Passage
Matthew 27:1-5
“Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; [2] and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. [3] Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, [4] saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” [5] And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is the 14th session of the Hell sermon series.
I explained up to the 3rd level among the four levels of punishment in the Lower Grave.
Important examples of those who are receiving the 3rd level punishment were Pontius Pilate and the King Saul.
Today, I will talk to you about the 4th level punishment, and for this, let us remember the scene where Pontius Pilate was questioning Jesus.
Jesus did not try to offer any excuses about the accusations of the Jews.
Then Pilate asked Him in John 19:10, “You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you, and I have authority to crucify you?”
Then Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
Namely, it means that it was allowed by God when the time came, and Pilate did not have any authority to arrest or release Jesus, or to kill Him or let Him live.
Then Jesus added something meaningful saying, “he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
Who was the one who delivered the innocent Jesus to the court of the Pilate?
It was the men of the high priests and Judas Iscariot who sold out Jesus to them.
Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, sold out His master, Jesus, to the men of the high priest for 30 silver coins.
Pilate is receiving the 3rd level punishment.
Then, what punishment would Judas Iscariot be receiving now?
As Jesus said, the sin of Judas Iscariot was greater than Pilate, and he receives the 4th level punishment.
Since the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level punishments are so horrible that we don’t even want to think of them, then how much more terrible could the 4th level punishment be?
And what kinds of evil acts did the people commit that they have to receive such wretched pains?
You should not have any kind of evil in your heart that caused these people to receive the 4th level punishment.
I pray in the name of the Lord that this message will become the seed of change and spark of life in you.
Main
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we categorize the four levels of punishment in the Lower Grave into two major parts, we can say the 1st and 2nd levels are relatively lighter punishments, and the 3rd and 4th levels are more grave punishments.
There are many unbelievers among those who receive the 1st and 2nd levels of punishment.
Many of these people went to Hell because they lived their lives in sin for they did not hear about the Lord, and did not know the truth.
But many of those who are in the 3rd and 4th level punishments were believers in God.
Then, why is it that they are receiving heavier punishments even though they believed?
It’s because they changed their minds and betrayed God.
Even after experiencing the Holy Spirit, they blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Knowing that they were sins they still committed unforgivable sins.
Saying they are the children of God and they know the truth, they did more evil than unbelievers or new believers who do not know the truth.
Luke 12:47-48 first part says, “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, [48] but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few.”
As said, it is great sin to willfully commit sins, knowing the will of God.
God will forgive most kinds of sins when we repent, but such sins are difficult to be forgiven.
What are the consequences if the sin is not forgiven?
According to the rules of the spiritual realm saying the wages of sin is death, they will reach death.
In other words, they have to fall into Hell, which is the eternal death.
God mentioned the unforgivable sins, the sins leading to death in the Bible.
1 John 5:16 says, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.”
Those who commit the sins leading to death that are unforgivable receive the 3rd and the 4th levels of punishment.
Among them, if the sins are relatively lighter, they will receive 3rd level punishment, and if the sins are heavier, they will receive 4th level punishment.
Therefore, we must not commit any sin, and especially the sins leading to death.
Now, what are the sins that lead to death and that cannot be forgiven?
The first is that those who corrupt again after receiving salvation, which is to crucify the Lord all over again.
Hebrews 6:4-6 says, “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, [5] and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, [6] and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
I think you must have seen such people around you.
Before meeting the Lord, they were in poverty; they had illnesses, family problems, and many other problems.
But they accepted the Lord, listened to the word of life, and repented of all their past wrong doings.
And the Lord of love solved all their problems with His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.
All their diseases were completely cured just by one prayer.
Their poor lives were changed into rich lives. They had light in the darkness.
They were very thankful for the grace they received and vowed to be faithful with all their lives for the kingdom of God and the church and the shepherd.
They dedicated themselves to the works of God and soon they were recognized by people and received positions in the church.
But at one moment, the world came back into their lives, and they left the church following the world.
By falling into the world even more deeply than before they knew the Lord, they follow their lusts even more than the unbelievers.
2 Peter 2:20 says, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.”
Some try to justify their change of mind by accusing the church and slandering the pastor and the church members. They give out ever increasing evil.
Some of them even receive great works of Satan to destroy the church with many kinds of schemes.
Seeing these people, unbelievers in the world criticize the church saying ‘believers are even more evil.’
