Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: I don't want any of you to go to hell. I want you to go to heaven. Life is so short. Young guys, young women, life is short. So easy to surrender, and you don't have to be fearful. We encourage ourselves in the Lord; that's what the Bible says. And you let God take care of whatever you're going to do today.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. It's so good to have you with us in our ongoing study of the Bible's teachings about heaven and hell. Today, Raul will urge you to honestly consider where you stand with God, recognizing that all who reject Jesus' salvation will be separated from Him for eternity.

Hell is indeed a real place that God doesn't want anyone to experience. As you stay with us today, you'll get encouragement to receive God's gift of salvation. Let's listen as Raul Ries begins our study, The Doctrine of Hell.

Raul Ries: Revelation chapter 21, verses five through eight. He says in chapter 21, verse five: "Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.'" He said to me, "John, write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "John, it is done." I heard those words before on the cross: "It is finished." Done deal.

Death is done. Now I'm in my new resurrected body. Now I get to go to heaven. He came as a man. He came as God. We crucified Him. We killed Him. He resurrected. He gave an opportunity to people to come to know Him and to accept Him as Lord and Savior.

And here we go into the future where He says, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I, Jesus, will be his God and he shall be my son."

That is the future of the church. But then He gives a warning in verse eight: "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

He's really open there. He says, "This is where it's at." A lot of people don't believe in hell. What they don't realize is there's hell and there's a lake of fire—two places. If you're a Christian, you only die once, and then you're in heaven. But if you're not a Christian and you die physically, then you die spiritually. Two deaths.

And in hell, not only do you have all five senses, but you recognize people from the past. If you remember in the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 16, we've talked about this so many times: the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man had everything in life—big mansion, had all his friends come over, and they would drink wine, they would eat. They had these low tables, pillows to sit on, no chairs, no fork, no spoon, but they used their hands to eat.

No napkins. So they'd take the pita bread and then they'd throw it to their dogs. And there was outside this man that was poor, had nothing in life. We've seen people in the streets. And the crumbs that fell from the table, he reached and grabbed them and ate. And nobody recognized him. Nobody would say anything about him.

The dogs would come lick his face because he was full of sores. And in that very place, he died that night at that doorstep. Right there, he died. In Israel, as they were cleaning the streets, there were these people that cleaned the streets and they saw this dead body. So they picked it up and they wrapped it and they took it to the city dump. They called it Gehenna, the lake of fire, where they would take all their trash, burn it, and if you wanted to be cremated, they'd throw you in that fire.

And the party went on until that night when the rich man died. He went up to his room, he probably got ready for bed, thinking about next week, next weekend, having another party. But that evening, he died. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 9:27, there's an appointed time for a man to die, and then the judgment comes. That's what the Bible teaches.

That night he died, and he was carried by the angels to hell, the center of the earth. But before Christ died and rose again from the dead, we called that Abraham's bosom, which in hell, there were two compartments at that time: Abraham's bosom and then the place of torment where the rich man went.

And then Lazarus—he never met the rich man, they didn't know each other. But in hell, he looked over to the other side and he saw Abraham, which had been there for 2,000 years. Now he was there because heaven had not been opened yet. They were in hell, a compartment with Abraham's bosom, where Christ had to die, come down, and set people free, and then hell would become one massive place.

So he looked over and he said, "Father Abraham," by name. "Can you send Lazarus over this side to take his finger and put it in cold water and dip it and bring it and put it in my tongue, because I am burning in these flames?"

What people don't realize is that the lake of fire, hell, first of all, when people die and they go to hell forever, it's not a comfortable place. It's a place where the worm never dies, Jesus said, and where the flames are there for eternity, and people mourn and they wail and they cry.

That's what the Bible teaches. And in that instance where Lazarus was, he looked over and he wanted this little man that was never recognized. He said, "If you can, tell Lazarus to come over this side to dip his finger in cold water and put it in my tongue because I am burning in these flames."

And Abraham said, "Hey, you've had the chances. Too late." "But Father Abraham, I have five brothers. I don't want them to come here. I don't want them to come to this place." And then Abraham said, "Even if someone goes back from the dead, they still will not believe."

Jesus came, He died and rose again, and how many people really believe that there's a hell, that there's a heaven? Because when Christ died and rose again from the dead—before He rose from the dead, He went down to hell to lead captivity free, Peter says.

He took Abraham's bosom and emptied it out, took them out, went to heaven, and then hell became one massive place, the center of the earth. Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled. If you believe in Me, believe also that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I'm coming back again to receive you to Myself so that where I am, you also will be with Me," speaking to the Christian.

The devil has nothing to offer but death—total death. And I take it very seriously because of what Jesus said. The first time we have the mention of hell, guess where it's found? In the New Testament. And guess who's preaching it? Jesus is preaching it, the first one.

