The Horrors Of Hell: Mark 9:24-48

The Horrors of Hell: Mark 9:42-48

Introduction: (Jesus on ‘hell’ 4 times as much on heaven)

1. Who’s in the Lord’s lap when he’s teaching this? (v. 36) What are we exposing our children to? Ex. Taylor’s questions

2. Self Mutilation won’t get you to heaven? Ex. Origen

3. Jesus Christ is more interested in your soul than the condition of your physical body.

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. Matthew 10:28

I. Description of the Scene: “into the fire” (v. 43, 45), “into hell fire” (v. 47)

Within minutes of waking up to his eternal damnation in Luke 16 the Bible records the Rich Man as looking across a great gulf and seeing Lazarus being comforted in Abraham’s bosom and crying out in desperation “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” (Luke 16:24)
You want to get a clue about the sort of torment you can expect in hell, go over to the burn unit in Mobile, listen to the screams of the burned, ask a patient that’s had the majority of their flesh melted from their bodies for a description of the suffering, give a shot at comforting a man that can’t scratch his head or hug his child for the damage that the natural flames of earth have brought to bear on his natural body.
There is a significant difference, however in the fires of hell and the fires of earth. If you’re hell-bound this morning you’ll have plenty of company in hell but some things you won’t find in that boiling lake of judgment are fire lanes, fire trucks, fire extinguishers, and fire hydrants; and if there were those things in hell it wouldn’t make any difference. Brother, no amount of dumping, or blowing, or watering, or suffocating, or plowing, or praying can extinguish these fires. Because the Lord Jesus describes this fire in verse 47 as being “hell fire.”
This fire is distinct from the fire we’re familiar with, because these never-ending fires can lap for ages at your never-ending soul and yet never consume the body God gives you to suffer in at the last Judgment.
Not only that, but this fire is different than the fire we’re accustomed to because it gives off no light whatsoever. When God created the heavens and the earth, he said let there be light before he ever set the sun in the sky. The only reason the star we call the sun gives us light is because the one by whom all things consist is the one true Light of the World and He wills it so. But he stated plainly of the unprofitable servant of Matthew 25 that he’d be cast into outer darkness. There’s nothing quite as scary as being in an unfamiliar place in utter blackness. The only thing worse would be to have your Christ rejecting soul condemned to such a place as that compounded with everlasting hell fire.
Bear in mind now as we consider the horrors of hell, that hell and the Lake of Fire are not the same thing. They’re related but they’re not identical, because over there in Rev 20 after heaven and earth are burnt up following the millennial kingdom the Bible says that:
“death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
The flames of hell are presently of the same burning severity to each of its inhabitants. So what’s the point of those inhabitants of hell to stand before God to be judged it they’re already suffering in hell fire? Brother, there will be different degrees of punishment in the Lake of Fire.
Maybe you’ve heard it said, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” That’s out of the Bible (Luke 12:48), and the context is the greater severity of judgment for those that knew what they were supposed to do and refused to do it.
With each gospel presentation refused, God’s turning up the thermostat

II. The Expression of the Suffering: And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:30

Maybe the only thing worse than going to a literal flaming hell forever is the sounds you can expect to hear.
Good folks that die without Christ go to the same hell as the fornicators, and child molesters, and idolaters, and murderers. We’ve all met good natured lost people before and some of them would give you the shirt off of their backs if they thought you needed it. These people would respond to screams of pain or helplessness by running to help, but when your at last confined to your special crevice or torment in the lake of fire, for all the weeping and wailing you may hear, in spite of your very best desires all you’ll be able to do is join them.
Have you ever noticed how a mother can always identify her own child’s cry, even in a crowded place with great distance between them, a mom can pick up the wimpers of her own baby. Might I suggest to you precious mothers that have never been saved by the blood of Christ that if your children join you in that awful place you’ll plagued with their screams for all eternity.

