Scriptural Fire
There is no other topic found in all of scripture that is more misunderstood and abused by believers today, than the many references concerning "Fire" in the pages of our bibles. Most, if not all of the wrong interpretations of its true meaning is due to the Church clinging to vain tradition, thus nullifying divine truth. It is essential for us to obtain a correct and consistent sense of biblical words if we are to receive God’s truth on this important topic. For this to be possible, we must jettison any and all religious dogmas that stand opposed to The Spirit’s teaching.
The Church has unknowingly fallen into the same trap of The Adversary as the Pharisees of old. Our Lord rebuked them for their hard-heartedness toward the written Word, and for their clinging to false interpretations that bolstered their worthless traditions, saying:
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” {Mark 7:6-8}
May God give us “ears to hear” and “eyes to see” what the scriptures really portray concerning scripture’s many references to God’s fire. Once we establish some essential principles of God’s character, we will be on the right track to determine a true course for our exegesis of this subject.
God does not change. His divine essence and character remain steadfast no matter what the circumstances of the eons unfold. He is the same in a universe of change. This fact is essential for mankind’s salvation.
“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from My decrees and have not kept them.” {Mal. 3:6, 7}
What God says to Israel through the prophet Malachi, is just as applicable to all who claim to bear His name and follow His truth today. Christendom is just as guilty of setting aside God’s truth in order to cling to religious traditions as Israel was. Superstitions and worthless traditions that pervert The Almighty’s goodness and love, are just as evil and destructive as Israel’s worship of the false gods of the nations.
This wayward path that mankind has taken comes as no surprise to The Omniscient One. In fact, He created the eons for this very purpose. It was His intent that man be allowed to exercise all his evil desires in order to prove a point; every decision humans make apart from their Creator, is doomed to end in failure. It is only when all His creatures have been humbled by His flames of love, that they will have eyes to see His manifold wisdom in everything.
The terms “hell fire” and “everlasting punishment” are regrettable mistranslations of the Greek words 'Gehenna' ("Valley of Hinnom") and 'aionion kolasin' ("eonian chastisement") respectively. These are two examples of translation malpractice foisted on readers of the KJV, and are serious errors, robbing The Creator not only of His beloved creatures, designed by His exquisite wisdom, and formed with His own loving hands, but more importantly, they strip Him of the worship due Him for His gracious and sure rescue of His erring and rebellious children.
This truth of universal reconciliation, which is declared in several passages of scripture, {Eph. 1:7-12}; {Philip. 2:9-11}; {Col. 1:15-20} to name a few, is the only possible final outcome for a creation worthy of The Almighty’s premeditated purpose. The process of bringing all things back to Himself in perfection, flows from the very core of His being, divine love. This all-conquering love and reconciling grace is attested to by the blood-stained Cross of Calvary, the very basis of the enactment of His divine Plan.
We will be exploring Christendom's doctrine of "eternal punishment" in the fires of "hell" and "The Lake Of Fire" over the next few studies. The word "Fire" is used throughout scripture, so it is imperative that we understand the nature of this "fire" so that we can align our thoughts with God's Spirit.
God As "Fire"
God, through His prophet Moses, warned Israel: “Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire."{ Deut. 4:23, 24}
Scripture is full of rich imagery. God has chosen to liken Himself and His ways with earthly, created things. God is Spirit, and dwells in unapproachable glory, which Paul, when transported to see such things, called “inexpressible”; he had no earthly words to describe such glorious revelations, things beyond any mortal experience or thoughts.
In order to give us His thoughts, The Almighty uses earthly metaphors to describe Himself and His actions relatable to man. So, when God refers to Himself as "Fire", He is not telling us that He is literal, earthly fire, but He is likening a certain characteristic of Himself to something we can relate to, and perceive to some extent.
In the passage above, God is not threatening to literally burn any idol-worshipping Israelite into oblivion, but rather, He is warning Israel of the consequences of abandoning the true God in order to give their affections to the demonic spirits of the surrounding Gentile nations, all stumbling in spiritual darkness. The result of Israel's disobedience would be “consumption” by their enemies, resulting in being expelled from the promised land, and carried off in slavery to those nations.
Did God separate Israel to Himself only later to destroy them when they failed? Was their idol worship the last straw that doomed them to annihilation, or worse, perpetual torment in eternal fire? No. The prophet Ezekiel gives us the outcome of Israel’s “consumption by fire”:
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This is the closest picture of religion’s “hell” that can be found in the Hebrew scriptures! But alas, what many Bible students fail to see, is that God’s consumption of Israel in this passage was for their BENEFIT! When they were given into their enemies’ hands for destruction and consumption by God’s “fire”, a refining process was at work to transform them into a usable vessel in the end!
Dross cannot be removed from a precious metal without a melting process being employed. Israel’s melting was essential for their impurities to be burned out of them by God’s refining “fire”. This is the meaning of God being portrayed as "A CONSUMING FIRE".
God is working toward one thing in rebellious man… HUMILITY! “God resists the proud, BUT gives grace to the humble”. In this sense God is a “consuming Fire”, “turning up the heat” on His creatures in order to purify their rebel hearts. Mankind must be taught that pride in all forms must be subjected to The Almighty's "flames of love", which indeed are painful, but necessary to accomplish His goal of purification.
The Father did not create man only to destroy him later, or worse, to eternally torture him! Man was the crowning apex of all His creation, made in His image to reflect His glory! His “Fire” is the essential ingredient in His dealing with mankind, to produce the desired goal … humility, repentance, purification, and ultimately... RECONCILIATION.
Not only does God reveal Himself and His dealings with man as “Fire”, but many other earthly figures, animate and inanimate, all are put forth in scripture to convey a different aspect of the complex character of The Sovereign of the universe.
