to be saved? The place of resort was now altered, it was no longer the tavern, but the minister's house that was thronged far more than ever the tavern had been wont to be."

A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God

 

[One God and Father of All]

Does death mean being alive and suffering for all eternity OR does dead mean being not alive?

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

Does death mean being alive and suffering for all eternity OR does dead mean being not alive?

I have beliefs regarding that which may be different from many teachings. I believe you're "dead" but there is something that exists beyond that, and will experience hell, at least up to the point of the lake of fire.

Paul writes this in 1 Thessalonians 5:23
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Note 3 things there: spirit, soul & body.

Now Jesus says, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Here he mentions 2 things, soul and body, but not spirit.

Now look at Ecclesiastes 12:5-7, obviously talking about what happens when one dies:
"man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."

Spirit = "Ruach" in Hebrew, can mean breath, spirit, wind, mind. (Ruach HaQodesh is "the Holy Spirit" in Hebrew)

So it appears the body and soul of the unsaved are sent to hell, but nothing in scripture indicates the spirit of man goes there; rather, it says it returns to God.

Revelation 20:10 says "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
20:15 says anyone found not written in book of life is cast into the lake of fire, and Rev 21:8 says the wicked will have their part in the lake of fire.

Interesting wording in Rev. 21:8 "to meros auton" in Greek = "the part of them" or, "the portion of them, is in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the death second."
Meros can mean "a part, a lot, a destiny," but also "one of the constituent parts of a whole, in part, partly, in a measure, to some degree, as respects a part, severally, individually."

That can go two ways, and would go along with everything I previously wrote. From what I see, those who are lost are utterly severed: first, their soul & body is separated from God completely and sent to hell, then at the final judgment cast into the lake of fire. But they also are severed from themselves: their spirit is torn from their soul and body, and that right there is probably the most terrifying torment of all, like being ripped from limb to limb while alive, but far deeper than anything physical.

Even if we were to speculate once hell is cast into the lake of fire, the condemned souls cease to exist (As the scripture says the devil, beast, and false prophet are tormented forever and ever, literally, aeons to aeons.), this entire scenario is one of utter horror, a mighty terror worse than any nightmare. We know from Luke 16 the rich man in hell (hades) is in torments in the flame. This is not a parable, or some allegory as some like to teach. Jesus is very clear in what he says in this description. That is the place lost souls go at present.

What happens at the lake of fire I don't know, and don't want to find out. It is not something to be tested or trifled with...
Since soul and spirit both can constitute the mind, it would mean your mind is literally torn apart: the worm dieth not, nor is the fire quenched...

 

[One God and Father of All]

I have beliefs regarding that which may be different from many teachings. I believe you're "dead" but there is something that exists beyond that, and will experience hell, at least up to the point of the lake of fire.

Paul writes this in 1 Thessalonians 5:23
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Note 3 things there: spirit, soul & body.

Now Jesus says, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Here he mentions 2 things, soul and body, but not spirit.

Now look at Ecclesiastes 12:5-7, obviously talking about what happens when one dies:
"man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."

Spirit = "Ruach" in Hebrew, can mean breath, spirit, wind, mind. (Ruach HaQodesh is "the Holy Spirit" in Hebrew)

So it appears the body and soul of the unsaved are sent to hell, but nothing in scripture indicates the spirit of man goes there; rather, it says it returns to God.

Revelation 20:10 says "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
20:15 says anyone found not written in book of life is cast into the lake of fire, and Rev 21:8 says the wicked will have their part in the lake of fire.

Interesting wording in Rev. 21:8 "to meros auton" in Greek = "the part of them" or, "the portion of them, is in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the death second."
Meros can mean "a part, a lot, a destiny," but also "one of the constituent parts of a whole, in part, partly, in a measure, to some degree, as respects a part, severally, individually."

That can go two ways, and would go along with everything I previously wrote. From what I see, those who are lost are utterly severed: first, their soul & body is separated from God completely and sent to hell, then at the final judgment cast into the lake of fire. But they also are severed from themselves: their spirit is torn from their soul and body, and that right there is probably the most terrifying torment of all, like being ripped from limb to limb while alive, but far deeper than anything physical.

