Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis. Tonight is study #13 of Genesis, chapter 23, and we are going to read Genesis 23:17-20:

And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

We have been spending some time looking carefully at the purchase of this field and the cave within the field. In our last study, we saw that the field represents the world, but we also saw that the cave in the field identifies with death and the grave, and the grave identifies with hell. Abraham is a figure of God, and he is purchasing the world, as typified by the purchase of the field, and he is purchasing the cave within the field, which points to death or hell. God has purchased hell itself. He has purchased the grave or death itself. We saw in Joshua that there were five kings and they were hung on a tree as cursed, and they were taken down and placed in a cave, which was said to be sealed unto this day, a statement that identifies with the principle that they will be “dead forever.” And God can do that. He can kill or make alive. He can sentence someone to death. After all, the wages of sin is death, and unsaved sinners will die and be dead for evermore. This is annihilation – it is eternal death. It is to be destroyed and to be dead forever and is, therefore, “eternal damnation.” And God has the control and power of the keys of hell and death. That is what we saw in Revelation 1:18:

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The Greek word for “hell” is “hades.” He has the keys of the grave, which is hell and death. The grave and hell and death are all synonyms. Remember that Jesus said in Matthew 16:18:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…

He is speaking to Peter, but the “rock” is Christ. I must interject (because of the day we live in) and say that this is not referring to the corporate church, but to the eternal church consisting of everyone God has saved.

It goes on to say in Matthew 16:18-19:

… and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This applies to our time because Christ has built his eternal church (past tense), and immediately upon completion, we have the picture in Matthew 7 of the church being built upon the “rock,” and then the storm coming against it. And this is what God has subjected His eternal church to in the Day of Judgment. He has finished the “building” and now He is trying the structure. You know, people build earthly buildings and the trial comes when a bad storm blows upon it and if it stands and endures, it is good. Through the severity of the storm, it is unharmed and still standing at the conclusion of the storm. Well, God is doing the same thing with His eternal church, His eternal house of “new Jerusalem.” He has finished it and indwells it, and He has brought the storm of Judgment Day against it, which will be a severe testing of it and, yet, at the end it will stand, and the glory will go to the “foundation,” the Lord Jesus Christ, because it is built upon the rock.

That is not why we came here to Matthew 16, but verse 18 tell us that Christ would build His church and the gates of “hell” or “death” will not prevail against it. We are in that testing period right now and at the conclusion of it, we will be able to triumphantly say (as we give God all the glory) that the gates of hell did not prevail against us. We will have gone through the “condition of death” and we endured to the end.

Then it goes on to say in Matthew 16:19:

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

In the Greek, the prior action is in heaven – having been loosed in heaven, it will be loosed on earth. But, here, Christ gives the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He has the keys of hell and death and the keys of the kingdom of heaven. A person has to be released from hell and death before you can enter into heaven, and it is the Gospel, the Word of God, that was the key, as Christ is the Word. When the Word of God would come, the Bible says, “Faith cometh by hearing,” as the Lord would apply it in the life of one of His chosen people, and that person would be delivered. The keys of hell and death would be used to loosen them from the bondage to sin and death, and they would come forth free, because Christ is the owner and possessor of the field and of the cave – death itself – through winning the victory over it at the foundation of the world.

As we see this picture and understand the spiritual meaning of the purchase of the field and the cave in the field, one more interesting thing is that this is telling us that God not only owns the world and death and hell, but it also tells us the location of “death and hell.” It is not some mysterious, unknowable nether region. It is not even a spiritual location. It is not an outside creation or a place that is to be created. It already exists, and its location is the earth. The cave is a part of the earth, and this teaches us that “hell” is a part of this earth. Of course it is, but this is apart from the “condition of hell,” which is to be under the wrath of God. But there is a location of “hell” in this earth and it is the grave. When you see a cemetery, you see sepulchres or the burying places of men. That is the grave and that is hell. They are one and the same. We must get away from thinking of this place of literal fire and burning where there is suffering for evermore. Death and hell are the same, and because it is part of the world, it is telling that we read in Revelation 20 where God is seated upon His judgment throne, in Revelation 20:11-15:

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. 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 the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. And what would happen to death and hell in the lake of fire? They would be burned up and annihilated – they would be destroyed. But how can you cast death and hell into a lake of fire? In a figurative way, it has already happened, but the lake of fire also identifies with the conclusion of Judgment Day on the last day and the fiery destruction of this world and creation. And when this world is destroyed and is burned to nothing, it ceases to exist.

You know, God spoke and created this world and all this universe, and by His Word it is held together, as Colossians 1 tells us that He is the Creator and by Him all things consist and continue to have their existence through the Word of God. It is the Word of God that said, “Let there be…” and the creation was formed. We know this creation is all these atoms that have come together and joined one to another. You are made of atoms. I am made of atoms. The trees, the sky, the mountains, the planets and the whole creation are made up of atoms that are bound and held together by God Himself through His Word. On the last day, all He has to do is “loose them.” We know that in atomic explosions, they can split an atom and there is a release of energy and a chain reaction causing an enormous explosion that can destroy a city. And that is a very limited example of what can happen when some atoms are altered and loosed, in a sense, and they contact other atoms and create a chain reaction and explosion. Everything in this world and universe is held together by these atoms.