Whether it is a “Rock”, “Wind”, “Rushing Torrent”, "Eagle", “Lion”, “Dove”, or “Lamb”, all are meant to teach us about our Creator so we can appreciate Him more, and our walk with Him made more intimate as we meditate on Who He is and what He has accomplished.
Here are just a few of these references:
“I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.” {Deut. 32: 3,4,18,30,31}
Here God is portrayed as Great, Faithful, Steadfast, Immovable, Incomparable. The Spirit through Moses sums up these qualities by calling The Almighty “The Rock”, a term applied to Christ Jesus as well in His role as conquering Savior.
“See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; His lips are full of wrath, and His tongue is a consuming fire. His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the neck.” {Isa. 30:27, 28}
“See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart. In days to come you will understand this.” {Jer. 30:23, 24}
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.” {Acts 2:2-4}
These verses portray God’s dealings with men as “Wind”, “Water”, and “Fire”. Notice, these various attributes of God are visited upon BOTH the believer, and the unbeliever. The difference being, how each is affected by them. The believer receives them as a blessing and is empowered by them, the unbeliever is brought down and weakened by them in order to bring them to an end of themselves, and prepare them for The Spirit’s strengthening.
Paul gives us insight into the coming “Fire Judgment” of the believer:
“For no other Foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this Foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” {1 Cor. 3:11-15}
This humbling of both groups is the GOAL of God’s dealing with the sons of mankind. God’s presentation of Himself as “Fire” is the strongest and most thorough of all the forces of nature presented, and is therefore the most frequently used in scripture as a description of His cleansing process in men’s lives.
Doubtless, all believers will be thankful for our Father's judgment fire at the 'Bema' seat of Christ, for we will all desire that any of our works done in the flesh be tested by His "Fire". As a blessed result, only those things accomplished by His Spirit will remain, to be cast at His feet. All else is trash, fit only for complete annihilation!
Notice in the following passage that unfaithful Israel will experience God’s wrath (“fire”) UNTIL His purpose for them is fulfilled. And what is His purpose? Eternal torment? Let the Apostle Paul answer:
“Again I ask: Did they stumble (over Christ The Rock) so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!” {Rom. 11:11, 12}
God will yet save ALL Israel. How will He save them, by ESCAPING His Fire Judgment? No, He will save them by means of His Fire Judgment. They will go through the fire.
“But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. THEN the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.” {Mal. 3:2-4}
Remember, God’s intent was to make ALL Israel a kingdom of priests. He gave Moses this message:
“Now if you obey Me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” {Ex. 19:5, 6}
Because of Israel’s utter failure to keep the contract, Levi was singled out to carry on the priestly duties in place of the whole nation. But one day the whole nation will perform their role as priests, and will thus fulfill God’s purpose for them by the enabling of His Spirit, after He cleanses them for service.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” {Jer. 31: 33, 34}
The apostle John records this future expectation for the restored nation:
“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” {Rev. 1:5, 6; 20:6}
All the O.T. prophets spoke concerning that future age in which Israel would be cleansed and reconciled to their God. Only then would they be fit to act as mediators between God and the Gentile nations of the subdued earth, teaching the nations of the righteousness of The King.
However, even with The Adversary in prison, many in the worldwide Kingdom of Christ will only give lip-service to His rule. At the conclusion of that eon, it will once again require the “FIRE” of God to judge the rebellious hearts of the nations, in preparation for their ultimate reconciliation to The Almighty.
“When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” {Rev. 20:7-9}
God may or may not use literal judgment fire on this vast army to render them powerless. He certainly used it in the case of the wicked city of Sodom. But regardless of the instrument of His FIRE judgments, whether invading armies, drought, famine, disease, locusts, wild beasts, or a literal fire from the heavens, they all constitute His just response to all rebellion, and will ultimately accomplish His purpose of bringing about humility, repentance, reconciliation and full restoration of His creatures to Himself.
Some may scoff at such a notion, not believing that God will ever restore the wicked. “They had their chance”, is the common reply. “When God destroys, it is final, there is no hope beyond the grave.” But death is not a barrier to The Almighty, in fact, all through scripture, it is only the prelude, a temporary condition in preparation to life on a higher level. Indeed, death is not only possible for restoration and new life.... it is ESSENTIAL!
According to scripture, the believer’s new life in Christ was made possible only by means of his death to this world with Christ at Calvary and resurrection from the grave (Rom. 6:1-13). God’s judgments do not have death as a goal, but by the means of death, they accomplish His purpose for a resurrected, new life!
The residents of Sodom were some of the most depraved people that ever lived, so God intervened by way of complete destruction by fire from heaven. Sodom’s destruction surely seemed complete and permanent, but in fact, Sodom is to be restored and healed along with Jerusalem in the future Day of God! Hear God through the prophet Ezekiel to His sinful people, Israel:
“However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them, so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before.” {Eze. 16:53-55}
“OK,” you may be thinking, “The city of Sodom will be allowed to be built again, but Sodom’s wicked residents will burn forever, they died in their sins, and they surely deserve it.” But, since when is The Creator more concerned about the restoration of bricks and mortar than restoration of the souls of men?
No, God’s fire judgment on Sodom and the cities associated with her is not a permanent end to their wicked inhabitants either. As a matter of fact, Jesus stated that prior to their final restoration, their punishment will be less than those in Israel’s cities that heard the Kingdom gospel from the 12 apostles!
“Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” {Mark 6:10, 11}
Sodom’s and Gomorrah's residents were less guilty than the religious leaders and their followers in Israel in our Savior’s day!! These ancient cities had far less guilt than Jerusalem's residents during the days that The Son of God walked and taught among them! Yes, God will judge wicked behavior, but in spite of popular religious teaching, He will use judgment to humble and restore every son of Adam. It is their SIN that fuels God’s Fire, not the individual.
God is Love. Love always seeks the best for others, even when it is undeserved. Paul gives us a list of ways that Love behaves: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” {1 Cor. 13:4-8}
Christendom holds tenaciously to the cruel doctrine of ‘Eternal Torment’ (see my book: "How Long Is 'Forever’ "). If all of scripture is to be believed, then we have a serious contradiction here. If God is the very embodiment of Love in the person of Jesus Christ, and He loves the entire world, proving that love by the sacrifice of Himself for the world, then how is it plausible that He will BURN FOR ETERNITY the vast majority of Adam’s descendants in a fiery Lake?
Let’s read that definition of Love again. Let’s see… "Patient, Kind, Does not dishonor others, Not easily angered, Keeps no record of wrongs, Always protects, Always trusts, Always perseveres.... NEVER FAILS".
If we honestly believe that God is Love and that He never changes, then we CANNOT believe in the torture of even one human, created in God's image, yet tossed carelessly into eternal flames. How much less can we believe the doctrine that innumerable billions of Adam's offspring are destined for perpetual torture in a living crematorium! Yet, this is exactly what Christendom teaches. These are children created by God in His likeness, and allegedly kept burning by Jesus Christ Himself! Remember, it was our Lord Himself that stated:
“Fear not; I am the First and the Last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (hades) and of death.” {Rev. 1:17, 18}
Yes, eternal torture from Him whose very name ‘Jesus’ means "Savior", would indeed be a strange kind of “love”!! Sane people would recognize such actions as evil sadism. But religious dogmatism is not sane. This is the perverted doctrine of those that claim to know and love The Savior. Jesus Himself said:
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” {Luke 6:32-36}
And remember, these words were spoken to those living under the Mosaic Law where “judgment without mercy” was meted out to the guilty, and every wrongdoing required a just punishment!
Yet, Christendom has opted for something far more demanding than The Law, a never-ending punishment for the guilty! Do we honestly believe that Jesus meant that The Father “is kind and merciful to the ungrateful and wicked” UNTIL he draws his last breath?!
That scenario requires The Father to morph into some being far less than what He is… Good. Christendom's evil doctrine of eternal torment changes our gracious Father and righteous, merciful Judge into a sadistic ogre, which concept of Him fueled the Dark Ages, and encouraged one of Christendom's authors of the 14th century to write "Dante's Inferno" in his greater work, "Divine Comedy". This satanic teaching makes a mockery of divine justice and fairness, and completely ignores the incomparable love of our glorious Father.
Even our own perverted justice system would be appalled at the concept of infinite torture, no matter how heinous the crime, yet Christendom's leaders cavalierly dole out this rubbish weekly in assemblies across this nation and the world. This appalling, demonic doctrine has transformed our Father of Love and infinite Grace into a hateful, vengeful monster in the minds of those hearing this blasphemy, and causes to shudder all whose consciences are not yet seared and numbed to the point of indifference.
Unquenchable Fire
One of the most fearful phrases found in the Bible is “unquenchable fire”. It is used by John The Baptizer as he addressed Israel’s “clergy”:
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and He will clear his threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” {Matt. 3:7-12}
The first thing we must realize is that John is not addressing anyone other than Jews here. First and foremost, it is a dire warning to the religious leaders within Israel. There were two groups among the Mosaic Covenant people of God that heard his warnings: believing Jews and unbelieving Jews.
Those that accepted John’s rebuke, judged themselves, and repented, received The Baptizer's water baptism. They were now candidates for Holy Spirit baptism to be administered by the Messiah. They were to be “gathered into the barn”, that is, the earthly Kingdom of King Jesus.
However, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and their proselytes were to face the “fire judgment” of God’s wrath, and exclusion from Messiah’s Kingdom, which they falsely believed was theirs by inheritance through their relationship to Abraham.
This was not the first of Israel’s prophets to use this phrase “unquenchable fire”. John was one of a long line of prophets to give warning to the nation of her impending doom. Let’s look at a few:
“Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or My wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done — burn with no one to quench it.” {Jer. 4:3 4}
“This is what the Lord says to you, house of David: “‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed,
or My wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done — burn with no one to quench it.” {Jer. 21:12}
“Seek the Lord and live, or He will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.” {Amos 5:6}
“Because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods and aroused My anger by all the idols their hands have made, My anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.” {2 Kings 22:17}
“But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’” {Jer. 17:27}
Notice the recurring theme in these passages. It is because of the failure of Israel to stay in tune with the Law of God that He threatens His judgment of “Fire”. The failure to “administer justice”, “keep the Sabbath day holy”, “rescue the oppressed” as well as the making and worshipping of idols, were all breaches of The Contract that Israel agreed to keep, that God presented to them at Mt. Sinai in Arabia.
Israel was promised great and numerous blessings if they stayed within the confines of The Law given to them. But, if they were disobedient, God’s wrath would pour out curses instead of blessings. This is consistent with John The Baptizer’s message to the favored nation, to prepare for another round of God’s judgment fire.
But this time, with the long-awaited Kingdom “at hand”, the urgency of repentance was heightened. There would be no opportunity for a change of mind after Messiah’s reign was inaugurated, the punishment for the failure to repent would be inescapable, they would have to endure God’s “Fire”.
The fact that this fire John warned of was to be “unquenchable”, meant the same as all the other passages above … it was Unstoppable, NOTHING could extinguish it. There is no idea in any of these passages that God’s Fire is ETERNAL, only that it must run its course and will not cease UNTIL The All-Wise One accomplished His purpose with it, to produce illumination of mind and repentance of heart.
