These days we see many leaders writing and speaking about hell…and the lake of fire. There’s a growing list of good men who are saints of God who now proclaim that unbelievers are thrown into the lake of fire but then after some punishment, are annihilated. That is, burned up and extinguished. They quote many passages in the Old and New Testament that use terminology of this type.
So, from my watching their teaching, they seem to mean a temporary punishment, that is, punishment that lasts for a while. In some cases, they seem to mean a short while. In most cases, they never declare how temporary it might be in their opinion.
Few of us can imagine a loving God that would punish, that is, torment human beings forever and ever. But…God is not like us in many ways. We are created in His image we know, but still many of His attributes and their intensity are all together unlike us.
In Matthew 25 in the parable of the sheep and goats, people are separated based on their deeds, their works. Of course, this is based on their true, abiding faith since faith without holy works is dead. The Lord Master Jesus Himself declares that these goats, most of the world’s population for all time, do not go away into everlasting (eternal) life.
His teaching? “These will go away into eternal punishment.”
Now…let’s view this verse in the way of the teachers who say the punishment is not eternal. “These will go away into temporary punishment.”
What other evidence is there for the eternal position?
Revelation 14:9-12 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
This passage indicates that perseverance is essential to avoid this same fate. He who endures to the end will be saved.
And again…
Revelation 21:7-8 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Eternal punishment. Tormented. Fire. Brimstone. Day and night. Forever and ever. Eternal death.
This, dear friends, does not at all sound temporary. Will this give us the loving motivation to evangelize and disciple and turn off all the other distractions?
“We’ve frightened, God, of the prospect of hell, a lake of fire, torment, and all these things. And that any human being made in Your image would end up in that terrible place for any amount of time, let alone all time. We pray for courage to live a life of holiness and endurance. Help us to proclaim Your whole Gospel to all the people we encounter. We will if we really love them.”
Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,
Marc
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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!
You may view our Archives here: FRIDAY FIRE – ARCHIVES; Complete Archives; feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion. May our Father richly bless you with His grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in order to walk worthy of His name.
Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Kriston Couchey says
Thanx,Marc,
I agree with your interpretation of Scripture concerning eternal punishment.
I sought the Lord for a while one time when the doctrine of Universal reconciliation began to run rampant in the last few years (UR) universal reconciliation believes no one will experience hell or it is temporary and all will be saved.
One day after Father spoke to me and said,”Son, what would you do without me? ” I thought about what I had lived my life seeking in the past and realized it was empty and responded like Peter, saying, ‘I would have no where to go, only you have the words of life!’.
He then spoke to me and said, “That is what the second death is, it is a place with nowhere to go without my words of life.” And son, no one will go there without clearly choosing to go.”
admin says
Thx dear brother…a good word…
Cindy Skillman says
It’s essential, I feel, to interpret scripture accurately. I’m not just talking about our read or take on it (which is vital), but also the translation of it. As I’m sure you know, one language doesn’t transfer precisely over to another. When the language we’re translating is an ancient one no longer used, it becomes even harder. Add to that translator bias (which is inevitable — not their fault) and you have a situation where extreme care is required.
All this to say that the more literal translations don’t often use words like ‘eternal’ or ‘forever and ever.’ The word used is aionios, which apparently takes its sense from the noun it modifies. When it modifies God, it may rightly be translated as eternal. However it often modifies other words and is often used in a sense that is manifestly NOT eternal.
It’s a complex word. Books have literally been written about this word and its brothers, aion and aiodios — long, scholarly tomes have been written. I haven’t read them because I’m not smart enough to read that sort of thing without falling asleep, but I’ve seen them on Amazon. 😉
So yes, it does SOUND like these things last forever. At least it does sound that way in most modern English translations of the scriptures. However the question I would ask is whether the same words in biblical Greek sounded that way to the people who wrote them.
admin says
cindy — Jesus used that same word twice in the same sentence to describe eternal life and death…
Matthew 25:46 (NASB)
“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
It’d be a colossal error in exegesis to say “eternal” here in the same sentence means temporary in the 2nd instance. Plus Rev 14, etc. – the evidence is just so overwhelming…
and then there’s our dear brother here…
in Daniel 12:2 (NASB)
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
every grace to you dear sister…
marc
Cindy Skillman says
Oh yes, Brother — if you respond to this, would you please drop me an e-mail? I don’t see anywhere to subscribe to comments.
Thanks!
admin says
sister cindy — to subscribe via email: http://www.walkworthy.org/register