The Fate of the Lost for paper

I ended my last column writing: So we are dead, what happens next.The Bible classifies the whole human race into two broad categories—the saved and the unsaved or the lost. The saved are those who believe in Jesus and are baptized. The lost are those who do not believe. What happens to the saved is radically different from what happens to the lost. This week we will write about what happens to the unsaved or lost when they die. As we said their body decays but their spirt with full cognitive abilities lives on.

For the unsaved or unbeliever death begins an experience of unending conscious punishment. At the moment of death the spirit of the lost is sent to hell where it is in conscious torment. In Luke 16 Jesus told of a rich man who upon his death went to hell and suffered in the flames of torment. It does not matter whether you think this passage is literal or figurative. If you say it is literal, then it must be a terrible punishment. If it is figurative, the figure itself is so awful to consider that the reality must be much worse.

That punishment is eternal. Christians have united across the centuries in their belief that the Bible teaches an eternal punishment for those who do not know our Lord. Mark  9 speaks of the fire that is not quenched and the worm that does not die—a reference to the continuing existence of the conscious human personality in hell.

At the end of the age when Christ returns the unsaved’s physical body is resurrected and is judged as in the Sheep and Goat Judgement in Matthew 24 or at the Great White Throne judgment in Revelation 20. These descriptions of the judgement both result in the same destiny for the unsaved. They receive their final sentence of doom.

The unsaved are then cast into the lake of fire where they will reside forever, eternally separated from the presence of Almighty God. Both their resurrected physical body and their spirit are cast eternally into the lake of fire, which is called the second death. Some hope or teach that the unsaved are given a second chance someplace in this process, but there is no scriptural evidence to support this in any way.  Let’s examine just a couple of the many scripture verses that describe what a terrible place hell is.

“he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.”  Revelation 14: 10, 11A   and “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”  2 Thessalonians 1: 9

This is the final destiny of those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. To make it more personal, it is the final destiny of your friends and neighbors, your loved ones, your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your children, if they die without faith in Jesus Christ. If this is unbearable to think about, if we shrink from such a thought, then let us by all means do whatever is necessary to make sure that such a fate does not befall us or the ones we know or love the most. But remember it is not our job to convert the lost. Only God can do that. Our responsibility is to share the message of reconciliation. God loves you and desires to be reconciled to you. He has sent his son, Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life for us and who died on the cross in our place to reconcile us to God.  After we have shared that message we can only pray for them.

In my next column we will explore the fate of the saved. It is a much more joyous topic.

Blessings,