Amazing Facts

Doug Batchelor: Years ago, about 50 years ago, I was living in the hills in a cabin. This is not when I lived in the cave; it's another time. I had a radio, and the only thing I could get—there was no television—was one Christian radio station. A gentleman would come on once a night and answer Bible questions.

I would listen, and some were good answers, but for some, I knew my Bible and thought, "Oh, that's wrong." I remember at one point, a college student called in and said, "Brother, I'd like to believe in God, the Bible, and Jesus. However, the idea that God would take the creatures he's created and plunge them into hell to burn for all eternity for the sins of one brief lifetime—I can't see any love or justice in that." He replied, "Well, who are we to question God? That's what the Bible says, so we need to accept it."

She hung up. Then, a lady called and you could tell from her voice it was quivering. She said, "Brother, I want you to give me a straight answer. My son died this last week. He did not profess to be a Christian. He drank, he was an atheist, and he ran into a tree and died instantly. Is he burning in hell right now?"

The host of the program did his best to try to evade a direct answer and beat around the bush. She said, "No, look. I'm telling you that he made no profession of God, he turned his back on God, and he died. Is he in hell?" He basically replied that there are only two options, and her son would be among the lost.

She said, "So he's burning in hell." He answered, "Well, that's what the Bible teaches." She asked, "And how long is he going to burn?" He said, "Forever." You could hear the lady choke as she hung up the phone. I got so excited, but I had no telephone back then. I got in my car and drove 12 miles to a friend's house that had a phone.

I called this national radio program, praying I would get through. Since it's all over the country, the odds were one in a million. The first time I called, there was a busy signal. The second time, I got through. The operator said, "Please stay on the line, you're in the queue." Suddenly, the host came on and said, "Welcome to our program. What is your question?"

I said, "Brother, I believe the Bible teaches that there is a hell but that God is going to consume the wicked in hell. The Bible says that they are burnt up, devoured, and perish. God is not going to torture them for all eternity, and people get varying rewards." I began to give him all the scriptures. There was a radio nearby, and I noticed he had turned my volume off so people weren't hearing what I was saying.

He gave some traditional verses and then turned my volume back up. I gave some more scripture answers, and then he cut it off. He would not take any more questions for the rest of the program because he was trying to unravel the verses I gave him. On my way home, I was praying, "Lord, I wish someday I could have a radio program where I could tell people what the Bible really says."

Praise the Lord, about 30 years ago, God gave us a radio program. Pastor Ross and I answer Bible questions every night around the country and the world. This subject is very important to me. Tonight, we're talking about the good news about hell. I know that sounds like an oxymoron. However, the reason I say it like that is because there are two extremes on this subject.

If you do not understand this, it makes it difficult for you to love God or understand the justice of God. There are two ultimate rewards: saved or lost. Jesus said you're with me or you're against me. There is no Switzerland in this battle and no neutral territory. We do not want to spend a lot of time talking about where the lost are going to be, but we need to understand it because it says something about God and his justice.

We are going to go through these Bible studies tonight, and I am going to give you scripture. I turned away from God when I was young. I went to 14 schools growing up, including two or three Christian and Jewish schools. I went to two Catholic schools, two Jewish schools, and two military schools. I went to the same military school as Donald Trump, New York Military Academy. That is not a political statement; we did not know each other and I had no choice. It is just a fact.

The reason I mention it is because we were required to go to services every week. My mother was Jewish, so one week I would go to the Jewish services which, strangely enough, were on Sunday. Another week, I would go to the Catholic services, and then I would go to the Protestant services. I had a mixed-up idea of God, but they all basically said, "If you are good, you go to heaven. If you are bad, you go to hell and burn forever and ever."

I thought, "God is a sadist." I did not want to serve that God, and I turned my back on him. You would be surprised how many people, including Charles Darwin, Robert Ingersoll, and Karl Marx, turned from God because they did not understand this subject. If they only knew what the Bible really said.

Here are the two extremes. One extreme says God is love and there is no hell; everyone is going to be saved. The other extreme says that if you are lost, you die and immediately go to hell before the judgment. You begin to burn, and a million years later, you have not yet begun to burn. You burn through all eternity.

It does not matter if you are Adolf Hitler or a 13-year-old who committed suicide; you are going to burn for the same amount of time. To me, that was mind-blowing. It just did not seem like there was any justice. When I finally started reading what the Bible said, it was extremely liberating. Do not rush out until you hear the evidence. You owe it to yourself to find out what the Bible says on this subject.

