Aside from a picture portrait of Jesus, the Ten Commandments, and the yearly McFleeg Feeds calendar, there was one other painting in Grandpa and Grandma’s house.
I looked at the painting every time that I would go to my grandparents house…you couldn’t miss it. It was a large painting that depicted the two places where all humans eventually end up. One road was narrow and seemed to be along a rocky trail leading to what was supposed to be paradise. The other road was wide, dark, ominous and had the majority of the people in the picture on it. It led to the edge of a cliff where people were falling into a pit of fire and smoke. Quite a sight for a young mind to dwell on that’s for sure. Grandpa described it as heaven and hell and that all of us would need to make choices in life to which path we would go on. For a long time after I grew into a young man and after they both passed away, that image remained ingrained in my memories.
The purpose of this study will be to present, lay out, and examine what the Bible teaches on the subject of hell. This study is not intended to change anyone’s views or beliefs in regards to this topic. I take full responsibility for the words and statements that I will be sharing in this study and I hope that upon having gone through it you will have not only been blessed by it but also that your perception of God’s character has improved.
When it comes to the subject of hell there are several views out there. The most popular view is the doctrine that the wicked dead are tormented with fire and brimstone in an eternally burning hell; that for the sins of a brief earthly life they are to suffer torture as long as God lives..which is..forever
Another view is on the complete opposite side of this where it is taught that because of the ceaseless love and mercy of God, He will not allow any humans to go through the pains and torture of hellfire but rather redeem everyone and only Satan and his angels will suffer the flames.
Yet another popular teaching is that most everyone will go to hell and suffer there only for the duration of the penalty of the sins which they committed before God will allow them into heaven.
The final of the different views is that the wicked will be eternally destroyed in the fires of hell before the earth is made new.
Growing up I was taught that hell is a place of eternal torture and suffering for those who did not obey God while they were living…it’s where the “schlecht” people go. I believed this because that is what I was told, and because of a few texts that certainly seemed to confirm just that. One of the major issues that people have with this topic is like others, there are some “seemingly” contradictory texts surrounding it. If our view seems to contradict other scripture then we are simply not understanding something correctly and we have to keep studying. When approaching this subject, as with any, one must do so with an open mind. By open mind I do not mean “be gullible”. I mean be willing to examine our views and let the Bible be the microscope. As it does say…“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” [2 Tim. 3:16] Let’s begin.
First I’d like to point out that the word “hell” appears 54 times in the Bible.
In the Old Testament it appears 31 times from the Hebrew word “Sheoul” which means “the grave”.
In the New Testament it is translated 10 times from the Greek word “Hades” which also means “the grave”.
It also is translated 12 times from the word “Gehenna” which means “the place of burning”.
Finally it’s translated 1 time from the word “Tartarus” which means a “place of darkness”.
I’m assuming one thing we all agree on is that there certainly is a hell where the wicked will suffer punishment so that point is set. What we will be examining is when hell is, where hell is, and is it for eternity.
THE ORIGIN OF THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF HELL TODAY.
The most common understanding of where hellfire takes place amongst Christians today is “in the center of the earth somewhere” sort of like a pit or inescapable dungeon. This view, as you will see from all the texts we will be looking at, does not originate from the Bible but comes from ancient mythology. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all shared the view that hell is located deep under the earth. It was known by various names such as Orcus, Erebus, Tartarus, and Infernus. This last term is where the modern expression “infernal regions” comes from. According to the story the gate of Hell is guarded by a three headed dog named Cerberus who prevented anyone from escaping. Supposedly Hell was also surrounded by a triple wall and a river of fire called Phlegethon.
The famous artist, Michelangelo, found his inspiration in the origins of this story when painting his famous mural of heaven and hell in the Sistine Chapel, which is the pope’s private chapel. In this giant 45 foot by 40 foot mural titled “The final judgement” you see on the left of Christ the resurrected saints receive new bodies as they ascend towards heaven. To the right of Christ, devils with pitchforks drag, push, and throw impenitent sinners into cauldrons of burning fires. Finally, at the bottom you see a Greek mythical figure named Charon with his oars in a boat, along with his devils, forcing the damned out of his boat by pushing them before Minos, another Greek mythical figure who acts as a judge. In the bottom you see more devils gnawing at the skulls of sinners while surrounded by serpents.
