By: General James Green
“And 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.” (Matt 10:28)
THE ABOVE SCRIPTURE was spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes it very plain that God is able to “destroy” both soul and body inHELL! The word translated “destroy” is from the Greek word apollumi,meaning “to destroy” in the sense of “to kill the body (Matt 2:13; 12:14), to punish by torment (Matt 8:29; Mark 1:24), to cut off spiritual life (Rom 14:15), to lose something (Matt 10:42; Luke 15:24), to mar (Mark 2:22), and to be lost in Hell (John 17:12; 18:9; 2 Cor 4:3).” The word “perish” (as in John 3:16) is from the same Greek word—and it NEVER means “annihilation” as TOO MANY TRY TO CONVINCE US TODAY, especially all the backslid liberal theologians and preachers. For the “destruction” that the Greek apollumi signifies is one that “ruins” or “renders unfit for intended use.”
Now, what was man created for? To live for God—totally and wholly. If sin did “ruin” and “mar” the human race, and it did, and if man is not brought back in right standing with his Creator thru REPENTANCE of the same, then man will eternally be “unfit” and “un-useful” for God in the future world. Yet man will live somewhere forever (or everlastingly): if not in Heaven, in HELL!!
In our booklets on the subject of Hell, we have word studies on the terms “consume,” “burned up,” “lake of fire,” etc. NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE DO WE FIND THE WORD FOR OR CONCEPT OF “ANNIHILATION.” “Annihilation” has been created by demons of deception…and “religious” men have supported it for a long time now. By the third century, there were already people like Origen, who thought and taught that Hell was remedial, and other “Christians” who thought and taught that Hell is a place of “annihilation.” Yet many stayed true to the Bible and the Holy Ghost and continued to teach Hell as a place of “ETERNAL FIRE AND TORMENT.”
Just for your information, both Martin Luther and John Calvin viewed Hell’s punishment as “ETERNAL AND EVERLASTING” (although to them “Hellfire” was only figurative: by this, I guess they meant it was not necessarily literal “fire” in Hell but certainly ostracism from God FOREVER). On another note, in the 1960s, Catholicism, at the 2nd Vatican Council, ecumenized the idea of the potential for “all souls” to make Heaven (no matter how in the Hell they live!), although purgatory (a MOTHER DOCTRINE OF DEMONS!) might be a temporary requirement for some (nice thought, but totally untrue and UN-BIBLICAL!).
If “destruction” in the Bible means “annihilation,” the devil and ALL his filthy and evil works would be “annihilated” according to 1 John 3:8 and Hebrews 2:14. No, when a body dies, the soul and spirit live on forever…somewhere. The Bible NOWHERE teaches cessation of existence.
The word “consume,” kalak in Hebrew, is the equivalent of the Greek word apollumi. As with apollumi, it Biblically means “to mar” or “ruin” or “render unfit for intended purposes” (for which man was created for). Man was not created for Hell, but for an eternal relationship with God FOREVER.
Maurice Rawlings, M.D., wrote a book called TO HELL and Back: Life After Death. If you would like to read about well-documented experiences of both OBES (“Out of Body Experiences”) and NDES (“Near-Death Experiences”), cases whereby people had glimpses of both HEAVEN and HELL, you can find this book at Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN. Chapter four in this book, called “HELL is just ‘Plain HELL,’” and chapter five, “Has HELL Disappeared?”, are worth reading. Dr. Rawlings, a well-respected cardiologist (heart doctor), “has well-documented experiences to support his central theme, along with pertinent bibliographical information and a pretty sharp understanding of Biblical thought.” As W.S. Reed, M.D., Diplomat, American Board of Surgery, states, “In the total consideration of death and dying, there needs to be the whole truth with reference to approaching Heaven and possibly HELL! Dr. Rawlings delves into this matter thoroughly and in depth.”
Has HELL disappeared? When was the last time you heard a real FIERY sermon on the punishments of HELL? One minister of a very large church stated, “My congregation would be stunned to hear a sermon on hell!” To most churches, Hell’s fires are now extinguished and God’s “unconditional love” is on the forefront. True, God is Love, but there ARE CONDITIONS to making Heaven. God is not going to “push” anyone into Hell who apply themselves to going to Heaven, as many wrongly say (or mockingly suggest); but neither is He going to allow “sinful saints” (or any unrepentant sinner, for that matter) to enter into Heaven.
