Eternal Punishment: Understanding the Biblical Context

Open with QUOTES
“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”
Albert Einstein

“God preordained, for his own glory and the display of His attributes of mercy and justice, a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal damnation.”
John Calvin

Show 50 425 Eternal Punishment Part V
December 16th 2014
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Final season deal offered tonight!

The Complexity of Eternal Punishment

Still covering Eternal Punishment so let's get to it. Good stuff tonight – if you are willing to hear. But let’s start with a prayer.

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Aight – part FIVE on Eternal Punishment.

Admittedly, if anyone is going to seriously consider themselves biblical Christians they have to openly admit that hell and the Lake of Fire are biblical realities. I think we make a mistake when we continue to assign them the physical attributes that existed in literal Gehenna in the Valley of Hinnom and I think we make a mistake in assigning them eternality but we have to admit that they are biblical descriptions of a hereafter state for some.

To be honest I get personally incensed when otherwise sound and astute Bible students suggest that hell does not exist or that they are “less terrible” than how scripture describes them. I am NOT doing this.

The Extremes of Interpretation

At the same time it seems just as egregious a mistake when believers (who rest at the opposite end of the spectrum) assign unbiblical descriptions to hell and the Lake of Fire for the purpose of making them more frightening or threatening than scripture suggests. Both errors occur when individuals – good intentions aside – decide to inject their respective opinion (or tradition) into the subject rather than study out what the Bible really says and to limit their observations to that.

In the face of these two polarized tendencies the topic of hell/lake of fire today sort of finds itself centralized in one of two extreme (but errant) camps. On the one end there are people (and pastors) who say that a loving God would never send anyone to hell (apparently forgetting that the same loving God allows people to go through great difficulty and suffering here . . . hmmmmmm?) and on the other end there are those who not only accept hell and the lake of fire as realities but choose to describe them (and the fate of those who will enter them) in terms that are based far more on traditions of men than a sound biblical view.

Before we try and reasonably examine what the Bible says about hell and the Lake of Fire there is something that needs to be plainly articulated. Are you ready? (beat)

The Reality of Hell and Discipline

Like it or not neither hell, the Lake of Fire, or after-life discipline are NOT places or things anyone wants to tempt or trifle with. I say this because as I have introduced the concept of God’s Total Reconciliation to believers I have actually had believers say to me (in all seriousness):

“Well if hell or afterlife punishment are not eternal what’s the point of our being Christian now?” I’m not kidding. That’s their attitude. They usually add something like:

“I mean why don’t we just live like we want, die, go to hell for a while, maybe make a visit to the lake of fire, and then when God ultimately reconciles me to Him (along with everyone else) everything will be fine and I will, in the end, wind up in the same place as I would if I was a believing Christian?”

I cannot tell you how many “good Christians” have made comments like this to me and every time they do I find myself utterly astounded. Truly. I mean don’t Christians experience joy in this life by having Christ in and with them? Don’t they rejoice in the relationship they have with God here – isn’t that enough for them? If it is what causes them to say such things?

I mean their response is almost like them saying: “I hate being a Christian and I either want everyone who isn’t to suffer eternally and never get to be with God OR I want to sin like theres no tomorrow and ultimately get to go to God too! (beat)

Additionally, one of the main reasons Jesus came and did what He did was to actually

Differences Between Hell and the Lake of Fire

Save us from hell and the Second Death (or Lake of Fire).

How come some Christians don’t see this incomprehensible gift as enough? Why do they have to have hell last forever for everyone else? Finally, don’t these Christians realize that there is an enormous and an almost incomprehensible difference (when it comes to the blessings, mansions, and rewards) that await the Sons and Daughters of God who receive Christ in this life when compared to those who die having rejected Him and go through hell and the Lake of Fire as a result?