“Will not The Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham asked God as He prepared to judge Sodom. Yes, Our God of Love and great compassion will exact no more from any of His wayward creatures than is necessary to reform them.
Gehenna Fire
It is a little known fact among Christianity that the word “Hell” is not found in the Bible. A search using Wikipedia reveals the following: “The modern English word “Hell” is derived from Old English hel, helle (about 725 AD to refer to a nether world of the dead) reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *halja, meaning "one who covers up or hides something.”
So when the KJV translators inserted the Anglo-Saxon derived word “hell” into various passages, they were not translating from the original Greek text at all! Instead, whenever they came upon the Greek words ‘Gehenna’ (12x) ‘Hades’ (11x) or ‘Tartaroo’ (1x) they inserted the pagan derived word “hell”.
Because the KJV was for all practical purposes, the ONLY available “translation” available to English speaking people for well over 250 years, this superstitious pagan doctrine became firmly entrenched in the teachings and doctrinal statements of almost all denominational assemblies.
Once established as an indisputable fact in the minds of believers, anyone attempting to expose such a doctrine as incorrect, is subjected to the label of "heretic" and excommunication! Most religious people are not interested in the facts, and their long-held pet doctrine of "eternal" torment in "hell" and the Lake of Fire is guarded with the same rabid tenacity for tradition as the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.
I am not casting stones at these brothers in Christ, because I was among their number most of my adult life! I would have defended these false doctrines as absolute scriptural fact, until an honest investigation into the original Greek words revealed the fallacy of this hideous doctrine, when accurate translation caused it to melt away like a bad dream.
After an exhaustive study, and great internal conflict, I finally had to admit the fallacy of such teachings. It is now my life’s goal to expose The Church’s blunders concerning these dogmas, and illuminate all that will hear the facts. (see my book “Freed From Hell”)
Let’s investigate the facts concerning the phrase in our Bibles "hell-fire". As we have already stated, “hell” is not a word translated from the Greek, but a word substituted for the word ‘Gehenna’ where it is attached to the word "fire" in the text.
Jesus is the only One to use the phrase "Gehenna fire", rendered as “hell-fire” in the KJV, and the only One to warn of Gehenna as a place of punishment. As we know, Jesus' warnings were addressed to Jews only, so to attribute them to anyone outside of Israel is unwarranted. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles never uses the word in any of his writings.
"Hell fire" is found in the following passages:
“But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell (Gehenna) fire.” {Matt. 5:22}
“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 (eonian) 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 (Gehenna) fire.” {Matt. 18:9}
“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 (Gehenna), 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 (Gehenna), 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 (Gehenna) fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” {Mark 9:43-47} *The word "never" in this passage is not in the original Greek, but added by the "translators" of the KJV... very deceitful! It should read like the other verses... "shall not be quenched". There is nothing in the Greek to indicate how long this condition will persist for the unbeliever.
In the first passage above, we see that Gehenna fire is equated with eonian fire, (not “everlasting fire” as KJV and others render it. The Greek word ‘aionios’ simply means "age related", "age enduring" or "age during" as Young's Literal Translation (YLT published in1862) renders it. This tells us immediately that no matter how intense God’s ‘Gehenna' fire is, it will not last forever.
The next question is, “What is ‘Gehenna’?” A word study using a concordance will show that this is the Greek word for “Valley of Hinnom”. This is an actual valley found just outside the city of Jerusalem on the SW side and can be visited today.
When we check our O.T., we find that this was the location of great evil practiced by the Israelites. Demonic idol worship went hand in hand with child sacrifice in this valley. Because of Israel’s evil practices, God’s “Fire judgment” became synonymous with this detestable place.
“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. …And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom (Gk. 'Gehenna'), to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My heart. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. And the carcasses (dead bodies) of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray (scare) them away.” {Jer.7:20, 31-33}
“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. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.… And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses (dead bodies) of the men that have transgressed against Me: for their worm (maggot) shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” {Isa. 66:15-17, 24}
The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah tell us the same story. When Messiah returns in God’s wrath, many unbelieving Israelites will be killed by His “fire” & “sword”. We know from our study thus far, that God’s “unquenchable fire” in indicative of His judgment which is unstoppable and unable to be extinguished until it has accomplished His desired purpose. We know also that the “sword of His mouth” is His Word which will judge the unbelievers. (see Heb. 4:12 ; Rev. 19:13-15}
The maggot infested bodies of those slain by the returned, conquering Sovereign’s Word, will be piled up outside Jerusalem in Hinnom’s valley, as a visible reminder to those passing by of the consequences of rebellion against The King of kings.
Rabbi David Kimchi (1160 – 1235 AD) said this concerning Gehenna: “And it was a despised place where they cast filth and corpses, and there was there perpetually a fire for the burning of the filth and the bones of the corpses.”
There is no thought in these passages of a supernatural, fire resistant, flesh-eating worm or eternal fire, tormenting, but not consuming the damned in “hell”! This is, to put it bluntly: foolish, superstitious nonsense! And yet, the vast majority of Christendom holds tenaciously to this teaching and brands anyone who refutes it as “dangerous”. May God give His people insight into His truth and the courage to abandon religious falsehood.
So to summarize, “hell fire” is “God’s judgment of Gehenna”, slated for rebellious, unbelieving Jews. There is no place in scripture that we see any Gentile associated with, or warned of, its punishment. As a matter of fact, Paul, The Apostle to the Gentiles, never even mentions Gehenna, or for that matter, ANY “hell” whatsoever. Search the scriptures and see!
