A Bible student writes, "I am sympathetic to your position of total destruction instead of everlasting conscious torment. But how do you explain the verse which says: 'where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched?'" * * * The phrase you cite first comes from Isaiah 66:24, which portrays the righteous going out of the city of Jerusalem, following God's final judgment on the wicked, and viewing their dead corpses in the city "dump" -- where maggots ("the worm") and smouldering garbage fire ("the fire") race to consume them. It is a scene, Isaiah says, of disgust or abhorrence (v. 24). … [Read more...]
A LOVING CHALLENGE TO THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH (3 of 3)
When I began my scholarly research project on the topic of final punishment in the late 1970's, I assumed that the traditional view of unending conscious torment rested on biblical revelation. As I delved deeply into the actual texts of Scripture, the literature between the Testaments, and the writings of the church fathers and Reformers, I was flabbergasted to discover that my assumption was completely false -- and to uncover the historical origins of unending torment in ancient pagan philosophy. I was so shocked initially at the fruit of this research that I briefly considered boxing up … [Read more...]
A LOVING CHALLENGE TO THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH (2 of 3)
In the late 1970's, I undertook a year-long professional research project on the doctrine of final punishment. Almost immediately, I began to discover that my very fine biblical and theological training had overlooked many startling facts. How many of the following facts of Scripture and church history catch you by surprise? * * * 1. The Old Testament utilizes some 50 Hebrew verbs and 75 figures of speech to describe the ultimate end of the wicked -- and every one sounds exactly like total extinction. 2. The notion of unending conscious torment arose for the first time in anything … [Read more...]
A LOVING CHALLENGE TO THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH (1 of 3)
Are you ready for a challenge to your thinking? If so, read on. (If not, perhaps you will want to read no further.) For 1500 years, most Christians have assumed as true a doctrine which . . . 1. Is nowhere found in the Word of God; 2. Sprang from explicitly pagan presuppositions; 3. Slanders the character of God and the Lord Jesus Christ; 4. Prevailed in Protestantism for political, not biblical, reasons; and 5. Has been rejected by an increasing number of such faithful scholars as W. Graham Scroggie, John R. W. Stott, Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, F. F. Bruce, John W. Wenham, Clark … [Read more...]
IMMORTALITY IS CONDITIONAL
A sister from an independent Christian church in Idaho writes: "You mentioned a book you co-authored on the subject of final punishment, your part being to present the biblical case for conditional immortality. What exactly do you mean by 'conditional immortality?' " * * * Part 1 "Immortality" means deathlessness, and anyone who is "immortal" is incapable of dying. According to the Bible, God "alone possesses immortality" inherently or in his own nature (1 Tim. 6:16). Human beings are not naturally "deathless" or "immortal." We are mortal human creatures who owe our existence every moment … [Read more...]
DEVIL, BEAST & FALSE PROPHET (2)
A gracEmail subscriber asks for an explanation of Revelation 20:10, in which John sees the devil, the Beast and the False Prophet thrown into a lake of fire where they are "tormented day and night forever." A few verses later, "anyone not found written in the Book of Life" is cast into the same lake of fire (20:15). * * * It is significant that every time John mentions human beings in the Lake of Fire, he is careful to add the explanatory phrase, "which is the second death" (Rev. 20:15; 21:8). He seems to go out of his way to ensure that we do not make a mistake on that point. This symbol of … [Read more...]
DEVIL, BEAST & FALSE PROPHET (1)
A gracEmail subscriber asks for an explanation of Revelation 20:10, in which John sees the devil, the Beast and the False Prophet thrown into a lake of fire where they are "tormented day and night forever." A few verses later, "anyone not found written in the Book of Life" is cast into the same lake of fire (20:15). * * * The Book of Revelation is written in a kind of prophetic code drawn from certain Old Testament books and some nonbiblical Jewish writings between the Testaments. Writings that use this code-language are known as "apocalyptic" literature. (The Book of Revelation is known as … [Read more...]