I gotta tell you when believers (from Pastors down to the most astute) down play hell and the lake of fire in these ways all it says (at least to me) is that they do not comprehend

• the value of being Christ’s in this life (or in the eternities to come)
• the loss and trauma experienced by those who have not been saved from hell and the second death through faith here.
• The promises God has extended to all who come to Him here by faith.

It’s really hard to see their reactions in any other light.

The Biblical Understanding of Hell

So let’s talk about hell and the Lake of Fire using the Bible as our God (while rejecting traditions of men).

First of all, they are completely different places. One thing almost all of us do – myself included because it is convenient – is to refer to hell as the catch phrase for where everyone goes (and burns and stays) who does not go to heaven at death. While all who do not go to heaven will certainly go to hell it is a mistake to suggest that they

• will remain there forever and
• that while there they will be tortured by literal flames of fire.

Let me try and prove all of this through the Bible.

Sheol and Hades

Going back to the Old Testament we have the Hebrew word “sheol.”

It was best defined by the Jews as, “the realm of the unknown.” It is also defined as “a covered holding cell.” In scripture, the Hebrews translated “sheol” as “the grave,” “a pit,” and “a place (listen) for both the evil AND the good.

So in essence, sheol is “the covered holding tank, “a realm of the unknown” where ALL souls (prior to the finished work of Christ taking effect) went at death. Because it was the destination for all people prior to Christ and His finished work it contained a place for the wicked (known as prison) and as a place for the righteous (paradise). So while the Old Testament translators frequently referred to “hell” in their work it is important to remember that it was the “covered, two-part holding tank for all disembodied spirits prior to Christ and His ascension.

Abraham, father of faith? Went to hell. David? Went to hell and was promised by God that he would not leave his soul there. Everyone – pre-finished work of Christ – to hell.

In the New Testament, the word sheol finds its equivalent in several Greek terms. Let’s start with Hades. Again, and unfortunately, we often refer to Hades in English as hell (as in the eternal place of literal flames of fire) but remember hades was a place that had both paradise (Abraham’s bosom) and a prison – not was not the place of eternal burning for the bad alone.

Got all that?

This is a general biblical history of sheol in the Old Testament and hades in the New.

Now another term used for hell (in the New Testament) is the Greek word tartarus, and it is only used once – in II Peter 2:4. Tartarus is best translated “pit of gloom” or “pit of darkness” and is considered by some to be lower parts of hades (again, with the upper part potentially being paradise or a good place). We can see from the description of tartarus that it is best associated with darkness and not literal burning.

Understanding Hell in the New Testament

Remember this, yakay?

Prior to Christ’s victory, those in paradise and those in prison (or sheol or hades) waited. At His ascension, Christ took paradise with Him into heaven, but the prison part remains a holding tank (so to speak) for the faithless who die without Christ. Get these basics down pat, and you will already be miles ahead of the confusion generally associated with the topic.

Unfortunately, there is another word in the New Testament that is also translated as hell (at least in the King James version). This complicates matters. It’s Gehenna. Part of the problem lies in the fact that Gehenna was an actual physical place in Jerusalem with a very sordid and reprehensible history. By the time Jesus was on earth, Gehenna was a trash heap (essentially) located in the southeast of Jerusalem in the valley of Hinnom. Formerly (in ancient Israel), Gehenna was a place where human sacrifices took place (which were apparently offered up to the pagan god, Molech). In Jesus' day, Gehenna was the place that residents of Jerusalem and the Romans burned dead bodies, tossed waste, and discarded dead animals. To a devout Jew, Gehenna was considered defiled and filthy. Because fires burned in Gehenna constantly (due to the refuse and disposal of waste products), it is traditionally believed that Jesus used Gehenna to illustrate hell and the burning that was going to consume unbelieving people in the afterlife.

