After completing the lesson, the student will be able to:

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  Know the truth about Heaven

  
  


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  Know the Truth About Hell

  
  


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  Know the truth about angels

  
  


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  Know the truth about demons

  
  


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  Know what it means to have the assurance of Salvation

  
  

One thing that we can all count on is that someday your life on this planet will cease to exist.  When that day comes the Bible says that there are two destinations to spend eternity, Heaven or Hell.  For humanity, after the fall, Hell was the default destination.  However, because of His love for us God promised us the hope of eternal life with Him.  In Genesis 3:15 God gives the first promise of the Gospel.  He tells Adam and Eve, after they sinned, that someday a perfect man would come and He would redeem the world of the sin that they unleashed in the world and that He would defeat the power of sin, death and the devil.  This promise of salvation through faith in the redeemer- the Messiah, is what people have been clinging to since that day. In this lesson we will examine what the Bible says about Heaven and Hell as well as angels and demons and what it means to have the assurance of the forgiveness of your sins and life everlasting. 

HEAVEN & HELL

Often the perception in our culture, Heaven is the better alternative to Hell.  Most people would say that they want to go to Heaven because they do not want the torments of Hell.  Heaven is a consolation prize after this life and, for some, it will be a nice place but there is not a lot of excitement about it.  There are other people who say that they don’t want to go to Heaven because Heaven is going to be a boring place and that they want to spend eternity partying with all of their friends.  To them, Hell is just an extension of this earth only with more sinning.  Both of these perceptions about Heaven and Hell are completely wrong. 

In 1 Corinthians 2:9, the Apostle Paul writes, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” Does this sound like a plain and boring place?  God has given us an ability to have imaginations and come up with the most incredible things.  This verse tells us that there is nothing that we could even imagine  how mind-blowing Heaven will be.  This should generate excitement and anticipation for the day that we meet Christ face to face, living with Him in perfection in a perfect world without sin and suffering.  Hell, on the other hand is the opposite of Heaven.  In the same way we cannot imagine the overwhelming joy of Heaven, we will also not be able to imagine terrors of Hell.  Hell is the absence of the love of God, His peace, His joy and most importantly his righteousness.  Hell is a place where if you can think of the worst thing that has ever happened, the most evil and vile thing, these pale in comparison of eternal life in Hell.  Hell was not created for human beings but for Satan and His demons, however Satan’s sole purpose, and the only way he can hurt God is by taking as many people with him to Hell.  Both Heaven and Hell are real places and it is important that to know the assurance of your own salvation and to tell those you know and love how they can have the assurance of salvation also. 

ANGELS

Angels appear throughout the pages of the Bible, and have interested men for all ages. They appear from the beginning (Genesis) to the end (Revelation) of the Scripture, and are referenced more than 265 times in the Bible. Unfortunately, much speculation, myth, and conjecture has crept into our talk of angels and the spiritual realm as a whole. The word angel actually means ‘a messenger’  or ‘one who is sent’ and it describes their function and purpose, not their essence.  Angels live in heaven with God and were created by God with the rest of creation (Genesis 2:1, Colossians 1:16 and Psalm 148:1-2, 5) and the Bible says that they are spirits and therefore invisible; (Psalm. 104:4, Hebrews 1:14) however, there are incidences where they appear as humans to deliver a message (Matthew 28:1-3; Acts 12:7-8). Angels are not to be worshipped or prayed to and contrary to popular belief we do not become angels when we die.  Angels are a created being just like us however their purpose is to serve God and worship Him only.  Only two angels are specifically named in Scripture, the archangel Michael (Jude 9, Revelation 12:7–8, and Daniel 10:13 and 21) and Gabriel, he identified as God’s messenger (Luke 1:19,  Daniel 8:16, 9:21 and Luke 1:26–27).  Angels are very powerful they are called “mighty ones who do his word” (Psalm 103:20), “powers” (Ephesians 1:21), and “dominions” and “authorities” (Colossians 1:16). Angels use their power to battle against Satan’s demonic forces (Daniel 10:13, Revelation 12:7–8, 20:1–3).  During our earthly lives, we’re “lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7). But as powerful as angels are, when Jesus returns, followers of Christ will be raised higher than them (1 Corinthians 6:3).

SATAN

It has been said that the greatest lie that Satan ever told is that he does not exist.  Satan is the name of the prince of Evil, a name whose root means ‘adversary’ or ‘accuser’. His intent is always to destroy and harm God and His creation, especially mankind. C.S Lewis said, “Satan, the leader or dictator of devils (demons), is the opposite, not of God, but of Michael (The Arch Angel)”. Satan is a created being, he was a guardian cherub, which is the highest class of angels.  He was the greatest created being.  We see elsewhere in Scripture that Satan is a formable foe. Satan or Lucifer had a heavenly estate (Jude 6), he was created perfect and his job was to be the guardian of God’s glory (Ezekiel 28:12 -14).  As we read in Ezekiel, Lucifer had more power than anyone in the universe except for God and he was more beautiful than anything else in creation and these two attributes lead to his destruction.  His sin was pride and his pride led him to rebel against God.         