These graphic pictures depicted in the late 1530s, in the most important papel chapel, reflect the most popular view of Hellfire today amongst Christians. Isn’t it amazing how tradition becomes ingrained into our beliefs but has absolutely zero foundation in the Bible?
If we go farther back in history and examine the writings of the early church fathers we can find that this belief of an eternal torturous hellfire was gradually adopted around the latter part of the second century approximately at the same time as the belief in the immortality of the soul. References to this are found in the writings of Justin Martyr, Iranaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian of Carthage, Lactantius, Jerome, and Augustine just to name a few. Augustine is most famous for officially publishing the modern doctrine of hell which has remained definitive to the Catholic church through the ages down to today. Its interesting that Augustine also reasoned that salvation or damnation depended solely on the sovereign will of God, a view adopted later by John Calvin in which God decides who will be saved and who will be tortured for eternity before we are even born. This view would make God to be an irrational and unjust Being to be despised rather than worshipped. Anyway…that’s enough history for now. Next we will get into the factual bible texts that make clear when hellfire will burn and where it originates from.
#1. IS HELL BURNING RIGHT NOW? When do the wicked receive their reward?
There are many of us who believe that hell is burning right now and the wicked go there immediately after death. Let’s look at what the Bible says about this.
(Job 21:30) For the wicked are RESERVED for the DAY OF DOOM; They shall be brought out on the DAY OF WRATH.
Matthew 13:40-42 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the END OF THIS AGE. [41] The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, [42] and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
John 5:28-29
Do not marvel at this; for the HOUR IS COMING in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice [29] and come forth-those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the RESURRECTION OF CONDEMNATION.
John 12:48
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the LAST DAY.
2 Peter 3:7
But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are RESERVED for fire UNTIL THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT and perdition of ungodly men.
2 Peter 2:9
then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to RESERVE the unjust under punishment for the DAY OF JUDGEMENT,
Romans 2:5-6
But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the DAY OF WRATH and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, [6] who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:
There is one passage that I struggled with for some time and it is this one.
2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but CAST THEM DOWN TO HELL and delivered them into CHAINS OF DARKNESS, to be RESERVED FOR JUDGEMENT;
The original written word translated to “hell” here is “tartarus” and this is the only place that word shows up in scripture. It becomes clearer what Peter meant with that if you compare with a couple other texts.
Jude 1:6
And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has RESERVED in everlasting chains UNDER DARKNESS for the JUDGEMENT of the GREAT DAY;
The devils themselves understand that their punishment is reserved for a time in the future. We all know the story in Matthew chapter 8 where Jesus met two demon-possessed men and they cried out to Him saying “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us BEFORE THE TIME?” (verse 29)
Summary..
There is definitely a heaven and there will definitely be a hell. The fires of hell will be very real, very literal, and very hot. There will be excruciating physical pain and unbearable mental pain from realizing what has been lost. But here’s the point..hell is NOT burning right now. The theme that consistently is shown in the scriptures shared above is that punishment and rewards are reserved for that great day in the future. Not even the devil and his demons are burning right now. The punishment of Satan and His demons is reserved for the day of judgement. This point will become even stronger once you see what the Bible says “where” hellfire will take place.
#2 WHERE WILL HELLFIRE TAKE PLACE?
There are several stories we can look at that will help us understand this next point. One of these I had never noticed before and along with the example seen in Sodom and Gomorrah, they paint a mini picture of what Hell will look like. It can be found in Numbers 11:1-3 “Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the FIRE OF the LORD burned among them, and CONSUMED SOME in the OUTSKIRTS OF THE CAMP. [2] Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the LORD, the fire was quenched. [3] So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them.
There’s another story where we see fire coming down directly from God to destroy…
Numbers 16:35
And a fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.
The point I’m trying to make is that in the end, hellfire will COME, OR ORIGINATE, FROM GOD.
Its also important to understand that Hellfire will take place right here ON this earth and there’s several texts we can look at to support this.
Revelation 20:8-9
and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. [9] They went up ON THE BREATH OF THE EARTH and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And FIRE CAME DOWN FROM GOD out of heaven and devoured them.
It says that the fire came down out of heaven and devoured them..this is the Bible’s hellfire. Note this next example as well.
2 Peter 3:3-7
knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, [4] and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” [5] For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, [6] by which the WORLD THAT THEN EXISTED PERISHED, being flooded with water. [7] But the HEAVENS AND THE EARTH which are now preserved by the same word, are RESERVED FOR FIRE until the day of judgment and PERDITION OF UNGODLY MEN.
