Dr. Couch, Do the lost go directly to hell or is there an intermediate place of waiting until the final judgment?
ANSWER:
The final judgment of all of the lost for all dispensations takes place
at the end of the millennial kingdom, as clearly indicated in Revelation
20:11-15. The unsaved are seen standing before the great white throne
awaiting final sentencing. That the judge is the Lord Jesus seems clear
from John 5:27 where Christ says all judgment is handed over to the Son.
Many passages of Scripture paint a terrible picture that indicates the
lost are in a place of torment even now while waiting for the final
judgment. God must punish sin. His holiness and righteous cannot
tolerate a speck of evil. His mercy and grace are clearly seen in nature
(Rom. 1), and in the offer of salvation in Christ (John 3:16), but the
world repudiates both witnesses!
The Bible pictures the torents of hell in physical-like terms, though
until the final judgment, hell presently would be more spiritual in
nature. The lost are resurrected for the final judgment and therefore
will be in their resurrected bodies in torment, for ever! Isaiah writes
that the corpses of the lost, "those who have transgressed against Me,"
are continually "consumed." "For their worm shall not die, and their
fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence to all
humanity" (Isa. 66:24). Daniel says the lost are raised "to everlasting
contempt" (Dan. 12:2). And Christ says of those who have died that even
presently "the worm never dies" (Mark 9:48). Christ also said that the
new life, and the punishment of the lost, are both eternal and forever
and ever! (Matt. 25:46).
Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch
