In the New Testament there are two primary words translated hell in the English King James Version of the New Testament. One word is hades which means the realm of the, especially unsaved, dead. The place of the unsaved dead's spirits or souls is usually pictured as the heart or centre of the earth in God's word the Holy Bible. The corresponding Hebrew word to hades in the Hebrew Old Testament is sheol. It is sometimes translated the grave as that is where the bodies of the dead go but their spirits or souls are still mentioned as going into the depths of the earth. Until the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead the spirits or souls of the believing dead also went to hades in the earth. However they went into the paradise part of hades or what Jesus called Abraham's bosom in the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. When the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead the believers in the paradise part of hades were delivered by Him to heaven (when Jesus led captivity captive) Ephesians 4:8-10. Jesus brought the believing dead as His captives for good from their captivity in the hades although the paradise part.) From the time of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus on, including at the current time, people who die physically and who believed in their heart in their life on earth in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour go immediately to the their heaven into God's presence there at the instant they die as in Philippians 1:21, 23 or 2 Corinthians 5:8. Examples in the New Testament where the word hell is from the Greek word Hades are in Matthew 11:23, 16:18, Luke 10:15, 16:23, Acts 2:27, 31, Revelation 1:18, 6:8, 20:13 and 20:14.
The other main word that is translated hell in the English King James Version New Testament is the Greek word Gehenna. This word is derived from the place called the valley of Hinnon which was just outside the south side of Jerusalem in a valley. In the time of the Lord Jesus Christ and the New Testament it was a place where the residents of Jerusalem put their garbage and it was often on fire sometimes by spontaneous combustion and perhaps sometimes it was set on fire. In the Old Testament this valley of Hinnon was a place where some the Israelite kings and then some kings of and other residents of Judah after the division of the whole nation of Israel after Solomon set up idols or false gods and set fires or heated metal gods red hot and sometimes offered their children to false gods represented by these idols. In this way too this valley of Hinnon was associated with fire and demons. The Lord Jesus Christ was well aware of all the history and connotation of this place especially in the knowledge of the residents of Jerusalem and used it to give a picture of the ultimate place of the unsaved dead.
In this way the term gehenna for hell is practically equivalent for the term "lake of fire" used in the Book of Revelation for the ultimate place of those people who die in their sins or without trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Hell as related to gehenna or the lake of fire will also be the final tormentful place of the devil and his angels in Revelation 20:10. It will unfortunately be a place of eternal conscious torment on the soul or spirit as well as bodies of those who end up there. It is also called by some other names such as everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels in Matthew 25:41 (and see verse 46 in the same chapter). Hell as represented by the immediate realm of the unsaved dead and the word hades as in Revelation 20:13 and 14 be cast into the lake of fire and all who will be by then residing there after their judgment by God in the Person of God the Son Jesus Christ at the end of the 1000 year or Millennial or Messianic Kingdom of Jesus' visible rule on earth after His second coming in glory from heaven to earth at the end of the soon coming 7 year tribulation period. This Great White Throne Judgment will be just before the eternal age officially starts with God making the new heavens and new earth for believers of all ages after He destroys this current heavens and earth. The spiritually dead who did not ever trust in the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts as their personal Lord and Saviour in this life will have no place to hide when they are resurrected with bodies of condemnation and this heavens and earth are removed when the Great White Throne Judgment takes place in space before the Lord Jesus Christ after the Millennial Kingdom.
To avoid this horrible but inevitable destiny for those who don't trust in the Lord Jesus Christ in this life to bear our sins on Himself on the cross (instead of us bearing our sins ourselves for ever from a holy as well as loving God) I strongly urge you the reader if you haven't already done so to pray to God in Jesus' name and admit you are a sinner in His sight and according to His word the Holy Bible and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour who died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead to enable us to have eternal life and a restored relationship with our Creator God. References of the word hell in the English King James Version New Testament from the Greek word gehenna that mean approximately eternal lake of fire as the tormentful eternal place of the unsaved dead and the devil and demons are: Matthew 5:22, 29, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 33, Mark 9:43, 45, 47, Luke 12:5 and James 3:6. Scripture references to the term lake of fire approximately equivalent to hell from gehenna are: Revelation 19:20, 20:10, 14, 15 and Revelation 21:8.
