The following is still a draft. It will be edited
and corrected as I get time. However, it is my belief that it contains
scriptures and thoughts that need to be taken into consideration.
Held And Reserved In Darkness, To Receive A Punishment Worse
Than Death?
Compiled by Vern Manson
Are the above thoughts sensibly supported in the NT?
There are many who approach this subject strictly from an emotional based
point of view. They have accepted the politically correct position. These same
people most likely oppose both capital punishment and spanking children. In
contrast the Bible teaches both. Too many people think the Bible is good, but
not really that good.
I will start with verses that are seldom taken in context, for as they
read they obviously support the thought of a severe form of punishment ahead for
the wicked. I will take the Bible as it reads.
Let me say here that the awareness of future
continued punishment after death, of the wicked, accomplishes little in the way
of deterrence.
Romans 1:31 .... without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving,
unmerciful; 32 and, although they know the
ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are
worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to
those who practice them. (NAS)
However, it God's punishment is just. Christ's death
on a cross produces far more motivation and it was done strictly on the basis of
God's unmerited favor. He nor His Son owed us any such thing. There will be
numbers of people who simply lived and died and never did anything about God.
This is just the way it is, and apparently numbers of people find this very
disconcerting.
I ask this, "Is there not a cause?" Is there not a good reason for such a
study as this one?
Lev 19:17 "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his
guilt. (NIV)
Ps 141:5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which
shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be
in their calamities.
Prov 9:8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
Matt 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and
tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall
hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. (KJV)
Now for a biblical presentation of God's
justice.
What does "Better to not have been born," mean? All
who have been born eventually die. So there must be something worse then having
been born and simply dying.
Mark 14:21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but
woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good
were it for that man if he had never been born.
Matt 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe
in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the
sea.
Matt 26:24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto
that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been
good for that man if he had not been born.
Second Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the
world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are
again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is
worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had
been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after
they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto
them. (KJV)
Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without
mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much
sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?
Each of these previous scriptures point to some form of existence that is
worse then simply dying. This form of existence and punishment entails something
that is worse then death.
Note: There is a punishment that is so severe that it produces wailing
and gnashing of teeth.
Matt 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall
be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
There is such a thing as influencing someone else to be even more worthy
of punishment then you are.
Matt 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for
ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go
in. 14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows'
houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than
yourselves.
There is such a thing as being held in a place of punishment while
awaiting further punishment.
Second Pet 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of
darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Job 21:30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of
destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left
their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Jude 1:13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame;
wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of
darkness for ever.
Second Pet 2:17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried
with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved
for ever.
Matt 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with
thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to
torment us before the time?
There is then a place where further punishment is applied and the wording
implies that days and nights are involved, together with ages and ages of
punishment that are actually unending. The mention of days and nights points to
a conscious awareness of time passing.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night
for ever and ever.
Immortality of the Soul?
Yes!
In searching numerous Christian web sites and the web in general, you can
find 200, plus, articles that teach there is no hell, (in the sense of the
wicked not being aware of any on going punishment after death), or that
there is no such thing as the "Immortality of the Soul, etc. " (for every one
article that teaches there is/are.) This subject is being neglected
terribly.
Numerous philosophers have derided the thought, while a few have believed
it is as the bible portrays.
The erroneous doctrine of "Original Sin" has led the Church into several
errors, two of which are their peculiar approach to the doctrines of immortality
and the ages and ages of punishment that awaits the wicked after death.
There are also numbers of articles that say the Jews had no such idea as
ages and ages of punishment for the wicked after death. Eldersheim, a Christian
historian, who specialized in the history of the Early Church and the Jews, said
otherwise. He claimed that the Jews were familiar with the conditions of the
wicked that Jesus portrayed in the account that he gave of the death of Lazarus
and the rich man.
Here are excerpts from an article that was written by a Jew,
part of which involves everlasting punishment.
........ Imagine
standing naked before God, with your memory wide open, completely transparent
without any jamming mechanism or reducing valve to diminish its force. You will
remember everything you ever did and see it in a new light. You will see it in
the light of the unshaded spirit, or, if you will, in God's own light that
shines from one end of creation to the other. The memory of every good deed and
Mitzvah will be the sublimest of pleasures, as our tradition speaks of Olam
Haba.
But your memory will also be open to all the things of which you are
ashamed. They cannot be rationalized away or dismissed. You will be facing
yourself, fully aware of the consequences of all your deeds. We all know the
terrible shame and humiliation experienced when one is caught in the act of
doing something wrong. Imagine being caught by one's own memory with no place to
escape. This indeed, may be what Daniel is alluding to when he says (Dan. 12:2),
"And many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life,
and some to reproach and everlasting shame."
A number of our great teachers write that the fire of Gehenom is actually
the burning shame one experiences because of his sins. Again, this may be
alluded to in the words of the prophet (Isa 66:24), "And they shall go forth and
look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled against Me; for their worm
shall not die, nor shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be ashamed
before all flesh." We find that evil leads to shame, as it is written (Jer.
