There’s a trend among professing Christians to sidestep the issue of hell (eternal punishment) despite clear biblical teaching.
There's also a spurious teaching about Scripture referring to a garbage dump in Jerusalem, not to hell. This teaching is not supported historically, logically, or biblically. (Resource)
If you've heard the false teachings about hell being a "garbage dump" or simply a way of describing earthly punishments, please read Hell is Not a Garbage Dump.
Below you’ll find what Scripture teaches.
Specifically from Jesus:
Matthew 5:22: But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:29: If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Matthew 7:13: Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Matthew 10:28: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 13:36-43: – This link will take you to the Parable of the Weeds
Matthew 16:26-27: What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Matthew 23:33-34: You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
Matthew 25 - This link will take you to three parables in which Jesus highlights eternal rewards and punishments, containing these verses:
✔ "Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 25:30
✔ "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41
✔ "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:46
Luke 12:4-5: I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Luke 16:19-31: There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’
Jude 1:7: In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
2 Peter 2:4-9: For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
Bible Love Notes
Powerful! It's time we start letting people know that there is consequences for their choices and hell is the alternative of not choosing Jesus. That you for this article.
ReplyDeleteA great list of scripture that proves the existance of the fires of hell. They also prove that the unsaved man, after being thrown into this pit, will burn to destruction. Her/his soul will face the second death. Read carefully those scriptures. When we die, it's a physical death. Our souls go to paradice, if we're saved and another place if not. At the judgement, after Jesus return we are either allowed into heaven, if we know Jesus, or hell where we face the second death. They will no longer exist.
ReplyDeleteHi Rick,
DeleteI've read carefully these Scriptures and they seem pretty clear that the destruction is "everlasting" (2 thess. 1:9), "eternal" (Jude 1:9), and Mark 9:48 says Hell is a place "where ‘their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’" You can believe differently, but this list of Scriptures does not prove your belief. I don't understand why it would be eternal death, but I trust that God knows what is right.
My understanding is that the death will be eternal, but it will not involve the wicked existing in perpetual torment. The Bible says that, "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ez. 18:4) The souls won't exist forever. The serpent said in the garden of Eden, "You shall not surely die," which is a lie, because God said that sin brought death. Only God has immortality (1 Tim. 6:16). Also, Malachi says that the wicked will be destroyed so that neither, "root nor branch" will be left (Mal. 4:1).
DeleteJesus said that His gift is everlasting life, while sinners who reject Him will perish (John 3:16). Everlasting life is a privilege of the redeemed, while those who refuse God's mercy will be completely destroyed "both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28).
Remarkably, those who dwell with the "devouring fire" and "everlasting burnings" will be he who "walks righteously and speaks uprightly." (Is. 33:14-15) God's fire destroys sin, but the righteous can dwell with their God of "consuming fire" forever (Heb. 12:29). God's fire is good--it is only destruction to those who refuse to let sin go. And God will not tolerate evil in a perfect and peaceful universe. This is why He will not keep hell and sinners around for eternity. It even says that "Hades" was cast into the lake of the fire in Revelation 20:14. When all the verses are added together, I believe the weight of the evidence shows complete destruction of sinners, not a continual agonized existence. God is loving and just, and while He will not excuse sin, I don't believe He plans to torture anyone for eternity.
Something to think about.
The soul is eternal and cannot "perish" in the sense that it no longer exists. The torment of an eternity in Hell, separated from God and hope, is the only acceptable punishment for rejecting the sacrifice of the life of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The eternal torment of every soul in Hell is still not equal to the price paid by Jesus Christ for our redemption. God would be unjust to Christ if He demanded any less punishment. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
DeleteJESUS died for our sin if the punishment for sin is to burn in hell throu endless ages of time than JESUS did not pay the price, he would have to burn forever.
DeleteUnknown,
DeleteYou statement equates Jesus to an unrepentant sinner.
The ONLY reason Jesus could die for our sins is because He is not sinful man. He is God. His death was miraculous, and only possible through the plan, purpose, and power of God. It was only possible because He was perfect and because He was God.