Today, in the minds these modern teachers/preachers and Bible scholars (?), a literal, real Hell does not exist. “Once we discovered we could create HELL on earth, it became silly to talk about it in a literal sense [for the hereafter]”—John D. Crossau of DePaul Univ. in Chicago. Well, regardless of what men teach about Hell, Jesus in His own Words taught that THERE IS A PLACE OF ETERNAL PUNISHMENT FOR ANY AND ALL THOSE CONDEMNED BEFORE THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE (read Matt 5:22, 24, 30).
HELL, the awful and dreadful place of UNQUENCHABLE FIRE! Mark 9:43 states, “…go into HELL, into the FIRE that NEVER SHALL BE QUENCHED.” Verse 44 states, “…where their worm dieth not, and THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.” And in verse 48, it also says the same thing again. IS JESUS TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING?
The RSV Bible reads, “…to go to Hell, to the UNQUENCHABLE FIRE” (Mark 9:43). The Greek word for Hell here is Gehenna. Gehenna (Hell) was originally a valley S.W. of Jerusalem where Molech worship was practiced (see 2 Kgs 23:10); its name was used in Jesus’ day as a symbolic name for the place of future punishment (you may also find this in 1 Enoch 27:2 and 2 Esdras 7:36).
Hell admittedly is difficult for modern man to grasp today (we’re so dull!), but it is still the TRUTH! We must yet call for a great stress to be placed on the eternal validity of the distinction between good and evil, a distinction which is way too often blurred when the idea of eternal consequences for evildoing drops out of man’s thinking.
How long, my dear Americans, Christians, will you refuse to believe the TRUTH and refuse to reject the LIE?
We mere humans, finite as we are, cannot set arbitrary limits to the pursuing love of God. What we think about God’s love doesn’t really matter. We must set our beliefs according to the standards established in the Word of God, and this includes our beliefs about the quality and duration of Hell.
God’s judgments are His love. If men go to Hell, it is not God’s fault, but their own. God does not “push” men arbitrarily into Hellfire. Men’s sins land them there. Even with all the sincere teaching/preaching done today around the world by Christians, the fearful possibility of ultimate and complete refusal of souls to accept Christ as Saviour remains.
Jesus’ Words lie not! You can believe what He says concerning HELLFIRE—a terrifying reality of CONTINUOUS TORMENT, of EVERLASTING FIRE, WAILING and GNASHING OF TEETH (Matt 13:42, 50); of BINDING and OUTER DARKNESS (22:13) and ANGUISH and SEPARATION FROM HEAVEN (Luke 16:23).
Of all the religious books available—each one purporting to be the exclusive authority on spiritual matters—the Holy Bible addresses HELL most frequently. Not only this, but we should note that Jesus spoke more about HELL than HEAVEN.
HELL, no doubt, has been and is people’s worst nightmare. Yet let us face the truth here: most, and I say MOST congregations do not want sermons on HELL. Why?
No matter what, as Dr. Rawlings reports in his book, “The convincing reports of HELL encounters after clinical death is convincing…” Eternity is a “HELL-OF-A-LONG-TIME” to pay for OUTRIGHT DENIAL of HELL! For those souls who have been to HELL and back, they don’t need to be reassured that HELL is real…they BELIEVE!!
The teachings of the different Apostles in their Biblical epistles are the same. They write of a coming judgment that will inflict vengeance on rebellion (see 2 Thes 1:5-9), of a separation from the presence and glory of God and the Lord (2 Thes 1:9), and of the destruction of God’s enemies (Phil 3:18-19; see also Rom 9:22; 1 Cor 16:22; Gal 1:9; 2 Tim 2:12; Heb 10:27; 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 1:6; Rev 14:10; 19:20; and 20:10, 14). Can all these Scriptures be untrue?