7:19), "Are they angering Me, says God, are they not provoking themselves, to
their own shame, as we find (Joel 2:26), "And you shall eat and be
satisfied....and my people shall never be ashamed."
The Talmud provides us with even stronger evidence that shame burns like
fire. It states, "Rabbi Chanana says; this teaches us that each one (in the
World of Souls) is burned by the canopy of his companion. Woe, for that shame!
Woe, for that humiliation." We find that shame is a major form of punishment in
the Midrash on the verse (Ps 6:11), "All your enemies shall be ashamed and very
confounded:" Rabbi Joshua ben Levi says, "God only curses the wicked with
shame." This is also alluded to in the Talmudic statement, " It is better for Amram to suffer shame in this world, and not in
the World to come." Similarly, "Blessed is God who gave him shame in this
world and not the next." When the Zohar speaks of the future reward, it says,
"Happy is he who comes here without shame."
Of course, these concepts of fire and shame, as used by our Sages, may also
contain deeper mysteries and meanings. But taken literally,
one says that a major ingredient of fire may be shame. How else could one
characterize the agony of unconcealed shame upon a soul?
We are taught that the judgement of the wicked lasts 12 months. Even the
naked soul can gradually learn to live with this shame and forget it, and the
pain eventually subsides. It may be more than coincidence that 12 months is also
the length of time required for something to be forgotten in Talmudic law. Thus,
one mourns parent for 12 months, and says a special blessing upon seeing a close
friend after this period of time. (Of course, there is an exception to this
rule. There are nonbelievers and worst of sinners
reckoned in the Talmud. These individuals have nothing else but their
shameand have no escape from everlasting torment.)
But even temporary torment is beyond our imagination. The Ramban
(Nachmanides) writes that all the suffering of Job would not compare to an
instant in Gehenom. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says the same of a man who suffered
for years from the most indescribable torments: it is still better than a single
burn in Gehenom. Mental torture cannot be compared to the mere physical.
Here again, when we speak of Gan Eden and Gehenom, find that we are not
discussing mystical concepts, but ideas that are well within the realm of
scientific psychology, such as shame. .......
Found on the Shema Israel - Torah Network http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/burial/immortal.htm
Take note, the above was written by a Jew and he quoted from their
commentaries.
The Book of Genesis is the foundation
for the rest of the Bible. If there is such a thing as the doctrine of "Original
Sin," it should be found in this book, for this is where we find the account of
Adam and Eve's sin.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created
he them.
2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in
Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden
to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die.
3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which
the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the
serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said,
Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest
ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not
surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew
that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made
themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the
LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of
the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God
called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard
thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid
myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of
the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man
said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I
did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast
done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice
of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying,
Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt
thou return. 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the
mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make
coats of skins, and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is
become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his
hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the
ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the
man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming
sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of
life.
4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the
fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But
unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth,
and his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou
wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth
at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over
him. 8 (You must overcome him) And Cain talked with Abel his
brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up
against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where
is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my
brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What
hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the
ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened
her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest
the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a
fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto
the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast
driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I
be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall
come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
(KJV)
I ask the following questions as a means of revealing some of the error
in our traditions.
1. Did Adam have everlasting life prior to the time
he sinned?
2. Did Adam die the day he sinned?
3. His body was to return to the earth as dust, but
what about the breath of God that was breathed into him to make him a living
soul? (Did God ever remove His breath from Adam?)
4. Why did Adam and Eve hide? (What had happened
that produced this reaction?)
5. Why is there nothing in this account that
supports the doctrine of "Original Sin?"
6. How many of the four people mentioned in these
verses sinned?
7. If both Cain and Abel inherited a wicked nature,
why did only one of them sin?
8. Who did God hold responsible for what Cain
did?
9. Who do you think made Cain sin?
10. Did God tell Cain how to correct him
self?
11. On the basis of the text can you say Cain had a
choice?
12. Is there anything that God said to Cain at any
time that makes you believe Cain and Abel were born in such a wicked state
that they were unable to obey God?
13. If you relate the tree of life and the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil with symbolism what do you
see?
Adam lived hundreds of years after he sinned. His death was spiritual
separation from God. The term death, as it is used in the Bible, has various
meanings. It does not always mean physical death. We can say it never means the
complete cessation of existence. In the above text we see that even the blood of
an individual can speak after they die. Today DNA is being used as evidence. The
very hairs of a dead mans head and his blood and the like can speak.
Through disobedience Adam and Eve became enlightened. Because of their sin
they became aware of sin and so were conscience stricken before God.
The "Tree of the
knowledge of good and evil" is symbolic of the effects of disobedience and the
end of innocence.
The "Tree of
life" is symbolic of obedience and/or repentance. It speaks of righteous
living.
