SHORT CHRISTIAN READINGS SELECTED FOR FORMER JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES



What About Hell?

By Tom McGovern

(edited)


QUESTION: How do you define hell? There are lots of scriptures in the Old Testament that talk about hell, like Ps 86:13, 88:3; while Ecc 9:5-6 shows us that the dead are conscious of nothing. Where is there a scripture which says, "if we won't obey God then we will burn in hell"?

ANSWER:

On the question of hell, I would start out by saying that I do not consider hell to be an essential doctrine for one's salvation. I think that true believers can differ on the meaning of hell. However, I think that the Bible's position is pretty clear that hell is a place of eternal conscious experience of the wrath of God.

The usage that groups like Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists make of Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 to demonstrate that people are unconscious after they die, is not legitimate. It is pulled out of its context and used as a proof text.

The entire book of Ecclesiastes deals with life as it is experienced "under the sun" (Eccl. 1:3, 1:9, 1:14, 2:17, 3:16, 8:9, 9:3, 9:6, 9:9 and many other verses in the book).

Ecclesiastes is not intended as a treatise on the spiritual aspects of man's existence. Rather, it was written to show the futility of man's existence apart from God. If we are to apply the verses in the absolute and literal way that the Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists do, then we must also conclude from verse 6 that there is no resurrection, since it says, "forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun."

Read the rest of the chapter (the rest of the whole book, in fact) and you will see that many things are stated that are not true from the viewpoint of a servant of God. The writer is describing life from a purely human, earthly viewpoint. The dead certainly know nothing of what is going on in this world and have no part in its activities; that does not mean that they do not exist consciously elsewhere.

The verses you cited from the Psalms don't seem all that relevant to the discussion, since they don't actually speak about the state of those in Sheol, they simply mention someone going there, or being "near" to going there.

However, there are several OT verses that do indicate consciousness on the part of those in Sheol:

Isaiah 14:9, 10 says, "Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations. All of them will answer and say to you: 'You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'"

If those in Sheol are "greeting" a new arrival and speaking to such a one, they must not be unconscious. 

Similarly, Ezekiel 32:21-27 speaks of the "mighty chiefs" speaking "out of the midst of Sheol". It also says those in Sheol "bear shame". How does one "speak" and "bear shame" if he is unconscious?

Jonah, too, says "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried." Many commentators believe that Jonah actually died in the belly of the fish, and that he was raised to life again by God. Whether that is the case or not, how does one cry from Sheol, if Sheol simply means non-existence?

The use of sleep as a metaphor for death also does not prove the cessation of consciousness when someone dies. Really, the parallel between sleep and death should be obvious, since the body of a dead person can look very much as if the person were asleep. The fact that the body is sleeping does not mean that the person is sleeping; rather Paul describes the body as "our earthly home", as a "tent" in which we "groan" for "our heavenly dwelling". He says that "while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord ... and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:1-9). Elsewhere, Paul writes to Philippian Christians, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account" (Phil. 1:21-24).

Notice the contrast that Paul is drawing: between living "in the flesh", and departing to "be with Christ". Apparently one can depart the flesh -- go "away from the body" -- and still be conscious of his presence with Christ.

Likewise, when Stephen was being stoned to death, he did not expect to go into unconsciousness; rather he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59).

The Watchtower defines "spirit" as an impersonal life-force, but that is because they must do so in order to make verses like this fit their theology. The Bible never describes the human spirit in such a way.

Jesus was explicit about hell at Matthew 10:28: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Notice that the soul is described as being distinct from the body. The soul is not the whole person, and while humans can kill the body, they cannot harm the soul. Only God can do that.

The nature of the "destruction" of the soul is seen to be eternal in the prophecy about the "sheep and goats" in Matthew 25: 31-46. After describing the separation of the saved from the unsaved, verse 46 says "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." The expression is exactly parallel. The punishment of the unsaved is of the same duration as the reward of the saved.

Earlier in the same chapter (verse 30), Jesus spoke of the "worthless servant" being cast into "outer darkness", which clearly seems to indicate the place of punishment of the wicked, and says, "In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." There is no weeping and gnashing of teeth among persons who have been annihilated. One must be suffering consciously to weep and gnash the teeth.