I have been to the city of Pompeii a couple of times. Pompeii was a thriving Roman city at the base of Mount Vesuvius. Even as early as 62 AD, they had rumblings and earthquakes. People knew that the mountain might blow. They knew what a volcano was; Vulcan was one of the Greek gods. The springs were drying up, smoke was burping from the top of the mountain, and hot springs would suddenly appear. They had all the signs that something was going to give.

The people waited for 17 years and did not do anything. Finally, in 79 AD, there was a magnificent eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were shaken and much of them was destroyed. Thousands died. For those who were not buried by the ash, the pyroclastic cloud of superheated material came down the mountain, and many were burned alive and later buried.

Ancient historians like Pliny wrote about the destruction of Pompeii. When they started to excavate it in 1748, they discovered they were running into these cavities in the ash. A French archaeologist got the idea to pour some plaster of Paris in there to find out what it was. They filled those cavities, let it dry, and then chipped it away.

They found it was the forms of people and animals that had been killed and buried in the eruption, frozen in time for almost 2,000 years. As they cleared away the debris, they saw what Roman life was like back in 79 AD. It is believed Pompeii was basically the Las Vegas of that time. You can tell from the murals on the wall.

When I went on a tour with the Amazing Facts board through Pompeii a couple of years ago, we had to say, "Do not take us to this section of the city because it is so blatantly obscene." They thought we would be very interested in that, but I said we should skip it. It was like the Las Vegas of that era.

Some of the Roman soldiers who had been involved in destroying and burning Jerusalem and the temple were vacationing in Pompeii when the city blew. You wonder if that was some form of divine justice. I do not know that for certain, but I think it is interesting. They found all these forms of people who died in this massive eruption, and it makes you think about a story in the Bible.

Now we go to question number one: What two cities are given as an example of the destruction of the wicked? What does the Bible say? Second Peter 2:6 says, "Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, they were condemned to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly."

God rained fire and brimstone on those cities. They were burned and punished. They were an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly at the end. Jude 1:7 says, "Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Here is the question: Are Sodom and Gomorrah still burning? Even in Jude's day, they were not still burning, yet he calls it eternal fire.

It is called that because the results of the fire were eternal. Those cities were never rebuilt. A friend who has done some archaeology in the area says you can dig into the hills where ancient Sodom used to be and see sulfur balls. There is nowhere else in the world you find this. Sulfur balls fell from the sky, landed in the ash, and were extinguished on impact. Some were burning when they fell.

When the Bible says he rained fire and brimstone—which is sulfur—on them, it literally happened. There is literal archaeological evidence of it. I usually bring a piece to the meeting and set it on fire, and everyone smells the rotten eggs. It becomes very visceral. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is not a myth.

That whole valley is the lowest place on earth, about 1,400 feet below sea level. Revelation 21 says Sodom and Gomorrah were permanently destroyed. You can read about what is going to happen to the wicked at the end of time. Lot was rescued from the city at the last minute. Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Lot, so will it be in the days when the Son of Man is revealed."

I think it was Billy Graham or his wife, Ruth Graham, who said, "Either God is going to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah, or we're in trouble." What do people in the world think about the concept of hell? Is it real? How long will it burn? We are going to find out from the people on the street. What does our culture think about this idea of hell? They are all over the map.

Guest (Male): Probably a dark place after you pass on.

Guest (Male): That's where people end up if they don't want to be with God, and that's the purpose of hell. The purpose of hell is meant for the devil and his angels and it's to get rid of sin. Everything that's evil on earth, or everyone, that someday you will end up in hell. And if you're forgiven, there's a chance you can make it to heaven.

Guest (Female): I would believe hell is a place that we will be tortured for eternity.

Guest (Male): Of course there's language of fire and eternal darkness and stuff like that. But is it literal or is it metaphorical? I'm not sure. But what I do know is hell is a place of eternal separation from God.

Guest (Female): People I guess who had the chance to follow God's way, people who have the knowledge of salvation and all that and still choose to be sinners, then I guess that's just the place where they stay for eternity.

Guest (Male): It seems reasonable to think that the devil and demons will be there for eternity.

Guest (Female): I think hell is eternal.

Guest (Male): Oh, hell could be eternal if you don't accept God as your savior.

Guest (Female): I don't think hell is eternal. I believe it's temporary because it'll allow you to repent and to do better.

Guest (Male): I mean there are some people out there who may be possibly deserve an eternal hell, but I feel like those individuals are few and far between. I don't think anybody deserves to suffer for all eternity. So I would like to think and hope that it would be more of a temporary, symbolic, metaphorical kind of thing.

Guest (Male): I'm not sure, but I think whatever the case is, we're going to be there forever.

