Light on The Dark Side of God

How The Cross of Christ Illuminates Hell

Thesis: God is just and good in all His ways, even in the manner in which He will
finally deal with His unrepentant enemies. The death of Jesus on the cross reveals the
final destiny of the wicked. Jesus endured the full penalty of sin, thus bringing to our
view the true meaning of hell.

1 John 4:8—God is love.

Psalm 97:2—Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the NOTE: Psalm 97:2 is a style of Hebrew poetry
foundation of His throne. structured as a couplet for the purpose of presenting a
contrast: the first line is a perception contradicted by the
reality stated in the second line.
1 John 1:5—God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
The Wages of Sin is Death, Not Eternal Life in Torment
Romans 6:23—The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ.

Galatians 6:7-8, NIV—7A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please
his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please
the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

James1:15—Sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

John 3:16—For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. NOTE: It is also vital to note that Jesus taught that the
just punishment of the wicked is a future event that will
occur after the resurrection of all the dead at His second
Psalm 34:21, NRSV—Evil brings death to the wicked. coming, and, therefore, does not occur immediately
when a person dies. Compare John 5:28-29; 1
Ezekiel 18:20—The soul who sins shall die. Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:6-15.

Eternal Fire=Fire That is Unquenchable Until It Utterly Destroys

Matthew 25:46—And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the
righteous into eternal life.

Jude 7—Sodom and Gomorrah…are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance
of eternal fire.

2 Peter 2:6—Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them
to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly.

Revelation 20:10—The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day
and night forever and ever.

Jonah 2:6—I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars
closed behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit.

Exodus 21:6—He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master
shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

Matthew 3:12—He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Jeremiah 7:20—Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place
[Jerusalem]... And it will burn and not be quenched.
Isaiah 47:14—Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall
not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; it shall not be a coal to be
warmed by, nor a fire to sit before!

Malachi 4:1-3—1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the NOTE: On the biblical truth regarding “fire”, See also
Isa. 33:10-18, in which both the saved and the lost
proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall
encounter the fire that is Gods’ very presence and glory;
burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch. the lost are destroyed by the fire while the saved abide
2But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in within the fire and are not consumed by it. See also Mal.
His wings… 3You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of 4:1-3; Dan. 7:9-11 as examples of the one fire having
your feet on the day that I do this,” says the LORD of hosts. two different effects on the saved and the lost. For the
biblical definition of the fire as God’s glory, see Heb.
12:29; Deut. 33:2-3; Ex. 24:17; SS. 8:6-7.
Ezekiel 28:18, KJV—18Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee
[Satan], it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight
of all them that behold thee… 19Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be
anymore.

Obadiah 16—They shall be as though they had not been.

No More Pain
Revelation 21:1, 4—1Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away… 4And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more
pain, for the former things have passed away.

2 Peter 3:6-13—6The world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
7But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are
reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men… 9The Lord
is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering
toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will
pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the
earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11Therefore, since all these things
will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and
godliness, 12looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of
which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with
fervent heat? 13Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and
a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

The Wrath of God Was Revealed at The Cross NOTE: Here is the clearest Biblical definition of “the
Romans 1:18, 24, 26, 28—18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against wrath of God.” Three time Paul says God’s wrath is
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men… 24Therefore God also gave them up… revealed toward wicked people when He gives them up
or over to their sinful behavior and its natural
26For this reason God gave them up to vile passions… 27receiving in themselves the consequences. Then Paul says that when God does this
penalty of their error which was due. 28And even as they did not like to retain God in we are witnessing “the penalty” for sin. The next two
their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind. passages are the only other times in Romans where Paul
uses the Greek word here translated “gave them up.” In
both instances he uses the word to describe the
Romans 4:24-25—24Jesus our Lord… 25was delivered up because of our offenses.
experience of Jesus at the cross, indicating that Jesus
suffered “the wrath of God.” Also compare Acts 2:23-
Romans 8:31-32—31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who 24; 4:24-28.
can be against us? 32He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us
all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Matthew 27:46—My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Hebrews 2:9—We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the NOTE: If Jesus suffered the full penalty of sin, it
suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might logically follows that His experience reveals the final
taste death for everyone. end of those who are eternally lost.

“Behold Your God”—Isaiah 40:9

Ty Gibson • Light Bearers • 37457 Jasper Lowell Road, Jasper, Oregon, 97438 • 541-988-3333 • lbm.org
All Scripture References are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.