The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31) also indicates the idea of torment in hell (Hades, in this case). I know that the Watchtower teaches that this story is merely a parable, but there are a number of difficulties with that position. The account is not referred to as a parable in the text, as many other parables are. Also, this would be the only parable of Jesus in which a character is given a personal name. But the most difficult thing about the idea of the story being a parable is, if hell is just a pagan teaching that was later absorbed into the church as the JWs claim, why would Jesus use a pagan teaching to illustrate a spiritual truth? Wouldn't He just be setting people up to believe a falsehood?

I've gone on pretty long here, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more texts in the Bible that indicate that the soul does not become unconscious at death, and many others that talk about hell as a place where people are conscious and suffering. ... But as I said at the beginning of this essay, I don't think that understanding the exact nature of hell is essential to our salvation. I think that we can all agree that, whether hell means annihilation or eternal punishment, we don't want to go there. And the answer for that is in the Person of Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life and died on behalf of men for their sins.

Here is the "Good News" as the Bible expresses it:

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures". (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

We are saved by faith, not works, and Jesus Christ Himself must be the object of our faith. We must repent of our sins (repentance = Greek, metanoia, "a change of mind") and place our absolute trust in Him. We must despair of any idea that we can be saved on our own, by our own works or accomplishments. I pray that everyone reading this will experience this great salvation.

 

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The Hope of a Believer

By Tom McGovern

(edited)


The day will come for every human being when this physical life will end. For some, it may come after a long and fulfilling life; others will die far too young and after facing much difficulty. The idea of one's own approaching death has been a source of great fear for many. For some, the fear increases as the time draws nearer. For many, the reason for fear is simply that of the unknown. Those who have no hope in Christ have no certainty as to what will follow this life. They may wonder whether there is a future existence at all and, if there is, feel uncertainty as to whether that existence will be pleasant or terrifying.

Those who do trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of their sins, however, have an assurance of life after death. He said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24). To fully appreciate the promise that Jesus has made in this verse, we need to understand what death really is and how He overcomes it for us.

What Death Is

There are three somewhat different uses of the word "death" in the Bible. Each of them deals in some way with a separation. We can describe these three types of death as physical death, present spiritual death and ultimate spiritual death. [1]

Physical death is the death of the body, in which the soul (or spirit) [2] separates from the physical body. This is the usage with which most people are familiar.

Present spiritual death relates to the spiritual condition of those who are not in a present relationship with Jesus Christ. They are separated from God by their sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-3). This is the natural condition of all humans at birth: biologically alive, but spiritually dead. It is only by God's grace that we are "born again" and given spiritual life by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-7). When this happens, we are no longer separated from God but have become united with Him through Jesus Christ.

Ultimate spiritual death is the continuation of spiritual death in those who never in their lives come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They are ultimately and eternally separated from God, and become subject to what the Bible calls the "second death". They are confined to a place referred to by the Greek word gehenna; this is what the Bible normally refers to as "hell". There they will spend eternity experiencing God's wrath without access to His grace, which they rejected in life.

When Death Comes

When an unbeliever dies, the Bible tells us that he goes to a place called hades. This is a Greek word used in both pagan culture and in Christianity to signify a place to which one goes after death. In Scripture, it is seen to be a horrible place (Luke 16:19-31). Some Christians see the flames of torment as being literal, but others view them as being in some way figurative -- however all agree that hades is not a pleasant place to be. One need only think about all the ways in which God showers common grace upon mankind and then imagine all of it being removed to understand that separation from Him would be torment indeed.

For those who have trusted in Christ, the prospect is much brighter. The souls of believers go immediately upon death into the presence of Christ. Paul looked forward to his own death in a positive way, writing, "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8).

He also wrote of his desire "to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far" (Phil. 1:23). It seems evident from Paul's writing that, even though a believer exists without a physical body at this time, he is in a state preferable to man's present existence. He will be conscious and in the presence of the Lord, and thus in a happy condition. This form of existence is referred to by theologians as the "intermediate state", however, because it is not the ultimate state that God intends for man.

The Nature of the Resurrection

God did not create man with the intent that he would exist for a short time in a physical body, and then spend eternity as a disembodied spirit. We are informed in Genesis 2:7 that "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." It was the whole man, body and spirit that was created by God and it is the whole person who will live eternally. For this to happen, God must raise the physical body from the dead at some future point in time.

