A gracEmail reader in Eastern Europe asks, "Are the Jews still God's 'chosen people?' Why they did not receive the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ?" * * * The Apostle Paul struggles with the heart-wrenching situation of Israel's present rejection of Jesus in Romans chapters 9-11. Along the way, he notes three important points. First, not every descendant of Abraham is one of God's "chosen," as even the Old Testament story makes plain. God counted Abraham's offspring through Isaac, not through Ishmael (Gen. 21:12; Rom. 9:7). When Isaac's wife Rebekah had twin … [Read more...]
WHAT IS THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT?
An agitated Christian Church preacher responded as follows to a notice about my book, THE FIRE THAT CONSUMES. "Jesus made a pronouncement of sorts about hell, and I suggest that you and this growing number of 'scholars' you mention familiarize yourselves with it. It's found in Matthew 25:31-46 in the New Testament, a book written by God. What is it about the word aionios [eternal] that you don't understand?" * * * The purpose of THE FIRE THAT CONSUMES (the title comes from Hebrews 12:29 and Deuteronomy 4:24) is to search the Scriptures, and it examines about 1,000 verses from Genesis to … [Read more...]
THE ‘WORMS’ AND ‘FIRE’ OF HELL
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...]
WHEN A PET DIES
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "We are in the process of watching a family dog die, and I'm feeling rather inadequate to prepare my children for this inevitable event. Has God no further use for animals after life on earth? I would appreciate your thoughts." * * * I don't know any New Testament passage that clearly says animals will inhabit the Age to Come. However the prophet Isaiah includes animals in his portrayals of God's promised future (Isa. 11:6-9; 65:17, 25). The Apostle Paul also says that "creation itself" awaits its final redemption, which could easily include its animal … [Read more...]
TIME AND ETERNITY
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "My question concerns the statement in Revelation 10:6 that "time shall be no more" (KJV), which the NIV translates 'there shall be no more delay.' Is time done away in the future eternal kingdom of God? Do the new creation and the New Jerusalem function beyond the confines of space-time-matter-energy? Will we transcend time in eternity?" * * * The New International Version is surely correct in its translation here. This passage says nothing about "time" in eternity, but only that there will be no "delay" in the transpiring scenes of the vision which John is … [Read more...]
WILL WE REMEMBER THIS LIFE IN ETERNITY?
A member of our circle notes God's declaration in Isaiah 65:17 that the "former things" will not be remembered in the new heavens and new earth. "Does that include people and relationships," he asks, "and questions we now have?" * * * We need not reach that conclusion, it seems to me, since the preceding verse assures us that the "former things" which are forgotten are the "former troubles" which God's faithful people had experienced at the hand of the godless and profane (Isa. 65:16). Life in the "new heavens and new earth," in this vision, includes families, old people and new babies being … [Read more...]
ACTIVITY IN ETERNITY
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "When I consider an eternity of praising God, it scares me that I think that I will get bored. I pray all the time for God to give me the kind of heart that will make that thought desirable, but nothing happens. What's wrong with me?" * * * Perhaps you have been wrongly taught. God's people certainly will praise him in eternity and enjoy unhindered fellowship with him face to face (Rev. 22:5). That does not necessarily involve formal religious services, it seems to me, for God and the Lamb (Jesus) will be right there with us -- a reality to which all earthly … [Read more...]