Part 1 — A Hell Trilogy
By: General James Green
One Pastor Confesses
“I USED TO BELIEVE AND TEACH what is still generally believed that sinners will be tormented for all eternity in Hell.” This pastor continues: “On the basis of what the Scriptures actually say on that subject I no longer believe that.” What this pastor now believes is annihilation.
“Rather than being tormented forever in Hell, the scriptures profusely and clearly state that they will be destroyed and experience a second death.” This pastor then quotes Matt. 3:12 as his proof text for annihilation of the wicked.
I’ve dealt with this subject in other articles, but let me take time to add a bit more info. for our readers.
I personally would like to believe in annihilation of the wicked but scripture, if studied carefully, disproves it.
“But when he saw a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Offspring of snakes, at whose word are you going in flight from the wrath to come? Let your change of heart be seen in your works: And say not to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; because I say to you that God is able from these stones to make children for Abraham. And even now the axe is put to the root of the trees; every tree then which does not give good fruit is cut down, and put into the fire. Truly, I give baptism with water to those of you whose hearts are changed; but he who comes after me is greater than I, whose shoes I am not good enough to take up: he will give you baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire: In whose hand is the instrument with which he will make clean his grain; he will put the good grain in his store, but the waste will be burned up in the fire which will never be put out” (Matt. 3:7-12).
Those who hold to the idea of annihilation claim it is unfortunate that the Church has been misled by the experience of being burned into associating fire with pain. One Bible scholar / pastor wrote: “The main function of fire is not to cause pain, but to secure destruction, as all the world’s incinerators bear witness” (John Stott, Evangelical Essentials; Fudge, The Fire That Consumes).
There are several Biblical texts that appear to teach annihilation. Fire surely does cause pain but taking into consideration that God is FIRE, and He lives eternally, everlastingly!
If you find the wicked will suffer in Hell Eternally view emotionally intolerable, this will not change the fact. Scripture, not emotions must be our authority.
Language Factor
OUR FRIENDS TAKE THE LANGUAGE/ vocabulary factor as “proof” to teach the final state of perdition: Destroy; Consume; Perish; Burn up etc. are all misinterpreted. (I deal with this on page 27 in our Hell, A Hideous Reality booklet—Hell Book 1).
Matthew 10:28 is a favorite about DESTROYING both soul and body in hell. Stott comments: “If to kill is to deprive the body of life, hell would seem to be the deprivation of both physical and spiritual life, that is, an extinction of being” (Ibid).
John 3:16 is also pointed out as Stott and others insist that we take the Biblical language of DESTRUCTION and PERISHING at face value. Stott writes: “It would seem strange, therefore, if people who are said to suffer destruction are in fact not destroyed” (Ibid). Good point, but Stott must have missed Rev. 19:19-20, “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, come together to make war against him who was seated on the horse and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who did the signs before him, by which they were turned from the true way who had the mark of the beast, and who gave worship to his image: these two were put living into the sea of ever-burning fire.”
If we’re to take this at “face value”, the beast being captured along with the false prophet, these two being thrown ALIVE INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE…. and we read in cpt. 20:1-8 where Satan is captured, bound in the Abyss (bottomless pit), released and later thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown (v. 10). Now dear friend, note the following: “They (beast, false prophet, Satan) WILL BE TORMENTED DAY and NIGHT FOREVER and EVER” (v. 10). No mention of annihilation, destruction, perishing, extinction, not a word—only TORMENT forever and ever!!
We also find those whose names were not written in the book of life were also thrown into the lake of fire (20:15).
I don’t want to cover all that I’ve written beforehand so let us now concentrate on Matt. 3:12.
“Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (v. 12).
Is the above Scripture an open and closed case for annihilationism?
While it is true that some view it as an open and closed case, others do not dogmatize it, they hold the position tentatively. They plead for frank dialogue on the basis of other “conflicting” Scriptures—like the ones I just gave in Revelation. They present the idea that annihilation should at least be accepted as being potentially true.
