September 27 - Philppians 2:9-10

September 27
Philippians 2:9-10

Philippians 2:9-10 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.

Our Bibles tell us that there are people (and angels) who reside in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. In our Daily Devotions yesterday, we talked about the three areas of heaven, meaning the 3rd heaven, and today we are going to talk about the underworld, way down in the depths of the earth somewhere, and talk about those who dwell in them. Most people simply refer to this overall place as hell, which is simply s an English word referring to various underground places (plural) of abode.

Let’s now look at each place to see that each are different, having their own Hebrew or Greek name, with their own functions.

1. Tartarus: Tartarus is a Greek word (Strong’s 5020) meaning a place of incarceration. This is the place where Satan's fallen angels who had sexual intercourse with the daughters of men, as we see in Genesis, chapter 6, in very ancient times reside. The Bible explains it as a place of fire and torment. These fallen angels are held in chains awaiting God’s further judgment when they will then be sentenced to the Eternal Lake of Fire. No human being ever goes to Tartarus.

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

Jude 6-7 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, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

2. Abraham’s Bosom: Abraham’s Bosom, often referred to as Paradise by the Jewish Torah, was the resting place in the core of the earth for the saints of God before the resurrection of Jesus (Luke 16:19-26). 

When Jesus hung on the cross, there were two thieves that hung on each side of Him. The thief on the right believed that Jesus was the Son of God. The thief said to Jesus: “Remember me.” Jesus then promised him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43).  The thief on the cross with Jesus died and also went with Him to Paradise (or Abraham’s bosom) with Jesus. On the third day when God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus unlocked the keys of Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise, which many scholars claim, was then either lifted out of hell and ascended into heaven where it resides today as the Garden of God or it was emptied out of its residents who then were ascended into heaven in the Garden of God known as Paradise today.  

• That would mean that all Old Testament saints now reside in Paradise in heaven today aaccording to Eph 4:8-9.  

Believers in Christ – those who have died after His resurrection no longer go to Paradise in the core of the earth.  The Paradise of God in heaven is where all believers in Christ go immediately upon death (2 Cor 5:6-8; Rom 8:11). Those, who, outside of God and Christ have remained in hell in a place called Hades or Sheol.

3. Sheol (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek): This is a holding place for the dead without God (O.T.) or Christ (N.T.) in the core of the earth.

Let’s visit the scripture passage in Luke 16 about the rich man and Lazarus. 

Luke 16:19-31 Now there was a rich man…And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores…Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me…for I am in agony in this flame…there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us…If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.

This place of torment where the rich man resides is called Sheol or Hades, saw Abraham’s bosom (or Paradise) from afar. All of its inhabitants stay in this place of fire and torment awaiting their eternal judgment before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. Since the ancient time of Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise, God offers eternal salvation to “everyone.” No one ever has to go to hell (Sheol or Hades).  The faithful in God looked forward to their Messiah who would come to save them, and then after He came (Jesus, the Son of God) the requirement is belief – belief in His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16).  All of God's faithful can then be given eternal life with Him forever away from the torments of hell.  Knowing now that Paradise has been lifted from hell into heaven, or emptied out, we also know by scripture that all who die not believing in Jesus, accepting Him as Lord, continue to go to this same place of torture immediately upon death. They join all of the other wicked lost to await their judgment at the end of time when they stand before before God at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:11-15).

4. Abyss or bottomless pit: The abode of demons and some angelic beings. No humans ever go to this place. It is an infernal depthless pit (Strong’s #12) (Luke 8:26-31) 

There is an additional place in hell called the abyss or the bottomless pit where Jesus also went after he died. He went to preach to the spirits, meaning unclean demons or spirit in prison (1 Peter 3:19)  Jesus openly triumphed over the spirits in the abyss, along with all of hell’s residents when God rose Him and all of the Old Testament saints out. Up out of the grave they arose. (Col 2:14-15).

Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

5. Gehenna – the Eternal Lake of Fire:  This will be the eternal holding place for Satan, his angels, demons, all Old Testament people without God, and all who refused Jesus Christ. Most biblical scholars claim it is also deep within the earth - a lake of fire - a place of torment.

