There is considerable tension within the Christian Church regarding the punishment of the wicked in an eternal fire with some claiming the concept is not biblical and a doctrine of the Catholic church. The Seventh Day Adventist Church, officially founded in 1863, propagates the doctrine of annihiliationism – the belief that the condemned won’t suffer eternally but will instead have their consciousness extinguished in hell.
With those who find eternal punishment unpalatable, annihilation seems more humane and less extreme than to imagine the condemned in torment forever and ever. But what does that say for the sacrifice of Christ on the cross? Did he suffer and die so that those who reject him and commit heinous crimes are allowed to vanish into thin air where they simply cease to exist? For murderers, child molesters, wife abusers, the sexually immoral, thieves and those who despise God it hardly seems severe enough to be considered punishment and in many ways it can be construed as merciful. If that’s all hell is, what exactly did Jesus save the righteous from?
When we examine scripture, we find that Jesus spoke quite frequently of eternal punishment. In the parable about the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), both men died and the rich man found himself in torment in Hades (hell). “He looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 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.” Luke 16:23-24.
There are a couple of obvious lessons in these two verses. First, was the consciousness the rich man exhibited, and second was the torment he was experiencing. It has been suggested to me that this piece of scripture is a parable and it is not to be taken literally however, Jesus used parables to convey truth and the truth demonstrated here is that Hades is a distinct location, the destination of the unsaved, it is a place of fire and torment and the punishment consists of consciousness in order to experience punishment.
Furthermore, this concept is consistent with other parts of scripture such as Mathew 25:41-46 where Jesus says, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” In Revelation 14:11, we are told about the very same fire, “And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever.”
Another point of contention is that a loving God would never burn someone for billions and billions of years and that the issue is eternal life versus eternal death. However, the original word used here as “punishment” means torment, or suffering inflicted for crime. The noun is used only in one other place in the New Testament, 1 John 4:18, “Fear has to do with punishment.” The verb from which the noun is derived is used twice, in Acts 4:21 and 2 Peter 2:9. In all three places it denotes anguish, suffering and punishment. It does not mean simply a “state or condition,” but absolute, positive suffering; and this word, “could” express the idea that the wicked will suffer.
In the same way that eternal life has no end, eternal torment also has no end. While this may seem incompatible with the nature of a loving God, and inequitable as a penalty for sin we must also be cognizant that eternal rewards in heaven are not deserved by anyone and it is only through our faith in Christ, credited to us as righteousness, that any of us will enter the kingdom of heaven. The proper perspective is that sin is heinous compared to God’s holiness, God is sovereign and just, and the price he paid for our redemption is infinitely higher than any of our individual merits.
In his mercy, he has laid out two choices for us. If it is our rebellious and sinful response to deny the free gift of grace offered through Jesus Christ, how can we then turn around and contend that the punishment is too extreme? The nation of Israel, whom we can learn so much from, was also given choices. “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life,” Deuteronomy 30:19. The Lord has gone to great lengths to reveal himself to us in the pages of the Bible. Yet so many do not heed what scripture says and prefer a philosophical human perspective, and characterize God as something he is clearly not.
Other scriptures assert that God treats those who rebel against him severely, for example: Isaiah 66:24, Daniel 12:2, Mark 9:44-49, and Revelation 21:8. Many today find these scriptures offensive and criticize those who speak of the wrath of God as the reason the Christian Church is not growing in many parts of the world. They ignore the fact that Christianity is growing in many other locations even though the message of the Bible is the same everywhere. Much of post-modern society is living in a state of denial regarding truth and absolute morality and this is what is responsible for the falling away from the faith, not the words of scripture.
The doctrine of annihiliationism is counterintuitive when held to the light of scripture. In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul tells us that, “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” which, by affirming exclusion, rules out the idea that by “destruction” Paul means extinction. Additionally, if Jesus meant that the wicked would be annihilated in the fire of punishment he would have no need to mention there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mathew 13:40-45).
Today, in parts of the world, there is a great theological apostasy sweeping over Christianity that preaches a gospel designed to fill seats, grow congregations and appeal to an ever changing and fluid society, and in its effort to win an audience, it is losing souls to the very hell it refuses to talk about. By avoiding the difficult conversations and sugar coating the gospel, those who preach only of love and acceptance, while ignoring the uncomfortable scriptures, have compromised the word and the integrity of God.
This should surprise no one as it was foretold two thousand years ago and recorded in 2 Timothy 4:3, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, Mathew 7:15, and Mathew 24:24. The Bible says there will be a great apostasy, or an abandonment of the truth, in the last days. We are seeing it happen before our very eyes in the dogma many Christian churches are propagating that is contrary to the Bible. When pastors become millionaires, congregations number in the tens of thousands and churches are operated as businesses, beware of the wolves in sheep’s clothing that appear to shepherd the flock.
Jesus is coming soon. The enemy has infiltrated the body of Christ and the virus is slowly attacking the weakest parts of that body. We are surrounded by signs that we are indeed living in the last days and the Great Tribulation spoken of by Jesus (Mathew 24:21-22, Daniel 12:1 and Revelation 8)is about to commence. From the outside it appears that the Church is in turmoil; an outdated and irrelevant icon from days gone by. For those with the situational awareness to appreciate the signs that indicate the hour is very late, it is the affirmation that everything foretold in biblical prophecy is about to be fulfilled. We are about to enter our hour of testing. Even so…. Come Lord Jesus!