There are several places in the bible where God told his servants not to
warn the wicked, for He did not want them to repent. In the NT Jesus spoke in
parables so that only those who desired righteousness would understand. God 's
barring Adam from eating of the tree of life is symbolic of this same thing.
Adam had the ability to repent, but God wanted him to be punished and so
purposefully kept him from becoming aware of this fact.
Deut 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an
heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this
day.
Isa 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people,
Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive
not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears
heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert,
and be healed.
Luke 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of
the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that
seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
(KJV)
There is no such thing as "Original Sin." That doctrine is based on
erroneous interpretation.
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one
shall many be made
righteous.
How many people were made sinners by what Adam did? All? No! Many, not all.
How many were made righteous because of Christ? All? No!
All have sinned means every individual that has ever been born since the
time of Adam and Eve? No!
Look at the context.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God;
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which
is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly;
and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;
whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Rom 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of
circumcision?
(Rom 4:9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or
upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham
for righteousness.)
Rom. 3:9 What then? are we better than
they? No, in no wise: for we have before
proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under
sin;
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there
is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are
together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
(KJV)
Every verse here comes from the context. The "all have sinned," is speaking
of all nations, not necessarily every individual. Again, there is no scriptural
basis for the doctrine of "Original Sin.'
By investigating the source of Paul's quote of the OT, you will find there
are the generation of the righteous and that the wicked spoken of eat op God's
people as bread. This portrays righteous people as being present with those who
never did call on God etc. We know, for a fact, based on the Biblical record,
that many people have called on God and have lived righteous lives. Or we should
know this if we are free of unwarranted superstition that has been produced by
erroneous doctrines.
In Psalms 51 David refers to the sin of his mother along with his own sin.
She was of a lower caste then Jesse's other wives, for she had previously been
the wife or a pagan king. This is also why David was not called in when Samuel
went to Jesse's house to anoint the next king. Samuel had to ask if this was all
of his sons, then they went and called David in.
Children are all born with inherent
immortality.
In time, they sin, (and most do), they become dead in sins, or mortal. If
they die very early they go to be with God.
Jesus taught that we are to become as little children. If they are born
wicked sinners why would he want us to become like them?
Several places in the OT Israel is charged with the death of innocents. This
is in reference to their burning their children in a fire as a sacrifice to a
pagan God. Again, babies are born with inherent immortality and lose this when
they sin, just as Adam and Eve did. Adam brought death into this world, in the
sense of spiritual separation from God. He did not do anything that made us all
guilty before God at the time of our birth.
Immortality and life everlasting are not completely synonymous. Immortality
is basic to the human experience and is lost through sin. It means
deathlessness. It is tied to a basic spiritual experience of fellowship with
God. If one does not sin and goes on to walk with God and to know him in depth
they progress from the basic position of immortality into "life
everlasting." No awareness of God and no fellowship with Him equals
spiritual death. Life everlasting is a higher level of experience.
It is ultimately tied to our being in the very presence of God after shedding
our mortal bodies.
The following verses are used as proof texts for the doctrine of the
"Immortality of the Soul."
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince
which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time:
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every
one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in
the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as
the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as
the stars for ever and ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal
the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall be increased. (KJV)
Matt 25:45 "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you,
inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it
to Me.' 46 "And these will go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (NKJ)
John 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also,
because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming,
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they
sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and
which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received
his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the
dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
(KJV)
Here are excerpts from an essay by Lehman Strauss, Litt.D., F.R.G.S.
Biblical Studies Press 1997.
In them we have a well presented view of Immortality, including Death and
Hell as is accepted by many denominations. Not that I agree with every
point. However, I will use this as a basis for more comments.
Can We Believe in Immortality?
The word immortal means exemption from liability to death. That which is
immortal is not liable to death. History shows that wherever man has appeared
there has been the idea of a longer span of life than that between the cradle
and the grave. Only a few have dared to believe that death ends all and that
with the death of the body there is the death of the spirit and soul of man.
........
Through six millenniums of human history man has looked upon immortality as
a reality. Universally believed, it is the most indestructible of all instincts
and the most penetrating of all intuitions. We agree with Dr. Lockyer when he
said: "Without hesitation, affirm that the belief in a future state was derived
from a revelation made to our first parents by their Creator, and that it
traveled down the ages. The Hope of Immortality, resident within the breast of
both savages and saints, was planted there by Him who has no beginning or
end."..........
The Witness of the Bible
When we approach the Bible on the subject of immortality, it is well to have
in mind a few important facts that are basic and necessary to a proper
understanding of the subject. Nowhere in the Bible is the expression to be
found, "the immortality of the soul." Nor is there written anything about "the
immortal soul." We are not suggesting for a moment that Scripture teaches
anything about the sleep or annihilation of the soul at death. The thought of
the soul’s endless being is true enough, but it is not Scriptural language to
refer to "the immortality of the soul." The Word of God assumes the eternal
existence of every soul regardless of its destiny. Every man’s soul is immortal
and can never be annihilated. Jesus said:
"Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell" (Matthew
10:28).