Comparing Christ's miraculous, sacrificial death to the deserved punishment of a sinful, unrepentant human being is a clear misunderstanding of Christ's deity and character. It is a clear misunderstanding of Christ's atonement.
worm dies not, sounds like a trash dump to me, why would they be worms in hell with eternal life, and worms would be their to eat people up but if they are going to burn forever what the purpose of the worms, I used to beleive like you,even thou I didn,t understand how GOD could torture people for endless time, glad i did a complete study on it and found out forever in greek and hebrew doesn,t alway like english forever, and unquesable fire could mean it cannot be put out until it does the job GOD made it for. There is a hell no doubt, second death but the kid that just got old enough to be acountable for his sins and dies in a accident will be tortured to no end, by a loving GOD, this is one belief the atheists use against us.I no you are a good christain but i am glad i really studied this subject out. I listed to all sides on this subject. While theirs a few verses, like in REV. that make a lot of people believe endless torture, it can be be eplained, lf you talk to the english in the UK they will confuse you soon or later because they do not talk the same as american english so by the time hebrew and greek translated into english few verses can be hard to understand and most of the verses you put up top do not lean toward endless torture, proves their is a hell a place of distuction. helltruth.com
DeleteHi Unknown, I encourage you to do a little more study. I think someone has taught you a great many errors. Let me fill in a few things they missed:
Delete↪ Matthew 7:13: Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Greek word for "destruction" is "apóleia" and means "eternal destruction."
↪ 2 Thessalonians 1:9: "They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might."
Greek words for "everlasting destruction" are "aiónios" and "olethros" and they mean "eternal destruction."
↪ Jude 1:7: "In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."
This passage uses the Greek words "pur" and "aiónios" which means "eternal fire."
↪ Revelation 20:15: "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."
This verse uses the Greek word "πυρός" which means "hell fire."
There are many other proofs for hell in Scripture. These are only a few.
Gail I have no problem with hell, don,t beleive endless torment is biblical. I am aware of all these scriptures and many more. matt. 7;13, 2 thess.1;9 eternal destruction exactly eternal fire from a eternal GOD their destruction will complete.Jude 1;7 yes eternal fire from eternal GOD 2 peter 2;6 says it turned them into ashes. Rev. 20;15 yes lake of fire is hell, but says nothing about endless torture. You encouraged me to do a little more study, really it takes a lot of study on this subject. Line upon line, precept upon precept,the whole bible. Their are a few confusing srciptures for sure. A few scriptures L would like your readers to look up.Rom.6;23,Job21:30,psalm37:20,Mal.4:1,palsm37;38psalm.62;3 plalm145;20psalm21;9 John 3;16 pernish, ezekiel18;20matt.10;28malachi4;1-3 Isa.47;14 the fire does go out when its done its job.rom.6;23 james1;15Rev,21;8 luke12;47-48 helltruth.com
DeleteDear Unknown,
DeleteNone of what you state here is in keeping with the meaning of the original languages, the context of the verses, the understanding of poetic language in the Psalms, or with the whole counsel of Scripture. And some of the passages you list here (Psalm 62:3) have nothing to do punishment from God.
In Matthew 25:46, Jesus said that some go to eternal death and some to eternal life:
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
The word eternal in the Greek is αἰώνιον. And it means eternal, unending.
Now, if you think that hell ends, then you must also think heaven ends since Jesus used the same word in the same tense in the same sentence.
Unending punishment sounds terrible to me, but I'm a finite human being who has been rescued from Hell, so I don't doubt that my all knowing, all loving, all good, all wise God knows what He's doing.
Matt, 25;46 not sure what bible you have,mind says and these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal. Second death will be everlasting, unending the results of the punishment, if it said punishing that would be as you think. Matt.10;28 And fear not them which kill the body,but are not able to kill the soul;but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. destroy the soul says nothing about unending torture.Luke12;46-48 seems to be saying their will be different degrees of punishment for men according to their sin, which makes alot of sense, if one didn,t accept JESUS,who would have died for them then they would have to pay for their own sin, I suspect Hitler more than a un repenten teenager who died in car accident. Has I said before this is a big study with much prayer, You left out some verses that would seem to prove eternal torment, I beleive can be explained. I am sure we both agree wheather one burns for an hour,day,week,mouth,year,Five years or endless torment, Hell is terrible, a wasted life,miss heaven. THANK YOU for what you do and GOD bless you, I am sure their is a lot we do agree on
DeleteYes, Unknown, I'm sure we agree on more than we disagree on. And I'm pretty sure I’m not going to convince you of anything by further explanation. But since this is a public forum, I'm going to respond to what you've written so others can read it:
DeleteEverlasting and Eternal have the same meaning, so I’m not sure why you are comparing translations. But most major translations use eternal.
But, if I understand what you’re saying, you think that this means everlasting death.
But Jesus didn’t say “death.” He said “punishment.”
And it is translated “punishment” in all 28 translations I checked.
But translations don’t matter as much as the original Greek, so I checked the Greek:
And the word "punishment" is the Greek word κόλασιν.