Gehenna is a physical location outside Jerusalem where Jewish bodies have been piled by invading armies of the past, as instruments of God’s judgment on His wayward nation, and will occur again in the future.
These putrid, rotting, maggot infested bodies will be a stark warning to those beholding that scene, of the “iron rod” rule of The Messiah during the future millennial rule of The King Of Israel. His judgments are harsh, but temporary, and always with reformation in view. However, His mercy, consolation, and kindness will be displayed through the ages and endure endlessly.
The Lake Of Fire
In comparison with the prior judgments by God, the Lake of Fire judgment will be the greatest of all before it. After many hours of study, comparing scripture with scripture, there is reason to conclude that this judgment is the last, most intense and thorough of all God’s chastisements for Satan, his super human henchmen, and apostate Israelites. Contrary to the popular teaching of this being a general judgment for ALL the dead of all time, there is ample evidence to suggest that this judgment is much narrower in scope and time.
We must be reminded that the figurative language in the entire book of Revelation does not suddenly change to a literal meaning in chapter 20. There is nothing literal about this fiery lake. It is simply a continuation of The Spirit’s descriptive picture of God’s judgment on disobedience. The Lake of Fire is not a place as such, but a judicial condition that the apostates find themselves in, after The King’s sentence has been pronounced upon them at the conclusion of the millennial age.
John was told to write and send the prophecy of Revelation to the 7 assemblies located in Asia minor. The number 7 is used extensively in Revelation, and is indicative of the complete whole. There are pictured throughout the prophecy: Seven spirits, lampstands, stars, lamps of fire, seals, horns, eyes, angels, trumpets, thunders, heads, crowns, plagues, and vials. They are all seven in number to indicate that they are the completion of what is under consideration in the passage. We are given verification of this in {Rev. 15:1}: “I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.”
These 7 assemblies are representative of the whole house of Israel in dispersion. They are descriptive of the spiritual state of the Jews during the “time of Jacob’s trouble” which is fulfilled in the 7 year Tribulation period. Each assembly was made up of two groups, the False and the True, apostates and overcomers. The whole prophecy was written to these two Jewish groups, therefore the curses as well as the blessings throughout are applicable to them first and foremost, and quite possibly, exclusively.
We are assured by the above passage, that God’s anger with Israel is brought to completion with the period of The Tribulation. It is through His severe, but short punishments that He will refine the apostate nation of Israel, and elicit praise from earth’s inhabitants. This prophecy is concerned primarily with the destruction of Satan’s kingdom centered in the harlot city of Jerusalem, and the establishment of Christ’s righteous, indestructible Kingdom on earth.
The language of the entire book is full of rich imagery, with each scene a descriptive allegory of higher spiritual truth. We are not to take such obviously figurative language literally.
Occasionally, we are told specifically what a figure represents in a passage, but mostly we are left with no explanation, leaving the student the task of gaining insight only by diligently comparing the imagery of the prophecy with similar language found elsewhere in prophetic scriptures.
This is the way Jesus taught while on earth. Not surprisingly, we read the same words to the 7 assemblies that He spoke while teaching the Jewish multitudes following Him, “He that has an ear to hear, let him hear.”
Take, for instance, a passage found in {Rev. 14: 8-11}:
“A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen is ‘Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 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.”
We know from chapter 17 that this is not the literal city of Babylon, Iraq, but is “Mystery” or "Secret" "Babylon The Great”. Nor is this referring to the brick and mortar of the city, but those apostates associated with her. We see that she is a brazen “prostitute”, committing “adultery” with the kings of the earth, supported by the exploits of a “Beast”.
We read further that “she was drunk with the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus”. Obviously, this is all figurative verbiage, painting a descriptive picture of apostate Israel in her gross depravity and spiritual poverty. We see that in her “was found the blood of the prophets and apostles”. Now, what people in what city do we recognize in the rest of prophecy with these characteristics? Let the scripture answer:
“The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: I am filled with fury against you, declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute! When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment. “‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors. So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you. "Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood, therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked. I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger. Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked. They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers. Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.” {Eze. 16:1,30-42}
Ezekiel’s words were not completely fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Our Lord took up the same narrative against this rebellious nation:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate.” {Matt. 23:37, 38}
Jesus continued:
“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.” {Luke 11:47-51}
Yes, unbelieving, apostate Israel, with Jerusalem as its headquarters, is the Great Harlot of Revelation. Forty years after Jesus spoke this prophecy, the Roman army leveled and burned Jerusalem, carrying off the Jewish survivors and scattering them among the Gentile nations. Yet, even in this ‘fire judgment’ of God, the vast majority remained in stubborn unbelief and rejection of their resurrected Messiah.
Even in the future Tribulation ‘fire’ of God’s out poured wrath, the vast majority of Israel will remain stiff-necked and hard-hearted toward their Savior. We see this continued apostasy of the nation in spite of the severe discipline being meted out by The Father of Love. A full 7 times The Spirit of Jesus entreats the Jewish assemblies to repent, ending with this admonition to those in Laodicea:
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.” {Rev. 3:19, 20}
You see, the goal of even the severest of God’s judgments is always repentance. To repent, a humbling of the pride nature of man is essential. But, the outcome is never in doubt! Our Creator knows exactly what it takes to bring even the most belligerent of His created sons to bow the knee before Him in humility and loving adoration.