Even if we were to speculate once hell is cast into the lake of fire, the condemned souls cease to exist (As the scripture says the devil, beast, and false prophet are tormented forever and ever, literally, aeons to aeons.), this entire scenario is one of utter horror, a mighty terror worse than any nightmare. We know from Luke 16 the rich man in hell (hades) is in torments in the flame. This is not a parable, or some allegory as some like to teach. Jesus is very clear in what he says in this description. That is the place lost souls go at present.

What happens at the lake of fire I don't know, and don't want to find out. It is not something to be tested or trifled with...

Yes I would say your idea is very unusual in that you believe the body of the dead goes to hell as well as the soul. It must be a recreated body because we all know the body is in the grave. I must admit I’ve never heard of that before.Most of Christianity would say that the soul separates from the body at death. They also say that the soul is immortal.Which is another strange idea because immortal means to never die yet the scripture you quote say that God will destroy both body and soul.

 

[One God and Father of All]

I've said elsewhere on the forum when I read Jonathan Edwards, it was speaking to me the way I was converted. When he speaks of how one should seek the Lord for salvation, 'tis what I did


"Help From Jonathan Edwards
The following things have been gleaned by studying the sermons of Jonathan Edwards and from reading and re-reading his Narrative of the Surprising Work of God.
1) The doctrine of hell is the best doctrine we can use to awaken sinners and to maintain their fears and convictions while they seek.
2) Man's sin and depravity and the law of God should be preached for conviction of sins. Joseph Alleine wrote in An Alarm to the Unconverted: "The heart is never soundly broken till thoroughly convinced of the heinousness of its original and deep-rooted depravity."15 The sinner needs to repeatedly hear that their heart is rotten and of the necessity of God changing their heart.
3) It is critical that they understand God's sovereignty in the bestowal of mercy and His just right to refuse the giving of mercy to anyone. "God has a liberty to bestow His grace upon whom He will. Mercy is God's own, and He will make choice who shall be the subjects of it. God is master of His own gifts, will bestow them on one, and deny them to others. It is just for God to deny sinners saving mercy, but if he pleases to have mercy upon some, none may prescribe who they shall be; but He may choose one, and refuse another." 16
4) God's absolute justice in the damnation of men and in their own damnation needs to be stressed. For this we have used Guidance for the Seeker and Edwards' sermon https://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Justice.html The Justice of God in the damnation of Sinners
5) They should be told that they are both unable and unwilling to believe rightly and this necessitates them seeking God for a changed heart and his saving mercy.
6) Seeking with diligence."
- William C. Nichols

Edwards was a philosopher first and foremost. He considered the idea of annihilation of the soul to be no punishment at all. He would say that in order for there to be real punishment then the soul must be immortal as to suffer continually. That view to me seems to lack an appreciation for life.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

Yes I would say your idea is very unusual in that you believe the body of the dead goes to hell as well as the soul. It must be a recreated body because we all know the body is in the grave. I must admit I’ve never heard of that before.Most of Christianity would say that the soul separates from the body at death. They also say that the soul is immortal.Which is another strange idea because immortal means to never die yet the scripture you quote say that God will destroy both body and soul.

Yes, soul separates from body, but then you have the resurrection, of which all partake. Blessed are they who have their part in the FIRST resurrection. You don't want to be in the second resurrection at the white throne - Revelation 20.

Re: what you said that the view of suffering continually seems to lack appreciation for life - I didn't write it. Human understanding cannot comprehend the holiness and the justice of God. And people will always try to find a loophole, a way out, an escape, hoping against hope it's something less than what's really being said.

 

[eleos1954]

Hell is rarely preached on today. When it is, often it's just a mention in passing, something like, "And if you don't get saved, when you die, God will judge and you'll be in hell." And it's said softly, and nervously, as if the preacher fears to even say it, and is embarrassed by it. Very few times have I heard a sermon on hell, one that strikes the dread fear of God in a soul. The scripture says in Jude "some save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."
When was the last time you saw the gravity of your sin, and squirmed? Even professing believers in Christ must know the utter vileness of sin, and how the LORD must punish it, and those who choose to live in sin over the will of the Father. It is good if it frightens you. If you know the fire is hot, why will you reach out into the flame? Why will you walk in the blazing coals that crackle and burn, searing everything amongst them?
And despite all this, it should be your hatred of sin, rather than a fear of the punishment in hell that drives you to your knees before a Holy God. Fear Him who hath power to destroy both soul and body in hell, yea, fear Him: that is, God the Father, who desires to pull you from the terrible flame.
Here then are some quotes by various preachers of the past regarding Hell....

