Does the Bible teach Eternal Punishment ?

 

 

 

Introduction

This is one subject one should have a firm understanding of, for if it is true, its consequences are eternal, immeasurable and can not be reversed.

You never know when your time here on earth will be up, therefore it is imperative that a person is prepared to walk out into eternity. For all of mankind will have to face it.

One must consider eternity while they are still alive on this side of it, for the Bible tells us in Heb 9:27

27     And in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

 

There have been and still are those who out right deny the existence of eternal punishment all together.

Others have said, "God will not punish anyone for eternity, for this goes against the loving character of God”.

Some have even claimed that you go to purgatory after you die to be purified of your sins if you are not purified of your sins before you die. Once you have undergone sufficient suffering in purgatory you will be made worthy of being with God.

There are even some that believe that a sinner will be annihilated as opposed to being "eternally" punished.

While even others think that we just past into the spirit world with no accountability for how we lived our life while alive. 

There are those who have claimed to have died and went to hell in near death experiences and came back with testimonies of incredible terror and horror. Could these experiences substantiate the biblical teaching of eternal punishment?

Eternal punishment as a biblical teaching rarely gets mentioned within the Church if at all, it is typically neatly tucked away within a sermon message but not fully treated.

Fortunately we are not left with the opinions of people nor should we base truth on subjective experience. Instead we have the word of God which is our foundation for judging and discerning all things. 

In one of his sermons, E. V. Hill tells of a time when he preached in Michigan with Dr. Jack Hyles, the former pastor of First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. Hyles' church averaged 20,000 in Sunday school back then. "[E. V.] asked, "Jack, let me in on why you're so caught up in soul winning. You're on the verge of a fanatic. What's behind all that?"

He said, "One night, I was awakened by this piercing scream from my sister. I ran upstairs to her bedroom, and there she was sweating and in hysterics. I shook her, and I couldn't get her attention, so I had to slap her. I said, 'What's wrong? You had a dream?' She said, 'No, no dream.' I said, 'You had a nightmare?' She said, 'No it was real.' I said, 'What happened?' She said, 'Jack, I just got back from hell. After a few miles of the glitter and lights and all of that which deceives mankind, there was nothing but desolation. It was a bummed-out situation. It's nothing but desolation and hopelessness. You walk towards the gates of hell knowing that you will never again be free. I got to the gates of hell and the keeper said, "Hold it." I stood outside hell, and I saw people whose faces were twisted and tongues were thick, eyes bulging and hands split, dropping blood. I said, "Sir, please let some air in." And he said, "No air in hell." Then I said, "Kind sir, let them have a drink of water." And he said, "No water in hell." Then I said, "If that's true, let 'em die." And he said, "No death in hell." She said, "My God, how long will they suffer?" And he said, "Forever and ever! Hell has no exit and there is no death."

"She said, 'Just as I turned to leave, he said, "Go back and tell the story." And just as I turned I saw Daddy.'" And I said, "Yep, our Daddy is in hell, because he never got around to doing the most important thing. He schooled us, he fed us, but he never got around to saying yes to Jesus Christ." Jack concluded by saying, "I win souls every day so that nobody else's daddy has to go to hell." Citation: E. V. Hill, A Savior Worth Having (Chicago: Moody Press, 2002), 91-2.

 E. V. Hill  Copyright ©1996-2006 Biblical Studies Press, reprinted with permission from www.bible.org. 
 
 


What the Bible says about Eternal Punishment?

Let's see what God in his word has to say about the subject. For it is the bible that is inspired by God and profitable for teaching (2Tim3:16) and man should only live by every word that preceded out of the mouth of God (Matt 4:4).

