I don’t want to bore anyone.
However, this topic is absolutely essential. The teaching of eternal torment—ET—has
become for many the biggest obstacle for commitment to the Christian faith. There
are several people who claim that they cannot accept the biblical God because
of the alleged biblical teaching that hell is a matter of eternal torment. Even
committed Christians struggle with this doctrine, sometimes to the point where
they wonder about the assurance of their salvation. Therefore, we need to re-examine
this important issue. Does the Bible require us to believe in ET?
ETERNAL TORMENT
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Is there any biblical evidence
for eternal torment in the OT? Actually, we find overwhelming evidence that
death is the final destination for the unrepentant:
·
You have rebuked the nations; you have made
the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and
ever. The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their
cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. (Psalm
9:5-6)
·
In just a little while, the wicked will be no
more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there...But
the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the
pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away…But he passed
away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not
be found. (Psalm 37:10, 20, 36; see also Psalm 68:2; Hosea 13:2)
·
Their graves are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own
names. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish...his
soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see
light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that
perish. (Psalm 49:11-12, 19-20)
·
“From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to
Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me,” declares the Lord. “And
they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have
rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die [but their body will
die], their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence
to all flesh.” (Isaiah 66:23-24)
·
“For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so
all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow [the cup
of God’s wrath] and shall be as though they had never been.” (Obadiah
16)
·
“Behold, when it [the vine] was whole, it was
used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is
charred, can it ever be used for anything!
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the
trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given
up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” (Ezekiel 15:5–6)
There are many other OT verses
which give no indication of ET. To other writers of Scripture, God had revealed
the ultimate binary fate of humanity—eternal life and death. David often
demonstrated that he had knowledge of the afterlife. Here is just one example
of that knowledge:
·
Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver
my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, O Lord, from
men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with
treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to
their infants. As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I
awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. (Psalm 17:13-15)
However, David never indicated
any awareness of ET. Asaph was also given a revelation of the fate of humanity following
this present life:
·
How they are destroyed in a moment, swept
away utterly by terrors…You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you
will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there
is nothing on earth that I desire besides you…For behold, those who are far
from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to
you. (Psalm 73:19, 24-25, 27)
Although the writers of the OT
were not given the fullness of the NT revelation, they still had knowledge of
heaven and also its corollary—eternal death. ET was entirely unknown to the OT.
NEW TESTAMENT
JESUS’ TEACHINGS:
·
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide
and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it
are many.” (Matthew 7:13)
·
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul
and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
·
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have
eternal life. (John 3:16)
·
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever rejects the Son will not (“never” ESV) see life,
for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36)
·
“If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown
away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown
into the fire, and burned.” (John 15:6)
·
“Just as the weeds are gathered and burned
with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send
his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all
law-breakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:40–42; see also 49-50)
·
“I tell you, many will come from east and west
and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In
that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11–12)
Although there are indications of
torment—“weeping and gnashing of teeth”—in these last few verses, there is no
evidence that this torment will be eternal or even long-lasting. Instead, the
fire consumes, just as it does to weeds that are thrown into a fire
(Isaiah 66:24).
OTHER NT TEACHINGS:
·
Though they know God’s righteous decree that
those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but
give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:32)
·
For all who have sinned without the law will
also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will
be judged by the law. (Romans 2:12)
·
But what fruit were you getting at that time
from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the
fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages
of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord. (Romans 6:21–23)
·
What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to
make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction. (Romans 9:22)
·
Their destiny is destruction, their god
is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly
things. (Philippians 3:19)
·
They will be punished with everlasting
destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty
of his power. (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
·
For if we go on sinning deliberately after
receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for
sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will
consume the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26–27)
·
There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is
able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (James
4:12)
·
…if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an
example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. (2 Peter 2:6)
·
And the angels who did not stay within their own
position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal
chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—just as
Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual
immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a
punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 6–7)
We cannot interpret “eternal fire” as “eternal torment.” In
2 Peter 2:6 (above), this fire is characterized as extinction. Sodom and Gomorrah
ended up as ashes. In Jude 6, the “eternal” only lasts “until the judgment.” Therefore,
the “eternal fire” mentioned in Jude 7 cannot be taken in the usual way. The
literal fire did not last eternally; it was only a symbol of eternal destruction.
In Jude 13, we can see that “utter darkness has been reserved forever” is
perhaps an indication that the candle of life has been extinguished.
·
But these, like irrational animals, creatures of
instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of
which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction…(2
Peter 2:12)
·
He who has the Son has life; he who does not
have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12)
PROBLEM VERSES
· “And these
will go away into eternal punishment [perhaps “eternal death”],
but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)
·
“And the smoke of their torment will rise
for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the
beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” (Revelation
14:11; It is the smoke which “rises forever,” not their ET)
·
“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown
into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been
thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation
20:10)
·
And the sea gave up the dead who were in it,
Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each
one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of
fire. (Revelation 20:13-14; see also 21:8)
None of these problem verses
indicate eternal torment for any humans—only for the devil, the beast, and the
false prophet (Revelation 20:10). However, I suspect that the “second death” in
“the lake of fire” will also include this unholy trio. Perhaps the second death
will replace the everlasting torment of the three.
Is there any evidence for the
annihilation of the unholy trio? Many verses that indicate that our Lord will
eventually remove all forms of evil from His world:
·
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased
to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether
on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians
1:19–20)
·
…as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite
all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians
1:10)
·
…so that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians
2:10–11)
·
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)
These verses suggest that all those who remain—meaning
exclusively those who are saved—will give the glory to God. If this is true,
then it also suggests that the devil and his allies will have been destroyed at
some prior point in time, along with the rest of the lovers of darkness. The only
alternative understanding for the meaning of these “all” and “every” verses…is
universalism. But are we actually to believe that Christ “will reconcile to
himself all things,” including the devil? Are we to understand the words, “…in
Christ shall all be made alive,” to include the beast and the false prophet?
This is unthinkable. And yet, this is what would take place according to those
who believe in universalism—that all of humanity will be saved, including its
ancient foes. Such an aberrant paradigm would condemn the entire Christian faith
as unnecessary.
If I have made a good case for the idea of eternal death over
eternal torment, it must be admitted: the idea of eternal death is still
horrific to contemplate. Furthermore, it is possible that some form of torment
might precede the complete annihilation of those who refuse to serve God.
If God is all-merciful, is He required to grant eternal
life to those who consistently reject Him (John 3:17-20)? If they hated God in
this life, they will hate Him even more in the next life, where His exposing
light and His fires of purification will be even more intolerable:
·
The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has
seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among
us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” He who walks righteously and speaks
uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest
they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his
eyes from looking on evil. (Isaiah 33:14–15)
Consequently, those who hate God
will not repent but flee from His presence:
·
In that day mankind will cast away their idols
of silver and their idols of gold to enter the caverns of the rocks and the
clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor
of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. (Isaiah 2:20–21; Psalm 1:5;
24:3-4; Revelation 6:15-16; 20:11 Deuteronomy 5:25; Malachi 3:2)
It seems that if they want rocks
to fall on them, they would also prefer non-existence to existence with God.
Shouldn’t He allow them to have what they have chosen for themselves? What could
be more just!
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