The Misinterpretation of Gehenna

For example, in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus has been berating the Pharisees in a temple mount discussion and He ultimately asks them (in the King James version of Matthew 23:33): “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” The problem with this King James translation is that the word for hell here (in the Greek) is not tartarus or hades – it’s Gehenna, proving that Jesus was referring to that literal valley on the southeast side of Jerusalem where trash and refuse burned. “Oh, no!” Believers will say, “that was Jesus using that dump site to illustrate what hell is like.” Really? I don’t think so. See, when Jerusalem was invaded by Rome and totally sacked in 70 AD over 1,000,000 Jews perished and guess where many of their bodies were tossed? Thaz right… straight into the valley of Hinnom where Gehenna was located and which literally fulfilled Jesus' question to these Jews when he wondered out-loud how on earth they were going to escape this fate, or, as He put it, “the judgment (not the damnation) of Gehenna” (not hell).

Understanding the Location and Nature of Hell

What else has been misunderstood about hell by well-meaning but altogether zealous believers in the King? Well, we know from scripture that hell is located “below” – as in the center of the earth. Because of this, we also associate hell with heat because certainly, the center of the earth is extremely hot – just how spirits feel heat is unknown, but nevertheless, this biblical location of hell lends to the heat and hot descriptions of the place. In the end, however, I would suggest that Jesus gives perhaps the most graphic and reliable insight into what hell is like.

It was delivered in a conversation He was having with some scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 12:38 and where we read the following:
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, “Master, we would see a sign from thee.”
39 But he answered and said unto them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Why was Jesus three days and nights in the heart of the earth? Peter tells us that He was visiting the spirits in prison (sheol). So right here in this Socratic dialogue with the Pharisees, Jesus compares His visit “to the heart of the earth” with Jonah and His visit in the belly of the whale.

So let’s look at this because we have a ready-made parallel the Lord provides us and not men. We know from the Old Testament narrative that Jonah, whom Jesus assigns to Himself as a type, also made a visit (somewhere) for

Jonah and the Belly of the Fish

“Three days and three nights,” don’t we? It wasn’t to the center or heart of the earth but was instead to the belly of a great fish. (Jonah 1:17)

I would suggest that in this we discover a tremendous parallel that exists between Jesus “being in the heart of the earth” for three days and three nights (Sheol) and Jonah being in the belly of the great fish (a type for Sheol or hell) for the same amount of time. In other words, being in the belly of a great fish is the best picture we have in scripture of what it’s like to go to hell (or in the heart of the earth).

The Horrors of Jonah's Experience

You will see that upon just a little reflection what Jonah went through was utterly horrific. Unlike the storybook characters in Pinocchio (where they got to sit on a large wooden raft around a cozy fire and plenty of room around them), Jonah’s experience was nothing of the sort. First of all, we are talking about being in the belly of a great fish. Think about this. It would NOT be spacious, it would not be lit, it would not be comfortable. Best put, it would be hell. So there was the darkness Jonah experienced.

Perhaps one of the darkest places around—especially at night and when the fish was underwater—which would have probably been most of the time. Pitch black dark. No LIGHT whatsoever. It is not by chance that darkness is frequently found in the biblical descriptions of hell as well. Additionally, while there had to be room or space for Jonah to breathe, the interior would have been cramped—not a big vacuous hall but tight, squishy, and extremely unsettled—probably impossible to find any sort of footing or resting place due to the softness of the stomach lining. And it would have also been dreadfully unsavory. Rankest of rank—smelly, so to speak.

Four Biblical Parallels to Hell

To me this mimics the biblical descriptions of hell that is said to have “walls” where “no light exists” and add in those sulphuric smells and we have one great description from the parallel. The belly of a great fish is also thought to have been hot—amazingly hot where all the fish's digestive processes are hard at work. So there are four biblical parallels between hell and the belly of the great fish—dark (biblical), hot (biblical), close (biblical), and smelly (biblical).

Perhaps the most interesting parallel that exists between hell and Jonah in the belly of the fish relates to falling. In Revelation, hell is described as a bottomless pit. How would hell be a bottomless pit if it is in the heart of the earth? Try and imagine that it is possible to bore a hole straight through the earth—from one side of the earth straight through to the other—say, from Canton, Ohio, straight through to Osaka, Japan.

