02/25/24 Afterlife: What is Hell?

OPENING QUESTION

1. What's the biggest scare you've had with fire?
2. What are some things you've heard people say about hell that might not be true?

We're discussing a sermon series from church called "Afterlife." This last Sunday, Pastor Jim answered the question, "What is Hell?" and concluded with this Bottom Line: One day evil, those who pursue it, and death itself will be put to death.

​​DISCUSSION

1. We started with a few misconceptions about hell related to
   1. It's the devil's home. (Read 1 Peter 5:8)
   2. Hell is where the party will be!
   3. "Gehenna" (the word Jesus used that is often translated as "hell" in our modern bibles) was a garbage dump outside the city of Jerusalem.
   4. "Most of what we imagine about hell comes directly from the bible." Actually, a lot of what we imagine comes from John Milton's "Paradise Lost" (1600s) which follows Dante's "Inferno" (1300s) which follows the teachings of the Catholic Church about hell and purgatory developed in the 1200s (based on the non-canonical book of 2 Maccabees) and follows the Roman poet Virgil's "Aenid" (20s BC) which follows Plato's "Gorgias" (380 BC) which follows Homer's "Illiad" (700 BC). Very little of what we imagine actually comes from the bible.
2. Read Matthew 25:41, 46.
   1. What are the two most common uses of fire in the Bible?
   2. The greek word for "punishment" here is "kolasis" which originally had to do with pruning but then became synonymous with punishing or chastising for the benefit of the one being chastised.
      
      1. Why is this significant?
      2. Who or what benefits from pruning? Who or what doesn't benefit?
      3. How does this relate to the unrighteous being sent away to "eternal punishment"?
3. Read Mark 9:42-48.
   1. Jesus uses the greek word "gehenna," which is translated as "hell" in many bibles. What did Pastor Jim teach about the origins of "gehenna"?
      Leaders notes:
      
      1. It's the Valley of Ben Hinnom, where Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed children to Molech and Baal (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 32:35).
         
      2. Where Josiah later destroyed and burned the pagan altars and priests (2 Kings 23:1-25).
         
      3. Jeremiah prophesied it would be called the "Valley of Slaughter" (Jeremiah 7:29-34; 19:1-15).
         
      4. Isaiah prophesied about the undying worm and unquenchable fire (Isaiah 66:24) after the day of judgment.
         
      5. Jesus quotes Isaiah 66 in Mark 9:48.
         
   2. How does this help us understand what Jesus means when he refers to Gehenna?
4. Read Revelation 20:10, 14.
   
   1. To what event in the Old Testament is the "lake of burning sulfur" a reference?
      
   2. Why is the "lake of fire" referred to as "the second death"?
      
5. All of the previously discussed matters take place after the day of judgment.
   Now read Luke 16:23-24 and 2 Peter 2:9.
   1. What do these passages indicate about the state of the unrighteous prior to the day of judgment?
   2. What does the rich man in Luke 16 mean when he says "I am in agony"?
6. Do you have any closing thoughts or comments about all this?

PRAYER
Take some time for people to share prayer requests. Then pray. First, thank God for the promise and hope of heaven. Then pray for each other's prayer requests.