With reference to believers, Paul writes extensively about the nature of the resurrection body in 1 Cor. 15. We learn that there is continuity between the original body that died and the resurrection body. To illustrate this, Paul uses the example of a seed that grows into a mature plant; the plant is not the seed or vice versa, yet the plant develops from the seed and there is physical continuity between the two. Similarly, the resurrection body in some way has continuity from the original body, but is far superior (1 Cor. 15:35:38). The old body is "sown" perishable, dishonorable, weak, and is raised up imperishable, in honor and power (1 Cor. 15:42-44).

Paul refers to the resurrection body as a "spiritual body", but this does not imply that believers are raised as immaterial, incorporeal spirits. The apostle John writes that "when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). This informs us that our resurrection bodies will be like the body of Jesus, which was raised physically from the dead and glorified. In His post-resurrection appearances, Jesus could be touched (John 20:24-29), could eat food (Luke 24: 42, 43) and, on at least one occasion, specifically assured His disciples that He was not a spirit (Luke 24:39). At the same time, Jesus was able to do many things in His glorified body that would be impossible for a non-glorified physical body. He could enter a room with a closed door (John 20:19, 26). He could disappear before the eyes of onlookers (Luke 24:30, 31). He could ascend through the air in going back to heaven and disappear into the clouds (Acts 1:9). Jesus' post-resurrection body is the sole example that we have of what Paul calls a "spiritual" body, and Christians have the hope of one day having a body like His. As Paul writes, "if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you" (Romans 8:11).

In the case of unbelievers, the Bible is not as specific. It does state that unbelievers as well as believers will be raised from the dead (John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15), but gives us little in the way of detail about the nature of their bodies. We may speculate that they will be provided with bodies adequate to the sort of judgment to which God has raised them.

The Time of the Resurrection

The timing of the resurrection is a question about which sincere Christians may disagree. In general terms, we can state that Christians are raised from the dead at the time of Christ's return. Paul tells us, "the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). At this time, the souls who have been in the presence of Christ since their deaths will be reunited with their resurrected and glorified bodies, once again becoming as God intended them to be.

Various scholars have attempted to work out differing chronologies for the return of Christ, placing His return for His church before, in the middle of or after the "Tribulation period" spoken of in prophecy. While such matters may be of interest, they are not significant to the foundational hope of the Christian: to be raised in a glorified body at the return of Christ and to be with Him forever. This hope is firm, regardless of which timetable is the correct one.

Blessed Assurance

Because we have this firm hope, there is no need for a Christian to fear death. Death will come to each of us and the Bible rightly refers to it as an enemy, since it represents the result of sin and interrupts our lives as God intended them to be. But it is an enemy that has been conquered (1 Cor. 15:54-57). Jesus gives marvelous assurance to those who are His own: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand" (John 10:27-29).

In Him, we have an unfailing hope and a sure anchor -- He will never let us down. We have His promise of an eternity with Him in His Father's house, and nothing that can be done by men or demons can undo that promise. What is required is simply that we trust Him: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:1-3).


Footnotes:

[1] William H. Baker, Survey of Theology 2 Study Guide. Chicago, IL: Moody Bible Institute, 2001, p. 101.

[2] There is some dispute among scholars as to whether the soul and spirit are two distinct entities, or simply different terms for the same thing. Since the question does not impact on the purpose of this discussion, it will not be addressed and the two terms will be used interchangeably.


Bibliography

Baker, William H. Survey of Theology 2 Study Guide. Chicago, IL: Moody Bible Institute, 2001.

Barker, Kenneth, Gen. Ed. The NIV Study Bible, 10th Anniversary Ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.

Dorman, Ted M. Faith for all Seasons, Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001.

Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Chicago, IL: Moody Bible Institute, 1989.

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000 rev.

Thiessen, Henry C. Lectures in Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999.

Wood, Leon J. The Bible & Future Events. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973.

Zodhiates, Spiros. Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible (NASB). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1990.