He says in Matthew 25:41: "And then He will also say to those on His left hand when He judges, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" Hell was not made for you and me; it was made for the devil and his angels. But we make the choice to go there by rejecting Christ.

Job, in his own personal life, said, "If a man dies, will he live again?" Good question. "All the days of my struggle, I wait until my change comes." You see, I'm going to die. You take your last breath; I'll take my last breath. There's an appointed time.

And we have to understand that there is heaven. Heaven's incredible. I don't understand it. The new heaven will be a square: 1,500 miles, 1,500 miles, 1,500 miles, 1,500 miles—a square. He says, "I am the Alpha, the Omega." There's going to be a throne, there's going to be angels, there's going to be people that I've known in the church here and before—family members, my mom, my dad, Chuck, Kay, all these people. You see?

And those of you that you know, when you get to heaven, you'll see them there. But if somebody doesn't go to heaven in your family, you're not going to get to heaven and say, "Man, where is my..." It doesn't work that way. It's a new mind, it's a new life. You never think about your family ever again. Done.

That's why you have to be careful what you believe in—very, very careful. Because the question is asked: "Is there a literal hell?" Yes, there is. He says in Matthew 5:21-22: "You have heard that it was said in the old days, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of judgment.' But I say unto you, whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgment. Whoever says to his brother, 'Raca,' or 'you fool,' shall be in danger of the council; but whoever says 'you fool' shall be in danger of hell and fire."

It's critical that Jesus was warning: "Hey, there is a hell." And you’ve got to be careful how you live, how you speak, the things that you do as a Christian. I mean, how many people do you know that call themselves Christians, and yet they keep people away from Christ? They still do the things that they used to do. No change.

There has to be a change. Your friends have to see it. They know you better than anybody else in your family. When you have a real change, your family, if they're not Christians, they think you're a fanatic now. They don't want to talk to you because as a new Christian, you want everybody to get saved.

But then your family, if they come to know Christ—awesome. But it's really sad when someone in a family doesn't come to Christ and they die. And you, because we study the Scriptures, we know where they are forever. Because I know the struggles that I go through, the struggles you go through, friends that you have, relatives you have, they not only entice you to do things that you don't do anymore, but because you don't want to offend, you do them.

And then the Holy Spirit says, "Why did you do that?" You see, we have an alarm. We have an alarm. You can't excuse it and say, "Well, I didn't know about that." You know, because before you do it, the Holy Spirit says, "Don't do that."

You have to make a choice. Either I'm going to sin or I'm not going to sin. Am I either going to believe the Word of God, and if I do sin against God, I'm willfully transgressing against the grace of God and the love of God? So there's punishment.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. For resources to enrich your faith and direct you in God's truth, visit somebodylovesyou.com. Raul's four-part series titled Heaven or Hell is conveniently available on both CD and USB. We'll tell you how you can get your copy in just a few moments. But first, let's continue with Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: In Matthew 5:29, He said: "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell." So there is a spiritual body cast into hell—all five senses. You can see, you can hear, you can smell, you can talk.

And He's not saying here that you're to pluck your eye; otherwise, you have another eye. And if you pluck the other, you don't have any eye. So what He's talking about is: "Get rid of your sin!" If you don't get rid of your sin, that sin will destroy you. That sin will take you to hell.

But we have the Holy Spirit to convict me, to bring me to that place where I say, "You know what? That's a no-no. I can't do that anymore. If I do, I made a choice. Now I have to pay the penalty." God doesn't want to punish you. He doesn't want to punish you; He wants to bless you. But in blessing, there's obedience. In cursing, there's disobedience.

I am the Alpha, I am the Omega, the First and the Last. And when He died and rose again from the dead, right before He rose again, He went down to hell—Sheol, Hades—and took Abraham's bosom, delivered them, and hell became an expansion—one major place in the center of the earth. Millions and billions of people in hell today. And they have five senses.

Those of us that are going to be in heaven, those that are in heaven, it's a whole new life. There's a throne of God, there are the angels of God—millions and billions—and the church worshipping the Lord.

And I think that for us as believers in the times we're living in today, it's important to hear the heartbeat of God in my life. That means I get into the Word of God; I read God's Word. But if you're not reading and praying, how can He speak to you? Guess who speaks to you? The devil.

You have no protection. That's why Paul, in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6, in verse 10 all the way down to 18, he speaks about the armor of God: the helmet, the shield, the sword, the breastplate—all that so you can fight the enemy, block all his arrows when he's trying to pierce your heart, but you have a breastplate.

But he never speaks about turning your back on the devil. He never speaks about the back part of the armor because as Christians, we should never, ever turn around and run the other way. You have an open target. Satan will get you big time.

In Matthew 23:33, Jesus said: "You snakes, you brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" In Mark 9:43-48, Jesus: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off." Again, it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

"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. 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, where the worm never dies and the fire is not quenched." That's Jesus.