Some more texts to help support the point of Hellfire coming forth from God are as follows.
Isaiah 66:15-17
For behold, the LORD will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. [16] For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many. [17] “Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,” says the LORD.
Psalm 97:3-6
A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. [4] His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles. [5] The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. [6] The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory.
Psalm 50:2-3
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. [3] Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
Summary…at the right time fire will come forth from God and consume not only the wicked but the entire planet. Hellfire will literally be burning on every square inch of this globe. Just as God cleansed the earth by water with the flood, so too it will be cleansed by fire. I just wanted to point out these few points that I think we all agree on before we will next be getting into the “meat” and heart of this subject.
#1 Hell is not burning right now.
#2 Hellfire will take place “at the end of the age” after the judgement and will be kindled by God Himself.
#3 Hellfire will take place ON this earth.
THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE TURNED AWAY THOUSANDS….
I would like you to imagine with me for a moment that you have gone out to buy a puppy for your family. The problem is this puppy seems to have a mind of its own and as cute as it is its quite frankly not a very good puppy. It seems that no matter how hard you try to train it and treat it well it absolutely does not listen to you, not only that, there’s times where it actually growls and bites at you. Long story short, this is one bad puppy. No matter how much love you show this puppy it simply does not respond and doesn’t love you back. Well because it chose not to love you back your now going to put it into a crate and start torturing it, not only for a little while but for eternity. Day in and day out you’re gonna kick and beat and shock and burn this dog for not being a good dog. Would you really do that? Does that even remotely make sense to you? Yet this is exactly what the majority of us think God is going to do to humanity that does not accept Christ in what is known as “Hellfire”. We wouldn’t even do that to your dog, yet we think God would do that to humanity.
Job 4:17
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For ALL HIS WAYS ARE JUSTICE, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
Will God really torture the unrighteous for eternity in the fires of hell for the sins of a lifetime? Does that even fit His character description? How can God be “love” and at same time torture for eternity a person, who didn’t even ask to be made, but chose to not love God back, how can a loving God then torture that person for millions and millions of years in fire for the choices of a brief lifetime? Is that justice? It’s definitely a disturbing thought, not even burning for eternity, but that God would actually do that. Imagine a husband saying to his wife, “Hunny, if you dont love me I will torture you forever”. How could that wife truly love a husband like that?
God indeed is God and yes, who are we to question His choices and purposes? But these really are fair questions and I believe after we are done looking at this you will understand why it’s ok to ask them because it will become clear God would not do something like that. For many years the doctrine of eternal suffering in Hell fire has turned many, many people away from God which is exactly what the enemy desires to accomplish.
We already established from the Bible that yes, there will indeed be hellfire that will come forth from God at the end of the age and envelope the wicked UPON THIS EARTH. In this next part we will be looking at why this hellfire WILL NOT and CAN NOT be burning for eternity. So now the question is “How long will hellfire be burning”? That question I cannot answer. For some it will certainly be burning longer than others as scripture makes it clear each person in it will be judged and suffer “according to their works”.
Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Revelation 20:13
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, EACH ONE ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS.
Christ also touched on the point of different degrees of punishment in His parable of the unfaithful servant.
Luke 12:47-48
And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. [48] But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
So would it be just for a man who died cherishing a sin 4000 years ago to burn as long as Adolf Hitler who oversaw the murder of millions? Absolutely not.
There are several reasons that we can be sure Hellfire will not burn for eternity.
#1 HELLFIRE CANNOT BURN FOR ETERNITY ON EARTH BECAUSE THIS EARTH WILL BE MADE NEW AND BE HOME TO THE RIGHTEOUS.
We already covered and established that Hellfire will take place HERE ON EARTH. Well if it’s burning for eternity here on earth that creates a problem because the Bible makes clear that the earth will also be home for the righteous, or I should say, the new, recreated earth in which there is no more death, pain, or sorrow. (Rev. 21:4)
Proverbs 11:31
If the righteous will be RECOMPENSED ON THE EARTH, How much more the UNGODLY AND SINNER.
Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek, For they shall INHERIT THE EARTH.