And then suppose some brave soul jumped in the hole (feet first) from the Canton, Ohio side. Presumably, he would travel down through the hole, cutting straight through the heart of the earth and (if he could possibly survive) then he would pop out the other side (in Japan) . . . but feet first, right? This would be the result if it were physically possible and if it could all occur in a vacuum lacking any gravity. But this is not how it would work in the natural world.

Aside from the person being scorched to death within a mile of jumping in the tunnel, what would theoretically occur would be the person would travel down in one direction (toward Japan) and as they approached the surface (on the other side of the world) they would slow, momentarily pause, then fall back (speeding) the other direction. Of course, the process would repeat over and over and over again, back and forth ad nauseam and ad infinitum, with the person endlessly traveling back and forth, never touching bottom because there would be no bottom to touch. They would in effect be in a bottomless pit; falling forever but never touching down.

How would this compare to Jonah and his “inner fish” experience? I would think being in the dark belly of a fish the sensation would be quite similar—bottomless. Can you imagine being inside a great fish for three days?

Exploring Concepts of Hell and the Lake of Fire

Feel like with the fish diving and swerving and rising and diving – suspended in his pitch black smelly hot belly – never touching ground, but always moving? Can you imagine the pressure (both in “the heart of the earth” and “in the belly of a great fish” as the dives differed at varied depths and at varied speeds amidst ocean turbulences? That’s hell. We don’t want to go there. He came to save us from it.

So just because I believe that God almighty will ultimately reconcile all people to Himself ought to have no bearing whatsoever on the horrors of hell – a place nobody would want to visit – even for a minute. But as stated, hell is a VERY different place from the Lake of Fire. In Revelation 20:14 we read that the keys to Hell (and Hell itself) will actually be “cast into the Lake of Fire.” From this alone we can see that it (hell) is different place from the Lake of Fire. In fact, if we turn to Revelation chapter 20:13 we read that at the time of the Great White Throne judgment, it says:

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

The Journey After Death

So if we really want to argue where unbelievers go after this life, we would have to say that first they would go to a dark, smelly, foul, bottomless pit and then some, after being judged according to their works, will be cast into the Lake of Fire. But they are NOT the same place. Get this straight so that we can get our facts straight.

Before we talk about the Lake of Fire I want to point something out you may have never considered previously. Ready? As a Bible believer you have to agree that hell “delivers up its dead,” and all who are in it will come out of it – just as Jonah ultimately came out of the belly of the great fish, right? We also know that Revelation says

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This (the lake of Fire) is the second death. And whosoever (that came out of hell) was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Got that?

Questions About Salvation and the Second Death

So the question I have for you is this:

We know that hell delivers up its dead (so to speak). And the former inhabitants of it stand before the Great White Throne to be judged, right? And then we know that scripture says, “And the books were opened (which is the Lambs Book of Life) and whomever name is not found written in the Lambs book of life would be cast into the lake of fire,” (which, scripture says, is the second death). So my question is why would someone who has been in hell (the dark, smelly, hot, bottomless pit place) name ever be found in the Lamb’s book of Life?

(LONG BEAT)

Now many believers at this point exclaim, “It wouldn’t!” But to this we would have to ask, “then why are the books checked to see if they are?” In John 8:51 Jesus says:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” We know that these words do not mean those who keep Jesus’ saying will never see (or experience) physical death because whether a person believes in Jesus or not we know all people are going to die physically, right? So “the death” Jesus says those who keep His saying “will never see” is the Second Death – which occurs and is synonymous with the lake of fire.

Thought-Provoking Inquiry

So here is the question of the day. (Ready? Drumroll please . . .) When scripture speaks of a person being saved, does this mean they will be saved from hell and the lake of fire or does it just refer to being saved from the Lake of Fire alone since that is the second death? Another way to ask this might be, “Is it possible for someone who believes in Jesus (in some way or another) to go to hell but upon being delivered out of it discovers that their name is written in the Lambs Book of Life and they are saved from perishing in the Lake of Fire?