And that's hell. That's not Gehenna, that's not the lake of fire; that's hell. And that's why hell is not a permanent place. It's a temporary place. Later on, it's going to be cast into the lake of fire. For you and for me, it's important that we understand that God loves you.

And that there's a time coming as Matthew 25:41 says, and then Jesus will say to those on His left side, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." So the lake of fire was for Satan and his angels, and people today choose—make the choice—to be with Satan and his angels in hell when they die.

But we shouldn't be afraid. Greater is He in me than he that's in the world, and that's Jesus. I don't know where you stand today in your personal life, what you've been doing this past week. Nobody has to know. But if you're here and you're still doing the things you did in the past, then that means Christ has not really touched your life.

Because if Christ touches your life, there's conviction. You feel guilty. "Man, why did I do that? Lord, forgive me, I repent." Awesome. Don't do it again. But how many times people have been convinced, those people that you're trying to evangelize, bring them to heaven—because you're weak, you're not reading, you're not praying, you're not going to church to have fellowship with others, and what happens? You have nothing to defend you. You go down.

And when you go down, Satan's there to meet you and to destroy you. Then He will say to those on His left: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

But in heaven, here we are worshipping the Lord—millions, billions of people that have gone to heaven. And remember, this is the first heaven, the earth. The second heaven is the moon, the stars, the sun, all the galaxies. And the third heaven is where God lives and where we will live.

The moment I die, the moment you die, you're in the presence of the Lord, the throne of God in heaven. Now, when you die, you're going to go into judgment as a Christian. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 and in Romans chapter 14:10, it speaks of the Bema Seat of Christ.

The Bema Seat of Christ is a judgment that as a child of God, I'm going to stand before the Lord—not for my sins. The moment you accept Christ and you truly are born again of the Holy Spirit, every one of your sins you've committed is gone, erased.

But when you come to that place in your life and you're going to stand in the presence of the Lord in heaven, you're going to be able to see the throne of God and every one of those people that are there that have only died once and now they live forever. Whereas in hell, you've actually died twice—physically, spiritually—and then it's over, forever and ever.

But for us as Christians, we have hope. "Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in Me. Believe also that I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I'm coming back to receive you to Myself so that where I am, you also will be with Me." That's what He said. That's what He said to you and me.

Now the question is this: Do you want to go to heaven or do you want to go to hell? You make the choice. God already made the choice: He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross. The devil made the choice—tried to take over the throne of God. God kicked him out of heaven. He deceived Adam and Eve. Our first parents were deceived by the devil.

He's a great deceiver. He makes everything look nice. Remember Jesus in Matthew chapter 4, Luke chapter 4, where the three temptations come to Jesus: physically, emotionally, spiritually? He thought again that he could lie to Jesus and deceive Him and then he could come into power, but he was wrong.

And people are wrong that are trying to live in this world and allow Satan to rule their lives. Because he's deceived millions and billions of people. Very good deceiver. But yet, Jesus is a Great Comforter. That's why He gave the Holy Spirit—the Comforter's the Holy Spirit—the one that would come along and comfort us.

He would convict us of sin. He would put conviction in my life so that when I'm not a Christian, I'm getting convicted. As I'm getting convicted, He's with me, and now I accept the Lord by repentance. He comes into my life, and as He comes into my life, I need power. So within, boom, upon my life—the threefold: within, in, and upon. Acts chapter 1, verse 8; chapter 2, verses 1 through 4 in Acts.

You have power now. Power over sin, power to pray, power to read, power to witness to people. And we need that every single day of our lives. And I don't want any of you to go to hell. I want you to go to heaven. Life is so short. Young guys, young women, life is short.

So easy to surrender, and you don't have to be fearful. We encourage ourselves in the Lord; that's what the Bible says. And you let God take care of whatever you're going to do today.

Guest (Male): Well, if you've never received Jesus' gift of salvation and His promise of a heavenly home, we pray that you'll make that decision today—not out of a fear of hell, but in response to God's amazing love.

You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's study was titled The Doctrine of Hell. We've made an unedited version available to you for a donation of five dollars or more. To get a copy, just call us at 800-634-9165.

We'd also like to tell you about Raul's four-part Heaven or Hell series, which is available on both CD and thumb drive. Further exploring the Bible's teachings into the afterlife, this resource will help solidify your faith in God's provision for eternal life. You'll also learn why surrendering to the Lord Jesus is the only way to heaven.

Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's four-message Heaven or Hell study. We'll send you the CD set for eighteen dollars or the flash drive for just ten dollars. The number once again is 800-634-9165.

Our mailing address, if you choose to write us, is Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. We are funded solely through the tax-deductible gifts of partners just like you. Thank you for helping us spread the good news of the Gospel.

And tune in next time as we continue this series with a sobering word of caution about the finality of rejecting God's forgiveness. We'll see that all who deny His salvation will spend eternity apart from Him. That's next time on Somebody Loves You Radio.