In Psalm 9 the word of God states very clearly the wicked meaning the wicked who don't turn to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) in this life will be turned into hell. This scripture also states that the nations that forget God will also be turned to hell meaning many of these nations and their culture will be turned to hell when they forget God and adopt much in their culture of the flesh, the ungodly world system and the devil. The scripture from Psalm 9 of this verse of those individuals and entities destined for hell is as follows:
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. Psalm 9:17
One thing that is key in all the consideration of whether a particular person ends up in heaven or the lake of fire for eternity is their attitude or belief in God or not. Although we can and do as fallen human beings commit many different types of sins in this life if we truly come to a point in our lives where we realize and admit to the true Creator God the God of the Bible through His co-divine Son Jesus Christ that we have sinned and given offence to Him and His word and commandments (as well as in some cases to our fellow human beings) and don't deserve His forgiveness or to go to His heaven or escape hell or the lake of fire and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that He died on the cross to pay for all our sins and rose again to give us a restored relationship with God we can be forgiven of almost any sins. However when we become true Christians by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour we shouldn't sin or have a desire to sin as much as we did before we trusted in Jesus but should seek to have more of a desire to live for God and Jesus as an effort to show our thankfulness for His giving us His free salvation and also to be faithful servants to earn rewards through allowing Him to work through us and our new nature in Christ Jesus or in God's Holy Spirit for eternal rewards from God. One thing we do have to belief for true salvation is that the true God the God of the Bible is the Creator God which I believe is what He is emphasizing in verse 6 of Revelation 21 when God emphasizes His name as the Alpha and Omega and the beginning and the end. (Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet which is the language that the New Testament was originally written in and that was a major language of the eastern part of the Roman Empire which included the Greek island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea where John wrote Revelation from and the land of Israel or the holy land or the land of Palestine which up until about 1965 or 1967 with the advent of the propaganda of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and now the Palestinian Authority (PA) meant the Jewish people in and characterizing the holy land or land of Israel not some Arab people. The name Palestine was given to the Jewish land of Israel by the Romans after they defeated the Jews or Israelites a second time in 135 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian. A belief in God as Creator means that we belief in Him alone as Creator and not together with other gods or through aliens or extraterrestrials etc. and should be characterized by believing in God according to His word and creating the universe including the heavens, the earth and all life including human beings by His word rather than through some compromise like through macroevolution. I belief the reference to Him that is the Alpha and Omega in Revelation 21 is more God the Father as in Revelation He is usually referred to more as He that sits on the throne although there is here included a reference to Jesus of Nazareth as the divine Son of God or God the Son as He is also given these titles in the book of Revelation elsewhere such as in Revelation 22:13 and Revelation 1:8.
If we in this life come to eternal life and saving faith in God through trusting in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour as above He will give us the fountain of the water of life freely that is He will give us in this life and for eternity a full measure of His Holy Spirit in our heart to satisfy our spiritual thirst. If we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour of us and our life then God the Father and Jesus promise that we will be an overcomer of this world (as in 1 John 5:4-5) through heart faith in Jesus then we will inherit all things particularly in eternity from God including being brought into an eternal blessed relationship with Him to be our personal God and that we be His son (son or daughter depending on whether we are male or female).
