Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

What is the reward of sinners?

I am positive that some of you who have been studying with us for a number of years, will recall that we dealt with this subject a few years ago. However, because a number of religious groups teach their followers that faithful believers go to heaven, whilst the wicked go to an ever burning hell fire, when they die, a teaching which is nowhere to be found in the Scriptures with the specific intention to keep the bride of Messiah from her bridegroom, is the subject of discussion by new believers every few years.

Because those who advocate this teaching, invariably site Yahshua’s parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16: 19 – 31, to ‘prove’ their belief in an eternal hell fire. Let’s make a careful study of this portion of the Scriptures, to get a better understanding of what Yahshua was teaching His disciples through this parable. To start with, we need to be mindful that a parable is an allegory used to teach important lessons. It is not to be understood literally, nor does it describe actual events taking place. In addition, we should not forget that when Yahshua lived in the Promised Land, He lived among His own people the house of Judah, since most of the tribes belonging to the house of Israel were taken captive by the Assyrians and taken into what is today known as Europe more than 700 years before He arrived on the scene.  So, despite the truth that Yahshua’s first advent was only to bring the lost sheep of the house of Israel back to the covenant relationship they made with Elohim, together with the house of Judah at Mount Sinai, Yahshua spoke mostly to the Jewish people amongst whom He lived and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man therefore involved two Jews who had access to salvation knowledge and knew that sin is the transgression of Torah; as opposed to those of us from the house of Israel who were dispersed into the nations of the world and who lost our identity language, culture and faith, who can only return to the covenant relationship with the Father through Abraham’s one seed, Yahshua. We see from Luke 16: 22 that when Lazarus, a poor righteous beggar died, he was carried to ‘Abraham’s bosom’. From what we’ve learnt from Galatians 3: 29, we know that if we belong to Yahshua, YHVH considers us to be Abraham’s “seed” or children and we again become heirs with Abraham to receive the promises Elohim made to him and his descendants (as per Galatians 3: 7). This is an intimate relationship with Abraham, a bosom relationship, spiritually speaking. We are to be in close contact with him in sharing faith in the promises to become Spiritual born again children of Elohim, at Messiah’s return. This is the way in which righteous Lazarus was taken to “Abraham’s bosom”. But, when will Lazarus and Abraham receive the fulfillment of the promises that YHVH made to Abraham. We read the answer in Hebrews 11: 39 & 40, when Abraham and others who qualified to be in the coming Kingdom of Elohim, be resurrected as Spiritual children of Elohim, as follows: ‘And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (40) because Elohim had provided something better for us, so that, apart from us they should not be made perfect.’  The remaining question is what will happen to the sinful rich man?

We see from Luke 16: 22 that the rich man also eventually died. After some time he lifted up his eyes, showing that he too was resurrected and called to Abraham for a few drops of water on his tongue. He is in mental agony since he realizes that he was resurrected as one who knew Torah, but lived a sinful life and will as a result be burnt to death. The rich man is pictured at the very moment of his coming up out of his grave in the second resurrection. Abraham and Lazarus will have already inherited eternal life in the Kingdom of Elohim, as witnessed in Matthew 25: 34, in this way: “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” They will have been immortal for over 1 000 years before the wicked rich man is resurrected to be burned in the lake of fire, as witnessed in Revelation 20: 4 – 5, 15, as follows: ‘And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Yahshua and because of the word of Elohim, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years. (5) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. (15) And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.’  Until then, the rich man will have been dead in his grave for many years, having no consciousness of the passing of time, as recorded in Ecclesiastes 9: 5, in this way: ‘For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.’ At his resurrection, the rich man will see the flames of the lake of fire beginning to surround him. He knows these flames will destroy him forever. Being in great mental agony, he asks for just a little water to cool his tongue which has become dry from his mental anguish, but knows his request would be denied.