Scholars like Edward Fudge, Philip Hughes, Stephen Travis and John Wenham affirm without apology annihilationism (see Hughes, The True Image—1989; Wenham’s, “The Case for Conditional Immortality” on Universalism and The Doctrine of Hell—1992; Travis’, I believe in the Second Coming of Jesus—1982; and Fudge’s, The Fire That Consumes—1982).
Fan is in His Hand (Matt. 3:13)
LET US EXPLORE A BIT about what John was speaking about. John was addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees (v. 7) that came to John’s baptism. After calling them a “choice” name—vipers—John asked “who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” What wrath? Eternal destruction / annihilation? Or did John have something else in mind? Granted, the religious leaders who were a serpentine brood, from a serpentine stock, as their fathers were, certainly deserved Hell!
The Jews were the seed of the serpent, who should bruise the heel of the woman’s seed (Jesus), and whose head should be bruised by Him (see Gen. 3:14, 15). We know this much already.
John proceeds to rebuke them for thinking within themselves that they were children of Abraham (v. 9), entitled to God’s favor. This too was enough to send them to Hell.
Axe is Laid (v. 10)
NOW WE COME to the heart of the matter.
The WRATH (v. 7) John was speaking about was that wrath which was to come upon the Jewish nation for all their wickedness. Jesus later told them the same things: their temple was to be leveled; the nation scattered. Even the prophet Malachi spoke of both reconciliation after heart repentance, and potential severe judgment. (Note: No believer in Christ was destroyed in the 70 A.D. destruction; only unrepentant Jews—Malachi 4:6.) Note the words Malachi uses: “…lest I come and smite the land with a curse.” The Amp. Bible adds: “[and a ban of utter destruction].” Also note 4:1 in which the prophet foretells about “the day comes that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud and arrogant, yes, and all that do wickedly and are lawless shall be stubble (not annihilated!!); the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them (the Jews) neither root nor branch” (see also Isa. 5:21-25).
Most will argue that Mal. 4:1 refers to Matt. 3:12.
The Day Cometh (Mal. 4:1)
THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM by the Romans…“all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly” is in reference to 3:1—“the proud…that work wickedness, they that tempt God.”
“The day that cometh shall burn them up” a figure of speech referring to destruction, not by fire literally (although some died this way) but a proverbial expression intended to express a horrible destruction, which Jerusalem certainly experienced!
“And ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall” (v. 2). It has been reported that the Christians left Jerusalem before the destruction started, not a life was lost. It was reported and recorded that after Cestius Gallus had blockaded the city for many days, he suddenly lifted it. No one knows why, but this gave the believing Christians the chance to escape to the hills as Jesus had said during His ministry days. They went to Pella, in Caelosyria, so no Christian lost their life in that dreadful siege and destruction.
“And ye shall tread down the wicked” (v. 3), this was the orders given to Roman soldiers, set the city on fire, and let the ashes be trodden under your feet.
“…I come and smite the earth with a curse” (v. 6). The Hebrew word for “curse” is “cherem” which means “utter destruction; a doomed object.” So, the Amp. Bible is correct when it places in brackets [“and a ban of utter destruction”].
Even though “utter destruction” is used we don’t find extinction or annihilation. Jerusalem was destroyed as a city, 10’s of 1,000’s were killed but many lived, driven, scattered among other nations, but not completely annihilated.
Back to Matt. 3:12
LEADING UP TO VERSE 12, verse 10 speaks of “the axe is laid unto the root of the trees.” It was customary of the prophets to represent the kingdoms, nations, and individuals, whose RUIN they predicted, to be “forests” and “trees,” doomed to be CUT DOWN (see Jer. 6:22-23: “The sound [of Egypt fleeing from the enemy] is like the rustling of an escaping serpent, for her foes advance with a mighty army, and come against her with axes, like those who fell trees and cut wood. They shall cut down her forest, says the Lord…” See also Ezek. 31:3, 11, 12).
The Baptist proceeds to prophesy that “every tree (individual) which bringeth not forth good (holy) fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” He directed these words at the prideful and wicked religious leaders. The metaphor: the axe was the Romans, the Jewish nation was the tree, which, by God’s judgment, was about to be cut down—this came about in 70 A.D.
