I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      The destiny of the lost is not a difficult topic to understand, but it does produce difficult emotions.

                                                             1.      We are made to be sad when we consider that some souls are lost (Luke 19:10).

                                                             2.      We are sad because many will most souls will enter into the way that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14).

                                                             3.      We are fearful because we realize that we could be among the lost (Matt. 7:21-23).

                                                             4.      We are frustrated because we realize that there are some things about the destinies of men that we do not know (Ps. 139:6).

                                                             5.      Yet we are confident because we have a merciful and sympathetic high priest in Christ who provides salvation through obedience to Him (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:14-16; 5:9).

B.      Presently, let us consider the Bible’s teachings regarding the punishment of the wicked and the fearful figure of Gehenna.

II.      THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED

A.      There is no better motivation to choose righteousness over wickedness than to consider the ultimate result of those choices.

                                                             1.      The Lord Jesus described the separation of "the sheep from the goats” in Matthew 25:31-46.

a.       The sheep are those who will be judged as righteous for their mercy and goodness, and they will inherit the kingdom and have eternal life.

b.       The goats are those who will be judged as unrighteous, and they will enter the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

                                                             2.      In Romans 2:5-10, the apostle Paul described the two outcomes of the judgment day.

a.       The good and righteous will receive glory, honor, immortality, peace, and eternal life.

b.       The unrighteous will receive wrath, indignation, tribulation, and distress.

B.      For those who choose wickedness over righteousness, consider the nature of their punishment.

                                                             1.      Their punishment is a separation.

a.       As we saw above, the unrighteous will be separated from the righteous (Matt. 25:31-46).

b.       They will also be separated from the Lord forever (2Thess. 1:8-9; see below).

                                                             2.      Their punishment is justice, i.e., a fair sentence.

a.       Notice 2Thess. 1:8-9 – "…dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power…”

b.       The words "retribution” and "penalty” indicate that this punishment is rightly due for those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of Christ.

                                                             3.      Their punishment is vengeance.

a.       Notice Hebrews 10:29 – "How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

b.       Punishment is compensation for wrongs done.  "‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).

                                                             4.      To clarify the nature of this punishment, Jesus compared it to Gehenna.

III.   GEHENNA

A.      Consider the history of the place known as Gehenna.

                                                             1.      Gehenna (Heb. Gehinnom) was a valley just south of Jerusalem.

                                                             2.      In this "valley of Ben-hinnom” (or "son of Hinnom”) had once been a place of exceeding wickedness called Topheth.

a.       It was at Topheth that the Jews had once practiced their most detestable forms of idolatry, even burning their own infant sons and daughters in sacrifice to the Ammonite idol Molech.

b.       See 2Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31; 32:35

                                                             3.      King Josiah reformed Judah and destroyed Topheth.

a.       Josiah had the place filled with the bones of those who had participated in idolatry.

b.       See 2Kings 23:10-14; 2Chronicles 34:4-5

                                                             4.      Through Jeremiah, God gave the valley a new name: "the valley of Slaughter” (Jer. 7:31-34; 19:3-6, 10-12).

                                                             5.      Notice that this place of abominable, idolatrous worship later became the city trash dump – "...it was made the place where to throw all of the dead carcasses and filth of the city; and was not infrequently the place of  executions. It became, therefore, extremely offensive; the sight was terrific; the air was polluted and pestilential; and to preserve it in any manner pure, it was necessary to keep fires continually burning there. The extreme loathsomeness of the place; the filth and putrefaction; the corruption of the atmosphere, and the lurid fires blazing by day and by night, made it one of the most appalling and terrific objects with which a Jew was acquainted”. (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament)

B.      Jesus used this figure to impress His hearers with the nature of the punishment of the lost.

                                                             1.      Eleven times in the New Testament, Jesus is recorded using the term Gehenna.

a.       This word Gehenna (Gr. geenna) is typically translated as "hell” in English translations.

b.       See Matthew 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5

                                                             2.      Jesus used the worst place known to the Jews to illustrate the horrors of hell.

a.       This figure was clearly and personally understood by the Jews.

i.         Jesus was speaking of a place that was fit only for that which is unclean, dead, and decaying.

ii.        Jesus was saying that the wicked are going to the worst place in existence.

b.       For us, let us understand through this figure that the place of eternal punishment for the wicked is the most detestable, horrifying, and undesirable place imaginable.  It is a place to be avoided at all costs.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      There are other figures used to describe hell as a wholly miserable place.

                                                             1.      "…to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire…” (Mark 9:43)

                                                             2.      "…where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48)

                                                             3.      "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and 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.” (Rev. 21:8)

B.      From all of these figures, we understand that the punishment of the lost shall be one of agony and torment, and it shall be eternal in duration.

C.      Thank God that we can all escape this fearful destiny through Christ Jesus.