We read Abraham’s answer to the rich man in Luke 16: 25 – 26, as follows: ‘But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. (26) And besides all this, between us and you is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ The great “’chasm” between the two resurrections will be the difference between mortality and immorality or a thousand years. Those who will have been made immortal shall never die because they will have been born of Elohim as witnessed in Revelation 20: 6, in this way: “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of Elohim and of Messiah and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”  Abraham and the beggar will be on the immortal side of this gulf, the mortal rich man on the other side facing imminent eternal death by fire. Many of the condemned, like the rich man, will want their relatives warned about what is lying ahead, not realizing that more than a thousand years have passed since they died and that all other people will already have had their chance to receive salvation. The answer given to the rich man by Abraham in Luke 16: 29 - 31 when he requested him to warn his five brothers, lest they also come to the place of torment, informs us that both Lazarus and the rich man were Jewish, as follows: “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ (30) But he said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ (31) But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”  This parable of Lazarus and the rich man does not prove eternal life in a hell fire, but Yahshua was teaching His audience about the two resurrections from the dead for the righteous and the wicked, the one to eternal life and the other to the lake of fire.

Do you believe that sinners will live eternally in torment in an ever burning hell fire, as a reward for their sins? What do the Scriptures have to say about the final penalty for sin? Let’s turn to Romans 6: 23 where we read in the first part: ‘For the wages of sin is death.’  The Webster’s dictionary defines death as: ‘That state of a being, animal or vegetable, in which there is a total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions; total loss or extinction of one’s faculties.’ King Solomon who wrote about death in Ecclesiastes 9:10, said: “Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or wisdom in Sheol (grave) where you are going.” Rav Shaul warned those of us called out of the religions of this world, who know Elohim’s commandments and have tasted His way of life, that willfully sin, will result in our ultimate demise, in Hebrews 10: 26 – 27, saying: ‘For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.’ This tells us clearly that people who sin willfully will ultimately be consumed in the lake of fire – not burn forever in the lake of fire. In addition Yahshua warned His disciples in Matthew 7 not to judge others; since the way they (and also us his latter day disciples) judge fellow believers, will be the same way they will be judged. However, He tells us in verses 15 – 19, that false teachers who do not bring forth good works (or fruit), will ultimately be cut down and thrown into the fire, as follows: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. (16) You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? (17) Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. (18) A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. (19) Every good tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”  We know from the example that Messiah used here, that wood composed of physical matter, when thrown into a fire is simply burnt to ashes and does not burn forever.

Yahshua warned similarly in Luke 13: 3 that unless those who will not repent of their sinful ways will eventually perish. We all know that the word ‘perish’ as used by Yahshua, means to cease to exist and does not mean to continue living in eternal torment. The punishment revealed in the Scriptures is death, cessation of life forever. The point is: even though most religions believe they have immortal souls (meaning eternal life), Elohim is the only one with Eternal Life, as is confirmed in first Timothy 6: 16, in this way: ‘Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amein!’ Eternal life is definitely not something we were born with, since it is a gift of YHVH which He will bestow at the resurrection to those who obey Him. Eternal life and death are contrasted throughout your Scriptures! Yahshua showed by His parable of the tares in Matthew 13, that even amongst those whom YHVH calls, there are some who among true believers were sown by Satan. We read from verses 28 - 30 how He explained that such ones are amongst true believers to stunt their growth and will one day when the elect are gathered, be burnt up, as follows:  “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this! And the slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ (29) But he said, ‘No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. (30) Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” Those wicked ones who sin with the full knowledge given them during their lives on earth, will ultimately be destroyed by fire, as witnessed in Psalm 37: 20, in this way: ‘But the wicked will perish; and the enemies of YHVH will be like the glory of the  pastures, they vanish –like smoke they vanish away.’  We see from Malachi 4: 1, that there is a time coming that will be so hot that it will consume the wicked, as follows: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says YHVH of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”  But who will one day burn up the wicked? Will it be Satan or will it be Elohim? Yochanan the immerser gave us the answer in Matthew 3: 11 & 12, where he said: ‘As for me, I immerse you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will immerse you with the Set-apart Spirit and fire. (12) And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’  This is also confirmed in Malachi 4: 3, in this way: “‘And you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,’ says YHVH of Hosts.”   

