The Verse No One Really Believes

THE VERSE

NO ONE REALLY BELIEVES

Rev.20: 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Think about the implication of that verse. It assumes we all believe in eternity. And it assumes we all really care. It assumes a lot of things, but God in his matchless grace has revealed to us a coming horrific event. Everyone dies physically, but there is something called the second death. Now if that is true, and if everyone who is born spends eternity in one of two places, then what should believers do and how should believers live?

Hell is a very difficult truth to believe. I mean really believe. To imagine souls spending eternity in a place of torture has been so antithetical to western culture and hedonism that it has been reduced to a residual tenant of doctrine which has almost no authentic expression in our lives. It is so profound, so horrific, so incredible that the church basically ignores it except for some minor cameos. But if it is true than how can we continue in this pathetic and redundant and unremarkable thing we call the church?

If the world really understood what we say we believe they would have some legitimate questions concerning our behaviors. If we really believe all unbelievers spend eternity in some kind of torment than why haven’t we told all of our neighbors? Why haven’t we given more to missions? How can we spend so much time and energy on temporal things? Where is the breathless passion that should accompany such a belief?

The honest and painful truth is that part of the church does not believe it outright and says so, while the other part says it believes that verse but does not behave too much differently that the unbelieving element. That is not just a problem, that is a disgrace. Now I ask you, if there are two and only two places where souls spend eternity, should that not be the basis of our faith? And if heaven and hell exist, then does that not make the cross and the resurrection a profound sacrifice to rescue and ransom and redeem any and all souls who believe?

Tell me, what good is politics? What eternal value is nationalism? What do wars accomplish in the light of eternity? Think about that hard and long. In the light of eternal life and eternal death, what is the calling of the church? And yet the western church flocks after the dead voices of men like Rick Warren and Rob Bell and Joel Osteen because professing believers and unbelievers desire to increase their pocketbooks and enjoy this temporal life to its carnal fullest. But have we become deaf to what Jesus said?

Lk.12: 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

　
And deceived men and women have taken these verses and somehow manipulated them to mean you can accumulate great wealth as long as you serve God. The pressure of the western culture of hedonism became much to hard a burden to bear. So the church had to westernize the Scriptures in order to alleviate that burden. We so often believe that living under a totalitarian regime is a burden and that our Chinese brothers have a difficult time not succumbing to the persecution of their atheistic government. But we are deceived because we do not recognize that spiritual persecution can come in many forms, including the allurement of the material things of this world as well as the systems of men.

So here we sit feeling sympathy for the persecuted church in other lands when we ourselves have laid down our faith and pledged allegiance to the totalitarian regime we call democracy and capitalism. Earthly freedom has demanded our obedience and we gave them much more than that…we gave them our hearts and our faith. And when the dust settled, it was revealed we now practice a faith in many ways diametrically opposed to all Jesus lived and taught. And the world sits back and watches the western evangelical church and just what do they see?

We borrow money just like they do. We enjoy many of the same avenues of entertainment. We go wild after sports as do they. We have a set of morals as do they. We divorce and remarry just like they do. We save up money for ourselves just like they do. We are involved with politics just like they are. We pledge allegiance to a secular country as do they. We go to war when called like they do. Except for a two hour pilgrimage on Sundays our lives reveal very little difference.

And yet we say we believe that pesky verse in Revelation? Can we even pretend to kid ourselves? The reality of eternity has been all but lost to the church. People file into the auditorium having spent little if any time with Christ. They chit chat about worthless things and shake hands and nod to friends and strangers. Down they sit in their pew and either look over the program or look over the crowd. A sense of eternity? Not on your life. Tears for lost souls? Nope. A holy gnawing at their hearts to see souls swept into the kingdom? Come on.