“He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust”. {Psa. 103:14}
This is indicative of mankind’s "fashion" or "formation" by His Creator. This same Hebrew word is translated "formed" in {Gen. 2:7}:
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
The prophet Isaiah sums up God’s dealing with His renegade nation over these thousands of years:
“But now, this is what the Lord says— He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine… I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Review the past for Me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence. Your first father sinned; those I sent to teach you rebelled against Me. So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple; I consigned Jacob to destruction and Israel to scorn.” {Isa.43:1, 25-28}
This word translated “frame”, and “formed” is also translated 17 times as “potter”. Hear what The Fashioner of all says concerning Israel:
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. {Jer. 18:1-6}
This is exactly what we see in the book of Revelation, The Potter’s work is being brought to a conclusion with His ancient people. Although much of Christendom teaches that God is finished dealing with Israel and brought the nation to final destruction 2,000 years ago, they fail to see that His destruction is part of His process in restoration! A fiery furnace still awaits the nation, but they will be refined in its flames, not eternally tortured!
And this brings us to the final judgment for Israel in "The Lake of Fire". Here the final installment of God’s "fire judgment" awaits the apostates of the nation. The "overcomers" of Israel’s sons will “not be hurt of the second death”, but those that continue to shake their fist at God will need an “attitude adjustment”, hence the "Second Death".
This is a necessary prelude to being raised to fullness of life in Christ. Death is an antechamber to a higher, fuller life. The fact that Death & Hades are also cast into this judgment fire of God indicates the nullification of their power. Christ holds the keys to both, unlocking them in due course, in order to bring Life from their strongholds.
The Lake of Fire judgment is only mentioned by name in the book of Revelation. The imagery of a lake is highly suggestive of the cleansing process that will take place in this judgment. However, this is not the only time God’s judgment fire is pictured with the characteristics of water.
“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A RIVER OF FIRE was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)” {Dan.7:9-12}
Daniel uses very similar language to describe this fiery judgment at the close of the last world empire with Antichrist as its sovereign. We see many of the same things here as John saw in his vision. The Almighty Judge sits upon His throne in the midst of a court setting, with myriads standing before Him for sentencing. There are books opened to determine the works of those there.
Where John saw a Lake, Daniel sees a River of Fire. A literal river's flow is always downward, often reaching its terminus in a lake. These two accounts from these prophets are in agreement, they just emphasize God's judgment from different perspectives. Daniel focuses on the source of God's judgment fire as flowing as a river from His throne, and John sees the destination of His judgment in The Lake.
Daniel’s “Beast” is the fourth world empire of his vision, and notice, that is what is said to be thrown into the "Fire” for “destruction”. The “little horn” of his vision represents the Antichrist, who rises to power lastly in this kingdom, but with greater power than those 10 kings before him, 3 of which he overthrows by force.
Apparently, the other 7 kings cede their power to him willingly. Now, it is true that the “little horn” is on the head of “the beast”, and will therefore suffer the same defeat as his kingdom at Christ’s return to earth, but this “Fire” judgment is primarily Christ’s victorious defeat and destruction of Antichrist’s kingdom.
The theme of the books of Daniel & Revelation is the victory of the Kingdom of Christ over this world’s empires. The False messiah will necessarily lose his power upon Christ Jesus’ usurpation of all worldly authority, but let’s be careful not to take a vision of figures and representations of ‘burning fire’ and make them literal fire.
Notice the interpretation given to Daniel of the vision:
“He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people (Jews) will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time (3 & ½ years). “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’ {Dan. 7:23-27}
Notice, the explanation of the vision declares that the ‘Beast’ (4th kingdom) will have his POWER destroyed, that is represented in the figure of being thrown into the blazing fire! When we apply this to John’s vision, the truth concerning The Lake of Fire begins to become clearer. It is the “Power” and “Authority” of Satan and his dupes that is being burned up.
Their “torment” in God’s “Fire”, consists in the agony of losing that which was so precious to them. They almost had absolute power, and the authority over all the world, but alas!, it has been snatched from them by The King of kings!
This is what has always been Satan’s goal, universal dominion! It was his pride and lust for absolute power, and the accompanying worship that belonged to God alone, that caused him to rebel against his Maker in the first place. He proved what his desires are in his temptation of our Lord;
“The devil led him (Jesus) up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ {Luke 4:5-8}
The idea has been advanced by Bible teachers that Satan was attempting here to get Jesus to bypass the cross. But, there is nothing in all the gospel records to insinuate that Satan had any knowledge of what the crucifixion would accomplish. As a matter of fact, Satan entered into Judas himself to ensure the betrayal and arrest of our Lord. Paul tells us that the purpose of The Cross was a secret, hidden in the counsel of God.
Paul explains this Secret:
“In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel (ie. Christ’s Death, Burial, Resurrection) the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” {Eph.3:4-6}
There is no evidence that Satan was attempting to get Christ to short-circuit The Cross, he wanted one thing from Jesus, WORSHIP! If he could persuade God’s Son to give him His allegiance, The Father’s plan for the establishment of His Kingdom would be thwarted. Three times he attempted by his testing to get Jesus to act autonomously, apart from His Father’s direction, but failed. Neither Satan, his angels, Christ’s disciples, or any other being, knew the goal of Christ’s ministry… The Cross! Three days before His crucifixion, Jesus was warned:
“At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ {Luke 13:32}
Yes, The Cross was The Father’s goal, and therefore it was The Son’s as well. Without it, God’s purpose for the eons would never be met. Reconciliation for all would only be possible if The perfect Lamb would lay down His life for His creation. Praise be to The Father and Son for redemption’s complete success!
Admittedly, it is difficult to draw hard and fast conclusions about exactly who will be subjected to The Lake of Fire judgment, because it is only mentioned by this name in Revelation. We know that Satan, The Beast, and the False Prophet will be sentenced to endure God’s chastisement process which will last for a set period of eons.