Doug Batchelor: One thing we are sure of after listening to this is that people do not know what they believe. So, where are we going to get our answers about the truth concerning the punishment of the wicked? Jesus said, "Thy word is truth." We are going to go to the word of God and the teachings of Jesus.

Question number two: When will the wicked be destroyed in hellfire? First of all, the Bible is very clear that there is a hell and a punishment for the wicked. If you believe the Bible, Jesus made that clear. So, when does it happen?

Second Peter 2:9 says, "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." They are being reserved; they are not there yet. Has the judgment day taken place yet? Why would you put a person in hell, pull them out, declare them guilty, and then put them back in again?

People are not being thrown into the lake of fire until after the judgment. God is just. In John 12, Jesus said, "The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." This is sometimes known as the Day of the Lord, the great judgment day. Matthew 13:40-42 says, "So it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into a furnace of fire."

Those who practice lawlessness—the ones we talked about the other night—are going to the lake of fire. But when? At the end of the age. Nobody is burning in hell now because the judgment has not happened yet. This is where the confusion comes in: if you die lost, you have no consciousness of time.

Your next conscious thought is the resurrection before God's throne for judgment and punishment. So, as far as you are concerned, it is not very long between death and punishment. However, we live in time, and it has not happened yet. For those of us who are alive, you do not have to worry about loved ones who died lost being down there burning in hell now, because the great judgment day has not occurred.

You can look at a grave that says, "R.I.P." or "rest in peace." Good or bad, they are sleeping until that great judgment day comes. For a person who dies saved, their next conscious thought is the presence of the Lord. The Bible says the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel, and then the dead in Christ will rise. For them, it is instant, and you can be happy for them. But it has not happened yet because we live in time.

Question number three: If the wicked who have died are not in hell yet, where are they? Let the Bible give us the answer. John 5:28-29 says, "The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

You find two resurrections in the Bible. First Thessalonians 4 says the dead in Christ rise first. Revelation 20 says the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. So, there are two separate resurrections. The hour is coming when those in the graves—where they are now—will hear his voice and come forth.

Job 21:30 and 32 say the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; yet he shall be brought to the grave, and a vigil is kept over the tomb. They are in the grave with no consciousness of time. Question number four: What are the only two choices for all people?

John 3:16 says, "Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." So, who gets everlasting life: the believers or the unbelievers? The believers. However, many people teach that unbelievers also get everlasting life, just in the fire. Jesus said everlasting life is only given to believers.

People might argue that everyone has an immortal soul, but the Bible says God alone has immortality. When the Lord descends, then this mortal puts on immortality. Sinners die; the penalty for sin is death. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What was the first lie the devil ever told in the Garden of Eden? God said if you eat the forbidden fruit, you will surely die. The devil said, "You will not surely die. You will either live forever in heaven or in flaming torment." That is not what the Bible teaches.

Question number five: What will happen to the wicked in hellfire? Psalm 37:10 and 20 say, "For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more... but the wicked shall perish... into smoke they shall vanish away." What other words could God use? He says no more, perish, vanish away, devoured, and dead.

The terminology in the Bible is clear. There are some difficult passages, but we are going to look at them all. We invite you to ask questions. You are free to disagree, and I hope no one is disagreeable, because we want Bible answers. Many people are confused about this.

Malachi 4:1 and 3 say, "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up... You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet." Do they sound conscious at that point?

Psalm 21:8-9 says, "Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You. You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; the Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them."

Question number six: Where will hellfire be located? It is going to be on the earth. Second Peter 3:10 says, "The elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." Revelation 20:9 says, "They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them."

Do you have the picture? At the end of the 1,000 years, the New Jerusalem comes down from God out of heaven. All the saved and the good angels are in the city. Jesus said he will separate the goats from the sheep. There is a day when we will all be together again.

He will say to the sheep on his right hand, "Enter into the joy of the Lord. I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick or in prison and you visited me." He will say to the wicked, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

This is from Matthew 25. He says, "For I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison and you did not visit me." They will ask, "Lord, when did we see you in these conditions and not minister to you?" He will answer, "Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

There is a moment when everyone is gathered. Satan, the wicked angels, and the lost are on the outside. The righteous and the good angels are on the inside. The Bible says the devil will see this as his last chance and will rally Gog and Magog. That is a term; it is not the Russians and the Chinese. Gog and Magog were Old Testament enemies of God's people.

All the proper names in Revelation are symbolic. That is something profound you should not forget. Revelation talks about Jezebel, but she is dead and gone; it is spiritual Jezebel. It talks about Balaam, but it is not literal Balaam.