Hell - The Punishment of the Wicked (2 of 3)

-Is hell eternal

---ISN'T HELL FIRE AN ETERNAL EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED THAT CONTINUES THROUGH THE CEASELESS ETERNAL AGES TO COME?
WE MUST ALWAYS COMPARE SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE FOR WE HAVE CLEARLY SEEN THAT THE WICKED SHALL PERISH AND ONLY THE SAVED SHALL RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE. THEREFORE WE MUST STUDY AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THE BIBLE WRITERS MEAN IN AREAS THAT PEOPLE HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD.

Matthew 18:8-9 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire (First of all we know from other verses that those who receive life will receive glorified bodies and won't be entering halt or maimed, so we see that Jesus was making a point. Secondly we know from other verses that the fire will last for as long as it will take to destroy all of the wicked until there is nothing left to burn. Even if we say that Jesus used the word “everlasting” in a totally literal way and used it to mean for all eternity then it would be indicating that the fire itself burns throughout all eternity and not those who are cast into it, for Jesus also said that we are to fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell fire. If the fire literally burns for all eternity it couldn't be on earth as other verses indicate, it would have to be a star, or another planet, or place)

Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (We see here that “hell fire” was prepared for the devil and his angels but those who follow the devil shall take part in it as well. The word everlasting could indicate that the fire was from everlasting: Meaning that when the angels sinned God prepared this fire for their destruction. If the fire itself was not created at that time perhaps it means that the idea of it was conceived. The rest of the Bible indicates that this fire lasts as long as it takes to conclude it's purpose however once again if you don't accept that we are still looking at a fire continuing to burn for all eternity even after the contents of the fire have burned up)

Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Here we have it, the clearest Bible verse declaring the wicked are punished in hell for all eternity. Actually we see a comparison between the righteous getting eternal life and the wicked getting a punishment that is everlasting. This verse doesn't say the righteous get eternal life and the wicked also get eternal life but theirs is spent being punished. What does Jesus mean here? We understand from the rest of the Bible the “punishment” of the wicked is judgment and then death. So logically Jesus is telling us that their punishment will last forever. There is no resurrection from the second death. Through all of eternity the wicked will remain punished...that is dead. Also the word used is punishment and not the word punishing so it's not implying an ongoing punishment)

2 Thessalonians 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; (The destruction of the wicked will go on until they are entirely destroyed. We know that God is omnipresent, so if the destruction never finishes (I suppose it would be a destruction at the rate of zero then) how can they then be destroyed from the presence of the Lord? Here we see that the wicked are punished by being destroyed and the results of this destruction last forever)

Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Here we see everlasting chains however it says they are reserved in these chains in darkness until the great judgment day. So we see here the Bible definition of everlasting is not always the ceaseless eternal ages, either the chains would have to be taken as some kind of literally eternal chains or else the circumstances which “chain” these angels last until the time of the great judgment day)

Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: (Not to think that you are continually damned over and over again but that you remain damned or condemned for all time, never to have the judgment changed. Their damnation has eternal consequences for they shall be damned, be destroyed, and never live again)

Hebrews 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (This shows us that the word eternal means that the consequences of the judgment shall last for eternity. The Bible tells us it is God's judgment day and not that God will continue to judge for all eternity. Like the “everlasting” punishment”, this says “eternal judgment” and not eternal judging)

Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (This verse clearly proves that eternal fire must mean the consequences are eternal for Sodom and Gomorrha are not on fire today. This verse gives Sodom and Gomorrha as an example of what the Bible means with eternal fire which the wicked shall suffer. This teaching is also backed up by: 2 Peter 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; Here we have the same teaching but Peter does not use the words eternal fire, instead he tells us they were turned to ash. We can look at the punishment of the wicked the same way, they shall burn with a fire that shall have eternal consequences and in the end all that remains are ashes)

Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 19:2-3 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

(Here we see the words for ever and ever which must mean for all eternity. The truth is that the Biblical definition of “for ever” is a little different from ours today. It can mean for all eternity but it can also mean to the end of the age, or else it can mean as long as the thing shall last. Revelation here has the word for ever translated from the greek word eon which basically tells us that it will last for a very long time. We can see how for ever does not always mean for all of eternity through its use throughout the Bible:

Exodus 21:6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

Leviticus 25:46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

Deuteronomy 15:17 Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.

1 Samuel 1:22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.

1 Samuel 1:28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

(These verses show us that “for ever” is sometimes used to indicate as long as someone lives)

Psalms 74:1 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

Psalms 92:7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:

Jeremiah 17:4 And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

Jeremiah 49:33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.