The idea that all the dead unbelievers of all the eons are present at The Great White Throne is possible, but the phrase “the small and the great” is not necessarily proof for that. That phrase is used throughout scripture when referring to a select group of individuals, and is found no less than 5 times in this prophecy alone, and is never used in a universal sense.
But, however extensive this group of dead humans is, they are seen "standing" before the throne in order to be sentenced to God’s corrective process, and no time is given for their judgment to reach the desired results. They may have their sentence for rebellion fulfilled in oblivion, with no conscious awareness of their “second death”, exactly like their first death, receiving their “second resurrection” at the end of the eons. At that time, all will be in willing subjection to The God of Love, and He will become All in all!
God’s story does not end with death, but life! What other death in scripture does not precede life? Adam lay perfectly formed before his Creator, with all organs filled with life sustaining blood, yet... he was dead! It took the life-giving breath of The Almighty to impart life to him! We were dead in our sins until The Spirit of God vivified our spirits through faith in Christ Jesus to walk in newness of life!
We are distinctly told that Death and Hades are cast into The Lake of Fire. What is this if not the death of Death? And what is left, but Life? Death has been defeated by The Prince of Life, therefore death in any form that would remain perpetually, would be a blot on Christ’s complete victory by means of The Cross.
It is significant that the Second Death is not called the “Perpetual Death”, "Endless Death" or “The Death of No Return”. Those that previously, through faith, had “died to self”, are the company of the “First Resurrection”. They are not subject to the power of the Second Death. In a manner of speaking, they experienced their second death before their first.
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” {Rev. 2:11}
“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” {Rev. 20:6}
Conversely read, this last verse shows us that those Jewish unbelievers do not share in the First Resurrection, and :
1. Are not blessed and holy.
2.The Second Death has power over them.
3. They will not be priests of God and of Christ.
4. They will not reign with Him for 1000 years.
Those that received the mark of “The Beast”, will forfeit the most glorious eras in this world’s history preceding the culmination of the ages. The reign of The Righteous King will be the most joyful of all! All the redeemed will bask in the unprecedented righteousness of Christ’s Kingdom rule. But those that failed to heed the warnings of The Spirit to the assemblies, will “lose their souls” for this period of bliss for all those clothed in The Savior's righteousness.
“He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” {Rev. 21:7, 8}
After the unbelievers’ sentence is fulfilled at the consummation of the ages, they will be vivified with the remainder of all creation to enjoy their new, resurrected life in Christ, their Redeemer, Who died and was vivified for them. He will then become their All! How do we know this to be true? The apostle Paul relates this revelation concerning God's ultimate purpose and plan for ALL His creatures:
"In Him (Jesus), we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the MYSTERY OF HIS WILL, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to ALL things in heaven and on earth under Christ. {Eph. 1:7-10}
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” {Rev. 22:1-4}
God’s Plan involves the final healing of all those wounded by Him. His fiery judgments for their rebellion will be eclipsed by His balm of consolation. The blows He administered were essential to reveal His heart of Love and Grace. Their alienation from Him will make their reconciliation to Him even sweeter.
The wisest mere man, Solomon wrote under The Spirit's inspiration:
“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” {Ecc. 3:1-4}
How fitting it is to see that what once was the source of a flowing stream of God’s judgment “fire” of death, namely, HIS THRONE, will then become the source of the “water of life” for ALL! It is to this end that God’s plan of the ages flows, and will surely have its glorious fulfillment! Then, the eons will have reached their completion and The All-Wise Creator’s purpose for His judgments will be clearly seen by all. All creation will have reached perfection THROUGH the fire of God’s Love, not APART from it. Then, that great universal scene of creation’s praise to the Almighty will become reality, made possible by The Cross of His blessed Son:
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. {Phil. 2:8-11}
Many readers of the Bible are willing to admit that the scriptures present the teaching of mankind’s ultimate reconciliation to his Creator, but are disheartened to find so many seemingly contradictory statements concerning the "destruction" of all unbelievers by God.
That these verses exist cannot be denied. The pertinent question being: What is meant by the term "destruction", and how can men be both "destroyed" AND reconciled? To put it bluntly, does the Scripture contradict itself concerning the lost of mankind?
Plainly, both outcomes for unbelievers cannot be true, if we rely on the common English understanding of the words "Destroy" and "Destruction".
However, the "New Testament" was not penned in English, but in Greek. So what is the meaning of these original Greek words, translated consistently to give the reader the idea of a horrible outcome? It appears from these verses that the unbeliever will be subjected to an end from which there is no possibility of recovery, but of a perpetual hopeless condition. Let’s take some verses that employ these words to see if we can gain a better understanding of the original meaning and intent of these texts.
The best way to determine the meaning of a Greek word is to trace its use throughout the rest of the Scriptures. By far, the most common word rendered "destroy" is the Greek word ‘apollymi’. It is often translated by the old English word "perish". The most famous verse employing it, being {John 3:16};
We understand "perish" to mean something that will decay and rot, such as food that is "perishable". Here, as in other passages, "perish" is perceived by the reader to indicate a state from which no return is possible; a permanent, irretrievable condition of destruction and separation from God. This deduction is due in large part to the teaching of "eternal punishment" which all of us have been exposed to in our varied church experiences.
However, when we see that "apollymi" is used in other passages that also clearly indicate the RESTORATION of the person or thing, it forces us to rethink our previous conclusions concerning the intent of the use of this word. For example, from Luke chapter 15, Jesus’ parable of the woman’s "lost" (‘apollymi’) coin, we know that after a thorough search of her house, her previously lost or perished coin is found, and restored to her possession.
The same is true in the companion parables of the "lost" (‘apollymi’) sheep, retrieved from it’s lost condition, and restored to safety within the shepherd’s fold. And most notably, the "lost" (‘apollymi’) son, who, after living a foolish, self- indulgent life, and reaping its harvest, is ultimately restored to his rejoicing father, even after his father considered him dead, and lost to him permanently.