However if we never come wholeheartedly to admit we are sinners and trust in God through receiving His Son the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour then we will be doomed to spend eternity in the lake of fire and bearing His wrath for us and our sins since even in the New Testament the true God is perfectly holy and righteous as well as loving, gracious and mercy. We need to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour and sin bearer and the One who bore God's wrath in our place on the cross so we don't have to bear it in eternity if we trust in Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour in this life. Some particular sins that God mentions that will result in people ending up in eternity in the lake of fire if they are not covered by Jesus' blood by our confessing our sins to God in prayer through Jesus and seeking strength from God after we trust in Him through Jesus to get His strenght to regularly return to living for Him by the strength of His Son Jesus Christ and our new born again nature in Him and His Holy Spirit are the following. The fearful means those who have or continue to have the fear of man more than the fear of God to the extent that this fear of man keeps them back from trusting in and confessing out loud at least to some extent their putting their trust in the Lord Jesus Chrsit as their personal Lord and Saviour of us as fallen human beings who can't save ourselves. This fear of man can include fear of what family members, friends, relatives, school classmates, teachers or professors, co-workers or employers would say if we trusted in or if they heard we trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour. This doesn't mean we have to tell everyone all the time about our saving faith in Jesus but it does mean we need to do this sometimes including not to deny our faith in Jesus if someone specifically asks us about it since Jesus paid such a tremendous price for our salvation when He was earth and was crucified for our sins we should at least do something to identify with Him in our lives on earth in this time of generally His rejection by people of this world. The unbelieving means those who don't come to trust in the Lord Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour which includes those who don't come to trust in Jesus as not our the only true Saviour of human beings in the sight of the One true God of the Bible but also those who in this life don't come to trust in Jesus as our own personal Lord and Saviour by deciding in this life to trust in the Lord Jesus for the rest of our lives on Earth and for eternity as our personal Lord and Saviour. If we are or become true Christians and children of God we should show our belief in Jesus by desiring to become like Him and testifying to others about Him and serving Him in some way in this life also and coming to know Him and God the Father (and the Holy Spirit) and His plan for the human race better from His word the Holy Bible and seeking His strength to better live for Him also in this life.
The abominable means those who commit or don't seek God's strength through Jesus for forgivenss and to live for Him without further giving in to really serious sins that are called abominations such as witchcraft or sorcery including some new age practices like consulting spirit guides or putting spells on other people, worshipping the devil or practicing sexual deviations or unnatural sex such as same sex lifestyles, transexual lifestyles or bestiality (sex with animals) or sex with demons as I heard some people like to have sex in astral projection that could likely be with demons (even if they are posing as good angels, extraterrestrials, ascended masters etc.). Murderers would include not only those who actually physically kill some other human being (other than through government controlled capital punishment which God allows in a reasonable way even in this present Church Age as in Romans 13 and also mentioned in 1 Peter). Murder could also include abortion the guy as well as the girl that were involved in giving conception to the unborn child and the abortion practioner and pro-abortion counsellor and also euthanasia in my opinion if it would hasten the death of someone beyond natural end of life. (I don't necessarily think it would be murder to take someone off breathing or feeding tubes if there is not much hope they could ever be able to live without help of them for the rest of their lives as they would probably have died a natural death before that point if such technology was not available.) I also think it would be murder to have anyone put to death who didn't want that such as some possible excesses in euthanasia. Whoremongers would include all types of sexual sins outside of sex between one man and one woman in marriage in this life. For instance whoremongers could include fornication or sex before marriage including what is now called pre-marital sex or some one-night stands and adultery or sex between one or more people who are married but with other than their marriage parter same sex sex whether it is homosexuality, lesbianism or sex involving so called transexual people. This sin of whoremonger can also include a man looking on a woman with lust as I sometimes have some difficulty with but confess my sin to Jesus and seek to renew strenght from Him for Christian living after. This sin or whoremonger can also include a woman looking with lust at a man or these days also men or women that are that way inclined to look lustfully at someone of their own sex.
