Hell and Everlasting Punishment, Part 1: Abiding Wrath

Hell and Everlasting PunishmentPart 1: Abiding Wrath"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth no the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). This verse says that the wrath of God abides on the sinner right now and if he dies unsaved God's wrath will abide on him forever. "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God; But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath." (Romans 2:5,8). "Let this awful word Wrath, settle into the conscience of every soul; for God hath spoken it!" And every Preacher, and every prophet of God has warned of it: Enoch, Noah, Moses, the Psalmists, Isaiah, John the Bapist with his 'flee from the wrath to come;' the Apostles - from Romans to Revelation; and the great Preachers and Evangelists of the Christian centuries, - the men who have won souls - the Reformers, the Puritans, the Wesleys, Whitefields, Edwardses, Finneys, Spurgeons, Moodys, - all have told of man's guilt and danger, of the coming judgment, and of the wrath of God upon the impenitent and unbelieving."-William R. Newell"There are the black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign pleasure of God, for the present, stays His rough wind. Otherwise it would come with fury, and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like the chaff of the summer threshing floor. The wrath of Godis like great waters that are damned for the present. They increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given. The longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose...And consider here more paticularly whose wrath it is. It is the wrath of an infinite God... It is the fierceness of His wrath that you are exposed to. Thus we read of 'the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.' (Rev 19:15). The words are exceedingly terrible, if only it had been said, 'the wrath of God', the wrod would have implied that which is infinitly dreadful. But it is said, 'the fierceness and wrath of God'. The fury of God! The fierceness of Jehovah! Oh, how dreadful that be! It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it for all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite, horrible misery...How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul that has not been born again. however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be. Oh, that you would consider it, whether you are young or old! Therefore, let everyone that is out of Christ now awake and flee fromt he wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over every unregenerate sinner."-Jonathan EdwardsHearing such solemn admonitions about the reality of an abiding wrath must make us stop and consider how we are living our lives, the soul that God has given us to be accountable for. How short is time, how long is eternity! May we do violence to our normal thinking and actions and place our thoughts firmly on these eternal subjects that will be life to us if we allow them to be.

This saying that Spurgeon told his audience once is very sombering to add to this article: " The Puritans tell a story of a woman convinced of sin on her death-bed, who lived near Cambridge, who was visited by several ministers, all of whom had great skill in comforting seeking souls. When five or six of them had spoken gently and comfortingly to her, she opened her eyes upon them with a glare, and all she said was this, “Call back the time, call back the time, for otherwise I am damned.” And so she died."What an encouraging thought that we right now can ponder on these things with reverence and fear still having "time" and as believers being able to "redeem the time" for truly these days are evil in which we live. May none of us say at our death beds "call back the time!"

"Our dear Redeemer, whose lips are as lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh, in great tenderness of heart warned men of the sure result of their sins; and none used stronger or more alarming language than he did concerning the future of ungodly men. He knew nothing of that pretended sympathy which will rather let men perish than warn them against perishing. Such tenderness is merely selfishness excusing itself from a distasteful duty."-C.H. Spurgeon"Go and sin no more lest something worse befall you."-Jesus Christ

Thank you brother,I do feel these messages are timely and I do encourage you to follow along and let the Lord appropriate the severity of the message to your heart. Lord teach us what it is to live eternity counsious in time!

Brother Todd, this is great, I am very glad that you are benefiting from this study and look at the theme of Hell. It is a very serious and at times mind numbing topic to even meditate on. I am very prayerful and weary as I post these articles. Do check here: Hell and Everlasting Punishment (article series), often because I am posting articles daily as I can. I estimate there will be over 30 articles on all the different facets of hell and information from past speakers on the subject.I think thats a great question that you are pondering on, the Scriptures definetly speak more of the "eternal" (everlasting life) rather then the "eternal" perishing. John 3:15 is a good frame work for this: "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."I do think if we take all the gospels in context that Jesus refers to over and over again to an eternal suffering where the worm dieth not. A place were there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The wicked will have their reward. Keep thinking and sharing scriptures brother, this is great. Till we all reach unto the perfect man in Christ.

Hi Todd,I just ran across this and it might be of some help?--THE ETERNITY OF HELLThe most terrifying aspect of all about hell is its length or duration. Hell is eternal. Hell will last forever. Can you comprehend eternity? No mathimatical equation or formula can explain it. Your mind cannot conceive of eternity, but it is none the less real. This aspect of hell alone should cause men to cry out in repentance. It is not surprising that skeptics of all ages have attacked the eternal nature of hell, substituting doctrines like the annihilation of the wicked in its place. Let us look at the Scriptures to verify the eternal nature of hell and to try and understand eternity better. Then we will explore why hell must be eternal."And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). This verse clearly gives us the duration of hell. Hell is forever and ever. How could a stronger, more certain expression be used? If the Spirit of God wanted to communicate the eternal nature of hell to men what could communicate it better than the expression "forever and ever?" The Scripture has no higher expression which is used to denote eternity than "forever and ever" for it is the very phrase used to tell us of the eternal existence of God Himself, as in Revelation 4:9: "to him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever." Does anyone doubt that God will live to all eternity? How then can you doubt that hell will not last to all eternity when the same expression is used for both?"We can conceive but little of the matter; but to help your conception, imagine yourself to be cast into a fiery oven, or a great furnace, where your pain would be as much greater than that occasioned by accidentally touching a coal of fire, as the heat is greater. Imagine also that your body were to lie there for a quarter of an hour, full of fire, and all the while full of quick sense; what horror would you feel at the entrance of such a furnace! and how long would that quarter of an hour seem to you! And after you had endured it for one minute, how overbearing would it be to you to think that you had to endure the other fourteen! But what would be the effect on your soul, if you knew you must lie there enduring that torment to the full for twenty-four hours...for a whole year...for a thousand years! Oh, then, how would your hearts sink, if you knew, that you must bear it forever and ever! that there would be no end! that after millions of millions of ages, your torment would be no nearer to an end, and that you never, never should be delivered! But your torment in hell will be immensely greater than this illustration represents."7Christ, describing the great day of judgment, tells of the separation of the wicked and the righteous using these words: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:46). Is there anyone who would deny that heaven exists eternally? Will the lives of the blessed in heaven be brought to an end one day? Of course not. But the same Greek word is used here in this verse to speak of the eternal life of the righteous and the everlasting punishment of the wicked. Hell will last as long as heaven does.In hell there will be different degrees of torment appointed to men as indicated by a number of Scriptures. Luke 12:47-48 says: "And that slave who knew his master's will and die not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Christ says in Matthew 11:24: "Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you." The verses in Matthew indicate that the people in Capernaum will receive a greater punishment on judgment day than those who had lived in Sodom. The verses in Luke speak of a differentiation in judgment based on the amount of light received: some will receive many stripes and others will receive few.Those who commit greater sins than others or more sins than others will receive greater punishment in hell (John 19:11). Religious hypocrites, those who profess Christianity but are not real Christians, will be punished more severely than others (Matthew 23:14-15). The Lord said of Judas Iscariot, "It would have been good for that man if he had not been born" (Matthew 26:24). How could any of these things be said to be true if annihilation were what awaited men after death? The presence of different degrees of punishment only makes sense in light of the ability to sensibly feel the torment. Could it be said that it would have been better for Judas if he had never been born if annihilation was all that awaited him? Annihilation is like no punishment at all.Each time the unbeliever sins he is adding to his torment in hell. The person who sins twice as much as another with similar light will receive twice as much punishment. Every day that sinners continue to live and breathe here on earth without repenting, they are adding to their torments in hell. Romans 2:5 tells us: "But because of your stubborness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." The Lord Jesus encouraged the righteous to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. The wicked are increasing their future wrath and torment in hell every day by their continued sinning. They add to their punishment daily. In hell men will wish that they had never been born.Charles Haddon Spurgeon said: "In hell there is no hope. They have not even the hope of dying--the hope of being annihilated. They are forever--forever--forever lost! On every chain in hell, there is written "forever". In the fires there, blaze out the words, "forever". Above their heads, they read, "forever". Their eyes are galled and their hearts are pained with the thought that it is "forever". Oh, if I could tell you tonight that hell would one day be burned out, and that those who were lost might be saved, there would be a jubilee in hell at the very thought of it. But it cannot be--it is "forever" they are cast into the outer darkness."8Christopher Love uses an illustration to try and help us understand what eternity means: "Suppose all the mountains of the earth were mountains of sand, and many more mountains still added thereto, till they reached up to heaven, and a little bird should once in every thousand years take one (grain of) sand of this mountain, there would be an innumerable company of years pass over before that mass of sand would be consumed and taken away, and yet this time would have an end; and it would be happy for man, if hell were no longer than this time; but this is man's misery in hell, he shall be in no more hope of coming out after he hath been there millions of years, then he was when he was first cast in there; for his torments shall be to eternity, without end, because the God that damns him is eternal."9Earlier we looked at the necessity of hell or why there must be a place like hell. Now we will look at why hell must not only exist, but why it must exist eternally. Why is it necessary that hell be eternal? There are several answers to this which we shall explore briefly.The first reason we will look at is the one mentioned by Christopher Love in the passage just quoted. The God who damns men is an eternal God. "Ultimately the eternality of hell is based upon the nature of God."10 Is God's Word eternal? Is God's nature eternal? The Scripture tells us: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). "His righteousness endures forever" (Psalm 111:3). "The Word of the Lord abides forever" (I Peter 1:24). If God's Word is eternal, if God's righteousness is eternal, if God Himself is eternal, then why shouldn't His wrath be eternal as well? As eternally existent, all of God's attributes are eternal and immutable; therefore, hell, as an expression of God's wrath, must be eternal.Hell must be eternal because God's justice could never be satisfied by the punishment of sinners no matter how long it lasts. Christ makes this clear when He speaks about settling with your accuser before you get to court, otherwise you shall be cast into prison and "I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite" (Luke 12:59). Man can do nothing to pay for his sins. No amount of punishment in hell, no matter how long, can ever atone for sins. It is impossible; therefore, hell must be eternal.Thirdly, hell must be eternal because the Scriptures tell us that the worm which gnaws the conscience of men in hell never dies. "For their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched" (Isaiah 66:24). If the worm never dies, then those being tormented by the worm shall never die.Lastly, hell will be eternal because men continue to sin in hell. They increase and compound their guilt there. Hell is a place where tormented men curse God, curse themselves, and scream and wail with blasphemous language at their fellow men around them. Wicked men will increase each other's torments as they accuse, blame, and condemn one another. Men will not repent in hell because the character of sinners does not change. They remain sinners. Men will sin to eternity, therefore, God will punish them eternally.http://members.aol.com/wnichint/hell.html

The article is helpful as far as seeing another perspective on the issue. But it seems full of weaknesses and flaws. Who is the author?I am not sure of the author that is why I cited the website where it was obtained from. The author seems to be mainly arguing against the idea of annihilation which is not what I'm mostly thinking about. I do think the argument against annihilation is a good starting place and not to be thrown out for logically if we are not annihilated then we are still living and then it is to be argued if that living is eternal?First of all, this verse describes 3 specific beings who will be tormented in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone "forever and ever"- the devil, the beast, and the false prophet. It does not speak of mankind here. But even if it did, and since the Greek word used here (Aion) is key in this discussion, I will attempt to share what I have learned about it.Yes the scriptures do clearly say that this lake of fire are for the 1. Devil 2. Beast 3. False Prophet. So the unholy trinity have their place apart from the Holy Trinity of God in heaven. But clearly the scriptures also say later on in that chapter:"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:14-15).So from that portion of scripture we see the numerants of the lake fire increase with 4. Death 5. Hell 6. Whosoever (speaking of any man who is not written in the book of life)."He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." (Revelation 2:11)"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." (Revelation 3:5)God's will for His church is that they are not hurt by the second death and not have their names blotted out of the book of life. But God stating these statements gives the absolute possibility of it happening. And as we saw before the Second death is when death and hell are cast into the lake of fire.The Bible could say something like "Hell will have no end." If it did, there would be no ambiguity concerning the eternity of hell- no room to question. But as it is, it seems to me God has left plenty of ambiguity concerning things "beyond" the ages, and what has appeared obvious on the surface (due to human interpretation and especially translations) appears very misty upon closer examination. Perhaps these are things too great for us to understand "in this age."The rest of your post Todd is quite fasinating and its great to see you digging into the scriptures even with your basic understanding of greek. I took a greek class this last semester at school and when I came out of it I knew less then when I came in. The greek langauge is a very potent and detailed language and to have an intermediate understanding of it takes at least 1-2 years of careful diligent study. I am sure its very easy for us to make mistakes just being ignorant of how the greek language works. I found this out when I was translating passages from Colossians on my own (talk about heresy). One thing is definetly certain that I think you will agree whole-heartily on is that We have ETERNAL and everlasting life in heaven with God if we are Christians and have our names written in the book of life:"That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:15-16).The word we are thinking on if its everlasting is the word found above in this passage perish. That those who believe not in the Son would perish, and the question is asked is this perishing eternal?Here is one Scripture that uses the word "eternal" in cognition of the perishing of unbelievers:"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (Matthew 25:46)I am sure there are many other direct references searching out the scriptures to find other scriptures that speak on the issue is usually the best way to get over an hurdle such as the one you came against in Revelation. I would like to hear your further thoughts. And on the greek word for "ages" I am sure there is someone who can help shed more light on that.

Todd, I just ran across another verse that implies very clearly there is an "eternal" fire:"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." (Jude 6-7).

Sorry if this seems simplistic, I am going to think through this passage (Jude 6-7):"And the angels which kept not their first estate" - This speaks of their abode in the heavenlies in the immediate presence of their creator."but left their own habitation," - There is a group of angels that have willfully left their habitation in the heavenlies."he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day." - God is keeping these angels in isolation, a place of darkness until the judgement of the great day. The great day would speak of the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds. Where all will be raised and judged."Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner," - Like manner would speak of their willful choice to left their estate (proper place with God) and choice to gratify the flesh instead of desiring to please God and do His will."giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh," - They give themselves over, not God. Sin is enticing and will lead us away if we allow it."are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." - All these things are set forth as an example not just Sodom and Gommorah but v5 people in egypt that went to the wilderness and believed not, v6 angels that lost their estate, v7 sodom and gommorha. And the whole context ties into v4 that there are 'certain men crept in' false teachers that have come into the fellowships. and you will notice that in v8 is the verse that draws a conclusion from the precedding verses with the word 'likewise' and he calls the men that crept in 'filthy dreamers' and speaks further of these men in v10-13 and the conclusion of speaking of these false teachers is that "whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."Sodom and Gomorrah have still a judgment awating them (according to the Lord Jesus).We know that after the judgement comes "punishment". This is how it will be for all the aforementioned angels and people that are "reserved" for judgement.