"For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost (‘apollymi’), and is found. And they began to be merry." {Luke 15:24}
In Paul’s writings, we find "apollymi" being employed in the case of a believer’s behavior toward another believer with a weak conscience. Paul exhorts believers in Corinth not to "sin against your brothers" and "wound their weak consciences", and asks:
"And through thy knowledge, shall the weak brother perish (‘apollymi’), for whom Christ died?" Similarly, Paul addresses the Roman assembly with this same issue; "For if because of meat thy brother is grieved, thou walkest no longer in love. destroy (apollymi) not with thy meat him for whom Christ died." {Rom. 14:15}
Are we willing to believe that a brother in Christ can cause another brother to become eternally lost or destroyed? Can a believer "undo" the work of God in another believer’s life, and put him in danger of eternal punishment? Of course not! The "destruction" is in callously offending a brother weak in his faith, so as to send him "off course" in his walk with Christ and setting back his spiritual progress toward maturity.
'Apollymi' sometimes gives the idea of being marred or ruined.
Similarly, the idea of being ruined or useless is in the account of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the multitude with only a boy’s lunch. We read: "When they were filled, he said unto his disciples:
In many passages, ‘apollymi’ clearly refers to the death of an individual. An example is found in {Luke 13: 2-5}
"And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish(‘apollymi’). Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish (‘apollymi’)."
However, it is unwarranted to project these or any other "perished" persons into a state from which it is impossible for them to be recalled. They may be temporarily "ruined" by physical death, but this does not mean that they are irreparably destroyed or lost to God.
Would there be anyone who believes that Jesus Christ perished upon His death? Yet, that is exactly what the Scriptures aver:
"Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish (‘apollymi’) outside of Jerusalem." {Luke 13:32,33}
Does the death of any person create an insurmountable difficulty for their Creator? Does not the Scripture plainly state that ALL persons will be resurrected at some point in God’s future timetable? Far from being God’s purpose for never ending torment, each resurrected person will receive a just sentence which will conclude in his repentence and reconciliation to God.
Another Greek word always translated "destruction" is ‘olethros’. A passage that some point to, which seemingly supports their concept of eternal punishment is {2 Thes. 1:7-9} which says:
"Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting (Gk. 'aionios') destruction (‘olethros’) from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."
It is clear that these who will experience "destruction" at the 2nd advent of the Lord will be shut out from Christ’s presence when He returns in glory to establish His earthly righteous kingdom. Two words must be defined for the truth of this passage to become clear. The first is "everlasting". As many will recognize from our previous studies, this is the Greek word ‘aionios’. Although mis-translated consistently by the KJV translators as "eternal" and "everlasting", this is a TIME RELATED word meaning "age pertaining", which has both a beginning and an end, which is not the case for something truly eternal or everlasting.
The second word which we must define in this passage is "destruction". Once again, we will get a clearer meaning of this Greek word by tracing its use in other passages. This word ‘olethros’ is used only 3 other times in the Bible. The first is in reference to a believer refusing to turn away from a disgraceful, public sin in the assembly at Corinth. Paul admonishes them:
"For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction (Gk.‘olethros’) of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." {1 Cor. 5: 3-5}
Whatever this "destruction" is, Paul is not threatening this believer with a bodily destruction that cannot be reversed, for we know from this same letter to the Corinthians, that all believers will receive a resurrected, vivified body at the Rapture {15: 50-55}. This fleshly "destruction" being threatened is therefore temporary, not permanent. It has no lasting effects on his future state of perfection or presence with Christ.
The next occurrence of ‘olethros’ is in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian assembly.
It is interesting that Paul likens this "destruction" of unbelievers, to the labor of a pregnant woman. Once begun, there is no deliverance from the fear and pain until the child is born, then the woman finds relief for her mind and body. This gives us a strong indication that this "destruction" of these unprepared people is also of a temporal nature. Their destruction comes suddenly, without warning, and with no present escape to be found until God’s purpose for them has been accomplished.
The last occurrence of ‘olethros’ is found in {1 Tim. 6: 9}:
"But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction (‘olethros’) and perdition (‘apoleia’)."
It should be noted that the word ‘perdition’ in this verse, is the noun form of ‘apollymi’, which we discussed previously. We learn from this verse that it is due to the desire to become rich in material things, that leads a believer into this "destruction" and "perdition". We refer to certain individuals that partake in "destructive behavior". We are not intimating that they are being annihilated, or destroyed beyond the realm of hope, but only that their actions are ruining their lives!
Is it not plain to see, after our consideration of these passages with ‘olethros’, that Paul is speaking of ruin, marring, and a general chaos enveloping foolish individuals to their harm? But in none of these cases must we deduce that their condition is beyond remedy. Even the passage which seems so ominous, translated as "everlasting destruction" by the KJV translators, it is simply "age-related ruin".
Does not Paul clearly teach that every knee will bow before Christ, and every tongue give praise to Him {Phil. 2: 10, 11}? Does Paul not teach by the Spirit of God that it pleased The Father to unite all beings in heaven and earth in His Son, and to reconcile all to Himself through Christ’s Cross sacrifice? Are we not told specifically that although, at present, God has taken up residence in the hearts of only believers; a time is coming at the consummation of His Plan when He will become All in all His creatures? {1 Cor. 15: 22-28}
It is high time that church leaders put an end to the false teaching of eternal torment. Letting go of vain tradition is difficult for all of us. However, we must allow the pure sunlight of God’s truth to illuminate our hearts to the true character of our Creator and Savior.
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