We see evidence of his Satan’s prideful rebellion in Isaiah 14:13-14 in his five ‘I will’ statements.  He said, ‘I will ascend to heaven'.  Satan wanted to be in the place that was occupied by God and he wanted to have equal recognition with the creator.  He said, ‘I will raise my throne above the stars of God’.  The stars in this context are the other angels.  Satan wanted the highest allegiance and respect from all creation.  He said, ‘I will sit on the mount of the assembly.’ This is where God ruled and Satan wanted the highest position of authority.  He said, ‘I will ascend above the highest clouds.’  Clouds often represent God’s glory in Scripture and Satan wanted to have all of the glory that God received, however God does not share his glory.  Finally, he said, ‘I will make myself like the Most High’.  This has always been Satan’s goal to replace God and receive all of His beauty, glory power and wisdom.

For many people Satan becomes a metaphor for evil.  However, Satan is not a metaphor, he has had one plan since the beginning to tempt us with in the same way he was tempted – to be like God.  Satan knew that the only way that he could hurt God was by harming His children and making us suffer.  Satan told Eve that if she ate from the forbidden tree that she would be ‘like God’ (Genesis 3:5).  He knows how to temp us with prideful ambition and rebellion because that is his ultimate desire.  No one is immune to this temptation.  Each of us, because of the natural sin in our hearts, have the desire to be the god in our own life and to live our lives in the manner that we think and feel is right.  This either leads to repentance and reconciliation with God because of conviction by the Holy Spirit or rejection of God which leads to destruction and eternal separation.  Make no mistake about it, Satan is a formidable enemy and should not be underestimated because this is a serious issue that should not be down played because the consequences of the spiritual battle have eternal consequences.  However, it is also important that Satan has been defeated at the Cross of Calvary, we have victory in Christ, and do not need to fear Satan’s schemes.

DEMONS

In his book the Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis writes, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors.”  What he is saying is that is a mistake to not believe in the existence of Satan and his demons it is also a mistake to give them more credit and power than they deserve.  Demons are an invisible spirit-being whose service is to Satan; demons can live in people and hurt them, and can also cause people to curse God and His people.  When Satan fell, he did not fall alone. Scripture tells us that he took one-third of the angels (Revelation 12:4). They account for the fallen angels, or demons, that now do his bidding. As a result, Satan is a fallen, but powerful, spirit-being with a well-organized network of demon powers to help him accomplish his purposes. Those purposes, according to Jesus, are to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).

Demon possession is a real thing; however, many Christians are quick to dismiss this as a reality.  Jesus regularly dealt with demonic possession in the Scripture (Mark 1:23-27 and 39) are just one example.  In fact, roughly 25% of Christ’s ministry dealt with healing demonic oppression.  We can also see that Jesus gave his disciples and his followers authority over demons as well (Luke 10:19).  This problem with demon possession did not go away even after Christ was raised again and ascended to heaven.  The Apostle Paul drove a demon out of a slave girl, in fact he was beaten and thrown in prison for doing it (Acts 16:16-24).  Michael Pocock a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary states that there is a 

continuum of demonic influence:

opposition? influence? oppression?  obsession? control? possession? death

and the normal tendencies of demonization are:

from external to internal ? from hidden to open attacks ? increasing control ? increasing severity

When most people think of demon possession, they think in all or nothing terms, either you are possessed by a demon or you are free, but in reality, it is more of a spectrum.  Scripture is pretty clear in the fact that a Christian cannot be possessed by a demon because of the protection of the Holy Spirit, however a Christian can be swayed by demonic influences.  One pathway to this is through active seeking.  This is why it is so imperative for Christians not to innocently dabble in things that are considered witchcraft or occultic practices.  It is not ok for a Christian to see a psychic, or play with a Ouija board, have tarot card readings or have anything to do with the occult at all.  What may start out as innocent fun, or “everyone else is doing it” can lead you down a path away from God and to destruction. 

The bottom line is that demonic possession and influence is not something to fear.  It is a reality that we must deal with and the good news is that we are not alone.  God has given us everything that we need to fight this spiritual battle and He is actively fighting the battle for us.   God has equipped us with the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, our feet fitted with the Gospel of Peace the Shield of Faith the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit -- The Word of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).  We have been given everything that we need to be successful in our fight.  

SALVATION

As we began this lesson, we discussed that there are two destinations for eternity, Heaven or Hell, salvation or condemnation.  The question that so many people ask is why would a loving God save some people and condemn others to Hell?  The answer to this question is that it is not actually one question but two and the Bible is pretty clear on the answer to both questions, “How are we saved?”  We are saved by admitting that we are sinful and believing that in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who was a perfect man and also the son of God, fulfilled the demands of God to atone for sin of humanity’s rebellion and took the wrath of God that we all deserved onto Himself.  He died on the cross and was raised three days later defeating the power of sin, death and the devil.  It is that faith that saves us.  There is nothing that we could ever do to save ourselves. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”.  (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

Why are people condemned to Hell? The answer to this is simple, because they rejected God’s gift of grace.  God is rich in mercy and he has given mankind the hope of salvation even though we completely abandoned him and walked away from Him.  The fact that God saves us, despite or sin, shows His love and mercy for His creation.  Not one person on the face of this Earth from the beginning to the end of time, has ever done anything that deserves salvation.  Our sin is a permanent separation from God and there is nothing that we can do to change that.  There is no amount of good deeds, or righteous living that would ever make it possible to earn salvation.   God is holy and righteous and we are not.  God is not ever going to force His will on anyone, He offers the gift of salvation to anyone who confesses their sin and puts their faith in Jesus Christ.  If a person through the course of their life continues to reject that gift and will not submit to God’s one and only plan for salvation, then that decision is completely on them.  An easy way to remember this is, salvation is 100% the work of God and condemnation is 100% the work of mankind, this issue is cut and dry.