AW Pink, Eternal Punishment
A Truth Lost in These Days
The subject before us is one that needs stressing in these days. The great majority of our pulpits are silent upon it, and the fact that it has so little place in modern preaching is one of the signs of the times, one of the many evidences that the Apostasy must be near at hand.
The need of giving this solemn subject a prominent place in our witness is apparent, for it is our bounden duty to warn sinners of their fearful peril, and to bid them flee from the wrath to come (Mat 3:7). To remain silent is criminal; to substitute anything for it is to set before the wicked a false hope.

Jonathan Edwards - Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”—Psalm 7:11
They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell; and the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in Whose power they are, is not at present very angry with them—as He is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of His wrath.
The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared; the fire is made ready; the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whetted and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them.

CH Spurgeon, Turn or Burn
We must sometimes use the knife where we feel that mortification would ensue without it. We must frequently make sharp gashes into men’s consciences, in the hope that the Holy Spirit will bring them to life. We assert, then, that there is a necessity that God should whet His sword and punish men, if they will not turn. Earnest Baxter used to say, “Sinner, turn or burn; it is thine only alternative. Turn or burn!” And it is so. We think we can show you why men must turn or else they must burn.
a. First we cannot suppose the God of the Bible could suffer sin to be unpunished. Some may suppose it; they may dream their intellects into a state of intoxication, so as to suppose a God apart from justice; but no man whose reason is sound and whose mind is in a healthy condition can imagine a God without justice.
But to imagine that there shall be no punishment for sin, and that man can be saved without repentance, is to fly in the face of all the Scriptures.

WC Nichols, The Terrors of Hell
Every part of the body will feel the pain of that fire. Men with severe stomach pains can be in great agony from that alone, but this pain will be far greater. Death from cancer is sometimes said to cause extreme pain in the body, but the pain of hell will be far worse. If your body were afflicted with many different and painful diseases all at the same time, you still would not begin to approach the pain of the damned in hell.
Men’s consciences shall be in torment in hell as well. Conscience is the worm that will not die, which the Scriptures speak of (Mar 9:48; Isa 66:24). Dives is told to “remember…in thy lifetime.” Men will be tormented with extreme pain, but they will also be tormented by their own memories. They will remember hearing of hell and scoffing at it. They will remember being warned and told to repent, or told that accepting the blessings of heaven without submitting to Christ as Lord falls short of salvation—but they took no heed to those warnings.

Horatius Bonar, Practical Religion
There is a day coming when sinners shall be afraid, and when terrors shall overtake them as a flood. They are not afraid just now; they eat and drink and make merry, as if they had no eternity to prepare for, no danger to alarm them. But it shall soon be different. What is now far off shall then be near, and sinners shall realize too late the horrors of that wrath from which they refused to flee. In the agonies of despair, when the flames are kindling round them, they will burst forth in such bitter outcries as these, “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire, who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings” (Isa 33:14)? Oh, that shriek of agony! Oh, that awful outcry of surprise and despair! Careless sinner! That cry shall soon be yours; these words shall soon be the very language in which your wretched soul shall give vent to its hopeless anguish when it sees itself shut in within the flaming walls, and feels damnation sure! Oh, then, flee from the wrath to come! Make haste to escape from the devouring fire!

AW Pink,
What has been before us ought to make every professing Christian diligently examine himself. Weigh carefully the tremendously solemn issues that turn on whether or not you have really passed from death unto life. You cannot afford to be uncertain. There is far too much at stake. Remember that you are prejudiced in your own favor. Remember that you have a treacherous heart. Remember that the devil is the great deceiver of souls. Remember that “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Pro 14:12). Remember it is written that “many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” And then He will answer them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat 7:22-23).
There are many who now wear the guise of saints, who appear like saints; and their state, both in their own eyes and that of their neighbors, is satisfactory. And yet they have on only sheep’s clothing; at heart, they are wolves! But no disguise can deceive the Judge of all. His eyes are as a flame of fire: they search the hearts and try the reins of the children of men (Rev 1:14; Jer 17:10).

