Eternal
Punishment
The
age old question of what will happen when I die has become a debated topic
amongst different religious organizations over the years. When addressing this
subject you must decide if you are coming at it from a biblical perspective or
not. When I read the bible I believe that the bible clearly defines where you
will go when you leave your physical body. This paper will attempt to address
some of the different views as well as my own.
There
are three common thoughts within the religious community about what will happen
when your time is up and those are eternal punishment, annihilationism, and
universalism. Eternal punishment is the belief that the sinners who chose not
to accept Christ as their saviour will be eternally punished and tormented in
hell.[1]
Annihilationism is the belief that some, if not all, human soles will cease to
exist after death.[2]
Finally you have universalism, which is the doctrine which asserts that all men
will eventually be reconciled to God.[3]
The
bible has many different names for hell, but most commonly stated in scripture
are Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna. Sheol is related to the grave in numerous
scriptures in the Bible, but it is more commonly described as an intermediate
state in which soles are dealt with according to their lives on earth. Jesus
conquered Sheol when he was resurrected, and in affect turned this final
resting place into a changing room where one could change out of their current
state into their final state, whether that was eternal glory or damnation.
Hades is almost the same as Sheol as it is defined as the abode of the dead.[4]
Gehenna is biblically the most accurate depiction of hell due to the
sacrificial practices that were conducted there. Gehenna is even stated as
being a place of shame the will become the punishment place of by God.[5]
So
what do I think about eternal punishment of the unsaved? That is simple; I
believe those that do not accept Jesus as their saviour and repent of their
sins will be punished for eternity. It is stated throughout the Bible that if
you refuse to accept Christ as your saviour and repent that you will not
receive eternal life instead you will receive eternal punishment. I believe the
best passage that states this is in the book of John right after one of the
most quoted scriptures in history. “Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned,
but anyone who does not believe is already condemned.”(John 3:18) If you
look further into the bible you will also find that in the book of Romans
chapter 8 we are compared and described as slaves. The point of this passage is
to let you know that you truly have only 2 choices in life. First to become a
slave to God and live in eternal glory, or to become a slave to the Devil and
live in eternal damnation.
Mathew
25:46 states “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous
into eternal life.” This is an interpretation of the second judgment. They
refer to those who have turned away and denied God, and the righteous are those
who have submitted. The word eternal is exactly that, eternal. There is no
other way to interpret this scripture than the way that it reads. Only those
who are looking for a reason to not believe in eternal punishment will try and
disprove this.
The
opposition to my view and the biblical view on eternal punishment usually will
come from the universalism side of the house. There are those out there that
just want to see the good of God and not the wrath. Their arguments are usually
based on their idea that a loving God would never subject His creation to such
a hideous punishment. To support their view I wish I could provide you with
some biblical evidence but the fact of the matter is that there is none. When
you hear people try and contradict the theory of eternal punishment with
watered down scripture keep this in mind. “But to interpret such passages as
meaning that in the end all will be saved is to go beyond what the writers are
saying and to ignore the fact that in the contexts there are usually references
to God’s condemnation of the wicked or to the final separation between good and
evil or the like.”[6]
Is
it fair for a God who loves us so much to condemn His own creation to a life of
eternal damnation? My answer is simply yes. God created us perfect with Adam,
but He also created us with free will. He wanted us to be able to make up our
own minds on whether or not we would glorify Him and we chose wrong. This fact
and action requires consequences and those consequences result in eternal
damnation. This final disposition is not some big mystery, anyone who reads the
bible can read what is expected of them from their creator and what happens
should we chose not to be obedient. Yet people choose to make that decision
that condemns them to eternal punishment. Is it fair that we as the creation
choose not to honor a glorious and loving God? That is the question that truly
needs to be answered.
[1] Morris,
L.L. "Eternal Punishment." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,
edited by Walter A. Elwell, 395-396.
Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.
[2] Nicole,
R. "Annihilationism." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited
by Walter A. Elwell, 64. Grand Rapids ,
MI: Baker
Academic, 2001.
[3] Root,
J.R. "Universalism." In Evangelical Book of Theology, edited by
Walter A. Elwell, 1232-1233. Grand Rapids ,
MI: Baker
Academic, 2001.
[4] Motyner,
J.A. "Hades." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter
A. Elwell, 532. Grand Rapids , MI:
Baker
Academic, 2001.
[5] Cruz,
V. "Gehenna." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter
A. Elwell, 480. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Academic, 2001.
[6] Morris,
L.L. "Eternal Punishment." In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,
edited by Walter A. Elwell, 395-396.
Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.
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