Psalm 37:9-11,22,29,34
For EVILDOERS shall be CUT OFF; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall INHERIT THE EARTH. [10] For yet a little while and the WICKED SHALL BE NO MORE; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. [11] But the MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. [22] For those BLESSED by Him shall INHERIT THE EARTH, But those CURSED by Him shall be CUT OFF. [29] The RIGHTEOUS shall INHERIT THE LAND, And DWELL IN IT FOREVER. [34] Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to INHERIT THE LAND; When the WICKED ARE CUT OF, you shall see it.
This next passage is also a powerful one to consider.
Malachi 4:1-3
“For behold, the day is coming, BURNING LIKE AN OVEN, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly WILL BE STUBBLE. And the day which is coming shall BURN THEM UP,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them NEITHER ROOT NOR BRANCH. [2] But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. [3] You shall trample the wicked, For THEY SHALL BE ASHES under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this,” Says the LORD of hosts.
2 Peter 3:10-13
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the EARTH and the works that are in it will be BURNED UP. [11] Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, [12] looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on FIRE, and the elements will melt with FERVENT HEAT? [13] Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH in which righteousness dwells.
Summary for point #1..both the wicked and the righteous receive their reward here on earth. The wicked will be punished in the fires of hell according to their works and after which God will recreate the earth and restore it back to the state it was before sin. This recreated earth will then become the home of the righteous.
#2. THE WICKED ARE NOT PROMISED ETERNAL LIFE.
You can search the Bible from cover to cover and not once will you find a text that suggests the unrighteous live forever. The Bible tells us that it is only through Christ that we can gain eternal life.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM should not PERISH but have EVERLASTING LIFE.
Notice the two options, everlasting life or perish. You will find this theme throughout scripture.
Romans 6:23
For the WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, but the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE in CHRIST JESUS our Lord.
1 John 5:11-12
And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. [12] He who has the Son has life; he who DOES NOT HAVE THE SON of God DOES NOT HAVE LIFE.
Eternal life is not given to sinners. If that were the case, God would in a sense be immortalizing sin. Scripture is very clear that those who choose to sin will NOT have eternal life.
1 John 3:15
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that NO MURDERER HAS ETERNAL LIFE ABIDING IN HIM.
….by the way this also applies to Satan whom Jesus said was “a MURDERER from the beginning” (John 8:44)
Immortality is offered to us through the gospel of Christ. There is no other way..
2 Timothy 1:10
but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and IMMORTALITY to light THROUGH THE GOSPEL,
As stated before, nowhere in scripture will you find a text that promises immortality to the sinner. The lie that the sinner will be immortal is actually the very first lie recorded in scripture. It can be found in Genesis when the serpent told Eve that “you will not surely die” for disobeying God.
The next text that I want to show you is this one in (Ezekiel 18:20)…“The soul who sins shall die….”
No matter how you view the soul this text makes it plain that the one who chooses to remain in sin must die. Now we all understand that all of us must die once. Ecclesiastes chapter 9 tells us that both the wicked and the righteous have one thing in common, eventually we will die. The book of Hebrews also touches on this..
Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed for men to DIE ONCE, but after this the judgment,
But did you realize the Bible also talks of a second death that only the wicked will experience.
Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which BURNS WITH FIRE and brimstone, which is the SECOND DEATH.”
Revelation 20:14
Then Death and Hades were cast into the LAKE OF FIRE. This is the SECOND DEATH.
In so many places in scripture we can read that the end result of the wicked is complete and total annihilation.
“The wicked suffer DEATH” (Romans 6:23)
“Will PERISH” (Psalm 37:20)
“Will BURN UP” (Malachi 4:1)
“Will be DESTROYED” (Psalm 37:38)
“Will VANISH AWAY” (Psalm 37:20)
“Will be SLAIN” (Psalm 62:3)
“God will DESTROY them” (Psalm 145:20)
“Fire will DEVOUR them” (Psalm 21:9)
These are just a few of many more…
Summary for point #2. The wicked are never promised to have eternal life. Only the righteous are given that promise. The wicked will all eventually perish, cease to exist, die the second death in Hellfire after they have suffered “according to their works”.
#3. SATAN AND HIS ANGELS WILL ALSO BE DESTROYED IN HELLFIRE.
The very purpose for Hellfire was for Satan and his angels.