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HELL AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT

Author Unknown

(edited)


SHEOL - HADES - GEHENNA

What the Jehovah's Witnesses believe: (this writer does NOT fully understand WatchTower teachings on this topic)

1. "Sheol" is the common grave of mankind; it does not refer to a burial place. (For decades, the WatchTower Society did in fact teach that "sheol" meant "the grave" of individual persons, until they repeatedly were shown that "grave" has a different and separate Hebrew translation.)

2. There is no state of consciousness in Sheol. When a person dies, he goes into a state of non-existence, i.e., he is annihilated. (Besides, JWs do not believe that a "soul" is a separate entity, thus it can't go anywhere.)

3. There is no such thing as eternal punishment for the wicked. (In fact, JWs believe that eternal punishment simply is "eternal anniliation".)


The concepts of Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna were put together in doctrinal form during intertesament times, (the period of about 400 years between Malachi and Matthew). The concept of Sheol is not fully developed in the Old Testament. God's revelation on a certain teaching came in bits and pieces. It did not contradict or deny preceding revelation. The concepts became more clearly focused in the New Testament books and through Jewish rabbinical writings of the time.

SHEOL

The Old Testament describes Sheol in the following ways: a shadowy place or a place of darkness; down; beneath the earth, or in the lowest parts of the earth. These descriptions indicate that Sheol is not a part of this world but has an existence of its own in another dimension.

Sheol, in Hebrew, means "realm of the dead. It is found 65 times in the Old Testament. It is the compartmentalized region of the departed spirits of both the lost and the blessed dead during the period preceding the Ascension of Christ.

At death, man becomes a "rephraim", i.e., a "ghost," "shade," or "disembodied spirit." The Bible does not say that man passes into non-existence.

From the meaning of "rephraim," it is clear that when the body dies, man enters a new kind of existence and experience. He now exists as a spirit creature and experiences what angels and other disembodied spirits experience. He is composed only of "mind' and is capable of supra dimensional activity and such things as thought and speech without the need of a physical body.

SHEOL is a place of conscious existence:

The following verses would be meaningless if Sheol was a place of unconsciousness:

Genesis 25:17; 49:10,29,30,33; Genesis 50:3,25; Num. 27:13; 31:2; Deut. 32:50

The prophets of old who died in God's favor were gathered to their people. According to Hebrew lexicons, the usage for "gathered," in this sense, means to restore. reassemble, gather together again.

Genesis 37:32-34 (Joseph and his brothers) Joseph did not have a grave because Jacob believed that he was devoured by a wild beast. Yet he said, "I shall go down into Sheol to see my son."

Deut. 18:10,11; Lev. 19:31; I Chron. 10:13,14 The Old Testament prophets condemned necromancy. If in the Old Testament the Jews believed that the dead ceased to exist, then why did God find it necessary to forbid them to practice seeking after the dead? Why would anyone try to make contact with the dead if they believed the dead had no conscious existence?

Job 26:5 The dead "tremble" in Sheol.

Psalm 86:13 King David declared, "Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol." If Sheol is non-existence, then how far down is the "lowest" part?

Psalm 116:3 Some in Sheol experience "distress" and "sorrow".

Isaiah 14:9-17Talks about a welcoming ceremony for the King of Babylon in Sheol. The verses show "recognition" and "conversation".

Isaiah 38:10 Sheol has gates by which one enters and bars that keeps one in after having entered. Why the need for "gates" and "bars" if the dead are non-existent?

Ezekiel 32:21 The strong and mighty "speak" to him out of Sheol.

Ezekiel 32:30 The chiefs of the north and the Sidonians "feel shame" and "disgrace" in Sheol.

Most of the confusion surrounding the topic of Hell is because the King James Version of the Bible translated 3 different Greek words with the same English word - "Hell." The 3 Greek words are:

1. Tartarus

2. Hades

3. Gehenna

TARTARUS

This place does not need to concern us much since this is a special abode for the wicked angels who are confined to this special pit of darkness. This word occurs only once in the New Testament. (II Peter 2:4)

HADES

The Greek equivalent of Sheol. It is a compound of two Greek words - one being the negative "not", and the other, "seen." (invisible)

The word "Hades" occurs 10 times in the New Testament in Matthew, Luke and John. Before the death of Christ, all the dead entered Sheol/Hades. Even Jesus promised the criminal who died beside Him that he would be with Him that very day in paradise (Luke 23:43), which was understood to be the favorable part of Sheol. After the resurrection of Christ, believers enter heaven to be with Him.