Now those who teach "soul-sleep" would have us believe that their doctrine
is Biblical, when actually they have falsified the facts by their
misinterpretation of Scripture. Man can kill the body, but that is the worst he
can do. God alone can take hold of both body and soul and condemn them.
Three Kinds of Death
It is true we read: "The soul that
sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4), but neither here nor elsewhere in
Scripture does a reference to the soul dying mean a state of non-existence, or
even one of unconsciousness. The Bible teaches that there are three kinds of
death and it distinguishes clearly between each. First, there is physical death,
or the separation of the soul from the body. This is the death of the body to
which reference was made in Hebrews 9:27, "It is appointed unto men once to
die." Second, the Bible teaches that there is a spiritual death. This is the
separator of the soul from God, the condition of all unbelievers of whom Paul
says they are "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1), and "alienated from
the life of God" (Ephesians 4:18). Third, there is eternal death or banishment
from God. All who suffer eternal death are conscious, but "shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians
1:9), these "have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).
The Immortal Becomes a Mortal
The words "immortal" and "immortality" when used in Scripture in reference
to man find their application to the body. The body of our first parent, as God
created him, was an immortal body created to endless existence. God had warned
Adam and Eve against eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, saying: "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"
(Genesis 2:17). In spite of the Lord’s warning, they disobeyed, and immediately
death began its work in the body. The immortal had put on mortality. Paul says:
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin" (Romans
5:12). So then, says the writer to the Hebrews, "It is appointed unto men once
to die" (Hebrews 9:27). And again we read in First Corinthians, "In Adam all
die" (1 Corinthians 15:22). Over all of the human race, having received its
natural life from Adam, hangs the sentence of death. Mortality is the curse upon
our race as the result of sin and is the saddest fact in world history. The body
of man does not possess immortality by nature, but he is a mortal being--subject
to death.
Deliverance from Mortality
The purpose of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ was to offer redemption
to the fallen race. No mortal could have done this. The dead cannot impart life.
The only way that man could escape the sentence of death was by "the appearing
of our Lord Jesus . . . Who only hath immortality" (1 Timothy 6:14, 16). The
soul of man, though retaining endless existence, became morally degenerate.
After the fall, his body became corruptible, and his spirit lost all
relationship with God. But a glorious truth is given us by the Apostle Paul. He
says: "The appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10). O
wondrous thought! The Immortal One became mortal, "obedient unto death"
(Philippians 2:8), that He might redeem man’s soul, restore his spirit to right
relation with God and make his body heir to incorruptibility. This is the
triumph of the cross of Christ. By His death and resurrection from the grave our
Lord "abolished death." He was willing to be clothed with mortality "that
through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the
devil" (Hebrews 2:14). "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Eternal Life and Immortality
It seems to the writer that the subject under consideration is made clearer
as we see a difference between eternal life and immortality. The terms are not
synonymous. The moment one trusts Jesus Christ for salvation he receives
everlasting life. This is God’s gift bestowed to the sinner upon his acceptance
of Jesus Christ as his own personal Saviour from sin. "He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). "He that believeth on Me hath
everlasting life" (John 6:47). "But these are written, that ye might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through His Name" (John 20:31). The glorious work of redemption for sinners is
effective in any individual just as soon as he is born again, but it cannot be
correctly stated that at that moment the soul became immortal. As a matter of
fact the soul never lost its immortality. ............
By the first Adam came mortality and death, and by the Last Adam came life
and immortality.
"Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of
them that slept . . . But every man in his own order; Christ the firstfruits,
afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming" (1 Corinthians 15:20,
23).
As every child of Adam dies, so will every child of God be raised never to
die again.
Much of what has been said here is solid. Now, I will interject my
differences of opinion. (My opinion?)
I am aware of no scriptures that teach us that Adam's physical body only
became subject to physical death because of sin. His physical body was never
immortal. To quote the scripture that says "It is appointed unto men once to
die" (Hebrews 9:27). Must be taken in context.
Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest
entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26 For then must
he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto
men once to die, but after this the
judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear
the sins of many; and unto them that
look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
(KJV)
Men are to only die one time, that was the original appointed plan, but then
Adam sinned... now there is a 2nd death.
How many did Jesus bear the sins for? Many, not all.
Immortality has to do only with the spiritual aspect of our existence. I am
not aware of any sentence of physical death produced by Adam's sin. He introduce
spiritual death. All who are of Adam, which is to say, all who sin as he did,
die, spiritually. All who are of Christ, which is to say, all who are born again
from above, (which is to say, are given immortality), never die.
Brother Strauss believes otherwise. He associates immortality with the
physical body only. The Jews interpreted Job as seeing God in the end without
his flesh. We say he sees God in the end in his flesh. ??