Matthew 25:41
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the EVERLASTING FIRE prepared for the DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS:
If you read Ezekiel chapter 28 and also Jeremiah 14 you will find prophecies concerning Satan, the Devil, who used to be a covering angel in heaven before his rebellion and who is ultimately responsible for introducing sin to this perfect earth. Notice this passage from Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 28:15,16,18-19
“You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. [16] “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I TURNED YOU TO ASHES UPON THE EARTH IN THE SIGHT OF ALL who saw you. [19] All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And SHALL BE NO MORE forever.”‘”
Farther on in the book of Revelation we can read the following passage…(Revelation 20:10) The DEVIL, who deceived them, was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Now this last passage contains the term “tormented day and night forever and ever” It’s one of the texts that the doctrine of eternal hellfire is based on and there are a few others like it. We just read many, many texts that say otherwise. Would the Bible contradict itself? In the next part we will examine these passages not by guessing or twisting words but simply by letting the Bible interpret itself. You will be amazed. The hope is that with the amount of evidence presented so far it will at least make you willing to examine deeper.
At this point I’d like to share about the example left to us by Sodom and Gomorrah and what the Bible writers had to say about it. This story will help us to understand some the texts that seem to contradict what we have seen so far.
We all know the story. A people so wicked that God wiped them out with fire that rained down from heaven as an example for us. Note how (2 Peter 2:6) puts it…“and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ASHES, condemned them to DESTRUCTION, making them an EXAMPLE to those who afterward would live ungodly;”
Now compare that with this text from (Jude 1:7) “as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are SET FORTH AS AN EXAMPLE, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE.“
So there you have it…Peter says the cities were turned to ASHES, Jude tells us the cities suffered from ETERNAL FIRE. Obviously those cities are not still burning today. Travel to the southern end of the Dead Sea in The Middle East and you’ll see that so what is ETERNAL FIRE mentioned in the book of Jude? It’s simple..it is fire that has eternal consequences. Those cities were destroyed, burned to ash, and will remain that way for eternity… EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION from which there is no return.
(2 Thessalonians 1:9) These shall be punished with EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
Notice Jesus’ words in the book of Luke when referencing Sodom..
(Luke 17:28-29) Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; [29] but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it RAINED FIRE and brimstone from heaven and DESTROYED THEM ALL.
Compare that to His words in this passage as well….
(Matthew 10:28) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL.
Summary…from the example of Sodom and Gomorrah we can see that when the Bible refers to eternal fire it is not saying that the fire lasts forever…but the RESULTS OF THE FIRE are forever.
Another one of the passages that seem to be pointing toward eternal torment in hell is (Revelation 14:11) which reads…And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Similar passages are (Revelation 19:20) and (Rev. 20:10).
There’s two points we can consider about these passages.
POINT #1. The English term “forever” in the original Hebrew is “olam” and in Greek it is “aionios”. In our German, these words were translated as “ewig” or “ewiglich” or “ewigkeit”.
In scripture, in many places, this term is used as a phrase of speech. In fact, if you use a concordance to look up the base word “ever” you will find AT LEAST 56 times where the word “forever” was used in describing events that have already come to an end.
Here are some examples where you can see this.
(Exodus 21:6) then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him FOREVER [olam]. (In German the word here is “EWIG”)
This passage describes the custom of a slave who is willing to serve his master for the rest of his life. Not eternally. Its not like the slave will still be serving the master in heaven or hell. “Forever” in this case simply means for as long as he lives.
Let’s look at another one. In this case it’s referring to Hanna who was barren but promised God that if He gave her a son she would let him serve God for His entire life.
(1 Samuel 1:22) But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the LORD and remain there FOREVER.” (Hebrew: olam, German: Ewiglich
Here again, the term “forever” means for the rest of a man’s life.
Paul in his letter to Philemon in regards to his runaway slave used the term as well in the same manner.
(Philemon 1:15) For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him FOREVER, (German Bible says “ewig”
Here too “forever” would mean as long as they are still living.
How about the prophet Jonah? Notice how he used the term in describing his three day journey in the belly of a whale.
(Jonah 2:5-6) The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. [6] I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me FOREVER; [ewiglich in German] Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God.
In this instance as well we see “forever” used in a sense of “as long as the nature of the subject allows”.
POINT #2. The passage, along with (Revelation 19:3) and also (Revelation 20:10) echoes what God did to the land of Edom. Notice this from the book of Isaiah.