The “hell fire” that the Scriptures speak about will be much hotter than the imaginary “hell fire” of most preachers which is only hot enough to torment. The Scriptural “hell fire” will totally consume disobedient believers, never to exist again! The Scriptures plainly shows that those who have known Elohim’s truth and still refuse to obey it, or willfully disobey, will reap the wages of sin, eternal death - as mentioned in Romans 6: 23. The attempts of many theologians to ‘explain away’ death and to interpret it as merely a ‘separation from Elohim’ cannot be found in the Scriptures.  Death clearly does not mean eternal life in the horrifying torments of an eternal hell fire. The instigator of this pagan deception is none other than Satan himself!  If you have innocently believed his doctrine and have suffered mental anguish because of it, thank YHVH for opening your mind to understand the truth! The remaining question is. What then is the ‘Lake of Fire’ spoken about in the Scriptures? What is the furnace that will consume the wicked like chaff and when will this happen? To understand this question, it is important for those who come from Christianity and other religions to forget what they were taught before they were called. Let’s therefore turn to the Scriptures to find the answers to these questions. We commence by reading from Revelation 21: 6 – 8, as follows: ‘And He said to me, “It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. (7) He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his Elohim and he will be My son. (8) But for the cowardly and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’ This very large fire is described as a lake of fire, since it would have the appearance of a fiery lake. Verse 8 above clearly shows that this lake of fire will cause the ultimate second death of the wicked, who sinned with full knowledge (willfully).

Mortal beings like us and animals die once, because we eventually ‘wear out’, as also witnessed in Hebrews 9: 27, as follows: ‘And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.’  But, if anyone dies the second death, such a one will have been judged by YHVH to be guilty of willfully practicing sin, after coming to the knowledge of the truth. There will be no resurrection from the second death, as it will be for all eternity! Revelation 20: 13 - 15 confirms that all those who are irredeemable, will be cast into this future lake of fire, in this way: ‘And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades (the grave) gave up the dead which were in them; and the dead were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. (14) And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. (15) And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.’  So all the wicked whose names are in the end not written in the book of life, will be burnt to ashes in the lake of fire.  We see further from Revelation 19: 20 that the lake of fire will only begin at Messiah’s second coming, during which time His enemies will be cast into the fire, as follows: ‘And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.’ We read from Matthew 25: 41 (KJV) how long this fire will last, in this way: ‘Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”’ The word ‘everlasting’ as used in the King James Version is translated from the Greek word ‘aionion’. ‘Aionion’ comes from the root ‘aion’ which means age. Therefore, the correct translation into English should be ‘age-lasting fire’.  Yes, the lake of fire is going to burn throughout the millennium, the ‘age’ of Messiah’s rule.  During the millennial reign of Messiah and His saints, the lake of fire will be kept burning continually and the irredeemably wicked ones who set their will to persist in rebellion against Elohim’s laws will be thrown into the lake of fire as a stern witness to all the rest of the world, as recorded in Isaiah 66: 24, as follows: “Then they shall go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind.” Then much later, after the Millennium the flames of the “lake of fire” will purify the earth’s surface, as Rav Kepha wrote in 2 Peter 3: 10, saying: ‘But the day of YHVH will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burnt up.’