JC Ryle, Our Souls

But who is responsible for the loss of our souls? No one but ourselves. Our blood will be upon our own heads. The blame will lie at our own door. We shall have nothing to plead at the Last Day when we stand before the Great White Throne and the books are opened. When the King comes in to see His guests and says, “Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?” (Mat 22:12), we shall be speechless. We shall have no excuse to plead for the loss of our souls.
But where does the soul go when lost? There is only one solemn answer to that question. There is but one place to which it can go, and that is hell. There is no such thing as annihilation. The lost soul goes to that place where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched—where there is blackness and darkness, wretchedness and despair forever. It goes to hell—the only place for which it is [suited], since it is not [suited] for heaven. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psa 9:17).
We live in an age of great temptation. The devil is going about and is very busy. The night is far spent. The time is short. Do not lose your own soul.

1st ... we are not immortal ... we do not have a "immortal soul". Only God is immortal.

1 Timothy 2:5

6He (God) alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

2nd Hell is the grave (where everyone goes after earthly death) ... there isn't a "burning place" for eternity .... it's not ok to torture people, not for us ... not for God ... we instinctively know this (God is not a torturing monster). All wait dormant in the grave until Jesus returns.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

King James Bible
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ​

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we (all the saved) will always be with the Lord. When He returns not before.

It's about eternal life or eternal death ... and that don't happen until judgement is complete and then Jesus returns ..... THEN ... those in the first resurrection will receive eternal life ... later ... when the 2nd resurrection happens (of the lost) they will not receive eternal life (of any kind)

Death is non existence. The 2nd DEATH is non existence for eternity. The first death is a temporal state for those in the Lord.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

Death is non existence. The 2nd DEATH is non existence for eternity. The first death is a temporal state for those in the Lord.

I am open to the possibility that once death and hell is cast into the lake of fire, there may be ceasing to exist, but the scripture is quite clear the present hell, and the realm Jesus spoke of in Luke 15 with the rich man and Lazarus is a place where souls are conscious.

 

[eleos1954]

I am open to the possibility that once death and hell is cast into the lake of fire, there may be ceasing to exist, but the scripture is quite clear the present hell, and the realm Jesus spoke of in Luke 15 with the rich man and Lazarus is a place where souls are conscious.

Acts 2:41
New King James Version
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Strong's Greek: 5590. ψυχή (psuché) -- breath, the soul

Greek lexicon
psuché: breath, the soul
Original Word: ψυχή, ῆς, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: psuché
Phonetic Spelling: (psoo-khay')
Definition: breath, the soul
Usage: (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul, (c) the soul as the seat of affections and will, (d) the self, (e) a human person, an individual.

The rich man & Lazarus is a parable.

In John 11, Jesus resurrected His friend Lazarus (the brother of Mary and Martha, not the character in the parable). Before doing so, He told His disciples: “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up” (verse 11). When the disciples were confused about what He meant, Jesus clarified that He meant Lazarus was dead (verses 13-14).

Jesus likened death to sleep—a state of unconsciousness. Jesus’ words harmonize with other scriptures that show the dead have no conscious thoughts (Ecclesiastes 9:5). So it would be contradictory for Jesus to teach that the rich man and the beggar Lazarus were very much awake after they died.

A soul is the entire person .... not something inside a person that is immortal.

We are not immortal in any way until Jesus returns.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

"Today, I’m going to get to the bottom of this matter on why the American church quit preaching on hell. Listen friends, when we quit preaching on hell, then we help people go there by our lack and that's the title of my message today, “Why The American Church Quit Preaching On Hell.” I'm going to list several reasons today why I believe this is so, why the American church quit preaching on the doctrine of hell. Are you ready? Here goes.

I want to begin by reading the words of Jesus Christ as found in the gospel of Matthew, in chapter 10, verse 28. Jesus spoke on hell and he warned people not to go there but we don't, I guess we know more than Jesus does when it comes to preaching his gospel. I will tell you this, friends: when the church in America quit warning people about hell, it was the day God said good-bye to the American church. He has withdrawn his presence from among us. There used to be a time years ago, there was a God-consciousness in the churches because preachers back then preached about a burning hell and warned men not to go there. They weren't afraid to call sin “black” and hell “hot.” They were men on fire for God and lived for eternity but now, many live for themselves and are as cold as ice in regard to their concern for the souls of men. But the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of hell often. He called it a place “where the worm dieth not” and he referred to it as “outer darkness” and a place where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Now I want to read us our text today from Matthew 10:28, which declares,

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Listen friends, in that verse is the key as to why the church in America has quit preaching on hell and the first reason is this: very few church members today believe in a God who will punish sin. That's right, friends, many pastors, many deacons, many church members refuse to believe that God is a God who will and must punish sin. Their concept of God is all love, God is love, and not a God of wrath who must punish sin. In fact, if you stand in a pulpit today in this country and preach that God is a God who must punish sin, the good deacons will come and get you and they'll fight you. You'll have a fight on your hands, friends.