Sorcerers is from the Greek word pharmakeia and includes various occult practices like getting into higher consciousness through drugs, mantras or eastern meditation personally or trying to use some of these things in an elevated state but often controlled by demons to try to control other people through spells, giving drugs to them or invoking evil spirits or demons on them sometimes with charms or amulets etc. such as voodoo dolls or other items. Idolaters include anyone who worships some other spirit or god including the spirit behind that false god other than the true God the God of the Bible and the Diving Trinity of God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit. Idolatry also includes worshipping any aspect of the creation more than the true God including other people such as celebrities in the entertainment, sports world or elsewhere or who worships nature whether on earth or in heaven more than the true Creator God. Idolatry could also include worshipping oneself to make oneself a god or goddess or an idea more than salvation and Christian living in the true God according to His word the Holy Bible. Liars includes not just what is commonly thought as lies but also deliberately and knowing suppressing truth or promoting in excessive ways false ideas such as the mass media or public education or even sometimes the law courts do when they promote non biblical Christian values or worldviews over biblical Christian ones. This would include the promotion of non-biblical ideas about religion such as that all religions are the same in multifaith views or pluralism or situation or relative ethics such as one can develop one's own ethics other than God's word the Holy Bible and justify unbiblical behaviour for using substances or sexual practices or bad language or violent behaviour. This lying behavour can also include false intellectual systems such as about origins with macroevolution that there is evolution from non-life to life and across genetic boundaries. Belief in microevolution is fine and biblically consistent and realistic and happens all the time such as variation within genetic boundaries in sheep, dog or cat breeding or of vegetation breeding within genetic boundaries such as of apples, pears, vegetable such as potatoes, tomatoes or brocoli.
Any of the above sins or others not mentioned particularly there will lead people to eternal conscious suffering in the lake of fire and the second death and separation from the true God and His love and grace in the life to come if we continue to rely on only our best or running our own lives but all the above or any other sins don't have to lead to eternity in the lake of fire if we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ in this life as our personal Lord and Saviour and commit our lives to live for Him for the rest of this life by His keeping strength and to continue to confess our sins as we commit them and seek God's strength through Jesus and the Holy Spirit to return to Him after we commit them in this life. If we trust in Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour in this life even if we have committed serious sins of any of the above or other sins even somewhat after we trust in Him we can still have eternal life with Him and God the Father and God's people in Him in heaven forever if we confess the sins to God through Jesus and seek His strength for a recommitted Christian life in Jesus in this life. It is Jesus and God's grace in Him that keeps us in His salvation and eternal life once we place our faith in Him but if someone makes a profession of faith in Jesus and then falls away from living for Him or even goes into evil living where they boast and glory in the evil living in a lasting way it is probably an indication that person never made a genuine committment to Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour in the first place as God through Jesus does keep in a relationship with Him all who genuinely trust in Him including a desire to live for Him according to His word especially in this Church Age the New Testament for believers under grace and the Holy Spirit rather than the law of Moses. The scripture reference from Revelation 21 of some of the particular sins including different aspects of them that can keep a human being out of heaven and going to eternity to condemnation in the lake of fire if we don't trust in the true Creator God of the Bible including His Son Jesus Christ in this life is as follows:
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murders, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone (sulfur): which is the second death. Revelation 21:6-8
In this scripture Jesus urges in the strongest terms for people to have a reverential or holy fear of Him and God the Father to avoid living a life that leads to everlasting punishment or destruction in hell. This is opposite to some of the indifferent, proud, self-sufficient, mocking or irreverent attitude common with many people these days (as predicted) with respect to God, Jesus and God's Word - the Holy Bible and to some extent to genuine Christians. This fear of God and Jesus is also in contrast with having primary fear to earthly or human persons that however mighty or cruel they are can't destroy body and soul in hell like God and Jesus can and will to those who have no or little holy fear of him that leads to obedience to him, and worship and awe of him and his word and his way of salvation and service. The word destroy here means to fully destroy or perish or lose but also to mar. This does not mean that God will put the ungodly out of existence in hell in the life to come but that there soul and body will be in a state in continuous and eternal agony or torment or suffering just as the righteous will be in a state of eternal life, glory and joy and rest. The suffering of the lost will also be conscious of this torment as the righteous in heaven will be of God's blessing. I hope you reader if you have not trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour already will as soon as possible acknowledge your sin to God in Jesus' name and ask Jesus to be the payment for all your sin and sins when he as God in a perfect although genuine human man bore all your sins when he died in your place on the cross and conquored death on the third day later when he rose from the dead. There is no other way to escape an eternity of suffering in body and soul in hell which we all deserve for our sin against God and our fellow humans. The scripture reference of this verse warning against lack of revential fear of God and Jesus that can lead to everlasting, continuing destruction or suffering in hell in Matthew 10 is as follows:
