written by Clifford Scott
ETERNAL BURNING?
OR
ETERNALLY BURNT?
THE BIBLE TRUTH
ABOUT HELL
BIBLE PASSAGES CLAIMED
BIBLE PASSAGES CLAIMED
BIBLE PASSAGES CLAIMED
PARABLE OF
BIBLE PASSAGES CLAIMED
BIBLE PASSAGES CLAIMED
BIBLE PASSAGES CLAIMED
BIBLE PASSAGES CLAIMED
TEXTS SUPPORTING THAT
TEXTS EXPLAINING
HELL ACCOMPLISHES
DON'T MAKE A LIAR
DON'T FOLLOW
ETERNAL HELLFIRE:
WOULD REQUIRE
AN ETERNAL SOUL
TO SUPPORT ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
TO SUPPORT ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE GOSPELS OF
MATTHEW AND MARK
TO SUPPORT ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
THE RICH MAN
AND LAZARUS
TO SUPPORT ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
TO SUPPORT ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE WRITINGS OF PAUL
TO SUPPORT ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE WRITINGS OF OTHER
NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS
TO SUPPORT ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION
HELL HAS AN END
THE FATE OF THE WICKED
THREE THINGS
OUT OF JESUS!
THE BIGGEST LIAR!
A SCARE TACTIC
Does the Bible indicate whether or not Adam had an eternal soul? Let's look at Genesis 2:7 and see what it says. "Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."
Notice several things in this verse:
Therefore, Adam did not have a soul, or was not a soul, until he had the Breath of Life from God.
But what about Psalm 139:13-16? It seems to indicate that you are a living soul when you're in the womb, before you're born. Let's read the text and see what it says. Verse 13 says, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb."
In this verse David says that God formed him, just as it says that God formed Adam in Genesis. But the Adam that God formed in Genesis was dead clay, dead matter, the David that God formed was living tissue, a living fetus. Read on through verse 16. In those verses David says that God knew him before he was born - doesn't that mean that David had a soul before he was born? No, it doesn't. David did not have a SOUL until he was born and took his first Breath of Life. However, this does not mean that David was not alive in his mother's womb. God knows the end from the beginning, because He is all-knowing and all-powerful. He knew what David would become after he was born, and after he grew into manhood. And God also knew who and what David was in his mother's womb. David was alive from conception, just as all humans are. But David was not a living SOUL until he received the Breath of Life at birth. This is why we call all births a miracle!
Man does NOT have an eternal soul! Man has a body that was formed by God. Then man receives the Breath of Life. And finally man becomes a living soul. BODY + BREATH OF LIFE = SOUL. When the Breath of Life leaves the body, the soul ceases to exist.
A person does NOT go immediately to Heaven or Hell when they die. If that were the case, then Jesus did a bad thing to make Lazarus (Martha and Mary's brother) leave Paradise and come back to this dark ugly world when He, Jesus, raised him from the dead! No. Lazarus was in death's sleep for four days when Jesus raised him from the dead.
Then consider what is said about David in Acts 2:29+34, "... the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day...For David did not ascend to heaven..." Righteous people do NOT go immediately to Heaven when they die. They sleep in death until the resurrection at Jesus' Second Coming.
In Matthew 22:31-32 Jesus says, "But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." And Luke adds, "... for all live to Him." (Luke 20:38). This seems to say that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still living "somewhere" - but this is not necessarily so. God is saying that these patriarchs are not going to die the Second Death, but will be living forever in Heaven after Jesus' Second Coming. The NIV of Luke 20:38 says, "... for to Him all are alive." If you are not going to die the Second Death, then to God you are alive, even if you are asleep in death, to God you are still alive.
Also, the saints who were resurrected in Matthew 27:52-53 at the time of Jesus' death, are referred to as having been asleep, not in Heaven. They were dead in their graves and were resurrected when Jesus was. They appeared to many. The whole idea here is that Jesus' Resurrection assures our resurrection - from the dead - not from Heaven ... so that we can go to Heaven! Why would someone need to be resurrected from Heaven so they could go to Heaven? IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!!
However, it is not the intent of this webpage to discover what happens to the righteous immediately after they die. Our purpose is to learn from the Bible, and using good logic, whether or not wicked people burn for eternity in Hell. So let's proceed ...
1. God formed Adam.
2. God gave Adam the Breath of Life.
3. Then Adam became a living being. ("Being" in Hebrew is nephesh which also means "soul").
4. The definition of become means to come into being.
We will examine them in the order they appear in the Bible:
BIBLE PASSAGES
CLAIMED
TO SUPPORT
ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
Isaiah 2:12-22, For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty ... that he may be abased ... And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols will completely vanish." Very descriptive language - "will completely vanish" - you will find this description of the fate of the wicked all through the Bible! But this entire passage says nothing about eternally burning Hellfire torturing people forever without end.
Isaiah 13:6-12, "Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty." The word "destruction" is self explanatory. But I will explain it anyway: DESTRUCTION - noun. The action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired. That is the fate of the wicked. Verse 9, "Behold, the day of the Lord is coming ... to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it." Verses 11 and 12, "Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud ... I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold ..." This all pretty much says that the wicked will be no more.
Ezekiel 30:2-3, "Wail, 'Alas for the day!' "For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations." A day of clouds and a time for doom does not mean eternal torture in Hellfire.
Daniel 12:2. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt." This says absolutely nothing about eternal Hellfire. The second group suffers disgrace and contempt, not eternal torture.
Joel 1:15, "Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty." Destruction has just the opposite meaning of eternal torture. DESTRUCTION - noun. The action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.
Joel 2:1, 11, 31, and 3:14, "... for the day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near." Verse 11, "... The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it?" Verse 31, "... the great and awesome day of the Lord comes." Verse 14, "... For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." The day of the Lord is indeed going to be great and awesome, and we need to be on the right side! But these verses say nothing about eternal torture.
Amos 5:18, 20, "... For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light." How can one be suffering eternal torture in Hellfire if the day is darkness and not light? Fire automatically brings light.
Obadiah 8-18, "Will I not on that day," declares the Lord, "Destroy wise men from Edom and understanding from the mountain of Esau?" Verse 9, "Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman, so that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter." Verse 10, "... and you will be cut off forever." Verse 12, "... And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their destruction; yes, do not boast in the day of their distress." Verse 13, "... in the day of their disaster ... in the day of their disaster ... in the day of their disaster ..." Verse 15, "For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head." Verse 16, "... They will drink and swallow and become as if they had never existed." Verse 18, "Then the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau." These verses contain words such as: DESTROY, CUT OFF, SLAUGHTER, CUT OFF FOREVER, DESTRUCTION, DISASTER, DISASTER, DISASTER, DISASTER. These are NOT words of eternal torture in Hellfire. Verse 15 even declares, "As you have done, it will be done to you." No one on earth has ever tortured another for eternity without end! They will be as stubble, consumed, no survivor. The entire book of Obadiah is the exact opposite of eternal torture in Hellfire.
Zephaniah 1:7, 14, 15, 18, "... For the day of the Lord is near." Verses 14 and 15, "Near is the great day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly ... in it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness." Verse 18, "... On the day of the Lord's wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one ..." This also is the exact opposite of eternal torture in Hellfire. I see words such as: DESTRUCTION, DESOLATION, DARKNESS, GLOOM, THE EARTH WILL BE DEVOURED IN THE FIRE, HE WILL MAKE A COMPLETE END.
Zechariah 14:1, "Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you." Nothing about eternal torture in Hellfire.
Malachi 4:1, 3, 5, "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the Lord of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." Verse 3, " 'You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,' says the Lord of hosts." Verse 5, "Behold, I am going to send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord." In Matthew 11:12-14 Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force ... And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come." In these verses there are words like: CHAFF, NEITHER ROOT NOR BRANCH, TREAD DOWN THE WICKED, THEY WILL BE ASHES UNDER YOUR FEET. This is the opposite of eternal torture in Hellfire.
BIBLE PASSAGES
Matthew 3:7, "... the wrath to come" could mean a lot of things, not necessarily eternal torture in Hellfire.
Matthew 3:12, "... but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." This has an explanation right in the verse: "burn up" - but also one needs to know about "unquenchable" - it does not mean that the fire will burn for eternity without end. It just means that the fire cannot be put out until it has done its work of "burning up" the chaff (the wicked).
Matthew 5:22, "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court ... and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." If you check the original Greek, the words translated "fiery Hell" actually mean "fiery Gehenna." Gehenna is the Valley of Hinnom in Bible times where trash was burned up to ashes. So this does NOT support eternally burning Hellfire.
Matthew 5:29 and 30, "... your whole body to be thrown into hell." "... your whole body to go into hell." Again, this "Hell" is the word Gehenna, where trash was burned up to ashes.
Matthew 8:12, "but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This must be referring to the time when the saints are at the banquet table with Jesus in Heaven. The wicked will be cast out into the outer darkness and will be weeping and gnashing their teeth. This cannot be referring to being burned with fire. If so, there would only be horrendous screaming - not weeping. Those weeping have just found out that there is no place for them in the Kingdom of Heaven. That's why they're weeping.
Matthew 10:28, "... but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." If we look at the original Greek for several words, this does NOT mean eternal Hellfire. "Destroy" = apollumi which means to destroy fully, to perish. "Soul" = psuche which means breath. "Hell" = Gehenna which we have already discovered was the place near Jerusalem where they burned trash until it was ashes. So this passage cannot mean "the wicked burning in eternal Hellfire."
Matthew 11:23, "And you Capernaum ... you will descend to Hades ..." Hades in the Greek is the grave.
Matthew 13:38-40. Verse 40 gives you your explanation: "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age." No one can find a place on earth where weeds or tares from Bible times are still burning. Weeds burn UP into ashes. Any gardner knows this. In verse 42 it states that after being thrown into the furnace of fire, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. If you think about this, being burned in fire would make one scream in agony, not weep and gnash their teeth. This is obviously talking about two separate but very closely related events. People who have just found out that they are not going to be saved will be weeping and gnashing their teeth because they realize they have done wrong. The furnace of fire, or Lake of Fire, is actually a merciful stroke to put them out of their misery.
Matthew 13:49-50. The very same scenario: "furnace of fire" and "weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 18:8-12. "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire." This does seem to indicate eternally burning Hellfire. But, this statement of Jesus is not to be taken literally. Jesus obviously does NOT want His followers to go around cutting off their hands and feet. He is telling us that NOTHING is worth losing eternal life over. Also, "eternal fire" just means that the fire burns until its job is finished, that NOTHING can put it out until there is nothing left to burn. (See Jude 7. {More on this in a subsequent section}).
Matthew 18:34-35, "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." This definitely seems to indicate eternal torture. But consider several things: 1. This is a parable. Making a doctrine out of a parable is NOT good Bible study. 2. In verse 27, the lord forgave the debt. This is an analogy to God forgiving our sins no matter how big. And when God forgives our sins, they are buried in the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18-19), they cannot be held against us again. God is not fickle. 3. UNTIL he should repay all that was owed him. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), so the wicked slave would have paid ALL when he died. 4. If one verse does not agree with the huge bulk of other verses on a subject, you don't make a doctrine on the one verse, ignoring the bulk of all the other verses.
Matthew 22:13, "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' " This is not a description of eternal Hellfire. Again, weeping and gnashing of teeth is not what would be happening in eternally burning torture. This is most likely a description of those who have just learned that they are not going to Heaven, but have been cast out into the darkness, before being cast into the lake of fire. They are in mental misery. The lake of fire will destroy them quickly and completely, thus it is an act of mercy from God to put them out of their misery.
Matthew 23:15, "... you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." Again the word Hell is the Greek word Gehenna, the trash-burning dump site (that is NOT still burning today).
Matthew 23:33, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence [or judgment] of hell?" Hell = Gehenna.
Matthew 24:50-51, "... the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The weeping and gnashing of teeth will take place when the lost realize they are lost, and before the lake of fire.
Matthew 25:30, "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Another reference to weeping and gnashing of teeth in the outer darkness. Obviously NOT Hell.
Matthew 25:41, "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels ..." Another reference to "eternal fire" which just means it cannot be extinguished until it has burned everything up. See Sodom and Gomorrah. They were burned with "eternal fire" - but they are not still burning.
Matthew 25:46. "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Eternal punishMENT, not eternal punishING. The PUNISHMENT is eternal, not the punishing. The verse even makes a distinction between the two groups. One gets PUNISHMENT, the other gets eternal life. Notice only the second group gets eternal life. The first group would also have eternal life if they were burning alive eternally.
Mark 9:43-48. "... to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where their worm does not die ...]" The FIRE is unquenchable. It will not go out, it cannot be put out, until it does its work, and the person is burned up. The worm being talked about is the worm that feeds on dead bodies, not the "worm" or essence of a person. Check the original Greek.
Mark 12:38-40, "... Beware of the scribes ... who devour widow's houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation." There could not be a "greater condemnation" than burning for eternity. In order to have degrees of condemnation, there must be a lowest limit of condemnation, which implies a highest limit of condemnation. Therefore there can be NO burning for eternity.
Mark 16:16, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." This verse doesn't say "condemned to eternal Hellfire" - just condemned. And it most likely means condemned to death - the Second Death.
CLAIMED
TO SUPPORT
ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM MATTHEW AND MARK
BIBLE PASSAGES
CLAIMED
TO SUPPORT
ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM LUKE
Luke 3:9, "Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." This just states that the wicked who "do not bear good fruit" will be thrown into a fire. Not that the fire will burn for eternity. Anyone who has ever tried to keep a campfire burning knows that the fire will go out when the wood is burned up. And just ashes will remain.
Luke 3:17, "His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Notice two points in this passage: 1. "He will burn up the chaff." In order for something to be BURNED UP, it has to be gone when the burning is finished. 2. "Unquenchable fire" does not mean eternally burning Hellfire. Point one already established that the chaff (the wicked) will be burned up - gone. Unquenchable fire is fire that cannot be put out by a fireman. It will burn until all is "burned up."
Luke 6:35-36, verse 36 says, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." If our Father God is going to torture His enemies for eternity without end, and He is merciful, then we must do the same ... We must torture our enemies! This is obviously NOT true! There is NO eternal torture in Hellfire.
Luke 8:30-31, "And Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Legion'; for many demons had entered him. They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss." The abyss seems to be the place where demons are sent to await their judgment and final destruction. It appears to be an unpleasant place. See also Revelation 20:1-3.
Luke 10:15, Same as Matthew 11:23 above.
Luke 12:5, Same as Matthew 10:28 above.
Luke 12:58-59, "... and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent." This passage is not exactly about Hellfire, but has that alternate meaning. "Until you have paid the very last cent" indicates that there is an end.
Luke 13:3+5, "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Jesus does NOT say, "Unless you repent, you will suffer torture in eternal Hellfire." He says "perish" and the definition of perish needs no explanation, but I will explain it anyway. "PERISH: verb - to die or be destroyed, to pass away or disappear."
Luke 13:27-28, "... depart from Me, all you evildoers. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out." Again this is not Hell, but the place where evildoers discover that they are going to miss out on being in the kingdom of God. That's where the weeping and gnashing of teeth takes place.
Luke 16:19-31. This is the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. In the story, there is a great chasm between the Rich Man in Hell and Lazarus in Heaven. If this were an actual account of Heaven and Hell, Lazarus' Heaven would be Hellish, because he would have to watch and listen to people being tormented in Hell. Also, please note that this is a PARABLE. It is very obvious that this story is a parable. The story comes right after the parables of: the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son, and the unrighteous steward. At the end of the parable, the Rich Man begs father Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers so they won't end up in Hell. But Abraham says no, and reminds him that they have the words of Moses and the prophets. The Rich Man tells Abraham that if someone goes to them from the dead, they will listen. Abraham says that if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, then they wouldn't be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.
There are a number of things to note about this PARABLE.
1. IF someone were being tortured by being burned in flames, they would not have the presence of mind to be able to carry on a rational conversation with another person.
2. Both the Rich Man and Abraham compare the Rich Man's torment with being dead. Rich Man: "... if someone goes to them from the dead, they will listen." Abraham: "... they wouldn't be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead."
3. In Jesus' parable, "Abraham" made a "prophecy" about Lazarus being raised from the dead, which did happen shortly after this parable when Lazarus (Martha and Mary's brother) was raised from the dead by Jesus himself. We have NO Biblical record of Lazarus relating anything that "happened" in Jesus' parable. This was another "object lesson" that Jesus was teaching from this parable. The listeners no doubt recalled this parable when Lazarus was resurrected, giving them absolute proof that it was a parable, not an actual account of Heaven and Hell.
4. The Rich Man called out to Father Abraham for salvation, but got none. This was a reminder to the Jews listening to Jesus that their heritage from Father Abraham was not what would save them.
Following is a partial sampling of websites which include the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus in their lists of Biblical Parables:
learningscriptures.info/biblical-parables/parable-of-the-rich-man-and-lazarus.htm
access-jesus.com/parables-of-jesus-bible-list.html/
https://carm.org/what-are-the-parables-jesus-taught
https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/pnt/pnt06.cfm
https://bible.org/series/parables
ww3.haverford.edu/religion/courses/301F09/List of Parables.htm
swapmeetdave.com/Bible/Parables/33.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parables_of_Jesus#Other_parables
And the biggest departure from sound Bible study is constructing a doctrine from a PARABLE. Claiming that people burn for ever based on this parable is very unwise. If parables were absolute truth, one could say that trees talk to each other, and that the king's brother could understand them, based on the story told in the book of Judges 9:7-15.
See:
SCRIPTURE OVER TRADITION
Luke 17:28-30, "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot ... on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed." This is a very important text in our study of Hell. Sodom and Gomorrah suffered the punishment of "eternal fire" (see Jude 7), yet they are not burning today. They are possibly buried under the Dead Sea, or are somewhere near the Dead Sea. The "eternal fire" was a fire that burned until it totally destroyed everything in those two cities. The Sodom Fire Dept could NOT put out the flames. The word in verse 29, "destroyed" is the Greek word apollumi. It means to destroy fully, to perish, lose, die. "PERISH: verb - to die or be destroyed, to pass away or disappear." THIS DOES NOT DESCRIBE ETERNALLY BURNING HELLFIRE TORTURE !!!!
Luke 20:46-47, Same as Mark 12:38-40.
by Edmund Rogol
25755 Rogol Dr
Hillsboro, OR 97123
BIBLE PASSAGES
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ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM JOHN
John 3:36. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey (or believe) the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." This one is self-explanatory. To not see life is to be dead. How can one "not see life" if they are living for ever in eternal torture?
John 5:28-29. "... those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." Nothing about eternal torment. Just judgment. The judgment can even be eternal, have eternal consequences. But this is entirely different than eternal Hellfire torture.
John 17:12, "... and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition [Hebrew idiom for one destined to perish], so that the Scripture would be fulfilled." Jesus is talking about Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him. Jesus says that Judas will "perish" - not that he will burn forever without end. I repeat this again, "PERISH: verb - to die or be destroyed, to pass away or disappear."
BIBLE PASSAGES
CLAIMED
TO SUPPORT
ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE WRITINGS OF PAUL
Acts 2:27, "Because You will not abandon my soul [breath] to Hades [grave], Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay." This is a quote from David about Jesus. It is NOT talking about immortal souls, but breath. And not Hell, but the grave.
Colossians 3:5-6, "... fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come" This says that because of those four or five things the wrath of God will come. It does NOT say that this wrath will be everlasting torture.
Colossians 3:25, "For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality." Partiality means unfair bias in favor of one person over another. God cannot possibly be burning Cain (for murdering his brother Abel) for these six thousand years longer than someone who commits murder the day before Jesus comes back to earth. That makes no sense at all, as well it shouldn't. Because no one is burning in Hell right now. Because Hell (the Lake of Fire) hasn't even starting burning yet. And, for the sake of argument, if God did send Cain to Hell six thousand years ago, and then someone else a day before Jesus returns, He, God, would be showing partiality, which He cannot do, because this text says so.
1 Thessalonians 5:3, "While they are saying, 'Peace and safety!' then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape." Things to note about this passage: Destruction comes like labor pains. A woman is NOT in labor for eternity without end, only until things are over (IE: the baby is delivered). "... and they will not escape." does not refer to never escaping the tortures of eternal Hellfire. It means the wicked will not escape their punishment. But the punishment will have an end just like a woman's labor pains have an end.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-9, "For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." Note several things: 1. It is "just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you." If God is just, He will repay affliction with affliction. It would NOT be just for God to torture someone for eternity without end for afflicting someone else for only several days, or months, or years. 2. God gives relief to those who are afflicted. It goes against His character to give NO relief to those suffering in fire. 3. The dealing out of retribution to the wicked is that they pay the penalty of eternal DESTRUCTION, away from the presence of the Lord. The meaning of the word destruction needs no explanation, but I will explain it anyway. DESTRUCTION: noun. The action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists. And this is eternal destruction, meaning that the wicked will NEVER be un-destructed. The wicked will be "away from the presence of the Lord" eternally. NOT being tortured eternally.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10, "And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; ... and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved." The lawless one would either be the antichrist or Satan himself, and even this terrible entity is not going to be tortured for eternity in flames. They are going to be slain by the breath of the Lord's mouth, and be brought to an end. Also, the ones who are not saved will perish - "PERISH: verb - to die or be destroyed, to pass away or disappear."
Hebrews 6:2, "... and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment." This is actually saying, "... and the resurrection of the dead and eternal decision." The decision for or against a crime, condemnation, or damnation. Not eternal Hellfire.
Hebrews 10:27, "... but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries." The fire will consume the adversaries - not burn them forever.
Hebrews 10:31, "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The judgment of the wicked will not be a pleasant experience, but neither will it be so horrendous as being tortured forever without end. In the previous verse God says, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay." When you repay someone, you give them what they gave you. You do not give them all the money in the Universe because they loaned you a nickel. The wicked will be repaid according to what they have done.
BIBLE PASSAGES
CLAIMED
TO SUPPORT
ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE WRITINGS OF OTHER
NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS
James 3:6, "And the tongue is a fire ... which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell." The word "Hell" is the Greek word "Gehenna" which was where trash was burnt in Bible times as we have said before.
2 Peter 3:7, "But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." The fire of the "day of judgment" brings destruction to the ungodly. NOT eternal torture.
2 Peter 3:10, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." Notice the two terms, "destroyed" and "burned up" - they are NOT burning forever without end - they will be burned up - they will be destroyed. The word destroyed is so obvious it needs no explanation ... but I will explain it anyway. DESTROYED: Verb, "To put an end to the existence of something." Synonyms: annihilated, obliterated, eliminated, eradicated, erased.
Jude 7, "just as Sodom and Gomorrah ... indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire." This is a VERY fitting end to the New Testament epistles. Sodom and Gomorrah are an EXAMPLE. They underwent "eternal fire" ! Are Sodom and Gomorrah still burning to this day? Obviously not. They burned with "eternal fire" or fire that could not be put out until it had burned everything UP ! This is an EXAMPLE of how it will be for the wicked at the end of time. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the Second Death.
BIBLE PASSAGES
CLAIMED
TO SUPPORT
ETERNAL HELLFIRE
FROM THE
BOOK OF REVELATION
Revelation 14:9-11, "... tormented with fire and brimstone ... and the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; they have no rest day and night ..." Notice carefully that this text does not say that the people are being tormented for ever ... it says the SMOKE goes up for ever! The Greek word "ever" is "aion" from which we get our word "eon" that means "a period of time," or "until life is over." The last portion quoted has a time element in it, "... no rest day and night ..." so there is a period of time. And this period of time includes day and night. Since there will be no night in the New Earth, this torment must have an end. It says the wicked have no rest day and night. God is in charge of the vengeance that will be poured out on the wicked. People who have tortured and killed millions of people may have to suffer longer than others. This is all up to God.
Also compare this "smoke" to Revelation 8:4. The "smoke" of the incense with the prayers of the saints goes up before God only as long as the saints are praying. When the saints are with God, the smoke and prayers cease, because the prayers are turned into praise! Then in Revelation 9:2, smoke comes up out of the bottomless pit. The smoke stops coming from the bottomless pit when the Earth is made new. The smoke stops when the prayers stop. The smoke of the torment is said to "go up for ever." The smoke would stop when the fire has consumed its last. However, symbolically, the "smoke" - or the "result" of the fire - will show forever that the wicked are gone. They will never bother anyone ever again.
Then remember when the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and the sea drowned Pharaoh and his army. Pharaoh and his army are not still drowning in the Red Sea today. Pharaoh and his army were gone forever. They would not bother the Israelites ever again.
Revelation 19:3, "And a second time they said, 'Hallelujah! Her (Babylon's) smoke rises up forever and ever.' " In Revelation 18:8 and onward we see that Babylon will be "burned up with fire," - "she has been laid waste!" There are at least four mentions of a time element to Babylon's torment. Then in verse 21 John says that Babylon will be like a great millstone that is thrown into the sea, "and will not be found any longer." So Babylon's (the wicked's) smoke is all that is, symbolically, rising up forever - they are NOT burning eternally in Hellfire!
Revelation 20:10, "And the Devil ... was thrown into the lake of fire and ... will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." So the Devil will be tormented day and night, possibly indicating he will be burning for at least 24 hours. He will be tormented for a period of time. This could be long or short, but it will definitely have an end. How do we know it will have an end? In Revelation 21:25 the New Jerusalem is described, "In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed ..." No one can be tortured forever day and night without end if eventually there is no night anymore! At the end of chapter 20 the Lake of Fire and the Second Death are explained. Verse 14 states, "Then death and Hades [the grave] were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire." That is pretty clear and needs no further explanation. But I will explain it anyway: The Lake of Fire IS the Second Death. The Lake of Fire and the Second Death are the same thing. If you are dead a second time, you CANNOT be burning alive in Hellfire eternally!
Revelation 21:8, "... their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." This shows again that the end of the lake of fire is the second DEATH. Not eternal burning. This is a VERY important point to understand. It clearly states that the "lake that burns with fire and brimstone" ENDS with the second death! It does NOT go on and on for ever and ever!! It is NOT burning eternally without end!!!
Everyone has read accounts or seen movies in which an extremely EVIL person wants something from someone. The most EVIL thing he can think of is to torture the person's daughter in front of their eyes. The person cannot take this and does whatever the EVIL person wants. These accounts make us all despise the EVIL person more than anything! We can't wait for the vindication part of the account where the EVIL person gets what he deserves!
And yet there are church groups who make our loving and kind God into this EVIL person who is going to torture someone's daughter in front of their eyes, not just for several minutes, but for eternity! And we are supposed to love this "god" ?! This is the most heinous and reprehensible doctrine anyone has ever come up with! AND IT IS NOT TRUE !!!
How can we think that our loving God and Creator could possibly torture someone for eternity to pay for, at the most, 80 or 90 years of sin? This is totally illogical and goes against everything God stands for. The one who came up with this idea of eternally burning Hell is the exact opposite of a loving God, someone who hates God so much he would do anything to impugn His character. You can be sure that it was the Devil who came up with this idea. Don't follow this line of thinking! Do not go along with the Devil's logic!! Do not perpetuate this LIE!!!
Look at the last book of the old testament, Malachi. In chapter 4, Malachi states "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace ... and every evildoer will be chaff ... You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet ..."
Obviously the wicked cannot be suffering eternal Hellfire if we will be walking on their ashes!
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death ..." Death is not death if you are alive for ever in eternally burning Hellfire!
Matthew 13:30. "... First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn." The man did not burn the tares for eternity without end! He burned them up - to burn something up means to burn it until it is gone, turned to ashes.
In Luke 13:3 Jesus says, "... unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." He did NOT say you will all likewise burn for ever. The definition of the word perish is quite obvious and needs no explanation, but I will explain it anyway. "PERISH: verb - to die or be destroyed, to pass away or disappear."
The great GOSPEL verse, John 3:16, states: "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." It does NOT say, "shall not burn eternally, but have eternal life." It says PERISH. "PERISH: verb - to die or be destroyed, to pass away or disappear."
Many times in the New Testament the Greek word translated "Hell" is the word "Gehenna" which refers to the "Valley of Hinnom" a place where trash was burned. If you check, you will find that the trash that was burned in the Bible times is NOT still burning. It has BURNED UP, has turned to ashes, and is now mixed into the surrounding soil.
Read Jude 7: "... Sodom and Gomorrah ... are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire." This says that Sodom and Gomorrah suffered the vengeance of eternal fire. Are the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah still burning? No. They are possibly buried under the salty waters of the Dead Sea, or are somewhere near the Dead Sea. 2 Peter 2:6 says, "... He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes ..." The result of their fire was eternal. They are eternally burnt! They are eternally ashes!
Revelation 15:1, "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished." This says that there is an end of God's wrath ... it does NOT go on for ever and ever without end.
Revelation 18:8, "For this reason in one day her (Babylon's) plagues will come ... and she will be burned up with fire" The Greek for the word burned is katakaio which means, "to burn down to the ground, consume wholly, burn up utterly." There is no room for misinterpretation. NO burning forever without end. "Burned up utterly!"
Revelation 20:6, "Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power ..." There is a differentiation made between the ones who have a part in the first resurrection and those who don't. And that difference is that the first group do NOT die the second death! A second death is not death if they were alive forever being tortured eternally in Hellfire!
Revelation 21 is a description of the New Jerusalem. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea ... and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." This leaves absolutely NO room for an eternally burning Hell torturing people forever without end!!!
Revelation 21:8, "But for the [wicked], their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." The Second Death is definitely an END! The wicked have an END!! They do NOT burn forever in eternal Hellfire!!!
Psalm 28:3-5, "Do not drag me away with the wicked ... Because they do not regard the works of the Lord ... He will tear them down and not build them up."
Psalm 37:1-2, "Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb." I don't know of any grass or herb that is still burning forever without end. Grass burns up quickly. Just ask anyone who has tried to keep warm at a campfire of only grass!
Psalm 37:10, "... the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there."
Psalm 37:20, "But the wicked will perish ... they vanish - like smoke they vanish away."
Psalm 37:38, "But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked will be cut off."
Psalm 55:23, "But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You." Destruction needs no explanation, but I will explain it anyway. Destruction: noun, the action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.
Psalm 73:12+18-19, "Behold, these are the wicked ... Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment!"
Psalm 92:7, "That when the wicked sprouted up like grass and all who did iniquity flourished, it was only that they might be destroyed forevermore."
Psalm 94:3+22-23 , "... How long shall the wicked exult? ... But the Lord has been my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. He has brought back their wickedness upon them and will destroy them in their evil; the Lord our God will destroy them." Destroy: verb, put an end to the existence of something by damaging or attacking it.
Psalm 104:35, "Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more."
Psalm 112:10, "The wicked will ... gnash his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked will perish."
Psalm 145:20, "The Lord keeps all who love Him, but the wicked He will destroy."
Ezekiel 13:9-10+15, "So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations ... And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash ... Thus I will spend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, 'The wall is gone and its plasterers are gone' ..."
Hosea 7:2+13, "And they do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness ... Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!"
Matthew 10:28, "... but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear My voice ... and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish."
Romans 2:5-6, "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS..." This tells us that everybody will receive judgment "ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS." A wicked person who only lived for 80 or 90 years can NOT be tortured for ever and ever without end! That does not go along with this statement of judgment "ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS." To do so would make a liar out of God! This text doesn't even mean that he would be tortured for 80 or 90 years, but only "ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS" - and only God knows how long that would be.
Philippians 3:18-19, "... enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction ..."
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, "... dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction ..."
2 Peter 3:7, "But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." [emphasis mine]
1 John 5:12, "... he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
ALL these texts emphatically state that the wicked will have an end, they will be no more, they will vanish like smoke, they will be destroyed, they will not have life, they will PERISH. PERISH: verb - to die or be destroyed, to pass away or disappear.
If you can not find someone they are totally gone - not burning somewhere!
If the penalty for sin were eternal torture in Hellfire, and Jesus paid the penalty for our sin ... you can see where this would lead. Jesus would be in eternal Hellfire, suffering eternal torture. This is impossible. Jesus paid our penalty by going into the second death, by being eternally separated from God. Jesus came back from the second death. But He will never be what He was before He gave His life for us! This is the greatest love!
As for eternal Hellfire ... Hell is not even burning right now. In Revelation 20:7-10 the Bible teaches that after the 1000 years (millennium) are finished, Satan will be released from prison and then fire will come down from God and devour all the wicked. And the Devil will be cast into this "lake of fire" to be tormented for ever and ever. In Revelation 20:14 this is called the "Second Death" - the Death that no one comes back from. Revelation 20:13 states, "... and they were judged every man according to their works." This means that some will suffer for just a short time, while others will suffer longer, "every man according to their works."
In Revelation 22:12, Jesus says the same thing again. But notice the word reward - "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done." The word reward is the Greek word misthos which according to Strong's Concordance means, "pay for service (literally or figuratively) good or bad: hire reward wages."
God's reward (good or bad) is being brought by Jesus when He comes back to Earth, at The Second Coming.
Therefore NO ONE can be in Hell suffering right now or at any time in the past!
The reward (good or bad) will be rendered to everyone according to what they have done. Being tortured for eternity to pay for 80 or 90 years of sin does NOT fit this statement!
As we mentioned before, the Greek word "ever" in Revelation is "aion" from which we get our word "eon" meaning a period of time, or an age. Please note that whether the Bible uses this term for God or for humans - it means "a period of time, a lifetime, or until life is over." Since God cannot die, for "ever" (eon), when applied to God does mean ETERNAL, without end. But for wicked humans it means they will be tormented for a period of time until their life is over. And since these wicked humans have NOT been given the gift of ETERNAL life, they CANNOT burn eternally. They will only burn until their life is over. In 1 Samuel 1:22 + 28 Hannah says about Samuel, "... I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and stay there forever." 28: "... So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated." (emphasis mine). This text relates the word forever with as long as he lives. And in Matthew 28:20 there is a time limit on the word "age" (aion), "... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (aion)." Jesus will be with us "to the end of the age" or until we die. We will not need Jesus to be with us when we're dead because we will be asleep in Him. This is how the Bible relates forever
1. It brings justice.
2. It destroys the wicked.
3. It purifies the Earth.
Ezekiel 28:12-18
2 Thessalonians 2:8
Hebrews 2:14
(emphasis mine)
This text is talking about the King of Tyre, but from the context and the specific things said, it is obvious that it is actually referring to Satan, the Devil. Starting in verse 13, "You were in Eden, the garden of God ... You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there ... You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you ... And you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you ..."
"Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end ..."
"... that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil ..."
After the 1000 years, the wicked dead are resurrected and judged. They come to the realization that God is just. Their punishment is just. But they are in such agony of spirit, that fire falls in mercy from God and destroys them. This same fire then purifies the Earth. God wipes away all tears. And we get to watch as He re-creates the New Earth where we will spend eternity with Him in peace and love!!!!!!!!
In Revelation 21:4 we read what it will be like in the New Earth, "God will wipe away all tears ... there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying ..." If you are in the New Earth, but one of your loved ones was being tortured for ever and ever in Hell, would this be heavenly? The New Earth would be Hellish! But after everything dealing with sin is burned up and purified, God will do something to wipe away everything so we can live eternally at peace.
Revelation 21:5 says, "And He that sat upon the throne said, 'Behold I make all things new.'" God says He will make all things new. If old sinful people and the old Devil are still around being tortured for ever in Hell, then not all things are new. And that would make God a liar. And that is impossible. When God says He will make all things new, He means exactly that. There will be a new Heavens and a new Earth. There will NOT be an old Hell with old people in it somewhere.
Romans 12:19 states, "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.' says the Lord." If vengeance belongs to God, then He will decide how long the punishment will be for those who have done unspeakable things to His saints. But their punishment will have an end.
No
SAINT
would want to see
even their worst enemy
burned and tortured
for ever and ever
without end.
The false doctrine of eternally burning Hellfire torturing the wicked for eternity without end makes a liar out of Jesus on at least four counts:
1. In Matthew 5:7 Jesus tells us, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." Jesus would be lying here if He intended to have NO mercy on sinners, but was planning on torturing them for eternity without end!
2. In Matthew 5:44 and in Luke 6:27, Jesus tells us, "Love your enemies." Then He is supposedly going to torture His enemies in the most heinous manner imaginable - by burning them in fire for eternity without end?! One of the worst things I ever read about man's horrible inhumanity towards his fellow man, was an account where white supremacists burned a black man at the stake. But then, instead of letting him die, they took him out of the fire and left him on the ground to suffer his third degree burns for hours and hours before they put him back in the fire and let him burn to death! And this horrendous thing is merciful compared to what Jesus is supposedly going to do to some of His creatures! To possibly your child!! And all the while you are in Heaven proclaiming your love to this monster?!
3. In Romans 6:23 Paul tells us, "For the wages of sin is death." He makes a liar of Jesus if the wages of sin is actually burning alive in Hell for eternity! You can NOT be dead and burning alive for eternity at the same time!
4. Also in the same verse Paul tells us that "the free gift of God is eternal life." This is contrasted with the wages of sin being death.
DO NOT MAKE A LIAR OUT OF JESUS! DO NOT BELIEVE THAT YOUR LOVING SAVIOR COULD BE SUCH A MERCILESS MONSTER THAT HE WOULD MAKE HIS CREATURES SUFFER THE MOST HORRENDOUS PAIN FOR ETERNITY WITHOUT END!! DO NOT BELIEVE IN AN ETERNALLY BURNING HELL!!!
Satan's first and biggest lie was when he told Eve, "You surely will not die." (Genesis 2:4). This BIG LIE is found in the doctrine of Eternal Hell! In order to burn forever without end, one would have to never die. "You surely will not die." Don't believe Satan's biggest lie! The Bible tells us, "The person who sins will die" Ezekiel 18:20. Who are you going to believe? Satan or God? "...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15.
Anyone who teaches eternal Hellfire is either misinformed or is trying to scare you into believing what they do. God is not like that. He came to Earth and became a human and died the second death and rose again and came back from that second death so that we can be saved and love Him for eternity in peace.
THAT is a God I can love!
1.
Paul seems to have believed that we have an immortal soul when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:8, "We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."
Then in Philippians 1:23-24 he says, "But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake."
One answer to these statements is that Paul knew that death is like a sleep. The Bible states this many times. So he knew that as soon as he died, his very next thought would be seeing Jesus. Just as when you fall asleep (and if you don't dream) your very next thought is waking in the morning.
2.
Also, some people quote Jesus' words to the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." However if we take this statement as it reads here, it makes Jesus a liar. Because Jesus said these words on Friday, but did not go back to Paradise until after His resurrection on Sunday. In John 20:17 Jesus says to Mary on Sunday morning, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father ..." Therefore Jesus could not have been in Paradise with the thief that Friday. A much better reading of Jesus' words is: "Truly I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise." Some people object that this makes a clunky awkward sentence. But put this statement in a structure we would use today, "I'm telling you this truth today. You will be with Me in Paradise!" and it makes perfect sense! So just moving the comma (which was not in the original Luke 23:43 text) completely removes this problem.
When God in the Trinity decided to create beings with freewill, He knew in advance (omniscience) that some would use that freewill to disobey Him. IF God was planning on burning some of His created beings in Hellfire torture for eternity without end because they did not love Him and obey Him, then that makes God a MONSTER worse than Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Vlad 'the impaler', Herod, and Nero COMBINED !!!!!!!!!!
How can anyone believe that our loving, merciful, and just God could be like that?!
HE OBVIOUSLY IS NOT!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT BELIEVE IN ETERNAL HELLFIRE.
There are possibly two texts in Matthew and three texts in Revelation, as well as the PARABLE in Luke, that COULD be construed (if taken out of context) to mean that there is, or will be, an eternally burning Hellfire.
However ... compare these to the over 120 texts listed here that say the wicked do NOT burn forever, but are DESTROYED forever, then combine that with the fact that God is ALL MERCIFUL, and you will see that the weight of evidence is against an eternally torturing Hellfire!!!!!!!!
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