Salvation and Eternal Judgment

In light of standard Evangelical doctrinal rhetoric which says that all a person needs to do is “Jesus name” and they will be saved how could I even suggest such a thing?

Here’s how.

If hell is going to deliver its “contents” (or people) up to the Great White Throne judgment and some of those people will discover that their names are actually written in the Lamb’s book of life, who could these people be other than those who have at some point in their lives been “the Lambs?” This view, while making Christians uncomfortable makes so many of Jesus teachings make sense. Well what on earth could possibly be the reason that some believers go to hell?

Discerning True Believers

In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says,

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

I can’t help but wonder if Jesus is speaking of those who believe (and use) His name, but have a lot of faith issues to work through before they are really His indeed. Maybe hell will facilitate such change?

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

In Matthew 22:9-14 Jesus tells the parable of a King who throws a wedding party for His Son. The first guests (who represent the members of the House of Israel) reject his invitation. So the King says to His servants:

“Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.” So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Could both “the bad” that are found as potential guests to the King’s celebration represent some who go to hell after this life, even though they accept the invitation to join the King’s party? Could those who are found to be unchanged (wearing their street clothing and not a change of appropriate apparel) also be some who also are subject to the terrors of hell even though they were freely given entrance into the King’s party properly?

How is it possible if they were once tapped into Him as the vine? All through the parables and teachings of Jesus He clearly teaches that where there are sheep there are goats among them; where there is wheat, there are also weeds; where there is good soil there is also bad.

In John 15 He is emphatic of the necessity of always abiding in Him – because the danger of not is being cut off and cast into the fire? Is it possible that those who have actually had a Jesus experience, and believed, and trusted in Him for a time but drifted, or lived according to the flesh, or their own will, or are filled with pride while lacking faith might suffer in the darkness of hell but escape (be saved) from the lake of fire?

Understanding Paul's Teachings

Do we really know what Paul meant when he wrote to Timothy (1st Timothy 1:18-20):

“This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”

Do we know what Paul meant in first Corinthians chapter 5 Paul when he says (verses 1-6):

“It is actually reported…

The Issue of Sexual Immorality

That there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles–that a man has his father's wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

Paul's Call and Its Implications

We DO know that when Jesus called Paul to serve Him that the Lord said to Him (Acts 26:17-18)

“I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 'to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'”

Reflecting on the Purpose of Hell

Is it possible that this call that Jesus put on Paul’s life continues on after this life toward those who are in hell, and that God uses the experience in hell to “open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

I don’t see anything in scripture that says otherwise. Christianity – especially since the early 19th century and especially in the United States – has really played up the idea that all people need to do is confess Jesus and they are good to go.

I wonder about this message not because I think for a New York minute that we need to do anything else to save ourselves, but because scripture makes it clear that true faith is manifested and proven and followed up by true love which comes by remaining tapped in the Vine. Could it be that reprobate believers, at death, enter the smelly bottomless pit as a means to purge or teach or help them reflect upon their lives? To wonder of their fate? To cause them to cry out to Jesus as I’m sure Jonah cried out to God to be delivered out of the belly of the great fish?

And can we imagine the joy such failed believers would experience after coming out of the pit and then standing before the great white throne to hear that their name HAS, in fact, always been included in the Lamb’s book of life?

I cannot figure out any other reason for who has been in hell to have their name written in the Lamb’s book of life other than they had at one time truly believed on the Lamb . . . unless unbelievers' names who call out to Jesus while in hell are added to the Lamb's book of life – which in the end support my argument for Total Reconciliation even more.

The Concept of Total Reconciliation

In either case I would suggest that we are witnessing God reconciling people after this life by having some who have experienced hell being saved from the Lake of Fire.

It is to the subject of the Lake of Fire that we will go next week.

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