(Jesus said) 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. Gospel of Matthew 10:28
Jesus was speaking to some of the self-righteous Pharisees as part of the then Jewish religious leaders but to some extent this could be spoken by Him and God the Father through Him to anyone who hasn't trusted in Him as personal Lord and Saviour or Lord and Messiah. Jesus said to them that He was going His way which most likely meant to continue to follow the Father's will in His first earthly ministry, then die on the cross for our sins, rise from the dead on the third day and shortly after that return to God the Father in the 3rd or highest heaven. Jesus said to them and anybody who doesn't in this life trust in Him as personal Lord and Saviour that they will die in their sins when they die physically and end up in hell and not be able to go to heaven where Jesus was going (again). Some of the Jews didn't understand what Jesus meant when He said where I go you cannot come and seemed to think He meant they couldn't come with him in death rather than that they couldn't come with Him to be with God the Father in heaven is they continued to reject Him. Jesus then gave some elaboration to the unbelieving Pharisee religious leaders and to anyone who hasn't yet trusted in Him as personal Lord and Saviour from our sins. Jesus said to them that they were from beneath and from this world both meaning from Earth rather than Him (Jesus) who was from above and not of this world both meaning from God the Father in the highest heaven. This helped qualify Jesus as the true Messiah and Redeemer of Israel and Saviour of all especially willingly receiving Him people of the world. Jesus then makes things more clear to these non or anti-Christian religious leaders or other people who so far are still neglecting or rejecting to receive Him as the one necessary to receive who paid for all our sins when He died on the cross for us and rose again from the dead to offer us God's eternal life after He lived a sinless life in the form of a man or human. Again to die in one's sins is to die eternally be separated eternally from God and bear His wrath forever in hell and eventually in the lake of fire and to experience the second death or eternal spiritual death. This is what it means to die in one's sins if we don't believe that Jesus is He the Saviour of the world and the unique incarnation of our Creator God. The scripture reference from John 8 of Jesus speaking to the unbelieving Pharisee Jewish religious leaders and indirectly to anyone of any nation or religion who never or who so far hasn't trusted in Him as the One sent by God the Father from heaven to pay for all our sins so we can be acceptable in the sight of God spiritually is as follows:
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither (where) I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he (Jesus) said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Gospel of John 8:21-24
In the Gospel of Matthew 13 the Lord Jesus Christ gives the parables of the Kingdom of God which are a main part of his revelation of the Christian church and the present age which started at Pentecost and the sending of the Holy Spirit and that will end with the rapture of the Church. However these parables also talk about believers and pretend believers in the tribulation following the Church age or in the 7 year 70th week of Daniel when God will again work through Israel rather than the Church but will still save people based on faith in Jesus as one's Lord and Saviour but then will be mixed with elements of the Law of Moses. Although most of the parables that Jesus shared in Matthew 13 or elsewhere in the gospels he did not give the interpretation he did for this one as well as the parable of the sower and the soils so there can't be too much room for dispute of the interpretation of this parable. The sower of the good seed in this parable is the Son of man which was a title Jesus often gave for himself and originates in the sense he used as a term for the Jewish Messiah or Christian Christ or Saviour from Daniel 7:13-14 referring to His coming to establish God's kingdom on earth. The field is the world or mankind or the human race. The good seed are the children of the kingdom meaning those who acknowledge we are sinners and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour. That is those who are true or Bible believing Christians in this present age or believers among the Jews or Gentiles (nations) in the tribulation. The tares are the children of the wicked one or those who don't acknowlege they are sinners are haven't trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. However they might and often do say they are Christians or followers of Christ but they will say they aren't sinners and think they can get to heaven by good works or good merit or partly by good works or good merit of their own instead of trusting totally in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins and their acknowledged nature of essentially sinners that can't save ourselves. The enemy that sowed them (the tares) is the devil (either directly or through other demons). The harvest is the end of the world (end of the age). This means that although all the true Christians will be caught up to heaven at the rapture near the end of time before Jesus comes to set up his kingdom there will be a mixture of true and false believers in the Lord Jesus Christ until the end of the times of the Gentiles or of history dominated by the nations as has been characteristic for much of the present Church age and will be characteristic of the