Those who do not know God have never seen him. Those who are righteous are
said to have seen Him. In St. John Jesus said those who are born of the spirit
can see the Kingdom, but then added that those who are born of both water and
spirit, both see and enter. In each of these propositions it is the sprit realm
that is the subject, not the physical. The instructions are earthly, but the
effects are spiritual. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but
righteousness peace and joy in the holy spirit. It is an in heart situation. It
was the Jews who had a fantastic expectation of an earthly utopia, not the
Church.
2 Tim 1:9 ... who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in
virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he
gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, 10 and now has manifested through the
appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel. (RSV)
By abolishing death through the resurrection, Christ revealed immortality.
However, just what is meant here? There is a question. The text says he brought
life. Everyone he dealt with were already living. They had life. The life he
brought was said by him to be like a river of life coming up from inside, and
those who drank of it would never thirst again. So what about this immortality?
Is this a redundancy? The actual term here in the Greek means purity.
1 Cor 15:53 For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall
be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory. (KJV)
This verse can be read like this. "
"This filthy soul must put on purity and genuineness and this
spiritually dead man must put on life ever lasting.
For when this filthy soul has become purified, and after this spiritually dead
person has been clothed with ever lasting life,
then it shall come to pass what was written, Death is swallowed up in
victory."
The emphasis must be put on the inner man not on this physical realm.
Christians have been ruling this world by their righteous influence, because
they have no fear of physical death. Unfortunately, even this is not
understood.
The Bible speaks of God being immortal.
It also teaches that it is He alone who is immortal. The question then
arises: If this is true then how do we ever gain immortality? God gives His
inherent immortality to those who are righteous. To emphasize the fact that God
alone is immortal to the point of teaching that there is no continuing existence
for the wicked is contradictory. God gave us all immortality through Christ's
resurrection and every child in their innocence has also been given it. For we
are all in him, of Him and by Him. The holy breath of God is the source of our
immortality.
Again - Babies are inherently immortal at the time of their birth. God has
breathed into them immortality at the time of conception. This happens in the
womb or in a petri dish.
Whenever the sperm and the egg unite God has breathed into that combination
immortality. This immortality is not limited to just the physical life of that
small human being beyond that point of conception. If this embryo fails to
survive that child still exists in the very presence of God.
David and others have spoken of God knowing them while they were in the
womb. You could question just when or at what stage of development God begins to
recognize that child, - I will not. The term "conception," in the archaic sense,
means beginning. A child's life begins at conception.
Paul said that we all, both the righteous and the wicked, live and have our
being in God. God is immortal, and He is even more, for He is eternal. There are
those who sorrow over a miscarriage as if a child had died. The truth is, a
child does die during a miscarriage, but only in the physical sense.
Is there any place where God is not?
David said there is not. This means, that in some sense, just on the basis
of this simple statement and truth, we are all immortal. Again, we all are in
Him and we all have our being in Him, and without Him there is nothing. This
could be stated like this:
As long as God exists there will never be the
complete absence of anything that He has created.
In addition to this we now know that as long as there is some DNA of a long
dead person around, that theoretically a clone of that individual could be
created. Who is to say that the spiritual essence of any individual ever ceases
to exist? Yes, they are destroyed and do cease to exist on one level, but
.......?
On the atomic level things only cease to exist relative to form - there is
no end, or absence, or cessation, of the particles that made up that form.
As an introduction to the following let me refer you to these
passages.
Luke 13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall
see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of
God, and you yourselves thrust out.
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For
without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and
idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. (KJV)
In these texts there are two types of people existing as contemporaries, but
they are in two complete different states of existence. Note that it is those
who obey who have access to the tree of life. One type of people are on the
inside of a precious kingdom, while the others are on the outside, weeping and
gnashing their teeth. Those on the outside know, they are conscious of their
situation relative to the others. Again -
Those on the outside are conscious and very aware of what is going on
inside this wonderful city.
Those who are on the inside are very much alive, while those who are
on the outside are still very dead.
This portrayal is not limited to the existence of an
earthly city. This is speaking of both this life and of our existence after we
die. There is only one kingdom and it is a spiritual unending kingdom. It is
present, for it arrived in the first century. However, we who are alive only
have a small portion. As long as we live we will be clothed with mortality. Our
death removes mortality and our immortal being is then completely united in
every sense with God.
For the wicked, they too are clothed in mortality and
become unclothed at the time of death, but they are never united with God and
so, even though they never cease to exist and are immortal, they are still dead,
by being separated from true life.
The resurrection involves both the wicked and the
righteous. One is raised to die, while the other is raised to be made a
live.
The following is from a
previous article
GOD IS JUST
And his actions toward mankind is in keeping with the laws he has given
us.
Is there fitting punishment for every evil deed? This is the question
that is being produced by those who say there will not be any lasting punishment
after death for the wicked.
God is no respecter of persons.
We have reason to believe that God has never forced anyone to do anything
that was either evil or righteous. God has means other then force.
Christ himself had a choice. Any who have been forced to do an evil act
are guiltless.