At that stage, everything that can burn will be burnt up.  People, who are not changed into Spiritual children of Elohim by that time, will as physical beings be burnt up, as we’ve read before in Revelation 20: 15. This is Elohim’s description of what the final ‘hell fire’ will be like. It is still in the future and has not started yet.  The pagan story about ‘souls’ descending beneath the earth into an ‘hell fire’, where people will be tortured for all eternity does not come from the Scriptures, but comes from paganism, even though many in Christianity have come to believe it. Yes, as we’ve read before from Malachi 4: 3, the wicked will be burnt to ashes by the fire which will destroy the earth’s surface. We know for a fact that ashes are not tormented for ever and ever, but are soon forgotten. The death that the wicked will have suffered will be an eternal, everlasting punishment, not an everlasting punishing by torment. There is a big difference between punishment and punishing. It is as Romans 6: 23 says: “The wages of sin is death”, not eternal life in hell fire. The word ‘hell’ used in Revelation 20: 14 come from the original Greek word ‘hades’.  Only unrepentant sinners, those who refuse to obey YHVH will still be mortal at that time. There will be no one else who could die. Therefore, death and the grave will both cease to exist when the lake of fire engulfs the entire surface of the earth. We see from Revelation 20: 10 that Satan will be thrown into this lake of fire, in this way: ‘And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.’ Satan will be cast into the same inferno that will destroy all irredeemable mortals, but since he is a spirit being, he will not be destroyed by the flames, as Yahshua explained in Luke 20:  34 - 36, saying: “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, (35) but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; (36) for neither can they die anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of Elohim, being sons of the resurrection.” Satan will be in this ‘hell fire’, he will not play the role of torturing people as he is represented by the doctrines of the churches of this world. Even though it says His torment will last forever and ever in Revelation 20: 10, this fire will eventually like all other fires burn out.  But Satan’s torment will continue forever as a mental anguish resulting from seeing all he has striven toward, worked for, plotted for, burned up as the earth is purified by fire. He and his demons will also see that glorified mankind will be given the role which he has had from before the creation of mankind, to rule the earth and will be tormented by seeing what he has lost forever and ever, as explained in Jude 13, as follows: ‘Wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam, wandering stars (meaning fallen angels), for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.’

Before going further we need to resolve the question of whether the beast and the false prophet will still be in this fire, as recorded in Revelation 20: 10. The King James Version of the Scriptures uses italics to show that the word ‘are’ in this verse was inserted by the translators. It is not found in the Greek manuscripts and the sentence should read, “Where the beast and the false prophet were.” The unwritten verb should be the same tense as the verb in the first half of the sentence. The Amplified Bible translated this correctly, since these two mortal physical individuals will have been destroyed over 1000 years before the time Satan is put into these flames. Let’s also at this point deal with the ‘hell fire’ that will not be quenched as Yochanan the Immerser explained in Luke 3: 17[1] and we also read about this previously in Isaiah 66: 24. Notice that Yahshua also said this fire will not be quenched in Mark 9: 43, saying: “And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.”   From what Yahshua said here, people have incorrectly assumed that this fire will never burn out, but will exist for eternity. However Elohim’s own inspired explanation of the unquenched hell fire tells a different story.  We read therefore from Jeremiah 17: 27, “But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I shall kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.”  YHVH warned the inhabitants of Jerusalem over 2,500 years ago that He would kindle a fire in Jerusalem’s gates that would devour the palaces and not be quenched. In fact this fire occurred a few years later, when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed all the houses of Jerusalem, as recorded in Jeremiah 52: 13, in this way: ‘And he burned the house of YHVH, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire.’ Since Elohim said this fire shall not be quenched and since it is not burning today, it obviously went out by itself after destroying all these houses and devouring all combustible material. This is in fact what also happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as Yahshua explained in Luke 17: 29, saying: ‘But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.’  We read further about Sodom and Gomorrah in Jude 7, in this way: ‘Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.’  