(Isaiah 34:5,8-10) “For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on EDOM, And on the people of My curse, for judgment. [8] For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. [9] Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch. [10] It shall not be quenched night or day; Its SMOKE SHALL ASCEND FOREVER. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
Look at verse 10 in German…
(Isa 34:10) das weder Jahr noch Tag verlöschen wird, sondern EWIGLICH wird Rauch von ihm aufgehen; und es wird für und für wüst sein, daß niemand dadurchgehen wird in EWIGKEIT;
Today the land of Edom is a wasteland that you can go visit and see that it indeed is stil desolate…the results of Gods destruction upon that land is still evident due to the fact its a wasteland now where it was once thriving. No fire is burning there today although eternal fire was its punishment…again, the results are eternal not the fire itself.
Summary…the time involved in “forever” depends upon the subject to which the word is used. When used to describe God or the gift of life that God gives, it naturally means without end, eternal. When used in relation to mortal man it means a relatively short period of time or the lifetime of that person. Smoke ascending forever is used in reference to areas that suffered from Gods destruction with eternal results.
QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED…
#1 WORM THAT DOESN’T DIE, FIRE THAT’S NOT QUENCHED?
Mark 9:47-48
“And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire- [48] where ‘Their WORM DOES NOT DIE And the FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.’
I’d like to share that with this statement Jesus was quoting from (Isaiah 66:24) which reads… “And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
Let’s dig into this…
First let’s talk about unquenchable fire, which by definition, is fire that cannot be put out. It is NOT a fire that doesn’t go out, but one that CAN’T BE PUT OUT. I’d like to show you how the Bible supports this. Notice this prophecy of Jeremiah.
(Jeremiah 17:27) “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall DEVOUR the palaces of Jerusalem, and it SHALL NOT BE QUENCHED.”‘”
In German… (Jer 17:27) Werdet ihr mich aber nicht hören, daß ihr den Sabbattag heiliget und keine Last tragt durch die Tore zu Jerusalem ein am Sabbattage, so will ich ein FEUER unter ihren Toren anzünden, das die Häuser zu Jerusalem verzehren und NICHT gelöscht werden soll.
The verse says that Jerusalem would be burned with fire that could not be “quenched” (put out). We can read the literal fulfillment of this in (2 Chronicles 36:19-21) “Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, BURNED all its palaces WITH FIRE, and DESTROYED all its precious possessions. [20] And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, [21] to FULFILL THE WORD of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”
Are those palaces still ever burning yet not quite consumed? No, but this “unquenchable” fire brought Jerusalem to destruction and ashes just as hellfire will eventually bring the wicked to destruction and ashes. The fire that destroys the wicked must be unquenchable because there is nothing that will put it out..it will burn until there is nothing left to burn…hence the term “ashes” that we have seen several times already in regards to the eventual state of the wicked.
Now lets look at the first part in Mark 9 where Jesus said “their worm does not die”. First you must understand the term “worm” is not referring to a soul but to exactly what it implies..maggots.
The word Jesus used in this passage that has been translated to hell is the word “Gehenna”.
In Hebrew it would be “Ge Hinnom”. The valley of Hinnom, is a ravine just south of Jerusalem, where the filth, dead animals, and the bodies of criminals were cast out. Kind of like each colony has a pit where all the scraps and carcasses and garbage gets thrown. Whatever wasn’t consumed by the fire that was constantly smoldering there was consumed by the worms. Jesus’ words made perfect sense to those listening and was a perfect symbol of the wicked and their future destruction. Complete and total destruction.
#2. IF I’M GOING TO BURN UP AND NOT BE TORTURED FOREVER THAN WHAT WILL MOTIVATE ME TO STOP SINNING?
Fear of hellfire should never be our motivation for not sinning. It may be a starting point but definitely should not remain our only reason for serving God.
LOVE has to be our motive for serving God. We choose not to sin because we understand the price that those sins cost the Son of God. Notice how this is stressed in the following passages.
(1 John 4:8,17-19) HE WHO DOES NOT LOVE DOES NOT KNOW GOD, for God is love. [17] LOVE has been PERFECTED among us in this: that we may have BOLDNESS in the DAY OF JUDGEMENT; because as He is, so are we in this world. [18] There is NO FEAR IN LOVE; but PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR, because fear involves torment. But HE WHO FEARS has NOT BEEN MADE PERFECT IN LOVE. [19] We love Him because He first loved us.
#3. IF HELL ISN’T BURNING RIGHT NOW THEN WHERE DID CHRIST GO AFTER DYING ON THE CROSS.