It was customary and well observed, (by allusion) that woodsmen, who, having marked a tree for excision, lay their axes at the root, and strips off his outer garment, that he / they may wield his / their blows more powerfully, that the work may be quickly performed—Jerusalem was already marked for cutting!!
Go back some 60 years before the coming of Jesus the Christ, Israel’s Messiah (later to become the Gentiles’), this axe had been lying at the root of the Jewish tree, Judea having been made a province to the Roman empire, from the time of Ramsey, who took that beautiful city (see Josephus, Antiq. 1. xiv. c, 1-5).
I would suggest any readers to obtain (if possible) The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus: The Wars of the Jews: V = From the coming of Titus to besiege Jerusalem to the great extremity to which the Jews were reduced; VI = From the great extremity to the taking of Jerusalem by Titus; VII = From the taking of Jerusalem by Titus to the sedition of the Jews at Cyrene—these are worth examining.
Josephus tells us that the whole multitude of the Jews that were destroyed during the entire 7 years before the end came were 1,337, 490 persons. The number of those that were, carried captive during this whole war was 97,000; the number of those who perished during the whole siege (not the number of the whole war itself) was 11,000, “the greater part of whom were indeed of the same nation, [with the citizens of Jerusalem] but not belonging to the city itself (pg. 587). So, we see when the phrase “utter destruction” is used, it did not and does not mean annihilation by any means.
The Fan Metaphor (v. 12)
AGAIN, the Romans were God’s fan (as axe in v. 10).
Jesus spoke a parable (22:1-7) about a marriage of a certain king’s son (alluding to Himself), the bidden would not come (most of the Jewish nation), slew the bidders, angered the king (God), the king in return sent forth HIS ARMIES (the Romans), destroyed (not annihilated) the murderers, and burned up their city (Jerusalem). We know all this happened but neither ALL the people nor ALL the city was completely eradicated.
John spoke of the Roman armies being the fan that fanned the fires of destruction (3:12)
His Floor (v. 12)
THIS MEANT THE LAND OF JUDEA, which had been long, as it were the threshing-floor of the Lord’….by the Roman armies He would THROUGHLY CLEANSE this floor, not eradicate it… the wheat who were those believers in Jesus the Christ, He will gather “into the garners”, placing them in a safe place (as He did by sending the Christians to Pella, in Caelosyria) before the destruction of Jerusalem.
Burn UP the Chaff (v. 12)
THE CHAFF = the prideful, wicked, the disobedient. Make no mistake, God will not tolerate the wicked forever, nor will He take the rebellious to heaven as some teach, i.e., universalism (all will eventually be saved). HA! Good thought, bad theology!
The “unquenchable fire” (like that of the Lake of fire) will not be extinguished by man.
The fires of Hell will never die out nor will the souls of men be annihilated.
In Isa. 66:24 we read, “…for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched…”
The above words—“their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched”—are applied by Jesus in Mark 9:43, to express the everlasting punishment (not annihilation) of the wicked in Gehenna (Gk), Hell (English). We all know that Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom, was southeast of Jerusalem: It was the place of idolatry whereby the Jews celebrated the rite of child-burning—sacrificing them to the demon god Moloch (see 2 Kings 23:10, 14). This place also was a place where both dead animals were thrown and where the common people were buried.
Jesus used metaphors in His sermons, such as paradise = Abraham’s bosom or heaven. He uses “fire” both in a figurative and literal sense to express certain truths.
When studying the Scriptures on Hell, punishment and torment, there are, as honest scholars admit, something that cannot possibly have any conception of them, but by analogy from worldly objects. In like manner Jesus expressed the place of TORMENT (not annihilation) under the image of Gehenna; and the punishment of the wicked by the worm (in Isaiah) which these preyed on the carcasses, and the fire that consumed the victims (bones were not consumed, only the flesh!—so we can’t say the victims were annihilated).
Although the fire and worms did their work, this was merely done to the body, not the soul or spirit of the victims – what happens to them?
Literally vs. Figuratively
COMPARING THE NATURAL to the spiritual or invisible place of Gehenna (Hell), the difference is that in the literal, transient: the worm itself which preys upon the body, eventually dies; and the fire which consumes it, is soon extinguished. But as long as the victim’s body lasts, both fire and worm lives:– whereas in the figurative Gehenna, the instruments of punishment shall be EVERLASTING, as Isaiah stated, and the suffering without end!