following 7 year 70th week of Daniel or tribulation. After the rapture of the church many more people will trust in Jesus of those left behind by the witness of the 144,000 witnesses who will be Jews that believe in Jesus who will also be left behind to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The harvest will occur at the end of the tribulation. The reapers will be the angels (holy angels). Jesus says as the tares shall be gathered together to be burned in the fire so shall it be at the end of the age. The tares are the unbelievers or false believers. Tares are grain plants that outwardly to some extent resemble wheat but don't have as good quaility grain as wheat and aren't as good for food. The fire there is a picture of hell and the fire in hell. I urge the reader to take this very literally and not merely as a picture of either being totally consumed in hell for unbelievers or just enduring some of God's anger for unbelievers in hell. What I think the Lord Jesus here clearly means is that unbelievers or false believers at the end of the tribulation will be cast into literal hell fire that they will endure consciously and physically as well as spiritually until they are cast into a similiar but worse and eternal counterpart of the lake of fire at the end of time or after the last judgment of the great white throne after the millennial kingdom or messianic kingdom as described in Revelation 20. The expression the end of the world in verse 40 also means the end of the age not the end of the physical world which would use the Greek word cosmos. The word used here is eon which means age. The earth will continue for just over 1000 years beyond this time for the 1000 year Messianic Kingdom or Millennial Kingdom then also this present earth will pass away to make way for the new earth. At the end of the age or of the times of the Gentiles especially of the last 70th week of Daniel or tribulation part of it the Son of man (Jesus) will send forth his (holy) angels and they will gather out of his kingdom (the earth) all things that offend (either inanimate things like pollution and evil works of men such as building or property used against or without thought of God such as for covetousness, idolatry or immorality or this also could mean people who don't turn from their sins and trust in Jesus. Them who do iniquity (lawlessness) clearly means people who don't trust in Jesus and turn from their sins by the end of the age (times of the Gentiles) at the end of the tribulation at Jesus' second coming in power and great glory from heaven to the earth to judge sin and the unrepentant people and to set up God's kingdom fully on earth. Then Jesus says he cast those who do iniquity and perhaps those who offend (who offend him, God and genuine believers in him) into a furnace of fire (hell). Jesus said there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. This last statement of Jesus shows clearly unbelievers won't be consumed or burnt up and annihilated in hell but will be able to endure its flames although with much torment and horror. This statement of Jesus also exposes the lie that hell will be a big party or time for enjoyment and self-indulgence for unbelievers. Jesus says that then the righteous will shine forth in the kingdom of their Father. Jesus is here talking especially of believers in Him and His Father (God) who survive the tribulation and stand for faith in Him and refuse to worship or take the mark of the beast despite a price of death for anyone who stands up to Satan's man the antichrist or beast in the tribulation as mentioned in the beginning of Revelation 20. Jesus then urges people to hear with understanding in their hearts what he is saying. The righteous will first reign with Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom or Messianic Kingdom then in eternity. Those who take part in the rapture or who die in Christ before that time will also join in this reign with Jesus. I urge the reader to trust in Jesus as soon as possible to avoid the furnace of fire. We need to trust in Jesus that he died for our sins on the cross and rose again from the dead to give us new life and to belief in him in this way according to the Bible with all our heart and then we can be sure of full salvation and eternal life including not having to fear ending up in hell because Jesus was judged on the cross for our sins if we receive him. The scripture reference of the explanation of the wheat and the tares including the tares being unbelievers who will be gathered up by the holy angels at the end of the tribulation and cast into the furnace of fire or hell as will all those who die in their sins or without Christ before that is as follows:
Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world (age); and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Gospel of Matthew 13:36-43
In Matthew 21 Jesus mentions some of the cities on the Sea of Galilee where he did much of his public ministry including many of his miracles. These include Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. Jesus compared how they responded to Him God in the flesh to how some cities in Old Testament times responded to God with a lot lesser light of God and what He had revealed of His way of salvation up to then and that they might have been spared if they had the light of God's personal revelation of Himself in His Son Jesus Christ as the Galilee cities did. These cities of Tyre and Sidon and Sodom however committed idolatry and often immorality among other things that without trusting in the Lord Jesus for forgiveness still merits a place in hell. Jesus then goes on to say that one or probably all of these Galilee cities would be brought down to hell or Hades. This is talking about the temporary place of those who die in their sins while the believers go right to heaven now. Those who are in their spirits now in Hades will not have another chance to eternal life but will appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and then be sent consciously to the Lake of Fire for ever. Now United States and to some extent Canada has a lot of light of the Lord Jesus Christ and His way of salvation according to God's word the Holy Bible but many are neglecting or rejecting it and risking ending up in Hades and then the Lake of Fire if they die in their sins or without placing saving faith in Jesus. If you haven't personally trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour I encourage you to do so as soon as possible so you can have a relationship with God and a home in heaven and not have to worry about being sent to Hades then the Lake of Fire. The scripture reference about those of Jesus' time and not being sent to Hell for neglecting or rejecting Him and His gospel is as follows:
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. Matthew 11:20-24
In Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus Christ urged people of his day (and our day) to refrain from insulting other people or slandering them and that this could be a reason for the slandering people ending up in hell if they didn't show remorse and confess their sins to God through the Lord Jesus Christ to have their sins blotted out. If possible if one can get together with the person one has slandered it is also a good idea to ask that person's forgiveness. Later in the chapter the Lord Jesus Christ also warns against adultery and that that can include a man looking lustily at a woman and committing adultery with her in his heart. Sometimes a woman can also lust after a man which could also be considered adultery and unfortunatley these days there are some that might lust after someone of the same sex. This would also be considered adultery and something Jesus is warning to refrain from. If one commits adulutery physically with another then there should be an effort to ask that other person's forgiveness if one wants to be more right with God and the other person and have more assurance of God's forgiveness through Jesus. Although these or other sins would lead a person to go to hell forever in conscious and physical suffering if we ask God's forgiveness through His Son Jesus Christ for these or other sins because of Jesus' death on the cross for our sins we can have forgiveness for our sins and not have to fear we will go to hell but if we are Christians and commit these sins we can lose rewards that we might otherwise get for faithful Christians living. The word for hell hear is Gehennah which is a reference to the Valley of Hinnon south of Jerusalem where the inhabitants of Jerusalem put there garbage and where it was alway on fire and could be a similiar reference to the lake of fire used in Revelation. The scripture reference from Matthew 5 of Jesus warning of people going to hell if they are slanderous or lustful against others if the person doesn't ask God's forgiveness through Jesus for the sins and seek God's strength to refrain from these sins in the future is as follows:
Ye have heard that it was said by those of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, Thou whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of they members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that they whole body should be cast into hell. Matthew 5:21-22, 27-30
In this passage there is described a judgment by God of the host of the high ones that are probably demons or fallen angels and the kings of the earth or earthly rulers especially those that aren't Christians. The scripture says they shall be gathered together as prisoners in a pit which would describe bringing these persons to hell at the end of the tribulation when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to judge the world. The after many days part is probably after the many days of the millennial kingdom and then they shall be visited or punished which for the unsaved humans will take place at the great white throne judgment at the end of the millennial kingdom and there will probably be a judgment of all the demons and fallen angels then too. Then all these fallen beings will be brought down to the lake of fire forever to be consciously punished. All humans including myself and yourself deserve this fate as well because we have all sinned but any human can be spared this fate instead have a glorious eternal future with God, Jesus and His people in heaven and the new earth and new Jerusalem forever if we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and SAviour in this life. The scripture reference from Isaiah 24 of God through Jesus judging evil kings of the earth and demons at the end of the tribulation is as follows:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Isaiah 24:21-22
As I am interested in astronomy, especially planets and space exploration, I continue to be a member of The Planetary Society and sometimes listen to their weekly internet radio program Planetary Radio on their website at http://planetary.org. I listened last night to their program for Monday, January 26, 2009 mostly for the item about the discovery of methane on Mars and the possible implications for life. However something near the end of the program from a Biblical or Christian viewpoint was almost as interesting even though the Planetary Society makes no claim or intent as far as I know to be Christian or Biblical. Anyway there was a segment I think in the questions and answers about the prevalence of the heavy metal iridium in the solar system especially on the asteroids and on earth and why it is much more common on asteroids than on earth. The responsdent from the Planetary Society said there is still much iridium on earth but it is not on the crust very much but has an affinity with iron and most of it probably sunk down to the core of earth in the early days of formation of earth. That is possible also from a creationist perspective so I don't object to that. What he said next is what really caught my attention. He said that another element that has an affinity to iron is sulfur and that much sulfur probably went down with the iron to the core of the earth and still remains there. This would certaintly be consistant with the Bible or views based on the Bible that picture sulfur and brimstone (which is another name for sulfur) in a fiery hell at the heart (core or at least inner part) of the earth.