The passage referred to here can be found in (1 Peter 3:18-20) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, [19] by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, [20] who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
It has been preached that Christ actually descended into the lower regions of the earth and preached to lost souls who were in prison in some type of purgatory or limbo. This is very far from what the text actually says. Let’s look at it closely now and get the real message of these verses. It says, “Christ also hath once suffered for sins … that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also He went and preached …”
First of all, notice how Christ preached to those spirits in prison. He did it by the Spirit, and that word is capitalized in your Bible. It actually refers to the Holy Spirit. So whatsoever Christ did in preaching during this period of time, He did it through or by the Holy Spirit.
With that in view, let’s ask this: “When was the preaching done?” The answer is plainly given in verse 20: “when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing.” So the preaching was actually done while the ark was being built..”, during the preaching of Noah to that antediluvian world. Now, one more question: “To whom was the preaching done?” The text says here “unto the spirits in prison.” Throughout the Bible we find this terminology used in describing those who are bound in the prison house of sin. David prayed, “Bring my soul out of prison, …” (Psalm 142:7). Paul spoke of his experience in these words, “bringing me into captivity to the law of sin.”
What Peter is telling us here is simply that Christ, through the Holy Spirit, was present while Noah preached; Christ was there through the Holy Spirit to speak conviction to their hearts and appeal to them to come into the ark. There is absolutely nothing in this text to indicate that Jesus left His body during the time He was dead to go to any subterranean place to minister to wicked spirits. The three questions are clearly answered in the text itself: (1) that He preached by the Holy Spirit, (2) He did it while the ark was preparing, and (3) He did it to the spirits in prison, or to those individuals whose sinful lives were bound in the prison house of sin.
So where did Christ go? Nowhere. He died…just as the Bible says…the wages of sin is death…and Christ paid that price with His death on the cross. To argue otherwise is to say that Christ DID NOT DIE..and if He did not die then the price for sin has not been paid and we would all be doomed…in fact I will follow this with my own question…
IF THE WAGES OF SIN IS BURNING FOR ETERNITY IN HELL, THEN HOW DID CHRIST PAY THE PRICE FOR OUR SINS? PLEASE USE SCRIPTURE TO SUPPORT ANY REASONING.
#4. WHERE DO THE DEAD IN CHRIST GO AFTER THEY DIE?
We could do a whole study on just the resurrection because there’s lots of texts and material but here is the short version…
There are many texts in the Bible that compare death to “sleep”…here are just a few examples.
(Psalm 13:3) Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the SLEEP of DEATH;
“Multitudes who SLEEP in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).
Notice to what Jesus compared death to..
(John 11:11-14) These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus SLEEPS, but I go that I may wake him up.” [12] Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” [13] However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. [14] Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus IS DEAD.
Also the writer of Acts on the account of the stoning of Steven… “Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he FELL ASLEEP” (Acts 7:60).
Job understood this in these words…
(Job 14:11-12) As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, [12] So man lies down and does not rise. TILL THE HEAVENS ARE NO MORE, They will not awake Nor be roused from their SLEEP.
The Bible compares the death of the righteous to a sleep in which we will sleep until the resurrection that will take place at the second coming of Christ.
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE FIRST. [17] Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
So imagine..to a righteous person who died 1500 years ago and to one who died 15 years ago it will seem like the same time..there is no consciousness in sleep.
So when we die, the very next conscious thought we have will be at the resurrection at the Second Coming of Christ. It will seem like an instant later.
#5. WHAT IS “DEATH AND HADES” IN REVELATION 20?
(Revelation 20:13-15) The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. [14] Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. [15] And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Keep in mind this is a symbolic book. In your Bible you will notice that these two words are capitalized as names. They are both personified for death and the grave. In the New Earth God promised there will be no more death and no more need for the grave. In a sense you could say death and the grave will be destroyed forever and that’s why the John wrote it this way. Paul actually did the same thing and also understood death as an enemy that will in the end be defeated, permanently.
(1 Corinthians 15:25-26) For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. [26] The LAST ENEMY THAT WILL BE DESTROYED IS DEATH.
(1 Corinthians 15:54-55) So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” [55] “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
What a glorious day that will be….
#6 THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
The story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus is either literal or it is a parable with an important point…here are several reasons as to why this story cannot be taken literally.
#1. It contains an impossible conversation. The parable portrays the rich man in “Hades” speaking directly to Lazarus in “Abraham’s bosom.” Can people in heaven have conversations with people in hell? For that matter, do people in heaven really watch people burning in hell? Not according to Jesus, who described a ‘great gulf fixed” (verse 26) between the saved and the lost.