 
 

The nature of Eternal Punishment 

Jesus described the nature of eternal punishment as:

(1)" fiery"  "hell"  (Matt 5:22). . hell -  [greek- geenna /gheh·en·nah/] Of Hebrew origin  Hell is the place of the future punishment call “Gehenna” or “Gehenna of fire”. This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned.[2]  In most languages geenna  is rendered as a ‘place of punishment’ or ‘place where the dead suffer’ or ‘place where the dead suffer because of their sins.’[3]

The rich man also bore testimony that flames where inherit to his place of  torment in Hades (Luke 16:24), which is a holding place before being sentence to the Lake of Fire.(Rev. 20:11-15 ) 

(2) unquenchable (Mark 9:43) [asbestos /as·bes·tos/] unquenchable, not able to go out, inextinguishable[4]  

The duration of Eternal Punishment 

(3)eternal (Matthew 25:41,46, Jude 7). eternal - [aionios /ahee·o·nee·os/] adj without end, never to cease, everlasting. It is also use to describe the nature of God.(Rom 16:26) in which God is said to be ever lasting. The thought of punishment without end is also given to John in Rev 14:10-11 where those who will reject Christ and worship the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand will be tormented for ever and ever. It is also contrasted to eternal life Matt 25:46.

(4) Eternal judgment: Hebrews 6:2.

(5) Everlasting destruction: II Thessalonians 1:9.

 

  
 
The Consciousness of Eternal Punishment 

In Revelation 20:10 it is said that those who find themselves in the lake of fire is said to be in torment[basanizo /bas·an·id·zo/]  to vex with grievous pains (of body or mind)[5].

The same form of the word is used in Luke 16:23 and verse 24 where the Rich man said, "...for I am in agony in his flame" while in Hades. Hades refers to the abode of the unsaved dead prior to the great white throne judgment (Rev. 20:11-15) in which those in Hades will be thrown in the Lake of fire. His agony was so great he wanted to go warn his brothers not to "...come to this place of torment". (Luke 16:28).

 In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus, as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that both men are fully conscious of their state and surroundings. Notice the following dialogue between the two.

The rich man died and was buried, but after death, he had eyes to see, fingers to feel, ears to hear, lips to speak, a tongue to taste, a soul to live forever in Hell

The rich man requested mercy - (Luke 16:24a,"...“And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me,")

The rich man sought relief from his agony - (Luke 16:24b,"...send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue)

The rich man had a memory - (Luke 16:25     “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.

The rich man had unfulfilled desires  - Luke 16:27-28,30

     27     “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house—
     28     for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
     30     “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’


The rich man had lost opportunities. He, like his brothers had the word of God V29, but he chose to ignore it and pursued the temporal things of the world's system.

     29     “But Abraham *said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
     30     “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’
     31     “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’

 

  

 


The Behavior that leads to Eternal Punishment 

An unrepentant life that manifest itself in a continual practice of sin and rejection of Christ. Thus reflecting a rejection of God's Grace as found in the person of Jesus Christ. 

 


How does Eternal Punishment fit in the nature of a loving God 

It is the justice of God at work when a person chooses rebellion against God by "continually" refusing his love and mercy. Because of this, only justice is left.
The Avoidance of Eternal Punishment 

Repent - Change your mind about the life you are leading, understand that it will have eternal consequences if you do not turn to Christ for salvation. 

Pray the Sinner's Prayer

"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in Heaven for me. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust and life in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life."

The Bible tells us in Rom 10:8-11

     8     But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
     9     that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
     10     for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
     11     For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

And again in John 3:16

     16     “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 

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[1]"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright ©  1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

[2]Strong, James: The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Test of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurence of Each Word in Regular Order. electronic ed. Ontario : Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996, S. G1067

[3] Louw, Johannes P. ; Nida, Eugene Albert: Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains. electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. New York : United Bible societies, 1996, c1989, S. 1:5

[4] Swanson, James: Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament). electronic ed. Oak Harbor : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997, S. GGK812

[5] Strong, James: The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Test of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurence of Each Word in Regular Order. electronic ed. Ontario : Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996, S. G928

 

  

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