The penalties that God exacts necessarily demands the following
-
1. That every individual who has transgressed was capable of obeying and
yet did not.
2. That disobedience is the result of not willing to obey when one could,
but yet did not.
3. That when God chose certain ones, based on a pre set standard, for
destruction before the worlds were framed - he did so on the basis of
righteousness, love, and necessity and his foreknowledge.
The Scriptures do not teach us that God knows every finite detail of the
future. It does teach us that He does foreknow in incomprehensible detail and
does ordain certain events and then brings them to pass, no matter what. He
handles the contingencies that are produced by free moral agents. When this is
denied there is a can or worms opened that cannot be closed by taking scriptures
as they read.
4. That because God is righteous and has given us laws that we can obey
it is evident that a just sentence demands that the wickedly disobedient be
punished after death, in part, because all die, both the just and unjust
alike.
5. That - since we never will lose our ability to choose, there is good
reason to believe that the knowledge and influence of a place of endless
separation from God will help to insure the tranquility of the
universe.
6. That the forever separation of the wicked from God is an act of
unmerited favor for all.
It is evident that the fire involved in forever punishment is torture,
but it is not literal fire. Rather it is the illumination of the conscious of
those who are lost. The death spoken of very often in the bible is the
separation of the living from the dead, not the cessation of existence. Even
while living the wicked are dead and estranged from God.
Very often people are tormented because they have violated their own
conscience. Several doctors, who are involved in mental health, have said that a
guilty conscience is a primary reason for mental sickness.
By allowing the wicked to exist and be tormented through an unavoidable,
constant illumination of their mind would be similar to what many have already
experienced in this life. To escape this illumination many use drugs and
alcohol. There are accounts of several wicked rulers, and others, who have
appeared to be demented and who had seizures where they would rage
uncontrollably, or fall down in a fit and chew on the carpet, etc. Hitler and
Mohammed come to mind. I have known of others. It may be that hell is nothing
more then the continuation of their existence in such a state. If this is so
they would have some good days, for these would be needed to remind them of
where they are and how it could have been. In any case their continued existence
would be an exhibit of the grace of God. Their continued awareness of their
punishment would necessarily go on for ages and ages. This would be because
their sin against such a benevolent God demands such. To sin against an equal
demands a certain level of punishment. To sin against the hand that feeds you
and holds your life in their hand demands a far greater level of
punishment.
When life
holds the potential of being un-ending the value of it is beyond
comprehension.
To destroy
this potential demands that an unfathomable and un-ending penalty be
required.
The liberal mind of today has lost its understanding of Justice. The wicked
are given preference over the upright and law abiding.
It is this same influence that is producing the misunderstanding of the
necessity of continual punishment of those who have sinned against an infinite
benevolent God.
Too many honest guards will now give their lives to keep
killers incarcerated. This will not happen in God's presence, for the
salvation of God's elect will be further preserved.
Rom 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Eph 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who
works all things according to the counsel of His will, (NKJ)
The Reality of Ages of
Punishment.
Now, before we go back to the beginning, look closely at the two verses
above. Christ is the example and the first born among many who are to be just
like him. They too have an inheritance that is similar to His.
Question: What is the inheritance of the wicked? Is
their inheritance to cease to exist at the time of their death?
If they are to cease to exist at some future point in time, are they
meanwhile to be in some form of torment? If they are to be punished or
tormented, how long is it to last?
Now let us go back again to God's dealing with one of the first who was born
of Adam and Eve, "Cain."
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of
the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But
unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and
his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and
why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well,
shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.
And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in
the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the
LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I
my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy
brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now
art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy
brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it
shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a
fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain
said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou
hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; andfrom thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a
fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every
one that findeth me shall slay me. 15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore
whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the
LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
(KJV)
First, it should be obvious to most that God is just and honest. On this
basis we should understand that Cain knew what he was to do relative to obeying
God and yet he did not. Then after having been found in sin God still dealt with
him and told him what he needed to do to correct the situation. He was told that
if he did what was right he would be accepted. He was also told that he must
overcome sin. God laid the complete responsibility on Cain, and made no
reference to any form of inherited sin. Then God went on to curse Cain after he
killed Abel. He made that curse last for the length of Cain's life. This time
was tied to his life here on this earth. He was to be from that point on a
fugitive, etc.
This is prolonged punishment. It had nothing to do with being tormented
in a literal fire. Still, Cain would carry with him the knowledge of why and
this would create a burning conscience.
God later would deal with the nation of Israel in like manner. They would
be driven away from their land and allowed to return and eventually destroyed
from the earth to be a nation no more. Numerous times individuals were to suffer
and become slaves to others because of their sins as had happened to that
nation. Eventually and end would come, but even then, those who followed Judaism
would repeatedly suffer and become a curse to the world.
In the context of God's dealing with Cain we find there is no provision
made other then repentance. Failure to repent produces a curse, and the curse
entails punishment, and the punishment lasts for a life time.
