Dr. Paul Manuel—2020
I. Many wicked men are headed to hell (Luke 13:23-24, 28).
II. Many wicked men are already in hell (Rev 21:8; 22:15).
III. One selfish man goes to hell (Luke 16:19-31).
IV. Careful men avoid going to hell (Mark 9:43-48).
Application: God has enabled you to avoid hell by providing
the only means of escape—the atoning work of Jesus.
Luke
13:23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people
going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make
every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will
try to enter and will not be able to…. 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when
you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God,
but you yourselves thrown out.”
Some in Jesus’ audience ask him to quantify
the number of people who will be saved. He does not ascribe a precise number to
them (unlike Jehovah’s Witnesses’ 144,000), preferring instead to say only that
it will be considerably less than those who are lost:
Many
are invited, but few are chosen. (Matt 22:14)
Jesus advises
his listeners to make sure they are among the saved.
Scripture does not record many examples of
people on the road to perdition, perhaps because the biblical writers hope they
will repent, choosing a different path before it is too late:
[God] wants
all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:4)
They
will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken
them captive to do his will. (2
Tim 2:26)
Those
in hell after death will suffer for their sins in life. The NT authors intend descriptions
of hell to be its own deterrent. Indeed, accounts of hell, with its
unquenchable fire and tormented residents are off-putting. Part of the ongoing suffering
will be an awareness of unattainable bliss by the righteous, forever out of
reach.
II. Many wicked men are already in hell (Rev 21:8; 22:15).
Rev
21:8 The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the
murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters
and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is
the second death.”
Rev
22:15 Outside
[the new Jerusalem] are the dogs [],[2]
those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the
idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
The first death is separation of man’s
material part (the body) from his immaterial part (the soul or spirit). The
second death is separation of man, in his resurrected form, from God. Paul
predicts part of this:
As
in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn.
(1 Cor 15:22-23);
Both the
righteous and the unrighteous will be raised, then go to their respective
places.
Jesus lists some specific sins that consign
people to hell, but it is not exaustive. He admits no exemptions, though, when
he adds “everyone who loves and practices falsehood”
(v. 15), confirming Paul’s blanket condemnation that “all have sinned” (Rom
3:23).[3]
Luke
16:19 “There
was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury
every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus,[4]
covered with sores 21 and
longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and
licked his sores. 22 “The time came when the
beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also
died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw
Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
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.’ 25 “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.
26 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.’ 27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my
father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they
will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the
Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “
‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they
will repent.’ 31 “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.’”
Few biblical
accounts follow an individual’s movement from this life on earth to permanent
condemnation in hell after death. Most texts that treat man’s consignment to
perdition are after the fact, after God has already condemned the individual. Although
one cannot be certain, given the possibility of repentance at the end, a
person’s persistent misbehavior in this life usually indicates where he will
spend the next life. That is apparently the case for this wealthy member of
Jewish society in a story Jesus tells. The story describes how the man selfishly
uses his money and ignores a needy man at his doorstep. Their fortunes diverge sharply
after death as each man goes to a radically different place.
The rich nan goes to hell, where he is some
distance from Lazarus (“far
away” v. 23),
where he endures great suffering, presumably with others who face the same
fate. He must also watch as the beggar goes
to Paradise, where he enjoys great comfort. The
rich nan learns that the gulf between the two groups is impassable (“nor can anyone cross over” v. 26) and that
his suffering is bereft of any relief. To
his further chagrin those he left behind will likely be unresponsive to the
gospel and will follow him to hell.
Mark
9:43 If
your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life
maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.[5] 45 And
if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life
crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye
causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of
God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where “‘their worm
does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’
Jesus offers a radical but theoretically effective
alternative to the temptations that lead a person to hell: self-mutilation (“It is better for you to enter life maimed” vv. 43,
45). This is, of course, hyperbole, an action he does not really recommend, but
it does illustrate the seriousness of permanent consignment to hell and the
measures a person can take to avoid it. “The members of the body must not be
placed at the disposal of sinful desire” (Lane 1974:348).[6]
Suffering in hell is permanent (Manuel 2006): “their
worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (v. 48).
Bibliography
Lane, William L.
1974 The Gospel According to Mark. NICNT.
Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Manuel, Paul http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com
2005 The Decalogue: A
Summary of God’s Precepts for God’s People—On Hostility (Exod 20:13).
2006 “Is
There a Final Redemption of the Wicked?” Eschatology Excursus 6 in A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.
[1]Wicked men are headed to hell:
Gen 4:23 Lamech said… “I have killed
a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. 24 If Cain is avenged seven
times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
Murder is not unforgivable if
addressed in this life (Manuel 2005). Beyond this life, a person’s fate is sealed:
“Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Heb 9:27).
Gen 6:5 The LORD saw how great man’s
wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil all the time…. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe
mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth.”
1 Sam 3:13 I told him that I would judge his family forever because of
the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to
restrain them.
1 Chr 28:9 If you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
Ps 81:15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their
punishment would last forever.
1 Cor 6:9 Do you not know that the
wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the
sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders 10
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God.
Jude 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame;
wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Rev 21:8 The cowardly, the
unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice
magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake
of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Mathew, especially (7x),
employs the phrase “gnashing
of teeth” to
describe man’s experience in hell :
Matt
8:12 The subjects of the kingdom
will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
Matt
13:42 They will throw them into the
fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matt
13:50 [He w] throw them into the
fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matt
22:13 “The king told the
attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
Matt
24:51 He will cut him to pieces and
assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
Matt 25:30 And throw that worthless
servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.’
Matt 8:12 The subjects of the kingdom
will be thro;wn outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
[2]Dog is a
derogatory term for a male shrine prostitute:
Deut 23:17 No Israelite man or woman is to become
a shrine prostitute.
1 Kgs 15:12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes
from the land.
Phil 3:2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who
do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.
[3]Paul
makes the charge again:
Rom 3:9 Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.
[4]This
Lazarus is probably not the one Jesus raises from the dead:
John 11:43 Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with
strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
[5]Vv. 44
and 48 are identical in form to v. 48 and appear in some mss.
[6]Paul echoes
this need for sacrifice:
Rom 12:1 I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s
mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this
is your spiritual act of worship.
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Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
Jim Skaggs