We know that as long as Hinnom’s dump had refuse in it, it smoked and burned – think about the Lake of Fire (in Revelations) that never goes out. Why? Because the wicked will never be annihilated—ever!!…so the fire continues forever.
Emblematical Images
THESE EMBLEMATICAL IMAGES, expressing heaven / paradise and Hell / fire / torment / punishment, were in use among Jews way before the coming of Jesus; and in using them He complied with their notions.
Eating Bread—Enduring Fire
A CERTAIN JEW said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the Kingdom of God (KOG)”—Luke 14:15.
And in regard to Gehenna, the Chaldee paraphrase renders “everlasting” or “continual burning” by “the Gehenna of everlasting fire.” Isaiah 30:33 speaks of Tophet (the valley also called Hinnom) as “deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood: the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.” (See also the Chaldee on Isa. 33:14 where “mokedey olam” is rendered “the Gehenna of everlasting fire.”) It is noted, here the place where the Assyrian army was destroyed is called Tophet by a metonymy, for the Assyrian army was destroyed probably at a greater distance from Jerusalem, and quite on the opposite side of it.
And before his time the son of Sirach (chapter 7:17) had said, “The vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms.”
It is also pointed out in the book of Judith (16:17): “Woe to the nations rising up against my kindred. The Lord Almighty will take vengeance of them in the day of judgment, in putting fire and worms in their flesh.”
Place of Apostates
ISAIAH 66:24 SPEAKS of the true worshippers of God will look upon the “dead bodies of men that have rebelled against me (God).” The fate of the wicked will be the same today and forever (see also Enoch 26 and 27 for the apocalyptist’s description of the place). The proximity of the place of blessedness of the place of suffering and torment is encountered in later apocalyptic also (see Luke 16:23-26).
No doubt Isaiah who penned 66:24 was referring to the physical / visible trash dump, but also was portraying Hell’s fire, also physical but invisible in the future. Take note of his wording: “for their worm SHALL NOT DIE, their fire SHALL NOT BE QUENCHED.”
The mutilation and destruction of the body was particularly offensive to the ancient Hebrew: “And they shall be an abhorrence.” The noun occurs here and in Daniel 12:2 which reads this: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to EVERLASTING LIFE and some to shame and EVERLASTING CONTEMPT and ABHORRENCE” (Amp. Bible). There is NO WAY one can say the righteous live everlasting or forever or eternally, and then, using the same word—EVERLASTING—say it means annihilation of the wicked. That is just plain DISHONEST!!
Both the righteous and the wicked LIVE FOREVER—the righteous with God and the redeemed; the unrighteous separated from God but with all the UNREDEEMED in HELL’S FIRE!!! This is honest Bible exegesis. (The LXX reads “a spectacle”; the Vulgate, ad satietatem visionis.)
No Contradiction
JESUS nor any of the N.T. authors contradicted the O.T. authors.
Jesus’ teaching about the wheat / chaff (Matt. 3:12) portrays a reality: Wheat = God’s saved people gathered into a barn (heaven); chaff = the wicked separated eternally from both wheat and God, the tares / chaff to be CAST into the fire.
One cannot use the annihilation thing on any of the N.T.’s teachings.
The Bride enters heaven; the guests who were called, refused, had heaven’s door SHUT in their faces. The faithful enjoying the Lord’s presence, the unfaithful or unprofitable is cast into outer darkness (meaning their soul lives in darkness as apposed to light), their bodies in fire / torment.
“Come Ye”—“Depart from Me”
The future will be both terrible and blessed. Although our Righteous God is love, man is free… even free to put from himself / herself the highest, clearest, most URGENT grace that God can show —Jesus died for the ungodly!!!!
It is men/women who reject, as Acts 13:46 declares, “…Since you reject it (The Word) and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life”, you, dear sinner have become an abhorrence to God—God is not the God of the dead (spiritually), but the God of the living (saved).
So, both the Old and New Testaments end by facing its readers with this momentous and inevitable choice: will you serve God and live or will you serve Satan and die?