As for the wicked, they continue to enter Hades at death, and other aspects of their punishment is revealed in II Peter 2:9, which speaks of the unrighteous being kept under punishment for the day of judgment.

Hades consisted of 2 parts:

1. Paradise - it was understood to be the favorable part of Sheol/Hades. Christ Himself had to enter this place to fulfill the prophecy in Acts 2:31 and to empty it of the faithful dead; in effect, transferring "Paradise" to Heaven. The Apostle Paul equated Paradise with the third Heaven (the presence of God) and adds that he traveled there either IN or OUT of his body. (II Corinth. 12:2-4)

2. The lowest part - As far as the wicked, they continue to enter Sheol/Hades at death and other aspects of their punishment are revealed in II Peter 2:9 which speaks of the unrighteous being kept under punishment for the day of Judgment. Notice the grammar in this verse, "are kept" and "are held." - the present active infinitive form - continuously being "kept" and "held." The dead are not non-existent. If so, then why does God have to 'hold' and 'keep' them there? They "are" being punished - present passive participle (continuous) awaiting judgment which would occur as in Revelation 20:12,13.

The most detailed information we can find about Hades is in Luke 16:19-31 where we are told about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus died in a righteous condition and the angels took him into Abraham's bosom; to a place of peace and security. The rich man, on the other hand, went to Hades and was in great torment. He was obviously fully conscious of his surroundings and not in a condition of "soul sleep," for the account in Luke records, "...he lifted up his eyes, being in torment..." vv. 22,23 He pleaded for a drop of water to cool his tongue because of the torment. He could see the happy condition of Lazarus but he could not leave his place of torment. He spoke about his worry over the condition of his five brothers who had yet to die. He wished to spare them his present agony. Yet this pitiful rich man had all his faculties and was indeed experiencing ongoing torment.

This account is not a parable since proper names of recognizable Bible characters are used. Jesus never used proper names in His parables and generally indicated when He was teaching a parable. Even if it was, it teaches an important truth, and Jesus taught truth.

According to the account in Luke 16, what was causing the torment of the rich man? He wants water to cool his tongue. The Watchtower Society says that the concept of 'Hell' is a pagan lie. If this is true, then which Pagan version did Jesus use in this account? Did He use the Society's concept? (the grave/non-existence) Elements in a parable always have a literal meaning, no matter what they symbolize.

Josephus, in an account titled "What the Jews believed about Hades," described an underworld as told in Luke 16. Ninety-five percent believed in a literal Hell. Whether Luke 16 is a Rabbinical story, or if it actually was a true story as many scholars suggest, one thing is certain: the Jews believed that Hades was a place of torment for some and that others would experience blessings - both in the immediate hereafter following death.

In the final judgment (Rev. 20:13), Death (bodies in the grave) and Hades (the realm of the spirits, souls) will deliver up the dead. This would be impossible if persons were non-existent.

GEHENNA

'Hades' or 'Sheol' is often called "the holding tank" by some Bible scholars, since souls in this place are not in their final destination. According to Revelation 20:11-13, those in Hades will yet stand before the Great White Throne Judgment. Hades will be terminated at this time. Those with condemnatory judgment will be cast into Gehenna - the Lake of Fire.

The word "Gehenna" occurs 12 times in the New Testament and every single quote is made by Jesus. It is derived from the word "Ge-Hinnom." During the time of the prophets, child sacrifices had been offered there to Molech and other false gods by apostate Jews. Gehenna first appears during intertestamental literature shortly before 100 B.C. though the actual place is un-named. It was described as "this accursed valley." The Jewish Talmud also mentions the Lake of Fire. In Jesus' day it was used as a garbage dump and the fires never stopped burning. It became an appropriate description to the Jews of what fate awaited pagans. Jesus agreed with this and used the word "Gehenna." Matthew 5:22 and Matthew 18:9 both refer to a "fiery hell" (Gehenna) The practice of sacrificing the living was how the valley received its significance; and not because of its later use as a dumping ground. Gehenna was the place where the body as well as the soul/spirit would be tormented.

One has only to read the words of Jesus in Mark 9:42-48 to know the seriousness of the final destination of Gehenna: Christ stresses that it would be better to lose the most precious things in this life and to avoid Gehenna.