But Jesus declares in this verse that we should “fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” God is the one who sends the sinner to hell. Do you believe that? Do you? This sad spiritual declension in the church in America has been going on for years. Years ago, I listened to a prominent leader of the Southern Baptist Convention say this, he said, “Folks, God doesn't send the sinner to hell. No sir, you send yourself to hell, friend.” That's what the dear boy said but he was dead wrong, friends. Dead wrong. You don't send yourself to hell. If you had any say-so in the matter, you would run for your life away from the smoking pit of hell. You're not going to jump into that lake of fire on your own, rather Jesus said angels will bind the sinner hand and foot and cast him in there, cast him in there against his will because nobody wants to go there.

Listen friends, the church in America killed off the doctrine of hell when they changed their view of Almighty God from a God of justice to just a God of love. That's why you don't hear many sermons on hell these days. I challenge you to visit any major city in this nation and visit a number of different churches there in different denominations within that city over a period of time and come back and tell me how many sermons you heard on hell. I bet you won't hear one. The main problem with the church in America today is that her view of God is too small. We've shrunken God down to our size or smaller. We've put him on our level. Why, we wouldn't send anybody to hell, that's too extreme and because we believe God thinks and acts like we do, why, surely he wouldn't send anybody to hell either. Why, that's not politically correct. God is on our level today because we put him there, at least that's how many view him.

I'll never forget sitting in a large Baptist church and the seminary trained pastor made the following comment, he said, “Do you know what? When I get to heaven, I can't wait to run up to Jesus and grab his hand and shake it for all he has done for me.” That's what the man said: Jesus is just his pal and this foolish pastor is going to run up to Jesus as soon as he gets to heaven like he'd run up to a deacon in the hallway and pump his hand. I guess that seminary trained pastor never read the portion of the book of Revelation where the Apostle John encounters the risen Christ and falls down as dead. Isaiah saw a vision of God too and fell down as dead. But no, we just want to treat God like one of us so he wouldn't send anybody to hell."

https://www.sermonaudio.com/viewtranscript.asp?sermonid=712141710156

 

[Matt5]

The "hell" described in the parables below is actually what one would experience shortly after nuclear war when they are exposed to a fatal dose of radiation. While waiting to die they would experience a lot of pain, agony, gnashing of teeth, weeping and thirst. Nobody is around to help them because they're all dying too.

Take a look at the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.

Bible Gateway passage: Luke 16:19-31 - New International Version

The Rich Man and Lazarus - “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...

www.biblegateway.com

The parable describes the state of a rich man and poor man right after death. Both are alive right after death. The rich man ends up in hell. The poor man goes to heaven.

Luke 16:24 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 a problem with this explanation of the parable is that there are several scriptures—many of them from the mouth of Jesus Himself—that contradict the idea that people go to heaven or hell immediately after death."

"Jesus likened death to sleep—a state of unconsciousness. Jesus’ words harmonize with other scriptures that show the dead have no conscious thoughts (Ecclesiastes 9:5). So it would be contradictory for Jesus to teach that the rich man and the beggar Lazarus were very much awake after they died."

Source: What Is the Real Meaning of the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus?

What Is the Real Meaning of the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus?

The parable of Lazarus and the rich man can seem to tell of men going to heaven and hell after death. But is that the real meaning and lesson of this parable?

lifehopeandtruth.com

In Matthew 25:30 (parable of the talents), the servant appears to be alive after being thrown into hell.

