Allen Webster

Topic(s): Eternity & Judgment, Pain & Suffering, Prayer, Sin

Links to this entire series:

• A Hopeless, Helpless, Hapless Man: Part 1
• A Hopeless, Helpless, Hapless Man: Part 2
• A Hopeless, Helpless, Hapless Man: Part 3

French scientists once experimented on a murderer who had been sentenced to death. The condemned man was blindfolded, strapped to a table, and told that an artery in his arm would be severed and that he would bleed to death in a matter of minutes. The scientists made a superficial wound on his skin, not telling him how minor it was. Then they poured warm water over his arm, which he thought was blood. In only a few minutes he died because he was convinced of the hopelessness of his situation.

It would be truly awful to be truly hopeless. One “rich man” was.
His situation was hopeless because he was in a place impossible to leave (continued). Is hell eternal? Does the word aionos mean “forever” or only “of long duration?” Consider:

• Matthew 25:46 has everlasting punishment and life eternal.
• Romans 16:26 describes God as the everlasting God.
• Hebrews 9:14 speaks of the eternal Spirit.

Consider these four phrases: “everlasting punishment,” “eternal life,” “everlasting God,” and “eternal spirit.” The word translated “everlasting” and “eternal” in these passages is a form of the same Greek word, aionios which means “eternal, everlasting, without end, never to cease, or indeterminate as to duration.”¹ The only difference between the words “everlasting’ and “eternal” in the English language is how they are spelled. There is not a single argument that can be made against the doctrine of an eternal hell which cannot be applied with equal force against the doctrine of an eternal heaven.

• If a man decides that hell’s fires will go out in 1,000 years, then at the end of ten centuries the light in heaven will go out.

• At the moment the wicked cease to be punished in hell, at the same moment God Almighty and the Holy Spirit will go out of existence. Yet the Bible teaches that in the ages behind us there was never a time when God was not, and in the eternity of eternities ahead of us there will never be a time when God will not be. He has been from everlasting; He will be through everlasting (Psalm 90:1-2).

When we see a person, what do we consider about that individual? Pretty or unattractive? Rich or poor? Educated or uneducated? Successful or unsuccessful? Friendly or cold? Popular or friendless? We ought to see one made in God’s image for whom Jesus died and who will either forever live with God in heaven or burn in the fires of hell. The only thing in this world that will last is people. Nations rise and fall, cultures come and go, but people live forever. The tragedy of all tragedies and the calamity of all calamities is to die without Christ! The number one issue facing each person right now is neither political, financial, social, economic, nor relational—it is spiritual! The only two things that matter in life are (1) to get right with God and (2) to stay right with God.

When the infidel Robert Owen visited Alexander Campbell at his house, they toured the farm and eventually came to the family burying ground (“God’s little acre”). Owen said to Campbell, “There is one advantage I have over the Christian—I am not afraid to die.” Campbell responded, “You say you have no fear in death; have you any hope in death?” Owen answered, “No.” Then Campbell said, pointing to an ox standing near, “You are on the level of that brute. He has fed till he is satisfied, and stands in the shade whisking off the flies, and has neither hope nor fear in death.” Owen smiled, unable to deny Campbell’s logic. Men made in God’s image should live above the level of beasts!

God is called “the God of Hope” (Romans 15:13). Paul said, “And now abideth faith, hope, and charity . . .” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith looks back to the cross and sees Christ as the object of salvation. Love looks up to Christ in devotion. Hope looks ahead to what has been promised.

They called him “No Hope Carter,” and his was a tragic case. He was going through the final stages of a disease that deteriorates the brain. The doctors made the mistake of telling him that there was no known cure for his illness. From then on he begged for a ray of light, a positive word about his future. But they were unable to provide it. Gradually his brain deteriorated, and he be-came more and more despondent. In his small, barred room, two weeks before he died, he paced up and down, back and forth, in mental anguish. His eyes stared blankly and his face was drawn and ashen. Over and over he muttered two forlorn and fateful words: No hope! No hope! He said nothing else, and no one could pierce the veil of darkness that enveloped him.

There may come a time when you face a hopeless situation, but that time has not yet arrived. Solomon said “. . . with all the living there is hope” (Ecclesiastes 9:4). If you are still alive, there is hope for you to go to heaven. If you are a sinner, then you need to get rid of your sins as soon as possible. To do so, one must read the Bible to learn about Jesus Christ (pick one of His biographies to get started—Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John). By the time one finishes, he should have become a believer in Jesus as the Son of God (John 20:30-31). The next step is to obey God’s plan of salvation as revealed in the Book of Acts. This includes repentance of sins (Acts 2:38; 3:19), confession of faith in Christ (Acts 8:37), and baptism for remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Then one must continue to learn and grow (Acts 2:42; 20:32).

Then you can lose the fear of death. A few years ago a preacher preached the funeral service for Esther Peal—a God-fearing, Bible-loving, aged saint. Shortly before her death he visited in her home. She happily told him of her son-in-law who had invited her to visit him in Washington. She told him, “I can’t. I have to stay near the cemetery.” Then she added, “I went out this week and bought me a bright, shining casket. I’m so excited!” Sister Esther had the “hope of eternal life” (Titus 1:2).
 

¹ Wendell Winkler provides this additional research: “The Greek words for “eternal” and “everlasting” are aion and ainois. They are from the Greek aei “always” and oon “being”; therefore mean “always being.” Aion is used in respect to future punishment in 2 Peter 2:17, Jude 1:13, and Revelation 14:11; 19:3; 20:10. Aionios is used relative to future punishment in Matthew 18:8; 25:41, 46; Mark 3:29, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Hebrews 6:2, and Jude 6. Aion is applied to the happiness of the righteous in Matthew 25:46. Aionios is applied to God in Romans 16:26 and to the Holy Spirit in Hebrews 9:14. Deduction: If the Scriptures do not assert endless punishment for the wicked, neither do they assert endless happiness for the righteous nor the endless glory and existence of the Godhead” (Studying Sin Seriously).