"Unquenchable fire" is not referring to the garbage dump because the fire there ceased burning. "Where their worm dieth not" is no sarcastic reference to worms having immortality. This is a 'Hebraism,' an idiom that expressed a state of never dying. The word "their" denotes possession. Something that belongs to a lost soul in Hell (Gehenna) never dies. Some Christian scholars maintain that this means "the gnawing conscience of the lost."

Some religious groups like to think that the fire would annihilate them, but God is capable of altering the properties of fire. Consider the burning bush of Moses' day that was not consumed by the fire (Exodus 3:2) and that also the fiery furnace of Daniel's day (Daniel 3:21 27)

Compare Revelation 19:20 with Revelation 20:10. Before the 1,000 year reign of Christ, the beast and the false prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna). Were they annihilated? No, for 1,000 years later they are still alive, and the Devil joins them in their condition of torment. And the word "torture" does not mean "jailed" as the Jehovah's Witnesses teach. How can Revelation 20:10 be symbolic when the Jehovah's Witnesses admit that the Devil is not symbolic, but real! Can a real Devil be cast into a symbolic Lake of Fire that does not actually exist? If the Devil becomes non-existent, then how can he be tormented, whatever the word means to them? The future torment here is the same as in Revelation 11:10. Did the two prophets mentioned "annihilate" those dwelling on earth?" The Greek word "basanizo" in every case found in the New Testament speaks of pain and conscious suffering.

Gehenna has various degrees of punishment. There are few and many stripes: Luke 12:47,48; Matthew 10:14,15; Matthew 11:22-24; Mark 12:40. If Gehenna's punishment is only annihilation in the grave, then Jesus' words have no real meaning. How can there be degrees of punishment when one is non-existent? If death is non-existence, then how do you explain these verses:

1. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorra in the day of judgment than for those who saw the mighty works of Jesus. (Matthew 10:15) Are there degrees of non-existence?

2. How is Judas' condition worse 'now' than if he had never been born? (Mark:14-21)

Let's just believe the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:46, that there are two destinations: one for believers and one for unbelievers. The same exact words in the Greek describe both conditions. Both are "everlasting," "eternal" and "ongoing."

WHAT THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS SAID ABOUT "NON-EXISTENCE"

"Yet is it not absurd, that that which has been produced with such circumstance, and which is beyond all else valuable, should be so neglected by its Maker, as to pass to nonentity?...but would God so neglect His own possession and work, that it becomes annihilated, and no longer exists? Should we not call this labour in vain?" -- Justin Martyr, On the Resurrection, ch. 8.

"He, then, who was adored by the prophets as the living God, He is the God of the living; and His Word is He who also spake to Moses, who also bestowed the gift of resurrection,...For if He be not the God of the dead, but of the living, yet was called the God of the fathers who were sleeping, they do indubitably live to God, and have not passed out of existence, since they are children of the resurrection." -- Irenaus, Against Heresies, Book IV, ch. 5, section 2.


"... but learning by experience that we possess eternal duration from the excelling power of this Being (god), not from our own nature," -- Irenaus, Against Heresies, Book V, ch. 2, section 3.

"For since there are real men, so must there also be a real establishment, that they vanish not away among non-existent things, but progress among those which have an actual existence. For neither is the substance nor the essence of the creation annihilated (for faithful and true is He who has established it), ..." -- Irenaus, Against Heresies, Book V, ch. 36, section 1.

"And the writers who spoke of a multiplicity of gods came at length to the doctrine of the unity of God, and those who asserted chance spoke also of providence; and the advocates of impunity confessed there would be a judgment, and those who denied that there is a sensation after death acknowledged that there is." -- Theophilus to Autolycus, Book II, ch.XXXVIII.

"... or, falling with the rest, a worse one (another life) and in fire; for God has not made us as sheep or beasts of burden, a mere by-work, and that we should perish and be annihilated." -- Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians, ch. XXXI.

"... to those who bear upon them the image of the Creator Himself, and are endowed with understanding, and blessed with a rational judgment, the Creator has assigned perpetual duration,...But since this cause is seen to lie in perpetual existence, the being so created must be preserved for ever, doing and experiencing what is suitable to its nature, each of the two parts of which it consists contributing what belongs to it, so that the soul may exist and remain without change in the nature in which it was made, ... and the body be moved according to its nature towards its appropriate objects, and undergo the changes allotted to it, ..." -- Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead, ch. 12.

