WHO RULES HELL?

                             

             So, Who Is It That Rules Hell?

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, does not need to be defended. He is God. But, people are under the impression that God has a nemesis that is opposite and equal to His activity and presence in this world. The perception that Satan is somehow thwarting God’s every move and countering and frustrating His every purpose at every turn is a devilish lie that seems to be endeared throughout humanity. The devil is portrayed as a ruler of hell and a torturer of souls. He has maneuvered himself as a powerful king that wheels and deals for the souls of men. He is seen as one who reigns in Hades and who captures and controls who it is that becomes his subjects. We are taught to fear him and to treaty with him. He spasmodically ups himself from the depths of his throne in hell to grab the next soul and take him to the abyss as his slave and eternal toy.

 

Every media format – movies, television, books, and folklore crown him as the king of hell and the owner and punisher of souls for eternity. Sadly, this false staging is trumpeted in some pulpits from pastors and crusaders who are just as deceiving and manipulative as the Deceiver himself. There was even a church in New York that traveled the nation bringing to local churches a production drama called “Eternity” that perpetuated this very lie - good intentions, but subtle deception.

 

The following is to bring clarity and straight thinking back to earth. It is a review of basic Bible truth about God, hell, and the devil. It also addresses how this evil lie contorts the true nature of God.

 

We Must Not Compromise the Clarity and Soundness of Gods’ Word

 

Tit 2: 6-8 Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech, which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

 

Eph 4:14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

 

1Tim 1.3-4 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths (fiction, fables, inventions, conjecture) and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

 

1Ti 4:6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine, which you have been following.

 

1Ti 4:16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

 

1Ti 6:3-5 If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited andunderstands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.

 

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

 

Tit 2:1 But as for you, speak the things, which are fitting for sound doctrine.

 

2Jo 1:10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into yourhouse, and do not give him a greeting;

 

 

Gal1.8-9 – But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!  

 

As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

 

HELL – THE FACTS

 

Matthew 25:41 - "the hell of fire"

Matthew 18:9 -"eternal punishment"

Matthew 25:46 - "anguish in the flame" (Luke 16:24).

Revelation 14:11 - "The smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day or night." Torment forever and ever.

(Mark 9:48); "unquenchable fire"

(Matthew 3:12; Mark 9:43); "eternal fire"

Daniel 12:2; Matthew 3:12 (Luke 3:17); Mark 9:43-48; Matthew 18:8; Matthew 10:28 (Luke 12:4-5); Matthew 25:41,46; Matthew 26:24; Mark 3:29 and Matthew 12:32; Luke 16:26; Romans 2:6-8; Thessalonians 1:9; Hebrews 6:1-2; Jude 12-13; Revelation 14:11; Revelation 19:3; Revelation 20:10

 

The wrath of God is God’s settled anger toward sin expressed in the repayment of suitable vengeance on the guilty sinner.

 

The wrath of God that falls on human beings at the final judgment - we can say at least these four things about it:

 

1) It will be eternal—having no end.

2) It will be terrible—indescribable pain.

3) It will be deserved—totally just and right.

4) It will have been escapable—through the curse-bearing death of Christ, if we would have taken refuge in him. We will be judged in one of two places - at the cross or in hell.

 

BUT HELL BELONGS TO GOD AND 

IT MANIFESTS HIS GLORY

 

Ps 145:10 All Thy works (to include hell) shall give thanks to Thee, O LORD, And Thy godly ones shall bless Thee.

Re 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

 

FOR WHOM WAS HELL MADE?

 

Mt 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

2Pe 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

Jude 1:6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

 

WHOM SHOULD WE FEAR – God or the Devil?

 

Eccl 12:13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

 

Luke 12:4-5 Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear. Fear him who, after he has killed has the power to cast into hell". (In other words, fear the judgment of God).

Romans 11:20;22 said, "Do not become proud but fear . . . behold the kindness and the severity of God."

Hebrews 10:31 says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

 

(Nowhere in the Bible are we told to fear the devil)

 

WHO IS THE ETERNAL JUDGE – God or the Devil?