Going back to Adam we see that He was to die in the day that he sinned.
God does not lie so we know that Adam's death meant separation from God. Adam's
sin earned him a lifetime of punishment. Adam and Eve no longer walked with God
and they were forced out of the Garden.
In my approach to this subject, so far, I have not referred to the
various meanings of words that are interpreted "punishment." The definitions of
words should not be used to set aside the numerous examples where God punishes
people for their sins.
Very often when ending an exposition where it has been taught that
ultimately God does not punish the wicked beyond the time of their death, and
other then by their death, most theologians mention their subjective aversion to
torment. They admit they cannot envision their God, who is both just and loving,
as demanding torture in a fire or any form of punishment that lasts for ages and
ages. I would say they need a reality check.
Very often some very intelligent individuals have followed this path and
it has to be because they are motivated by their emotions, not objectivity. The
absence of the punishment of the wicked, while they are in a conscious state,
following physical death, is based on wishful thinking.
There are more and more doctors and researchers who admit there is some
sort of consciousness after death.
Torture, punishment, retribution, and the like are common to the human
experience. The forms of punishment should be questioned, but not the need. I am
saying this on the basis of Biblical examples.
What did US soldiers in W.W.II think, about the need of ages and ages of
punishment, who arrived at any one of the concentration camps, where thousands
of people had been starved to death, tortured and used for inhumane
experiments?
In one case a US soldier, of small stature, who was watching some of the
German guards, that had been rounded up, at one such terrible place, was manning
a machine gun. When his superior officer left for a minute this man began to
weep and shot at them until his officer had to knock him off of his gun. Several
Germans were killed some were wounded, most were not even hit.
In connection with this act let me ask: -
Did Hitler get his due by just turning a gun upon
himself, or by his drinking poison? Was that all there was to his justice. He
was paid for his actions completely by nothing more then his death? He suffered
all of the retribution God had ever promised to the wicked by his taking his own
life?
To think this is true does not fit biblical
statements. The wicked are to suffer in a manner similar to, or in keeping with,
the justice required of their acts of wickedness.
How does God punish those who have been responsible for the killing of
hundreds, possibly even millions, of people after their having previously
tortured them unmercifully? The cessation of one life is all that is required?
Nonsense!
The end of their existence is said to be sufficient, by more and more
theologians. Where are their heads? They have succumbed to some sort of fantasy
world. The scriptures do not support their position and it is producing more
carelessness. They need a reality check.
How can we justify the thought that hundreds of
lives that all had the potential of living for ages and ages in the presence of
God are not of any more value, in the sense of a just penalty, then the complete
destruction and cessation of the life of one wicked
individual.
David said his feet almost slipped when he considered the
prosperity of the wicked.
The truth is innumerable wicked people have lived
and died in relative peace and prosperity. When and where are they to be
punished?
This question cannot be answered sufficiently, by referring to physical
death alone, unless life here is held to be the ultimate experience. Said
another way - If we cherish this life to the point of idolatry then we can
honestly say that death alone is sufficient punishment for every sin.
However, if we believe that the spiritual realm and
life after death is the ultimate goal, then the physical death of the wicked
cannot be sufficient punishment.
Suicidal individuals seek and escape. Most are unbelieving individuals.
The results of their suicidal act is hidden from them, for one reason or
another. Their thinking ability has been numbed by circumstances. Depression has
them in its control. Many have come to believe there is no after life. Will they
ever be punished? Their ceasing to exist, is their hope.
Punishment necessarily demands conscious realization and feeling. No
consciousness, and/or the absence of awareness and feeling, necessarily prevents
punishment. The beating of a dead man accomplishes nothing.
Punishment is an act of the unmerited favor of God. For anyone to be
removed from receiving their due would be an act of injustice and wickedness.
The genuine act of repentance changes the situation. Genuine repentance is both
an act of faith and righteousness. Faith is accepted as righteousness by God.
The absence of genuine repentance, as a rule, is the same as an absence of
faith. God alone has the power to abrogate the need of punishment and He does
this when genuine faith and repentance are chosen.
The following biblical quotes are foundational to this topic.
Luke 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not
himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be
beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is
given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have
committed much, of him they will ask the more. (KJV)
Matt 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord,
I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and
gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid
thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord
answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest
that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27 Thou
oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my
coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the
talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto
every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him
that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting.
Luke 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is
comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luke 17:1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that
offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2 It were better
for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea,
than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7 To them who
by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and
immortality, eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not
obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that
doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Prov 1:27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh
as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they
call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me
early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated
knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my
counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31 Therefore
shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own
devices.
II Th 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense
tribulation to them that trouble you; (KJV)
They are to eat the fruit of their own way. This theme
is repeated several times in the bible. Cessation of existence cannot be equated
with the punishment pointed to in the bible.