"... we are content with a life associated with neediness and corruption, as suited to our present state of existence, and we steadfastly hope for a continuance of being in immortality; and this we do not take without foundation from the inventions of men, feeding ourselves on false hopes, but our belief rests on a most infallible guarantee -- the purpose of Him who fashioned us, according to which He made man of an immortal soul and a body," -- Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead, ch.13.

"... the cause of his (man's) creation is a pledge of his continuance for ever, and this continuance is a pledge of the resurrection, without which man could not continue." -- Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead, ch. 13.

"Man, therefore, who consists of the two parts, must continue forever....the conclusion is unavoidable, that, along with the interminable duration of the soul, there will be a perpetual continuance of the body according to its proper nature." -- Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead, ch. 15.

ETERNAL PUNISHMENT

The Jews in Jesus' day believed in eternal punishment. Both the established schools of Shammai and Hillel recorded their beliefs in eternal punishment. -- (Appendix XIX, "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," Alfred Edersheim).

Biblical accounts of "eternal punishment.":

Hebrews 9:27 Says that "it is appointed unto men to die once and then the judgment." If physical death IS the judgment, as the Witnesses claim, then what is the "judgment" that comes AFTER death - and why?

Hebrews 10:26-31 says "more severer punishment" If a person dies and is annihilated, this passage doesn't make any sense. The theory that the wicked are annihilated breaks down here, for annihilation would give all the wicked the same punishment and hence would make it impossible for this added degree of worse punishment to exist..

James 2:19 says "the devils tremble" Why? Because they know that there is a place of "everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels."(Matthew 25:41) This is why the demons said to Jesus, "Have you come here to torment us before the time?" (Matthew 8:29) The demons certainly know that there is a time coming when they will be tormented in everlasting fire. If not, then why would they tremble?

Revelation 14:9-11 says, "... he will be tormented with fire and brimstone...and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever ..." Also - Revelation 19:3 "And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."

The apostle John uses the metaphor of burning sulfur and rising smoke to illustrate the process of torment. The eternity of the literal torment is symbolized by the metaphor of eternally ascending smoke. The assumption that the fire and smoke must be literal contributes to the ridicule heaped upon the doctrine of eternal punishment by the annihilationists. But the orthodox position doesn't require such literalization; just the recognition that there is torment and it is eternal in duration. Fire and smoke are apparently figures of speech which best describe the reality of conscious torment.

John uses two phrases to describe the duration of the torment. First, he says it will endure "forever and ever." In Greek, these two phrases mean "for the eons and eons." The Greek takes its greatest terms for time ("aionon"), the eon, pluralizes this, and then multiplies it by its own plural, even using articles which make these eons the definite ones. The Greek "aionon" ALWAYS means an endless period of time.

A CLOSING THOUGHT

Reality is always greater than the mental image created by figurative speech. Thus, Hell will be more horrible than the mental image of eternal worms gnawing on eternal bodies or being lost in an eternal lake of sulfuric fire. Hell will be greater than all the feeble and weak metaphors which human language can provide.

Since Hell is a future reality which no one has yet seen, the authors of Scripture and Christ Himself used what was available in the situation to describe the awfulness and ultimate separation from God.

This explains how and why mixed metaphors are used to describe Hell. Jude can use the Rabbinical metaphor of the horror, loneliness and despair of being lost in "the black darkness forever," while John can speak of being cast into the anger of God by the rabbinical metaphor of a "lake of fire and brimstone." There is no need to solve the literalist's riddle of how can Hell can be dark and yet be fire. Neither the darkness nor the fire are literal.

Annihilation is an idea which makes Hell less than what it was intended to be by having it mean 'nothingness.' If Hell is 'nothingness,' what mental images can be called upon to conceive of it? There is no mental image for 'Nothing.' Whence did all the terrifying mental images of Hell given in Scripture? Evidently the authors of Scripture attempted to depict Hell as "something" - not "nothing." If annihilation were true, then there would be no need for the terrifying mental images of figurative speech used in the Bible to describe Hell.