This angel here in Revelation 14 is announcing the doom probably starting at the end of the tribulation and beginning of the Millennial Kingdom with the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) of the people in the tribulation who worshipped the beast (antichrist) or his image or received his mark in their forehead or right hand. The angel says these people will be tormented with fire and brimstone the latter being another name for sulfur. Whether this place is hell or the lake of fire is not really specified but probably hell also has fire and brimstone if the brimstone coming from the creatures from the bottomless pit in Revelation chapter 9 is any indication. If the place in Revelation 14 is hell it will still be emptied into the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20 at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. If the place described in Revelation 14 is already the lake of fire then it could be in existence for some time and could possibly be in the heart of the earth as well. I couldn't find yet any of the references in the gospels or elsewhere in the bible that mention brimstone being the place of the condemned but these references in Revelation 9 and 14 and the face brimstone is often used for God's judgment also in the Old Testament would make this a distinct possibility. The angel warns that those who worship the beast (antichrist) or his image or take his mark in their forehead or right hand will have no rest day or night forever and that it is by keeping the commandments or God and having faith in Jesus Christ (which implies not worshipping the beast or his image or taking his mark) that people who seek God's will (the saints) will be able to avoid going into this place of fire and brimstone forever. I would therefore urge the reader to be faithful to God and be on guard against the deception or force of the beast (antichrist) but best yet in these last days of the age of grace or church age to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead to give you new life so you can be born and indwelt of God's holy spirit so you can be taken at the rapture (catching up) of the Church to meet the Lord Jesus in the air and then with him to heaven just before the tribulation starts so you won't have to risk enduring the persecution of those who become believers or saints (not Christians) on earth after the rapture of the Church that will all be in heaven during the tribulation and come back from there to earth at the end of the tribulation with Jesus. The scripture reference from from Revelation 14 of the place of condemnation burning with fire and brimstone (sulfur) for those who follow the beast (antichrist) and Satan rather than God and Jesus is as follows:
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:9-12
In 2 Peter 2 God through the apostle Peter mentions the angels that sinned. Although there is such difference of opinion about these angels, I believe and certainly other people who take the Bible literally agree that these angels are probably the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 that had sexual relations with earthly women the daughters of men before the flood. This also brought about some of the reason for the flood by producing hybrid beings that threatened to contaminate the human genetic line. Also fallen angels or demons in general will not have access to heaven denied to them until half way through the tribulation as mentioned in Revelation 12. The fallen angels or demons mentioned here in 2 Peter 2 are confined in hell from an earlier time, probably the flood, and will continue to be the case until the day of judgment at the end of the Millennial Kingdom after Jesus' second coming. This day of judgment will happen just before eternity. Although some of the demons or fallen angels that have access to hell now might be allowed to torment fallen human beings there all the demons or fallen angels will be confined and tormented by God and not allowed to torment fallen people in the lake of fire in eternity although God will punish people who die in their sins without Christ in eternity. The scripture reference in 2 Peter 2 about the fallen angels being confined to hell until the day of judgment is as follows:
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 2 Peter 2:4
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