The choir is practicing their special, the preacher is looking over his notes, men are directing parking, ushers are ushering, parents are dropping off their children, and the entire complex is awash with activity and hustle and bustle. And now it is time for the “service” to “begin”. Please see how we have crafted a gathering that was meant to worship God and change us, and we have molded it into a reflection of attending a school play or a music recital. We have been called to physically separate ourselves from the normal environment and gather to seek His face and together seek all things eternal, but here we sit ready to experience just what we experienced last week and what will come next week as well.

The curtain opens and the worship leader stirs the crowd with much of the same exhortation he used last week. The music begins and little by little the crowd warms up and “gets into it”. The music is designed to crescendo at the end and prepare the crowd for the message. And since we cannot depend upon the deep and sacrificial prayer lives among the crowd to have prepared hearts, we must rely on using music to uplift hearts and make everyone feel good. And that is done with great precision. “A great worship service” is always the goal, which is usually measured by volume and enthusiasm.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The preacher steps behind the pulpit and opens up his notes and begins to speak with the same passion as he did last week and with the same passion he will next week. He is a good speaker and a nice man and he may even tell a few jokes or amusing anecdotes. We are on the home stretch now, and in football season being concise is of the essence.

　

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Your mind wanders, you have heard much of this before. The preacher is a good teacher and he exegetes the Scriptures well. Some preachers give a topical message which entertains and even blesses your heart. He has made some good points and you have been careful to watch over your children sitting next to you. You may even sneak a peek at your watch.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

You can hear it in his voice or even see it on your outline that he is reaching the end of his message. Perhaps you close your Bible and shift your body. You may hear some light shuffling throughout the congregation. A few even leave their seats to take their places for some post message duties. As he enters the traditional post message invitation, the gospel is given a passing reference and perhaps the preachers asks for people to make a decision.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Counselors take their place down front. We are headed for the benediction and the closing prayer. Everything has gone according to plan and you are dismissed. Scores of people file out just as they had filed in. Smiling and nodding and walking toward the doors and their cars, they have completed their religious obligation without a hitch. It’s lunch time now. See ya next week.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Now picture a house in your neighborhood. There are children inside, and their parents. There is a party going on in the house, and people are parking their cars and entering the party through the front door. But unbeknownst to everyone the entire back half of the house is engulfed in flames. The partiers are clueless. Now in response to that crisis, you call your other neighbors and hire a man to teach you about the reality of that fire.

You play great music and your gatherings are well organized. You hold these meetings week after week. The meetings do not interfere with much of your schedule, and after the meetings everyone returns to their homes and resumes their normal lives. When your house becomes too small for the meetings, you borrow money from the bank and build a beautiful auditorium in which to meet. You print out pamphlets to let everyone know that you believe there is a literal fire in your neighbor's house, and that you also believe there is only one way to rescue those inside that house.

Yes, you are orthodox. During those meetings you speak with other neighbors and encourage them to become active in the home owners association. You and others pass out a manual which has guidelines for the way your lawn looks, the color of your house, and many other things about your house. You see, you yourself was once in that house and gleefully partying, but you had been rescued. But after escaping the fire, and after reading the manual, you realized you needed to make some adjustments to your house.

But as you made these adjustments, you realized that the smoke from that house was becoming annoying. In fact, it was detracting from the overall appearance of the neighborhood. The yelling and music and general debauchery in that house was irritating and outside the parameters laid down by the home owner’s association. You seek out others who feel as you do and vote to make those in that house paint their house, manicure their lawn, and hang up Christmas lights in December. Oh yes, you hope and pray they get out of there before they die.

At the next meeting, after the service, someone asks you why you hold these meetings. You look at him amazed.

“Don’t you see the fire blazing in that house over there?,” you ask.

“Yes,” says the man. “But don’t you know people are dying in that house?”

“Of course,” you reply. “Here is our statement of faith. You will see we really do believe that”.

“But the situation is desperate. I mean something has to be done.”

“I know, but I have so many other things to do.”

“But don’t you care?”

“Yes we care, look at our statement of faith.”

“Well I am confused.”

“I would like to speak with you some more, but I am hungry. Hey, come back next week and join a class.”

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Yea, right...