1. What is the separation which takes place on judgment day?

 "These shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." - Saint Matthew 25, 46.

 A complete and definite division takes place between the ungodly and the godly.

2. Will the suffering of the damned really be everlasting?

 "Their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." - Saint Mar 9, 48.

 "The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night." - Revelation 14, 11.

 "The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." - Revelation 20, 10.

 Holy Scripture clearly and definitely teaches the doctrine of eternal damnation.  It describes the literally endless torment of the damned.

3. What sufferings do the condemned in hell endure?

 "Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Hew first, and also of the Gentile." - Romans 2, 9.

 "In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." - Saint Luke 16, 23-24.

 "If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." - Saint Mark 9, 43-44.

 "The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." - Saint Matthew 8, 12.

 The strongest terms are employed to show that the sufferings of the damned in soul and body are the greatest conceivable.  They surpass our feeble understanding, since they are continuous and everlasting.  The fire burns endlessly and yet does not consume.

4. Do all suffer the same degree of torment?

 "Verily I say unto you, I shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city." - Saint Matthew 10, 15.

 "But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city." - Saint Luke 10, 12.

 While the punishment of all will be endless and severe, the degrees of torment will differ with varying degrees of guilt in different individuals.

5. While the unbeliever enters into eternal torment, what blessed destiny awaits the believer?

 "God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." - Ephesians 2, 4-6.

 There is an everlasting life in glory and bliss for all true believers in Christ Jesus.  The second article of the Christian creed declares:

 "And in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead."

 At the last day the believer will live with Christ, according to body and soul, in eternal joy and glory.

6. To whom will God give eternal life?

 "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." - Saint Matthew 24, 13.

 "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." - Saint John 3, 36.

 God will give eternal life to me and all believers, but to the believers only.

7. What is eternal life?
 "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." - Saint Matthew 5, 8.

 The life eternal which Christ will graciously bestow on His followers consists in the perpetual blessed vision of God.  In this life Christian believers see God only through faith by means of His Word and in the language of the Bible in an image.  In heaven, however, they will behold Him face to face without an image or veil.

8. What is life eternal like?

 "In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." - Psalm 16, 11.

 "Out light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." - 2 Corinthians 4, 17.

 "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." - Isaiah 35, 10.

 "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." - Revelation 7, 16.

 The supreme joy of heaven is too great for our earthly understanding.  Nevertheless God's Word gives us a foretaste of the coming glory to make us long for heaven.

9. Will all believers enjoy the same degree of glory?

 "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moorn, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.  So also is the resurrection of the dead." - 1 Corinthians 15, 41-42.

 While there are no degrees of happiness, since all the saints of Christ shall see God and be completely blessed, Scripture teaches that there are degrees of glory in accordance with the faithfulness and the sufferings of Christian believers in this life.

10. Are you sure that you will enter eternal life?

 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." - Ephesians 1, 3-6.

 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." - Saint John 10, 27-28.

 I firmly believe that, as God has in time called me by the Gospel, enlightened, sanctified and kept me in the true faith, even so He has from eternity chosen me unto the adoption of children and to life everlasting, and no man shall pluck me out of His hand.

 "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth.  And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands: Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." - Revelation 5, 9-12.

Test Paper - Lesson 28

1. Give a Bible passage which states clearly that the suffering of the damned will really be everlasting. ...................................................................................................................................
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2. What separation or division will take place on Judgment Day? ..................................................
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3. Describe the sufferings which the condemned in hell endure.......................................................
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4. Check which of the following statements is incorrect:
 a. All the condemned in hell suffer alike.
 b. There are degrees of punishment, differing with the degrees of guilt.

5. Write the Second Article of the Apostles' Creed........................................................................
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6. Complete the following Bible passage: "He that shall endure .....................................................
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...................................................................................." - Saint Matthew 24, 13.

7. What shall life everlasting be like? .............................................................................................
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8. Can we be sure that we will enter into the joys of life everlasting? .............................................

9. Complete the following Bible passage: " My sheep hear.............................................................
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..................................................................................................." - Saint John 10, 27.

10. Is the following statement true or false: All believers will in heaven enjoy the same degree of glory. ......................................................

Make every effort to fill in the answers from memory.  If you are not sure of certain answers, you may look them up in the lesson.  Your paper will be graded according to the following standard: 10 correct: perfect; 9 correct: excellent; 8 correct: very good; 7 correct: good.