 

Heb 10.10  "Vengeance belongs unto Me, I will recompense, says the Lord, and again the Lord shall judge His people." And then he says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Ac 10:42 "And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead….

2Ti 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:

1Pe 4:5 but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Ro 2:16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the SECRETS of men through Christ Jesus. (“SECRETS” – only AN OMNISCIENT GOD knows all our secrets)

Heb 13:4 Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Ro 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

Ps 9:8 And He will judge the world in RIGHTEOUSNESS; He will execute judgment for the peoples with EQUITY.

Ps 98:9 Before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with EQUITY.

Gen 18.25 Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?"

Ps 7:11 God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day.

Ec 3:17 I said to myself, "God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,"

Ps 50:6 And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge.

Ps 75:7 But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.

Ps 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations.

Ps 96:13 Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His FAITHFULNESS.

Pr 24:12 If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?

Ec 3:17 I said to myself, "God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man," for a time for every matter and for every deed is there (Only an OMNISCIENT God can know every matter and every deed of every soul from all time). and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

 

Re 1:17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Rev 14.9-10 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

 

(Whoever reigns over Hell is the Judge – 

The devil is not the Judge)

 

WHAT KIND OF JUDGMENT CAN SINFUL MAN EXPECT FROM GOD?

 

HIS JUDGMENT IS A JUST, EQUITOUS, PRECISE, MATICULOUS RECOMPENSE FOR DEEDS DONE AND DECISIONS MADE

THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE.

 

Ps 9:8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

 

Eze 24:14 "I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you," declares the Lord GOD.'"

There is no Crossed-Purpose in GOD… There is no contradiction within Himself when He acts.  Everything HE does satisfies Himself.  He will never cover His face when He executes His own judgment on sinful mankind.

 

God’s being is unitary; He is not composed of a number of parts working harmoniously, but simply one. 

There is nothing in His justice that forbids the exercise of His mercy. To think of God as we sometimes think of a court where a kindly judge, compelled by law sentences a man to death with tears and apologies, is to think in a manner wholly unworthy of the true God. 

 

God is never at cross-purposes with Himself. No attribute of God is in conflict with another.

 

God is His own self-existent principle of moral equity, and when He sentences evil men or rewards the righteous, He simply acts like Himself from within, uninfluenced by anything that is not Himself.

 

1 Cor 4.3 “…the Lord will come and bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the heart."

2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Ro 2:16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

 

(Only an Omniscient God can judge because He alone knows all secrets of all men and will judge each secret with perfect balance and equity)

 

Heb 4.13 "but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

Matt 12:36-37 Jesus said, "But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Hebrews 10:29 says, "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant...an unholy thing...."

Matthew 11. 24- when Jesus condemned the people in the cities that rejected Him, He said, "...it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for thee".

 

The “furnace” or intensity will be hotter to those who have sinned against light, than to those who lived in darkness…So, hell will be a place of unrelieved torment of body and soul in varying degrees. 

John Gerstner said, "Hell will have such severe degrees that a sinner, were he able, would give the whole world if his sins could be one less."

Luke 12:47,48, "That servant which knew his lord's will, and did not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.'

 

Matt 16.27 "For the Son the glory of His Father with His angels; and WILL THEN RECOMPENSE EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS

 

Because you have sinned against such an infinite God and high command. 

There are different levels of sin and punishment (Luke 10:12; 12:42-48). A crime is weighed according to the seriousness of the command and the stature of the person who is sinned against. It is one thing to disobey your coach at school. It is another thing to disobey a judge. It is one thing to turn in a late term paper. It is another thing to murder the president. The highest command is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength." The greatest being is God. Each time you sin, you commit the highest crime against the greatest being! God ought to be angry.

 

(Since hell will be a righteous judgment, the devil cannot be the ruler of Hell; The Evil One is incapable of righteousness)

 

WHO DELIVERS SOULS UNTO JUDGMENT – 

God or the Devil?