Definition in Strong's Concordance: "chastisement, punishment, torment, perhaps with the idea of deprivation."
Definition in Thayer's Greek Lexicon: "correction, punishment, penalty"
No where is this word defined as "permanent death" as you are suggesting.
I agree that some Scriptures seem to suggest worse punishments for worse sinners, but there is no hint that these worse punishments have to do with time but with intensity.
For example:
“Blackest darkness is reserved for them.” 2 Peter 2:17
“for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.” Jude 1:13
Would you explain matt.10;28 but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell--last part of verse.
DeleteMatthew 10:28 says God will destroy both body and soul.
DeleteSo we can ask, "How long with this destruction of body and soul take?"
And we discover that in Matthew 25:46, Jesus says it shall be "eternal."
And we can check the original Greek to make sure our translation is accurate and find that Jesus uses the exact word for "eternal" when describing the punishment of Hell and our life in heaven. And that gives us further confidence that the time involved in the punishment of hell is the same as the time involved in the reward of heaven.
That's why we study all that Scripture says about a subject.
And because we know that the Lord Jesus doesn't lie and doesn't make mistakes, we can know that our question is answered.
Hi Gail,
DeleteI love you and the work that you're doing. But, you don't seem to grasp what I and unknown are getting at. Of course there is a hell, but those who turn from Jesus will not spend eternity suffering there. At the judgement, they will be found guilty and thrown into the fires of hell where they die completely, both body and soul. It is the second death. Every one of the scriptures you use to try and prove eternal punishment of the lost, actually tells us of the second death. The flames are eternal because the fallen angels are suffering. But the lost are extinguished. Eternal tells us that the death of these people is eternal, never to be reborn. They become nothing! Besides, eternal suffering is pointless. If they can't use their suffering to pay for their sins and just keep suffering, there is no point. It is illogical and God is all loving and logical.
Hi Rick,
DeleteI do understand what you are saying. You are saying that there is a hell, where the unsaved will go, but they will be completely and finally destroyed there and will not suffer eternally.
I don't believe that Scripture supports that view, and I don't believe that planning eternal punishment makes God unloving or illogical. Some people claim that God can't be loving if He sends anyone to hell. I think our human tendency is to underestimate the serious nature of our sins.
But I also believe that this is an area where we can agree to disagree and remain brother and sister in Christ.
Just what I needed. My mom sent me a phampleton Heaven, He'll and Purgatory.
ReplyDeleteI am responding to the Bible answer to purgatory .
This love note was very timely.
I know my mom knows her Savior but she sent this to all my siblings and I want to respond to them. Any other words of wisdom would be appreciated.
So if the response from some is you can't judge. I would say . You are right I can't judge because none of us knows the person''s heart , only Jesus knows at the time of death. But this is what the Bible says.
Hi Mary, I'm sorry I am responding so late. My comments were not publishing for several months and I didn't realize it. I'm praying that you will have the understanding you need to explain these Bible truths to your family.
DeleteI don't understand some people...They try to eat all the right things and exercise to try to live longer, yet they have no problem sinning and many seem to really enjoy. By being immoral and rejecting God's laws they don't realize (or they just don't believe) that they are putting their eternal life in jeopardy...They are afraid to die in their short earthly life, but don't seem to care one bit about eternal life with GOD...A lot of people better smarten up or they're going to face eternal death...gone FOREVER! KAPUT! Never to exist again. Yeah, I just don't understand some people's way of thinking..Turn from your sin and turn to God before it's too late.
ReplyDeleteWell said! Some people better wake up to what they"re doing...This earthly life is the ONLY chance you get to turn to God...If you choose to do foolish and evil things in this life, you will surely join Satan and his demons in HELL and face eternal destruction. Everybody makes their own bed and will either lie in that bed asleep for eternity or rise from that bed into everlasting life...There's is no decision you can make about anything that's more important than this...No, NOTHING is more important!
DeleteThere is nothing that is hidden from God. It is good that we repent and strive to stay holy and not be tired if doing what is good. If we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post. This is the hallmark of the modern day "church". Don't teach the Word of God, teach a doctrine of love and of acceptance. No folks. This is not a popularity contest. You have to repent for and turn from your sins to be saved. Saved from what? HELL!! It's a hard thing to do. I am a living witness. My sinful ways were fun. They felt great to my flesh. But thank God He brought me to a point where I had to choose between being obedient to Him and acknowledging that my ways were wrong, or dying and going to Hell. Many.....MANY would rather die than repent. That's why Christ Jesus said 'few there be that find it'. This is serious business, not fun and games.
ReplyDelete