Is Hell for Real?

Part 1

 

Today many believe that hell doesn’t exist. Many preachers do not talk about hell in their sermons. Some say it is a state of mind or that your life experiences can be like hell. So the question must be asked, is hell a real place or not? It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you it is as real a place as any you can think of. Unfortunately, the vast majority of mankind will spend their eternity there.

To understand hell we must go to the source of all truth – God’s word. Further, we will look at the ultimate spokesman – God’s son. In Matthew 18: 8-9 and Mark 9: 43-48 Jesus warns us that hell is such a terrible place that it is better to be maimed than to go to hell whole.

Some of you may be surprised that there are two hells. There is the current hell where the lost will go and there is a future hell where the lost will remain for all of eternity. We find this in Revelation 20: 11-15.  All the lost will stand before the great white throne of God. Death and hell will give up its dead and all the lost will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire.

The wonderful news is that God has given us a mediator who will stand for the righteous. They will escape this fate and spend eternity with God in everlasting joy. This is why this is called the good news.

Finite vs. Infinite Knowledge

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness.” 1 Corinthians 3:19 

“For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 1 Corinthians 1:19

Man likes to bask in his intelligence. We have made a lot of progress since the 1800s, but compared to God and His wisdom, we know nothing. No matter how much knowledge man attains, it is still just finite knowledge. God has infinite knowledge.

To explain the difference, let’s look at an example. Suppose I brought an apple to scientists who understand apples. They could tell me what kind it was, how to grow it, and some of its chemical makeup. If I asked them to tell me how many seeds were in the apple without cutting it, they could use imaging to tell me the number.

However, if I cut it in two and took out a seed, no scientist could tell me how many apples I would get from that seed. This is the difference between finite and infinite knowledge. Man can manipulate what exists and can learn finite facts about what exists. It is like a fine woodworker. He can take a block of wood and make something beautiful. He can tell you many things about the block of wood he used, but he has no idea how to make a tree.

How do we know God has infinite knowledge? All we have to do is look at God’s word. He tells us that not a single small bird sickens and dies that he doesn’t know about it. He tells us that the number of hairs on each of our heads is numbered. His word tells us that he knows every star in the universe by name. His word tells us that before we were born He knew us and that our book already sits in His library. He knows how many flakes fall in any snowstorm and how many rain drops come down in any thundershower.

This is the difference between the knowledge man attains and the knowledge God has always had. You can put your thrust in Him, for He knows everything.