 

 Mt 13:39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

Mt 13:41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

Mt 13:49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,

Mt 16:27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.

Re 20:1-2 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

 

(Biblically, Satan has no contact with souls beyond the grave)

 

SATAN

 

His limited domain is not over hell, it is generally on earth….

 

Job 1.7: "The Lord said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' And Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.'" What's he doing? What's he doing "roaming around on the earth"? 1Peter 5:8 answers that. Satan goes about like a "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 

JOB 2, again, another day "when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord." Satan shows up. He's going to try again. "The Lord said to Satan, "'Where have you come from?' Oh, "'Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.'" 

 

Just going around, doing harm, just making trouble, creating chaos, trying to destroy people."  BUT, HIS DOMAIN IS EARTH…EARTH…EARTH…NOT HELL!  HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY BUSINESS IN HELL.  

 

Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us that Satan is, has, or ever will have any jurisdiction in Hell.  Hell will be the devil’s judgment; never will he be the Judge.

 

Martin Luther said, "The devil is God's devil." God is God and He is sovereign.

 

What is Satan up to on earth?

 

Satan desires to pervert the truth so that what people hear isn't the truth.  

WHY? Satan has only one weapon that can damn to hell. Unforgiven sin.

 

His best way to prevent the proclamation of forgiving grace is through false doctrine-

Dwight Pentecost said, "Satan, of course, would rather not have to do this work of taking away the seed that has been sown. He would rather so control the one who is doing the preaching that something other than the good seed of the Word of God is proclaimed. Think of the work that Satan has to accomplish when the Word is preached: if there are 500 people present when the true Word of God is planted in 500 hearts, he has to have 500 demons to get into 500 different lives to take out that which has been sown. What an economy of operation it is if he can have those people who think they will be taught the Word of God hear some lie of the devil. He has had to work with only one individual instead of 500. But knowing that the Word of God will be proclaimed and that the truth of God will be declared, Satan has prepared to prevent the good seed of the Word from falling into the good ground so that it can bring forth fruit".

 

Satan would much rather pervert the truth than prevent people from receiving it. Even now he is actively perverting the truth by propagating false doctrine. 

(John Macarthur)

 

THE RAMIFICATIONS IF THE DEVIL IS FALSLEY PRESENTED AS

GOD’S EXECUTOR  OVER HELL

 

IT ATTACKS AND MISREPRESENTS THE ENTIRE CHARACTER OF GOD

 

Since God’s Attributes are gloriously manifested in His judgment…to present Satan as the judge over hell and the one who actually judges mankind for eternity, it annuls and mocks the Person of God and the whole counsel of God; additionally, the TRUE FEAR OF GOD is lost in the mist of a false target - Satan.  We teach mankind to FEAR THE DEVIL.  Nowhere in the Bible are we told to do that.  And really, no one really does fear the devil…they think they can deal with the devil. They think that they can out-whit him.

 

This notion foils mankind’s capability to worship God in spirit and TRUTH.

 

Re 14:7 and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters."

 

IT MISREPRESENTS SATAN

 

How could God make the Evil One the executor of His righteous Judgment?  How can the Righteous Judge of all the earth deputize the Originator of evil and the Corruptor of holiness to execute His holy verdict upon mankind?

 

What has God done?  Is He now in league with the devil?  Has He redeemed the devil so that he can function now as an angel of God’s vindication against sinful man?  Is God colluding with His enemy?  Could this be treason against heaven?

 

Hell is a unique crescendo of God’s dealings with each soul that has rejected Him.  This is God’s moment to demonstrate and vindicate Himself to the universe.  

 

His wrath for every ignored warning and all His striving with sinful men during their lifetime and to those who have continually rejected Him is now being eternally executed.

 

IT HARMS THE GOSPEL TRUTH

 

Has the church now become the expositor of false teaching? Is the church now preaching another gospel?  The Gospel presented with this twist is not THE GOSPEL.