Matthew 25:30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is about the harvests. Harvests are nuclear wars. You are expected to get out of the way. Servants who won't get out of the way get caught up in nuclear war and suffer the consequences. This looks a lot like hell shortly before death.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

It's not a "parable." This explains it quite well as to why it's not:

Luke 16:19 to 31 is another scripture that shows very plainly that the souls or spirits of people are alive after someone dies physically. They can talk, think, remember, and feel pain as it says, but if we take this scripture literally then it destroys the doctrine of 'soul-sleep'. For this reason there are many who would like to explain this scripture away as a parable, because then it enables them to ignore the literal interpretation. This is wrong, and if Jesus believed the doctrine of soul-sleep he would never have told a parable like this which contradicts it very plainly. This bible study gives plenty of scriptural proof that the scripture about the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 is not a parable.

#5.2 THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS (Luke 16) IS NOT A PARABLE​

LUKE 16:19-31 (Jesus)
19 There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in Hades1, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, 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.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and you tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that those who would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from there.
27 Then he said, I pray you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brothers; that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham says to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said to him, If they will not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Note: Although some may ignore the truth of this scripture, by saying that it is a parable, there are several valid reasons which show that it is certainly not a parable:

(1) People are never named in parables. Search the gospels and find one if you can, but you will fail. In this scripture however, three people are named, Lazarus (v20, 23) , Abraham (v23, 24), and Moses (v29, 31), of which Moses and Abraham are definite historical figures who are mentioned many times elsewhere in the scriptures. Parables on the other hand refer to people as "a king" (Luke 14:31-42), "the master of the house" (Matthew 24:42-44), "that evil servant" (Matthew 24:48-51), "a man taking a far journey" (Mark 13:34-37), "a judge" (Luke 18:2), "a widow" (Luke 18:3), "a certain man" (Luke 13:6), "a certain rich man" (Luke 12:16), and so on; but none named.

(2) Every parable has an earthly setting, which the people hearing could relate to, but never a heavenly or spiritual one. In this scripture however, Hades1 (Gtr. hades) (v23), and 'Abraham's bosom' (v22), are not earthly settings, showing that this is not a parable.

(3) Because the settings of parables are always earthly they never include spiritual beings either, although God may be mentioned. The interpretation of a parable may include spiritual beings though, because a parable is a simile, which has a spiritual comparison to it. For example 'the reapers' in the parable of the wheat and tares, are 'angels' in the explanation, and 'the enemy' in the parable is 'the Devil' in the comparison (Matthew 13:39). So if spiritual beings such as angels only appear in a comparison, but never in a parable, then this scripture about the rich man in hell cannot be a parable, because angels are also mentioned (v22). The conclusion to be drawn is that Jesus was relating a true story here, either one that happened in the past or it was prophetic; the rich man and Lazarus were people who had or would actually live and die.

(4) If Jesus believed the doctrine of soul-sleep he would never have told a parable like this which plainly contradicts it. Doctrine should be based on plain statements of scripture, and parables are an earthly story similar to the spiritual truth, and are meant to illustrate it. They are laid alongside spiritual truths as a comparison. Parables should NEVER contradict spiritual truth, and Jesus would never tell one that did.

There are some who would object to this on the basis of this verse, "All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them." (Matthew 13:34). Now looking back in Luke 16 it says, "Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard these things, and they derided him. And he said to them ... " (Luke 16:14-15). So the argument is that Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, and therefore he must have been speaking a parable. This is a failure to rightly divide the word of God on the subject, for if we look immediately before he spoke about the rich man and Lazarus, we see this:

(Luke16:18) "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery."

The parallel scriptures that go with this are Matthew 19:9 and Mark 10:11-12. We see that prior to these verses in Mark it says, "And in the house his disciples asked him again about the same matter." (Mark 10:10). So when he spoke the scripture in Luke 16:18 he was in the house talking to his disciples, not the Pharisees. After all, he was speaking plain language in Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:11-12, and Luke 16:18 so on the basis of their argument that he would only speak to the people in parables, he was not speaking to the Pharisees. Matthew confirms that after this statement about adultery (Matthew 19:9) he was speaking to his disciples; "His disciples said to him, ... But he said to them, ... ." (Matthew 19:10-11). So their argument to try and prove that this was a parable, on the basis that he was speaking to the Pharisees, is false.

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS (Luke 16) IS NOT A PARABLE

This bible study gives plenty of scriptural proof that the scripture about the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 is not a parable.

www.logosapostolic.org

*Also 2 Cor. 5:8 " We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."