III. The Condition of the Soul: (v. 44, 46, 48) “their worm” (also Isa 66:24)

“their” is a personal pronoun
the shape of the soul (Luke 16/Rev 6)
Psalm 22:6 prophesies from the stand point of the Lord Jesus on Calvary, saying “I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.”
He told Nicodemus, that he’d be like a serpent on the cross. That’s a terrible thing to say about the Lord, but he said it himself, it’s a picture of him becoming sin for us, comparing himself to the originator of sin himself, that old serpent the devil.
When he was suffering that eternal condemnation in your place and mine on Calvary his soul degenerated into a worm under the weight of the world’s sin.
Gr. “worm” means a red maggot
To the redeemed of God, we have the promise that we’ll be fashioned after the glorious body of the author and finisher of our faith and if you reject Christ you’ll be fashioned just like yours. An eternally helpless red maggot in a lake of burning fire and brimstone with a crowd that’s just like you.

IV. The Duration of the Suffering (v. 43, 45) “never”

That fire is spoken of in this same discourse recorded in Matt 18 as “everlasting fire.” That’s the heart of the horror of hell. If it were to end after 1000 years you’d have something to look forward to. If it were supposed to end after 1 million years you could relish the day your suffering would end, but this torment is forever and ever and ever and ever…
To the redeemed of God that go into eternity in his perfect glory the scriptures promise, “and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Rev 21:4
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. Isaiah 65:17
Those that are condemned to hell won’t have that opportunity. The first thing out of Father Abraham’s mouth in response to the plea of the rich man in Luke 16 was “Son, remember.” Those words will ring in his ears for eternity.
Remember those expressions of the anguish of eternal condemnation they will accompany your stay for eternity.
Hell is a place of ever dying, yet never dying; ever burning, yet never consumed, ever weeping, but never heard; ever thirsting, but never quenched; ever lost, but never found

Why I don’t have to go down to hell: Jesus already went there. You say he didn’t, then where are your sins this morning?

Three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt 12)
Went into the lower parts and led Captivity Captive (Eph 4)
Preached to the spirits which were in prison (1 Pet 3)
Peter quotes the Psalmist as God promising not to leave the Lord’s soul in hell (Acts2:27)

The scene in paradise prior to Christ cleaning it out and hell enlarged itself (Isa 5:14)

Adam down there to Abraham “Are you the promised seed?” No, but I was headed up Moriah and the Spirit of God spoke to my heart and I told that boy of mine, God shall provide himself a lamb. I saw his day and rejoiced.”
Abraham asks Moses, Are you the one we’ve been waiting for, No, but the Lord spoke to me right outside of the Promised Land and he told me, said, Son, I’ll raise up a prophet from among your brethren, like unto you, Moses. So he’s coming Abraham, he’s coming.
Along comes King David, and Abraham asks him, Are you the one? No, Father Abraham, but the Spirit of God told me there’s one coming whose soul won’t stay down here in Sheol, his body won’t even corrupt in the grave, so don’t you worry Father Abraham, he’s a comin’.
Then the Prophet Daniel showed up and Abraham asked the same question, to which he answered, no Brother Abraham, but I had a vision on my bed of the Ancient of the Days coming in the clouds of heaven, and he wanted me to tell you he’s coming soon.
After a few hundred years of silence, there came a man through Paradise Gate down there at the heart of the earth, it was a hair fellow, he had a sore throat, and he was kind of rubbing at his neck and old Abraham hollored out to him there, Are you the one we’ve been waiting for…?
Then shortly thereafter, there was a little lady from over their in Samaria, and she said he’s on his way shortly boys. I was sitting there by the well in the middle of the day in bondage to my pass and there came a man to me and he gave me living water, he’s the Messiah, he’s coming soon!
There came a old boy, that ran right through that gate and right up to Father Abraham, and he could just barely get it out of his mouth for his excitement. He said I was hanging on an old Roman cross outside the city gates and brother I was right ready to burn over there across the gulf when I heard the man hanging there next to me cry out Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
And I asked him, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And you’ll never believe what he said to me, He said, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
And Abraham, as the angels carried me down here I looked across that great gulf and you wouldn’t believe the sight I saw. There was a figure over there whose glory was as bright as the sun, he’d just kicked the devils teeth in and he was standing up over there preaching to those imprisoned spirits, and Abraham: he was holding, in his right hand the key to death and to hell. And we’re going to meet God!