#2. It uses symbolic imagery. The rich man wanted Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue (verse 24). This must be symbolic, because it can’t possibly happen physically. How much water on the tip of a finger could pass through the flames, and what help would it provide someone suffering in hell?
#3. It uses figurative expressions. Do the people who died with faith in Christ find their rest in Abraham’s literal bosom? How big is Abraham’s bosom? This must be a figurative expression, since angels will gather the saints “from one end of heaven to the other” at the second coming of Christ. (See Matthew 24:30,31.)
#4. It would otherwise contradict the rest of Scripture. If this story were literal, it would be hard to explain why the Bible says “in death there is no remembrance” (Psalm 6:5). Instead, those who die are asleep in the grave awaiting resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:15, 16).
The larger context of this parable shows that the rich man represented Jewish religious leaders of the time, and the beggar symbolizes the Gentiles, who were counted unworthy to receive the truths of God. Christ might have chosen the name of Lazarus because later He would actually raise a man named Lazarus from the dead. The main point of the parable is found in (Luke 16:31). “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.!” That’s just what happened; the Jewish leaders did not believe even when one named Lazarus was raised from the dead right before their eyes…in fact they wanted to kill him.
#7 VISIONS AND NDE’s ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL
This question reminds me of something that happened years ago..when I was in my early twenties.
Someone had told me about this plant that you can order online in a concentrated form. I won’t say the name of it but it was sold as an incense and was still legal in some places. It only took a few clicks to get it shipped right to my door in Lehr ND. On the website I chose the strongest concentration they had available and eagerly waited for its arrival. I was told that if you inhale this in smoke form that it causes you to “trip” or have an out of body experience…nobody could have prepared me for what happened. Words can’t describe what that was like. It really did feel like you are in another time and place, not like a dream but really and truly there..I won’t share the details but God, or who I envisioned as God, was a part of it, or at least His voice was. It was not a fun experience but one that actually scared me and I’ve never forgotten it.
The question that we will look at is in regards to visions and NDEs
The definition of NDE is Near Death Experience. The term is used to define the experience many, thousands even, have when experiencing a vision or what feels like an out of body experience when near, or on the brink of death. There were several questions that came in asking about these experiences in regards to people having visions about heaven and hell through them and if they can be trusted. One person brought up the point that the sharing of these experiences have even helped bring people to have faith in Jesus therefore they must be a good thing…right?
Before covering the NDE part, let’s focus on visions for a minute. Visions in themselves are not a bad thing…in fact the Bible is full of examples of people having visions..in fact the book of Revelation is compiled of a series of visions that John saw and recorded. There are certainly still people in the world today who also experience visions..in fact one of my favorite Christian writers records many of the visions she has experienced of both present and future events. Does this mean that every vision every person has is legit and concrete? Well I guess that is something each one of us needs to decide for themselves. My advice would be to simply hold up and compare them to the Word of God..if there is any little thing in it that contradicts the Word, I’m not buying it. That doesn’t mean that I don’t believe the vision happened….it simply means I’m not buying it as truth from God. There is an awesome story in (1 Kings 13) that illustrates this principle. I would strongly suggest that you read it.
Entire beliefs and even religions that are directly against the Word of God have been born from people having visions and dreams..even Christians. I recognize the only vision I experienced was drug induced but it felt very real and until I learned certain truths in the Bible I believed it to be real…so to put it simply, if someone does have visions and dreams about heaven, or hell, just compare to scripture to know if they are true or not. Many of us would actually believe something because some person says they envisioned it but neglect studying to see what God Himself has shared about it in His word. This opens the door for deception.
What is really interesting about NDEs is that they change depending on geographic location…here we are used to hearing about people experiencing NDEs where they say they saw visions of angels or heaven or even hell but in other places such as India you will hear NDE stories of people saying they met Brahma (a God with four heads) and in other parts of the world it’s something completely else..it’s for that reason that I personally do not put faith in NDEs…I don’t doubt that the people experienced them, but I am not going to use those experiences as truth.
It’s also interesting to note that of the 10 listed people in the Bible who actually were dead and resurrected to live again, not a one mentioned any experience they had while dead…Lazarus is just one example of this.
I really hope this study has been a blessing for you and has revealed God’s character a little more clearly as He is…a God of love who respects our choices. Live…or die.