The Eternal Lake of Fire was never meant for man to occupy. It was originally created by God to hold Satan (Lucifer) and his fallen angels because of their disobedience in trying to take over the throne of God (Matt 25:41).

The Great White Throne Judgment

God gave man the choice- to freely choose Him or Satan. Isn’t it sad that the sinner who refused the Lordship of Jesus Christ will die and descend into hell, followed by the Eternal Lake of Fire, which was not even created for him?

The Eternal Lake of Fire is the second death in which the Bible refers. When the final judgment of God comes, all of hell (all of its compartments) including mankind and angels will open up and those inhabitants will come forth to stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. The books will be opened - three in all. 

• The first book will be the Book of Life (Rev 20:12-15). In order to enter into heaven, one must have his/her name written in the Book of Life. None of hell's resident will have their name written in this book. They will be cast into the Eternal Lake of Fire.
• The second book will be the Book of Deeds. All deeds will be listed in this book.
• The third book will be the punishment for those deeds - thought, word and deed - that each person will receive (John 5:27-29; Rev 20:12-15). The severity of each punishment will be different when they are cast into the Eternal Lake of Fire.

In this Eternal Lake of Fire, their will be various levels of severity. Adolph Hitler, or someone of such great evil, would obviously be subject to a greater level of damnation. Yet, there are pew sitters who sat in church for many years, hearing the Gospel of Truth, and did not make a personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord. They had a mental assent of Him, but not a heart-felt belief. They also face the judgment and eternal damnation in the Eternal Lake of Fire. But you may say, “They were such good people. How can they go to hell?” The Bible says: 

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  

Rom 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Why then should good people who did not believe and accept Christ spend an eternity with Him when they refused to accept Him on earth? These people still face hell. But to what degree of damnation, only God knows.

Those Without Christ

Hell is a place of damnation. It is a place of memory and remorse, pain and torture. Just as we saw from Luke 16, the rich man in hell sorrowed and suffered over his wrong decisions on earth. So will everyone who does not make a conscious decision to follow Christ and His ways while living on the earth.

You may also be asking about the people who never heard of Christ. What about the people in third world countries who know nothing of Jesus?  This is how I believe: God is all knowing, seeing, and is everywhere. He knows each one of us. He knows who will and who will not accept Christ. Not that He chose us, because it is His desire that everyone be saved, but He knew who would chose Him. For those whom He knew would choose Him, He has separated each one to have access to hear the Gospel of Christ. Even in Iran, which is the fastest growing Church in the world today. Even if we can't come to them, Jesus is coming to them in dreams and Muslims are accepting Christ in huge numbers. In China, which does not allow Christianity, has the 2nd fastest growing underground Church in the world. God knows who will accept Him and who will reject Him. 

Personal Experiences of Hell

I came to Christ because of a near drowning experience at the age of twelve. While that experience was 70 years ago, its impression in me is like it happened only a few years ago. Wanting to swim out to a dock while vacationing with my cousins one summer day, I chose to brave the deep water and swim the 50 feet to where my cousins were having a good time jumping off the dock. I could not swim, so I dog paddled my way through the deep water. After a few feet I could no longer paddle above water and I started to go under. Upon the third time going under I saw in a vision within my spirit of every sin I had committed in my life. It was like a television screen scrolling around and around showing each sin I had ever committed. I felt myself sinking lower and lower, as I saw within me the flames of fire below me - identical to the flames in the picture above - which I knew to be the entrance into hell. Then I blacked out.  By the grace of God, my cousins saw me go down and came to my rescue. I was pulled out of the water, brought back to the shore dock and given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The thought of my sinking down to hell plagued me for months until one day I called my youth director at church and told him I did not want to go to hell. He told me to come in, and in his office I accepted Jesus Christ into my life. Hell no longer plagued me because it was no longer my eternal destination. Heaven is now my eternal reward.

God is calling out to you right now. Hell is not a place where anyone would ever want to go to. Right now, I plead with you - if you haven't accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, would you accept Him in your life right now? Say this prayer:

Dear God: I believe in Your Son Jesus, Who died on the cross for my sins. I accept Him in my life right now and I ask that you help me to live according to your will from this day forward. In Jesus' name, Amen.