While on this subject it should be remembered that any wicked act against
another human is a wicked act against God. We are all made in God's image. The
unwarranted protection of, or the prevention of the punishment of, the wicked is
putting their consideration before and above that of God.
To defend the wicked, and to be squeamish concerning the meting out of
righteous punishment, is to insult God.
V. M.
Charles Finney taught the following -
Should a moral agent refuse to choose that as an ultimate end which is of no
intrinsic value, he would thereby contract no guilt, because he would violate no
obligation.
But should he refuse to will the good of God and of his neighbor, he would
violate an obligation, and of course contract guilt.
This shows that guilt attaches to the violation of obligation, and that a
thing is blameworthy because it is the violation of an obligation.
We have seen that sin is selfishness, that it consists in preferring
self-gratification to the infinite interests of God and of the universe.
We have also seen that obligation is founded in the intrinsic value of that
good which moral agents ought to will to God and to the universe, and is equal
to the affirmed value of that good.
We have also seen that every moral agent, by a law of his own reason,
necessarily affirms that God is infinite, and that the endless happiness and
well-being of God and of the universe, is of infinite value.
Hence it follows, that refusal to will this good is a violation of infinite
or unlimited obligation, and, consequently involves unlimited guilt.
It is as certain that the guilt of any sin is unlimited, as that obligation
to will the good of God and of the universe is unlimited.
To deny consistently that the guilt of sin is unlimited, it must be shown,
that obligation to will good to God is limited.
To maintain consistently this last, it must be shown, that moral agents have
not the idea that God is infinite.
Indeed, to deny that the guilt of sin is in any
instance less than boundless, is as absurd as to deny the guilt of sin
altogether.
Having shown that moral obligation is founded in the intrinsic value of the
highest well-being of God and of the universe, that it is always equal to the
soul's knowledge of the value of those interests, and having shown also, that
every moral agent necessarily has the idea more or less clearly developed, that
the value of those interests is infinite, it follows that the law is infinitely
unjust, if its penal sanctions are not endless.
Law must be just in two respects:
1. the precept must be in accordance with the law of nature, and
-
2. the penalty must be equal to the importance of the precept.
That which has not these two peculiarities is not just, and therefore, is
not and cannot be law.
Either, then, God has no law, or its penal sanctions
are endless.
That the penal sanctions of the law of God are endless, is evident from the
fact, that a less penalty would not exhibit as high motives as the nature of the
case admits, to restrain sin and promote virtue.
Natural justice demands that God should exhibit as high motives to secure
obedience as the value of the law demands and the nature of the case
admits.
The tendency of sin to perpetuate and aggravate itself, affords another
strong inference, that the sinfulness and misery of the wicked will be
eternal.
The fact, that punishment has no tendency to originate disinterested love in
a selfish mind towards him who inflicts the punishment, also affords a
strong presumption, that future punishment will be endless.
BUT LET US EXAMINE THIS QUESTION IN THE LIGHT OF
REVELATION.
The Bible, in a great many ways, represents the future punishment of the
wicked as endless, and never once represents it otherwise. It expresses the
duration of the future punishment of the wicked by the same terms, and, in every
way, as forcibly as it expresses the duration of the future happiness of the
righteous. I will here introduce, without comment, some passages of scripture
confirmatory of this last remark.
"The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of
the wicked shall perish" (Proverbs 10:28).
"When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish; and the hope of
unjust men perisheth" (Proverbs 11:7).
"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some
to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt"
(Daniel 12:2).
"Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me
no drink. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal" (Matthew 25:41, 42, 46).
"And if thy hand offend thee, cut, it off: it is better for thee to
enter into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire
that never shall be quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched" (Mark 9:43, 44).
"Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor; and
will gather the wheat into His garner; but the chaff He will burn with fire
unquenchable" (Luke 3:17).
"And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf
fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you, cannot; neither
can they pass to us, that would come from thence" (Luke 16:26).
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him" (John 3:36).
"And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall
be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power" (2 Thessalonians
1:7-9).
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness,
unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorra, and the cities
about them, in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going
after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of
everlasting fire. Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own
shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness
forever" (Jude 6, 7, 13).
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or
in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is
poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels,
and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up
forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the
beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name" (Revelation
14:9-11).
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be
tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation
20:10).
But there is scarcely any end to the multitude of passages that teach
directly, or by inference, both the fact and the endlessness of the future
punishment of the wicked.
(I do not necessarily agree with every point Finney makes, however, it is
a good thing to ponder on. Again - It should be noted that
annihilation removes both shame and punishment.
Cessation of existence removes the
object, so there is nothing left to shame nor is there anything to punish.
Consciousness is also absent and without it there is no punishment. Annihilation
is an escape from judgment and this is sought by those who commit suicide. The
meaning of the various words that are used must be understood by perusing the
context. To dismiss the thought of their being ages and ages of punishment in
the future for the wicked is to hide ones head in the sand.
Vern Manson. Reedited - Wednesday, 23 2002.)