You can trust the Holy Bible to be true—judgment on (unrepentant) evildoers is certain. We may find these truths a bit unpleasant, but what has this to do with eternal realities? Lest we forget, it was God the Father who sent His very own ONLY Begotten and Beloved Son to DIE in the sinner’s place. If there was no judgment, there would have been no need for the Son to come. So, what will we do with Jesus? (Read John 3:16-17). Indeed, the Lord NEVER desires to send ANYONE to HELL (2 Pet 3:9), but those who are there and those who will be there enter HELL by resisting the loving invitation to soul-saving salvation(see Rom 1:16 – 2:10). The ETERNAL FACT and REALITY of HELLFIRE should cause ALL of God’s people to HATE SIN, DENY IT (REFUSE TO PARTAKE OF IT), AND WORK HARD TO REDEEM THE CONDEMNED.
The Holy Bible portrays HELL in different ways. For example, “the Hell of fire” (Matt 5:22, RSV); where the “worm does not die” (Mk 9:48); “destruction” (Phil 3:19); “separation from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thes 1:9), and “cast out” from the Kingdom of God. In the story of the man who went to HELL and the beggar who went to Heaven (Abraham’s bosom), we read how the man in HELL cried out and said, “…for I am TORMENTED in this FLAME…” (Luke 16:24).
The teachings of Paradise (Heaven) and of Hell (Gehenna)—speaking of the time before the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ—coalesced with the earlier idea of Sheol (i.e., a flame in one part of Hades on the side of the unjust, and a spring of water in the other, on the side of the just). Theologians argue over the concept of FIRE/FLAMES. Some claim the “FIRE” is figurative, while others claim it is literal. No matter: HELL and it’s TORMENTS are REAL!!
Out of 542 times the word “fire” is used in Scripture, it is used in a figurative sense only a very few times, and those references are always clear as to the meaning.
Hell is also called “a furnace of fire,” and this naturally would mean LITERAL FIRE. There is NOTHING to be gained by DENYING a real FIRE OF HELL. NOTHING AT ALL! Even if it was figurative, the torments and pain will be REAL anyway. “Weeping,” “wailing,” “gnashing of teeth”…does this sound pleasant to you, even if the fire was figurative? “Damnation,” “separation,” “fire and brimstone”…the final abode of all who are not eternally saved from this place.
This subject could be carried on and on, page after page. We could point out pertinent passages in the O.T.—Psalm 9:17, Isaiah 66:24-42, Daniel 12:2, to mention only a few. We could disprove the false idea that “forever” relating to the doctrine of Hell means an “age” or simply a “period of time.” (The “age/period of time” argument may be true, in context, of temporary things, but NEVER of “endless” things like Hell and Heaven, as the Scriptural context shows). The Hebrew word olam (“everlasting” in Daniel 12:2, literally meaning “ETERNITY”—NEVER-ENDING!) is equivalent to the N.T. Greek word aionios,which is used of the “everlasting God” in Romans 16:26, 1 Timothy 6:16 and Revelation 15:7. Now, does God have an end? “Everlasting” here literally means “time without end; time out of mind; perpetual; forever; always.”
The word “eternal” is found in Hebrews 5:9; 9:12, 14; Mark 3:29; Hebrews 6:2; Jude vv. 7, 21; etc. In these contexts it clearly means “forever; everlasting; without end.” So why should we arbitrarily limit Hell and its torments to a time period? The same word (aionios—“eternal”) is used for both Heaven and Hell.
Non-existence would be “no time nor punishment.” But please don’t think I am gleeful over such dreadful things as ETERNAL PUNISHMENTS! No! I’m trying to tell any and all to forsake sin and embrace the Savior—for God’s sake and your own!!
Isaiah 66:22-24 tells us about the worm that shall NOT DIE and the fire that shall NOT BE QUENCHED. Read it. Men are called “worms” in Job 25:6, Psalm 22:6, and Isaiah 41:14. In Isaiah 41:14, “worms” are referring to those in Sheol—meaning the souls of men.
The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek 33:11). Please remember this. Don’t hate the messenger or message of HELL—it could save your life ALIVE FOREVER. But the Lord has promised to rid the earth of ALL rebellion and rebels (1 Cor 15:24-28).
NO ONE NEEDS TO GO TO HELL. THE WAY HAS BEEN MADE TO ESCAPE THIS DAMNABLE PLACE. REPENT AND BE CONVERTED TODAY! Amen.