Lamentations 5:20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?

Jonah 2:6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.

Aside from this we also see that it is the smoke of their torment that ascendeth for ever and ever which can be a distance rather than time, the smoke continues to ascend as far as can be seen. Also if for ever in Revelation truly means for all eternity it contradicts Ezekiel 28:18-19 speaking of Lucifer's fate: Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.)

Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Luke 3:17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

Mark 9:43-48 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

(Unquenchable fire means that no one and nothing will quench the fire, or be able to quench the fire... meaning that the fire will continue to burn until there is nothing remaining to burn. When camping it is safe to quench your campfire before going to sleep, but if the fire is unquenchable it means you can't put it out, it must burn itself out. Not quenching your campfire certainly wouldn't mean that the fire will continue to burn for all eternity. An unquenchable fire does not nor would it, burn for all eternity and this is also shown Biblically elsewhere:

2 Kings 22:17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

Jeremiah 7:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

Jeremiah 17:27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

Ezekiel 20:47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

(Nothing is going to be quenching the fire. No one will be trying to extinguish the lake of fire)

Isaiah 34:10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

(Again we see here that no one will quench the fire, the smoke rises out of site for ever (as long as the fire lasts) and no one shall pass through for ever. As we continue reading on however we see that once again the words for ever and ever do not mean throughout all future eternity for just a few verses later Isaiah says that the redeemed shall walk there and that sorrow and sighing shall flee away)

Isaiah 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. (The book of Isaiah ends giving us a picture of the new heavens and new earth, it goes on to tell us that all flesh will look upon the carcasses of the men who transgressed against God. We now understand that after the wicked burn with unquenchable fire their carcases are ashes upon the ground to which the living shall look upon with abhorrence)

Ezekiel 28:18-19 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. (We know the one who deserves the worst punishment of all by far would have to be Satan and here we see that even he will be devoured and end up as ashes upon the earth and never shall he be anymore)

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (If the wicked suffer for all of eternity then we would never reach a point where there is no more sorrow or pain. But the Bible here tells us that after the wicked are punished and die the second death, Jesus then does away with hell (the grave) and death and there will then be no more sorrow and no more pain)

Conclusion: The Bible is abundantly clear that only the saved will receive everlasting life (immortality) so at some point the lost will die the second death. So in these verses we have everlasting fire, everlasting punishment, and everlasting destruction. We have eternal damnation, eternal judgment and eternal fire. There is unquenchable fire and finally in revelation we have smoke which rises forever and also those tormented day and night for ever and ever. We see that eternal/everlasting punishment/destruction/damnation/judgment and fire mean that the consequences are eternal (there's no resurrection from the second death). Unquenchable means only that nothing can or will quench the fire so it will burn until everything is burned up. Lastly, for ever can mean as long as it lasts or to the end of the age. Satan will be tormented day and not for ever and ever but Ezekiel shows us that eventually he shall be ashes on the earth and never shall he be anymore. So really there are maybe three or four verses that could truly be used to teach eternal everlasting torment in hell fire which would once again contradict numerous (over 20 by my count) other scriptures. The idea that the wicked burn through the ceaseless eternal ages was started by a man named Athenagoras who lived around A.D. 133 – 190. He was a Christian apologist. He was a philosopher from Athens who converted to Christianity, however he mingled some of his platonic philosophical beliefs with Christianity. This included the natural immortality of man (or man's soul) which therefore meant that man could never cease to exist (truly die). This of course led him to the belief that the wicked must live for all eternity in torment. Then a man named Tertullian came along (A.D. 160-240) who amplified this belief. He also went off his preconceived notions that he learned from the writings of Plato. When the Catholic church came along they took advantage of these beliefs to gain wealth and power. People were told that they could pay to have sins forgiven, pay to stay out of hell, as well as pay for others who might be in hell or in purgatory so that they could get out of hell. It was a fear tactic to gain wealth and power but it is not what the Bible teaches. Also this teaching maligns the character of God making Him out to be a sadist, severely unjust, and anything but love. For God says in Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Luke 9:56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

And in Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.

Even God's punishment of the wicked is just and loving, though it is still a strange work for God and He has no pleasure in it. Many still today base their beliefs on things like hell on just a few scriptures, neglecting the rest of the scriptures on the subject which expand and clarify. Many more base their beliefs on what others have told them, never studying the word for themselves. So many people continue to believe Satan's lie over God, Genesis 3:4

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Of course we see there that God spoke of spiritual death (it was through eating at the tree of life that they would live forever) but we know that the wages of sin is death and not eternal life.

-Caleb D Stroman