 

IT MISREPRESENTS MAN’S FUTURE DESTINY

 

Throughout the ages the premise that Man will prevail in the end has been his song of delight; he always has and will always win in the end.  In every fairytale, every book, every movie, every imagination “…life will find a way…we shall prevail…”  

 

Man always has triumphed over the devil and he can do it again, even in hell. If the devil is in charge of hell, then there must be a way out for man.  

 

Man has never lost to any foe…he will gain the edge at the last second. 

 

Man believes he is the beginning and the end of all that there is, and in the final end, he will triumph again.  Even if failure is forecast or doom is for certain, the inevitable is always postponed.  

 

If Satan is the keeper of hell, then for mankind there is still a way out, even from hell.  Man has always dealt with the devil and he can do it again.  In this idea of hell, the Fear of God is not taught, but the Fear of the Devil is pronounced and highly animated.  The devil is supreme in man’s judgment and it is him with whom we have to do and we are presented with a wishy-washy God who can’t bear to watch. 

 

Biblically, however, Satan has no place beyond the grave with mankind. The devil has no dominion, domain, or jurisdiction beyond the grave.  Satan has no word against mankind in the judgment. Hell is God’s holy ground and the first time Satan will ever see it is the moment when God casts him into it without second thought, without any debate, and with only one angel.  

 

Hell is not his living room nor is it his torture chamber against the lost souls of those who have died. Hell is the echo of God’s Holy Righteous Wrath sounded out throughout an eternity of Justice.

 

At that time, Satan and all his demons will neither know or be aware of any other soul in hell for he will be suffering the agony of GOD’s torture upon them for the eons of reckless rebellion and unspeakable evil. After all, hell was created for Satan and all his demons and thus the judgment of the evil one begins.

 

It is God with Whom we have to do in the great judgment.  It is God who created hell and it is God who will judge man with an eternal judgment, and it is God who will execute His own sentence on man. 

Man must see biblically that at the very end, they are up against God and it is God who is against them and He will prevail without struggle; there will be no way out, forever; God rules hell.

 

If the church presents hell as Satan’s Throne Room, then the heretical

Ramifications are as follows:

 

Heresy #1, the essence and character of the Immutable God must change. He told us that judgment would be a specific way, administered by Him; but since HE has somehow gone into collusion with the devil, He is no longer Faithful, Just, Trustworthy, Righteous, Good, etc.  He has relegated all execution of judgment to the devil.  And, since He said that the devil and all his angels would be cast into the lake of fire, but they are now co-regents with God forever in His eternal judgment of lost sinners…God is a liar. We have no salvation; ultimately, all that the Bible reveals is a fanciful illusion of some spiritual concoction to a doomed collection of mankind.

 

Heresy #2, the essence and character of Satan must change. He must now be given attributes of deity in order to KNOW every deed and every secret of every man throughout all history and all at the same time in order to execute fair and equitous judgment.  

 

He must also be imparted a righteous nature because that is the essence of hell and the type of judgment that God promised and must be executed. Satan is now righteous.

 

Heresy #3, if Satan is not changed, then hell must be changed.  It can no longer be a place where God’s Holy wrath is administered in Righteousness.  Hell must be surrendered to Satan for vindictive, arbitrary, reckless, purposeless torture.  Also, it will no longer be the place for Satan’s judgment, since he is now the Judge.  Oh, of course if hell did change for Satan’s purpose, then again, God is a liar and impotent.  Satan has usurped a Part of God’s Kingdom.  He has kicked Christ out of His Judgment Seat and he now rules.  Satan lost heaven, but has gained hell. Satan rules with God.

 

Additionally, if God lets Satan rule hell, then eternal hellfire would reduce God to some sort of monster letting Satan run his own Auschwitz.  Being tormented at the hands of cruel, unjust tyranny is a far cry from punishment inflicted by a totally pure, righteous, holy, and perfect Lord.  

 

His holiness has already been the subject of praise in Revelation 4:8, 11 and should recall the many statements of Scripture about His character and attributes. God will rule over hell, alone and with full absolute control. Satan will not even have a whisper.