1.
Doesn't the Bible speak of "eternal torment"? Jude 1:7
No, the phrase "eternal torment" does not appear in the Bible.
2. Then why does the Bible say that the wicked will
be destroyed with unquenchable fire? Jeremiah
17:27
Unquenchable fire is fire that cannot be put out, but which goes out when it
has turned everything to ashes. Jeremiah 17:27 says Jerusalem was to be destroyed
with unquenchable fire, and in 2 Chronicles 36:19-21 the Bible says this fire
burned the city "to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah" and
left it desolate. Yet we know this fire went out, because Jerusalem is not
burning today.
3. Doesn't Matthew 25:46 say the wicked will receive "everlasting
punishment"? Matthew 25:46
Notice the word is punishment, not punishing. Punishing would be continuous,
while punishment is one act. The punishment of the wicked is death, and this
death is everlasting.
4. Can you explain Matthew 10:28: "Fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul"? Matthew 10:28
The word "soul" has three meanings in the Bible: (1) a living being?Genesis
2:7, (2) the mind?Psalm 139:14, and (3) life?1 Samuel 18:1, which here refers
to eternal life that God guarantees all who reach His kingdom. No one can take
this away. The last part of Matthew 10:28 says both soul and body will be destroyed
in hell.
5.
Matthew 25:41 speaks of "everlasting fire" for
the wicked. Does it go out? 2 Peter 2:6
Yes, according to the Bible, it does. We must let the Bible explain itself. Sodom
and Gomorrah were destroyed with everlasting, or eternal, fire (Jude 7), and
that fire turned them "into ashes" as a warning to "those that
after should live ungodly." 2 Peter 2:6. These cities are not burning today.
The fire went out after everything was burned up. Likewise, everlasting fire
will go out after it has turned the wicked to ashes (Malachi 4:3). The effects
of the fire are everlasting, but not the burning itself.
6. Doesn't the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke
16:19-31 teach an eternal hell of torment? Luke 16:19
No, indeed! It is simply a parable used to emphasize a point. Many facts make
it clear that this is a parable. A few are as follows:
A. Abraham's bosom is not heaven (Hebrews 11:8-10, 16).
B. People in hell can't talk to those in heaven (Isaiah 65:17).
C. The dead are in their graves (Job 17:13; John 5:28, 29). The rich man was
in bodily form with eyes, a tongue, etc., yet we know that the body does not
go to hell at death. It is very obvious that the body remains in the grave, as
the Bible says.
D. Men are rewarded at Christ's second coming, not at death (Revelation 22:11,
12).
E. The lost are punished in hell at the end of the world, not when they die (Matthew
13:40-42). The point of the story is found in verse 31 of Luke 16. Parables cannot
be taken literally. If we took parables literally, then we must believe that
trees talk! (See this parable in Judges 9:8-15.)
7. But the Bible speaks of the wicked being tormented "forever," doesn't
it? Revelation 14:11
The term "for ever," as used in the Bible, means simply a period of
time, limited or unlimited. It is used 56 times in the Bible in connection with
things that have already ended. (To check in a concordance, look up the word "ever.")
It is like the word "tall," which means something different in describing
men, trees, or mountains. In Jonah 2:6, "for ever" means "three
days and nights." (See also Jonah 1:17.) In Deuteronomy 23:3, this means "10
generations." In the case of man, this means "as long as he lives" or "until
death." (See 1 Samuel 1:22, 28; Exodus 21:6; Psalm 48:14.) So the wicked
will burn in the fire as long as they live, or until death. This fiery punishment
for sin will vary according to the degree of sins for each individual, but after
the punishment, the fire will go out. The teaching of eternal torment has done
more to drive people to atheism and insanity than any other invention of the
devil. It is slander upon the loving character of a tender, gracious heavenly
Father and has done untold harm to the Christian cause.
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