Even though this also talks about an eternal fire, we know that the fire spoken about here is not still burning.  The expression “eternal fire” used in Jude 7 means a fire whose results are permanent or everlasting, obviously not a fire that burns forever.  Sodom and Gomorrah were utterly destroyed centuries ago, they are not burning today. The fire which burned these cities simply died out after consuming all combustible material. These scriptures prove the “fire that shall not be quenched” will not torment people forever and ever. But we know that these fires did not burn eternally, but burnt out when all the combustible material were consumed. These fires were never quenched or put out prematurely by anyone. The flames merely died out when they had nothing more to consume. In the same way will the final lake of fire not be quenched, but it will finally burn itself out. Let’s also consider the words “THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE” in Mark 9: 48 as well as in Isaiah 66: 24. Because Yahshua said these words in Mark 9, some people believe that Yahshua was talking about worms that will never die. They also believe that those who will be eaten by these so-called immortal worms will also not die, but will live on forever in agonizing torment.  However, those who believe this fail to notice that Yahshua said only “their worm does not die”; He did not refer to the wicked as the “worm”.  So, what is this mysterious “worm” that does not die? Yahshua clearly referred to what Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 66: 24. But what is this ‘worm’ that eats the dead, decaying carcasses? If you have ever seen a decaying animal carcass, the answer should be recognizable. When a dead body occasionally lodged on one of the ledges above the garbage fires of the Valley of Hinnom next to Jerusalem, it was soon infested by many worms or maggots which hatched out of eggs laid by flies. It was simply these worms to which Messiah referred when He said, “their worm does not die”. Yahshua did not mean that each individual worm continued to live forever, but that these worms also known as maggots, would hatch from eggs, eat the flesh, continue in the larval form only a few days, then go through metamorphosis and finally emerge as flies. The worms did not die, they became flies that lay eggs and then die. These facts are known by any student of biology and Yahshua was only telling us what happens in nature. Therefore the misunderstanding of Yahshua’s statement by some should be a lesson for true believers to always be careful to use wisdom and common sense in studying Elohim’s Word. The Set-apart Spirit is the spirit of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1: 7). The Scriptures is one book that makes good sense. Let us study these perplexing scriptures carefully and not jump to hasty, erroneous, conclusions.

Many people have been deceived to accept a false idea of a so-called hell-fire, because they do not understand Elohim’s purpose for putting man on this earth. Elohim’s purpose for man is to develop set-apart, righteous character which will make him fit to receive the precious gift of eternal life. But YHVH created man of the dust of the ground, subject to death, so that if he failed to develop righteous character he could be released from his misery by death. Elohim does not want to torment or to torture anyone. He is love as confirmed in 1 John 4: 8, in this way: ‘The one who does not love does not know Elohim, for Elohim is love.’ He created us mortal for our own good. He will condemn no one because of ignorance, and will see to it that every single one will ultimately learn the truth and have a real chance for salvation. Elohim will definitely not grant eternal life to those who persistently rebel and fail to develop righteous character, as they would simply bring misery on themselves and others for all eternity. Therefore Elohim will simply put the irredeemable rebellious to death, not mercilessly torture them forever. YHVH is also an Elohim of justice and will give the obedient the free gift of eternal life. These truths should inspire us to love YHVH our Elohim with our hearts and souls and not believe the diatribe that some in Christianity adopted from paganism. But, the lake of fire should stand as a fearful warning to all who know Elohim’s truth and still stubbornly refuse to obey it. Only those who obey Elohim’s word (truth according to John 17: 17) and remain faithful to the end will inherit eternal life. All others who willfully live in disobedience to Elohim will die the second death.

Those are the only two options Elohim places before each of us, eternal life on the one hand and everlasting death on the other. The idea of an ever-burning “hell” is clearly a false myth. It is simply a fable that has crept into professing Christianity. But the Scriptural hell fire, the one Yahshua spoke of, will be very real. It will consume the irredeemable wicked, reducing them to mere ashes. Let us therefore strive to qualify for eternal life so we will not have to pay the penalty of eternal death, extinction in the lake of fire. Think about It!

 

[1] Yochanan the immerser said about Yahshua in Luke 3: 17, “And His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”