How disgracing is it to God?
It is same as spitting on the church, the body of the Lord.
For this reason, those who corrupt again like this will be condemned with the sin of crucifying Jesus all over again and putting Him to public shame.
Before we knew the Lord, we were children of the devil, befriending the world. This way we already crucified Jesus once.
Jesus loved us first, when we were sinners, and He died on the cross for us.
If the children of God who received such love corrupt again and befriend the world again, it is to crucify the Lord all over again.
Therefore, such people cannot be renewed to come to repentance.
Especially, if they are not new believers but have already experienced many gifts and power of the Holy Spirit and have experienced many spiritual things, and listened to the word of the truth and know it to a certain extent, it is even more difficult for them to be forgiven.
Finally, they will fall into eternal death, the punishments of Hell.
Brothers and sisters, the second kind of sins leading to death is to willfully commit sins after receiving the knowledge of the truth.
Hebrews 10:26-27 says, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27] but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.”
To willfully commit sins means they know it is sin and yet they deliberately commit sins.
You Manmin members have listened to the truth so much. You listened over and again.
And yet, there are quite a few who commit sins leading to death and write to me to ask for their forgiveness.
When I receive such a letter just once, I have to cling to God with tears as your shepherd for many days.
But there are people who commit such sins multiple numbers of times and still write to me.
Even though I explain such a way is the way to Hell, they sin again and again.
If it’s only a one time occasion, when I intercede for them and if they thoroughly repent, they can be forgiven.
But when they commit the same sin again and again, what is there that I can do?
Of course, some people try to repent and turn away because they are afraid when they listen to the messages about Hell.
But if they do not make a determination and cast away such sinful natures as an adulterous mind and greed, the repentance will be in vain.
After some time, they will commit the same sin.
2 Peter 2:22 reads, “It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”
If they harden their heart and willfully commit sins following their lust despite knowing the truth, they won’t even have the pangs of conscience. The spirit of repentance cannot come upon them.
If they cannot repent, obviously they cannot be forgiven. That is why the Bible says only fearful fire of hell awaits in the future of such people.
It says they can only wait in fear for the Day of Judgment.
Brothers and sisters, the third kind of sins leading to death is the blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
In the Four Gospels that write the ministry of Jesus, we read many times that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven eternally.
Then what is it to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?
For example, there were people at the time of Jesus, seeing the signs and wonders that Jesus performed, who said those works were by Beelzebub the king of demons or the works of the devil.
Jesus performed amazing works by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, those who criticized Jesus were in fact blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Even today, there are many such kinds of people.
Though they say they believe in God, when they see some churches that have many works of the Holy Spirit, they say they are works of Satan or the church is heretical.
Without any biblical foundation or sound evidence, they just have strong negative feelings only because they don’t understand the works and pass judgment.
But without the works of the Holy Spirit sent by God, how can there be powerful works that cannot be done by men?
Furthermore, if Jesus Christ is preached and the kingdom of God is expanded through such powerful works, there can be no doubt that they are works of the Holy Spirit.
To stand against the works of the Holy Spirit is to stand against God.
Even though they are standing against God, there are some who say they are still God’s children.
But God will never acknowledge them as saved children of God.
Those who stand against the Holy Spirit or those who betray God after definitively experiencing the works of the Holy Spirit will not receive the spirit of repentance.
Even though they repent with lips, the walls of sins cannot be torn down.
After they die, they will be condemned as greater sinners than unbelievers and receive the 3rd and 4th levels of punishment.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, now, what is the 4th level punishment in the Lower Grave like?
Just like the 3rd level punishment, the messengers of hell directly give the punishment, but the magnitude of pain and the cruelty is at a different level.
It is the place where the most evil sinners in human history are receiving their punishments, and can you imagine how terrible the punishments will be!
For example, in the 4th level, there are people who receive tortures hanging on a cross.
Why are they hanging on a cross?
It’s because they have to receive the price of the curse that dictates the wages of sin.
Because we were all sinners, each of us had to be hung on the cross on which Jesus was hung.
But who was actually hung on the cross? It was Jesus.
Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”
Jesus redeemed us from the curse of sin by dying on the wooden cross.
But those who fall into the 4th level punishment have nothing to do with this grace of redemption.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 says, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, [2] by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,”
As written, they are the ones whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron, and who have become servants of the devil to stand against God.