Let me just prove that, again, regarding the work of the Word of God, by turning to 2Peter 3:6-7:

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

The Word of God is keeping the world intact, and all the Almighty, omnipotent God has to do is speak, just as He commanded the disciples to loose the donkey, which was a picture of salvation, was it not? He told them to loose the donkey, bring it to Him and then He sat upon it. So the donkey had been bound. It was then loosed, and Christ sat upon it as Lord, and that was a picture of salvation. In the Bible, to be “bound” is to be in sin, like the woman that was said to have been bound these eighteen years by Satan. Then Christ loosed her from her infirmity, a picture of salvation.

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” In Romans 8, God expresses the curse upon the creation as though it is in bondage and looking for redemption. It is a picture of salvation. When this creation is destroyed and a new heaven and new earth is created, it is a glorious picture of deliverance and salvation of the creation, in a sense, so it would be very fitting for God to loose the atoms that bind everything together. And in loosing them, there would be a universe-wide explosion that would blow this creation out of existence and it would be gone for evermore. God easily controls this. Just look at Genesis 1 where God would say, “Let there be…” and then there was the sun, moon and stars and animals and everything else (that was created).

Lazarus was bound in grave cloths, and Christ said, “Lazarus, come forth!” He told them to loose him, and they took off the grave cloths. It is the same thing with creation. God will loose the atoms, and it will be all gone. That is all God has to do is speak the Word. So at the very end on the last day, God will take the earth because the cave is in the earth. It is not in outer space or anywhere else in the universe. The cave is in the field, and the field is the world, so “hell” is in the earth. That is the location, and God will cast death and hell into the lake of fire when He throws the whole world into the lake of fire, and it will be burnt with fervent heat. Also, it says in 2Peter 3:10:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat…

The word “melt” is #3089 in Strong’s Greek concordance and it is the word “loo-o,” which is the word “loosed.” The elements shall be “loosed.” It goes on to say, in 2Peter 3:10:

…the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

There is the loosing of the elements and being burned up, and that does fit with atomic explosions. Then it goes on to say in 2Peter 3:10:

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved…

And the word translated as “dissolved” is Strong’s #3089, and it is the word “loo-o” or a form of that word. Then it says, in 2Peter 3:10-11:

…what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

The word “dissolved” is the same word. So we see a “loosing” of the creation, and then a fervent heat or fire. We are approaching that point in time, and God will annihilate the creation. He will literally burn it up by loosing His Word that has been binding or holding it altogether. It is consisting by Him. Even in Him we move, and breathe, and have our being, the Bible tells us. We consist of atoms, also, and so all of creation is at the beck and call of God’s bidding, according to His will to do. And we know it is His determination, as we just read, to destroy the creation and to destroy rebellious mankind and remove them for evermore. They are annihilated. They will experience eternal death and never come into mind again, once it is gone. And this day is approaching, and that is when death and hell will be defeated, as it says in 1Corinthians 15:25:

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

This is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ who is reigning right now, and He must reign now and continue to reign over the nations until He has put all enemies under His feet. That has not all happened yet. It goes on to say in 1Corinthians 15:26:

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

It is the last enemy because the world has entered into the condition of death. Death is functioning and operating. Man dies physically, and the whole world is dead spiritually. God’s wrath is upon the world, as the door of heaven is shut, bringing the world into the condition of hell and death, so death is operational and it will be operational until the conclusion of Judgment Day, and then it will be destroyed. It says a little further on, in 1Corinthians 15:52-54:

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality…

When will that happen? It is the last day, is it not? When the world is over, we are changed and receive new spiritual bodies. So keep in mind when this will happen. Then it says in 1Corinthians 15:54:

…then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

And the word “grave” is “hades.” It is translated as “hell” in other places. You see, there is the destruction of “hell.” This is very revealing and very important, doctrinally, because if death is “swallowed up,” it is devoured. It is swallowed up in victory, as it said back in verse 26, and it is destroyed: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” Death and hell are cast into the lake of fire – they are destroyed forever. You see, this is additional information that confirms and strengthens the doctrine of “annihilation” because it is telling us here that hell cannot be eternal. Hell cannot be a place that exists for evermore where people are being tormented without end. It is impossible. It cannot happen because death is going to be destroyed. Hell is going to be destroyed. Hell will cease to be, and hell with burn up.

So we are correct in our understanding that God’s judgment for sin is a limited judgment that takes place “in time” and it is under way as the world is currently experiencing it. Then it will end and that will be it. It will be a finite judgment ending in an eternal destruction; that is, the unsaved will be destroyed at a point in time and time will be no more, but their death will continue forever, while God’s people will experience a glorious eternal future. The fact that death and hell are cast into the lake of fire is a proof of these things, with these supportive Scriptures.

So we can see the significance of the purchase of the cave within the field. It is a very helpful historical parable.