And then another poll was taken of 500 ministers of different Protestant churches - and this was a number of years ago - and it showed that 34 percent of the Protestant ministers did not believe in the future punishment of the finally impenitent. The results showed that more than 50 percent did not believe in the future, conscious, eternal punishment of the wicked. Some time ago - this was a number of years ago - one of our Midwestern universities took a poll of one hundred selected ministers on the subject of future punishment. We are living in a day in which the idea of the final, permanent judgment of the irretrievably lost is a doctrine that is very unpopular. In fact, I think that you would be surprised to discover how much of the word of God has to do with the final judgment. But, nevertheless, it is part of the truth of God’s word. They do not like to speak about the lake of fire. And surely most preachers do not like to speak about the final judgment. So the false teachers were saying” - or the Israelites were saying to their false teachers – “Prophesy not unto to us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.” It’s much nicer to speak about the nicer things of the Christian life. You may remember that the Prophet Isaiah, in one of his very vivid expressions of taunt towards the false teachers has said, “Prophesy not unto us right things. But, nevertheless, these subjects are very pertinent, especially in view of human nature. And it certainly is not a pleasant subject to speak about cancer. And it is not a pleasant subject to speak about war. It is not a pleasant subject to speak about crime or violence. We all know - I’m sure we all feel - that eternal punishment is not a pleasant subject. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” And death and hell (or death and Hades) were cast into the lake of fire. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. “And I saw a Great White Throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them. So we are turning to Revelation chapter 20, and we’re going to read verses 11-15 for our Scripture reading. The subject is the Judgment of the Wicked Dead, or “The Great White Throne Judgment.” This is the biblical passage that has to do with the final judgment of mankind.
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