They are the ones who crucified Jesus.
That is why they are hung on the wooden cross, the symbol of the curse, to receive their respective punishments.
One of the examples is Judas Iscariot who is branded as a traitor.
Judas Iscariot directly saw the Son of God who came down to this earth in human body.
He was a disciple of Jesus and Judas was loved by Him. Judas learned the word of truth and goodness directly from Jesus.
He did not just hear about amazing signs and wonders, but he firsthand saw and experienced them.
But because Judas did not cast away his greed, his sinful nature was incited by Satan.
He sold out Jesus the Son of God and his master to the Jews.
Of course, he realized his sin when Jesus was handed over to be put to death and regretted it, but it was too late.
He must have tried so hard to repent. He even returned the money to those who gave it to him.
But even though he wanted to repent, the spirit of repentance was not given to him.
The burden of the sin was so heavy that he could not bear the pain in his heart anymore and he hung himself.
Acts 1:18 says, “Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.”
Judas Iscariot is hung and bleeding at the foremost of all those who are hung on the cross in the 4th level of the Lower Grave.
Beginning with Judas Iscariot, those who stood against God so much are standing in arrays hanging on a cross.
This gruesome scene reminds us of some graveyard made after a war, or a slaughter house where many animals are hanging.
Brothers and sisters, the crucifixion is one of the cruelest ways of execution on earth.
Those who are hanging on a cross are left alone in shame and pain for hours or even for days.
As they hang with their hands and feet nailed through, they feel the pain of their flesh being ripped apart and the pain of insects biting them.
They bleed to death slowly under the scorching sun and lose all their strength.
So, the convicted would want to die as quickly as possible.
Crucifixion was devised as a way of warning people by causing them to see the wretched end of criminals.
The horror was the greatest.
Including Judas Iscariot, those who are hanging on the cross have to remain hanging for even thousands of years until the Final Judgment.
On the head of Judas Iscariot is a crown with thick thorns.
The thorns continually grow all over his head, and they go into the skin, the skull, and pierce the brain.
Under the cross are some animal-like things that creep around, and they are actually other souls who have fallen into the fourth level punishment.
They are also the ones who stored up great evil standing against God and fell into Hell.
Their shape is so horrible after a series of serious tortures.
They are tortured by the messengers of hell, being pierced by spears under the cross of Judas Iscariot.
Whenever they are pierced by the spear, they also pierce the screaming Judas Iscariot.
The more painful it is for them, the harder they pierce Judas Iscariot.
They try to give out their anger this way showing their great evil.
Also, the fallen angels, namely the messengers of hell mock Judas Iscariot in one voice.
They laugh at him saying, “He sold out his Savior, the one who would save him. He benefitted us. He did so well. It’s so funny!”
Along with the physical pain, Judas Iscariot has to receive this mental pain together coming from such mockery.
He has to remember each time that he is the cursed one who sold out the Son of God.
When the thorns grow and pierce his head and when he is pierced by the sharp spears, he is reminded of it more clearly.
You may have a question here.
Those who commit suicide will become demons and wander around on earth, so why is it that Judas Iscariot is in the Lower Grave already?
I will explain about this in the next session, along with the cases of the King Saul and Pilate.
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, for he was called as one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, Judas Iscariot must have had a passionate mind when he first met Jesus.
Acts 1:17 says, “For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry,” and as recorded, he would do his share as an apostle and as one of the twelve disciples.
But as time passed, he realized Jesus was not the person whom Judas expected Him to be.
Judas Iscariot thought he could gain many material benefits by following Jesus, but such a thing didn’t happen.
He fulfilled his greed by stealing little by little from the treasury box of which he was in charge.
His self-righteousness, greed, and evil distanced him from Jesus more and more.
Finally, he sold out his master and the Son of God, Jesus, for thirty silver coins, which was the price of a slave.
He did not repent even though Jesus waited for him for a long time. He forsook the glorious way of a disciple and became the first example of a traitor.
He forsook the opportunity to enjoy the glory together with Jesus later in heavenly kingdom.
Brothers and sisters, Galatians 6:6 reads, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.”
I would like to share my happiness, the happiness that the world cannot give, with all of you.
Is there anyone who has not yet cast away your self-righteousness, greed, and other evil?
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will cast them away completely and be able to enjoy the true peace and happiness, and all the good things in New Jerusalem with me.
[AMEN!]
