But I noticed that our Lord, while stressing the terror of hell with unsparing severity usually emphasizes the idea not of duration but of finality. Consignment to the destroying fire is usually treated as the end of the story--not as the beginning of a new story.

C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain


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 as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Jude 1:7













MISSION STATEMENT This blog is devoted to presenting biblically based evidence which argues for the extinction of the wicked as oppossed to their eternal torment in a place called hell. The usual case for extinction follows a familiar pattern: the wicked will be resurrected, suffer for a time in the lake of fire, then be extinguished. This blog takes a different view. It is the assertion here that all of the language in the Bible that refers to torment is in fact referring to earthly torment endured during the tribulation. The argument proceeds as follows: The Bible teaches a period of earthly torment (Mark 13:19, Rev. 4:10, 1 Thess. 5:2-3, Rev. 9:4-5), from which the just are exempt (Rev. 7:2-3, 9:4-5, 14:9-11), that consists of Christ shutting the door (Gen. 7:16), weeping (Amos 8:10, Zeph. 1:14), fire and brimstone (Rev. 9:18, 9:2, Isaiah 34:9, Malachi 4:1), smoke going up forever (Isaiah 34:8-10), and a form of retributive justice (Jer. 16:18, 17:18, Rev. 18:16, Psalm 69:27-28, 59:13, 83:17), which ends in extinction (Malachi 1:4, Obadiah 1:16, Psalm 37:20, Rev. 20:11-14, Matt. 25:46, Luke 12:48).



















Saturday, January 1, 2011

THE FURNACE OF FIRE

All Bible verses that record responses of conscious torment have close parallels in other parts of the Bible describing earhly torment. Let's look at some examples.
Luke 13:25 has a shutting of a door. This has been interpreted as Christ shutting the door of heaven, thereby consigning those outside to hell. In Genesis 7:16, however, we also have a closing of a door. It's God shutting Noah in the ark, thereby shutting everyone else out. It's a reference to earthly torment of the tribulation.

Weeping and torment is found in Matt. 22:13, 24:50-51, 13:38-42, 8:11-12, 25:30, 18:34, and Luke 12:59. It's been interpreted to refer to the weeping of those in hell. Weeping, however, is also found in Old Testament prophecies pertaining to the Day of the Lord, which is a time of earthly torment. Amos 8:10 is one example.

Matthew 22:13, 8:11-12, and 25:30 depict outer darkness. This same darkness appears in Joel 2:2, Amos 5:20, Isaiah 13:10, and Zephaniah 1:5.
Matthew 13:38-42 mentions a furnace of fire. The same image is used in Rev. 9:2.

Rev. 14:11 describes smoke going up forever and ever; the same phrase appears in Isaiah 34:10.

What exactly does this tell us? It is the contention here that the Bible gives us two types of verses about judgment: one pertains to final judgment and records no response of conscious torment; the other pertains to earthly torment, and does record responses of conscious torment. When Matthew 22:13 describes the wicked cast into outer darkness to weep and gnash their teeth, we can do one of two things: we can automatically assume it's a reference to hell, or we can actually look at the images being presented and evaluate them in light of other scripture verses that offer identical images. For those who prefer the latter method, we offer Joel 2:2 and Amos 5:20.

Let's look at some of the other images. The shutting of a door appears in both the Old and the New Testament. God told Noah that judgment was about to come. Noah collected his family and went into the ark. The Lord shut the door of the ark (Gen. 7:16). In shutting Noah in, He also shut everyone else out. God also shuts a door in Luke 13:25: "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know not whence you are..." Is this a picture of God shutting the door on the wicked? In a very real way, yes. The wicked are shut out of any chance for salvation as God pours His wrath out upon the earth. They are damned--not to eternal torment, but to a finite period of earthly torment that ends in extinction.

Matthew 13:38-42 has the wicked cast into a furnace of fire where there's weeping and gnashing of the teeth. This verse is used to teach eternal torment; the furnace of fire is identified as the lake of fire. The problem with that is that Rev. 9 actually describes man being tormented on earth by "fire and brimstone" (18), which is as "the smoke of a great furnace" (2). Moreover, the "sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit" (2). Here we have two images--darkness (Joel 2:2, Amos 5:20), and a furnace of fire--that correspond to verses describing earthly torment.
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